NORWALK — Local officials are expected to press the Connecticut Department of Transportation for further study of the Walk Bridge replacement during a public hearing at Norwalk Concert Hall this Thursday evening.
Many consider the Environmental Assessment/Environmental Impact Evaluation, as released by the DOT in early September, lacking in detail about the potential impacts of the project on the harbor, roads and local economy.
“The state of Connecticut has done an … impact analysis and has come back with a finding of no significant impact,” said Mayor Harry W. Rilling, speaking at a workshop held last Wednesday to prepare elected and appointed officials for Thursday evening’s hearing. “We disagree with that.”
Rilling will be among a number of officials speaking at the hearing, which is scheduled for Thursday, Nov. 17, in Norwalk Concert Hall, 125 East Ave. Display boards will be set up at 6 p.m. and representatives of the DOT’s project team will be on hand to speak to the public.
The DOT team will deliver a 30-minute overview presentation at 7 p.m. After that, the public hearing will begin and each speaker will have up to three minutes to speak.
At issue are the environmental, economic and other impacts of the state’s upcoming replacement of the 120-year-old bridge that carries Amtrak and Metro-North Railroad trains over the Norwalk Harbor. The DOT has proposed replacing the structure with long-span vertical-lift bridge at a cost of between $425 million and $460 million. Work is slated to start in 2017.
At the hearing, residents, businesses owners, and elected and appointed officials are invited to share their thoughts and concerns about the bridge replacement and impacts.
Although the city’s law department has hired outside legal counsel to help evaluate the project, individual city departments are also asking for help. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Hospital, city, developer planning Centre Square
BRISTOL — While Centre Square may be covered in snow and ice this winter, it will be a critical time for the development of the roughly 15-acre parcel of broken asphalt in the heart of downtown, city, Bristol Hospital officials and planners said Tuesday.
“It sounds super corny, but it really is a team effort,” said Bristol Development Authority Director Justin Malley. “It’s going to take everyone, the hospital, BDA, Downtown Committee, the Board of Finance, City Council, everybody, including the community.”
The project for a four-acre ambulatory Bristol Hospital center and a mixed use development on the rest of the property has been the subject of discussion and studies for the last few years, since the Centre Mall failed and was torn down in 2008, city officials said.
“Just because you don’t see work going on there, doesn’t mean nothing is happening,” said Mayor Ken Cockayne. “We continue to aggressively work on getting it developed. We anticipate by late spring or early summer, people will see construction happening.”
The majority of the hospital project will be on the corner at Riverside Avenue. Parking issues are being addressed and, while the building size is not yet finalized, it is determined it will be less than 150,000-square-feet, according to hospital officials. The developer, who will be chosen next month, will pay for the building fully, and lease back the space to the hospital, said Bristol Hospital President Kurt Barwis.
The project is expected to cost around $50 million, not including the costs for a parking structure, he added.
“We have to get the plans down to the granular level and get to working with the city. We’ve got to go through the approval process, the flow and design of the property,” Barwis said. “Parking is one of the issues, but there are a number of ways to approach it. The city is anxious, as are we. How can we really optimize parking opportunities for everybody?”
“To date, we’re very happy with the work Bristol Hospital has done to coordinate the development of the property,” Malley said. “In less than a year, they had to get their heads around a very complicated project with a ton of moving parts. They’re being very careful about it and I can appreciate that. You only get one shot at this.”
During the winter months, the proposals for the hospital project and the rest of the development will be mired down in paperwork, going through the BDA, Downtown Commission and planning and zoning boards, Malley said.
“We’ll take advantage of the colder months to get the process going,” Malley said. “The city can then link with the hospital developer, go through final site plans and layout of the developments. Then in spring, as we come out of the colder months, and into summer, our goal is to be under construction at that point.”
The main thing, Barwis said, is that the development is in progress. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Connecticut approves $30 million for projects to strengthen electric grid
The state has approved $30 million in funding for new projects to strengthen Connecticut’s electric grid against damaging storms.
The state Bond Commission Tuesday approved the funding for an expansion of Connecticut’s microgrid program. Microgrids are a smaller versions of the larger electric distribution network, complete with their own source of power generation. They include a system that allows the buildings connected to the microgrid to continue to receive power even when the larger electric distribution system is experiencing an outage. “This funding will mean further progress in our efforts to minimize hardships to our residents and businesses during times when the electric power grid goes down as the result of severe storms,” Gov. Dannel P. Malloy said in a statement. Connecticut began its microgrid program in 2012 in the aftermath of several major storms that left tens of thousands of homes and businesses without power for days. Since then, the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection has awarded funding for ten microgrids across the state in two previous rounds of funding.
Three of the projects have been completed and are considered operational, according to DEEP officials. These microgrids are at Wesleyan University in Middletown, at the University of Hartford and one with the town of Fairfield. Two more microgrid projects — at the University of Bridgeport and in Windham — have been built, but are awaiting testing and commissioning before they are considered operational. There are four projects, including two in the New Haven area, that are in the design or construction phase. All four projects are for communities — Bridgeport, Hartford, Milford and Woodbridge — and are expected to be operational by next year or in 2018. Joel Gordes, a West Hartford-based energy consultant, said the state needs to sustain its microgrid program in order to assure the security of its residents and businesses. “The denial of service attacks you saw with some websites are something to which the energy community is not immune.” Gordes said. “Any way that you can de-centralize the grid will help.” CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
East Hampton sets sites on new town hall, police station as bids open
EAST HAMPTON >> The Town Council is seeking proposals for land or sites for a new police station and a new town hall.
The council last week voted 6-0 to solicit proposals for land and also set the stage for the appointment of a building committee. “We are sending out requests for proposals for land/sites for a new police station and a new town hall,” Council Chairwoman Patience R. Anderson wrote in an email Tuesday. What’s more, “We have finalized the resolution establishing a building committee to oversee the project,” Anderson said. “It is very exciting to be finally moving in a positive direction with regard to these two important needs for our community,” Anderson said. The existing town hall/police station complex was built in 1946 as a customer service office for CL&P. The building has exceeded its usable life and does not meet the requirements for a municipal building in the 21st century, town officials have acknowledged.
That is especially true of the police station, Police Chief Sean D. Cox has said. The council had studied the possibility of converting the Center School into a municipal complex that could house both town hall functions and the police department.But that suggestion has been abandoned, at least for now. Instead, Anderson said, “We will entertain (proposals for) separate parcels for each facility, a single parcel to accept two separate facilities or combined (facilities).” “We are open to either scenario and will consider all viable proposals,” Anderson said. “The council will choose a site or sites from the responses and then turn over the project to a building committee,” Anderson said. “I am hopeful that previous members of the building committee for the police station will apply for this new building committee, and that we can put together a solid membership of professionals who will shape and develop a project the entire community can support,” Anderson said. A seven-member committee established by the council last year studied the requirements for a new police station and what should be included in a new facility. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Southington PZC approves Cranberry Cove shops and restaurants for downtown
SOUTHINGTON — The Planning and Zoning Commission unanimously approved a plan Tuesday for shops and restaurants at the former Perillo Oil site on West Center Street.
Plans for Cranberry Cove call for an open area near the Quinnipiac River, a walking trail, and boutiques and upscale restaurants near the Farmington Canal trail.
The commission’s vote Tuesday followed a favorable recommendation by the town’s Conservation Commission.
Planning commission chairman Michael DelSanto said he was looking forward to the development, which he expected would help draw people to Southington’s downtown.
“We’ve seen this plan of bunch of times, I’m excited to see it be enacted,” he said.
Stephen Giudice, an engineer representing Cranberry Cove LLC, said the property owners will first clean up the property. A heating oil company and most recently a biodiesel business occupied the site.
“The next step in the next few months is to do the environmental work,” Giudice said.
The property is now a collection of oil tanks, garages, trucks and construction equipment. Giudice said there are a few tenants with current leases on the site.
Kathy Rickard, a former Southington Board of Education member and owner of Cranberry Cove LLC, plans to build seven buildings on the 4-acre site.
Rather than a strip mall with a large parking lot surrounded by stores, Cranberry Cove is modeled on the Promenade Shops at Evergreen Walk in South Windsor, which simulate a walkable downtown with interconnected pedestrian paths. While Evergreen Walk is vastly larger — 375,000 square feet — Rickard said she hopes to turn the seven-building development along the trail into a destination “rather than just a collection of stores.”
She had the idea for Cranberry Cove while waiting for her daughter’s 40-minute dance practice. At Rickard’s development, there would be relaxing places to sit and watch the trail or the river, spots to play checkers or stores to browse while waiting for a child or spouse. It could also become a location for music or games such as bocce in the open areas and canoe rentals by the river.
On Tuesday, Giudice said there will be a walking trail around the open area by the river.
Rickard bought the properties about a decade ago with this vision in mind but wasn’t yet ready to begin. Tenants such as Biodiesel One helped cover expenses during that time.
The formal groundbreaking ceremony for The Mill at Killingly Apartments took place as construction crews continued to dismantle the former Powdrell & Alexander mill building on Maple Street.
“We are here at the gateway to town and historic Danielson Main Street with mixed feelings,” Town Council Chairman David Griffiths said to a crowd of about 30 people. “Sad that an iconic mill in the town is being torn down and excited for the progress we are making to secure the economic future of downtown.”
The Institute, which is working in partnership with United Services Inc., is responsible for funding the ongoing soil remediation at the site once the $2 million in town money runs out, as well as for construction of a 35,000-square-foot, 32-apartment, mixed-use affordable housing complex on the 4.1-acre property.
In addition to the state money, the Institute has secured a $1 million loan from Liberty Bank, a $500,000 federal home bank grant and nearly $5.6 million in federal tax credits. Officials said it would take about a year to build the complex once construction begins in the spring.
“In some ways this project is coming together faster than others,” said Betsy Crum, executive director of the Women’s Institute. “That’s in part because it’s so pivotal, located at the gateway of downtown near Route 6.”
Crum said the complex will offer housing and supportive services for 32 families through United Services Inc. Though the exact kinds of services weren’t mentioned, a brochure stated they would be geared to the “complex and unique needs” of formerly homeless or those at risk of homelessness. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Hamden Planning and Zoning Commission approves second Quinnipiac stadium
HAMDEN >> After months of hearings and deliberations, Quinnipiac University finally has approvals for both of its proposed stadiums on Mount Carmel Avenue. Neighbors continued to oppose the plans at Tuesday’s Planning and Zoning Commission meeting, saying the stadium, the second of two that will be built on the site, will result in the destruction of their quality of life. But the commission found no evidence that the project will vastly increase the noise that already comes from the fields.
The commission originally approved the fields back in 2004. Then, the university characterized the use of the fields as practice fields. Now, the fields are primarily used by the girl’s field hockey team, but also are used as practice fields by other teams. The university is looking to upgrade the facilities, including the resurfacing of the fields and the construction of two stadiums, in part to adhere to a court consent order after the school was found in violation of Title IX regulations. The commission earlier this year approved the application for the larger field on the north side of the property, as well as a 1,500-seat stadium. On Tuesday it approved the smaller southern field with a 500-seat stadium. Tuesday’s meeting revolved around noise levels and featured a third-party report on how much noise the fields would produce, which reconciled two conflicting reports previously presented by the university and the attorney hired by neighbors. “Overall, the sound impact in comparison to the existing sound levels shows little to no difference,” Quinnipiac attorney Bernard Pelligrino said. But for many, the question wasn’t how much noise would be created by the proposed sound system, but by those attending the games. “Although the public address system can be limited, what we don’t have considered here is the unamplified human voice,” attorney John Lambert, representing the neighbors, said. In addition, fans attending the games will use items such as horns and cow bells at the games, he suggested.
“There will be other noisemakers here, and you need to decide whether the decibels are the only measure,” Lambert said. “I would suggest other types of sound, like the shrieking sounds. If you lived in the neighborhood, would you be annoyed by stadium horns? I suggest you would.” CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE