Norwich — The developer of the Ponemah Mill renovation project in Taftville announced Wednesday it has received confirmation of a state-approved financing package for the second phase of construction totaling 121 apartments.
OneKey LLC, the construction management team for The Lofts at Ponemah Mills, announced it has received the commitment letter for a construction mortgage from the Connecticut Housing Finance Authority.
The financing package for the 121-unit second phase includes $6.1 million from the state Department of Housing, $8.6 million from CHFA and $4.16 million in Low-Income Housing Tax Credits. The project involves the renovation of the northern half of the giant Ponemah Mill No. 1 building in the historic Taftville mill complex located on Route 97 on the banks of the Shetucket River.
In addition to the state financing, the project will receive both federal and state historic tax credits. The Norwich City Council approved a 15-year property tax phase-in agreement through its Mill Building Enhancement Program.
New Jersey-based developer OneKey LLC completed the project’s initial, $30 million first phase with 116 apartments in late November.
Development of Phase 2 is expected to start in early spring, OneKey said in a news release Tuesday.
The second phase would complete the renovation of the 313,000-square-foot mill building on the north end of the mill complex. Amenities for the project include a sauna/steam room, fitness center, outdoor grilling with fire pit area, community room, game room, theater room, pet area, elevator equipped building with on-site management, and laundry in each unit.
“We have brought online a unique housing solution that pairs history with modern amenities,” OneKey Director of Operations Finbar O’Neill said in the release. “Every detail has been considered, and we look forward to meeting the needs of every generation of residents.”
A designated bus stop for Southeast Area Transit is in front of the project, which is within a half-mile of a neighborhood grocery store, bank, post office, Wequonnoc School, an elementary school, and has easy access to interstate 395.
The development also is part of the Shetucket River Greenway, designated in 2012 by the Connecticut Greenways Council.
Natural Gas Demand Hits Record As Cold Bomb Targets Northeast
Brutal cold brought record low holiday temps from the midwest through New England. Boston hasn't seen such a cold spell since 1872. Power prices in New England have exploded to $190 per megawatt-hour today, with a peak last night of $289 per mwh (versus an annual median closer to $50 per mwh). It could get worse. A snow-and-ice bomb is on its way up the eastern seaboard, bringing with it the potential for hurricane-force winds off the coast. Tallahassee, Florida this morning saw its first snow in 28 years. Ice cover on the Great Lakes is expanding rapidly. Cape Cod could get a foot of snow.
To keep America warm, power plants are burning a record amount of natural gas -- 143 billion cubic feet per day. (Compare that with 125 bcfd during the 2014 Polar Vortex.) In Boston natural gas for prompt delivery exploded in price to $35 per million British thermal units, making it the priciest gas market in the world.
Boston can't get enough methane at any price. But with prices like that, a crowded field is working to close the arbitrage. Utility company Eversource imports LNG into Boston harbor to meet winter need, but that requires a specialized port. There's fewer barriers to entry when it comes to fuel oil -- it's easy to transport, store and burn. But the drawback of generating electricity from oil is that it (usually) costs far more than methane for the same amount of energy, while its carbon intensity is as bad as coal.
Which is why its so troubling that as of Wednesday morning New England was relying on fuel oil for a remarkable 33% of its power supply. This shouldn't be necessary so close to one of the world's biggest natural gas fields -- the Marcellus Shale of Pennsylvania and West Virginia where drillers and frackers have grown output from just a puff a decade ago to a recent 20 billion cubic feet per day. Add to that a new boost of production from the Haynesville shale of Louisiana, up 40% in a year to 4.9 bcfd. Pricing at the more liquid Henry Hub in Louisiana is up by a third in recent weeks to around $3.50 per mmBtu -- just a tenth the price of the spikes recently seen in Boston.In the past decade northeast demand for natural gas has surged as plentiful supplies of shale gas from the Marcellus shale in Pennsylvania have flooded into the region displacing mothballed coal plants and the closure of nuclear plant Vermont Yankee. The region wants more gas, but supply infrastructure hasn't kept up, with pipeline projects blocked by NIMBY. Last June, utilities Eversource and National Grid withdrew their plan for a $3 billion pipeline that would bring cheap gas to New England because there wasn't enough political support for getting ratepayers to foot the bill. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Items cut from Waterbury construction projects may be funded after all
WATERBURY – Mayor Neil O’Leary’s administration is seeking a $3 million increase in the budget for a pair of city construction projects that already increased in price by $25 million just 10 months ago.
The money is for an ongoing project to renovate a former MacDermid Corp. chemical plant off East Aurora Street into a new home for the city’s Public Works Department.
The department is currently scattered about the city in various leased properties, amounting to a rental cost to the city of about $500,000 yearly.
In 2010, the Board of Aldermen set a $60.4 million budget for the renovation of the former Chase Brass & Copper Co. metalworks off Thomaston Avenue. It had been recently acquired by the city. The project would renovate space leased by various companies, and build a new DPW facility onsite.
O’Leary changed the plan following his election in 2011. The Chase site (known as the Waterbury Industrial Commons) would be renovated and set aside for business growth.
MacDermid would essentially donate its 41-acre site to the city, MacDermid would essentially donate its 41-acre site to the city, which would become responsible for any needed cleanup of pollutants.
The separated projects rolled forward with a combined budget. The city opted to expand its work at the industrial commons, and ran into unexpected costs there as well.
Early last year, O’Leary asked aldermen for $29 million more to complete the DPW facility. He could count on the 10 Democratic aldermen, but needed a vote from at least one of five Republicans on the board.
Republicans balked at the increase, only relenting when the administration reluctantly presented an option cutting $4 million in “critical components” from the project. This option trimmed away a workshop addition, a vehicle repair bay, an automated vehicle washing station, a vehicle storage bay, a canopy over an outdoor parking area and a canopy over fuel pumps.
Ten months later, administration officials say construction is going so well they’re able to return the trimmed items for only $3 million. But a decision must be made soon if these items are to be included in the ongoing work. They warn it will be a lot more convoluted, and cost a lot more, to pursue those options outside of the ongoing work.
“It’s a chance to take a second look at it now, while it’s at a point you can do that without creating a lot of havoc in the project,” Board of Aldermen President Paul Perenerewski said. “And if the answer is no, the project still will go forward.”
Proponents of the additions say the project would be flawed without them. Some staff would be stuck in dark, dank and poorly heated workshops at the Western Hills Golf Course. There would be less to shield employees from the elements, something to remember with snow in the forecast, Pernerewski said.
“On a day like that, it would be nice to have a facility that recognizes the hard work they are doing,” Pernerewski said.
Officials say the DPW construction is two months ahead of schedule.
O’Leary on Tuesday said he understood the Republicans’ sticker shock last March. But now the project is well advanced, and going so well that officials should have greater confidence in the outcome, he said.
“Now I think we’ve proven our credibility, and what we said we can do,” O’Leary said. “I hope they take that into consideration.”
Finance Director Michael LeBlanc said the cost to bond $3 million more over 20 years amounts to about $5 per year in taxes for the owner of a home assessed at $120,000. He stressed that doesn’t necessarily mean higher taxes, as the city anticipates a debt load in each budget. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE