DOT unveils $10.9B five-year capital plan
Patricia Daddona
The Connecticut Department of Transportation (DOT) on Thursday released a $10.9 billion five-year capital plan, of which about a fifth would be used in federal fiscal year 2017, which began Oct. 1.
DOT expects to use $2.2 billion this fiscal year including just under $1 billion for bus and rail and $1.3 billion for highway and bridge infrastructure.
During the 2017 fiscal year, DOT anticipates bidding 87 projects at roughly $570 million in contract value, compared to 105 new projects in 2016 valued at $475 million.
The entire plan covers fiscal years 2017-2021.
Over the five-year plan, $6.3 billion, or 58 percent is for highway and bridge projects; $4.3 billion, or 40 percent is for public transportation; and $245.8 million, or 2 percent, is for facilities.
DOT Commissioner James P. Redeker also released a report that reviews the performance of the DOT in delivering capital investments. The goal is to optimize spending for improvements, he said.
"The department is achieving this by delivering projects on time and on or under budget," he added.
Continuously improving project delivery and using innovative construction techniques also have increased the DOT's capacity to provide the state with higher quality transportation improvements that maximize the state's return on its investment, he said.
More information on the report can be found here.
Portland, developer hammer out new mixed-use plan for Elmcrest site
PORTLAND >> Town officials and developer Daniel E. Bertram have fashioned the outline of a new proposal for development of the Elmcrest property.
The proposal calls for a two-phase mixed-use development of the long-dormant former hospital property to take place over eight years. It also includes a scaled-back tax-abatement program. The proposal, which has not yet been finalized, was crafted during a series of telephone conversations over the past three weeks between Bertram, the president of the BRT Corp. and First Selectwoman Susan S. Bransfield. Those conversations, which have also involved Director of Finance Tom E. Robinson and Economic Development Coordinator Mary D. Dickerson, are continuing.On Wednesday, Bransfield outlined the status of the discussions in a report to the Board of Selectmen and in a briefing for local reporters. Bertram’s initial proposal for the 14.7-acre site was scrapped in September when the Board of Selectmen voted 4-3 to deny him a seven-year 100-percent tax abatement program he said was key to winning financing for the project. The revised proposal calls for construction of 238 studio, one-and two-bedroom apartments twinned with construction of a retail/commercial building, a hoped-for 3,075-square-foot coffee shop and, possibly, a pharmacy.
In phase one, 102 apartment units would be built, as would a portion of the retail/commercial property. In all, the project calls for “up to 98,400 square feet of retail/commercial or office space.” In phase two, the remaining retail/commercial property and a 136-unit apartment building would be built. Bertram estimates the new project would be worth in excess of $30 million. Bransfield said during the discussions that Bertram provided “a ‘guesstimate’ that a full build-out” would yield taxes of as much as $800,00 a year to the town. The property also contains three historic houses. Two of those, the Brainerd House and the Sage House, would be renovated by Bertram as part of the project. The third, the Hart-Jarvis house, which was the home of Samuel Colt’s wife, Elizabeth Jarvis Colt, would be moved to a much more prominent location on the southwestern edge of property. It would be renovated and put to an as-yet-unspecified use by a private nonprofit group, Bransfield said during the briefing, which took place in her Town Hall office.Previously, Bertram had said the town would be responsible for saving the Hart-Jarvis House. But under the revised proposal, the town would play no role in retaining, moving and renovating the house, Bransfield said. In its new location, she said, the Hart-Jarvis house could serve as “a signature building” for the development. The proposal also calls for a phased tax abatement program, Bransfield said. In years one to four, the abatement would be 100 percent, she said. In year five, the abatement would drop to 95 percent. In year six, it would drop again, to 85 percent, and conclude in year seven with a 75-percent “deferral of assessment increase on improvements.”Crucially, the land assessment for the project will not be fixed, Bransfield said. “Therefore, the taxes are anticipated to increase as determined by the assessor for the entire land property. As time goes on, the personal property taxes are not fixed and they would become part of the tax bill,” Bransfield said. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Mohegan Sun planning $80 million conference center
Mohegan — Long before they christened their second hotel tower a couple of months ago, Mohegan Sun officials were engaged in planning another relatively modest expansion, this one an $80 million conference center.
Modest, at least, by Mohegan Sun standards.
“It’s not definite that it’s a go, but we’re in the advanced planning stages,” Bobby Soper, president and chief executive officer of the Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority, said Thursday. He said the planning began a year ago.
In November, Mohegan Sun opened its $130 million Earth Tower, a 13-story, 400-room hotel that addressed the casino’s longstanding need for more lodging. Mohegan Sun’s original Sky Tower has 1,200 rooms.
Mohegan Sun officials first revealed details of the proposed conference center in late November during a gaming authority presentation to investors.
The presentation highlights a proposed “Mohegan Sun Expo Center” that Mohegan Sun officials believe would enable the casino to capture most of the 85,000 “room nights” a year it now turns away because of a lack of meeting space.
Last June’s “highly successful” Barrett-Jackson collector car auction, held at Mohegan Sun Arena, “validates the proposition,” the presentation says.
Soper confirmed that future Barrett-Jackson events — Mohegan Sun is committed to hosting one in each of the next four years — would take place in the proposed conference center, if it materializes. This year’s event is scheduled for June 21-24.
“That’s an example of the type of events we want there,” he said. “We can’t take the arena out of commission for every event like that.”
The auction drew more than 90,000 people over three days, setting single- and multi-day arena attendance records.
“We actually had a very successful Barrett-Jackson event,” Soper said. “In our first year, we got the kind of numbers they get at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, which is in its eighth year. ... We anticipate growing. We need more space — for cars and for people.”
Soper said that if the gaming authority decides to move forward with the conference center, it will do so this year. That would mean an opening in 2018 at the earliest, he said.
Mohegan Sun’s existing convention center, which includes the Uncas Ballroom, simply isn’t big enough to accommodate all of the convention business the casino attracts, Soper said.
“It’s the same as with hotel rooms,” he said. “Over the years, there’s been business we’ve had to turn away because we didn’t have the capacity to accommodate it. This (the conference center) would make us one of the premier convention destinations in all of the Northeast. We could host trade shows that are currently being held in Boston and New York.”
The proposed conference center would be located in a vacant area next to the casino’s Winter Garage and would link the garage, the Earth Casino and the Earth Tower.
“Everything will be under one roof,” Soper said. “Whether you’re staying at Earth, or Sky or visiting the conference center, it’s going to be all under one roof.” CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Plainville engineering acquisition to address coastal flooding
Plainville-based Loureiro Engineering Associates Inc. has acquired DiCesare-Bentley Engineers Inc. of Groton, the company announced Thursday.
Jeff Loureiro, Loureiro CEO, said the acquisition will help his firm address increasing demand for flood protection from both public and private clients for a variety of coastal and related construction or remediation services.
Clinton Brown, a principal of DBEI, said Loureiro Engineering adds more resources that will allow the combined company to deliver "a broader suite of services, as well as deliver our core services, more efficiently."
Founded in 1975, employee-owned Loureiro Engineering has offices in New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, North Carolina, and Washington, D.C.