April 21, 2017

CT Construction Digest Friday April 21, 2017

New London’s RCDA has hotel, three other proposals in the works

New London — The Renaissance City Development Association announced Thursday it had received a good faith $10,000 deposit and signed a commitment to negotiate with the developer looking to build a hotel on the Fort Trumbull peninsula.
It was one highlight of a year that RCDA President Linda Mariani said is showing great economic development promise for the city.
“These are very exciting times for development in the city,” she said.
The RCDA also is close to signing a contract for the $40 million Shipway 221 condominium complex off Howard Street, negotiating with a developer with plans for a 90-100 unit apartment complex at the corner of Howard and Bank streets and is in preliminary talks with a startup company interested in building an aquaponics farm outside Fort Trumbull State Park.
The hotel news was announced at the RCDA’s annual meeting held in a conference room at Fort Trumbull State Park and attended by Massachusetts hotel owner Jay Patel.
Patel is the founder of the family-run J-Patel Hotel Group and expressed confidence his proposal would come to fruition. He said it would be the third “new build” hotel for his company.
“When we break ground, this will be the best hotel in the I-95 corridor. I’m eager to start my project here,” he said.
Patel said he was nearing completion of a Holiday Inn Express in Sturbridge, Mass., and owns a Hampton by Hilton in Auburn, Mass. He thanked the RCDA and the city, particularly Mayor Michael Passero, for dedicating their time and efforts to help his plan move along.
Plans for the hotel are only conceptual at this point and he was not yet ready to reveal which hotel chain might be involved. It would be located on the 9.4-acre waterfront parcel that is part of the 90-acre municipal development area that was the site of the landmark U.S. Supreme Court eminent domain case Kelo v. City of New London.
RCDA Executive Director Peter Davis said the RCDA has been in talks with EB management, who have expressed their need for a proper conference center space at the hotel.
Much of the recent development progress comes with a new partnership between the RCDA and the city, which led to funding to hire Davis and Assistant Executive Director Frank McLaughlin.
“It’s been a great year. It is beyond any of our expectations that we could move this far this fast,” Passero said. “It’s this type of energy that is needed to move us forward.” CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE

New Haven zoners approve site plan for 100 apartments in the Hill

NEW HAVEN >> More than three years after discussions first began, followed by multiple starts and stops, the site plan for 110 new apartments in the Hill neighborhood was approved by the Planning and Zoning Commission Thursday.
Attorney Carolyn Kone said construction should start in June and be completed in a year, as long as they get the finances and approvals necessary to make 33 of those units affordable, as well as an estimated 30 more in a second part of the project.They have applied for state help, as well as for use of some Section 8 vouchers that will help relocate some tenants from Church Street South to the new housing.A total of $5 million for the project in state housing funds is expected to be on the State Bonding Commission agenda this month, while $500,000 is coming from Home funds through the city, The Department of Housing, everyone, has been incredibly supportive,” Kone said. Kone said they won’t know about the Section 8 funds until the apartments are built. The new apartment structure, designed by Brian Stone of Kenneth Boroson Architects, features a four-story building with 2,346 square feet of retail at the corner of Gold Street and Washington AvenueThe developer, RMS Companies, run by Randy Salvatore, will raze the former Prince Street School Annex and combine it with a number of surface parking lots on Gold Street for the housing site. The residential units will consist of 8 junior 1-bedrooms; 82 1-bedrooms; 16 2-bedrooms; and four 3-bedroom units. Parking will be provided by 73 spaces in an underground garage and 28 in a surface lot, while there will be 36 spaces for bicycles. Kone said RMS was also able to build the Novella, its apartment complex on Chapel Street, in 12 months. “He is a very efficient developer,” Kone said, Kone said RMS will be back next month seeking approval for the second part of the project, which is renovating the former Welch Annex School, into 30 more apartments, all of which may be affordable for a total of 63 out of 140 units. Jonathan Wharton, a planning commissioner, called the project “awesome,” particularly the opportunities for workforce housing, something that is needed around the city. The housing backs up to the Amistad Park, which is owned by Yale but functions as a public space, something Wharton hopes continues. Chairman Edward Mattison called the Salvatore project “exciting.” Kone said unlike other large housing construction, Salvatore paid fair market value to the city for the sites and will be paying higher construction wages to meet the city rules. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE