Eversource to cut power to Saugatuck Island
WESTPORT - On Monday morning, Eversource will be cutting the power to Saugatuck Island as well as the residences along Canal Road, and re-connecting the power to a generator.
The power switch is in preparation for driving sheet piles as part of the ongoing bridge replacement project, said Michael Kronick, assistant Chief of Training for the Westport Fire Department.
In 2015 a $1.3 million Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) grant was awarded to replace the bridge. It will cover 75 percent of the cost, which will be supplemented by state funds. The 1929-built Saugatuck Island one-car-at-a-time, timber-and-pile Bridge was heavily damaged by Super Storm Sandy in 2012.
The old span was dislodged during Sandy, leaving it impassable. The only other entrance to the neighborhood is a low road along the canal bank that is regularly submerged by high tides and during stormsThe changeover is anticipated to take an hour or so at about 10 a.m. Monday.
The power will be on the generator for about five days. The generator will be manned 24/7 by a Sunbelt Rentals employee.
CHFA awards over $3 million in tax credits for two downtown Meriden projects
MERIDEN — Meriden Commons II, a 76-unit residential and commercial development on Cedar and State streets, recently received $1.6 million in low-income housing tax credits to help finance the $22 million project.
Pennrose Properties and the Meriden Housing Authority applied for the credits to build affordable and market rate housing on the site near Mills Memorial Apartments, which is scheduled for demolition this fall. The Connecticut Housing Finance Authority recently announced credit awards at Meriden Commons II, and an additional $1.6 million to the Michaels Organization for 81 residential units at 11 Crown St.
The tax credits are sold on the investment market in order to raise money for the project. Both projects will receive $6 million each from the state Department of Housing to add to an estimated $18.6 million in private equity investment at 11 Crown St. and $16.7 million at Meriden Commons II.There is no construction timeline yet, said Economic Development Director Juliet Burdelski.
“The tax credit awards for both Meriden Commons II and 11 Crown Street/2 South Colony is the final piece of financing that will allow for the development of 157 new housing units, the relocation of all Mills residents and demolition of the Mills,” Burdelski said. “We commend our private sector developer partners, Pennrose and the Michaels Organization, for putting together strong applications that merited a significant financial commitment by CHFA and the Department of Housing.”
The Meriden Housing Authority recently closed on a land transfer with the city to begin the first phase of Meriden Commons at 177 State St. Meriden Commons Phase I and II will yield more than 150 low, moderate and market rate apartments and first-floor commercial space.
The former Record-Journal building at 11 Crown St. is currently owned by the city.
The Michaels Organization will ask the City Council next week for permission to increase the equity by adding more affordable units within the 81-unit project. A reduction to seven market rate apartmentss would generate $2 million in equity.
“They can’t fund the market rate units without it,” Burdelski said.
Philip Wood, a consultant for the Michaels Organization, said an increase in affordable units “allows us to do a few more units and tap into those public funding sources.”
The General Assembly’s Appropriations Committee approved a bill allowing the Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan Indians to open a modest casino north of Hartford to offset competition from an MGM Grand mega-resort being built in Springfield, Massachusetts.
The legislation now heads for a showdown in the House and Senate, where competing interests are backing a bill that would instead place the casino in Southwestern Connecticut — most likely in Bridgeport — so it can tap the rich New York City market.
“This bill is important for Eastern Connecticut because of the MGM Grand casino in Springfield,” said state Sen. Catherine Osten, D-Sprague.
“The Eastern Connecticut gaming facilities have provided north of a billion dollars to the state since inception,” Osten said. “This is a good jobs bill that provides living wages and for a business that has helped the state and every single municipality with revenue.”
The Pequot are Mohegan tribes are concerned the MGM Grand casino will siphon hundreds of millions of dollars in gaming revenue from the Foxwood and Mohegan Sun resorts and cost thousands of jobs. The East Windsor casino is intended to replace those losses.
There is also concern the proposed third casino could prompt the Bureau of Indian Affairs, which must approve a revenue sharing deal with the state, to reduce or eliminate the amount of slot revenue the tribes now pay the sate.The Pequots and Mohegan’s send 25 percent of its slot revenue to the state. The proposed new casino would send the state 25 percent of slot revenue and 25 percent of table game revenue.
State Sen. Paul Formica, R-East Lyme, said the bill is a chance to preserve jobs and revenue.
“These casinos have been good partners and have provided revenue for the state,” Formica said. “Whether proponents of gambling or not, the opportunity to protect what we have is an important consideration. It’s an economic bill.”Mixmaster renovations in Waterbury expected to increase traffic issues VIDEO CLICK TITLE