MERIDEN — Soil cleanup has begun on the corner of Mill and State streets, where a new mixed-income apartment building is planned for what is now a parking lot.
Excavators and backhoes started remediating the city-owned site, which sits alongside Mills Memorial Apartments. Two of the three Mills low-rise apartments are vacant and have been boarded, but about 116 units remain occupied. The Meriden Housing Authority is awaiting final approval from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development on its tenant relocation and demolition plan before razing the entire Mills complex. “We are hoping to have everyone out by summer,” said MHA board Chairman Neil Ivers. “We have optimistic deadlines, but they are extended because we are dealing with a bureaucracy.”
Once cleanup is done on the corner of Mill and State streets, the housing authority and development partner Pennrose Properties can begin construction on the first phase of Meriden Commons, a 75-unit mixed income apartment complex. The city received a $2 million brownfield grant last summer to remediate the site and is close to turning the State Street property over to the MHA. The city received a second grant, for $597,000, to cover the cost of the cleanup, Meriden Economic Development Director Juliet Burdeslki said Monday.
For its part, the MHA agreed to transfer a portion of the Mills property in the flood zone to the city, which would continue to unearth Harbor Brook and expand the Meriden Green.
It will cost an estimated $3 million to demolish Mills Memorial Apartments, said MHA Executive Director Robert Cappelletti said.
But before demolition of the complex can move forward, MHA must relocate tenants. To date, 24 families have been relocated from two low-rise buildings. HUD already approved the demolition of both buildings, which are empty. Though HUD has already approved the entire project, approval must still be sought to demolish the three occupied buildings as a “formality,” Cappelletti said.
After the MHA receives approval, the agency can begin issuing Section 8 vouchers to the remaining tenants.
Ivers said 14 former Mills families, primarily seniors, moved to 24 Colony St., which opened last month. Many of the remaining residents require three to four bedroom units and will require Section 8 vouchers for homes. Meriden Commons will contain several three to four bedroom units, but the Mills tenants can’t wait for construction to be complete. After leaving the Mills, the displaced tenants have first right to move into the new units, other MHA projects downtown or Yale Acres, another MHA complex. Relocation costs are covered by the housing authority. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Last May, Preston and Mohegan tribal officials announced plans by the tribe to buy and develop the 393-acre property for mixed-use development that would include entertainment, recreation, housing and retail components. The parties mutually set a six-month deadline to negotiate and announce details.
Though that date arrived and passed in November without a deal — the two sides announcing an extension to Feb. 19 — it proved to be only a small delay, unlike past proposals that came to nothing.
On Saturday, the Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority announced the negotiations had moved past concept to details. Representatives of the tribal authority will present plans to the town’s Planning and Zoning Commission at a special meeting at 6 p.m. Tuesday. According to the tribe, the plan carries the potential for $600 million in development. The tribe projects the development will create 750 construction jobs and hundreds of permanent full-time positions.
Mohegan tribal leaders continue to show astute judgment in diversifying their business model. Increasing casino competition, including new venues to open in Massachusetts, will almost certainly mean a decline in gaming activity at the Mohegan Sun Casino and a corresponding loss in jobs there. But with the development of the former hospital campus property, located across the Thames River in full view of the Mohegan Sun complex, the tribe will create new revenue sources and jobs.
In the process, the envisioned project will boost the entire region’s attractiveness as a tourist-destination.
“Highlights” announced by the tribe include outdoor and indoor entertainment attractions; a large indoor water park and adjacent hotel; a sports-themed complex with hotel; an RV park; a marina; retail outlets; and senior housing.
Credit First Selectman Robert Congdon for doggedly pursuing his vision for development of the property, long littered with deteriorated buildings once used to warehouse people with mental illness. Through numerous starts and stops, controversies and disappointments, the people of Preston kept returning Congdon, a Republican, to office, sometimes by narrow margins, providing him the opportunity to bring his hopes for the site to fruition.
Congdon, serving his 11th consecutive two-year term, has announced he will not seek re-election in November.
Credit, too, goes to the Preston Redevelopment Agency and its chairman, Sean Nugent. This all-volunteer group showed great ingenuity in finding the resources necessary to get the property cleaned up and attractive for development.
Unlike his predecessors, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and his administration have shown an interest in supporting Preston’s efforts. A $2 million state loan to Preston becomes a grant if 200 jobs are created. And the state has pledged up to $10 million to complete the environmental remediation of the property it once owned. Given the payoff, that investment will prove well worth it.
We also note the work of former state Sen. Andrew Maynard in advocating for state support of the redevelopment efforts. The 18th District that Maynard represented included Preston. The Democrat did not seek re-election in November.
Support for getting the site redeveloped has been bipartisan, with the current Republican who holds the 42nd House District seat that represents Preston, Rep. Mike France, following the work of his Democratic predecessors, Reps. Tim Bowles and Tom Reynolds, in working for state support. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Towns selected to host third casino have mixed reactions
As the joint venture formed by the state's two casino-owning tribes narrows its search to two communities for the site of a potential third casino in the state, some skepticism remains.
The Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan tribes, which run the Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun casinos respectively, are attempting to build a casino in the Hartford area to compete with the $900 million MGM casino under construction in Springfield. Their venture, MMCT, announced last Friday that it has narrowed its choice of possible sites to East Windsor and Windsor Locks.
Both towns' first selectmen are enthusiastic about the idea. But Windsor Locks Board of Finance Chairman Paul Harrington is questioning whether a casino in his community is in the best interests of its residents.
"The desire to rebuild our town should not be at the expense of our quality of life," Harrington said, adding that the selection process has not been as transparent as he would like. MMCT has yet to finalize a site in either town.
"The whole process of opening a third casino is flawed," Harrington said. "We are pitting neighbor against neighbor and town against town. The only one that wins when two towns compete is the casino."
Windsor Locks First Selectman Christopher Kervick, however, supports the idea and says the town is the ideal place due to its geographical location.
With the state's current financial situation, he adds, taxpayers can't afford to lose millions of dollars to a neighboring state.
"We look forward to moving ahead with these negotiations to see if we can come up with a financial model that makes sense for the town," Kervick said, adding that the decision ultimately will lie with town residents who must approve the project through referendum.
Kervick said he is hoping the additional revenue would go towards construction of a new police station, renovations to fire and ambulance facilities, and the town's schools. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Waterbury completes cleanup of site, new DPW in works
WATERBURY – City officials say they’ve finished an environmental cleanup at a former MacDermid industrial complex off Huntingdon Avenue and expect to begin construction on a new home for the city’s Department of Public Works this spring.
Director of Purchasing Rocco Orso said on Friday the city had received bids for the last construction trades needed for construction.
Officials need to sort through the returns to determine the ultimate cost of the project. Orso expects a cost projection in about two weeks.
“The bids will tell us what we are dealing with,” Mayor Neil M. O’Leary said.
Those details will be finalized in an as-of-yet unsigned contract with KBE Building Corp. O’Leary said the company has been picked a “construction manager at risk.”
That means the company will have to guarantee the project returns on time and budget, and will be financially responsible for any overages, O’Leary said. For the city, it’s a new way of doing business, he said.
“I just makes sense for them to have skin in the game,” O’Leary said.
O’Leary said environmental cleanup of a former MacDermid industrial complex off Huntingdon Avenue has been completed.
City officials were unable to answer questions about the cost and success of the cleanup effort, or of cost estimates for the larger project. O’Leary referred these questions to the city’s semipublic development arm – the Waterbury Development Corp.
Repeated calls and emails to WDC Chief Executive Officer Todd M. Montello over the past week were not returned.
In 2015, WDC officials estimated a $20 million cost for demolishing portions of the old MacDermid building, renovating and adding new space onto the structure. At the time, they anticipated a 30-month project wrapping up in fall 2018.
O’Leary, last week, said he hopes to start the project in the spring. He believed construction would last about 18 months.
After taking office in 2011, O’Leary dumped his predecessor’s $60.4 million plan – $41.9 million cost to the city after state grants – for a 100,000-square-foot home for the Department of Public Works at the old Chase Brass & Copper Co. metalworks on Thomaston Avenue.
O’Leary convinced the city’s Board of Aldermen it makes more sense to reserve the “Waterbury Industrial Commons” site off Thomaston Avenue exclusively for business development. His administration moved the project to the MacDermid site.
The city currently leases property to house the Public Works Department. The department has a $401,000 budget for property rental in the 2016-17 fiscal year.