NEW BRITAIN — The Common Council tonight will consider granting the state Department of Transportation a first-ever easement to perform maintenance work next spring on the Harry Truman Overpass. The project comes as the city looks to relocate the police department impound lot located directly below the bridge at Herald Square.
The NBPD maintains the area to store a number of seized vehicles, many as part of police investigations. While the department relocated to Chestnut Street in 2012, the impound lot stayed where it had been since the former headquarters building was constructed in the late 1960s.
Mayor Erin Stewart said on Tuesday that the city has been considering sites for a new impound lot, with less high-traffic areas being a priority. The city has been aware of the pending DOT overpass project for months, adding frustration to finding a new spot for impounds.
“They have never needed access to the overpass before and it’s added a level of difficultly compromising the situation,” Stewart said. “But we wanted to be a good partner with the state so it’s another problem we are trying to solve and we’re hoping to figure out a financing situation.”
Stewart said without grants or other funding support, the city would be on the hook for a construction project that could carry a price tag of over $500,000. Per state statutes, the new impound lot would have to accommodate indoor storage of vehicles, according to Stewart. She said options at city-owned land are limited, whether considering new construction or repurposing existing buildings.
Stewart said the city was unsuccessful in obtaining a brownfields grant to remediate the old Public Works incinerator site on Christian Lane. Demolition would have made way for a modest aluminum structure to hold impounded vehicles.
Meanwhile, city officials continue to consider other options.
Stewart said with the former police station now gone and the neighboring Herald Square Dialysis having spent millions to upgrade its property, the impound lot becomes increasingly unattractive.
“It’s definitely an eyesore,” she said. “Getting it out of downtown is something we have to do and we continue to work on it.”
The council will hold its regular meeting at 7 p.m. tonight at City Hall, 27 West Main St.
‘Beehive Bridge’ construction to begin in spring
NEW BRITAIN — With next year’s winter thaw will come three downtown roadwork projects that have the potential to disrupt traffic for up to one year, officials confirmed on Tuesday.
Developers of the so-called Beehive Bridge that carries Main Street over Route 72 said that work on the overpass will begin around the same time as the redesign of a portion of Columbus Boulevard and the state’s maintenance work on the Harry Truman Overpass.
Derek Hug, a project manager at the civil and environmental engineering firm of Fuss & O’Neill, said drivers will experience traffic pattern disruptions and lane restrictions during the work.
The company expects bridge construction to begin by April 2017, the same time as the Columbus Boulevard project, where plans include the relocation of the downtown bus hub and the installation of a roundabout near the entrance to the Red Roof Inn. Both are projected to be completed by late spring 2018.
Maintenance and repairs on the Truman Overpass should take about six months, according to Mayor Erin Stewart. The work is being overseen by the state Department of Transportation.
Hug said while the simultaneous projects may at times be a headache, the city and construction crews will make “an ongoing and constant effort” to make it as easy as possible for motorists and pedestrians.
Mark Moriarty, the city’s director public works agreed. “We’re going to work as hard as we can to minimize (disruptions),” he said.
Hug and others detailed the Beehive Bridge project in a public information session at police headquarters attended by city officials and residents. The presentation was complete with sketches and 3-D artist’s renderings of the tri-color honeycomb design bridge walls and large bee and beehive sculptures.
The project will include widened sidewalks, new traffic signals, crosswalks, pedestrian ramps, revised lane arrangements and two pocket parks on the north side of the bridge.
Landscape designs will incorporate brick pavers, tree planters, benches, grass, retaining walls and lighting.
Developers and city officials spoke of its significance in connecting downtown to the gateway to Little Poland, a link that disappeared with the construction of Route 72 in the 1970s.
Moriarty said the bridge project is the fifth phase — and the most ambitious — of the city’s Complete Streets Master Plan begun six years ago.
Funding sources for the project include $2.1 million in state bonding, $1.6 million in Federal Transit Administration Bus Livability Funds, $1.4 million from the city and $700,000 that the DOT has committed to perform repairs and upgrades to the overpass.
Smalley renovation project moves forward
NEW BRITAIN — The Smalley Academy school renovation project will move forward now that the local contractor who filed a lawsuit against the city has not appealed the superior court judge’s earlier ruling.
Kaestle Boos Inc. made an unsuccessful bid to do the consulting and architectural services for the project and sued the city to temporarily halt the start of the work. In filing the lawsuit, Kaestle Boos cited a local ordinance that states as a New Britain bidder it should have been considered the “lowest responsible bidder” because its bid was not more than 2 percent higher than the lowest bid on the project. Kaestle Boos bid $1,710,000 to perform the consulting and architectural services. The Bridgeport-based Fletcher Thompson bid $1,610,000. Its total bid was $1,695,000 when taking into account retrofitting the now vacant St. John Paul II School, which would serve as “swing space” for displaced students from Smalley while construction was occurring at the school. Kaestle Boos had 20 days from the Oct. 4 decision by Judge Robert Young to dismiss the lawsuit to appeal. Monday was the last day the firm could have appealed and Kaestle Boos never made that motion. In his ruling, Young wrote, in part, that Kaestle Boos “is not presently claiming fraud or corruption and has not demonstrated evidence of favoritism… Kaestle Boos has no standing to seek injunctive relief.” The school project, which was on hold pending a possible appeal, can now start up again, city educators said.
The school district’s School Building Committee was scheduled to meet this afternoon to “wrap up any questions anyone might have regarding the litigation,” said Paul Salina, chief operations officer for the school district. “It was unfortunate the project was delayed and we want to move along as quickly as possible.”
The legal tangling, Salina said, has forced the project to be delayed somewhat.
“We were looking at a possible move into the new Smalley school in January or February 2018. But, now with this (temporary) delay, we do not anticipate moving in until the school year starts in September 2018,” Salina noted.
The $53 million renovation project, Salina has said, is still dependent on the State Bonding Commission approving the project in the spring. Local educators have expressed optimism there will be approval.
The renovation and expansion of the school, located on West Street, is supposed to include 12 new classrooms, additional space and traffic flow improvements.
New Britain state Rep. Bobby Sanchez represents the district that covers Smalley Academy, which is located in the poorest neighborhood in the city.
“This (renovation) is something I’ve been advocating for ever since parents reached out to me about what they felt was some of the conditions in the building. They had concerns about tiles lifting up, about leaks, issues with the roof and possible mold in the building,” Sanchez said Tuesday. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Meriden developers reveal plans for a downtown that comes to life
MERIDEN — The Mills and former Hub redevelopment team presented the Meriden Housing Authority Board of Commissioners a vision of a Meriden downtown that can come to life after 5 p.m.
Tim Henkel of Pennrose Properties and Charlie Adams outlined the details of the Meriden Commons Phase I and II projects, in addition to a commercial/retail/residential development on State Street and a restaurant and retail hub with market rate housing on Pratt Street near the Silver City Bridge. “That corner is set up to be a good restaurant or sports bar,” Henkle said about 50 Pratt St. across from the Engine 3 firehouse on the Meriden Green.
Pennrose Properties, Hartford developer Sanford Cloud and the MHA recently received $5.7 million to begin Phase I of Meriden Commons, a mixed-use, mixed income development at the corner of State and Mill streets. It also won approval for 9 percent low-income housing tax credits on the project.
An application for Meriden Commons Phase II is due Nov. 9. Both projects will feature varying designs and colored buildings, including town houses facing Park Street. Both phases will yield 150 housing units and 6,000 square feet of commercial development.
Of the 432 total units planned in the city’s transit-oriented district owned by the city and the Meriden Housing Authority, about 307 units will be market rate and 105 units will be affordable.Projects underway or in the pipeline will yield 100,000 square feet of commercial space. Officials estimate that the construction in the transit-oriented development district will cost $110.4 million and lead to $159.7 million in total direct and indirect economic output.
Several factors enticed Pennrose’s interest in the city, including the transit hub, increased train service and the housing authority involved in undergoing very important redevelopment projects, according to officials.
“We understand the opportunity here,” Henkel said. “The things we thought were good signs, were all the agencies that have doubled down in Meriden.”
Henkel was also impressed with the city’s partnership with the authority on a Choice Neighborhood Grant, which despite the city not winning, was a “major undertaking” that would overwhelm the majority of housing authorities in the U.S., he said.
“24 Colony Street is the first building to test things. We’re going to double down,” he said.
MHA board members questioned whether the city could support the added downtown retail space. Henkel responded the increased population will drive opportunities. The city is working on a marketing survey for the anticipated available space in the transit-oriented district.
Executive Director Robert Cappelletti reminded commissioners that 432 new units are going to translate into 700 to 800 more people downtown. Work on the Meriden Commons and the former Hub project on State Street can be done simultaneously to draw on momentum and keep pressure on the city to move ahead on plans to repair Cedar Street bridge and uncovering Harbor Brook to continue the park through the former Mills Memorial Apartments after demolition, the developers said. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
A crowd of more than 60 people cheered and waved to the conductor as he motored past the white VIP tent at the rear of the Windham Chamber of Commerce office.
What was called the “most unique” and the “awesomest” ribbon-cutting ceremony in the region marked the start of construction for a much-touted $12.8 million freight rail upgrade project for the Central New England line that runs from New London through Montville, Norwich, Franklin, Willimantic and on to the Massachusetts border. There, the line ties into other Central New England tracks that run north into Canada.
The upgrades, with construction expected to start in spring, will allow the tracks to carry 286,000 pounds of freight, up from the current limit of 263,000 pounds. The improvement is expected to invigorate freight traffic on the tracks, allowing numerous manufacturing plants along its rails — including some of Norwich's biggest taxpayers — to expand operations and bring more traffic to the Port of New London.
The tracks end, or begin, at State Pier, now part of the Port of New London.
“This corridor is eastern Connecticut's opening to the world,” said Scott Bates, chairman of the Connecticut Port Authority, which runs the New London port.
New London Mayor Michael Passero said the rail upgrade project could be the most significant economic development advancement for New London “in decades.”
With much lobbying from local, state and federal lawmakers, the region was successful in 2014 in its third attempt to obtain highly competitive federal Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery — TIGER — for the project. The $8 million grant will be added to the $4.8 million contributed by Genessee & Wyoming Inc., owner of the Central New England line.
Dave Brown, CEO of Genessee & Wyoming, said company officials realized immediately upon purchasing the historical line that it needed a major upgrade. Bolted rails will be replaced with welded lines. New ties will be installed, bridges upgraded and street crossings improved, officials said Tuesday. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Stonington residents learn latest details of elementary school project
Stonington — Representatives of the firms working on the $67 million renovation and expansion of 48-year-old Deans Mill and West Vine Street schools presented updated floor and site plans and phasing details during a community meeting hosted by the K-12 Building Committee on Tuesday night.
The design of the project, which was approved overwhelmingly by voters last year, will be completed by the end of the year, with construction manager Gilbane Building Co. bidding the various aspects of the project in February. The groundbreaking is slated for April and the 18-month construction period at each school will end in the fall of 2018 in time for the start of school.
In addition, the replacement of the Pawcatuck Middle School roof, which is part of the project, is almost complete.
Peter Manning of Gilbane, who also oversaw the renovation of the high school a decade ago, said plans are for the work to have a minimal disruption on the school day.
Site and preparation work will occur this spring and, once school is out for the summer, the grounds of both schools will close with new construction occurring.
Once that work is completed, students will transition into the new space while renovations are made to existing sections of the school. Near the end of the project, a section of Deans Mill School will be demolished.
Residents learned Tuesday night that the two schools will have new gyms of 6,000 square feet, bigger than the gym at Mystic Middle School. Kindergarten and prekindergarten classrooms at each school will have their own bathrooms, and each school will receive new playground equipment. The tracks at each school will be relocated. The sensory garden at West Vine Street School will be relocated to an area under two mature oak trees to provide some shade.
In the spring of 2018, the cafeterias and kitchens at each school will have to close for renovations so students likely will have to bring bag lunches.
“This small sacrifice that we’re asking teachers and students to make during the construction phase is to get a long-term gain of a new school that will last the next 30 to 50 years,” said building committee Chairman Rob Marseglia.
He added the budget does include money for portable classrooms if there are problems with the phasing plans.
He said the good news is that preliminary cost estimates show that the project will be within budget and include all of the space and program needs outlined in the educational specifications.
“We want to get the shovels in the ground and what we really want to see is Gilbane moving off the property and getting ready for the ribbon cutting,” he said.
New London considers alterations to school construction plan
New London — The school district is considering the creation of one of the state’s largest public school campuses at the current site of New London High School.
The idea is just one of several options the district is mulling over as it absorbs the impact of losing a partnership with the Garde Arts Center and, along with it, a downtown campus for a performing and visual arts program. The result is the potential loss of $31 million in state funds associated with the Garde project and skyrocketing cost estimates for one of the two campuses where the district intended to build two schools for grades 6 through 12.
The centerpiece for the future all-magnet school district always has been two schools with magnet pathways fed with students from the magnet elementary schools. One grades 6-12 school, the north campus, would be located at New London High School, while the south campus would be built at Bennie Dover Jackson Middle School.
Splitting the four pathways equally between the two schools now seems unlikely as new projected cost estimates from the Capitol Region Education Council show the south campus price tag jumping from $49 million to $96 million.
The district has until Nov. 1 to submit a plan to the state Department of Administrative Services for the south campus or risk losing a spot on the school construction priority list with the General Assembly. The previously submitted plan was dropped from the state legislature’s priority list last year because it was not “shovel-ready,” legislators said.
“We have to be in a position to tell the state about what our position is on Bennie Dover,” Superintendent Manuel Rivera said.
Rivera, who inherited the overall plan when he was hired as superintendent in 2015, said the major hurdle remains the costs.
“The issue is being able to complete the project within the existing dollars. The only possible way to do that is to pursue a single campus,” he said.
In 2014, under a plan developed by state-appointed Special Master Steven J. Adamowski, city residents approved a school construction bond authorization for up to $165 million for a $98 million north campus and a $48 million south campus. At an 80 percent reimbursement rate, the city’s cost was expected to be about $33 million.
At the time, Adamowski conceived of a partnership not only with the Garde Arts Center but with the Interdistrict School for Arts and Communication (ISAAC) for the middle and high school levels of its planned visual and performing arts magnet pathway. About 600 students were associated with that program.
The partnerships never materialized and the result is a reshuffling of the locations of the four magnet pathways — science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), language and culture, visual and performing arts and leadership. Associated with the placement of the pathways is the state requirements on the percentages of out-of-district students that trigger an increased amount of state funding. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Amid uncertainty, DEEP cans gas RFP
Hamstrung by court and regulatory rulings in key New England states, the state's Department of Energy and Environmental Protection said it's canceling an RFP meant to increase natural gas capacity in the state.
The developers of seven projects, including a $3 billion expansion of the Algonquin pipeline called Access Northeast, had submitted bids in late June, vying to provide as much as an extra 300 million cubic feet per day of capacity for the region's gas-fired power plants.
But the mechanism by which developers and utilities wanted to finance the projects ― by building the cost of expanding gas capacity into electricity rates ― was controversial.
The Massachusetts Supreme Court dealt the first blow with a ruling in August forbidding the financing scheme, saying it would undermine the objectives of utility restructuring in the late 1990s and expose ratepayers to risks. With New England's largest population, the Bay State was seen as crucial to the Access Northeast project.
In New Hampshire, utility regulators issued a ruling earlier this month containing similar language.
DEEP said this week that those decisions "have materially reduced the ability for the costs of projects to be shared among a substantial portion of the region's ratepayers."
"DEEP has consistently asserted that the problem of inadequate gas infrastructure is greater than one state can solve alone," the agency said in a statement. "Regional investment is necessary to ensure that no one state disproportionately bears the costs of addressing what is a problem endemic to our regional electric system. As a result, DEEP moved to cancel this RFP."
DEEP said it could restart the RFP process in the future. Two separate RFPs for clean energy procurement remain ongoing, with major development also announced Tuesday.
Beacon Falls fuel-cell park loses major potential customer
A proposed Beacon Falls fuel-cell park that would be the world's largest was dealt a blow Tuesday when it lost a large potential customer — utilities in Connecticut and two neighboring states.
Danbury's FuelCell Energy disclosed in a U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission filing that the 63.3-megawatt project's developer — a subsidiary of O&G Industries — had informed FuelCell on Monday that it had learned its bid into a major clean energy RFP had not been selected by a consortium of officials in Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island.
The developer had tapped FuelCell to provide manufacture, operate and service the fuel cells for the park.
Jeffrey Osborne, a financial analyst who covers the publicly traded FuelCell, had previously estimated that the deal could be worth as much as $500 million in revenue to the company.
"Company management has consulted with the project developer as well as the land owner, O&G Industries, and all parties expect to pursue alternate paths to continue to develop and construct the project, based on its merits and favorable economics," FuelCell said in its SEC filing Tuesday. The company will provide updates on the Project's development in the future."
A spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment on what alternate paths exist for the project, which had received approval from the Connecticut Siting Council and inked a property tax deal with Beacon Falls early this year.
As of mid-afternoon Tuesday, the news had driven FuelCell's stock price down nearly 30 percent, to $3.68.
Earlier this year, FuelCell submitted one of two dozen bids to the tri-state RFP, which had a minimum project size of 20 megawatts. Its bid was one of a handful that, when combined, proposed generating approximately 240 megawatts of clean energy from Connecticut projects. The bids also included wind, solar, hydropower and transmission projects in multiple states.
FuelCell submitted 50 megawatts worth of bids to a separate RFP intended for smaller projects of 20 megawatts or less.
The Department of Energy and Environmental Protection said Tuesday that those bid selections could happen as early as this week. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
East Haven PZC slated to move forward on 200 Tyler St. renovation
EAST HAVEN >> After Mayor Joseph Maturo Jr. signed an agreement between WinnDevelopment and the town for a proposal to renovate 200 Tyler St., the Planning and Zoning Commission is slated to move forward with plans to construct a mixed-use, senior housing complex.
During a PZC public hearing Monday night, WinnDevelopment, a housing development and property management company out of Boston, presented its proposal to build 70 housing units — 20 market rate and 50 affordable — for seniors to independently live in the former East Haven High School. The housing units will be age and income restricted — $30,650 for a one-person household and $35,000 for a two-person household. A one-bedroom unit is slated to cost $820, while a two-bedroom comes with a $985 price tag, according to the company’s presentation. While 26 percent of East Haven’s population earns $35,000 or less per year, resident Salvatore Maltese questioned the affordability of the units for those living on a fixed income. “I don’t know how people pay rent or car insurance on $30,000,” Maltese said. But the seniors who seek to make the former East Haven High School their new home will not solely be living off of their restricted incomes, Town Attorney Joseph Zullo said.
“Those income restrictions do not pertain to the income you make off of retiring. The income you make off of your 401(k) does not count in the $30,000,” Zullo said.The exact age restriction has not yet been decided. In addition, the proposal calls for demolition of the property’s east wing to build a parking lot. WinnDevelopment is expected to construct an additional 85 parking spaces at the site. While many of the former school’s classrooms will be renovated into bedroom units, the facility’s pool and gymnasium will remain under municipal ownership. East Haven originally considered including the renovation of the facility’s pool and gymnasium in an acquisition price to WinnDevelopment, but Zullo said the town believed it would be financially advantageous to turn that portion of the project over to another developer or bond it out. “We did not want to get pigeonholed into one developer,” Zullo said. “We said, ‘Hey, look, maybe there is a local developer who can do a better job or somebody that we might want to bid it out to.’ The fact of the matter is that we didn’t want to pigeonhole ourselves into one person or one company.” CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE