September 29, 2016

CT Construction Digest Thursday September 29, 2016

AGENDA ITEMS FOR THE STATE BOND COMMISSION
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A cheaper fix for the Walk Bridge

Could it really cost $1 billion to replace the 562 foot long Walk Railroad Bridge in South Norwalk? Or is there a cheaper alternative that state Department of Transportation is hiding from us?
This 120-year-old swing bridge sometimes refuses to close, stranding thousands of Metro-North Railroad and Amtrak riders. Any problems it suffers affects commuters from Bridgeport to Greenwich and travelers throughout the northeast corridor. It is crucial to the US economy. And hey, it’s your tax dollars, whether you live along the New Haven line and commute daily or call Danbury home and never CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
 
 
MERIDEN — Another piece of downtown real estate could be getting a $1.2 million makeover with some help from the Come Home to Downtown program.
The former home of Fischer’s Fine Foods at 21 Colony St. was selected for the program after the owner of 1-3 Colony St. decided not to participate. Owner John LaRosa, whose family’s construction company developed the Meriden Green, became interested after seeing what Come Home to Downtown did for his neighbor.
“We gave a presentation on the results of the work we had done at 1 Colony St.,” said John Simone, president and chief executive officer of Connecticut Main Street Center. “He was impressed with the work. He brought so much to the table because he is a developer. After getting to know him it was clear he was committed and a good choice.”
In 2012, the Connecticut Housing Finance Authority contracted Connecticut Main Street Center to develop and administer the Come Home to Downtown program with the aim of bringing more housing downtown by assisting the owners of small properties to redevelop their underutilized buildings into housing above commercial space.
The Come Home to Downtown program gives property owners free architectural design work, and a study on what needs to be done to rehabilitate the mixed-used properties and provides cost estimates. The agency also helps research potential sources of financing, for instance historical tax credits.
“We work on where the money is going to come from,” Simone said. “Each owner has different options available.”
 The four-story building has been vacant for several years but has been kept in shape, it was built in 1889 and contains 12 apartment units and 6,000 square feet of retail. It’s most well known for being the home of Fischer’s, a lunch counter that drew downtown business and Millie’s Corset Shoppe, a lingerie shop in the next door store front. 
LaRosa said Tuesday, he doesn’t have definitive plans for the building but is working on financing the rehabilitation.
“I’m very much behind it,” LaRosa said. “I’m putting together the financing now.” CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
 
 
A new contractor has been chosen to finish Dunkin' Donuts Park, and work is expected to resume next week, an Arch Insurance official said Wednesday.
The new contractor will be Baltimore-based Whiting-Turner Contracting Co., which has extensive experience in building sports venues, said Patrick Nails, a senior vice president with Arch Insurance, the company guaranteeing completion of the ballpark.
Whiting-Turner officials have already been on-site to review the work that still needs to be done, Nails said in an email to The Courant on Wednesday afternoon. Both Whiting crews and subcontractors who have previously worked on the stadium should be on the job beginning next week, he said.
Nails said Whiting-Turner brings extensive experience with sports and recreational facilities "which it will use to complete construction of the ballpark so that we can bring baseball to Hartford next year."
The company's construction portfolio features more than a dozen sports and fitness projects. They include the home of the NFL's Baltimore Ravens; Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute's East Campus Athletic Village, which includes an outdoor football stadium and an indoor basketball arena; and a basketball practice facility at Baylor University in Texas. In Connecticut, the company has worked on the Connecticut Science Center, Hartford's Front Street and the Hartford Classical Magnet School, as well as on projects at Yale, Middlesex Hospital and Norwalk Community College.
"These were complex negotiations, and Arch Insurance appreciates the cooperation of the city of Hartford, the mayor's office, and Eastern League to bring them to conclusion," Nails said. "A lot of work remains to be done to complete the park, but we look forward to working with all parties to bring baseball to Hartford in April 2017." CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE

Manchester Tears Down Former Restaurant For Park Gateway

A vacant restaurant that stood between Center Springs Park and Broad Street was leveled Wednesday, and plans for a landscaped park gateway are moving forward.
The town bought the former Miku Asian Bistro & Sushi Bar this year for $605,000 to complete a connection between the 55-acre park and the town-owned side of the Manchester Parkade. The first part of the gateway was done last year with the installation of a pedestrian bridge over a cut in the old railroad embankment that carries the Cheney Rail Trail.
For the restaurant demolition, directors approved using $100,000 from a bond for Broad Street redevelopment. Part of the $8 million bond, which voters approved in 2009, also was used to tear down the blighted shopping center on the 18 acres once known as the "dark side" of the Parkade.
The town has a conceptual plan for the park gateway, and once final plans are completed, the construction job likely will go out to bid in January, planning and economic development Director Mark Pellegrini said. A conservative estimate on construction costs is $270,000, Pellegrini said.
Beginning in the spring, the 1.9-acre site at 363 Broad St. is to be transformed, with shade trees, shrubs and ground cover. A parking area for about 12 cars will be built, and the area will include benches, Pellegrini said. The goal, he said, is to create an inviting, welcoming portal to the park that will complement efforts to redevelop the town-owned side of the Manchester Parkade. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
 
 
ANSONIA >> A “real gem” on Prindle Avenue made its public debut this week.
The newly renovated and expanded campus of Emmett O’Brien Technical High School, at 141 Prindle Ave., met with rave reviews from the community Tuesday. The school received a $94 million makeover, which added 48,000 square feet of new space and renovations to 172,000 square feet of existing space. The state Board of Education approved the project in 2003, and construction began in 2014. The revamped school, which houses 574 students in grades 9-12, features a new academic wing and cafeteria with state-of-the-art kitchen for the culinary arts programs, one of the school’s 11 trade programs. All the shops, from engineering and drafting to the hairdressing/cosmetology and health technology areas, received a major reboot, providing students with the skills they need to enter the workforce. The school’s exterior was also given a modern-day facelift, which many have likened to a “space odyssey” look, complete with sleek steel components and curved lines. The school was used as the backdrop for Valley United Way to kick off its 49th annual community campaign, where organizations, corporations and the public are encouraged to donate to ensure Valley nonprofit organizations receive much needed funds. The goal is to raise $1 million to enable VUW to provide help to programs and organizations that make a difference in the lives of people living and working in the Valley. More information can be found at www.valleyunitedway.org.
VUW President and CEO Jack Walsh, who is retiring in November after 40 years in the organization, the last 27 as its top chief, thanked Iroquois Pipeline for sponsoring the kick-off. He said hosting the event at Emmett, which drew more than 100 people, was a real treat. “This is like a homecoming for me,” said Walsh, who served as an assistant basketball coach here under former coach and teacher Rich Marazzi, a member of the school’s original staff. Marazzi, on hand with his wife, Loisann, the school’s first female teacher in 1970, couldn’t believe the school’s transformation. “It’s absolutely beautiful,” said Marazzi, who taught and coached from 1968 until 1997, while Loisann called it “a real gem.” CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE 

Construction Employment Increases in Three-Fifths of Nation's Metro Areas

"While the number of metro areas with employment increases has been slipping, the number with decreases—76 in August—has held roughly steady," said Ken Simonson, the association's chief economist. "Meanwhile, job openings have been at a 10-year high but hiring has stalled in many parts of the country. Together, these facts make it clear that the slowdown in hiring has more to do with workforce shortages than shortages of work."
Construction employment increased in 220, or 61 percent, of 358 metro areas in the past year, held steady in 62 areas, and declined in 76 areas. The number of areas with gains was the smallest since April 2013, the economist noted. Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, Colo. added the most construction jobs during the past year (11,400 jobs, 12 percent), followed by Anaheim-Santa Ana-Irvine, Calif. (10,200 jobs, 11 percent); Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, Fla. (10,200 jobs, 17 percent); Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, Ga. (7,700 jobs, 7 percent) and Sacramento-Roseville-Arden-Arcade, Calif. (7,400 jobs, 14 percent). The largest percentage gains occurred in Boise City, Idaho (24 percent, 4,500 jobs) and Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford.
The largest job losses from August 2015 to August 2016 were in Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, Texas (-3,700 jobs, -2 percent), followed by Birmingham-Hoover, Ala. (-1,500 jobs, -6 percent) and Louisville-Jefferson County, Ky. (-1,400 jobs, -5 percent). The largest percentage declines for the past year were in Bloomington, Ill. (-16 percent, -500 jobs); Anniston-Oxford-Jacksonville, Ala. (-11 percent, -100 jobs); Dothan, Ala. (-11 percent, -300 jobs); and Lawton, Okla. (-11 percent, -200 jobs).
Association officials said the new construction employment figures, combined with recent data on job openings in the sector, make it clear that firms in many parts of the country are having a hard time finding enough workers to hire. They added that the data is consistent with survey results the association released last month showing two-thirds of construction firms are having a hard time finding qualified craft workers to hire. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE