The famed 4.3-acre “hole in the ground” downtown is not much of a hole this spring and summer as construction workers make quick work of assembling a foundation and cement pillars are now rising on the corner.
A spokesman said there has been “great progress on construction” on the large-scale, mixed-use development, a so-called “Stamford Urby.” It is expected to be completed next summer.
The site, a vacant lot for some three decades, will soon house nearly 650 residential units. Developers F.D. Rich Co. and Ironstate Development Co. broke ground in October 2017. The parcel was once the site of tenements
South End developer proposes deal to revitalize neighborhood
STAMFORD — Free money has the South End split as the neighborhood’s largest developer is offering $8.5 million to rehabilitate old historic homes and slow gentrification in a deal to avoid making city-mandated affordable units available in two new opulent waterfront towers.
Building and Land Technology’s proposal to give local nonprofit Housing Development Fund the cash for neighborhood initiatives, including no-interest home loans, prompted hours-long discussion at a Planning Board meeting this week.
The conversation, at times derisive with residents near tears, some infighting and an unorthodox move to allow public comment, ended with the board voting 3-2 in favor of a compromised buyout. The Zoning Board can take up the recommendation or vote against it. The Planning Board recommended for BLT to provide 16 of the about 44 required affordable units. A quarter-million of BLT’s money should fund a study of the South End’s affordable housing needs, and the remaining about $6 million should be held by the city until the study is finished, the board recommended. The study’s findings would then dictate the best course of action.
The plan, as presented by BLT’s attorney William Hennessey, would stave off gentrification by making South End residents homeowners, who would rehabilitate historic homes that have long fell into disrepair. No interest loans will also be available to renovate homes “We don’t often get an opportunity like this to think about who should mold an area as discrete and as deserving as the South End,” Hennessey said. “This will be part of the larger goal of stemming the tide of gentrification.”
Joan Carty, president of HDF, told planning the buyout through her agency could create more than 65 affordable units, compared to the 44 required inside the new 22-story towers coming up on Pacific Street.
But some South End residents, preservationists and planning board members were skeptical of the claim. If BLT truly wanted to rehab the South End and kick-start homeownership, it could start with its historic multifamily homes on Henry Street, they said. The boarded-up homes have been vacant for years. In 2016, BLT tried to demolish the four on the corner of Henry and Garden streets, but were stymied by the state Historic Preservation Office.
Terry Adams, president of the South End’s Neighborhood Revitalization Zone, told planning board members that he would approve of the buyout if there was a real plan, to bring back the Henry Street properties, for example.“There’s an appetite to do something, but there’s no plan,” Adams said. “The South End is hot now, everything that comes to the market investors come in and snatch it up quick.”
Hennessey argued the South End’s heat made it imperative to lock down the buyout, preserving what is left. NRZ member John Wooten agreed with Hennessey, and near tears explained why he thought the city needed to act to keep old homes with interest-free home loans to longtime South Enders.
“Don’t miss this opportunity because you’re going to regret it,” he said.
Board Vice Chairman Jay Tepper said the money shouldn’t be considered a kind gesture. Excluding low-income housing boosts profits, and that is the motive, he said
“Let’s not kid ourselves,” Tepper said. “That’s the driving force.”
Planning Board members conceded the city should take action to preserve South End homes, but disliked the trade-off. The buyout would create a waterfront property for “elites,” unlike all of BLT’s other buildings — each 10 percent affordable — now permeating the peninsula, they said.
“The South End is two south ends,” board Chairwoman Theresa Dell said. “It’s now called the Harbor Point South End and the South End. ... In every building that goes up, affordability should be in them.”
Senior development a step closer in Newington
by Erica Drzewiecki
NEWINGTON - The town has paved the way for a new senior community and a hefty grand list addition.
Town councilors unanimously approved a tax agreement to help bring a long-awaited development to the vacant site at the intersection of Route 175 and Russell Road. The Villas at Cedar Mountain will have 89 independent-living apartments for seniors and 122 assisted-living and memory-care units.
Economic Development Director Andy Brecher called the $60 million project “the biggest investment anyone has ever made in Newington.”
Developer HDC One bought the property in 2007. After years of failed attempts to secure funding for the project, principal Michael Frisbie stepped forward to ask the town for a tax break this spring.
“I wanted to be transparent, open and honest about our need for tax relief,” he told the council.
Under the agreement, the company will be afforded a property tax abatement of 50 percent for a period of 10 years. With an anticipated yield of $1.2 million in annual property taxes, the town would receive $613,000 annually and then payments in full after the ten-year period.
Tax assessment fixing is guided by Connecticut General Statutes, making it feasible for the community to become operational before reaching financial stabilization and profitability. This also serves as the stimulus to securing the construction loan.
“Unlike a lot of businesses where property taxes are a small part of the overall expense, they represent 10 percent of the revenue for this sort of enterprise,” Brecher explained. “Anyone considering investing or lending to the project needs to feel confident they are going to get a return commensurate with their risk.”
“The town has provided all of the land use approvals necessary for the project to proceed,” he continued. “We are confident with approval of the 50 percent tax abatement for the next 10 years they will be able to finalize their financing and begin construction.”
Shovels are expected to be in the ground by year’s end. Construction will take about 18 months, with occupancy anticipated in mid-2020.
Councilors agreed the town’s need for senior housing is critical, as around one-third of residents are expected to be of retirement age by 2020.
“There are no options close by that fit that need and this fits that need,” Councilor Beth DelBuono said.
Mayor Roy Zartarian said his mother could have benefited from this type of community when she was alive.
“There just wasn’t anything available until it was too late.”
The property will consist of one- to two-bedroom units with one to two bathrooms, balconies, covered parking areas and community amenities.
“This will allow couples to live together while receiving the services they need in a supportive environment,” Frisbie said, adding that the demand for senior housing in the area is double the amount of apartments he plans to build.
The company has agreed to pay the town in full for building permit fees, about $297,000, as well as personal property taxes, estimated to start at $58,800 annually. At full occupancy, the facility will consist of two buildings and will employ 97 people.
Economic Development Director Andy Brecher called the $60 million project “the biggest investment anyone has ever made in Newington.”
Developer HDC One bought the property in 2007. After years of failed attempts to secure funding for the project, principal Michael Frisbie stepped forward to ask the town for a tax break this spring.
“I wanted to be transparent, open and honest about our need for tax relief,” he told the council.
Under the agreement, the company will be afforded a property tax abatement of 50 percent for a period of 10 years. With an anticipated yield of $1.2 million in annual property taxes, the town would receive $613,000 annually and then payments in full after the ten-year period.
Tax assessment fixing is guided by Connecticut General Statutes, making it feasible for the community to become operational before reaching financial stabilization and profitability. This also serves as the stimulus to securing the construction loan.
“Unlike a lot of businesses where property taxes are a small part of the overall expense, they represent 10 percent of the revenue for this sort of enterprise,” Brecher explained. “Anyone considering investing or lending to the project needs to feel confident they are going to get a return commensurate with their risk.”
“The town has provided all of the land use approvals necessary for the project to proceed,” he continued. “We are confident with approval of the 50 percent tax abatement for the next 10 years they will be able to finalize their financing and begin construction.”
Shovels are expected to be in the ground by year’s end. Construction will take about 18 months, with occupancy anticipated in mid-2020.
Councilors agreed the town’s need for senior housing is critical, as around one-third of residents are expected to be of retirement age by 2020.
“There are no options close by that fit that need and this fits that need,” Councilor Beth DelBuono said.
Mayor Roy Zartarian said his mother could have benefited from this type of community when she was alive.
“There just wasn’t anything available until it was too late.”
The property will consist of one- to two-bedroom units with one to two bathrooms, balconies, covered parking areas and community amenities.
“This will allow couples to live together while receiving the services they need in a supportive environment,” Frisbie said, adding that the demand for senior housing in the area is double the amount of apartments he plans to build.
The company has agreed to pay the town in full for building permit fees, about $297,000, as well as personal property taxes, estimated to start at $58,800 annually. At full occupancy, the facility will consist of two buildings and will employ 97 people.
Glastonbury’s Gemma tapped for Virginia energy plant project
Joe Cooper
Glastonbury's Gemma Power Systems has inked a contract with a Virginia power company to build a 1,600-megawatt natural gas power plant in the state.
Gemma announced Tuesday it will provide engineering, procurement and construction services for Chickahominy Power LLC to build a state-of-the-art natural gas-fired power plant in Charles City County Virginia.
Known as the Chickahominy Power Station, the plant will be developed by the Virginia company's parent, Balico LLC. The project begins in early 2019 for completion in spring 2022.
The project will create between 800 to 1,000 construction jobs and 35 long-term positions to operate the facility upon completion.
Under the plans, the development will house three advanced class combustion turbine power trains and air cooled condensers.
Clean natural gas will power the site located in an area where electricity demand is expected to spike as several data centers are planned and under construction across the region.
"We appreciate the confidence the Balico team has shown in us and we look forward to a continuing and long relationship with them," Gemma CEO William F. Griffin, Jr. said.
The station's name honors the Chickahominy Nation, which populated the area for centuries.
Gemma recently provided similar services for an Ohio plant under a contract with an affiliate of NTE Energy. The energy center was certified for commercial operations and was dispatched to the grid in May.
Residents Slam Tilcon Gravel Plan, But New Britain Supports It
Don Stacom
Using such phrases as “devastating destruction” and “environmental tragedy,” a long line of residents on Tuesday evening condemned Tilcon Connecticut’s proposal to expand its Plainville gravel quarry into New Britain.
“It’s private profit at the expense of the public,” John Sokolowski of Southington said during a hearing of New Britain’s common council. “We do not want to drink out of an industrial puddle.”
More than 130 people crowded into the Gaffney School auditorium, with almost all of them applauding the opposition to Tilcon, whose massive gravel quarry is near the New Britain and Southington borders.
But New Britain’s water department argued that the Tilcon proposal offers major advantages for the environment and for central Connecticut’s future water supplies.
Tilcon wants to expand its quarry into 72 acres of New Britain-owned watershed. The land is environmentally sensitive and protected by state law, but the water department contends that the benefits of Tilcon’s plan could outweigh the destruction of forest, vernal pools and animal habitats.
Tilcon says that after decades of quarrying, it would return the property as a reservoir that could hold 2.3 billion gallons of water. That would expand New Britain’s water storage capacity by 45 percent, a buffer against future droughts, climate change and population growth, said Ray Esponda, head of the city water utility.Tilcon wants to lease the land from New Britain for 35 to 40 years. Nobody is saying how much the company would pay, but it offered $15 million for a roughly similar proposal 11 years ago. In addition, Tilcon would give New Britain, Plainville and Southington a total of 291 acres as open space.
“This proposal will allow us to continue to be a major employer and economic contributor for generations to come,” company President Gary Wall said. “Blasting in the current quarry’s footprint would be less frequent with new ‘no blast zones’ added, as well as a 1,000-foot minimum forested buffer around the perimeter of the expanded quarry.”
Residents and environmentalists disagreed. Two state regulatory agencies concluded that the project could jeopardize New Britain’s drinking water, former Alderman Suzanne Bielinski said. And opening protected watershed to industrial development sets a dangerous precedent, she said.
”Do we really want to be the city that opens up the floodgates for this to happen in Connecticut?” Bielinski asked.Tilcon initially wanted 131 acres, but its scaled-back plan does less damage to wetlands, vernal pools, hiking trails and the Bradley Mountain ridge.
Lenard Engineering, a consultant hired by New Britain, reported that the project would harm some animal species. But it predicted no severe environmental damage, and said the quarry wouldn’t pollute drinking water. Tilcon is willing to relocate box turtles and other species whose habitats would be damaged or wiped out, according to Lenard.
Mayor Erin Stewart wouldn’t say on Tuesday afternoon whether New Britain is going to pursue the controversial plan.
“I reserve any thoughts on how or whether to proceed until we have all had a chance to digest the report and to consider the input we will gather tonight,” she said.