August 27, 2018

CT Construction Digest Monday August 27, 2018

Route 25 project in Monroe making progress

By Tara O'Neill
MONROE — Police said the expected construction on Route 25 in Monroe has made a lot of progress in the first 24 hours. The roadway was shut down at 8 p.m. Friday and will remain closed until 6 a.m. Monday. The project was delayed three times by inclement weather before finally beginning this weekend.
Local traffic is being detoured on Old Newtown Road. Commercial traffic will take Route 25 to Route 111 to Route 34.
The closure was needed for work on a project that involved replacement of two box culverts, road repairs, installation of new drainage and a water main.
This is the first of three planned closures for this project this year. Additional dates have not yet been finalized, but will be announced as soon as they are.

 
NEW BRITAIN - A new year is on the horizon for Central Connecticut students, staff and faculty as classes start back up and summer comes to a close.
CCSU has said that, over the summer, it has made improvements to the campus landscape, academic buildings and dormitory halls that are not only appealing to the eye but beneficial to students.
As the fall semester is about to begin, university officials continue to beam over the Campus of the Future project, the latest installment of which is on track to open in January.
The $62 million Willard-DiLoreto construction task being funded through state bonds will be up-and-running after the 2018 winter break and feature 21 departments, including the financial aid and registrar’s offices. Engineering Director James Grupp called it the “heart of student services.”
Though completion is still months away, spookeswoman Janice Palmer said that the university is excited about the groundbreaking project, encouraging students returning to classes to take a moment and “stop and look around” at the newly upgraded facility.
Palmer said that Barnard Hall, which houses the School of Education and Professional Studies, will start its renovation once the work on Willard and DiLoreto is done.
“We’re also soon going to start construction across the street for a new parking garage,” Palmer added. “There’s going to be a skywalk to connect directly from Willard-DiLoreto to it.”
One of the most exciting things Palmer said is awaiting students right away is the new $1.1 million Nursing Learning Center Simulation Laboratories in Copernicus Hall. According to Palmer, the lab features 10 new offices, an expanded learning laboratory and six “simulation rooms” dedicated to a specialized area of health care.
Other simulation laboratories are being worked on.
Dormitories, including James and Barrows halls, have also received upgrades.
The over-20-year-old furniture in James has been replaced, and Barrows’ bathrooms now have power outlets
As for what can’t be seen on the outside, Palmer said that the WiFi connectivity, specifically outdoors and in the Elihu Burritt Library, has been “bumped up.”
But perhaps one of the most important new features near campus is the new food pantry, directly across from Vance Garage.
“We realize that responding to the needs of our students and staff very important, and it’s important to expand our services,” Palmer said. “Thankfully, our facilities are in a very accessible spot.”
Visits to the pantry are confidential, and guests are allowed to take up to 10 items each time they come.
Students will be able to visit the food pantry and experience the new upgrades, expansions and improvement beginning on Tuesday, the first day of classes.

Marriott hotel proposed for Route 372 in Cromwell

CROMWELL — In what town officials say is yet another sign of a reinvigorated local economy, Marriott is proposing to build a new 120-plus room hotel in town.
The Planning and Zoning commission has received an application to build a Springhill Suites hotel in a 19,868-square-foot building in the Cobblestone Plaza on the Berlin Road/ Route 3. The commission has scheduled a public hearing on the application Sept. 20, Town Planner Stuart Popper said.
The plaza, on the north side of busy Route 372, is home to a CVS at 60 Berlin Road and a Liberty Bank branch at 72 Berlin Road. If approved, Springhill Suites would be occupy 76 Berlin Road.
Marriott International, with headquarters in Bethesda, Maryland, describes itself as a “multi-national hospitality company” with in excess of “6,700 hotels and 20 world-wide brands.” In a “supplemental narrative” provided to the planner’s office, Marriott said the hotel would sit on a 4.1-acre parcel of land, and would include 123 rooms with 115 parking spaces. The site is located “in a highway business district, in which a hotel is listed as a use requiring a special permit approval.”
“This is another win for Cromwell as we continue to grow our economic development in town,” Mayor Enzo Faienza said by email. “I’m proud of all the efforts (going on) all around in making Cromwell business-friendly. We are experiencing huge growth this is only going to get stronger.”
There are now four hotels in Cromwell, according to the assessor’s office. There is a possibility there could be another one in the offing in very short order.
Popper said owners of the Quality Inn at 111 Berlin Road have discussed filing “an amended concept plan” for a 3.89-acre parcel of land adjacent to the existing hotel, with an eye toward building a second hotel. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE

State's labor challenges are many

Matt Pilon
Connecticut's labor force is a major driver of the state's economy that, if fine tuned, could offer a competitive advantage in attracting jobs and investment capital.
But like nearly all complex systems run by people, the state's labor market is inefficient.
In an ideal world, every person who wants a job would have one that provides satisfaction, purpose and security. Meanwhile, every employer would have a well-stocked pipeline of job candidates, with just the right skill-sets, at the ready to come aboard during a time of growth, or to bid bon voyage to a crop of longtime, loyal workers headed toward retirement.
Unfortunately, that's not how things really work.
Though Connecticut's labor force is 1.7 million strong — and highly educated, to boot — the matchmaking process isn't always easy.
Connecticut employers will need to fill an estimated 56,000 jobs annually through 2024, and several industries — health care, manufacturing and construction — are facing significant labor shortages, or the need to fill tens of thousands of jobs in the coming years, according to estimates from the state's economists.
There is also a mismatch of available jobs and skill-sets for certain industries in Connecticut.
Middle-skill jobs, which require more education and training than a high school diploma but less than a four-year college degree, account for 48 percent of Connecticut's labor market, but only 38 percent of the state's workers are qualified for those positions, Bureau of Labor Statistics data show. At the same time, we have an oversupply of low-skill workers.
The need for a college education, however, will only grow in this state. About 38 percent of Connecticut residents 25 years and older have a bachelor's degree or higher, but by 2020 over 70 percent of jobs will require postsecondary degrees, according to a 2014 American Community Survey.
Hitting the 70-percent target will require 300,000 more grads than current rates of production will supply. Connecticut must also lure more college-educated individuals from out of state.
Connecticut, using both its own money as well as grants and federal funds, has tried to address these various issues, creating some programs that have produced promising results.
But because the economy evolves, workforce development is an equation that's never truly solved.
The challenges are many.
New hires often need training, which can cost time and money without any guarantee of a return on investment (turnover is a problem facing many employers). For better-paying gigs with greater responsibilities, employers often filter out applicants who lack the requisite work experience or education, which might take years to acquire. Sometimes, companies simply need more job candidates than area colleges or training programs can churn out in time; or employers and educators realize entirely new programs must be created.
Then there's the other half of the equation: the job seeker. Life's uncertainties and struggles may spur some to accept an offer right away. Others could be choosier, wanting to ensure they're making the best possible move according to their perceived value.
It's a combination of timing, strategy, planning and luck, akin to a game of musical chairs, but with real-life consequences.
With all that in mind, the Hartford Business Journal decided workforce development was an important topic to explore for our annual summer series, which kicks off today and will run for several weeks.
While it's not the only factor, a skilled workforce is a major consideration for any executives thinking about where to locate their businesses. The health of our economy could very well depend on how we prepare our next generation of workers.
Workforce development reaches across government, the private sector, nonprofits, colleges and even down to school children whose ideas about the future are still forming.
Connecticut's fiscal and demographic challenges lend additional urgency and complexity to the topic. The state's high debt and sluggish growth could constrain potential investments aimed at supercharging workforce-development programs. The state also has an aging population that will create gaps in the workforce, and more people are leaving Connecticut than moving in.
While Connecticut is a wealthy state, the gap between its rich and poor is vast. Many potentially productive workers, who could be bettering their own lives and the state's economy, face systemic challenges, including a lack of access to child care, transportation and education. Some have a criminal record stymying their potential upward mobility.
Today and in the weeks ahead, we'll introduce you to Connecticut's numerous workforce-development players, walk you through their challenges and how they're trying to tackle them, and explore ways employers are trying to recruit top talent.
You'll likely glean from our series that workforce development, if it's to make a difference, must be built around strong collaborations and partnerships. Those relationships are out there in Connecticut. Perhaps you could make them stronger.
For our readers who have management positions and hiring responsibilities, maybe our stories will inspire you to play some small part. It could benefit your company, industry and even the state.

Waterbury aldermen question store renovation using outside labor force

WATERBURY – Two current and one former aldermen are criticizing the fact the city’s Good Jobs Ordinance isn’t being applied at the ongoing $15 million renovation of the former Howland Hughes Department Store.
The ordinance requires contractors working on large-scale city projects to make a “good faith” effort to meet hiring quotas for women, minorities, city residents and apprentices.
City staff, however, point out the ordinance refers to projects funded whole or in part by city money, or federal and state money funneled through the city. But it also only applies to public buildings and facilities, such as schools or roads.
State grants are paying for up to $7.5 million of the renovation. Additionally, the city has granted large breaks on taxes and city parking garage fees to entice the long-sought renovation to the iconic downtown building.
“I guess Good Jobs only applies when certain people want it to,” former Alderman Lawrence V. De Pillo of the Independent Party said at the Aug. 20 Board of Aldermen meeting.
Republican aldermen Steven Giacomi and Roger Sherman added their voices to De Pillo’s concern following Monday’s meeting. Giacomi said he’s repeatedly heard complaints that all one sees is New York license plates at the job site.
“My feeling, and I think Roger would agree, is we are talking about the letter of the law versus the spirit of the law,” said Giacomi, the board minority leader. “To me, it’s something that’s a little disappointing considering the enormity of the project and how important this is to the city.”
Giacomi said that city aldermen subsidized the ongoing maintenance costs of the privately held Howland Hughes building while top city officials worked to seal a redevelopment deal.
Mayor Neil M. O’Leary referred questions to Corporation Counsel Linda T. Wihbey, who shared a copy of a March 1 memo to a Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development official.
In that memo, Wihbey wrote the Howland Hughes renovation does not involve a public building, and so not be subject to DECD requirements for competitive bidding, contracting and construction guidelines for state programs. Nor would it be subject to “local hiring requirements of public projects,” Wihbey wrote.
DECD spokesman Jim Watson, in an email, wrote the state’s assistance was pledged to the project before July 1, and so is not subject to new legislation requiring even private recipients of DECD funding be subject to requirements to offer prevailing wage.
Joseph Gramando, a partner in Green Hub Development, said he’d heard complaints about all the workers from New York. A couple of his larger contractors are from New York, Gramando acknowledged, but most are from Connecticut.
Gramando said he was assured of not being subject to state bidding requirements prior to beginning the project.
“If you’re using certain state requirements, the price would be three times the (current) cost,” Gramando said. “We were trying to make a project work where we can get Post (University) into the city.”
Post University has signed a lease to begin moving “approximately 400” workers into a renovated Howland Hughes beginning in December. Gramando said he’s on target to deliver the building on time.
If all state public building construction requirements were applied, construction would not have yet even begun, Gramando said.