Ignacio Laguarda
STAMFORD — One of Stamford’s most congested areas could become even more gridlocked.
A portion of Atlantic Street just south of Interstate 95 will be closed for at least six months, starting on Feb. 19, for the reconstruction of the Atlantic Street Bridge. It will result in the closure of Atlantic Street between the south side of South State Street and Dock Street.
During the first four months, work will focus on installing a new center pier on the road and widening Atlantic Street to three lanes in each direction.
The city released a map from the state Department of Transportation Monday showing alternative routes for commuters to take to avoid Atlantic near I-95. Detour roads include North State Street, South State Street, Canal Street, Henry Street, and Dock Street. Around late June, the old bridge will be taken down and the new one put in place over the course of roughly 10 days. As portions of the old one are demolished, new pieces — constructed off site in movable portions — will be wheeled in and installed, under a method called Accelerated Bridge Construction.
The new Atlantic Street Bridge will be wider and allow for an additional train track to serve the stations at Glenbrook, Springdale, New Canaan and Danbury.
The final two months of the project will involve lowering Atlantic Street to accommodate a new clearance of 14 feet, 6 inches.
The projects to replace the railroad bridge and improve the adjacent Exit 8 ramp are expected to cost a total of $100 million to $120 million and are entirely state funded.
Former CREC school in Hartford’s Colt complex eyed for apartments
Kenneth R. Gosselin
The Capital Region Education Council’s former Two Rivers High building at Hartford’s historic Colt factory complex could get a second renovation in just a half a dozen years, this time converting classroom space into apartments.
Plans by CG Management, co-developer of the sprawling Colt complex on the edge of downtown, call for 26 apartments on the two upper floors of the “U-Shaped” building on the northeastern corner of the complex at a cost of $3.7 million. The developer has approval for a $1.5 million, state-taxpayer backed loan from the Capital Region Development Authority. The funding still must clear the State Bond Commission.
Larry Dooley, owner of CG Management Co. and co-developer of the sprawling Colt complex on the edge of downtown, said he had secured a tenant for the first floor of the three-story building, the Wellness Federal Credit Union, the former Hartford Healthcare Federal Credit Union.
He had been showing the upper floors to prospective commercial tenants when he started seeing the potential for apartments.
Some of the views are of downtown Hartford, others offer a view of a revitalizing Colt complex and a few, the signature, blue, onion-shaped dome.
If all financing is secured – including a $2.2 million bank loan – the U-Shaped building would become the third structure in the Colt complex to add residential rentals. The South Armory, already completed, has 129 units.
If all financing is secured – including a $2.2 million bank loan – the U-Shaped building would become the third structure in the Colt complex to add residential rentals. The South Armory, already completed, has 129 units.
The tariffs increased the costs by “a couple hundred thousand dollars,” Dooley said, and it forced him to seek new bids.
While major structural work was done by CREC on the U-Shaped building, the addition of apartments will require reconfiguring the classroom space and perhaps the biggest challenge: extensive plumbing for kitchens and bathrooms.
Plans call for 10 studios, eight one-bedrooms and eight two-bedrooms, with the units having an average size of about 800 square feet. The average monthly rental rate is estimated to be about $1,600, or roughly $2 a square foot, including parking. Amenities such as a fitness center and a rooftop deck are planned, Dooley said.
With the U-Shaped building, the total number of units at Colt – all market-rate – would total 203, the latest coming as hundreds of other rentals are either under construction or on the drawing boards in downtown or in nearby neighborhoods.
With the U-Shaped building, the total number of units at Colt – all market-rate – would total 203, the latest coming as hundreds of other rentals are either under construction or on the drawing boards in downtown or in nearby neighborhoods.
Dooley said Colt has enjoyed strong rental demand with the South Armory typically at 95 percent occupancy or better. He sees the units in both the North Armory and the U-Shaped building being strong competitors in the market.
“Young people are looking for original, unique,” Dooley said. “We’re as unique as you get.”
Dooley said the redevelopment of nearby Dillon Stadium for professional soccer also will adding to the profile of the Colt factory neighborhood.
“The U-Shaped building is strategically located to connect the neighborhood along Charter Oak Avenue and Wyllys Street to the Colt facilities and continues the mixed use nature of the redevelopment effort, offering both commercial space and residential,” Michael W. Freimuth, CRDA’s executive director, said Monday.
“The U-Shaped building is strategically located to connect the neighborhood along Charter Oak Avenue and Wyllys Street to the Colt facilities and continues the mixed use nature of the redevelopment effort, offering both commercial space and residential,” Michael W. Freimuth, CRDA’s executive director, said Monday.
The $120 million Colt Gateway redevelopment — about a third of which is financed by public funds — dates back nearly 20 years. It is on its fourth developer and was, more than once, stalled for years at a time. The project has gained significant momentum since 2010 under the current development team, Hartford-based CG Management, and the tax credit investment arm of oil giant Chevron.
The economic viability of the complex was key to winning authorization of the Coltsville National Historical Park in late 2014. But the official opening has been delayed, most recently by the donation of two sheds in the complex for a visitor’s center, park service offices and educational space.
The economic viability of the complex was key to winning authorization of the Coltsville National Historical Park in late 2014. But the official opening has been delayed, most recently by the donation of two sheds in the complex for a visitor’s center, park service offices and educational space.
The donation has been complicated by having to subdivide the structures from the larger property and clearing up to ownership title to the property. The sheds -- once the forge and foundry -- are the oldest surviving structures in the complex.
Dooley said the donation is expected to be completed this year, but it has been slowed because the federal shutdown affected the U.S. Department of the Interior, which oversees national parks.