A groundbreaking ceremony to mark the start of the Brookfield Village development project in the town’s Four Corners neighborhood is planned for Thursday at 1 p.m.
The mixed-use retail/residential project has long been hailed as a cornerstone to revitalizing the area near the intersection of Federal and Station roads.
The plans call for four buildings with a total of 72 apartments and nearly 24,000 square feet of first-floor commercial space. Developers are starting with the two outside building, one at 800 Federal Rd. and the other around the corner on Station Road, which are scheduled for completion in fall 2017.
Officials hope that the complex, when complete, will be part of a bustling downtown neighborhood. The town is expected to soon begin a streetscape improvement project in the area that will include building sidewalks, adding streetlights and creating turn lanes to make the neighborhood more pedestrian-friendly.
After it was approved in 2012, the project has met a string of delays. In 2014, to ensure that it came to fruition, Brookfield approved a rare tax incentive for the developers.
Demolition of the old buildings, which formerly housed Rocco’s Hot Stone Bar and Grill and Rickyl’s Restaurant, among others, began in August.
Portland voters to decide $10 million roads, parks bond on Election Day
PORTLAND >> In a ballot already crowded with choices on the national and state level, there is yet another purely local issue to be decided on Tuesday.
Residents will have a chance to weigh in on a proposed $10 million bond issue which includes $2.5 million for improvements to various roads (coupled with attendant water and sewer improvements), another $1 million for improvements to sidewalks within half a mile of the schools in town — and $500,000 for new furnaces and repairs to the roofs on the Town Garage and Fire Co. No. 2.Voting Tuesday will take place from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the high school/middle school complex at 93 High St.The largest item in the bond issue is a $6 million appropriation for construction of a new recreation park on the Goodrich property on Route 17. The proposed recreation complex has been in the works for a decade, since the town agreed to purchase the property. Beginning In 2013, a steering committee working with the Recreation Department developed a detailed plan for the site. Its proposal, which was endorsed by the Board of Selectmen, calls for construction of a complex that will include two baseball fields, two soccer fields, a splash pad, a playground area, a basketball court, and both walking and hiking trail networks, in addition to a exercise circuit and a concession stand. The property includes some 37 acres. Twenty-three acres will be used for the recreation complex, according to a fact sheet prepared by the Route 17 Recreation Complex Steering Committee.
The other 14 acres will be left untouched and can be accessed by birdwatchers. In addition to providing access for a range of recreation activities, proponents of the project say having a complex in town will provide a range of benefits to the community. Because the town does not have a number of the activities that would be included in the complex, residents now must leave the town to access amenities such as a splash pad. Having those residents remain in town will mean a spike in commerce for local business, proponents say.For instance, the fact sheet suggests “It’s not uncommon to stop for a coffee/cool drinks, an ice cream or even snacks” following a day out the complex. The idea of a recreation complex itself will attract young families that have come to expect such facilities in town, proponents say. Opposition to the proposal focuses generally on the cost and whether the money could — and should — be used on other items. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Third phase of linear trail in Meriden will connect Platt High School to Cook Avenue
MERIDEN — The linear trail’s latest expansion will connect Platt High School to Cook Avenue, extending the trail by half a mile.
The plans were presented to the Linear Trails Advisory Committee on Thursday night by Howard Weissberg, associate city engineer. The committee is applying for grants from the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection and the Transportation Alternatives Program to fund the project, estimated to cost $1.5 million.
The third phase calls for modifying roads to allow for paths 8 to 15 feet wide for cyclists and walkers. The new section will start at the edge of the existing trail near Platt and run about 600 feet along the school parking lot. It will then go 1,200 feet along Coe Avenue from Hamilton Street to Bradley Avenue. The final stretch will be 1,000 feet, linking to the bridge on Hanover Road.“The nice thing is this really starts going through residential neighborhoods,” Weissberg said. “Residents can actually get on the trail easily without having to drive through a parking lot and get on.”
The trail will consist of 8-foot wide sidewalks along the first section from Platt to Bradley Avenue. The trail will then morph into a 12-foot path divided from the road by either a grass strip or wood barrier to separate traffic from pedestrians, Weissberg said.
The plan is designed to enhance safety for students walking or biking to school and reduce traffic on the road.
“The idea is by building a walkable, bikeable section we can reduce some of the traffic and obviously make it safer for people to walk,” Weissberg said.
A big component will be modifying traffic flow at the intersections of Highland, Coe and Hanover, which Weissberg called “a fairly major project.”
If funding is secured, Weissberg said construction on the first section near Platt could begin as early as next summer.
Mayor Kevin Scarpati said he was excited to see the project begin to take shape.
“It’s going to make things safer for our students and residents in that area,” Scarpati said. “Right now those sidewalks are not in the best conditions in that area.”
Attorney General George Jepsen released the report Friday. Two researchers in UConn's advanced cementitious materials and composites (ACMC) laboratory at the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering completed the report on Aug. 31. The Department of Consumer Protection, along with Jepsen's office, hired the duo.
The researchers based their findings on "mechanical, mineralogical, microstructural and chemical tests" of on core samples taken from seven houses and the visual inspection of 14 additional houses. The "expansive" secondary minerals created when pyrrhotite oxidizes in the presence of water and oxygen or ferric ions "can lead to the premature deterioration of the concrete foundation[s] investigated in this research," they concluded.
This past spring, the state determined pyrrhotite found at Becker's Quarry may be partially to blame for crumbling concrete foundations, a conclusion disputed by two companies J.J. Mottes Co. and Becker Construction, which nevertheless have agreed to stop supplying aggregate for residential foundations for at least one season after the state found that Becker's Quarry contains the mineral.
The report only confirms the cause of crumbling concrete, and does not resolve related questions like how much of the mineral leads to deterioration and other issues, Jepsen noted in a cover letter to Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and DCP Commissioner Jonathan A. Harris.
Connecticut's consumer protection laws do not regulate the presence of the mineral in foundation construction or provide any relief for property owners with failing structures, Jepsen said.
In October, Malloy asked federal regulators to assess the damage caused by crumbling foundations in some 43,130 homes in Connecticut after an earlier inquiry failed to get their attention.
After 3 construction zone crashes, Connecticut drivers urged to slow down, watch for workers
NEW HAVEN >> Just a slight shift of a steering wheel can be the difference between life and death on a highway, according to Department of Transportation spokesman Kevin Nursick.
“There is no margin for error when you’re driving so close to the workers at construction zones,” Nursick said.After three construction zone crashes in nearly three days, Connecticut state police and DOT officials continue urging drivers to take it down a notch in terms of speeding and up a notch in terms of awareness when navigating through construction areas. Nursick said despite receiving advanced warning when approaching work zones, many drivers are ignoring construction signs and continue to speed, text, and drive recklessly, putting workers and troopers at risk. We’re basically begging the public for their cooperation,” Nursick said. “Drivers should be mindful that these are actual people trying to work in these dangerous conditions. The highway is an inherently dangerous place to work.”A DOT crash truck was struck by a driver with a suspended licence Wednesday morning in on Interstate 95 in Milford. The DOT employee who was inside the truck was not hurt, but the driver and his passenger were taken to the hospital with minor injuries.On Thursday afternoon, another DOT vehicle was struck while in a work construction zone by a driver on Route 8 near Bridgeport.Then, at approximately 11:15 Thursday night, a state trooper was transported to the hospital with minor injuries after a drunken driver crashed his Jeep Wrangler into the police cruiser parked in a construction zone on Route 3 in Wethersfield.Nursick said every year, workers and troopers are injured by motorists driving recklessly in work zones, and some accidents have even resulted in death. State police Trooper Tyler Weerden said he is “baffled” that these type of incidents are still happening, especially in broad daylight. “I’m not sure what’s going on this week. We go above and beyond placing signs out, there’s plenty of time to merge,” Weerden said. “The vast majority of drivers are fine, they make it through just fine, but it’s the people on their cellphone, not paying attention.” CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE