STAMFORD — Construction has started in the South End on the next group of apartments in the Harbor Point complex.
The presence of two cranes highlights the work underway by developer Building and Land Technology on a site between Harbor Point Road, Pacific Street and Dyke Lane, where a total of 435 units would be built in two 22-story towers. Those structures are scheduled to be completed in 2019.
“We’re excited to break ground,” said BLT Chief Operating Officer Ted Ferrarone. “We think it’ll be a great product.”
The new properties would complement several other key components of the Harbor Point project. A couple of blocks away, the 100 Commons Park North building, which comprises 392 apartments in a 15-floor building, is set to open by the end of this year. In the Waterside section, 218 units under construction at the Harbor Landing complex on Southfield Avenue are scheduled to open in 2018.
Since Harbor Point building work began in 2009, BLT has constructed some 2,700 apartments. When it is completed, Harbor Point will include more than 4,000 units.
Harbor Point’s apartment buildings are averaging 95 percent occupancy, according to BLT officials. “The demand will continue because the allure of living in a vibrant community next to the water never loses its appeal,” said Tammy Felenstein, Stamford-based executive director of sales for Halstead Property.
But as Harbor Point has grown, some residents and public officials have expressed concerns about the impact of the development on the South End.
“You go down to Harbor Point Road at 6 p.m., and you take a look at what’s going on and the parking congestions,” Barry Michelson, the Republican nominee in this year’s mayoral race in Stamford, said in an interview last month. “Parking requirements are supposed to satisfy the needs for a particular development project, but they don’t in many cases. Builders are constantly finagling them, and it’s creating quality of life issues.”
Mayor David Martin, a Democrat seeking a second term, said the city is responsibly increasing its housing. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUEDOT: All alternatives remain on table for Route 7-Merritt Parkway overhaul
NORWALK — Residents and elected officials weighed in on the state’s developing plan to overhaul the Route 7-Merritt Parkway interchange during a public scoping meeting at Norwalk Concert Hall on Tuesday evening.
Input ranged from praise for the state Department of Transportation’s inclusion of various stakeholders to why the project is being undertaken at all given the Route 7 Connector ends at Grist Mill Road.
“It’s a road to nowhere, you want to put an exit ramp to nowhere,” said Joe Cusack, referring to a proposed ramp from the southbound parkway to the northbound connector.
Cusack said the state first must decide whether it intends to build Super 7 — the never-realized expressway between Norwalk and Danbury.
The DOT and engineering consultant Stantec have completed a draft purpose-of-need statement. While subject to revision, the document lays out the rationale for the overhaul: to complete the missing connections between the connector and the parkway.
Motorists traveling south on the Merritt Parkway now cannot exit to either the north- or southbound Route 7 Connector. Motorists driving either north or south on the connector cannot exit to the northbound parkway.
A lawsuit and later economic recessions halted the state’s original plan to overhaul the interchange. On Tuesday evening, DOT Project Manager Andy Fessenmeyer told more than 60 people gathered in the City Hall auditorium that all design alternatives remain under consideration since planning halted in 2009.
“To date, we have 26 alternatives, some with variations,” Fessenmeyer said. “Our most-recent alternatives are 21C and 26. It’s possible we’re going to have some new alternatives based on ideas tonight. It’s important to note that all alternatives are on the table right now.”
Alternative 21C could complete all connections between the Route 7 Connector, the Merritt Parkway and Main Avenue by the use of ramps allowing free-flow traffic. Alternative 26, while also completing the connections, would add traffic signals to the connector north and south of the parkway and leave room for a boulevard. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUEVacant downtown Cheshire land could be 41,000-square-foot medical office
CHESHIRE — Long-vacant property on South Main Street where Cheshire Cinema once stood could be developed into a 41,000-square-foot medical office building.
Cheshire Medical Associates LLC has submitted plans for the two-story building and a public hearing is scheduled for the Planning and Zoning Commission meeting Oct. 24. Town Planner William Voelker said the group, which considered other downtown buildings, designed the offices to match the color and aesthetic of the town center.
He said the property, 266 and 292 S. Main St., is zoned C-2 but downtown Cheshire has a special development district overlay, which is more permissive. The medical building as planned conforms to the regulations of the development district and doesn’t need any special permitting Jerry Sitko, the town’s economic development coordinator, said it has taken time to find a developer for the 2-acre property.
“It’s four years in the making, working with these guys,” he said of the development group.
Sitko declined to name the medical group that plans to move into the building, but said the property would remain taxable.
The land is between a Dunkin’ Donuts and a 7-Eleven. Cheshire Cinema closed in 1998 and was torn down in 2002.
The one-screen, 400-seat independent theater had been owned by the Spodick family since the mid-1950s. Operater Peter Spodick, who also managed the York Square Cinema in New Haven, avoided eviction and demolition for several years in the 1990s but the theater was ordered demolished by the building inspector in 1998.
In addition to the theater, Huxley’s Motors was also on the property. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Funded in part with a $2.7 million brownfield remediation grant from the state, the two-phase transit-oriented development, dubbed "Columbus Commons," at the former police station at 125 Columbus Blvd., will include two, five story buildings with about 160 residential units, an interior courtyard, and retail and/or office space on the first floor, according to New Britain Mayor Erin Stewart.
"Columbus Commons will be the catalyst for a new wave of development and energy in our downtown area," the mayor said.
Xenolith Partners and Dakota Partners are the developers. Dakota has also been active in downtown Hartford apartment developments, including conversion of the Hartford Office Supply Building into rental units.
In June, the Connecticut Housing Finance Authority awarded the project a $1.6 million low income tax credit. Bank of America will provide the construction loan, permanent loan, and also invest in the tax credits, generating approximately $16 million in equity for the project, Stewart said.
A ground-breaking is scheduled for 11 a.m. at the site.
Connecticut regulators signal OK for Aquarion transfer
Connecticut regulators signaled plans to approve Eversource Energy’s $1.6 billion takeover Aquarion Water and its parent company Macquarie Utilities, which if finalized would expand New England’s largest utility’s services into water supply in addition to electricity and natural gas transmission.
Aquarion traces its history through the Bridgeport Hydraulic Company to 1857, with the company serving 625,000 people throughout the state via 3,100 miles of water mains. The company maintains eight reservoir systems and accompanying water treatment plants, as well as wells and pumps to source water from underground aquifers.
The state Public Utilities Regulatory Authority issued a draft decision this week approving the deal announced in June, with a final decision still pending. In the document, PURA stated the combination is in the public interest, that the companies have complementary profiles and that Eversource “possesses the requisite financial, technological and managerial suitability and responsibility to operate a public service company and provide safe, adequate and reliable service to the public.”
PURA noted the deal also ensures that control of Aquarion will remain in Connecticut, PURA noted. Aquarion is based in Bridgeport, with Eversource managing its New England operations from corporate offices in both Hartford and Boston. Eversource committed to providing Aquarion employees a compensation package that is “market based and competitive” in the words of PURA, and to undertake no major revisions to pensions.
Connecticut Attorney General George Jepsen had also given an OK on the transaction, in part on grounds Eversource’s size allows it to borrow money at lower interest rates to fund water system improvements than can Aquarion. In July, an Eversource executive indicated the company plans to do just that, whether through upgrades or by purchasing smaller water companies. Eversource profits totaled $494 million in the first six months of 2017, with the company’s cash, receiveables and other liquid assets topping $2.3 billion as of June.
Aquarion had net income of $4.7 million in the first quarter of 2017 and $50 million in liquid assets. The value of the company’s total assets was more than $1.1 billion as of March.“In terms of the operations and the assets of Aquarion, they are a very well-run, well-respected organization (and) have a No. 1 (position) in JD Power scores for their category,” said Lee Olivier, an Eversource executive vice president, speaking on a conference call. “We’re focused on growing the business, so I think there are growth opportunities that do exist in the water business. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
I-84 drivers may ask: Where’d the exit go?
WATERBURY – A highway off-ramp will close permanently in its existing location tonight. But it’s not being eliminated; it’s simply moving to a temporary location.
The state Department of Transportation traffic division struggled to find the right terminology to describe the exit ramp change. Is it a closure? A detour? A temporary relocation?
Anyway, on Wednesday night, the Exit 25 eastbound off-ramp was expected to close permanently in its current configuration, which was a quick left-turn just before Harpers Ferry Road.
Starting this morning, drivers will take the Exit 23 eastbound off-ramp, just past the Mixmaster, and follow signs for the Exit 25 detour. To access Exit 25, bear left at the turnoffs for Route 69 eastbound and southbound, then at the fork that leads back to I-84 eastbound bear right and continue on the Exit 25 connector ramp to Harpers Ferry Road.
Traffic wil pass under the Hamilton Avenue Bridge and under the new (and not yet open) Exit 23 on-ramp from Hamilton Avenue.
To drivers, the configuration creates the feeling of a passage through a tunnel before the off-ramp opens up and hugs a serpentine-style retaining wall separating the highway from properties behind Hamilton Avenue. Eventually, the 3/4-mile off ramp, which crosses the Mad River twice, leads to a newly built intersection of Harpers Ferry Road and Reidville Drive, south of the existing Harpers Ferry Road Bridge.
At first, the change may defy motorists’s expectation of exiting the highway for Harpers Ferry Road before reaching Hamilton Avenue, to which Exit 23 leads.
But for now, drivers will use the same exit from the highway – Exit 23 – whether they’re destined for Hamilton Avenue or Harpers Ferry Road. From there, detour signs will direct them
The new cantilever-shaped on-ramp bridge from Hamilton Avenue is one of the most complex design features of the project, Zukowski said. The reduced vertical clearance under the center cantilevered pier required the structure to be constructed of 6500 psi concrete with three post-tensioned strands grouted into the pier cap. This was required to provide enough strength to the pier cap to support the new bridge, Zukowski explained. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Possible Bond Rating Downgrade Leaves Municipalities Worried About Roads, Bridges, Schools
For John Elsesser, Coventry’s town manager, Monday’s announcement that his town was among 26 in Connecticut being reviewed for a possible bond rating downgrade left him fearing critical infrastructure projects. Specifically, he worries that a local bridge with crumbling foundations could become far costlier, or worse, go undone.
Moody’s Investor Service’s announcement left local leaders worrying Tuesday that any slip in their bond ratings — which gauge a borrower’s likelihood of repaying a loan — could force taxpayers to pay for significantly higher borrowing rates over the next decade.
Moody’s said Monday it was reviewing 26 towns and cities for downgrade, and a further 25 were assigned “negative outlooks,” a less grim prognosis. The investor service cited the state budget impasse as reason for possibly downgrading the ratings of Connecticut towns and cities, many of which have received far less state aid under Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s executive order than they’d anticipated.
“The unfortunate thing is it really has nothing to do with the towns themselves,” said Matt Spoerndle, senior managing director of Phoenix Advisors, a Milford-based group that counsels about 70 Connecticut towns on bonds. “Many of the towns – not all of them, but most of them – are very well-run, conservative, fiscally responsible … and now, because of what’s happening with the state budget, it’s like the floor’s caving in from under them.” Towns and cities regularly issue bonds to borrow money for new infrastructure projects, or to pay for the upkeep of existing ones. Investor services like Moody’s rate those bonds, which investors interpret as reflecting the likelihood of the town repaying those loans.In Coventry, Elsesser fears a rating downgrade and subsequent hike in borrowing rates could force towns to put off critical infrastructure projects or repairs.
“It’s a first step toward a spiral of bad steps,” he said. “People are going to stop fixing things.”
Things such as Coventry’s Jones Crossing Bridge, he said, where earlier this month a road crew found signs of failing concrete in the ’s foundation. Or modifications the town is making to its schools, so they comply with the Students With Disabilities Act.
“It’s not like this school project is voluntary,” Elsesser said.
“Legislators have not done the job they were elected to do,” he said. “This is something that’s impacting us – the towns. And we’ve done everything we could to prevent this from happening.” CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE