MERIDEN — The city has awarded LaRosa Construction Co. a $2.7 million project to convert Pratt Street into a boulevard-style “gateway” to the city, reducing the road to one lane in each direction.
The Meriden-based construction company beat out seven other companies, including Morais Concrete Service Inc., which submitted the lowest bid to complete the work. The Morais bid was determined to be in error, according to city officials.
“It was very competitive in the sense that the bidders’ numbers were very close,” said Purchasing Officer Wilma Petro.
LaRosa Construction was previously contracted by the city to transform the former Hub site into the 14-acre Meriden Green, a $14 million flood control project. The city began soliciting bids on the Pratt Street project in June, with the process closing last month. The city received a $3.2 million state grant to finance the project, which required accepting the lowest qualified bidder.Representatives from LaRosa Construction did not return calls for comment Thursday. Morais representatives could not immediately be reached for comment.
The project entails reducing Pratt Street from a four-lane undivided road to one lane in each direction, separated by several landscaped medians. It will require the realignment of two intersections, in addition to sidewalk repair, milling and paving and new signs. The work is designed to make Pratt Street the new entrance to the downtown from Interstate 691, while also making the road more friendly to pedestrian and bicycle traffic.
Eight companies submitted bids for the project — LaRosa, Morais, Colossale Concrete Inc., Paramount Construction, B&W Paving & Landscaping, Star Construction Corp., Empire Paving Inc. and Mather Corporation. Morais initially submitted the lowest cost proposal with a $2,677,374 plan, $3,666 below LaRosa’s $2,681,040 bid. However, an error identified in Morais’ proposal added $32,000 to its budget, putting the company about $28,000 above LaRosa, “which cost them the lowest bid,” Petro said.
Associate City Engineer Howard Weissberg said the city is in the process of finalizing a contract with LaRosa for the project and expects a groundbreaking this September. The first phase of the project will realign the intersections of Camp and Pratt and Center and Pratt streets, create the raised medians and adjust utilities in the area. Weissberg did not anticipate any traffic delays because there will still be one lane open in both directions with turn lanes where appropriate, with the center two lanes closed for construction.
“It’s pretty close to what it’s going to be in the final condition, but in a tighter work zone-type scale,” Weissberg said.
The half million in funding left over for the project outside of LaRosa’s bid will be used for any unforeseen expenses that may arise, Weissberg said. Weissberg expects the project to be completed by the end of 2018. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
MERIDEN — Maynard Road Corp., the development arm of the Meriden Housing Authority since 2003, is actively involved in development of two city housing projects with the MHA and a senior housing development in Bristol.
Maynard Road, a partner in Bristol Enterprises LLC, closed on a deal last week to convert two vacant Bristol schools to senior housing with the help of a state loan for $3.5 million, $14 million in historical tax credits, and private lenders.
Maynard Road partnered with developer Ted Lazarus to build the $24 million affordable housing project at the former schools.
The Bristol senior housing plan is one of several projects Maynard Road has on the books but the only one the Meriden Housing Authority has no role in, said Robert Cappelletti, executive director of the MHA and Maynard Road Corp. The Maynard Road Corp. Board of Directors voted to create Maynard Road Development Co. last month as an entity designated to accept the tax credits on the Bristol project and potential future projects. They also voted to allow Cappelletti to negotiate on behalf of Bristol Enterprises with the state Department of Community and Economic Development for the loan, and with Citibank for private financing, estimated at $9 million total on the project.
Maynard Road also hopes to move forward to complete geo-thermal field installation and solar roofs at the 162-unit Yale Acres this fall. The state recently awarded Maynard Road $5.7 million to rebuild the moderate-income rental units. The property is managed and owned by the Meriden Housing Authority. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
The commission voted 5-1 to approve a special permit that would allow I-84 Constructors to store 12,000 cubic yards of excavated material on an old quarry at 622 Pearl Lake Road. Commissioner Anthony Vitone voted against it.
The contractor asked to transport 27,500 cubic yards of soil and rock to the site, but the commission, after hearing concerns from neighbors, chopped the allowed volume in half.
Also, the commission reduced the number of trucks per day from 40 to 20 and will limit truck traffic to a five-hour window on weekdays, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
I-84 Constructors has said it needs the extra storage space because its existing stockpile on Harpers Ferry Road is full.
The commission scaled back the company’s proposal after residents raised concerns about trucks using Pearl Lake Road, which was recently reconstructed, to dump material at the old Calabro quarry.
dump material at the old Calabro quarry.
Rocks won’t be crushed on the property, and the material will remain on site temporarily before it’s recycled and used as fill on the construction project. The city will require the contractor to restore the property to its original state when the work is finished.
Still, residents said more trucks on Pearl Lake Road, where traffic can back up to Sylvan Avenue during rush hour, would make traffic worse and could threaten pedestrians’ safety, including children walking to or from school or a school bus.
As the Zoning Commission’s approval only provides for 12,000 cubic yards of material to be stored on the Pearl Lake Road site, the contractor will need to find another location for the remaining 15,500 cubic yards it plans to excavate.
Before Wednesday’s meeting, Zoning Commission Chairman John Egan and city officials met with the contractor to discuss alternative sites. They tentatively agreed that I-84 Constructors would use a city property on Scott Road, across from Hart Circle, to store the remaining material.
Because the property is owned by the city, I-84 Constructors likely won’t have to obtain approval from a city commission unless the proposed use encroaches on wetlands. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE