CT Construction Digest Thursday November 30, 2017

Eversource Energy expanding its natural gas network in Shelton

SHELTON — Eversource Energy is spending $3.8 million to expand its natural gas distribution network in the city’s Coram Road neighborhood.
The project, which recently got started, involves installing more than 25,000 feet of pipe and will be done in two phases, according to Eversource officials.
The first phase involves adding more than 8,000 feet of natural gas pipe along Coram Road, Sunset Drive, Dogwood Lane, Angell Avenue and Newport Avenue. That phase is scheduled to be completed late next month, Mitch Gross, an Eversource spokesman, said.
The second phase is scheduled to get started early next year and will involve installing more than 17,000 feet of natural gas lines in 20 streets south of Route 8 and west of Coram Road.
Bill Akley, Eversource’s president of gas operations, said the company already has 6,500 natural gas customers in the area.
“We’re always working to provide energy when our customers need it and this project in Shelton is another example of our efforts to make natural gas available to more communities across Connecticut,” Akley said in a statement.
In an effort to woo customers to sign up for natural gas service, Eversource is offering discount pricing on a range of standard and high efficiency boilers, furnaces and water heaters. The packages include permits, labor and removal of old equipment.
Crews doing the first phase of the project will be working from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. Some disruptions in traffic patterns in the area can be expected as a result of the work, though Eversource officials say they are work with city leaders to minimize the impact the construction work has on commuters.

To Milford’s annoyance, Bond Commission OK’s Silver Sands makeover

MILFORD — On Tuesday, Milford’s entire Hartford delegation staged a press conference deriding a $9.1 million improvement project for Silver Sands State Park.
Their appeal to the media was all for naught. Less than 24 hours after that event, the state Bond Commission approved $9.1 million to fund the construction of a number of amenities there, the only undeveloped one of the four shore-front state parks.
 “Today’s decision was deeply disappointing, but not at all surprising,” Slossberg said after the Bond Commission meeting. “This project has been widely opposed from the beginning, and that opposition has consistently been ignored. The simple fact is that no one wants this project and the State of Connecticut cannot afford it.”
The improvements will include a new concession building, restrooms and an office as well as a 4,700-square-foot maintenance garage — a garage that Slossberg described as “a mansion.”
Gov. Dannel Malloy defended the $9.1 million for improvements despite the local opposition, noting it's a state asset.
Back in March, DEEP Commissioner Robert Klee said the state “considered the positive impact on the local economy that is likely to result from hosting a premier shoreline park. We are planning to proceed with this project because visitors deserve restrooms, changing areas and other modest amenities to make their visit sanitary, safe and convenient.”
Klee said thousands of Connecticut families “enjoy this park each year” and that their experience “would be improved with basic amenities.”
But state Rep. Kim Rose, who joined Slossberg at Tuesday’s press conference, said it’s “not a dead issue.”
“We will see what we can do legislatively to stop it,” Rose said.
But state officials have long sought to bring Silver Sands in line with the three other shorefront state parks — Hammonasset Beach, Rocky Neck and Sherwood Island. Other than portable toilets and a parking lot, there isn’t much in the way of amenities there. A long boardwalk linking Silver Sands with the Walnut Beach enclave opened in 2011.
Milfordites have in recent years opposed the Silver Sands “build out” idea because they said that they’d have to pay for parking at a park that they frequent a lot.
But that’s a moot issue now; the Legislature in recent weeks passed its “Passport to Parks” bill which gives state residents free parking at all state parks in exchange for a $5 assessment added per year to your vehicle’s registration charge. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE

Dan Haar: Why spend millions on beaches and arenas? Lots of reasons

Silver Sands State Park in Milford may seem like a pristine, grassy marsh leading to a Long Island Sound beach if you walk along the boardwalk and don’t look too closely.
In fact, the park that attracts 250,000 people a year is built on an old town landfill and the former site of 75 houses that were destroyed in a 1955 storm. The state turned that mess into a park over many decades.
Now the state is about to spend $9.1 million on another round of upgrades, including a maintenance building that will save money on moving equipment around, more parking, food concessions, a lifeguard station and, hold on to your shorts, bathrooms. Opponents — locals who don’t want a more built-up beach park and state spending hawks — thought they had a winning case. If people in town don’t want it and the state is broke, why spend the money?
More broadly, why borrow $1.94 billion this year to pay for a laundry list of capital improvements?
Lots of reasons. Chiefly, Connecticut is not a poor, developing nation, it’s the richest state. We can’t escape our fiscal hell by halting maintenance and upgrades on our assets.
We still need to attract and keep people and companies. Having four civilized beach parks if you’re a state with 3.6 million people and 332 jagged miles of coastline is very much a part of that. Projects of this sort are not the problem.
The issue came to a head Wednesday morning at the Capitol in Hartford, where a panel of nine powerful state officials, led by Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, approved the third and final tranche of bonding projects for 2017. Two items, the $9.1 million for Silver Sands and $40 million to once again patch up the aging XL Center in Hartford, came under fire from the Republicans on the panel, Rep. Christopher Davis, R-Ellington, and Sen. L. Scott Frantz, R-Greenwich.
“Now is not the time to be bonding and adding to the state’s credit cards for projects that are simply wants and not needs,” Davis said during a heated spat with Malloy.
Yes, we know the state is basically unable to pay its bills. We know tens of thousands of people could be thrown off the Medicaid rolls in the coming months among many others in jeopardy.
Spending millions on non-necessities “sends the wrong message to the people of the state of Connecticut,” Davis said.
Malloy fired back, “Let me just be clear…Are you advocating that we bond operating expenses?”
The governor was making a distinction between regular, day-in, day-out state operations, which should be financed by tax collections, and one-time capital improvements, for which we borrow money like a homeowner taking out a mortgage.
“Well governor, obviously it comes from the same well and that well is the taxpayer of the state of Connecticut,” Davis said. “It will be paid for by our children and our grandchildren.”
Ah, the grandchildren. This is the rallying cry against borrowing and shorting the pension funds to make ends meet today. But it’s based on emotion and false logic.
We all agree that commitments made in the past, combined with lack of growth that results from the lack of magnet cities, have left us badly hurting. But we have to invest to dig ourselves out. Why should we, as struggling taxpayers, bear the whole brunt now when borrowing rates are low and returns are obvious? CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE

State, tribes sue feds to compel approval of 3rd-casino gaming amendments

Connecticut joined the Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan tribes in suing the U.S. Department of the Interior late Wednesday afternoon, a move aimed at jump-starting the dormant East Windsor casino project.
In the suit, filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, the state and the tribes seek to compel the Interior Department to act on gaming-agreement amendments Gov. Dannel P. Malloy signed with each of the tribes last summer. The department and Ryan Zinke, secretary of the Interior, are named as defendants.
Malloy’s office announced the filing, which had seemed to grow increasingly inevitable in recent weeks.
The suit contends that because the department failed to act on the amendments within 45 days of their submission, the amendments are “deemed approved,” under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. The suit says the court should require the Interior Department to adhere to federal regulations and publish notice of its approval in the Federal Register, the daily journal of the U.S. government.
“State law requires that these compact amendments are in fact approved,” Malloy said in a statement. “That’s why I have asked the attorney general to file this action. We need clarity and certainty with respect to this issue.” He said publication of the Interior Department’s approval “is necessary in order for the amendments to be legally effective and enforceable.”
The Interior Department's inaction has threatened to delay development of the East Windsor casino, a $300 million project to be built on the site of a former Showcase Cinemas building off Exit 45 of Interstate 91. The project is supposed to protect the tribes’ respective casinos — Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun — from the competitive impact of MGM Springfield, a nearly $1 billion resort casino under construction in western Massachusetts.
MGM Resorts International, which has vowed to pursue litigation to stop the East Windsor project, issued a response to the lawsuit’s filing Wednesday night.
“The Department of the Interior has clear authority to return submissions exactly as it did in its September 15 ruling, which ‘maintain[s] the status quo,’” Uri Clinton, the company’s senior vice president and legal counsel, said. “The Tribes are wrong when they insist that their amendment is deemed approved by default. Approving a new, third casino is the opposite of maintaining the status quo. Precedent shows that an amendment is not ‘deemed approved’ when Interior returns it, plain and simple. And no lawsuit, not even one backed by the Governor, changes those basic facts.”
State and federal lawmakers promptly issued statements in support of the suit.
“This legal action is absolutely necessary because of the irresponsible and illegal failure of federal officials to do their job and approve the tribal plan,” U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said in a phone interview. “They have a duty to Native American tribes — in fact, it’s a trust responsibility — to take action and approve measures that are in the interest of federally recognized tribes.”
Blumenthal said his view is that “the law is crystal clear” and that the suit presents “a clear-cut issue” for the court.
“The Department of the Interior must follow the law,” he said. “There’s an economic interest here, not only for the tribes but for the state economy. There’s a profound public interest in the court acting promptly and prudently.” CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE

Why Stonington didn’t get $500,000 sidewalk grant, and which projects were funded

Stonington — The state Department of Housing on Wednesday provided the criteria it used to assess applications for $2 million in Main Street Investment Fund grants as well as the description of the five projects that were funded instead of one in Pawcatuck.
On Monday, the town learned that it would not receive a $500,000 state grant it was told it would receive to install sidewalks along Route 1 from the high school to downtown Pawcatuck. First Selectman Rob Simmons has called the decisions an “irresponsible action” by the state, as the project would ensure the safety of pedestrians who walk along the narrow, busy state road.
When the town was informed last year it would receive the grant, the expected bonding for the Main Street Investment fund was $8 million. But the General Assembly reduced that to $2 million, which resulted in the Housing Department not funding Stonington’s $500,000 grant.
The five projects approved for funding were:

• $25,000 for Bridgewater to reconfigure a downtown street with diagonal parking to improve traffic flow, increase parking and improve safety and accessibility for pedestrians and cyclists.
• $500,000 for a streetscape project in the village center of Kent that calls for handicapped-accessible sidewalks, 25 trees and a dozen street lamps.
• $500,000 for Sprague to make improvements to a bus lot and skating pond, including sidewalks, a streetscape, landscaping and a bus shelter.
• $500,000 for Suffield to enhance a community center site with new parking, walkways, sidewalks, field improvements, landscaping and decorative lighting.
• $475,813 for Trumbull to expand sidewalk access to the commerce center from adjacent neighborhoods and improve and expand the green space in the commerce area. Money will be used for sidewalk installation, a retaining wall, demolition of existing trees shrubs and walkways, leveling the site, installation of a patio and granite benches and new trees.

State law establishes the criteria for evaluating the applications. This includes that the "projects be part of a plan previously approved by the governing body of the municipality to develop or improve town commercial centers to attract small businesses, promote commercial viability, and improve aesthetics and pedestrian access.”
Stonington’s project would have helped pedestrians access downtown Pawcatuck, possibly aiding in its revitalization.
Examples of projects that can receive funding are “facade or awning improvements; sidewalk improvements or construction; street lighting; building renovations, including mixed use of residential and commercial; landscaping and development of recreational areas and greenspace; bicycle paths; and other improvements or renovations deemed by the commissioner (of housing) to contribute to the economic success of the municipality.” CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE

Bond Commission OKs $40M for XL Center

The state Bond Commission on Wednesday morning approved $40 million in funding for improvements to the aging XL Center in Hartford, which is headed toward the sales block.
The funding was included in the bipartisan state budget that passed in October, but it didn't make it through the bond commission unanimously.
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, who chairs the commission, and Rep. Christopher Davis (R-Ellington), sparred for several minutes about the borrowing, which Davis said comes amid cuts to Medicare, mental health and other programs and when the state is already staring down a potential deficit in the budget that passed in October.
Malloy noted that Davis had voted for that budget, which included the $40 million for the XL Center.
"So in other words, you were for it before you were against it," Malloy said.
Malloy also said it shouldn't be a surprise to Davis that the new budget might already be in deficit because he had warned legislators it could happen.
Davis shot back: "I would say that it was quite interesting and positive that both parties could pass a budget without your direct input," he said. "Some argue that, perhaps, is why it was able to be accomplished."
The state budget instructs the Capital Region Development Authority to solicit bids for the XL Center, which is owned by the city of Hartford.
Mayor Luke Bronin said recently that he is skeptical how much interest the venue will draw.
The $40 million can be used for renovations and capital improvements, including the acquisition of nearby real estate. CRDA has been in conversations to acquire the Hartford 21 retail complex that surrounds the arena, where the atrium, retail space and some parking is located.
That retail space is owned by Northland Investment Corp.

Larson promotes pollution tax to fund infrastructure investment

U.S. Rep. John Larson this week took to the national stage to tout his plan to invest $1 trillion in the nation's infrastructure paid for by a pollution tax.
Larson, who represents Connecticut's 1st Congressional District, gave a keynote address Tuesday at a Brookings Institution panel discussion entitled "Can Tax Reform Include A Carbon Tax?"
Larson recently introduced the American Wins Act, which proposes to raise $1.8 trillion over 10 years through an upstream tax on the carbon-content of fossil fuels such as coal, oil and natural gas.
"This fully-paid for proposal would be an investment that would target our roads, bridges, levees, tunnels and rail lines so we can improve commerce, provide jobs, and ultimately improve the economy," Larson said.
"It was refreshing to have an open dialogue on constructive solutions to some of our nation's most pressing problems, including tax reform, job creation, rebuilding the country and reducing pollution. I urge Congress to get back to regular order, so we can have discussions like the one we had today, focused on practical solutions," said Larson.

Big interest in bidding Nonnewaug renovation project

WOODBURY – A crowd more than 60 strong attended a pre-bid meeting and tour of Nonnewaug High School Wednesday to hear specifics of the renovation project, which will enter the major construction phase in early 2018.
There are more than 24 bid packages for all aspects of the main construction – from flooring to painting to ventilation to electric – in the $63.8 million project, and representatives from Construction Manager O&G Industries at a Building Committee meeting Tuesday said there has been great interest in this project.
Questions fielded at the pre-bid meeting, which O&G did not make mandatory, were about the bidding process and hours of access to the school. Much work will be done on second shift. Any questions, even those asked and answered on the tour, need to be submitted in writing for a documented response.
Bids will be opened Dec. 13 at 3 p.m. in the meeting room of Woodbury Middle School, where boards and committees now hold meetings. That date is about a week later than originally anticipated due to the Thanksgiving holiday, some clarifications on the project and the high number of interested parties, project manager Nelson Reis said.
Reis can gauge the level of interest electronically, seeing which companies look at the bid specifications online and which decline. Some companies could combine bids, such as putting electrical and alarms systems into one, while others may submit individual bids for each area, he said.
Reis said it will take several weeks to go through all the bids, but project officials still hope to award the bids by mid January.
Committee members stressed to design team officials from O&G, SLAM architects and owner’s project manager Colliers International that time is of the essence since the project has been plagued by delays.
Two separate lawsuits over the vote on the project set the timeline back by four years, with an escalation loss of roughly $6 million. Escalation means that items, from material to labor, get more expensive as time goes on, so less can be bought with the same $63.8 million.
Construction was originally supposed to start over the winter break, but a delay in getting a flood plain management plan approved by the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection set the project back another two months, at an escalation rate of roughly $186,000 a month.
Plan approval is required before construction can begin, and Building Committee and design team members, along with local legislators, have made exhaustive efforts to get the approval fast-tracked.
State Sen. Eric C Berthel, R-32nd District, said his office was expecting to hear back from DEEP on the plan status last week, but Scott Pellman from Colliers told Building Committee members Tuesday that Berthel reported he hadn’t heard back yet.
Building Committee Chairman John Chapman said he’s willing to continue to reach out to whoever can help expedite the approval.
Despite the delays and escalation, design team members are sticking to a two-year timeline instead of three, with a completion date of summer 2019. Pellman said an updated and more detailed timeline will be created once bids come in.
Designers also are employing value engineering methods to get as much bang for their buck, but they are bound by many state mandates to get the maximum reimbursement on the project. The state also requires that every inch of the building be renovated, so certain areas can’t be left as is.
Phase 1 started in the summer with abatement work, relocating offices and building temporary classrooms. That phase is wrapping up on time, Pellman said, and design teams members moved some work from Phase 2 into Phase 1 to get a head start on main construction.
The next Building Committee meeting, originally set for Dec. 6, has been rescheduled to Dec. 16 after the bids are opened.

   

CT Construction Digest Wednesday November 29, 2017

Stamford apartment construction maintains brisk pace

STAMFORD — The city’s housing stock continues to grow, as a number of major apartment blocks open or near completion.
Among the new projects, a 392-unit building opened earlier this month at 100 Commons Park North, in the South End. Less than a couple of miles away in the downtown, the 325-unit Atlantic Station, at the corner of Atlantic Street and Tresser Boulevard, and the 209-unit Park Vela on the Park, at the junction of West Park Place and Washington Boulevard, are both scheduled to debut in the new year.
“I’m very excited about the project,” said Bruce Berg, CEO of the Cappelli Organization’s Fuller Development Co. arm. “We like the location, given the proximity to the train station, mall and bars and restaurants in the downtown, and visibility from the highway.”
The approximately 280-foot Atlantic Station building also includes some 17,000 square feet on its ground level allocated for retail.
“We are negotiating a lease with one party and are talking to several prospective tenants,” Berg said.
Adjacent to the new building, Cappelli is renovating an Atlantic Street structure that formerly housed a post office. The use of that structure has not been finalized, but it could include dining establishments.  few blocks to the north, construction at Vela on the Park has also reached the final stages. The new building stands at the west end of the restaurant row around Columbus Park.
In the South End, the 100 Commons Park North building comprises the latest installment of Building and Land Technology’s mixed-use Harbor Point project.
Since building work began in 2009, BLT has constructed some 2,700 apartments at Harbor Point. When it is completed, the project will accommodate more than 4,000 units.
Down the street from 100 Commons Park North, the latest building in Jonathan Rose Co. and Malkin Holdings’ mixed-income Metro Green campus opened in July at 695 Atlantic St. The Metro Green Terrace property consists of 131 market-rate and below-market-rate units. CLCIK TITLE TO CONTINUE

Carabetta Companies offering to buy Mills Memorial Apartments in Meriden

MERIDEN – The Carabetta Companies are offering to purchase the Mills Memorial Apartments from the city to build senior and market-rate housing, despite the city rebuffing an initial bid just two months ago.
City officials rejected the September offer because the complex is slated for demolition to make way for mixed-income housing developments and the extension of Harbor Brook and the Meriden Green. The company sent a letter Monday urging Mayor Kevin Scarpati to reconsider, arguing the buildings are structurally sound.
The offer also comes as the company has a $375-million lawsuit against the city, claiming the city acted as a monopoly in denying Carabetta the ability to develop property on Cathole Mountain.
Company CEO Joseph F. Carabetta said in a Sept. 19 letter to Scarpati that his company, which owns the Parkside apartments across the street, could rehabilitate and convert the Mills into elderly and market-rate apartments. He said that demolishing the buildings “would be a complete waste of the taxpayer funds,” and that selling the buildings would produce revenue for the city and Housing Authority.
The city is under contract with Pennrose Properties to develop the land adjacent to the Mills into mixed-income housing and commercial complexes. The projects, known as Meriden Commons I and II, are contingent on the demolition of the Mills Memorial Apartments. Plans also call for the extension of the Meriden Green and Harbor Brook through the Mills property. Demolition was initially slated for this fall, but delays in the Meriden Housing Authority’s relocation of Mills tenants resulted in the demolition being pushed back until early 2018. City Manager Guy Scaife, acting on behalf of Scarpati, rejected the offer two days later. Scaife wrote in a letter to the company that, despite the offer’s appeal, the Mills must be demolished in order to comply with the city’s flood control plan as the buildings are in a designated flood plain.
“I greatly appreciate your interest and desire to propose a creative reuse of the existing structures in such a way that the City, our taxpayers, and you as a developer might benefit,” Scaife wrote. “Under most circumstances, your proposal would generate significant interest on our part. However, our situation is unique … Allowing those buildings to stay and not converting the land to additional flood migration area would be a clear violation of the approved plan and associated funding.”
In renewing the offer Monday, Carabetta reiterated his contention that demolishing the Mills would be a “huge injustice,” but also offered an alternative flood control plan that would include work at Pratt’s Pond.
Carabetta then made reference the company’s pending lawsuit against the city, former city planner Dominick Caruso and Tilcon Inc., calling it “the biggest lawsuit.” The 2016 lawsuit stems from Carabetta's failed bid to create a housing development atop Cathole Mountain.
The lawsuit alleges the city engaged in a scheme with Tilcon to prevent the Carabetta’s development in order to monopolize the trap rock market. CLICK TITLE TO CONTNUE

Killingly council to decide whether to accept power plant deal

KILLINGLY — In one of its last acts in its current incarnation, the Killingly Town Council this week will decide whether to accept a pair of amended benefit agreements that, if approved, would result in the $95 million in cash and tax revenue being funneled into the town’s coffers if a proposed power plant in eventually built in Dayville.
After months of discussion, the council on Thursday will vote on a Community Environmental Benefit, or CEBA, and a tax stabilization contract that were put on hold in May after the Connecticut Siting Council denied permit applications from the NTE energy company to construct a 550-megawatt power plant in town.
Because the applications were rejected without prejudice, the company is expected to re-file for the permits early next year. In anticipation of that re-filing, Town Manager Sean Hendricks has been working with NTE representatives on new versions of proposed agreements, ones that take into account some council members’ push for more money and increased protection for the town.
The council last month met in executive session to request some more minor changes to the agreements, largely revolving around contract language and decommissioning issues regarding the proposed plant.
Council member Gail Oakley Pratt, who will give up her seat in December, said she sees no reason to end the contract negotiations this month.
“We’ve changed so much in these contracts since they were introduced — they are leaps and bounds more benefits to the town in the amended versions — that I don’t see the harm in letting a new council with fresh eyes continue going over them,” she said. ”(NTE) has not yet re-filed its applications, so there’s no deadline we’re working against right now. Why foreclose these discussions now?”
NTE has already agreed to increase its initial $2 million CEBA proposal to $5 million. That “unrestricted” money could be used for a variety of environmentally-oriented projects, including a scholarship fund, for water testing at Alexander’s Lake and to plant trees throughout town.
The council also requested Hendricks revise a tax stabilization agreement with NTE. The draft version of the plan called for the company to pay the town $90 million in taxes over a 20-year period, but that figure rose to $91 million after further negotiations. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE

Connecticut Water Celebrates Completion of $30M Rockville Water Treatment Facility

Connecticut Water Company (Connecticut Water), along with state and local leaders, celebrated the recent completion of the company's new Rockville Water Treatment Facility on Nov. 8. The new facility was constructed at a cost of more than $30 million and is part of a public drinking water system that serves 85,000 people in 10 north central Connecticut communities.
“This new Rockville Facility will provide a reliable supply of safe drinking water for families, communities and for public fire protection for decades to come. We are proud of our employees and our construction partners that were able to construct this facility on time and on budget, and we value the great cooperation we had from the Connecticut Department of Public Health Drinking Water Supplies Section in reviewing and approving plans,” said David C. Benoit, Connecticut Water president and CEO. “The construction of this facility is consistent with our strategy of delivering value and growth through investments in our systems.”

“This type of infrastructure investment needs to be recognized and celebrated, as water safety and quality are essential to the people of this state,” said Gov. Dannel P. Malloy. “A private utility company willingly making an investment of more than $30 million to improve the water for 85,000 customers and the environment aligns with our draft comprehensive state water plan by preserving and ensuring the safety and quality of our natural resources. These investments result in both short-term and long-term dividends, and Connecticut Water Company should be applauded for doing what is right.”

The newly upgraded facility replaces a treatment facility that first went into service in 1970. The new facility enhances treatment, increases capacity, provides greater energy and operating efficiencies, improves reliability, and drives significant environmental benefits compared with the former plant.
In addition to providing customer and environmental benefits, construction of the new facility boosted the state's economy. About a dozen Connecticut manufacturers and service providers supplied materials or services for the construction of the new facility.

Milford Officials Make 11th Hour Plea To Stop Improvements At Silver Sands

MILFORD, CT — A day before the state Bond Commission is expected to vote on whether to approve $9.1 million for renovations at Silver Sands State Park, a bevy of Milford officials and lawmakers held a press conference to say they don’t want the money or the project.
The funding will be used to construct a bath house building, lifeguard and staff office, concession building, and a maintenance facility.
“No one wants this project and the state of Connecticut cannot afford it,” Sen. Gayle Slossberg, D-Milford, said.
“Milford residents have been unified and vocal in their opposition to the buildout of Silver Sands,” Slossberg added. “They have raised numerous concerns about the project, but those concerns have not been resolved, and in many cases never acknowledged.”
She suggested the money would be better spent on education or social services or a different infrastructure project.
The Malloy administration, which controls the Bond Commission agenda, disagreed with Slossberg’s assessment.
“We appreciate the perspective and feedback from elected officials in Milford, but we respectfully disagree,” Kelly Donnelly, a spokeswoman for Malloy, said. “This project ensures important improvements are made to Silver Sands that will improve access to the park and build out basic amenities for visitors.
“It’s important to remember that this is a state park that serves tens of thousands of visitors from across Connecticut and beyond, and therefore it must be operated, maintained, and improved with all state residents in mind,” Donnelly added.
The last time an item was pulled from the state Bond Commission agenda was in June 2012. At that time Malloy pulled $300,000 to improve the People’s Center in New Haven from the agenda after veterans’ groups complained that some of the members of the organization that runs the community center were communists.
Slossberg was joined at the press conference by Milford Mayor Ben Blake, Milford area state Reps. Kim Rose, Pam Staneski, and Charlie Ferraro, and local Milford residents in opposition to the project.
“The priorities up in Hartford are not the same priorities that we have locally,” Blake said.
The Milford mayor said it is his city’s responsibility to provide police and fire personnel to monitor the beach. “We have put a lot of our resources and will continue to do it because it is a special part of our city,” Blake said CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE

CT Construction Digest Tuesday November 28, 2017

CT Bond Commission Agenda For November 29, 2017

CVS construction underway on Stamford’s West Side

STAMFORD — Construction has started on a CVS store at the corner of West Main Street and Commerce Road, in a section of the city’s West Side that has attracted several big-box stores.
The approximately 11,600-square-foot CVS outlet is being built on a previously vacant lot and is scheduled to open in September, according to a CVS spokeswoman. Located a few hundred yards from the city’s border with Greenwich, the new establishment would join eight other CVS stores in the city.
Nationwide, the Woonsocket, R.I.-based CVS operates approximately 9,700 stores and employs about 250,000. It serves some 5 million customers each day.
CVS and Hartford-based health insurer Aetna are working on a merger that could be worth more than $70 billion, in a deal that could be completed early next month, according to reports.
The union would combine one of the country’s largest drugstore chains and pharmacy managers in CVS and one of the longest-running health insurers in Aetna, whose coverage spans employer health insurance and public-sector plans.
A few hundred yards away from the new CVS establishment, The Home Depot is building an approximately 115,000-square-foot home center and 28,000-square-foot garden hub at 1937 W. Main St. The complex is scheduled to open next summer, according to Home Depot officials.
Home Depot’s new center would stand adjacent to a Stop & Shop grocery store and a research lab for Cytec Specialty Chemicals. The nearest Home Depot stores to Stamford are in Norwalk and Port Chester, N.Y.
The lot sold for $14.5 million in July 2016 to West Side Development Partners II LLC, an affiliate of Steven Wise Associates and Spinnaker, paving the way for construction. The deal followed Steven Wise Associates’ and Spinnaker’s acquisition six years earlier of Cytec’s building for $11 million. CLCIK TITLE TO CONTINUE

 

Developer promises late 2018 groundbreaking for Bridgeport theaters

 

BRIDGEPORT — Max Perez stood in the alleyway Monday off Main Street separating the historic and long closed Majestic and Poli Palace theaters.
“I’ve been taking care of these theaters since 1997,” said Perez, a veteran city staffer with the economic development department. “I’m the happy guy here.”
Happy because the shuttered and decaying buildings may, finally, be restored and re-opened. Perez was part of the City Hall contingent present Monday for the ceremonial signing of a deal between the city — represented by Mayor Joe Ganim — and New York City-based Exact Capital — represented by managing partner Craig Livingston.
Eventually Exact plans to renovate the theaters, the neighboring Savoy Hotel, and build three new residential towers nearby. The firm’s proposal was selected by the Ganim administration over the summer. The City Council approved it in mid-September.
Now Exact has a year to piece together the financing for the first phase of construction.
“It (that year) should start today,” said Tom Gill, Ganim’s economic development chief.
When the choice of Exact was first announced in June, Ganim’s timetable was unrealistically aggressive. He wanted the council within 30 days to approve a “memorandum of understanding” allowing City Hall to move ahead with drafting and finalizing a contract.
Not only had the mayor pledged to tackle the theaters and the Savoy on the campaign trail in 2015, but he is considering running for governor and touting every project, real or still on paper, as he travels the state meeting Democratic kingmakers.
But the council, used to voting on final development deals, ultimately insisted that be the case with Exact’s project. As a result, Livingston said Monday, “We intend to put a shovel in the ground still in 2018, but it will be the back half.”
There are still plenty of unknowns. For example, Exact had previously suggested it may seek some sort of financial incentives from the city. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE

Trumbull’s Pequonnock River Trail to get a makeover

TRUMBULL — Leaves are strewn down the quiet Pequonnock River Trail, not far from Trumbull’s busy Church Hill Road.
People park their cars in the 30-some spots on Tait Road and jog or stroll up the tree-lined trail, which stretches north through the town.
Earlier this month, Trumbull received a $2.05 million grant from the Local Transportation Capital Improvement Program to build a trailhead and connector from Church Hill Road to the Pequonnock River Trail.
“Originally when I started coming here about 10 years ago, it was Trumbull’s best-kept secret,” said town resident Lisa Marino. “But as time goes on and people become more aware of it, that is why it has become a lot more populated.”
Marino has been coming to the Pequonnock River Trail for the past decade to jog three to four times a week. She and thousands of others use the trail regularly to jog, power walk and bike.
The town’s 2014 Plan of Conservation and Development calls for easier access to the trail from commercial centers in Trumbull. The connector is essentially another piece of the trail that attaches the Pequonnock River Trail to a trailhead that will be built behind properties that the town bought on Church Hill Road.
“In addition to supporting our businesses and providing additional connectivity in our community, the project will enhance public safety by creating mid-point access to the trail and it will also help alleviate the parking problems in the Tait Road and Whitney Avenue neighborhoods,” First Selectman Tim Herbst said in a statement.
Parking is usually packed on Tait Road, where Marino usually puts her car, she said.
The Pequonnock River Trail, a multi-use 16 mile trail, draws more than 6,000 people a week during its peak season, a number that is expected to rise with the additional parking and access the trailhead and connector provide, economic and community development director Rina Bakalar said.
“The more connectivity you have, the more usership,” Bakalar said.
The new trailhead and connector will include two permanent artist easels and two rest areas with benches, Bakalar said. Artists will be able to bring their canvas and supplies to the trail to paint, draw and take photos. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE

CCM director: Connecticut still needs to change the way it does business

The executive director of the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities said Monday that the General Assembly didn't go far enough during the past legislative session to enact sweeping changes to tax structure and spending that would have made the state more competitive.
Joe DeLong and CCM Director of Communications Kevin Maloney spoke to The Day's editorial board during an hourlong interview Monday afternoon in which they discussed topics, including tax reform, education spending, pensions, regionalization, and the shift to an urban-centered economy.
During the past legislative session, CCM called for comprehensive reforms to reduce spending at the municipal level, promote service-sharing, and diversify revenues to shift away from an over-reliance on property taxes, DeLong said.
DeLong said that as a whole, CCM found the General Assembly was largely "structured to be anti-reform in almost every way" during the past session. In general, he said, Democrats weren't interested in reforming spending but were willing to work on creating revenue diversification. Republicans, on the other hand, were willing to discuss controlling spending, but had no appetite for reforming tax structure.
He said the legislature made progress in areas "around the margins." But he said there was "not enough of the sweeping changes of the way we do business that are going to make Connecticut competitive again."
He pointed to the legislature's change to thresholds for prevailing wage as an example of a marginal change that many small communities like. He said the threshold for construction of a new project to fall under prevailing wage increased from $400,000 to $1 million. If repairs on an existing building collectively fall under $100,000, the repairs are not subject to prevailing wage.
Prevailing wage mandates that a certain hourly wage be paid to those in the construction trades on projects undertaken by a given municipality. In New London, for instance those wages are typically well in excess of $30 an hour.
In other areas, he said, the legislature missed opportunities for reform. CCM advocated that arbitrators should be able to walk in with a "clean state" and look at all the factors that impact a community's finances, rather than only being allowed to consider the last best offers from each side, which creates an artificially high floor. The proposal passed, but it only applies to Tier 4 communities, such as Hartford, in major distress, rather than all municipalities.
DeLong said CCM will continue to advocate for the proposals outlined in CCM's January 2017 report on service sharing and revenue diversification.
Shift to urban-centered economy

The proposals come at a time when there is a shift from a suburban-driven economy to an urban-centered economy, and DeLong stressed the importance of holistic tax reform to allow the state's cities to prosper and drive economic growth for the state.
With a nationally suburban-driven economy in the 1980s and 1990s, workers flocked to the state's suburbs where they could pursue the American dream, he said. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE

South Windsor Considers Noise Ordinance To Quiet Construction Sites

Walking a line between being business-friendly and resident-friendly, the town council is considering an ordinance that would limit noise at construction sites.
The ordinance would allow construction in residential areas from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. only. The fine for violating could be up to $100 a day and include cease-and-desist orders. The town attorney will write a draft ordinance and the council will hold a public hearing on it in December or early next year.
“We need to identify a way to make sure we have a mechanism to protect our community from the noise,” Mayor M. Saud Anwar said. “The idea is not to have people sitting there measuring the decibels. That is not practical.”
Town officials said residents have been complaining about noise early in the morning and later in the evening from a new luxury housing development going up on Graham Road. The town has a policy of construction hours from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., but has no way of enforcing it.
Michele Lipe, the town’s director of planning, said her department is responsible for dealing with complaints. She noted her department tries to work with contractors to get the issues resolved.
“It’s a tricky situation when you are a construction site next to a residential area,” she noted, adding currently there is no zoning regulation, ordinance or ability to fine violators.
“We don’t have fining powers and that’s not going to be an effective way of stopping noise,” she said.
Deputy police Chief Scott Custer said the department also lacks the ability to enforce the hours since the policy is not law.

“We want to be responsive to the residents, but we can only follow the rules and tools we have available to us,” he said.

Town Manager Matthew B. Galligan said there “needs to be teeth in an ordinance.” CLICK TITEL TO CONTINUE

Former Dunkin' Donuts Park Developers Lose Legal Fight Against Yard Goats

he former developers of Dunkin’ Donuts Park have lost their lawsuit against the Hartford Yard Goats and owner Josh Solomon.
Hartford Superior Court Judge Thomas Moukawsher granted the defendants a summary judgment Monday against Centerplan Construction Co. and DoNo Hartford, which had been suing for “tortious interference and unfair trade practices.”

In his ruling, Moukawsher wrote that the plaintiffs claims that the team pressed Hartford for changes to the ballpark that the team had no intention of paying for, and that led to the city firing Centerplan from the project “can’t survive because they lack the minimum substance” and that they are “no more than emphatic assertions and unsupported inferences from circumstantial evidence.”

The developers were fired from the $70 million publicly financed ballpark project in June 2016 following multiple missed deadlines and cost overruns. They sued the city for wrongful termination. The city has countersued.
Moukawsher said the developer’s assertions and inferences suggested that supporting evidence would be forthcoming but that it never materialized.
That reliance on speculation and unsupported inference was fatal to both developer’s claims, Moukawsher said.
“DoNo and Centerplan’s claims are connected to the facts by a rope of sand. They fail because no reasonable fact-finder could make the desired connection and rule in their favor,” Moukawsher said. “Even viewing what they have submitted in the light most favorable to them, they have offered nothing to show genuine issues of material fact to be decided at trial.”
Centerplan attorney Raymond Garcia declined to comment.
Solomon said Monday that he was “pleased that the court found that Centerplan’s assertions are completely without merit,” and the judge’s ruling showed that Centerplan CEO Robert Landino and his team are “willing to manipulate the truth.”

 

CT Construction Digest Monday November 27, 2017

Transit system travails persist as economic worry for Connecticut

A growing number of economists and public officials think Connecticut’s transportation troubles are contributing to the state’s slow economic recovery.
Eight years after its recession, the state has recovered only 73 percent of the jobs it shed in the downturn. The situation has hardly improved in the past few months, as Connecticut has lost more than 11,000 positions since July. While a multitude of factors contribute, mass-transit shortcomings loom as a key concern in a state where hundreds of thousands of workers commute every day.
“We have some of the most congested highways in America. That suppresses job growth,” said Joe McGee, vice president of public policy for The Business Council of Fairfield County. “Our congested highway system makes us less attractive. If we can improve our highways and also increase rail speed, I think our economy can grow very powerfully.”

Consensus on congestion

By many measures, southwestern Connecticut comprises one of the most congested areas of the country. Stamford ranked as the American city with the highest overall congestion rate — even higher than the levels in New York, Los Angeles, Boston and San Francisco — according to a report this year by transportation analytics firm Inrix.
“I don’t think the transportation issues are necessarily directly related to job losses, but you see it in terms of limiting growth,” said Pete Gioia, economist for the Connecticut Business & Industry Association. “It’s a huge concern for growth going forward.”
The clogged roadways hinder many employers’ efforts in cities such as Stamford to attract and retain top talent.

“It is a significant burden on being able to lure people into this area and getting them to happily commute,” said David Lewis, founder and CEO of Norwalk-based HR outsourcing and consulting firm Operations Inc. “The chances are you’re going to pay more for that employee, and you’re also going to deal with the effects that commute causes. That person comes in more stressed from their drive, having been in that commuting mode.”

The state Department of Economic and Community Development does not track the economic impact of congestion, but the department still pays close attention to the transit systems, said Commissioner Catherine Smith.
“For most companies thinking of coming to Connecticut, I don’t think transportation is No. 1 on their list of needs — that would be people and talent — but it’s still an important factor,” Smith said. “Everyone wants to make sure we’re making the right investments in our roads and rail lines.”
Members of the General Assembly also acknowledge the need for substantial investments.
“From the Transportation Committee point of view, there is no question that we are in need of significant improvements in efficiencies and capacity without sacrificing safety,” said L. Scott Frantz, R-Greenwich, a member of the General Assembly’s Transportation Committee. “All one has to do is look from the third story of any building in Stamford at the traffic entering, exiting or transiting I-95 to understand how challenged we are.”
But the Legislature has been hard-pressed in recent years to enact the necessary remedies.
“If we did some of the things that I’m trying to do — like improved transportation and infrastructure — we could easily move to the top 10 states to do business in, but we have to make those investments,” Gov. Dannel P. Malloy said in an interview earlier this year in Stamford. “And that’s why we need to get a budget done and why the Legislature can’t steal money from transportation again.”
The “stealing” refers to legislators’ frequent raids in recent years to pay for general expenditures.
The Special Transportation Fund posted an estimated balance of about $98 million in the past fiscal year and is predicted to finish the current year with $141 million, according to the state Office of Policy and Management. But the re-allocations have depleted a fund that faces the likelihood of going into the red in the next few years, as gas tax revenues have fallen sharply. CLCIK TITLE TO CONTINUE

Traveler traffic off to slow start at new Meriden train station

MERIDEN – A special holiday schedule and service delays contributed to a slow day at the new Meriden Train Station Friday following the opening of the new platforms and pedestrian bridge last week.
“This is new to me,” said Armando Diaz, a train passenger from Bridgeport. “It’s much better.”
Friday afternoon was the first time Diaz was able to step off the train at the new station. He said he takes the train usually every other week. The station is part of the new CTrail line and includes a pedestrian bridge.
“We have the up and over (pedestrian bridge) to connect both sides of the tracks,”said Sean Moore, president of the Midstate Chamber of Commerce earlier in the week. “You can park in the new garage and use the bridge to get to the Meriden Green.”
The new garage across the street from Track One was quiet Friday. An employee there said it wasn’t busy.
Amtrak issued a special Thanksgiving and holiday timetable from Nov. 21, through Nov. 27 for Northeast Corridor services. In a corresponding travel guide, Amtrak warns that Wednesday, Thursday, and Sunday are the busiest travel days during this time.
Service alerts were also issued concerning possible track work from Nov. 3 through Dec. 31. The train continued from Track One on Friday after arriving in Meriden to St. Albans, Vermont, one of the few departures this weekend.
There is still sidewalk and landscape construction in front of the station, which is expected to be completed next month. Increased service will start at all stations May 2018.

Stonington school projects on schedule and within budget

Stonington — With two large additions partially enclosed, residents are getting an idea of what a major portion of the $62 million expansion and renovation project at Deans Mill and West Vine Street Schools will look like.
While classes have been going on inside the existing buildings, the grounds of both schools have been turned into large construction sites with fencing, heavy equipment, large piles of dirt and two additions.
“The progress from where we were on Labor Day until now has been significant,” K-12 School Building Committee Chairman Rob Marseglia said after touring the schools on Wednesday. “We are right on schedule. We’re right where we want to be. The credit has to go to Gilbane (Construction Co.) and their teams at both sites.”
Marseglia said classroom and library partitions are going in now, as well as mechanical items such as duct work and conduits. Soon windows will be installed with the goal of making the building weather-tight and heated so crews can work comfortably through the winter.
The project also remains well within budget, with $4 million left in the contingency account despite spending more than anticipated on rock and PCB removal and blasting.
The plan to upgrade the two 50-year-old schools calls for the two additions to be done in time for school to begin in August 2018. At that point, students will move in to the new additions, which will contain classrooms, offices, 6,000-square-foot gyms and libraries, while crews renovate the cafeterias, restore the school grounds and complete work on larger parking areas. At Deans Mill, the wing facing the street will have to be demolished. Both schools will have air conditioning and will use gas heat instead of the current electric.
While all the work at West Vine Street is expected to be completed in February or March 2019, and Deans Mill a month or so later because of the demolition, Superintendent of Schools Van Riley will have to decide whether to make the transition in the middle of the school year or wait until the beginning of the 2019-20 school year.
The West Vine Street move will be complicated by the fact that third- and fourth-grade students from West Broad Street School are moving to the expanded West Vine, which now houses kindergarten through second grade. The 117-year-old West Broad facility then will be closed. In addition, fifth-graders at Mystic and Pawcatuck middle schools will be moved to the two elementary schools.
Riley said he understands teachers are excited about moving in to their new classrooms but he wants to minimize the disruption for students.
With the exception of the construction crews from Gilbane Building Co., the two people who are most intimately involved in the project each day are Deans Mill School Principal Jennifer McCurdy and her counterpart at West Vine Street, Alicia Sweet Dawe.
Both say the projects are going smoothly and have had minimal impact on the operations of their schools.
“I thought there would be a lot more disruption,” McCurdy said. “Some days are louder than others but everyone has acclimated. Sometimes I forgot they’re even back there.”
“As crazy as it sounds, it’s going very well,” Dawe added. “The kids have been great, the staff has been great and my project supervisor (from Gilbane), Cheryl Benn, has been phenomenal. Anything I’ve needed, she’s taken care of. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE

Lengthy CT budget debate leaves capital program low on cash

It’s been nearly three years since Connecticut has had to dip into funds for capital projects to pay its operating bills.
But thanks to the long-running state budget impasse, the state’s cash flow problems could be back — in a slightly different way.
State Treasurer Denise L. Nappier warned in her most recent monthly debt report that this time around, Connecticut might need to temporarily transfer operating funds to cover its capital program.
The state uses this program to finance municipal school construction, road and other infrastructure upgrades, building programs at public colleges and universities, state building repairs and other projects.

Even with adoption of the new biennial budget in late October, “additional time will be required to properly stage and complete … bond sales,” Nappier wrote. “As a result, temporary transfers between bond proceeds investment accounts and the cash pool may be necessary over the coming months.”

Connecticut operates from a common pool that mingles tax revenues, federal grants and receipts from fees and licenses with borrowed funds. The treasurer’s office is allowed to transfer funds between operating and capital programs.
Though it is done infrequently, this flexibility was employed on several occasions both in 2009 during the last recession and again between 2012 and 2014 when bills exceeded available tax and other operating fund receipts.
A combination of a sluggish, post-recession economy coupled with decades’ worth of budgetary accounting gimmicks had drained operating cash substantially five years ago. At one point in May 2012, the state had $121 million in its common cash pool — while weekly disbursements were averaging about $540 million. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE

CT Construction Digest Wednesday November 22, 2017

Bond Commission Poised To Approve Over $1 Billion In Borrowing

HARTFORD, CT — One of the consequences of not having a budget for four months was an inability to put anything on the state’s credit card. Now that the state has a budget, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy is proposing $1.07 billion in bonding to be approved at a special meeting next week.
The Dec. 8 meeting was canceled and a special meeting will be held Wednesday, Nov. 29, instead.
Administration officials said the delay in passing a budget has held up critical infrastructure projects and slowed certain parts of the economy, such as the construction trades.
Earlier this year, Malloy had initially planned to borrow about $2.7 billion, however, the newly passed state budget included a $2 billion cap. Bonding $1.07 billion next Wednesday will bring the total amount of general obligation bonding for the calendar year up to $1.94 billion, which is $58.7 million shy of the new cap.
“With this agenda, the state is committing its support to essential economic development, housing, school construction, fire training school, and other critical infrastructure projects that were on hold as we operated without an enacted budget for nearly four months into the fiscal year,” Office of Policy and Management Secretary Ben Barnes said Tuesday. “Importantly, the proposed allocations included in this agenda fall within the new bonding cap established by the bipartisan budget. While it is imperative that we focus on a responsibly balanced state budget, we must also continue to make long term investments in Connecticut’s future.”
The Bond Commission agenda includes a number of projects, large and small.
There’s $40 million to make improvements to the XL Center in Hartford.
Malloy had sought $250 million to improve the aging facility in downtown Hartford, but that was before the state’s revenue numbers fell far below projections in April.
There’s also $20 million for the brownfield remediation the governor was touting in Hartford on Monday.
There’s $50 million to help improve the state’s information technology, including $28 million earmarked specifically for a health information system.
The Bond Commission is also looking at allocating $48 million to various companies who qualify for funding under the Manufacturing Assistance Act. Those include First Five companies like EDAC Technologies Corporation, which needs $10 million to assist in acquiring machinery and equipment at its facility in Cheshire and others like Henkel of America Inc., which is not a First Five company but is receiving help relocating its Laundry and Home Care unit from Arizona to Stamford.
There is also $1.7 million in funding for body cameras for law enforcement and $30 million for improvements to school buildings in at least 30 districts and $500 million for school construction projects. There’s another $6 million for capital improvements at charter schools.
As promised earlier this month by the governor, the Bond Commission is also poised to approve $1 million in bonding for the Connecticut Television Network to “finance production and studio equipment.”
Malloy offered the $1 million in bonding to the legislature when contract negotiations with the nonprofit operator of the network were failing. The nonprofit operator eventually ended its contract with the state and a new contract is expected to be put out to bid in the spring.
There’s $17.5 million for the Eastern Connecticut Regional Fire Training School in Willimantic.
And there’s also $9 million for construction of a bath house building, lifeguard office, concession building, and a maintenance facility at Silver Sands State Park in Milford. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE

City receives $2 million grant to restore vacant hospital

MERIDEN, Conn. (AP) — A Connecticut city has received a $2 million grant to clean up an abandoned hospital in order to redevelop the property into senior housing.

Meriden Economic Development Director Juliet Burdelski says the commitment by the state will allow them to get the project started. The Record-Journal reports the hospital has been vacant since the 1990s and has continued to degrade since then, despite efforts at remediation.
Democratic Gov. Dannel Malloy's office said Monday a total of $13.6 million in state funds would go to 14 municipalities in order to revitalize blighted properties.
Burdelski says developer Diversified Financial Resources will have 18 months to secure private financing for redevelopment, per an agreement with the city.

 

US: Connecticut Economic Growth Slowest In New England

 

Connecticut’s economy grew more slowly from April through June than any other New England state and was 43rd among the states, according to federal statistics released Tuesday.

The U.S. Commerce Department data provides fresh evidence of Connecticut’s weak economic position, which has been a persistent source of political trouble for Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and the General Assembly.

The state’s economy, which is measured by the sale of all goods and services, amounted to $260.1 billion in the second quarter of the year and expanded by 1.4 percent over the first quarter.

It’s the second largest economy in New England after Massachusetts, with an economy of $523.3 billion. The Bay State’s economy grew by 2 percent.
Though growth in Connecticut is lackluster, it’s an improvement over the previous four quarters when the economy shrank. Economic growth in Connecticut in 2016 was zero.
The pace of economic growth in the state is not surprising, economists say. The labor force is still struggling to regain all the jobs lost in the recession, and flat to falling tax revenue reflects weak economic activity.
Connecticut is “not powering itself,” said Peter Gioia, the economist for the Connecticut Business & Industry Association.
“We’re being dragged along by the national economy,” he said.

On Monday, state officials announced that just three weeks after Malloy signed a bipartisan budget, the deficit has grown to nearly $203 million for the current fiscal year. Weak tax collections and higher expenses were blamed.

New Hampshire’s $79 billion economy grew the fastest in New England, at 2.9 percent. And the region’s smallest economy, Vermont — at about $32 billion — expanded by 2.5 percent from the previous quarter.
The U.S. economy measured $19.1 trillion and grew by 2.8 percent.
Nationally, the fastest growing state economies were North Dakota, at 8.3 percent, Wyoming at 7.6 percent and Texas at 6.2 percent. The states benefited from a 28.6 percent increase in mining, which contributed to growth in 49 states led by increases in oil and natural gas production. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE

Viewpoint: Fed Approval Not Needed for State's 3rd Tribal Casino

Some say the planned joint tribal casino in East Windsor can’t go forward without formal approval by the U.S. Department of the Interior. They are wrong.
Connecticut now gets 25 percent of the annual slot revenues from the Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan Tribe casinos. Last year, that was $265 million, close to what we get from cigarette taxes, and a lot for a cash-strapped state. But there’s a catch: the obligation to pay is in exchange for those tribes having the exclusive right to casino gaming in the state. That’s why the state is so eager avoid to losing casino business to MGM in Springfield, and won’t (despite MGM’s media blitz) allow it to operate here.
Connecticut worries that a new East Windsor casino might threaten that exclusivity as well. The worry is a bit far-fetched: how can gaming by an entity that is made up of the two tribes undermine exclusive gaming by the two tribes? But Connecticut really, really cares about its 25 percent. So the Connecticut law authorizing the new casino requires the tribes to agree that the new casino won’t threaten exclusivity. The law also required the tribes’ agreement to be approved by the U.S. Secretary of Interior, just in case the agreement counts as an amendment to the tribes’ existing, federally approved gaming compacts.
Interior approval is now the problem. The tribes duly agreed and submitted their agreement to the Department of Interior for approval. Interior looked at the agreement and wrote back that because as the tribes had agreed that the new casino did not violate exclusivity, formal approval was “premature and likely unnecessary.”

The decision makes sense. The argument that the new casino would be a violation or amendment of the initial compacts was never very strong in the first place, particularly when both parties to the compact agree that it is not.

Nevertheless, lack of formal approval might have left things at a standstill had Congress not anticipated this kind of no-action action. The Indian Gaming Regulatory Act explicitly states that if a compact is not approved within 45 days after submitted, it “shall be considered to have been approved by the Secretary.” The Connecticut statute even recognizes this, requiring the agreement to be either “approved or deemed approved.”
Casino opponents are now trotting out another argument. The Indian Gaming Regulatory Act also requires that notice of any compact be published in the federal register 90 days after it was approved or considered approved. It’s been 90 days, but because Interior doesn’t consider the agreement a compact amendment, it hasn’t published it. Some say that the nonpublication of the noncompact means that there isn’t the approval the Connecticut statute requires.
This is just silly. Congress would hardly have provided that Interior’s nonaction can’t prevent approval and then let Interior block approval by simply failing to publish. And it is bizarre to require Interior to publish something that it does not think is a compact amendment in the first place.
The fact that this argument has gained any traction at all illustrates the effectiveness of MGM’s lobbying campaign. Interior’s letter copied Sen. Dean Heller and Rep. Mark Amodei from Nevada. What interest could they possibly have in a third casino in Connecticut … besides supporting of the interests of one of their biggest donors? MGM has also hired former Interior Secretary Ken Salazar as a lobbyist, and he has already visited Connecticut to lobby against the third casino deal. MGM is using lots of resources to ensure that any profits from casino gambling in our corner of the country go into its pockets rather than to Connecticut tribes and taxpayers. The power of their opposition shouldn’t mean that we accept specious legal arguments.

Trump: Infrastructure Plan Coming After Tax Code Changes

President Trump announced Nov. 20 that he will reveal his infrastructure package proposal once Congress passes changes to the tax code.
So far, the House passed a tax plan the week of Nov. 13, while the Senate is still working. Republicans in Washington would like to pass and finalize both of the bills before Christmas, The Hill reported.
According to Rep. Sam Graves (R-Mo.), officials from the Trump administration have begun early talks with lawmakers about the infrastructure plan, thanks to the quick work with the tax bills, The Hill reported.
Although there have not been many details revealed about the prospective infrastructure package, White House tech policy adviser Reed Cordish stated that the administration does have a 70-page document together about infrastructure, which is in the process of being finalized. According to Cordish, Congress will eventually receive the document to use as a springboard for creating the legislation, The Hill reported.

 

CT Construction Digest Tuesday November 21, 2017

Dan Haar: It’s makeup time for FuelCell bids

Lots of people in Danbury, Torrington and all around the FuelCell universe were hopping mad at the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection at this time last year.
Now it’s makeup time — maybe.
Danbury-based FuelCell Energy Inc. was iced out of the state’s huge bid awards for long-term renewable energy contracts in October and November of 2016. Of 29 projects selected, 21 were in solar and eight were in wind power.
How many fuel-cell winners in the state that has invested tens of millions in that industry? Zippo.
The timing couldn’t have been worse, as FuelCell had committed to expand its Torrington factory and hoped to boost its payroll from 600 to 900, with a big aid package from the state. Instead the publicly traded company laid off 97, in part because of the hometown snub.
Give the folks at DEEP credit. They listened. They supported and helped shape a law, pushed by Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and sponsored by the top legislative leaders, giving fuel cell technology a boost. It passed on the last day of the session.
Now the agency has announced it will call for bids in a new round of long-term contracting for the renewables. This time it’s limited to fuel cells, offshore wind and anaerobic digesters that turn biofuels into methane.
Separately, the law allows Eversource and United Illuminating to own up to 30 megawatts of their own fuel cell power. That could lead to more work for the Danbury company, which now has 460 employees.
DEEP hasn’t said what total megawattage it will seek. But geez, with solar and land-based wind out of the running, fuel cell ought to snag some wins in the 2018 bidding.
“It’s not a do-over, it’s a do-again,” said Jennifer Arasimowicz, general counsel at FuelCell Energy.
The company had four small- to midsize projects of its own that didn’t make the cut in 2016 and one huge project, a 63-magawatter that would have reclaimed a hopelessly polluted PCB site in Bristol, with an outside developer. One of those projects, worth 3.7 megawatts in Danbury, moved ahead and is almost done — thanks to financing from the Connecticut Green Bank.
Despite that, it’s almost impossible to develop a fuel cell generation site without a long-term contract because the technology isn’t yet cost-competitive for the grid. Price was the overwhelming factor in last year’s bidding.
Why give a break to fuel cells? The technology creates more local jobs than wind and solar and generates more tax revenue. Fuel cells can sit on tiny, urban brownfield parcels like the 15-megawatt one FuelCell Energy built in Bridgeport. That cuts way down on the cost of transmission and doesn’t eat up farms and forests.
FuelCell’s 40-megawatt Long Island Power Authority plant, just awarded, will save the ratepayers $78 million in transmission costs, Arasimowicz said.
Fuel cell power also serves as a base for the whole grid because it runs 24/7. Wind and solar need backup for obvious reasons. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE

Meriden train station platforms, pedestrian bridge now open

MERIDEN — The new Meriden train station platforms and pedestrian bridge are open, but there’s still work to finish before the station is officially complete.
”Amtrak trains are now pulling up to the new platforms and the (pedestrian bridge) is open to customers,” said John Bernick, assistant rail administrator. “Both platforms opened up to allow for the completion of the track work and the removal of the temporary platform.”
The station opened Friday with little fanfare.
During a walking tour of the station Thursday, City Planner Robert Seale said there is still some sidewalk and landscaping work to be completed at the front of the station on Colony Street.
The station opening and platform use caught some city officials by surprise. We did an opening at the Wallingford train station a week ago and knew the Meriden station was right around the corner,” said Sean Moore, president of the Midstate Chamber of Commerce. “Now it’s real. We have been waiting since 2005, and we’re very excited it’s finally open. That alone will change the flow of downtown Meriden.”
The train tracks have long separated the city’s east side and west side geographically and symbolically, Moore said.
“We have the up and over (pedestrian bridge) to connect both sides of the tracks,” he said. “You can park in the new garage and use the bridge to get to the Meriden Green.”
In that respect, the bridge closes a gap downtown and benefits not just commuters.
A formal ribbon-cutting ceremony for the train station is expected in the near future.\

Erosion problems halt Sprague solar farm construction

SPRAGUE — Angry residents in the area of Potash Hill Road in Sprague say storm water runoff from a nearby solar power site under construction is causing damage to their homes, and the state and town have issued orders putting a halt to the project.
They said the problem dates back to the spring, when clear-cutting of trees on the 100-acre site off Potash Hill Road caused excessive water runoff into their properties, leading to flooded basements and other damage.
“We deserve to know what is happening in our backyards,” resident Cheryl Blanchard said. “The topography has changed, the whole grounds have changed there, so the water is flowing in a completely different way than it ever did before. If it’s raining at night, we sit up at night waiting to see whether our home is going to be flooded.”
Sprague’s Inland Wetlands Commission convened a special meeting Monday to open a show cause hearing regarding the solar farm for violation of wetlands regulations. The town issued a cease and desist order for work there on Nov. 6.
In addition, Fusion Solar Center LLC, the owner of the site, was issued a cease and desist order Nov. 9 by the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. The project originally was to be completed by the end of the month.
Town Wetland Agent Joseph Theroux performed site inspections on Oct. 26 and 30. Photos he took showed “numerous violations on the project concerning sediment erosion control,” commission chairman Paul Cipriani Jr. said.
Fusion Solar Center attorney Thomas Regan, with Brown Rudnick, said the town has no jurisdiction to issue a cease and desist order on the project. Fusion is, however, fully complying with the DEEP order, Regan said.

“This project is under the exclusive jurisdiction of the Connecticut Siting Council,” he said. “The council issued the approvals, which included the original soil and sediment erosion control plan.”
The DEEP order is issued under a general storm water permit, which is a federally delegated power, he said.

“That does give them the authority beyond the siting council,” Regan said. He went on to say that under the DEEP order, Fusion Solar is not operating “at all” at the site, except for any site stabilization or safety work.

“We are complying with all the conditions in the DEEP order and are in the process of doing that and showing that to DEEP,” he said.
Cipriani continued the hearing to 7 p.m. Dec. 18. The commission hopes to gather more information before closing the hearing, he said. Once closed, the commission has 10 days to render a finding.
When completed, the 20-megawatt solar array is expected to generate enough electricity to power 3,700 homes according to DEPCOM Power Inc., the firm constructing the solar farm.

Killingly’s amended NTE deal looks likely by end of the month

KILLINGLY — Killingly Town Council members are optimistic they can finalize amended benefit agreements with a power plant developer by the end of the month that could net the town approximately $95 million in cash and tax revenue if a proposed plant is eventually built in Dayville.
The Town Council met in executive session Tuesday to discuss a Community Environmental Benefit, or CEBA, and a tax stabilization contract that were put on hold in May after the Connecticut Siting Council denied permit applications from the NTE energy company to construct a 550-megawatt power plant in town.
But because the applications were rejected without prejudice, the company is expected to re-file for the permits early next year. In anticipation of that re-filing, Town Manager Sean Hendricks has been working with NTE representatives on new versions of proposed agreements, ones that take into account some council members’ push for more money and increased protection for the town.
Council Chairman David Griffiths said the council on Tuesday asked Hendricks to look at a few more “minor” changes to the latest agreements in anticipation of voting on them Nov. 30 – just days before new council members take their seats.
“It’s a lot of little things, like language changes,” Griffiths said. “The whole idea is make sure Killingly is getting a fair deal out of this if the plant applications are approved.”
NTE had already agreed to increase its initial $2 million CEBA proposal to $5 million. That “unrestricted” money could be used for a variety of environmentally-oriented projects, including a scholarship fund, for water testing at Alexander’s Lake and to plant trees throughout town.
The council also requested Hendricks revise a tax stabilization agreement with NTE. The draft version of the plan called for the company to pay the town $90 million in taxes over a 20-year period, but that figure rose to $91 million after further negotiations.
The amended tax agreement met council calls for more money paid out in the early years of the contract. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE

SoNo Collection, Norwalk's New Mall, A Retail Anomaly

As retail giants like J.C. Penney, Macy’s and Sears shutter in waves, leaving the malls they anchor struggling to survive, developers of a new enclosed shopping center are betting on the wealth of Fairfield County.
Just off I-95 and a few hundred yards from the bustling South Norwalk district, the SoNo Collection is under construction. Developers and officials hope the mall will draw people from across Fairfield County and towns beyond. The SoNo Collection, scheduled to open in 2019, will be the fourth mall in the state’s largest and wealthiest county. It will feature southern Connecticut’s only Nordstrom and Bloomingdale’s, while providing non-retail experiences with restaurants, sculpture and rooftop gardens and a potential museum. It’s also an anomaly in the shrinking world of enclosed shopping centers. Of the 1,100 or so malls left in the country, up to a quarter may close in the next five years, Time magazine reported in May, citing financial research institute Credit Suisse. Connecticut is not immune. Brass Mill Center in Waterbury, Connecticut Post in Milford and Enfield Square have all lost anchors, with the near-empty Enfield mall even inspiring a town official’s long-shot bid for Amazon’s second North American headquarters.
And in East Hartford, work was suspended on a long-awaited, outdoor outlet center at Rentschler Field after developers lost $10 million in financing.
But SoNo Collection owner GGP says on its website the new 700,000-square-foot mall “will fill a retail void.” It will feature southern Connecticut’s only Nordstrom and Bloomingdale’s while providing non-retail experiences with restaurants, sculpture and rooftop garden and a potential museum.
“Everyone was fairly amazed that a mall was being built,” said David Waldman, a retail developer in neighboring Westport. “That being said, GGP isn’t stupid. They know what they’re doing.”

Ground broke in October on the $525 million project, which includes 70 shops, along with restaurants, a central courtyard and children’s play area.

Under an agreement with the city, GGP will pay only half its property taxes for its first seven years, according to city economic development director Elizabeth Stocker. The mall is also expected to create nearly 2,500 full-time jobs once it opens.
It will join the Stamford Town Center, Trumbull Mall and Danbury Fair Mall in Fairfield County, which boasts a median income of $84,233. Spending power is even greater in the the lower half of the county, known as the Gold Coast. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE

CT allocates $13.6 million for cleaning up brownfields

Connecticut will spend $13.6 million to assess or redevelop brownfield sites in 14 municipalities, marking Connecticut officials’ latest effort to clean up polluted properties and spur economic development, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy announced Monday.

Officials say the newest round of funding will pay to remediate and revitalize 89 acres of blighted properties. Malloy said the investment will clean up neighborhoods, strengthen communities, and draw more economic activity to those locations.

Officials say the state has invested more than $220 million in brownfield redevelopment since 2012.

The governor made the announcement on Homestead Avenue in Hartford, beside two of the 16 properties in the project. Eight are slated for remediation now and eight more are being assessed for future work.

“Quite frankly it’s nearly impossible to attract corporate development to a site that has scars that this one does, and that’s why it’s so very important to have studied the problem, resolved how we could fix the problem and then undertake the actual cleanup,” Malloy said.Tim Sullivan, the deputy commissioner of the Department of Economic and Community Development, said each project is different but the cleanup process usually takes several months.

Sullivan said officials are really interested in bringing private investment to the properties and noted many brownfields are clustered near transit, but it takes time and money to clean up toxic chemicals that have contaminated them.

Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin echoed the desire to attract developers.

“We talked to many developers, many investors who are excited about these sites because they see the power in this location,” Bronin said. “I’m excited about this because it lays the foundation that we will literally be able to build on in the future.”The projects being remediated are:
Bridgeport, 400 Iranistan Avenue: $1.5 million grant to the Bridgeport Housing Authority to redevelop the 15.9-acre Marina Village public housing complex into a new state-of-the-art affordable housing community.  The existing structures will be demolished and replaced with multi-family residential units and community space.
Danbury, 89 Rose Hill Road: $1.3 million grant to demolish and remediate the former 3.7-acre Mallory Hat Factory. A residential facility for women and children in transition is proposed for this site.
East Hartford, 590 Burnside Avenue: $200,000 grant to abate hazardous building materials in a former public housing site on a 1.4-acre parcel.
Hartford, 367, 393 & 424 Homestead Avenue: $1.9 million grant to demolish and remediate three properties, including a former metal foundry manufacturing facility, preparing them for redevelopment.
Meriden, 1 King Place: $2 million grant for abatement and demolition of a portion of a former hospital structure and parking garage on 5.6 acres to prepare it for private mixed-use redevelopment.  The City of Meriden also has been awarded a $2 million loan to complete the required remediation of the site before it is conveyed to the city’s development partner.
New Britain, 24 Dwight Court: $1.5 million grant to remediate a one-acre former coal and oil facility that abuts the CTfastrak station, preparing it for redevelopment.
Plymouth, 142 Main Street – Route 6: $750,000 grant to remediate a 0.5-acre gas station and auto repair facility, preparing it for redevelopment.
Waterbury, 2100 South Main Street: $1 million grant to remediate the 3.4-acre former RISDON manufacturing facility that was the site of a recent major fire. The remediation will address a major public health hazard and prepare the site for redevelopment. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE

Ray Tillman and Fred Carstensen: Project can create economic boon for Connecticut

The Long Island Sound crossing has always been anathema to Connecticut.
“They” — Long Islanders — reap the benefits and “we” — Connecticut residents — pay the traffic congestion and environmental price.
A closer look reveals the opposite: Connecticut will realize very substantial economic benefits; traffic concerns can now be controlled; and various environmental effects can be greatly mitigated.
Connecticut has a mature, well-rounded economy, currently in the doldrums, in clear need of additional markets for the goods and services it produces. Eastern Long Island is an imbalanced seasonal economy that pays a premium to import goods and services from or through Metropolitan New York.
Connecting these two economies with a vehicular crossing will benefit both. Connecticut goods and services suppliers then will be roughly 30 minutes away from this vast new market. The result: increased sales, income, employment and investment. In addition, employers and job seekers will benefit from a larger labor pool and increased job availability.
Eastern Long Island will then itself pay lower prices and have access to Connecticut suppliers, educational and health institutions, and a broad range of retail establishments.
Connecticut’s benefits do not depend on traffic volumes using the crossing, but only on access to this new market. The much-feared recreation-oriented traffic can be readily limited by very high tolls, possibly $25 to $40 per crossing.
Tolls on business and commuter travel, primarily from Connecticut businesses and residents, can be at heavily discounted monthly rates. These rates plus peak period or variable tolls can be readily implemented via electronic toll collection systems.
Revenue from tolls and other sources — possibly including a sales tax in Eastern Long Island — should be sufficient to also upgrade sections of I-95 and other routes handling crossing traffic. A number of Connecticut bridgeheads can be studied to maximize Connecticut benefits and minimize traffic impacts. These could include the Bridgeport, New Haven and New London vicinities.
The crossing itself may resemble the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel configuration. The cost will be substantial, but reasonable revenue sources and financing methods can be identified to make it viable.
Critically, Connecticut has the technical resources to assess fully the economic and fiscal impacts of the crossing.
The University of Connecticut houses the Connecticut Center for Economic Analysis, which has more than two decades of experience in projecting the direct and indirect economic benefits of precisely this kind of infrastructure investment, laying out the impacts on household income, job creation, population, and net new tax revenues.
Such a study would provide the kind of detailed information to frame a constructive discussion of this project, one which would deliver, in all likelihood, very major benefits and value to the now struggling Connecticut economy.
Raymond Tillman, PE, is a former president of the Public Private Partnership Division of the American Road & Transportation Builders Association and Fred Carstensen is director of the Connecticut Center for Economic Analysis at UConn.