Easy access to commercial loans and other financial investments is spurring a construction boom in Fairfield County, despite long delays on several projects.
Community banks recently began investing more in small development projects across the county, particularly riverfront properties. The Boccuzzi Park waterfront in Stamford and Head of the Harbor South in Norwalk is getting a facelift, while Bridgeport Landing Development proposed to redevelop Steelpointe Harbor by spring 2018. In August, Mayor Joe Ganim approved a $675-million casino development on Bridgeport's waterfront and, a month later, his office revealed plans to convert Harbor Yard into an outdoor concert amphitheater.
But many projects are plagued with construction delays. Negotiations with developers and zoning hearings have stalled projects like the new Stamford train station for years. The state Department of Transportation hasn't yet to set a construction timeline for the planned $500-million Stamford transport hub, which was announced three years ago.
In August 2016, New-York-based developer POKO Partners halted work on Wall Street Place, a $45 million mixed-use development project in Norwalk, for lack of money. Citibank recently took over the property. The developer John McClutchy, a Darien millionaire, reported interest in completing the construction work. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Washington – The Interior Department’s failure to act on provisions that would allow the Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan tribes to open a new casino in East Windsor came after a vigorous lobbying campaign by competitor MGM Resorts International and a change in Indian gaming policy in the Trump administration.
The state sought Interior Department approval of amendments that said the new casino would not violate an exclusivity clause in the years-old compact the tribes have with Connecticut that allowed them to open the Foxwoods Resort Casino and Mohegan Sun. Under the compact the tribes agreed to share 25 percent of their slot revenue with the state, but that arrangement would only hold if no new casinos were opened in Connecticut.
The Connecticut law authorizing the new casino requires federal approval of the compact amendments before the casino can go forward.
With the Interior Department declining to weigh in on the amendments, Andrew Doba, spokesman for the tribal joint venture that would build the casino, called MMCT Venture, said the Pequots and the Mohegans are “looking at all of their options.”
Among those options may be a lawsuit against the Interior Department.
The Interior Department and its Bureau of Indian Affairs, did not respond to repeated requests for comment on an issue that is complicated and unprecedented.The East Windsor casino would be a first – the only full casino run by an Indian tribe off tribal land or on land held by the federal government in trust for a tribe.
During an Oct. 26 meeting with tribal representatives, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke asked the Connecticut tribes to submit information on why his agency would have to weigh in on a commercial casino – that is one that is not built on tribal land nor on land taken by the federal government in trust and therefore subject to the Indian Gaming Regulation Act.
The tribes sought the meeting with Zinke after receiving a Sept. 15 letter from Michael Black, acting assistant secretary of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, that said his agency had completed a review of their amendments and that “action on the amendments is premature and likely unnecessary.”
MGM has fought hard to block the East Windsor casino, which would compete with an MGM casino under development in Springfield, Mass. Black’s letter was copied to two members of Congress from Nevada, home of MGM and other Las Vegas casino interests.The Nevada Republicans, Sen. Dean Heller and Rep. Mark Amodei, had lobbied the Interior Department on MGM’s behalf, joining a group that included Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., former Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, who also have lobbied against the proposed Connecticut casino. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
OSHA Extends Crane Operator Certification Deadline to 2018
OSHA published a Final Rule Nov. 9 delaying its deadline for crane operators to be certified by one year until November 10, 2018. OSHA is also extending its employer duty to ensure that crane operators are competent to operate a crane safely for the same one-year period. The Rule takes effect immediately.
The notice, which comes just one day before the certification requirement was due to come into effect, follows publication of a Proposed Rule in August in which OSHA announced its plans for the postponement.
OSHA believes that an additional year will be sufficient to complete work on addressing the two issues that has concerned industry ever since the crane rule was published in 2010; namely, whether operators need to be certified by type and capacity, or just by type; and whether certification is sufficient by itself to deem an operator qualified to operate a crane.
While OSHA is not at liberty to disclose the exact language it will propose to fix these two issues, it has again reaffirmed its intention, first noted in its submission to the Advisory Committee on Construction Safety and Health (ACCSH) in 2015, "to propose removing the capacity component of certification." OSHA also notes that it would be unfair to employers to enforce the certification requirement "before completing the separate rulemaking to change that criteria."
Powerscreen New England Holds Grand Opening in Conn.
Located at 140 Nutmeg Road South, the 45,000-sq.-ft. modern facility features 20,000 sq. ft. of shop space with six bays and a 34-ft. high ceiling, along with overhead cranes. The additional space also includes room for a vastly expanded parts inventory.
Seamus Sheelan, president of Powerscreen New England, purchased Powerscreen Connecticut in 1997 after having served as the president of Powerscreen North America for several years. Powerscreen Connecticut sold and serviced Powerscreen equipment in Connecticut and Rhode Island. Seamus and his wife, Bernadette, along with their staff, successfully grew the company, which led to the purchase of Equipment & Systems for Industry in Massachusetts. This acquisition expanded the company's sales territory to include Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine.
Following the acquisition of Equipment & Systems for Industry, the company name changed to Powerscreen New England. To better serve northern New England customers, a new facility was constructed at 51 Veterans Drive in Loudon, N.H.
Over the past decade, Seamus and Bernadette's sons have joined the business. Cathal Sheelan serves as vice president of operations and Ronan Sheelan as service manager.
“This new facility represents the culmination of many years of hard work for everyone connected to our organization,” Seamus Sheelan said. “We are so proud of what this facility represents, which is an opportunity to service, support and grow our customers into the next decades.”
The state sought Interior Department approval of amendments that said the new casino would not violate an exclusivity clause in the years-old compact the tribes have with Connecticut that allowed them to open the Foxwoods Resort Casino and Mohegan Sun. Under the compact the tribes agreed to share 25 percent of their slot revenue with the state, but that arrangement would only hold if no new casinos were opened in Connecticut.
The Connecticut law authorizing the new casino requires federal approval of the compact amendments before the casino can go forward.
With the Interior Department declining to weigh in on the amendments, Andrew Doba, spokesman for the tribal joint venture that would build the casino, called MMCT Venture, said the Pequots and the Mohegans are “looking at all of their options.”
Among those options may be a lawsuit against the Interior Department.
The Interior Department and its Bureau of Indian Affairs, did not respond to repeated requests for comment on an issue that is complicated and unprecedented.The East Windsor casino would be a first – the only full casino run by an Indian tribe off tribal land or on land held by the federal government in trust for a tribe.
During an Oct. 26 meeting with tribal representatives, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke asked the Connecticut tribes to submit information on why his agency would have to weigh in on a commercial casino – that is one that is not built on tribal land nor on land taken by the federal government in trust and therefore subject to the Indian Gaming Regulation Act.
The tribes sought the meeting with Zinke after receiving a Sept. 15 letter from Michael Black, acting assistant secretary of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, that said his agency had completed a review of their amendments and that “action on the amendments is premature and likely unnecessary.”
MGM has fought hard to block the East Windsor casino, which would compete with an MGM casino under development in Springfield, Mass. Black’s letter was copied to two members of Congress from Nevada, home of MGM and other Las Vegas casino interests.The Nevada Republicans, Sen. Dean Heller and Rep. Mark Amodei, had lobbied the Interior Department on MGM’s behalf, joining a group that included Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., former Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, who also have lobbied against the proposed Connecticut casino. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
OSHA Extends Crane Operator Certification Deadline to 2018
OSHA published a Final Rule Nov. 9 delaying its deadline for crane operators to be certified by one year until November 10, 2018. OSHA is also extending its employer duty to ensure that crane operators are competent to operate a crane safely for the same one-year period. The Rule takes effect immediately.
The notice, which comes just one day before the certification requirement was due to come into effect, follows publication of a Proposed Rule in August in which OSHA announced its plans for the postponement.
OSHA believes that an additional year will be sufficient to complete work on addressing the two issues that has concerned industry ever since the crane rule was published in 2010; namely, whether operators need to be certified by type and capacity, or just by type; and whether certification is sufficient by itself to deem an operator qualified to operate a crane.
While OSHA is not at liberty to disclose the exact language it will propose to fix these two issues, it has again reaffirmed its intention, first noted in its submission to the Advisory Committee on Construction Safety and Health (ACCSH) in 2015, "to propose removing the capacity component of certification." OSHA also notes that it would be unfair to employers to enforce the certification requirement "before completing the separate rulemaking to change that criteria."
On the second issue, OSHA states in this latest rulemaking that it currently is "not prepared to make a determination whether certification alone is insufficient" in determining whether an operator is qualified.
The National Commission for the Certification of Crane Operators (NCCCO) supported the additional delay "reluctantly" since the changes to the rule were critically important to the effectiveness of the certification requirement, said NCCCO CEO Graham Brent. However, it was important OSHA acted with urgency. "Since the positive impact of professionally developed, third-party, accredited crane operator certification on the incidence of deaths and injuries caused by crane accidents has been amply demonstrated during the more than 20 years that NCCCO has been providing it (see, for example, Cal-OSHA Study of Crane Accidents, 2008) every delay means that this nation's workers continue to be exposed to risks that would otherwise have been mitigated," NCCCO stated in its official submission to OSHA in September.Powerscreen New England Holds Grand Opening in Conn.
Located at 140 Nutmeg Road South, the 45,000-sq.-ft. modern facility features 20,000 sq. ft. of shop space with six bays and a 34-ft. high ceiling, along with overhead cranes. The additional space also includes room for a vastly expanded parts inventory.
Seamus Sheelan, president of Powerscreen New England, purchased Powerscreen Connecticut in 1997 after having served as the president of Powerscreen North America for several years. Powerscreen Connecticut sold and serviced Powerscreen equipment in Connecticut and Rhode Island. Seamus and his wife, Bernadette, along with their staff, successfully grew the company, which led to the purchase of Equipment & Systems for Industry in Massachusetts. This acquisition expanded the company's sales territory to include Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine.
Following the acquisition of Equipment & Systems for Industry, the company name changed to Powerscreen New England. To better serve northern New England customers, a new facility was constructed at 51 Veterans Drive in Loudon, N.H.
Over the past decade, Seamus and Bernadette's sons have joined the business. Cathal Sheelan serves as vice president of operations and Ronan Sheelan as service manager.
“This new facility represents the culmination of many years of hard work for everyone connected to our organization,” Seamus Sheelan said. “We are so proud of what this facility represents, which is an opportunity to service, support and grow our customers into the next decades.”