March 31, 2017

CT Construction Digest Friday March 31, 2017

DEEP completes testing on dredged material at Norwalk Visitor’s Docks

NORWALK — The city’s Department of Recreation and Parks and its contractor may place dredged materials back into the water at the Norwalk Visitor’s Docks but they still could face a fine.
“Testing of stockpiled sediments that we required showed it was acceptable to place those materials back under the new boat ramp and adjacent areas of the harbor and shoreline,” said Dennis Schain, spokesman for the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection. “The level of the presence of any contaminants is similar to the surrounding background material now in the waters there, so it is OK to place this material back.”
Schain said the city must apply for a Certificate of Permission to proceed with the work.
“No decision yet on assessment of any penalties,” Schain said.

Approximately 1,040 cubic yards sediment were dredged, placed ashore in the parking lot and later covered — per DEEP orders following a complaint — as part of the launch ramp replacement. The parks department and its contractor, Holzner Construction of Bridgeport, were handed violations because of the handling of the dredged material.
Holzner Construction is under a $2.1 million contract with the Norwalk parks department to replace the deteriorated underwater launch ramps, install a retaining wall and raise the parking lot at the David S. Dunavan Boating Center, otherwise known as the Norwalk Visitor’s Docks, at Veterans Memorial Park.
During a Feb. 24 inspection by the DEEP, the contractor was issued a Field Notice of Violation and told to install proper sediment and erosion controls within 48 hours. The materials initially had been left uncovered.

On March 13, the DEEP hit Holzner Construction and the parks department with a second violation notice and ordered the contractor not to reuse the stockpiled material until it was tested. The state required the parties to enter into a consent order and “pay a civil penalty for the unauthorized work completed.” Penalties of up to $1,000 a day may be assessed for each day of each violation under state law.
“No decision yet on assessment of any penalties,” Schain said Thursday.
The boating center closed at the end of October to accommodate the project. Officials set May 1 — the start of the boating season — as the reopening date. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE

Meriden train station nearing completion

MERIDEN — Carpenters, plumbers and engineers at the new Meriden train station worked from lifts and scaffolding Thursday preparing the boiler rooms and roof covering two platforms.
The view from the station’s second floor window showed a roaring Harbor Brook tumbling through the channel at the Meriden Green. Otis Elevator workers were on hand to check the elevator to the pedestrian bridge that crosses the track, which awaits finishing touches but is structurally complete.  “Wait until a train goes underneath,” said state Department of Transportation supervising engineer Richard Unkel, as he walked the bridge. “On the shoreline you get the Acela roaring through.”
The new station is the same design as those being built in Wallingford and Berlin. All three are expected to be complete by July. Once finished, the DOT has six months to market and test increased commuter rail service on the Hartford line between New Haven and Springfield before its official roll out in January 2018. The agency is expected to name the line operator in April. Officials from both the DOT and its consultant Ammann &Whitney, said they have reassurances from subcontractors the work will be completed on time.
The platforms will be heated by tubes containing glycol, said Paul Elliot, resident engineer for Ammann & Whitney. They’re not designed to warm waiting passengers, but to prevent icing in cold temperatures, he said. 
The yellow wrap that surrounded the building throughout much of the winter is removed as brick, panels and windows are added to the building. Glass enclosed areas are designed to keep the rain and wind off commuters.
The station will have parking, sidewalks and an entry from Colony Street through a landscaped lot. There are handicapped ramps on both sides of the tracks and sidewalks will provide access to East Main Street and State Street.
Additional train parking is available in a new garage at 24 Colony St.
 
 
PLAINVILLE — The roof replacement on Middle School of Plainville will no longer be included in more than $13 million worth of school projects.
“They decided it is in decent enough shape to last,” said Superintendent Maureen Brummett.
The Capitol Projects Building Committee agreed earlier in the week to remove the $2.1 million roof project. The change will be brought to the Town Council Monday.
The committee instead decided to implement a five year maintenance plan for the roof at a cost of about $5,000 a year.Initially, the roof replacement was part of the as-new renovation of Wheeler Elementary School and Plainville High School parking lot paving projects.
In total, the three projects were expected to cost the town $13.9 million with $12.1 million in expected state reimbursements for Wheeler and $1.3 million reimbursed for the roof.
However, the committee said that the new roof would eventually have to be removed during future renovations of the middle school.
Without the roof, the two remaining projects will cost a total of $13.1 million to the town of Plainville.
The Wheeler state reimbursement will be available as long as the projects are approved before June 30.
The Town Council previously agreed to send the initial projects to the Planning and Zoning commission for approval. The construction manager for the project said an amendment was being sent to the state to remove the roof from the list.
“I support the decision of the Capitol Projects Building Committee,” said Town Manager Robert Lee. “I’m glad it reduces the cost.”
A new website was recently launched to show plans for Wheeler and the high school paving project. The site gives residents a view into the current conditions of both projects, as well as what the completions are expected to look like.
The Superintendent School Showcase on April 19 and the building committee public hearing on April 24 will give the community an opportunity to learn more and ask questions.
 
 
After four months of intense construction activity aimed at opening Dunkin' Donuts Park in time for Opening Day April 13, Hartford Yard Goats officials spent Thursday showing off most of the 6,000-seat minor league ballpark.
From the YG Club to the premium suites to the party decks along the left and right field lines, the $71 million, publicly financed stadium looked mostly ready for its debut before a sellout crowd in two weeks.
Workers were still finishing punch-list items — the last step in a large construction project — and applying a non-slip product to parts of the concourse, restricting access to small portions of the stadium. But most of the ballpark was accessible and appeared ready for a year-delayed opening.
Last June, Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin terminated the stadium's developers, Centerplan Construction Co. and DoNo Hartford, after they missed two deadlines to hand the ballpark over to the team for home games. The team ultimately played the entire season on the road.
The developers sued the city claiming wrongful termination, and the two sides are engaged in court-ordered mediation.
Tim Restall, the team's general manager, said Thursday that the team was "rounding third and headed for home" in terms of having the ballpark ready for its debut in two weeks.
At Tuesday's final Hartford Stadium Authority meeting, Patrick Nails, senior vice president for Arch Insurance, which guaranteed completion of the project, said major construction was complete and he saw no reason that the ballpark couldn't open on time.
The April 13 home opener will occur 362 days after originally scheduled.

Walkway Makes Connection For New Manchester School

With little room for error, a crane operator and construction crew on Thursday eased a 27-ton steel walkway into place, connecting the campuses of a new fifth- and sixth-grade school.
The 90-foot-long walkway links Bennet Academy with the Cheney Building, a long-shuttered former vocational school that is being thoroughly renovated. This is the first project in an $84 million school modernization effort that also includes renovation and expansion of two elementary schools and the planned closings of two other schools.
The walkway over School Street is to be sheathed with glass panels. The section of School Street between the buildings will remain closed to traffic, with gates installed at either end.
The structural steel bridge arrived in three sections, which were welded together on site by workers with Hartford-based QSR Steel Corp. Late in the morning, crane operator Mark Gagnon, who works for A Quick Pick Crane Service out of Derby, lifted the approximately 55,000-pound walkway. Room to maneuver was limited, no more than six inches, construction supervisors said.
Workers on the ground held guide lines as the structure rose and was turned 90 degrees to a position above and between two steel columns on the Bennet side. The hovering bridge was two or three inches from the school's exterior wall. Slowly, Gagnon lowered the walkway between the columns to a seat on a connecting beam. It was then secured on both ends. The Bennet-Cheney project includes conversion of the Cheney Building into 18 classrooms, construction of three more classrooms in the adjacent boiler plant and an expansion of the Bennet cafeteria. The general contractor is Downes Construction Co. of New Britain and the site work contractor is Ellington-based Gerber Construction Inc.
The project is to be completed in time for the start of school in the fall, when the Cheney Building will be used as swing space, town facilities project manager Christopher Till said. Waddell Elementary School students will attend school in the building while renovation and expansion of Waddell is completed. All fifth-graders are to attend the Bennet-Cheney school in the fall of 2018.

Editorial: A plan to finance infrastructure

Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Ore., has a long record of clever legislative proposals for financing infrastructure. His latest, announced Wednesday, is to increase the federal gas tax by up to 1.5 cents per year, with proceeds going to pay interest on an annual surface transportation bond issue of $17 billion through 2030. It would be the first hike in the gas tax, currently 18.4 cents per gallon, since 1993. The resulting dollars would pay for a 30 percent increase in spending from the Highway Trust Fund, above what’s currently planned.
A penny-and-a-half per gallon is almost laughably modest, given that the failure to raise the tax for the last quarter-century amounts to a 40 percent cut in real terms. However, DeFazio set the figure that low in deference to the long-established political wisdom that says a major gas-tax increase would be political death — even as he notes that the political realities may be changing.While Congress has cowered at the prospect of a federal gas-tax increase, state governments have been raising theirs. Since 2013, 19 states and the District of Columbia have enacted gas-tax increases or measures to prevent their erosion through inflation, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. The most recent action was a 23-cent-per-gallon increase last year in New Jersey.This is not a strictly blue-state phenomenon. More than half of the increases came in states that voted for Donald Trump in 2016, including such heavily rural red states as Georgia and Idaho. Alaska’s legislature is currently debating a tripling of its gas tax; Tennessee’s Republican governor, Bill Haslam, is pushing a 7-cent increase. What such states have in common is a backlog of highway maintenance and construction needs, and a willingness to ask drivers to share in the multibillion-dollar cost of meeting them.
To be sure, this demonstrates a strength of federalism; difficult trade-offs are more likely to be made by people who directly experience not only the costs but the benefits. By its nature, the federal gas tax funds projects that may be remote from motorists who pay it, which is one reason increases are harder, politically.Nevertheless, to the extent federal fuel taxes fund the Interstate Highway System, they help pay for truly national infrastructure that every American depends on to at least some extent. The fuel-tax increase needed to cover current Trust Fund spending plans would be small, roughly 10 cents per gallon, according to a 2015 Congressional Budget Office report — which is what we’d prefer. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE

Save The Roads With Tolls

Connecticut's roads and bridges need major repairs and improvements. And somehow, the state has to pay for them. That's beyond dispute.But how to pay? Tolls are the only fair way, and legislators know it. House Speaker Joe Aresimowicz told The Courant's editorial board last week that tolls are "inevitable," and he's right.
Connecticut is the only state in the region that doesn't charge passers-through for the use of its roads. Trucks that wear heavily on our highways have been getting a free ride. Those days must come to an end.
Arguments against tolls are weak and growing weaker. Concerns that the billions of dollars brought in by tolls would be raided by a spendthrift legislature were eased earlier this week, when a legislative committee approved a joint resolution that would establish a lockbox for the state's Special Transportation Fund, the mechanism it uses to pay for transportation expenses.
The proposed constitutional amendment, if approved by voters, would firmly protect transportation funding from being used for other purposes.
The Special Transportation Fund is in danger of becoming insolvent. As vehicles become more fuel-efficient, the gasoline tax will provide less revenue. Tolls could bring in tens of billions of dollars, money that is absolutely critical to keep highways safe and up to date. Some have raised the possibility that Connecticut could jeopardize federal transportation funding if it established tolls. But the Federal Highway Administration recently notified the state Department of Transportation that while simple border tolls might not pass muster, variable-price tolls — such as so-called congestion tolls that change depending on the time of day — would work.
The state Office of Legislative Research makes the same assessment. Safety concerns raised by toll booths are eliminated with the use of transponders and license plate cameras. Brick-and-mortar toll booths are a thing of the past.
Spreading the burden among those who use the roads the most is equitable, safe and efficient.
The other option is to let roads crumble into the horse paths they were centuries ago, and risk disasters like the Mianus River bridge tragedy — or, perhaps, raise the income tax, the sales tax, the gas tax and enough other taxes to generate the $60 billion that tolls could provide.
Do any legislators want to sign up for that?

D.C. Eyes Infrastructure Again After Healthcare Setback

The rebuilding package was expected to sit on the sidelines until the fall, but lawmakers on Capitol Hill think that timeline could be accelerated with more room on the legislative agenda and an administration eager to score a victory.
“This just leapfrogged,” Rep. Lou Barletta (R-Pa.), who was on Trump's transition team, told The Hill. “This is something the president has wanted to do. But with healthcare pushed to the back burner, I believe that it's infrastructure that gains steam.”
“It moves everything up if you take [healthcare] out,” said Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.), chairman of the Environment and Public Works Committee's subcommittee on transportation and infrastructure.
One of Trump's chief campaign promises was to revitalize the country's roads, bridges, airports and other infrastructure. He promised to deliver a massive infrastructure proposal to Congress within his first 100 days in office and even highlighted the issue in his victory speech — one of the very few policy areas that got a shoutout.
Some lawmakers warn that Trump's infrastructure agenda could actually be complicated by the failure to repeal ObamaCare, which would have cut into the deficit and provided a budgetary offset for other legislation.
“It could be devastating,” Rep. Rodney Davis (R-Ill.) told The Hill. “The fact we don't have revenue generated from saving many Americans from the high costs of ObamaCare and the taxes in ObamaCare leaves us with less revenue to invest in an infrastructure plan.”
The ObamaCare repeal bill would have eliminated most of the 2010 health insurance law's taxes, making it easier to pay for lowering tax rates.
Tax reform legislation could include “repatriation,” which would allow corporations to return money held abroad that would be subject to a low tax rate on a one-time basis. This would provide new revenue for the government, but with healthcare off the table might be used to pay for tax reform instead of infrastructure. To do tax reform, you're in a bit of a hole now,” said Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-Fla.). “Some of us had envisioned being able to fight for a chunk of that [repatriation] money. Now it gets more complicated.”
But if the White House advances tax reform and infrastructure at the same time — a move that Axios on Monday reported the administration is considering — that could signal that Trump is serious about ensuring infrastructure does not get left out of the tax discussion.
Transportation leaders think that will give both issues their best shot at passage.
“The best path to get both across the finish line might be that,” Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), chairman of the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, told reporters Tuesday. He suggested it could provide bipartisan interest in getting something done.
Pairing the issues could get more Democrats on board with tax reform, while also convincing conservatives to swallow massive transportation spending.
“I think this defeat on healthcare … will make [Trump] reconsider whether he should be following the House or the congressional playbook,” Rep. John Delaney (D-Md.) told The Hill. “They were following the House lead before. After this, I could see them saying they're going to set their own agenda.” CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE

 

March 30, 2017

CT Construction Digest Thursday March 30, 2017

Road, bridge construction to begin this weekend

NEW BRITAIN — Construction on one of the city’s many road and bridge projects is set to begin this weekend.
The Connecticut Department of Transportation recently announced that Rotha Contracting Co. of Avon will begin the $5.2 million revitalization project of the Harry Truman Overpass on Saturday, April 1.
The Overpass carries Route 71 over Herald Square, Columbus Boulevard, CTFastrak Route 72 and a portion of Pan AM Railways.
According to a press release from the DOT, the project consists of repairs to the bridge substructure and replacing sidewalks on the overpass, among other things.
The DOT said Rotha Contracting will have various lane closures while work is being done on the overpass.
Rotha will close one lane of traffic on the three-lane portion of Route 72 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. to 5 a.m.
The contractor will also close one lane of the two-lane portion of Route 72 at the same time.
While Route 72 is the road that will have lane closures, Rotha Contracting’s work will reach other areas as well.
Rotha will work on Route 71, Herald Square, Columbus Boulevard, ramps and turning roadways from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. weekdays and 6 p.m. to 10 a.m. on weekends.
The DOT said the project would be completed by April 18, 2018.
The revamping of the “Beehive Bridge” — the span that runs over Route 72 on Main Street and the Columbus Boulevard upgrade projects are both set to begin in May.

Final senior center bids approved by Town Council

SOUTHINGTON — The Southington Town Council has approved the final 20 bids Monday for the various construction elements in the new Senior Center being constructed to replace the Calendar House. The new center at 388 Pleasant St. is currently under construction and will take approximately 18 months to complete. The modern facility, designed based on residents’ needs and a feedback survey, will replace a repurposed former jail building that had seen numerous additions over the years.
The town had released bid packages for each element of the construction project, such as plumbing or electrical and companies bid on one or more of them.
Additionally, the council approved the Arc of Southington to pursue a grant for an addition to their facility at 201 W. Main St. Sandy Amato, executive director, said that after 50 years their organization had outgrown the space. Arc of Southington is an advocacy organization that fights to protect the rights of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and helps them to participate in their communities.
“We hope to double the size of our conference room, add six office spaces and ADA compliant restrooms,” said Amato. “We would also like to add 19 additional parking spaces by reconfiguring our current lot. We want to remain in Southington since we have been in this location for 50 years. We have been approved by Planning & Zoning and we are seeking grants from the Main Street Community Foundation and Joe & Kay Calvanese Foundation and we have the support of (state) Rep. John Fusco and (state) Sen. Joe Markley. We don’t know the total cost yet, but we should have bids out by the first two weeks in April.”
Councilor John Barry thanked Amato for the work that Arc does. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE

Eversource Energy spending $50M this year on pipe replacement in Connecticut

Eversource Energy will spend $50 million this year in Connecticut to upgrade its natural gas distribution network in the state. About 20 miles of existing cast iron pipes will be replaced by specialized plastic pipe that is more durable and better able to handle fluctuating underground temperatures throughout the year.  Mitch Gross, a spokesman for the Hartford-based utility, said the determination about the order in which distribution pipes are replaced is based upon annual system performance reviews. “We look at a lot of factors,” Gross said. “Where a line is located and whether it is in a high traffic area or one that has seen a great deal of construction are some of the things we consider.”
Eversource has replaced nearly 120 miles of natural gas piping in the past six years. This year the work will be done in the following towns: Meriden, Middletown, Putnam, New London, Stamford and Wallingford. Natural gas pipeline upgrades in Middletown just got underway on Fountain Avenue and Cross Street. The Middletown work will be done Monday through Saturday from 7 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Work is also scheduled later this year for North Main Street, Dutton Street and Miller Street in Wallingford, Gross said. All of the work scheduled for this year is expected to be completed by November, he said. Bill Akley, president of gas operations at Eversource, said safety “is the most important service we can provide our customers.” The utility has 226,000 customers in 72 communities in Connecticut. The replacement of natural gas lines is in addition to Eversource’s ongoing expansion of its distribution network into areas not currently served by natural gas.

Groton approves tax stabilization agreement with housing developer

Groton — The Town Council on Tuesday approved a tax stabilization agreement with an affordable-housing developer that plans to buy and upgrade Branford Manor, a 442-unit federally subsidized housing development.
Related Affordable, a subsidiary of Related Companies in New York City, is under contract to buy the development from owner Branford Manor Associates. The new company plans to invest $18.5 million to improve the housing complex in Groton City and build a community center.
The agreement lists how much the company would pay in property taxes for the next 20 years. Taxes would be paid twice a year and would increase by about 3 percent annually under the agreement.
Under the first year of the agreement, Related Affordable would pay $223,041 in taxes on July 1 and $148,694 on Jan. 1, 2018. In the last year of the agreement, the company would pay $391,104 in July 2036 and $260,736 in January 2037.




March 29, 2017

CT Construction Digest Wednesday March 29, 2017

Common Council rejects Grasso Cos. bid for paving contract

NORWALK — If Common Council members had their doubts about hiring The Grasso Cos. LLC to pave Norwalk streets for the coming year, residents left no doubt about their feelings.
Citing past noise complaints, unpaid taxes and zoning violations, they urged the local legislative body on Tuesday evening to reject a $3.4 million paving contract with the company based at 314 Wilson Ave. in South Norwalk.
“I live directly across the marsh from Grasso Construction,” said Paul Braschi, who lives on Splitrock Road. “They have been the worst neighbor I can ever imagine. They do construction activities all night. We call the police five times, six times a year."
Braschi said the city should not “reward this kind of behavior by giving them a contract.”
The council heard the concerns and voted, without discussion, to return the proposed contract to its Public Works Committee.
Councilman Travis L. Simms, a District B Democrat who strongly opposed the contract, said after the council meeting at City Hall he was pleased with the council’s action.
“I don’t know the Grassos, I don’t know the corporation, but as an elected official, I’m here to look out for the best interests of the taxpayers and for the city,” Simms said. “It’s irresponsible as an elected official to push this forward, to award a contract of (roughly) $4 million to a company that’s not been in compliance and has many violations against them.”
At issue was whether the city should hire The Grasso Cos., run by Joseph M. Grasso Jr., when the company run by his father, The Original Grasso Construction Co., owes the city approximately $270,000 in unpaid taxes, according to the Norwalk Tax Collector’s Office.
The city’s law department inquired with the Tax Collector’s Office and Department of Planning and Zoning. In a letter Friday, Corporation Counsel Mario F. Coppola wrote that The Grasso Cos. has no outstanding accounts with the city and is not in violation of any of the city’s regulations. At Tuesday evening’s council meeting, Splitrock Road resident Pat Kuschner acknowledged the distinction between the two Grasso companies.
“I understand that the father’s actions should not overshadow the son,” Kuschner said, but urged the council to reject the paving contract given the history of the father’s company.
“If Mr. Grasso Jr. is not related to Mr. Grasso Sr., then why when he brings an application before the Common Council or when he’s asking to be awarded a contract, does the Grasso company suddenly become compliant?” Kuschner asked. “If there’s no relationship, why do they suddenly become compliant?”
Luke Conrad, attorney for The Grasso Cos., urged the council to approve the paving contract based upon hiring rules and the potential cost to taxpayers if the second lowest bidder were hired.
“Personally, I would not want to see my municipality spend an additional $128,138 to go to a second bidder,” Conrad said. “There’s statutes in Connecticut. There’s a public bidding statute. The bid is to go to the lowest responsible and responsive bidder, and with this bid and other bids that Grasso has been passed on, there will be $250,000 approximately, take it or leave it, in money that we’ve passed onto the taxpayers solely because the contractor is not popular in the town.”  CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE

Construction starting on Route 85 in Salem

Salem — Preparations for a Connecticut Department of Transportation project to widen part of Route 85 in Salem will begin this week and run into the summer.
Traffic delays are expected between Skyline Drive and the Shady Brook picnic area from 7:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday until Sunday, July 2.
The project, which will widen the road and provide additional drainage to improve safety and operation, will start in September and run through November. Construction in the fall will take place from 6 p.m. to 8 a.m., and alternate routes will be advised.

East Lyme voters support elementary school renovations

East Lyme — Voters at a referendum Tuesday backed a $37.5 million bonding proposal to upgrade the town’s three elementary schools, bringing to a close years of discussion on how to address the aging buildings.
Townspeople voted 1247-430 to support the proposal that will keep open and renovate all three of the town's elementary schools.
The proposal calls for improvements to the schools’ air quality, handicapped accessibility, security, interior building finishes and electrical, lighting and technology. Plans include the replacement of the roof at Flanders Elementary School; reconfigured drop-off areas at Lillie B. Haynes and the re-establishment of the second gym; and upgrades to the gym and exterior masonry and the replacement of windows at Niantic Center School.
There is an anticipated $5.4 million in state reimbursement for the project, according to Superintendent of Schools Jeffrey Newton.
Newton said Tuesday that he was ecstatic with the large number of votes in favor of the plan.
"It means our community is invested in getting our elementary schools back in the shape they should be," he said. "I think it was a great team effort on behalf of the town and Board of Education and all the parties in between to bring a responsible plan forward that is going to meet the needs of our elementary students for the future."
Construction is slated to begin in June 2018 and wrap up in fall 2019.
School officials contemplated different proposals for the town’s elementary schools, before moving forward with the current plan.
A previous proposal called for renovating the Lillie B. Haynes School “as new,” closing the Niantic Center School and providing Flanders Elementary School with some refurbishments until it could be rebuilt in five to seven years. Prior to that, school officials contemplated renovating Niantic Center and building a new school on the Flanders site, while closing Lillie B. Haynes and returning the building to the town.
School officials said the latest plan, which entails alterations to the three existing buildings, would accommodate revised enrollment projections that forecast an uptick in elementary students, and would be fiscally prudent.
The referendum on the current plan originally was scheduled for March 14, but was postponed due to a snowstorm.
Townspeople turning out to vote during the rainy afternoon on Tuesday offered their viewpoints on the proposal. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE

CT nets $1.8M from unemployment cheaters

The Connecticut Department of Labor (DOL) and the Division of Criminal Justice have worked together to arrest 200 people charged with illegally collecting more than $5.5 million in unemployment insurance benefits.
Since the state's "Chasing Cheaters" program began in June 2013, it has recovered nearly $1.8 million, which has been returned to the state's unemployment fund for paying benefits, State Labor Commissioner Scott D. Jackson said.
The thefts "hurt employers, the taxpayers of Connecticut, and the state's overall economic health, and it is our responsibility to protect the system for those residents that are legitimately depending upon benefits while looking for new employment," Jackson said.
The 200th arrest involved an individual who collected $10,884 in unemployment benefits while also working, Jackson said. Approximately 25 percent of those arrested have paid back the owed benefit payments in full, while ongoing repayments are being made by others as part of court-ordered restitution.
The thefts are intentional, not a mistake, said Chief State's Attorney Kevin T. Kane.
Additional information about the program can also be found on the DOL website by using the search feature and entering the words "fraud prosecution program."

Some Cities' Development Around CTfastrak Highlighted On Busway's 2nd Anniversary

Two years after CTfastrak buses started rolling through central Connecticut, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy said on Tuesday that the transit system is paying off by spurring new residential development.
Malloy and several senior state officials rode a bus from Hartford to the Elmwood section of West Hartford for a press conference at the site of 616 New Park, a planned four-story apartment complex next to the bus station.
"We are seeing new mixed-used developments being created all along the route, bringing life to neighborhoods where just a few years ago there were eyesores," Malloy said.
Malloy's administration contends that 616 New Park and the proposed Columbus Commons 160-unit apartment complex in New Britain are evidence that CTfastrak is fostering transit-oriented development.
The $20 million project on New Park Avenue is expected to create 54 apartments and 3,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space, additions that West Hartford Mayor Shari Cantor said will help the growth of Elmwood. This transformative project will bring new energy, activity and most importantly customers to New Park Avenue," Cantor told reporters.The state transportation department used the event to announce that CTfastrak has provided more than 5 million passenger rides since it opened on March 28,2015, and was reaching 20,000 rides on weekdays in the late summer. Last month's ridership was up about 20 percent over the same period a year earlier, the DOT reported.
"The business community and residents are excited about the economic development opportunities a successful transit system can bring," said Michael Sanders, the senior DOT manager who oversaw the busway's construction.
When committing in 2011 to build the roughly $567 million CTfastrak system, Malloy predicted that a modern rapid transit operation connecting Hartford, New Britain and the suburbs of Newington and West Hartford would draw developers to nearby properties — particularly the vacant storefronts and abandoned warehouses along the route.
So far, there has been no flood of private funding or procession of construction vehicles. Lyle Wray, executive director of the Capitol Region Council of Governments, cautions that transit-oriented development takes years or decades. He's confident that reasonably priced apartments close to CTfastrak stations — with stores, entertainment and services conveniently nearby — will appeal to young workers who don't want cars or the burden of suburban home ownership. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE

 

March 28, 2017

CT Construction Digest Tuesday March 28, 2017

Council considers $3.4M paving contract with Grasso Companies

NORWALK — A Norwalk Common Council member has labeled The Grasso Companies’ efforts to secure a $3.4 million paving contract with the city as a “switch and bait.”
Councilman Travis L. Simms, a District B Democrat, finds no reason to distinguish between The Grasso Companies and The Original Grasso Construction. The latter company owes the city nearly $300,000.
“The new company is under the son’s name, but the old company still has an outstanding debt to the city of Norwalk. This is a switch and bait,” Simms said. “If we allow this to go forth we’re setting a precedent for every contractor in the city. It would be wise and prudent for every council member to vote no on this.”
On Tuesday evening, the Common Council will consider, for the second time, the proposed paving contract between the city and The Grasso Companies, which is based at 314 Wilson Ave. But approval could prove difficult given the city’s history with The Original Grasso. The city and The Original Grasso have wrestled for nearly a decade over unpaid taxes and zoning violations.
Joseph M. Grasso Jr., president of The Grasso Companies, said his company is not liable for the debts of The Original Grasso. He said taxpayers should focus on the paving contract.
“The Grasso Companies LLC is the responsible low bidder by more than $110,000,” Grasso Jr. said. “The Grasso Companies LLC has completed more than $5 million worth of contracts for the city of Norwalk in the last three years on time and under budget.”
He said The Grasso Companies has proven itself to be a reputable contractor in Connecticut, working for more than 30 municipalities.
The council was scheduled to vote on the contract March 20, but Simms asked that it be tabled until the city’s law department provided him and other council members written information.
In a letter Friday, Corporation Counsel Mario F. Coppola wrote that The Grasso Companies has no outstanding accounts with the city and is not in violation of any of the city’s regulations, based upon the law department’s inquires to the city’s tax assessor, tax collector and Department of Planning and Zoning.
“Finally, we concluded with staff in the Public Works Department who advised us that there has not been any concerns or issues with the nature and quality of the work performed in the past by The Grasso Companies, LLC,” Coppola wrote.
The Original Grasso is in bankruptcy proceedings and owes the city approximately $270,000 in business personal property taxes on office equipment, construction machinery and other items, according to the Norwalk Tax Collector’s Office.
Assistant Tax Collector Al C. Palumbo Jr. holds a three-inch thick folder full of paperwork referencing the unpaid taxes. He acknowledged the public frustration with the matter but reminded that the two companies are legally distinct. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE

Meriden Green wins statewide award for being catalyst to growth

MERIDEN — The Meriden Green was recently recognized by the Connecticut Main Street Center as a catalyst for economic growth downtown.
The $14 million flood control project exposed Harbor Brook and converted the former Meriden Hub site to a sprawling park, which opened in September. “It reinforces what most people agree was just a phenomenal accomplishment,” said City Manager Guy Scaife. “This is just one more confirmation that it really was a big deal and outsiders see it that way... I would hope that the local folks will see it and share in the pride of the accomplishment.”
Winners of the Connecticut Main Street Center 2017 Awards of Excellence were announced last week, with Meriden receiving the CT Main Street Catalyst Award. The award also recognized the city’s partners, including the State of Connecticut, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Army Corps of Engineers, Meriden’s Flood Control Implementation Agency, engineering firm Milone and MacBroom, AECOM and La Rosa Construction.Other winners include the cities of Bridgeport, Hartford and New Britain.
The Meriden Green project stood out because of it was designed to ease flooding and spur economic development, said John Simone, CEO of Connecticut Main Street Center. The statewide nonprofit focuses on creating vibrant downtown areas by working with municipalities. 
“Rather than just turn it into a flood control situation, they turned it into this very beautiful green that will be right next to the commuter rail stop for the Hartford Line,” Simone said. “Meriden has put a lot of energy and focus and resources into turning downtown around and I think it’s doing a lot of the right things.
The success of the Meriden Green project bodes well for further downtown development, said Economic Development Director Juliet Burdelski.
“I would say this is really a once in a lifetime project, so it’s nice to be recognized,” Burdelski said. “Having the downtown park right next to the train station and new developments is really giving a lot of momentum to our downtown redevelopment.”
An official award ceremony will be held May 18 at 5 p.m. at the Legislative Office Building in Hartford.
 
 
KILLINGLY - Killingly town leaders are expected to spend the next few weeks amending benefit agreements aimed at giving the town the best deal if a proposed power plant moves in.
Town Manager Sean Hendricks and Town Attorney William St. Onge said they will draw up new language to reflect Town Council members' concerns about draft community benefit and tax stabilization agreements initially completed March 7.
Discussion on both agreements was tabled by the council earlier this month.
The first version of a Community Environmental Benefit Agreement between the town and NTE, the company which hopes to build a 550-megawatt power plant in Dayville, called for the company to provide the town with $4 million in "unrestricted funds," as well as another $540,000 - to be paid in 20 yearly installments – for a host of environmentally oriented projects, including a scholarship fund, for water testing at Alexander's Lake and to plant trees around town.
Several council members asked for a stronger plant decommissioning plan and that the "cash" payment be raised to $5 million.
"And that's an amount I see as a floor," council member Gail Oakley Pratt said.
Other council members requested language be included that explicitly prohibits the taking of any easements for the power plant project by municipal order.
"Even though none of this council would approve that kind of thing, there could be 12 new faces here in September," council member Dennis Alemian said. "I'm putting my foot down now until there's a no eminent domain clause added."
Council member Randy Duquette pushed for NTE to pay for mandatory air testing if the facility becomes operational.
"I'm not saying we squeeze every bit of juice out of this orange, but I don't want to sell the town short," he said.
Permitting approval for the $550 million project is in the hands of the Connecticut Siting Council, which is expected to render a decision in June.
The council also requested Hendricks and St. Onge revise a tax stabilization agreement. The draft version of the plan called for NTE to pay the town $90 million in taxes over a 20-year period. Without such an agreement, the plant's yearly tax responsibility would be based on a straight taxation process and would be subject to variances in land value, equipment depreciation and the town's mill rate.
"A stabilization agreement like this is an inducement to companies whose investors are looking for predictability," St. Onge said. "And it also gives towns more stabilized income over a period of years."
St. Onge said there could be years when the town loses tax revenue in such a deal.
"These are not perfect agreements," he said. "We try and balance the protection of the town and getting an agreement like this done."
Resident John Sarantopoulos said he wanted a deal that "was best for Killingly."
"This is all in the hands of the Siting Council now, but $90 million over 20 years is real money," he said. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE

Motorists Advised To Be Patient During Route 6 Construction In Bristol

Route 6 motorists should brace for months of nighttime delays, but state officials say they will be rewarded when traffic congestion lightens.
Contractors are scheduled to start a yearlong road widening job this week
The work, at a cost of $12.8 million, will add a second eastbound lane between Carol Drive in the city and Peggy Lane in Farmington. For drivers who measure distances by retail landmarks, that's roughly the stretch between Joey Garlic's and the turnoff for Staples.
"That will be good. It's for everyone's benefit in the long run," said Crystal Gillum, a resident of the nearby Brook Apartments. "You can get embroiled in really long traffic here." Gillum and other residents, and businesses, on the eastern end of Route 6 in Bristol are accustomed to traffic backups, particularly in late afternoons and early evenings and virtually every hour during holiday shopping season.
"It's definitely a hassle to get in and out," said Toby Wesolowski, a manager at Pets Supplies Plus on Route 6. "In the mornings it's a little better, but it's busy from 4 or 5 o'clock and it stays like that until later. Traffic on Route 6 isn't surprising, because it is the city's primary east-west artery as well as its main commercial corridor. But the eastbound side gets worse because there is only one lane for most of the 1.3 miles between Carol Drive and Peggy Lane.
Motorists who slow to turn into the dozens of retail shops or private driveways bring everyone behind them to a stop. Shoppers and residents pulling out of parking lots or driveways also slow the through traffic. When emergency vehicles rush from one side of the city to the other, drivers on eastbound Route 6 often don't have room to pull over safely.
The city and state have discussed traffic improvements on the eastern end of Route 6 for years.
"This should help with a lot of the congestion. That area is a main artery and one of our top areas for traffic," said Lt. Todd Kozaryn, head of the city police department's traffic unit. "It will also help with traffic on side streets because a lot of that comes from backups on Route 6."
The parking lot of Gillum's apartment complex empties onto a side street where traffic quickly gets gridlocked when Route 6 is jammed. She said drivers should be patient during the coming delays.
"It's not like the DOT is doing this to annoy people. Progress and change can be annoying, but there's no other way to do it," she said.  CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE


 

 

March 27, 2017

CT Construction Digest Monday March 27, 2017

GGP may drop planned hotel from The SoNo Collection

NORWALK — General Growth Properties could be looking to drop a hotel from The SoNo Collection.
Under its approved master site plan and development agreement with the city and the Norwalk Redevelopment Agency, the Chicago-based mall developer agreed to build retail space, public space and a 150-room hotel on the vacant dozen-acre site off West Avenue.
Neither GGP, city or Redevelopment Agency officials were ready to say what changes might be forthcoming for the regional shopping center that has been approved but not yet built.
“Discussions are ongoing and GGP continues to work closely with the city of Norwalk on The SoNo Collection,” said GGP Senior Director Douglas T. Adams. “Our goal is to begin construction soon.”
Mario F. Coppola, head of the city’s law department, gave a similar response when asked about the mall.
“We’re in the process of discussing some issues with GGP and I’m not in a position at this time to report as to where we’re at,” Coppola said. “We anticipate being able to report back to the council soon.”
A document obtained by The Hour after a closed-door meeting between city, Redevelopment Agency and GGP officials at City Hall on Monday suggests the hotel might be in question.
The document lays out a March 20-through-July 7 timeline for potential changes to the Land Disposition Agreement, Conceptual Master Site Plan and Reed Putnam Urban Renewal Plan governing the development site along West Avenue south of Interstate 95.
The document also spells out the prospect of the developer proposing a new CMSP, changes to the LDA, and providing an “Infeasibility Notice.”
The LDA, the three-party development agreement between the city, Redevelopment Agency and GGP, addresses the possible infeasibility of a hotel.
“In the event the Redeveloper determines on or before twenty (20) months after the Improvements Commencement Date that the hotel portion of the Project is infeasible, it may seek to amend the CMSP to substitute one or more of the other permitted uses for the hotel, provided, however, that the Project shall at all times remains a mixed use project,” the section reads. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE

Bridgeport: 2 bridges getting replaced on East Side, West End

BRIDGEPORT — They don’t call this city Bridgeport for nothing.
There are more than 30 bridges in the city, and two of them are getting replaced. Work has already begun on the East Side span, where Arctic Street crosses the Yellow Mill Pond. That project has closed Arctic Street between Helen Street and Seaview Avenue, which will remain closed until June or July.
The second bridge replacement project will begin on April 1. That’s on the West End, where Capitol Avenue crosses over the Rooster River, near the Fairfield line and the Brooklawn Country Club.
The Capitol Avenue bridge, closed since early February, won’t be reopened for another four to six months according to City Engineer Jon Urquidi.
“The Arctic Street bridge is a more involved project,” he said. “That one will take about six months to complete, as opposed to about four months for the Capitol Avenue project.”He said that both bridges are about 100 years old.
“The average lifespan of a bridge like that is about 75 to 100 years, and we have a few spans in the city that are getting up there,” Urquidi said. “Each bridge is inspected once or twice a year.”
Still, the city has been keeping up with bridge replacement — about half of Bridgeport’s 30 bridges have been replaced in the last 20 years or so.
The Capitol Avenue closure, between Laurel and Wood avenues, is a little easier to negotiate because motorists can take Cleveland, Arcadia or Astoria avenues to travel east or west between Brooklawn and Wood avenues
The Arctic Street closure is more problematic. Arctic Street is but one of four east-west routes in that part of town that span Yellow Mill Pond, the body of water that separates Bridgeport’s East Side from the East End. You’ll have to drive about five blocks north to Boston Avenue or three blocks south to Barnum or Crescent avenues to get around that closed bridge.
East of Seaview Avenue, Arctic Street becomes Grant Street, which since January 2013 has dead-ended at Bridgeport Hospital. This has enabled the hospital to create a turnaround its entrance; this is accessed by driving west on Grant Street from the Mill Hill Avenue side. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE

Long vacant, Putnam School may see new future as senior housing

NEW BRITAIN — City officials remain optimistic that financing will come through this year for developers set to revitalize the long-vacant elementary school that was once the pride of the neighborhood at the east end of Osgood Avenue.
It’s been nearly two years since Total Comfort Realty purchased the former Israel Putnam School at the corner of Osgood Avenue and Beach Street, boarded up for years and an ongoing headache for surrounding property owners and City Hall.
Plans call for converting the brick building — where two additions to the original section created an open courtyard to the rear — into 34 apartments for occupants 55 and older. Only preliminary construction work has been done at the site since the city Zoning Board of Appeals last May granted variance requests to allow Osgood Avenue Property LLC to proceed with revamping the old school into housing. Plans are in neutral as the company, like several other developers looking to transform aging and once alluring buildings in the city, awaits approval of applications for state and federal funding available for, in part, converting urban blight into multifamily housing.
In the meantime, neighbors have become accustomed to the large bulldozer sitting idle on the west side of the former school for the better part of a year, a sign that work may eventually begin in earnest. Most windows are boarded up with plywood painted a dark red to resemble the brick façade. At least two large exposed window frames leave the interior of the building vulnerable to the elements, including trespassers who started two small fires on Feb. 26. While most neighboring property owners and tenants of multifamily homes told The Herald they are hoping the renovation project comes to fruition, others voiced concern about the number of units proposed in the conversion, how the property would appear and what it may do to surrounding land values. The ZBA, at its meeting last May, heard resistance to the plan from homeowners on Osgood Avenue and received a letter of collective opposition from Richmond Avenue residents. The panel unanimously approved the applicant’s variance requests, based in part on the City Plan Commission’s previous report asserting that age-restricted apartments would be "more compatible and less intrusive … in terms of noise and traffic than reestablishment as a school or some other business." CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
 
 
East Lyme — The state Department of Transportation will unveil plans next month to redesign the Interstate 95 Exit 74 interchange with Route 161, with construction anticipated to begin in four years.
The project is designed to ease congestion and improve safety and traffic operations in the area, where the DOT found there has been an "above average" number of crashes in several locations, said Susan M. Libatique, principal engineer for the DOT's Division of Highway Design.
The project will also address the condition of the I-95 bridge over Route 161 (Flanders Road).
The public information meeting to present the plans is scheduled for April 18 at Nett Hall at Camp Niantic on Smith Street. The event will include a forum with DOT officials at 6:30 p.m. and a presentation of the plans at 7 p.m.
Under the proposal, the I-95 bridge over Route 161, identified as being in "poor condition," will be replaced with a new structure that will allow the widening of Route 161 below with turning lanes, Libatique said. The project includes sidewalks and wider shoulders to accommodate bicyclists on part of Route 161.
The project will also entail widening I-95 in the area to allow for a potential third travel lane in the future, if the state widens the highway, she said.
As part of the current project, the DOT plans to add an auxiliary lane between Exits 74 and 75 on northbound and southbound I-95 that will allow cars merging in and out of the main line a longer distance to change lanes, she said.
There have been an "above average" number of crashes on the I-95 northbound Exit 74 exit ramp, I-95 southbound Exit 74 between the exit and entrance ramps, and Route 161 between Starbucks and Burger King, according to Libatique.
A recent analysis by The Day found that the area of I-95 between Exits 74 and 75 had the highest number of accidents on I-95 in Connecticut north of New Haven, with 350 accidents, between 2010 and 2016. The stretch had the second highest accident rate of 2.27 accidents per 1 million vehicles on I-95 north of New Haven.
The project will also address the tight curvature of the I-95 southbound ramps at Exit 74, which can currently only handle slow speeds, said Libatique. The southbound ramps will be relocated and will connect to Frontage Road, a new access road north of the Eversource substation, which will bring cars to and from Route 161.
The I-95 northbound exit ramp will be relocated about 300 to 400 feet south of the existing location to increase the length of the ramp, said Libatique. There will be a three-lane approach — with two left turn lanes and one right turn lane — to the intersection of Route 161, opposite Burger King.
Cars traveling south on Route 161 will be able to get onto I-95 north through a new ramp, 500 feet south of the existing location, according to a DOT news release. Cars heading north on Route 161 can reach I-95 northbound through a slightly realigned ramp. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE

CT hospitals investing big in new 'patient-centered' facilities

Before building Stamford Hospital's new $450 million complex, top hospital executives sought the advice of former patients. They wanted to know what would give patients a better hospital experience.
Most of the answers, not surprisingly, had to do with comfort and privacy — patients wanted private rooms and their own bathrooms; places for visiting friends and family members to gather; and surroundings that felt as close to home as possible.
Kathleen Silard, executive vice president and COO for Stamford Health, said that feedback was a guiding force during construction of the new 640,000-square-foot building, which opened last September after more than a decade of planning.
Besides all new operating rooms, a new emergency department and a new consolidated Heart & Vascular Institute, the building includes five floors of all private patient rooms — 180 total — each with its own bathroom and a pull-out sofa for visitors.
There's a resource library where patients can research a diagnosis, said Silard, and spaces where loved ones can gather or retreat for peace and quiet. She said the entire facility was built to help deliver the promise of "patient-centered" care.
"No one wants to be hospitalized, so if you have to be here we want to make it a very warm and caring environment," she explained. "We paid a lot of attention to art, to colors — to really making it as comfortable as possible for the patient."
Depending on how you measure it, Stamford Hospital's new facility represents one of the largest hospital construction projects in Connecticut's history by cost, behind a new $500 million hospital tower and outpatient pavilion UConn Health debuted over the past two years.
In addition, Yale New Haven Health's Smilow Cancer Hospital, which was completed in 2009, cost approximately $470 million.
Earlier this year, Hartford Hospital opened a $150-million orthopedic specialty hospital called the Bone & Joint Institute. The 130,000-square-foot facility includes 48 inpatient rooms, eight operating rooms and rehab and wellness areas for outpatients. A 75,000-square-foot outpatient surgery and medical center is connected by a skywalk.
Stephen Frayne, senior vice president for health policy with the Connecticut Hospital Association, said the hospital investments are being driven by aging facilities, higher patient demand and a transformation both in technology and the way that care is delivered.
"It's not an expansion per se, it's really the hospitals continually looking at the communities they serve, the medical needs of that community and what is the current standard practice," Frayne said. "If a facility was built 40 years ago, 50 years ago or 100 years ago, it's not logical to assume that it's still going to be optimally functional for what's required now." CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE

Two Major Bridge Projects To Begin This Spring In New Britain

A contractor is scheduled to begin the $5.2 million overhaul of the Harry Truman Overpass, one of the two major downtown bridge construction jobs planned this year.
Rotha Contracting is expected to start work April 1 on extensive repairs to the Harry Truman Overpass, which carries Route 71 over Route 72 and CTfastrak.
The work will take about a year, and the state transportation department advises motorists that Rotha may close some Route 72 lanes periodically for crews to reach the bridge.
While that job is going on, the city plans to start the $5.6 million makeover of the Main Street bridge over Route 72. Refurbishing that structure while transforming into a beehive-themed landmark will take more than a year.
Mayor Erin Stewart has said both projects are important to the revival of downtown and the long-term safety and efficiency of traffic.
But she has also acknowledged that motorists can expect delays this year while work is under way on both bridges. They are about one-fifth of a mile apart, and carry most of the traffic - vehicular and pedestrian - between downtown and the section of New Britain north of Route 72.
The city also will be redesigning the intersection of Bank Street at Columbus Boulevard to create a traffic circle.
Rotha's work involves repairing the bridge deck and substructure and replacing the sidewalks. Crews will work on Route 71 and from Route 72, as well as from Herald Square and Colurmbus Boulevard beneath the overpass. The DOT said the job will be finished by April 18 of 2018.
The work on the Main Street bridge is more extensive, largely because crews will be widening sidewalks, creating bike lanes, installing benches, building mini-parks at both ends and building large, beehive-themed side walls that can be illuminated at night.
The contract for the Beehive Bridge is to be awarded in April, and Stewart wants work to start before summer.
The city expects to come out of it with a landmark - and a more pedestrian- and cyclist-friendly bridge. The goal is to foster foot traffic from between the Little Poland section and downtown, particularly the CTfastrak station.

Redevelopment Ripple Effect Around Ballpark In Downtown North

The city's shiny new minor league ballpark has dramatically transformed what for decades was a just barren stretch of land north of downtown.
But the bigger prize is the redevelopment of the land around Dunkin' Donuts Park into an urban neighborhood of apartments, offices, shops, galleries, restaurants, a supermarket and, possibly, a hotel.
How soon the next phases of the 16-acre, Downtown North plan will begin is uncertain. The master developer, DoNo Hartford LLC and Centerplan Construction Co., was fired from the stadium project by the city after missing key deadlines, but so far, they are still the developers of future phases. The city's relationship with the developer has been complicated by litigation over the ballpark.
Sean Fitzpatrick, Hartford's director of development services, says no decisions about future phases will be made until after games start.
"Our next job is to turn to the broader Downtown North area, and to do everything in our power to bring substantial new investment and development to the site," Fitzpatrick says. "When the ballpark goes from being a risk to reality, I believe the Downtown North area will indeed be attractive for new development." Meanwhile, however, the construction of the ballpark and the plans for the area are sparking new development outside the core Downtown North, or DoNo, area.
The owners of the nearby Radisson Hotel are combining guest rooms on the top nine floors of the 18-story hotel into apartments. The $19.5 million project will create 96 rentals, some of which will overlook Dunkin' Donuts Park. The first apartments are expected to be ready by this summer.
Hotel owner Inner Circle U.S. said the apartment project was planned prior to the plans for the stadium, but the ballpark helped sell the idea of rentals to Inner Circle's lenders.
On nearby Market Street, just to the rear of the ballpark property, the construction of an 81-room Candlewood Suites hotel is expected to welcome its first guests in late April.
The DoNo development is expected to put a squeeze on downtown parking because much of the area has been used for parking lots. This has prompted the owner of the now-closed, but nearby Talcott Street Garage to begin developing plans for a new parking structure on the site. City officials say the new garage possibly could provide additional parking for the stadium.
DoNo was envisioned as reconnecting downtown with the city's North End. The Capital Region Development Authority is investing inone small apartment project on the northern edge of DoNo.
"We are eager to see it spread beyond the nucleus," Fitzpatrick says.

As a Casino Rises in Springfield, Legislators in Hartford Argue Over Gambling Expansion

Motorists sailing by the MGM casino site along I-91 can easily see the seven-story parking garage rising on the 14-acre site encompassing three city blocks.
Thirty miles to the south in Hartford, a bid to create a competing casino — and keep tens of millions of dollars in gambling revenue in state coffers — is languishing. Legislators are no closer to a decision on whether to expand casino gambling in Connecticut than they were in 2015 when MGM began construction in Springfield.
MGM Resorts International says construction of the $950 million casino and entertainment complex is moving quickly. Steel skeletal framework will soon be in place and all buildings are expected to be enclosed by the end of this year.
In Hartford, long hours of hearings so far this legislative session haven't done much to help establish any direction. If anything, the path toward a third casino in Connecticut is less clear, with the addition of a second expansion bill.
Rep. Joe Verrengia, D-West Hartford and chairman of the committee that held the hearings, said it is possible that the legislature might not take any step this session.
"At best, there is a 50-50 chance," said Verrengia, who chairs the public safety and security committee, which oversees gaming. "I've never seen an issue that people are so divided on."
Competing Legislation
The debate over casino expansion off tribal reservations is among the hottest so far in this legislative session. It ranks alongside the budget deficit, relief for eastern Connecticut homeowners with crumbling foundations and legalizing recreational marijuana.
Casino expansion also has become entangled in the quest to arrive at a balanced state budget.
One expansion bill would give the tribal operators of Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun the go-ahead to build a satellite casino in East Windsor. The gambling venue, its supporter say, is aimed at keeping gaming dollars from moving out of Connecticut to Springfield. East Windsor, they say, also would preserve thousands of industry jobs and the state's cut of annual slot revenues, projected to be $267 million this year. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE

Farmington Canal trail project in New Haven set to move forward

NEW HAVEN >> After eight years of planning, fans of the Farmington Canal Heritage Greenway should see some action this year on the last portion of the trail, which is expected to finally go out to bid. A milestone has been reached in an easement agreement with Grove Parking Associates, which has been approved by the City Plan Commission and now goes to the Board of Alders.
The owners of the Grove Street Garage will be reimbursed $25,000 to cover the costs they incurred in reaching a deal that allows the trail to go through its property just before it comes back up to street level at Orange and Grove streets.Most of the easements have been adjacent to the trail or for construction purposes, but the land under the garage, where the trail will continue, is privately owned. The New Haven portion of the canal right-of-way passed into public ownership in 1993 with a master plan finished in 1999.
City Planner Karyn Gilvarg said this last portion, which is below grade from Temple Street to Grove and Orange streets, has taken the longest to get through the needed approvals, something that has been frustrating to staff.When it exits onto Orange Street, there will be a textured raised intersection across to Olive Street as a means of altering drivers.City Plan staff member Anne Hartjen said it then proceeds the length of Olive Street to Water Street where the state Department of Transportation has built a cycle track at Water and Brewery streets that continues to the intersection with East Street.The plan calls for Olive Street to have sharrows for bicycles, which are painted symbols advising drivers to share the road; pedestrians continue on the sidewalk. Gilvarg said many advocates are lobbying for a cycle track on Olive, which is a protected section of the road for bikers, rather than sharrows. “That requires removing a lane of parking. My approach right now is to go forward with what we have,” Gilvarg said of the less costly sharrows, but they are open to a cycle track.The trail will continue to Canal Dock Road and then to Long Wharf Drive, where there is another cycle track Funding was secured years ago with a federal grant covering 80 percent of the cost and the city committed to a 20 percent match.Hartjen said the last piece of the canal trail puzzle is all premised on the budget holding up.“Construction costs have escalated since the budget was established,” she warned. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE 

March 24, 2017

CT Construction Digest Friday, March 24, 2017

Wallingford rail crossing will be closed next week

WALLINGFORD — The railroad crossing at the intersection of Toelles Road and Route 5 will be closed next week for track construction, officials announced Thursday.
The crossing will be closed from March 28 at 7 p.m. to March 29 at 4 p.m., although the schedule is subject to change, according to a statement by the state Department of Transportation.
The work is part of the New Haven-Hartford-Springfield rail line project, which is expected to begin expanded service in January 2018.

Mohegan Sun Adding $80 Million Convention Center

Mohegan Sun is taking another step to diversify its flagship casino in southeastern Connecticut, expanding its convention space by building an $80 million exposition and convention center.
The 240,000-square-foot venue — scheduled to open in summer, 2018 — will help Mohegan compete for larger tech industry shows, golf shows, home shows, motor sports and hunting and fishing shows. The convention and expo center also will allow Mohegan to expand shows already hosted by the casino such as Terrificon, the comic convention.
The expo and convention center also will include a ballroom, 18 meeting rooms, a boardroom with an outdoor terrace and kitchen.
"This new conference center will help us solidify Mohegan Sun as not just the premier conventions destination, but the premier resort in the Northeast region," Mohegan Tribal Chairman Kevin Brown said. "It will enable us to host some of the largest trade shows in the nation and take back some of the lost conventions that seek bigger venues in Boston and New York."
Mohegan Sun is aggressively pursuing a strategy to attract a broader population of visitors to its flagship property in Uncasville. Competition in the casino industry is intensifying in the Northeast, putting pressure on casino revenues in Connecticut.
In Hartford, the Capital Region Development Authority, which operates the Connecticut Convention Center, is watching the developments at Mohegan. Mohegan and its rival, Foxwoods have already taken a big bite out of the concert business at Hartford's XL Center.
"...we've been expecting this for some time, but it obviously adds more competition to Hartford and the state-owned convention center," Michael W. Freimuth, CRDA's executive director, said. "We'll just have to find a way to compete and capitalize on some marketplace specialization."
The specialization would target events that wouldn't want a casino as a convention or conference venue. "Often, religious, some corporate and educational events will avoid casinos," Freimuth said. "Events for children — Legos, 'Dinosaurs Unleashed' — even to some extent, the ConnectiCon with a good portion of minors, won't or can't play a casino."
Hartford's close proximity to Bradley International Airport also is a plus, Freimuth said.
Mohegan has already begun construction on the convention center, to be located near Mohegan's second hotel, the Earth Tower. The $130 million, 400-room hotel opened in November. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE

Connecticut, U.S. unemployment rates were 4.7% in February

The Connecticut unemployment rate rose from 4.5 percent in January to 4.7 percent in February as the state posted a net loss of 1,600 jobs, nearly all in the private sector, the state Department of Labor reported Thursday. The U.S. unemployment rate also was 4.7 percent.
A job sector with some sensitivity to the weather was the hardest hit: the leisure and hospitality industry shed 3,200 jobs. The trade, transportation and utilities sector lost 1,900 jobs, with retail cutbacks being the biggest factor, the DOL said.
Those losses were partially offset by gains of 3,100 jobs in education and health services, 1,200 in construction and 900 in professional and business services.
The jobs gain of 5,700 reported in January was revised upward to a gain of 6,500 jobs.
Job growth is based on a monthly business payroll survey administered by the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics. The unemployment rate is estimated based on a monthly residential household survey.
Wage growth slightly outpaced inflation in year-over-year comparisons: Average weekly pay was $1,032.90, which was 2.9 percent higher than a year ago. The consumer price index for urban consumers rose 2.7 percent.
Initial unemployment claims for first-time filers declined by 155 claimants, or 4.4 percent, to 3,341 from last month and were 9.8 percent lower compared to a year ago.
The state unemployment rate a year ago was 5.5 percent. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE

March 23, 2017

CT Construction Digest Thursday March 23, 2107

GGP owes Norwalk $1.6M as officials await SoNo Collection groundbreaking

NORWALK — The SoNo Collection developer General Growth Properties owes the city nearly $1.6 million and may seek changes to its approved development agreement.
GGP representatives met with city and Norwalk Redevelopment Agency officials behind closed doors at City Hall on Monday afternoon.
Mayor Harry W. Rilling confirmed Wednesday the meeting concerned the roughly million-square-foot upscale regional shopping center, which received its approvals last year, but has yet to go into the ground.
“We’re in discussions right now so it’s not in my place to discuss what is on the table right now,” Rilling said. But “the project is going to move forward. We’re just looking at some of the components and so forth.”
GGP officials could not be reached immediately for comment on the status of The SoNo Collection.
A document obtained by The Hour suggests the Chicago-based mall developer may seek modifications to the Land Disposition Agreement, a tri-party pact between itself, the city and the Redevelopment Agency.
The document lays out a “Proposed Timeline for Revisions to Land Disposition Agreement, Conceptual Master Site Plan, Urban Renewal Plan and Zoning Approvals.”
While not identifying The SoNo Collection, the document states that “all payments currently due under the LDA must be paid by the Developer” prior to the city, or any of its agencies or commissions, accepting requests for modifications to the LDA, plans and approvals. The proposed timeline runs March 20 through July 7.  Under the existing LDA, Norwalk Land Development, LLC — the GGP affiliate responsible for building The SoNo Collection — must pay the city $1,022,500 for easements needed to build the mall and $550,000 toward creation of a community circulator bus to serve the mall.
The easement payment is due within 30 days of GGP receiving all final land-use approvals from the city. The circulator payment is due upon receipt of the final land-use approval, according to the LDA.
The Norwalk Zoning Commission last June approved GGP’s site plan for The SoNo Collection. Last November, the commission approved the signage plan for the mall.
Councilman Douglas E. Hempstead, an at-large Republican, said the clock for the two payments started ticking before the signage approval in November.
“The signage approval doesn’t count as a land-use approval,” Hempstead said. “The fact is they haven’t paid the city the money they owe.”
Rilling said GGP has made neither payment but is committed to doing so. He attributed the delay to the circumstances in the company’s Chicago headquarters. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE

March 22, 2017

CT Construction Digest Wednesday March 22, 2017

Mohegan Sun expanding with $80M convention center

Mohegan Sun is planning to open a new, $80 million conference center next summer to cater to convention and meeting business.
The Expo Center expansion has been authorized and is slated to open in the summer of 2018 -- "just in time for the Barrett-Jackson Northeast 2018" car collector auction, leaders of the Mohegan Sun and the Mohegan tribe said in an announcement.
The Mohegan tribe plans to unveil the expansion at a Thursday press conference.
The total size of the expansion, including the 131,000-square-foot Expo Center, will be 240,000 gross square feet, Mohegan Sun said.
The proposed center would be located in a vacant area next to the casino's Winter Garage and link to the garage and the Earth casino and tower, a spokesman said, confirming a published report.

Super Load Hauling Power Plant Components Moves Through Farmington Valley On Way To Oxford
 Giant Turbine in Simsbury
The second of six massive components for a power plant being built in Oxford passed through Simsbury, Avon and Canton Monday night.
And again residents turned out to watch the heavy-hauling vehicle moving at a maximum 5 mph carry the combustion turbine from the area of the former Wagner Ford on Hopmeadow Street through Avon and Canton to the former Waring plant along Route 44 in New Hartford.
Monday night's move was the second leg of the trip from Windsor Locks to Oxford. State police are escorting the vehicle moving the turbine, which is 23 feet wide and 192 feet long. A contractor from New Jersey is moving the turbine.
Because the load is so big, the move temporarily blocks roadways and forces closures. It is being moved at night to limit disruptions to traffic. The vehicle and its load are too heavy for some of the highway bridges in place, said Dave Hiscox, who oversees the state Department of Transportation's oversize and overweight permit office. A temporary bridge was needed to carry the load across a bridge on Route 10 near the Ensign Bickford complex.
There are 10 bridges along the route to Oxford that require installation of the temporary bridge, Hiscox said.
The turbine and the five other components that will make the trip from Windsor Locks to Oxford arrived in Connecticut by rail. It was expected to take about six days to truck each component to the power plant construction site.
Another 26 large pieces of the plant were brought into the port of New Haven on barges, then trucked to Oxford, Hiscox said.
The six moving from Windsor Locks could not move over the same route. "These are bigger and heavier," Hiscox said.
The components will become part of the natural-gas fueled CPV Towantic Energy Center power plant in Oxford. The builder says that when the plant goes online it will generate enough electricity to power 750,000 homes. It is expected to begin operating in mid-2018.

South Windsor Voters Overwhelmingly Approve $70 Million Plan For New Elementary Schools

Voters, by a 3-1 margin Tuesday, approved a plan to build two new elementary schools in town.
According to unofficial tallies, the vote was 3,082-895 to appropriate $70 million to replace the Philip R. Smith and Eli Terry elementary schools. The town, with a school population of 4,230 students, has five elementary schools. The town will pay a net cost of $47 million, with the state reimbursing the town $23 million of the construction costs.
Daria Plummer, chairwoman of the Support South Windsor Schools steering committee, celebrated the win saying "this is what community is all about."
"This is the community — in these difficult times — that sought sanity and reason in this plan and they came out. ... It is everyone who hosted a lawn sign ... it all began with a reasonable plan. We did this for the children. We did this for the town. We did this for the community."
The plans call for the construction of two new elementary schools, including a 66,586-square-foot building built on the Eli Terry Elementary School campus and a 58,243-square-foot facility built on the Philip R. Smith campus. Officials note the proposed schools will feature "expanded classroom technology, designs intended to increase school safety and security and modern mechanical systems including more efficient heating and cooling systems." They also note the schools will comply with all building and fire codes, as well as the ADA accessibility requirements.
"I couldn't be more proud of the community," Superintendent Kate Carter said, "that doesn't just cherish, but supports public education. ... I'm so proud to live in a community that values public education. That is willing to invest even when there are plenty of noises and discussions happening around us that could have set us back." CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE

Architects chosen for Derby athletic complex

DERBY>> A pair of architects have scored the task of giving the school district’s athletic complex a major-league facelift.
Two separate committees working on the project — the Athletic Complex Building Committee and the Field House and Baseball Field Building Committee — both recently voted to bring the two architect firms onboard.The Athletic Complex Building Committee selected a New Britain firm, Kaestle Boos Associates Inc., which designed the minor league stadium that formerly housed the New Britain Rock Cats and the current home of the Bees. The firm, in business for more than 50 years, is the designer behind many statewide renovation projects, including the Palace Theater in Waterbury, Naugatuck High School and its athletic complex, Greenwich Academy’s athletic field and West Hartford Veterans Memorial.
“I think everyone was impressed with their experience, past projects and their understanding of the scope of our project,” said City Treasurer/Committee Chairman Keith McLiverty. Kaestle Boos will serve as project manager, overseeing the design and construction of an artificial turf football field, multi-purpose field and 8-lane rubberized track at the Leo F. Ryan Sports Complex on Chatfield Street. Derby received $2.9 million in funding from the state Bond Commission for the project. A second architect, Peter de Bretteville of Hamden, was selected by the Field House and Baseball Field Committee to design and oversee construction of another major component of the overall athletic complex makeover, though it’s being treated as a separate project. A new baseball field and state-of-the-art field house is being privately funded thanks to a more than $2 million donation from Joan Payden, founder, CEO and president of Los Angeles-based international investment firm Payden & Rygel. Payden made the donation in memory of her father, J.R. Payden, a Derby High School class of 1915 valedictorian who played baseball here, graduated from Yale University and served in the U.S. Army Signal Corps Aviation Division and became a fighter pilot for the Royal Flying Corps in England. Payden hand-picked de Bretteville, who has more than 40 years’ experience and has designed renovations ranging from the historic Stonington library to Athens College in Greece, to design the baseball field/fieldhouse project. The existing high school baseball field, which is not regulation size, has to be relocated in order to make way for the artificial turf field and track. The field currently is located next to the football field at the Ryan Complex and is slated to be relocated to where the existing girls’ softball field is. The softball field is slated to move nearby to either the high school campus on Nutmeg Avenue near the existing Little League field or near the new artificial turf field. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE

Aldermen pick contractor for DPW facility in Waterbury

WATERBURY – Aldermen, on Monday, agreed to hire KBE Building Corp. to build the city a public works facility.
But city officials won’t sign a contract for at least 30 days, to pass the deadline for a referendum that might see voters strip funding away from the project.
The project has drawn a subdued sort of controversy after the administration of Mayor Neil M. O’Leary was forced to request a nearly 50 percent increase to the $60.4 million budget approved in 2010 for construction of a DPW facility, along with redevelopment of the Waterbury Industrial Commons. The five Republicans on the 15-member board balked at the increase, and so a compromise of an additional $25 million was reached.
Former Alderman Lawrence V. De Pillo, speaking to the board Monday, recommended an audit of the funds already expended. He also urged members to allow residents to decide on the funding increase through a referendum. In 2014, De Pillo helped lead a drive that collected enough signatures to challenge a $49.6 million school construction project at the polls. O’Leary pulled the plug on that project, in the city’s East End, before it came to a vote.
De Pillo, on Tuesday, said he wouldn’t instigate a referendum, but he would help if approached by concerned residents. So far, De Pillo said, nobody has approached him. Only a handful of individuals attended aldermanic meetings to express concern in the run-up to Monday’s vote.
De Pillo had hard words for the administration that pushed for an increase and Republicans who he felt were too accommodating.
“I really thought the minority (Republicans) should have insisted on a referendum or forensic audit,” De Pillo said. “If they didn’t, shame on them. They went ahead and voted for this increase. They never got an audit of what happened to the $60 million.”
Administration officials had previously explained the increase to aldermen, blaming unexpected environmental challenges, rising construction costs and decisions to expand both the scope of the new DPW facility and renovations to the Waterbury Industrial Commons site.
Board of Aldermen President Paul K. Pernerewski Jr., on Monday, said the board shouldn’t have been surprised by some of the increases. Members had approved contracts for the expanded work. Pernerewski also expressed disappointment with the amenities that were cut.
Minority Leader Steven R. Giacomi, on Tuesday said it hadn’t been made clear to board members those contracts would increase overall costs.
“Paul K. Pernerewski Jr. can cry his alligator tears all he wants, but we are not the ones who blew through the money,” Giacomi said. “This project should have been built a long time ago. Once again the Republicans have to be the adults in the room.”
Giacomi said he plans to insist on the formation of an aldermanic building committee to keep better informed about the status of the linked building projects, and perhaps other big-ticket building efforts.
Alderman Stephanie Cummings, another Republican, said she viewed Monday’s outcome as a good compromise.
“We really did our due diligence in figuring out what the city needed by way of the Department of Public Works and what the taxpayers can afford,” Cummings said.
Cummings also plugged a building committee as a way to ensure the board doesn’t get blind-sided again.
Some of the original $60.4 million remains unspent. The contract approved for KBE Monday sets a “guaranteed maximum price” of $30.4 million,” with an additional $1.7 contingency fund held by the city.