July 31, 2019

CT Construction Digest Wednesday July 31, 2019

Downtown North developer set to walk
By Steven Goode
RMS principal says he’ll pull out of $200 million project if judge won’t lift liens filed by fired developer
A map of the Downtown North parcels. Dunkin’ Donuts Park is located in the center. (City of Hartford ) 
Hartford – The city-approved developer of several parcels of land surrounding Dunkin’ Donuts Park said Tuesday he is prepared to pull out of the more than $200 million redevelopment project unless liens filed by the former developer are lifted so he can begin work immediately.
Randy Salvatore, principal of RMS Companies, testified at a hearing before Superior Court Judge Thomas Moukhawsher, who is considering the city of Hartford’s motion to discharge the liens.
The redevelopment project is key to generating tax revenue that Hartford can use to offset the $4.8 million in debt service it pays each year toward the stadium. It’s also seen as a critical link between downtown and the surrounding neighborhoods.
Salvatore testified that without the removal of the liens he was not willing to invest large amounts of his own money and no bank would finance the first phase of the mixed-use development. He ultimately envisions 800 housing units and 60,000 square feet of retail space — including a grocery store — on the parcels
The removal of the [liens] would unshackle us and allow us to move forward quickly,” Salvatore said.
The city is pressing to remove the liens after a unanimous jury ruling found that the city did not wrongfully terminate Centerplan and DoNo Hartford from construction of the ballpark and from developing the surrounding parcels of land.
Centerplan and DoNo Hartford have appealed the jury’s verdict, which also included an award of $335,000 in damages against the fired developer to the city. The former developers also filed an objection to the city’s motion to have the liens lifted, saying that they should remain in effect until the appeal is heard and ruled on.
Asked by Leslie King, an attorney representing the city, what he would do if the liens are not removed while Centerplan appeals the jury verdict, Salvatore said RMS would not be willing to wait several years for a decision.
“We’re in the business of building, not waiting for court decisions,” he said. “We would walk away.”
Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin was also called to testify at the hearing. He said the city has not been able to cover annual debt service payments on the stadium through rent that the Hartford Yard Goats pay and revenue from parking and non-game day events. The city receives all the revenue from parking but must also absorb the cost of police for traffic and crowd control.
Bronin said the original plan for the redevelopment was that revenue from the apartments, retail businesses and eventually a grocery store would offset debt service, but that hasn’t happened yet, and won’t until the liens are lifted and construction can begin.
Until that happens, Bronin said, debt service will continue to be a drain on city finances and hinder efforts to grow the grand list of taxable property and attract more development, such as the grocery store.
“For this effort to be stalled would be a major blow,” he said.
Bronin said he was also concerned that the only developer to respond to the city’s request for proposals for development on the land surrounding the stadium could decide to pull out, setting the project back even further.
“It could be years if we can’t move forward,” he said.
Bronin added that the city’s victory in court should bolster the motion to lift the liens and allow RMS — which has been in discussions with the city for 18 months — to get to work.
“It’s my understanding that the court has the ability to lift the [liens] even as the appeals process moves forward.
Following a recess, Raymond Garcia, an attorney for Centerplan, asked the city to provide parking revenue numbers for the surface lots around the ballpark for four years prior to its construction and three years since.
King told Moukhawsher that the city did not have control of the lots prior to the ballpark construction and has only received revenue for 2017 and 2018 because the team played the entire season on the road in 2016 while the ballpark was being finished.
Moukhawsher continued the hearing to 10 a.m. Thursday to give the city time to provide those numbers to Garcia.

Eversource works to remove or trim dying, dead and hazardous trees in the state
Adam Hushin
BERLIN - Eversource’s increased tree work this summer is a response to address concerns of dying, dead and hazardous trees in the state.
The increased number of trees that must be trimmed or removed altogether is a “rapidly growing problem,” according to Eversource officials.
The energy company’s team of licensed arborists identify weakened or hazardous trees that have been killed or stressed by causes that include ongoing insect infestations and drought.
These at-risk trees can threaten electric reliability for customers.
“With the Connecticut Department of Transportation and local tree wardens around the state, Eversource is addressing the diseased or dead trees that are heightening concern,” Eversource said in a statement.
While local residents might pay little attention to the Eversource teams trimming trees, experts believe this could be a real cause for concern.
“The massive amount of large, standing, dead trees throughout the area presents what could be described as a slow-moving environmental disaster,” said UConn Associate Extension Professor of Forestry, Thomas Worthley.
Eversource say they were able to identify this issue early on, and requested additional funding last year to attempt to combat the problem. The extra funds will be used to hire additional crews to help remove significantly more hazardous trees at a faster rate.
For details on the company’s comprehensive vegetation management program, you can visit Eversource.com.

Contaminated debris from demolished Stonington mill to be removed
Joe Wojtas
Stonington — The town announced Tuesday that work is beginning to remove contaminated debris from the former Connecticut Casting mill site in Pawcatuck.
Town Engineer Scot Deledda said that he expects the majority of the debris, some of which contains lead, PCB and a small amount of asbestos, to be removed within 15 days.
While the town has appropriated $600,000 for the demolition and cleanup of the property, Deledda said the actual cost is still to be determined because the debris has to be sorted and separated and then hauled to landfills as far away as Michigan and Idaho. Each landfill only accepts a certain type of contaminated debris.
Deledda said the town has hired two environmental firms to oversee the sorting of the debris to make sure it goes to the correct landfill, depending on the type of contamination and material. He said this will save the town money, as landfills that accept more hazardous materials and are further away are more costly. For example, he said just sending all the debris to the Idaho landfill would be very expensive.
He said the town will track the costs so there are no surprises at the end.
Deledda said he is happy to see the removal starting. “I know we’re on the right path and we’ll do our best to keep the cost as low as possible,” he said.
He added he also is excited to see what will come of the site once the cleanup is complete.
The abandoned and dilapidated mill began to collapse into the Pawcatuck River after a lightning strike and heavy rain on April 15. That forced the town to quickly hire a firm to tear down the mill before more of it could tumble into the river, which could have created a flooding threat and sent contaminated dust into nearby neighborhoods in Pawcatuck and across the river in Westerly.
The Pawcatuck Fire Department has been spraying water on the pile to keep the dust from spreading since the building was demolished and will continue to do so until the debris is removed, according to Deledda.
The owners of the mill property have refused to address problems on the site and essentially abandoned it, according to town officials. The town already has placed $147,000 in liens on the property and will add the cost of the demolition and cleanup to that. First Selectman Rob Simmons has said the town also will look for reimbursement from its insurance company, as well as state and federal grants, to offset the cost of the work. It is likely the town will end up owning the property.          
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July 30, 2019

CT Construction Digest Tuesday July 30, 2019

Planned New Britain data center secures $55M tax break
Matt Pilon
he developer of a $1 billion fuel-cell powered data center in New Britain, slated to begin first-phase construction this fall, has secured a state tax break worth up to $55.2 million.
The quasi-public Connecticut Innovations (CI) last week approved the 10-year sales-and-use tax exemption for EIP Investment LLC’s purchase of capital equipment for its data center, to be housed in redeveloped buildings on the historic Stanley Works manufacturing campus.
It’s the largest benefit of its kind ever granted under the CI-administered relief program, which dates back well over a decade.
The benefit will technically flow to EIP’s eventual tenant or tenants who would be purchasing the computer servers, though the exemption also benefits EIP by making its project more attractive to lessees.
“This will put us on par with 23 other states that are competing every day to attract national data center operators to their sites, and it will apply only to the computing equipment after nearly $400 million is spent on the bricks and mortar,” Wick said.
The data center would be the second phase of the project, costing an estimated $300 million, according to EIP.
The $100 million first phase, to begin by early fall and wrap up next year, is the installation of 44 fuel cells manufactured by Doosan in South Windsor.
The state gave the project its first public boost when it selected EIP, after a competitive bidding process, for a 20-year contract to sell the fuel cell power to utilities.
Gov. Ned Lamont was also quoted in EIP’s announcement on Monday.
“High performance computing centers fuel the 21st century economy and attract many other IT companies to their campuses,” Lamont said. “Given Connecticut’s proximity to major metropolitan areas and the needs of our municipal, state and private sector business clusters for these high performance computing services, we can now compete with other states and transform an underutilized industrial complex into a modern IT campus that will generate significant local and state tax revenues, and high paying IT and related service jobs.”
Since it proposed the project in early 2018, EIP has said it would generate more than $200 million in state tax revenue over a 20-year period, in addition to $45 million in local tax revenue. The company said Monday that those estimates were still accurate.
"There was always the expectation that the sales and use tax exemption would need to occur in order to get to a level playing field with other states and [sales and use] was never included in the state revenue number," Wick said.
"Connecticut has been, at best, inattentive to the critical importance of the IT backbone -- high speed fiber and large data centers -- for the competitiveness of the state, both to retain business here and to attract new business," Carstensen said Monday afternoon. "We appreciate the importance of our transportation infrastructure and everyone accepts the reality that we need make major investments to improve its quality and reliability. But communication infrastructure is every bit as important."
He said the New Britain data center, along with a planned data center in eastern Connecticut's Montville (proposed by Verde Group, according to The Day), should help "bend the curve and put Connecticut into a much stronger competitive position."

New Bridgeport power plant officially turned on
Jordan Grice
With a flip of an oversized light switch, Bridgeport and state officials showcased the city’s newest industrial landmark.
“It’s not often where you’re able to gather a public-private partnership on multiple levels and as a result see so many positives come out of it,” said Bridgeport Mayor Joe Ganim, commemorating the official opening of PSEG’s natural gas-powered Bridgeport Harbor Station 5 overlooking Long Island Sound.
The 485-megawatt plant went online roughly a month ago, providing energy to thousands of homes and businesses throughout the state. It also set in motion plans to retire PSEG’s longstanding coal plant next door, which officials say is scheduled for June 2021.
Monday was the official opening.
Several officials called the new plant an asset for Bridgeport and the state after only a month in service.
“The plant means clean burning fuel for the next 40 years, but it also means good paying jobs and people getting an opportunity,” said Gov. Ned Lamont.
That includes PSEG’s $600,000 Ready2Work program which helped train and place 47 residents a trades union or career where the certifications created by the program were required.
Graduates of the program were also among the 700 construction workers that built the power plant.
“We are a company that keeps its commitments,” said PSEG president and COO Ralph LaRossa. “Here in Connecticut, we really saw a need to retrain some areas of the state and really focused here on Bridgeport.”
That’s been disputed by some community leaders, particularly the Council of Churches of Greater Bridgeport, who are still trying to force PSEG to compensate for what they believed was a flawed apprenticeship program.
Development of Bridgeport Harbor Station 5 is the result of a longstanding public and private partnership that dates to the Bill Finch administration.
The former Bridgeport Mayor made a brief appearance during the opening ceremony. He said he was proud “to see that incredibly large facility opened there, knowing it’s not only helping to reduce our pollution but it’s also paying huge taxes to the city.”
The plant has already been credited for an increase in Bridgeport’s grand list earlier this year. Ganim attributed a sizable portion of a 5 percent growth to the plant in March.
Next on the city’s agenda is the future of the old coal plant next to the natural-gas facility.
The coal plant is supposed to be decommissioned in the next two years, according to LaRossa.“It’s an extremely valuable piece of property right on the water,” said Tom Gill, director of economic development in Bridgeport. “It complements what’s going on across the harbor.”
Thus far, the city has been trying to develop an entertainment hub overlooking the water. That’s been apparent with ongoing development of the Harbor Yard Amphitheater and Steelepointe Harbor and legislative battles to bring a casino to Bridgeport. There is still plenty that needs to happen before the land is cleared, sold and developed, LaRossa said, including working with city and community leaders to find the best use for the site and the future of the 500-foot red and white smoke stack at the coal plant.

CT goes back to the future with transit-oriented development
Tom Condon
New Britain — The decades after World War II were unkind to many Connecticut cities, New Britain among them. The Hardware City lost jobs, was carved up by highways and saw residents depart for the suburbs. Its once bustling downtown began to look desolate, almost like an archeological site.
Not anymore.
Downtown New Britain is steadily coming back. Streets have been revamped and redesigned (with roundabouts and bike lanes), a downtown park has been spiffed up, and historic buildings are being refurbished for housing and other uses. A new development, two five-story buildings with about 160 residential units and 20,000 square feet of retail space, is under construction.
“More downtown buildings have been sold in the last two years than in the last 20 years,” said longtime city development director Bill Carroll, a New Britain native. “It’s a beautiful thing to see.”
What’s driving this revival? The bus.
New Britain officials, led by Republican Mayor Erin Stewart, have embraced the CTfastrak bus rapid transit system as an economic engine, and it seems to be working. The mayor said in a recent interview that she expects 200 new units of downtown housing in place by the end of this year, with another 100 coming next year.
CTfastrak “has driven nearly all of this. It’s my talking point,” said the ebullient 32-year-old Stewart, now in her third term.
Indeed, nearly all of the development in downtown New Britain is within easy walking distance of the downtown CTfastrak station, making it what planners call “transit-oriented development,” or TOD. Other communities along the state’s transit corridors — you can’t have TOD without the T — have embraced the concept as well, with support from the state.
But can TOD help revive all cities and towns, not just New Britain?
“Yes,” said David Elder, the state Department of Transportation planner and TOD coordinator, “but it doesn’t happen overnight. It happens over time.”
But it is happening. Since CTfastrak opened in 2015 and the Hartford Line commuter rail service from New Haven to Springfield followed in 2018, both corridors have seen a combined total of $700 million in investment, according to figures compiled by the Capital Region Council of Governments. Nearly every community — Windsor Locks, Windsor, West Hartford, Berlin, Wallingford and others — in both corridors has at least one TOD project finished or underway. Several shoreline communities — Clinton, Fairfield and others — have projects in the works as well.
“I think it is the single most important thing we can do” for city and state economic development, said David Kooris, deputy commissioner of the state Department of Economic and Community Development.
New again
Transit-oriented development is a newish term for an old idea. For most of Connecticut’s history, virtually all development was connected to waterways or rail/trolley lines. That changed with the widespread middle-class migration to the suburbs, almost all by car, in the decades that followed World War II.
By the 1990s there came the belated realization that suburban sprawl had a downside: more traffic and congestion, more air and water pollution, higher cost of infrastructure, loss of forests and farms, and isolation of the poor in cities.
In response, many planners and urbanists promoted the ideas of “smart growth,” concentrating growth in transit corridors or town centers — thus, transit-oriented development.
The 2005 federal transportation funding bill made federal funds available for TOD, as did subsequent bills. Former Gov. Dannel Malloy earmarked more than $20 million in 2011 for TOD planning and infrastructure, augmenting many more millions dedicated through state housing, economic development and brownfield remediation grants.
In short, the state has made a major push for TOD, and the momentum continues.
This spring, Gov. Ned Lamont appointed Lisa Tepper Bates, a former foreign service officer, to the new post of senior coordinator housing and transit-oriented development, and the General Assembly created a Municipal Redevelopment Authority to spur development near transit and town centers of distressed cities.
The Connecticut Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects held an all-day symposium on TOD at the Capitol, and the Capital Region Council of Governments formed a collaborative to support TOD and town center development.
“Governor Lamont places a high priority on improving Connecticut’s public transportation system and advancing community development around transit hubs to drive economic development and respond to the increased demand from residents,” said Tepper Bates in a recent interview. “This is what the workforce wants, that’s what employers are asking for, and that’s what Connecticut’s communities can offer.”
She said it is also central to Lamont’s goal of reducing the state’s carbon footprint.
Challenges
There are challenges and potential obstacles to TOD, however.
“It doesn’t just happen,” as Stewart put it.
First of all, the projects themselves are often daunting, involving such things as brownfield remediation, parcel assembly, road reconfiguration and complex financing. For example, Windsor Locks First Selectman Chris Cervick said his town’s conversion of the former Montgomery Mills complex into 160 mixed-income apartments drew funding from “five or six sources.”
A major TOD planned around a new parking garage at the Stamford railroad station fell apart three years ago over financing issues and unresolved differences between the city and state.
“It was a disaster,” said Joseph McGee, vice-president for public policy and programs of the Business Council of Fairfield County. “But we learned from it.”
Successful transit-oriented development also comes with some built-in requirements. The transit has to be frequent and reliable, there has to be a market for TOD to serve, and housing near transit stations must be built for people who use transit, as Massachusetts transportation commissioner Stephanie Pollock and others have observed.
Developers can encounter difficulties even after these conditions are met, experts say. Access to some stations is blocked by highways, rivers or industrial buildings, and some shoreline communities cannot create much density around stations because they don’t have sewers.
There can also be strong community opposition to TOD, especially when it involves building affordable housing or parking.And finally, the parking itself can be difficult to create. That’s because many people who ride commuter trains don’t live within walking distance of the stations, which means they need a place to park. But a station surrounded by a sea of asphalt isn’t TOD. Towns struggle to find the right balance between parking and development.
“It’s an ongoing question (in Stamford). What’s the proper ratio?” said McGee. Many Stamford companies have vans that bring workers to and from the station, he added.
Nonetheless, many communities are overcoming these challenges and getting projects done. The Montgomery Mills project in Windsor Locks is scheduled to be completed in three phases from Aug.1 to Oct. 1.
“We’re really excited about it,” said Cervick. He said the project has been a catalyst for more development in the town center.
That is one of several benefits of TOD, as several studies (see here and here) indicate.As is obvious, transit riders aren’t driving cars. This has the societal benefit of lowering traffic congestion and reducing air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, about 40 percent of which come from the transportation sector in Connecticut. TOD creates healthier (read: walkable) neighborhoods, and develops the population density small businesses need to thrive. It reduces household transportation costs, freeing income to spend at those small businesses, or wherever else. It provides access to the jobs.
And, as Elder said, TOD creates more transit riders and thus more money in the fare box to pay for the buses and trains.
Solutions
Mayor Stewart embraced TOD because “we need to reinvent ourselves. We want to be a success story, a place where people live, work, play and thrive.” How does a community make it happen?Stewart said the first step is to work with residents to develop a vision. “Have public meetings even if nobody comes,” she said. “Eventually they will.”
Then, she said, reduce the vision to a plan.
Change the zoning, if necessary. Zoning doesn’t age well, and can be an obstacle to TOD. To take an example from another community, Windsor rezoned the area around its train station from industrial to a center design development district, which allows a mix of uses and up to 20 residential units per acre, said Windsor town planner Eric Barz. This resulted in a 50-unit condominium in a former mill and 130 apartments on a former public works garage site. Residents have a six-minute train ride to downtown Hartford.
Have a local TOD advisory group that meets regularly and keeps focus on the plan.
Finally, execute the plan, said Stewart. “Be organized, go step by step, block by block, have patience.”
Financing TOD will be a challenge going forward due to the state’s strained fiscal situation, but there are still tax credits and other programs available and officials hope to promote TOD by using the new Opportunity Zone legislation, which offers incentives for private investment in historically underserved areas, said Tepper Bates.
Most of the recent TOD projects have been subsidized and one goal is to make the projects attractive enough to draw private investment, as has happened in downtown New Haven.
Some, including Capital Region Council of Governments Executive Director Lyle Wray, think TOD could be more effective if it were planned on a corridor rather than town by town basis. Alas, a legislative effort in 2015 to create a corridor development authority foundered because some viewed it as a usurpation of local authority or creeping regionalism.For all of the issues surrounding TOD, however, there is apparently one not to worry about.
Windsor now has hundreds of people living near its train station, said Barz, and not a single person has complained to the town about train noise.

Connecticut Innovations helps secure financing for Energy Park Phase 2
Karla Santos
NEW BRITAIN - Although New Britain’s Energy & Innovation Park is still preparing to build its first phase, the park’s developers hailed a tax break from Connecticut Innovations that will secure financing for its second phase, which is the computing center.
The first phase of the $1 billion green-energy and high-speed data center complex is a $100 million, 20-megawatt fuel cell. Construction will begin in the fall and the project will take place at the Stanley Works campus.
“Last year, we launched this project to transform the historic home of Stanley Black & Decker into a first class center for high-tech jobs, high-speed data processing, and clean energy,” Mark Wick, a partner with EIP, LLC said in a press release. “Today’s action by Connecticut Innovations should be the final step in the development process.”
According to the announcement, the company will spend $300 million in Phase 2 to build and renovate the data center complex to “white space” configuration, which will include high-performing computers and servers to make a high performance computing center.
“CI just helped secure the data center’s competitive edge by approving a measure that will exempt the computing equipment from the state sales and use tax for 10 years,” Wick said in the release. “This will put us on par with 23 other states that are competing every day to attract national data center operators to their sites, and it will apply only to the computing equipment after nearly $400 million is spent on the bricks and mortar. This is the sign of a great public-private partnership, and we are very pleased.”
More than 3,000 direct and indirect jobs are expected to be created by EIP in the next 20 years.
The project is also expected to generate $45 million in tax revenues for New Britain and more than $200 million for the state of Connecticut.
“High performance computing centers fuel the 21st century economy and attract many other IT companies to their campuses,” Gov. Ned Lamont said in the press release. “Given Connecticut’s proximity to major metropolitan areas and the needs of our municipal, state and private sector business clusters for these high performance computing services, we can now compete with other states and transform an underutilized industrial complex into a modern IT campus that will generate significant local and state tax revenues, and high paying IT and related service jobs.”
The Doosan fuel cell units are expected to arrive to the site in the first quarter of 2020 with full commercial operation by the third quarter of the same year.
“In addition to the data center component, the EIP will be a Center for Energy Innovation,” House Speaker Joe Aresimowicz said in the release. “I am encouraged that the EIP has pledged to work closely with the Connecticut Center for Advanced Technology, the universities and other Connecticut companies to develop new energy technologies to capture carbon from fuel cells, make electricity from waste heat, identify new ways to store energy and help Connecticut be at the cutting edge of technology development.”
The release said that EIP is expected to use waste heat from the fuel cells in a “heating and cooling loop” to serve surrounding businesses and help reduce the carbon footprint of the project.
“We have all worked very hard to make the New Britain site attractive and competitive,” Mayor Erin Stewart said in the release. “It has low cost space, on-site power generation, access to trained talent, predictable tax treatment and quality connectivity that we believe we will attract significant national interest and transform New Britain into the New Hardware City.”

State brightens up Merritt with new signs
Ignacio Laguarda
STAMFORD — For many signs along the Merritt Parkway, the glow is gone.
Years of standing outside exposed to the elements have rendered some overhead and side-mounted signs muted and barely legible at night.
That’s because the typical lifespan for many such roadside notices is 17 years, according to Kevin Nursick, spokesperson for the state Department of Transportation. That’s the age, generally, when a sign’s retroreflectivity, or ability to shine light back toward a source, has faded away. With less reflectivity, signs become hard to read or illegible at night, even if they are clear in daylight.
The state’s latest project to replace signs on the Merritt Parkway comes with a $4.25 million price tag and will focus on replacing signs that were last installed in 1997 using a different technique for fastening them to supports. On many signs, the supports have been failing for the last few years, according to information from the state.
The project encompasses roughly 40 miles of the Merritt, from the Connecticut/New York border all the way to Milford.
“The scope of the project involves the replacement of only those signs that have exceeded their useful service life,” reads the description of the project.
The work also includes the replacement of five existing “variable message signs,” digital boards in which text can be added and modified.
Concurrently, a sign-replacement project on Route 8 will accomplish the same thing, along a 30-mile stretch from Bridgeport to Waterbury, and will cost $10.6 million.
That project will replace signs last installed in the late 1980s.
Wes Haynes, executive director of the Merritt Parkway Conservancy, is happy to see the signs being replaced, especially since they will maintain the jagged-edge design characteristic of the roadway.
While many people have a love for the old wooden signs that used to adorn the highway in the past, Haynes said the newer models are much easier to maintain.
He isn’t a fan of the variable message signs, however, even if he understands that the state must use them in construction zones.
“When you go through a construction zone, you’re out of the parkway mood anyway,” said Haynes, describing why the signs aren’t as visually intrusive to him as they would be in other parts of the highway.
Once the new signs are up, Haynes said the parkway experience will be enhanced. “Everybody loves the finished product,” he said. “It puts you back in the magic of the parkway.”

State lawmakers to probe Connecticut Port Authority following exit of leaders

State legislators are set to examine the operation of the Connecticut Port Authority next month following the departure of two top officials, one of whom resigned under fire by Gov. Ned Lamont.
The agency, which is responsible for the state’s three Long Island Sound ports at Bridgeport, New Haven and New London and inland river ports and harbors, has been the focus of unaccustomed criticism in recent weeks.
Its executive director was put on administrative leave following an exchange of emails with a critic of the port authority. Board Chairwoman Bonnie Reemsnyder soon after resigned over a $3,000 payment by the authority for six photos taken by her daughter that were displayed at the agency’s Old Saybrook office.
Lamont said the “recent events” were a "sideshow and distraction."
Rep. Roland Lemar, House chairman of the transportation committee, said Monday that lawmakers want to “get to the bottom of what’s been happening with the board of directors, hear from the governor’s office about ... potential direction for the port authority and try to see if there’s any necessary legislation to address some of the concerns that we’ve got.”
A public hearing is likely in August, said Lemar, D-New Haven.
David Kooris, vice chairman of port authority’s board, did not return a request for comment.
Sen. Cathy Osten, D-Sprague, and a member of the transportation committee, asked for a hearing, saying she’s “greatly concerned” about developments at the port authority.
Osten cited a $93 million public-private partnership with a wind energy producer on an upgrade plan for the State Pier in New London, a key economic development deal announced in May. A final agreement has not yet been reached and she said the delay is a focus of concern.
“It is imperative that we make sure nothing interferes with this critical project,” Osten said in a letter to Lemar and Sen. Carlo Leone, the transportation committee’s Senate chairman.
A Lamont spokesman said the governor supports a hearing and has instructed his chief of staff and chief operating officer to conduct an “in-depth review” of the Port Authority as part of an assessment of the state’s 10 quasi-public agencies — the Connecticut Airport Authority, Connecticut Lottery Corp. and others — “to ensure that future issues of similar magnitude do not arise.”
Osten said in an interview the State Pier and New London port are an “economic driver” for eastern Connecticut.
The leadership changes at the port authority are not the only issues that legislators should review, she said.
 
“There have been some rumblings in the last year, last year and a half,” Osten said. “It’s not just recent public outcries with the latest movement on the board and executive director. "
Residents and officials want to make sure that other businesses, not just wind power, have access to the State Pier and ports, Osten said. Shipments of road salt, which is critical for towns and cities during the winter, need ready access to the pier to avoid price spikes, she said.
“It’s time to have transparency,” Osten said.
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July 29, 2019

CT Construction Digest Monday July 29, 2019

Tolls still a live issue
Eric Bedner
HARTFORD — While the debate over electronic tolls may seem over for the summer, Senate President Pro Tem Martin M. Looney said Thursday that discussions are ongoing and a proposal could include tolling on some bridges combined with additional borrowing.
Gov. Ned Lamont has proposed several variations of a tolling plan throughout the year in an effort to appeal to more lawmakers.
While House Speaker Joseph Aresimowicz, D-Berlin, has been confident he had the party-line votes in the House to pass a more widespread tolling bill, Looney, D-New Haven, has said he did not want the controversial issue to be decided by a partisan vote.
Therefore, he said, he would not call a comprehensive toll bill in the Senate, knowing there wouldn’t likely be a single Republican vote in favor.
Senate Minority Leader Leonard A. Fasano, R-North Haven, said he believes Looney didn’t want to call the issue for a partisan vote in the Senate because “he felt that was boxing his guys into a corner” on potentially the most controversial issue of the year.
Looney said Thursday that he is working with lawmakers to develop a “hybrid, consensus, compromise plan,” that could include tolling on certain bridges and additional state bonding.
When those discussions are likely to conclude is unclear, he said.
The bridge-only proposal is the newest variation of ideas put forward this year, with others consisting of tax breaks for low-income earners, bus fare reductions from $1.75 to $1, congestion pricing, and in-state discounts.
Lamont began his political career with two tolling proposals — trucks only while he was campaigning and on all vehicles after being elected.
Weeks before the end of the legislative session, he scaled back the all-vehicle proposal, limiting the potential number of gantries to no more than 50.
Finally, Lamont most recently proposed placing tolls on bridges most in need of repair, which would not raise enough money to adequately address the state’s transportation needs and would require more bonding.
On the final day of the legislative session, Lamont vowed to call lawmakers back within a couple of weeks to vote on a toll bill, but there wasn’t agreement among legislators and the governor on a tolling plan.
Fasano said the issue was never about partisanship, but rather about a general mistrust in state government’s ability to use toll money properly.
Although toll dollars must be used for transportation, the fear, he said, is that legislators would divert other transportation revenue from the Special Transportation Fund before it were deposited.
The ongoing toll negotiations may come as a surprise to other legislative leaders who feel the toll debate is over for the year.
This week, Aresimowicz, a perpetual optimist, said he believed any toll vote this summer would be a “long shot.”
“Joe will say something after it’s been obvious for a while,” House Minority Leader Themis Klarides, R-Derby, said Thursday. “It’s dead.”
Klarides said she believes the reason the toll plan has been changed so many times is because Democrats did not have the votes for more widespread proposals, despite Aresimowicz’s continuous assertions that he could get a bill through the House.
Regardless, Klarides said she doubts there is a single House Republican that would support any plan that includes tolling.
“I am not even open to one toll, and my caucus isn’t even open to one toll,” she said, adding that if a small number of gantries were constructed, they would become more widespread over time.
While agreeing that other projects would be delayed, Klarides said she will continue to push for the Republican “Prioritize Progress” plan that relies entirely on bonding to cover transportation costs.
She said she would continue to oppose tolls no matter how many years the debate goes on.
“I’m prepared for any fight every session and every day if I believe it’s what is best for the state of Connecticut,” Klarides said.
Fasano said Democrats and Lamont are negotiating a bond package that could call for as much as $1.7 billion in borrowing, $200 million less than the bond cap.
This, he said, would give legislators a little room to bond more for transportation. Admittedly, other projects, such as capital improvements to state-owned buildings, would have to wait. Other bonding items, he said, are often pet projects and “political payoffs.”
Fasano compared the state’s priorities to homeowners with crumbling foundations, saying if there is a major issue that needs to be resolved, it should be addressed before spending money on luxuries.
‘We may have to be a little sharper with our pencils,” Fasano said. “We need to put transportation first and take a breather on some of these other things.”
 
Connecticut DOT launching retooled website
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — The Connecticut Department of Transportation is launching a retooled website.
The public can begin using the updated site on Monday. While it will have a fresh look, the website will include much of the same information on the existing site, including traffic cameras, news releases, information on how to do business with the agency and information about DOT programs and services.
The site also includes information about highways and bridges, public transportation, bicycle and pedestrian issues, highway safety and non-discrimination policies.
Users who previously signed up for electronic alerts for DOT news and information should continue to receive them under the new website. The new web address will be https://portal.ct.gov/dot .

CT DOT leader reassures legislators about Arrigoni Bridge
Jeff Mill
PORTLAND — The commissioner of transportation has sought to allay concerns about the involvement of a Florida company linked to a fatal bridge collapse being chosen to monitor repairs to the Arrigoni Bridge.
State Sen. Norm Needleman and state Rep. Christie Carpino had written to Joseph Giulietti, the commissioner of the Department of Transportation , expressing their concerns about Figg Bridge Group’s role in the planned renovation of approaches to the bridge.
In 2018, Figg was involved in the collapse of a pedestrian bridge in Miami that killed six people and left eight other people with injuries of varying severity.Responding to concerns from a resident, Portland First Selectwoman Susan S. Bransfield asked Needleman, an Essex Democrat, and Carpino, a Cromwell Republican, to look into the matter.

Earlier this month, the two legislators sent a joint letter to Giulietti in which they referred to the Miami incident and said, “Based on the company’s past safety record, we have some serious concerns” about Figg’s role in the Arrigoni Bridge project.
The DOT expects to spend $40 million to repair and/or replace structural support steel supports beneath the approaches to the 73-year-old bridge that links Portland and Middletown.
The work is scheduled to begin in 2020.
After the letter was sent to Giulietti, Carpino said, “A tragedy occurred in Florida and we want to ensure that another one doesn’t happen here.”
The DOT commissioner responded, taking “this opportunity to reassure you as well as dispel any potential misperceptions of misunderstandings moving forward, regarding the inspection of the upcoming Arrigoni Bridge rehabilitation project.”
Figg’s role in the bridge repair project involves “project oversight,” Giulietti said.
“Their particular role will be to perform Construction Engineering and Inspection (CEI) services.”
While CEI services are sometimes performed by DOT staff, at other times, “particularly on larger more complex projects (CEI in performed) by private sector consultant engineering firms, like Figg,” he said. “In essence, their role is quality assurance.”
In that role, Figg employees will “affirm that the prime contractor is upholding its end if the contract,” the commissioner said.

DOT has worked with Figg on a number of projects, including construction of a bridge in New Haven and the recently completed reconstruction of the southbound portion of the Gold Star Memorial Bridge from Groton to New London, Giulietti said.
“Combined, the Figg team on the Arrigoni Bridge project has more than 90 years of CEI experience,” Giulietti wrote.
He also identified “two important distinctions that are pertinent and need to be made.”
“First, no one on the Figg team for the project was involved in the work in Miami,” he said. “Second, Figg’s role in Miami was not for CEI services but rather they had a role in the design of the actual structure.“CEI services and ‘Design’ are distinctly different aspects of the industry,” Giulietti.
He closed by assuring the two legislators that “the public’s safety…is always our top priority.”
In a letter this week, Needleman and Carpino thanked Giulietti for his letter, saying it “provides significant and important details as to Figg’s role” in the Arrigoni Bridge projects.
They also welcomed Giulietti’s “confidence in the project.”
 However, “As the project…represents a major transportation and economic opportunity for impacted towns, we are adamant that safety remains the foremost aspect of the work,” the two legislators said.
Consequently, “We request that we remain updated on the progress of the bridge construction in (the) coming weeks and months. We would like to request a meeting closer to the start of the project to discuss the safety protocols in place,” they said in closing.

Eversource gives up on Northern Pass hydropower project
MICHAEL CASEY
CONCORD, N.H. (AP) - After nearly a decade of protests, hearings and court fights, the Northern Pass hydropower project that promised to bring hydropower from Canada to southern New England is dead.
The company behind the plan, Eversource, announced Thursday it was abandoning the project after suffering a defeat in the New Hampshire Supreme Court.
"It is clear there is no path forward," Eversource spokesman William Hinkle said in a statement. "The need for new sources of abundant, low-cost renewable energy in New England remains urgent, and we will continue working toward new, innovative solutions that lower costs for our customers, improve reliability and advance clean energy."
Though expected, the announcement by Eversource was a significant setback for a company, which has repeatedly promised that Northern Pass would be built by 2020.
Despite framing the project as a win for the environment and economy, Eversource was never able to overcome opposition from a determined collection of town officials, environmentalists and residents who opposed the project. Often clad in orange in the numerous public hearings, opponents argued that the project would damage the state's tourism economy and destroy rural communities.
"It's good that Eversource is finally accepting the reality that Northern Pass is dead," Jack Savage, a spokesman for The Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests. "It's a relief to the many thousands of landowners and residents who have opposed this project for almost nine years."
Eversource's proposal called for building a 192-mile (310-kilometer) transmission line across New Hampshire to supply power to almost a million homes in southern New England. It argued that the $1.6 billion project would bring clean energy to the region and help the economy. It spent $318 million on the project, according to a filing with the Security and Exchange Commission and will write off $200 million after taxes.
The company initially had the support of Republican Gov. Chris Sununu, received a series of federal approvals and was chosen to provide much-needed clean energy to Massachusetts.
But members of the Site Evaluation Committee, which would cast the critical vote, questioned the project's promised benefits and worried about the impact it would have on rural communities. They unanimously defeated the project last year amid concerns that towering transmission lines would hurt property values, tarnish scenic views and scare off tourists that come for the fall colors. Many opponents also worried that months of construction would disrupt businesses and cause traffic delays.
The company responded to the rejection by saying it would spend hundreds of millions of dollars to compensate property owners, fund energy efficiency programs and help low income residents in a last-ditch effort to salvage the project.
But the committee denied the appeal, and the court affirmed the committee's ruling. That prompted Sununu, one of the most prominent backers of the project, to pull his support.
The project's defeat prompted Massachusetts to shift to a similar one that would bring Canadian hydropower through transmission lines in Maine. The $1 billion New England Clean Energy Connect has won the support of Maine Gov. Janet Mills. The Maine Public Utilities Commission also gave its approval, but several other agencies must sign off on the project.

Cheshire developers eyeing hotel, residential, retail space
Joe Cooper
pair of Cheshire developers is looking to build a sprawling mixed-use development on two local vacant properties that could house an assortment of hotel, residential living, restaurant or retail space, among other uses.
The proposal by Miller Napolitano Wolff LLC and Tri-Star Development LLC scored a major victory this week as the town’s Planning and Zoning Commission overwhelmingly approved their subdivision application requesting to split 1953 and 2037 Highland Ave. into eight lots.
The developers first pitched a rendering of what the proposed North End development could look like in 2018 during a zoning commission meeting, Cheshire Town Planner William Voelker said Friday.
The preliminary plans, which have been largely unchanged, show a variety of uses to woo potential investors.
Miller Napolitano Wolff LLC acquired the two parcels for more than $1.4 million in July 2005, town records show. The total acreage of the two properties was not immediately clear Friday.
Several developers have sought to develop the vacant land in recent decades, Voelker said. Mass.-based real estate developer WS Development was the last group that eyed development there, but later nixed its plans in 2015, he said.
The town’s initial approval this week gives the current developers an opportunity to market the properties to prospective vendors who may be interested in occupying a portion of the lots, Voelker said.
Plans for the development are likely to change depending on how the land is used, so the price of the development and its potential footprint in terms of square footage have not yet been determined.
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July 26, 2019

CT Construction Digest Friday July 26, 2019

East Lyme officials select architect to design new police building
Mary Biekert  
East Lyme — The Board of Selectmen on Wednesday chose an architectural firm to complete renovation design plans needed for the town’s future policing and public safety facility.
Silver, Petrucelli & Associates, an architectural and design firm based out of Hamden and with offices in New London, will redesign the former Honeywell office building at 277 W. Main St. into a state-of-the-art policing and public safety facility that will “serve the town for the next 50 years,” First Selectman Mark Nickerson said by phone Thursday.
“We are very confident with their ability,” Nickerson said. “They came in at a good, competitive price, and they are a proven firm with a great reputation.”
The 30,000-square-foot Honeywell building, which sits on 17 acres on the far western side of town, was chosen by officials last year as the site for a new policing facility. Nickerson announced the proposal to purchase and renovate the building last November, with voters passing the proposed $5 million plan at referendum in February.
Plans for the building outline consolidating the town's dispatch center, fire marshal's office and emergency operations center, which currently are housed in Flanders, with police, while plans for the police department include training rooms, locker rooms, office space and conference rooms, as well as a sally port and holding cells, said Paul Dagle, a selectman and chair of the Public Safety Building Vision Committee, which is overseeing the renovation of the facility.
The proposed building also would include an evidence room, armory and storage, all of which are now housed at the Waterford Police Department.
The town's 24-officer police force currently is housed in a small building on Main Street, which the town leases from Millstone Power Station owner Dominion Energy for $1 a year.
The Honeywell building was purchased for $2.77 million in May, leaving an additional $2.23 million approved for design and construction costs, among other expenses, to renovate the office building.
The committee, after a lengthy request for qualification and research process, unanimously selected Silver, Petrucelli & Associates at a meeting earlier this month before forwarding their selection to the Board of Selectmen for approval, Dagle said.
Dagle said design costs will fall somewhere between $110,000 and $137,500, depending on which services the Vision Committee decides to pay for.
Nickerson said the design period will last four to five months and that the building may be move-in ready by the summer or fall of 2020. Town officials will negotiate and sign the contract with the firm next week, he said.
“It’s a slow process, but it’s a very confident building process where I know the town will be set for the next 50 years on this building,” Nickerson said. “We want to do it right and we want to do it once and we want to be confident of the scope of work that will be done.”
Dagle said that based on qualifications, cost and scheduling, Silver, Petrucelli & Associates was the right choice and had “the right renovation experience applicable to our task of renovating the building.”
“Not that the other firms didn’t have that, but we thought they would do a good job,” Dagle said. “We felt they gave us the best chance of coming out with the best results in the end, the best public safety building to serve the needs of the town.”

Construction underway at Hartford HealthCare facility in Mystic

Mystic — Hartford HealthCare announced Thursday that it has begun building a $24 million medical building off Interstate 95 and Coogan Boulevard.
The 47,000-square-foot project, scheduled for completion in 2020, will provide neuroscience services, including a movement disorders center for conditions such as Parkinson’s disease, tremors and Tourette’s syndrome, as well as neurosurgery services, making it a hub for Hartford HealthCare’s Ayer Neuroscience Institute.
Other services will include cardiology; imaging, including X-ray, MRI, CT scan and ultrasound; physical therapy and other rehabilitation services; pain management; primary care; and community education.
The health center is located next to Mystic Aquarium on the Perkins Farm campus, a large mixed-use development that also will include upscale housing for active adults and professionals.
Many of the physicians who will move into the building have a presence in the Mystic area.
"The center's design was inspired by Mystic's heritage and the feedback we received from the local community," said developer and owner David Lattizori. "We've all heard of destination resorts. This will be a destination medical center, a place where people can get comprehensive care in one convenient location."
For more information, visit www.hartfordhealthcare.org/mystic. 

CT June housing permits up 10%
Joe Cooper
Permits for new housing construction across Connecticut rose about 10.5 percent in June.
There were 327 homebuilding permits issued last month, up from the 296 permits issued in June 2018, according to the state Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD).
The permits were issued in 104 cities and towns the U.S. Census Bureau regularly samples.
Among the 327 permits, 160 covered construction of single-family dwellings, 85 were for five or more living units, and the remaining 82 were for two-to-four living units.
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July 25, 2019

CT Construction Digest Thursday July 25, 2019

Shelton officials announce road work locations
City officials have announced a list of road work being done in the coming days.
On Wednesday, July 24, the city's Highways & Bridges Department will be completing work on Buddington Road from Grace Lane to Nells Rock Road.
On Thursday, July 25, and Friday, July 26, the resurfacing of roads will begin in the Pine Rock area. On Saturday morning, July 27, resurfacing of Long Hill Avenue will begin.
City officials urge residents to be aware of the construction activities for safety reasons and expect possible delays.

Hartford breaks ground on $12.5M library
Joe Cooper The city of Hartford on Tuesday started development of a new $12.5 million library in the South End’s Frog Hollow neighborhood.
The two-story Park Street Library branch, spanning over 13,000 square feet, will become the city’s largest library when it debuts sometime in summer 2020. The library, one of seven operated by the city, is currently based in a small rented space just a few blocks away on the corner of Babcock Street.
The project is being seeded by an $11.1 million grant from the state Bond Commission and a $1 million grant from the Connecticut State Library. The city will cover the remaining approximately $400,000 in costs.
According to plans, the facility will include a 150-seat community room, meeting rooms, a cafe, exhibit space, a “learning lab,” and an enclosed courtyard, among other amenities. It will span across several buildings at the corner of Park and Broad streets, which housed the shuttered Lyric Theatre.
The newly minted Park Street Library will occupy the vacant building and cleared space in the rear of the property, officials said.
The library construction is being led by New Britain-based Downes Construction Co., and the development was designed by Hartford architecture firm TKSP Studio.

Head of troubled CT port authority steps down

The chairwoman of the Connecticut Port Authority, Bonnie Reemsnyder, resigned Wednesday amid calls for her to step down by Gov. Ned Lamont.
Meanwhile the quasi-public agency tapped a former head of the Groton submarine base to assist with day-to-day operations.
Reemsnyder, who is also the Democratic first selectwoman of Old Lyme, came under fire amid media reports that the authority paid her daughter $3,000 for six professional photographs hung in the authority’s Old Saybrook office.
“The Connecticut Port Authority, which is responsible for enacting an ambitious and forward-looking agenda on the behalf of Connecticut’s ports and their economic vitality, must show the state’s taxpayers, potential business partners, and state leaders that they are ready, willing, and able to take on this important task,” Lamont said. “The recent events have been a sideshow and distraction to this organization’s critical mission, and that is something I won’t tolerate. It is critical that the Connecticut Port Authority has a clear vision with strong and accountable leadership.”
“I submitted my resignation as requested by the governor, and I offered to do so before that request, believing it’s in the best interest of the Connecticut Port Authority,” Reemsnyder said. “I’ve enjoyed my work for the port authority, believe in the mission, and feel confident that it’s moving in the right direction. I regret if any of my actions put the port authority in a negative light.”
She resigned during Wednesday’s port authority meeting, according to Lamont spokesman Rob Blanchard.
Lamont stressed that the controversy not be a distraction from negotiations on the development of offshore wind in Connecticut. Those talks remain ongoing, the governor’s office said, and his administration has stepped in to lead the negotiations to ensure the best possible outcome.
The authority has been planning a $93 million investment at State Pier in New London to complement assembly efforts for a major Long Island Sound wind generation project planned by Ørsted North America and Eversource.
A quasi-public agency, the authority is charged with growing jobs and Connecticut’s economy by managing investments in the state’s three deepwater ports.
Reemsnyder was elected chair of the port authority in mid-June. The Day in New London reported this week that she said it was a mistake to allow the authority to pay her daughter $3,000 for the photographs.
The authority also recently placed its executive director, Evan Matthews, on administrative leave, but has not stated the reason.
But The Day reported that state auditor John Geragosian confirmed there is a complaint pending under Connecticut’s whistleblower statute alleging management misuse of funds at the authority.
The Board of Directors for the authority announced Tuesday it had retained retired Navy Captain Paul Whitescarver as a senior executive consultant to assist with daily operations and management.
Whitescarver, who was commanding officer of the U.S. Naval Submarine Base in Groton for three-and-a-half years, retired from his 39-year-career in the Navy this past May.
“I look forward to bringing Paul onboard and leveraging his extensive management experience to continue moving forward with the work we have underway to promote economic growth and create jobs throughout the state,” said David Kooris, vice chairman of the authority.

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July 24, 2019

CT Construction Digest Wednesday July 24, 2019

West Haven votes to clear last hurdle for ‘The Haven’ project
Pam McLoughlin
WEST HAVEN — The path is clear for The Haven upscale retail outlet to begin demolition and construction, as the City Council late Monday cleared the last two hurdles by voting unanimously to approve a $5 million state grant for construction and abandonment of streets where the project will take place.However, while the developer appeared before the City Council as requested to answer questions, a timeline for the project was not given, leaving 3rd District Councilman Aaron Charney “frustrated.”
Charney, whose district The Haven falls in, told the developer that people in his district are “taking a hit,” because of the project being stalled, forced to live amid blight and having trouble selling properties because the uncertainty. Charney told the developers the residents could use an apology and a meeting to learn what will happen.

“We need a timeline as soon as possible,” Charney said. “Please come and talk to my residents - they are willing to listen,” and they also will have a lot to say. After the meeting, Charney, emphasized the developer couldn’t give a hypothetical timeline.
The Haven has been five years in the making and the debate in the city rages on about whether the project - seen by some as a savior for the ailing city - will ever materialize. Residents are skeptical in part, because of the depressed economy in West Haven and the national trend away from brick and mortar stores. City officials have assured residents the project will happen and that all the delays were outside of the developer’s control as they awaited State Traffic Commission approvals and state Department of Economic and Community Development grant approvals.
The developer tried to allay those fears by reminding the council they are already heavily invested in the project — $25-$30 million in property acquisition, architects, engineers, environmental experts and more.
The developer also told the council Monday that “retail is evolving” - and today’s projects such as The Haven are about smaller stores and a broader “experience” - creating environments, spaces for sociability and interesting experiences.
He said the project will be in keeping with the “Look and charm of Southern New England.”

When asked about whether they had tenants lined up - even in a general way - the developer said they had to be careful talking about that and didn’t answer directly.There are 57 properties within the 24-acre project area, which is bounded by Main Street, First Avenue and Elm Street. The project includes what is now Water Street, which will be eliminated as The Haven is built.
The site plan application for the 265,000 square feet of retail and restaurant development has approval of the Planning and Zoning Commission.
At one time, a representative of the developer said the target date for The Haven to open was June 2020 and Tiernan recently said folks will be Christmas shopping there in 2020.Mayor Nancy R. Rossi has said she is “very excited” about The Haven project, and calls it a “game changer.”The plans include 80 stores and five full-service restaurants. The Haven spent years in the acquisition stage negotiating with property owners.City officials and the developers have said The Haven would pay $2 million in annual property tax and create more than $15 million in incremental sales tax for the state, as well as 800 full-time and 400 part-time jobs, plus 800 construction jobs using all Connecticut-based contractors.
The City Council Monday in their approval put a 6-month limit on the road abandonment. If The Haven developers haven’t satisfied the conditions in six months they will have to come before the council again.
It was also clarified that a chunk of the $5 million Department of Economic and Community Development grant can be used for demolition.
Tiernan has said many times in recent months that if demolition doesn’t begin soon after the city council approvals, the city will begin fining The Haven developer for blight.

Hats off for Columbus Commons' topping off in downtown New Britain
Karla Santos
NEW BRITAIN - The topping off ceremony of Phase 1 of the Columbus Commons building project took place on Tuesday with the placement of a roof truss signed by attendees to bring “everybody’s memory and good energy” into the structure.
The Columbus Commons project is a partnership between Xenolith Partners and Dakota Partners. The site is at 145 Columbus Blvd., the former location of the New Britain police station and was begun in September 2018. The construction of Phase 1 of the project is expected to be completed in early 2020.
Roberto Arista, principal at Dakota Partners, said the first phase of the project consists of a six-story building including commercial space on the ground floor and 80 residential units above.
Arista said the hope is to build a second phase of the project. The building of the first phase is shaped like an L. The Phase 2 building would also be L shaped, forming an open court yard in the middle of the two buildings.
“This building includes several amenities for its residents. It’s going to have a fitness center, a community room and then of course all of the restaurants and stores in downtown New Britain, which are going to be very accessible to its residents and of course within walking distance,” Arista said. “This project is also important because we understand that it’s the first passive housing project in Connecticut or at least the first one that was funded by the agencies. Passive housing represents a new generation of energy efficient buildings that will not only be less expensive to operate but would also help reduce our carbon footprint and this is an important contribution towards reducing global warming.”
While the first phase of the Columbus Commons project is well underway, the construction presented a challenge that put the development behind.
“There was environmental remediation underground, a lot of it that we didn’t really expect,” Arista said. “We lost a little bit of time because of it because we thought we were going to get right into the ground and then as soon as you hit environmental products, then you have to clean them up and it takes time.”
Mayor Erin Stewart called the project a transit oriented development in close proximity to the CTFastrack station.
“This example of transit oriented development that we are seeing here is the first new construction that the city of New Britain has seen from the ground up in decades and for that we are really excited,” Stewart said. “Piece by piece we are making transformative changes through the opening of new businesses and through the addition of new housing situated along CTFastrack. I have to give a huge thank you to the State of Connecticut, Department of Housing, DECD, CHFA, for providing the funding and support to make this project a reality.”
Stewart also said interest in the project is “an all time high,” adding that people are constantly inquiring about it.
“The site where we are standing today, in August of 1968 was officially dedicated as the New Britain Police Department, but today this project is laying the foundation for a renewed energy in our downtown,” Stewart said.
Among those in attendance at the ceremony were: state Sen. Gennaro Bizzarro, members of the City Council, members of the New Britain Zoning Board of Appeals, officials from community development and economic development, members of the city’s Downtown District and members of the local Chambers of Commerce. Individuals at the state level were also on board supporting the project including members of the Connecticut Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Connecticut Housing Finance Authority, the Department of Economic & Community Development and others.
After the ceremony, attendees were invited to tour the second and fourth floors of the building.
The development will have 160 mixed-income units distributed evenly between the buildings of phases one and two. Of the 80 units that are now being built, 20% will be market rate and 80% will be affordable to households earning up to 60 percent area median income. The total development cost of Phase 1 is $27.6 million and is being financed with 9 % low-income housing tax credits and other funding sources.

New Haven launches project to connect Orange Street across Route 34
Ed Stannard
NEW HAVEN — The next step in connecting the southwestern part of the city with downtown, a project that will bring Orange Street across what is now a multilane highway, was officially launched Monday.
Phase 2 of Downtown Crossing, which will take two years to complete, will bring 10 acres of vacant land and roadway back onto the tax rolls and create hundreds of construction jobs, with more jobs to come once the area is opened to mixed-use development, including retail, residential, commercial and open space, city officials said.
With nowhere to expand, Mayor Toni Harp said, “New Haven is adding to its footprint from within, without encroaching on neighbors, without displacing residents, and without any destruction or demolition.”
The project, which with Phase 3 will cost $53.5 million, will improve safety for pedestrians and bicyclists, as well as connecting the Hill section and Union Station to downtown, as was the case 60 years ago.
“When it’s finished, we will correct a mistake that was made in cutting off downtown from our communities,” said U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-3, while bringing “opportunities for cutting-edge research like we’re doing at Alexion” and adding small businesses.
The project “relieves congestion, improves traffic flow, addresses flooding,” she said.
The 14-story Alexion building at 100 College St. was part of Downtown Crossing’s Phase 1, which in 2016 turned more of the highway into urban streetscape. The Alexion building also brought 600 jobs to the city, officials said.
Originally named the Oak Street Connector, for the neighborhood that included “over 800 families that were displaced,” according to acting city Economic Development Administrator Michael Piscitelli, Route 34 was officially named the Richard C. Lee Highway for the mayor that created it.
The limited-access highway was intended to turn what Lee described as a slum into a modern thoroughfare from Interstates 95 and 91 to the western parts of the city. But the highway was curtailed before it got very far out of downtown, leaving more than a half mile of city blocks vacant for decades.
Speaking where South Orange Street meets North Frontage Road, abutting Route 34, Piscitelli said, “This is actually the very heart of the historic New Haven. The water was very close to here.” The Knights of Columbus building loomed overhead while the parking lot that was once the site of the New Haven Veterans Memorial Coliseum lay nearby
Piscitelli called the project “the next phase of civic vision and civic milestone” and said Spinnaker Real Estate Partners of Norwalk and the Fieber Group of New Canaan will present plans this fall to the city and the Hill South, Hill North and Downtown/Wooster Square community management teams. The project will be complete in summer 2021.
Harp thanked the many federal, state and city staff members who brought the project to the point where officials could toss dirt into the air with gold-colored shovels. Representatives of U.S. Sen. Christopher Murphy, D-Conn., and Gov. Ned Lamont also spoke.
“We’ll celebrate for the next 30 to 45 minutes what amount to thousands of work-hours that have been put into this project over the past several years,” Harp said. “And then just like that, Downtown Crossing Phase 2 will be underway and, with it, the next chapter of progress in New Haven.”
Phase 2 will include the first protected bike lane in the state, according to Doug Hausladen, director of the city Department of Transportation, Traffic and Parking. Such a lane “puts the cyclist behind the curb for additional safety benefits as they cross the intersection,” he said.
In two years, “you’ll be able to walk or take a bike to the train station safely,” Hausladen said.
The third phase, scheduled to begin once Phase 2 is finished, will connect Temple Street to Congress Avenue via a bridge and complete the connection of downtown with the Hill, the Yale School of Medicine and Yale New Haven Hospital. It will make two parcels totaling 2.86 acres available for development.
Downtown Crossing began with a $16 million TIGER II grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation in 2010. A $20 million TIGER grant followed in 2016. The state Department of Economic and Community Development has contributed $21.5 million. The city’s share is $19 million.
Amy Jackson-Grove of the Federal Highway Administration said the federal grant program “makes sure there is reliable, safe, affordable transportation,” seeks to “improve quality of life by increasing transportation choices” and “contributes to the economic competitiveness” of the region.
“The program is also looking for innovations and collaboration,” Jackson-Grove said. Downtown Crossing “embodies that message,” she said.

Majority of transportation projects awarded to Connecticut companies; some big projects go to out-of-state firms
Marc E. FitchA review of Connecticut transportation projects over the past three years shows Connecticut companies are awarded state contracts over 80 percent of the time, although some major projects are performed by out-of-state contractors.
Construction firms are selected by the Department of Transportation through a bidding process, and the same construction companies with the ability to perform the work are awarded contracts year-over-year.
In 2018, CT DOT awarded a total of 61 contracts worth $899 million to 35 different companies.
The largest contract in 2018 totaling $152.8 million for rehabilitation of several bridges along Route 8 was awarded to Walsh Construction, an Illinois-based contractor.
Seven other out-of-state companies received contracts totaling an additional $43.7 million for a total of $196.5 million – approximately 21 percent of the money CT DOT poured into transportation projects in 2018.
That’s up from $89 million awarded to out-of-state companies in 2016, when the largest contract was a $56 million project awarded to Connecticut-based Manafort Brothers, Inc. for improvements to Route 15.
The second-largest 2016 contract was $39 million to Massachusetts-based Middlesex Corporation to repair the I-84 Hartford Viaduct.
Middlesex has been a long-time contractor for the state of Connecticut and was chosen to construct a 5.85-mile section of the CTFastrak bus line from New Britain to Hartford at a cost of $158 million.
In 2017, $146 million of the $357.8 million in total CT DOT contracts were awarded to out-of-state companies.
The two largest projects – a bridge replacement in Stamford and bridge repairs at various locations in the state, totaling $96.9 million – went to New York-based Halmar International, LLC and, again, to the Middlesex Corporation.
Spokesman for CT DOT, Kevin Nursick, says Connecticut can’t give preference to in-state companies and contracts are awarded on the lowest responsible bid.
“Projects that are federally funded have to go to the lowest responsible bidder, regardless of what state they’re from,” Nursick said and added that out-of-state contractors often subcontract with in-state companies.
Halmar International, for example, listed 13 subcontractors under their initial contract filing for $5.2 million. Eight of those subcontractors are based in Connecticut. The project awarded to Halmar is 80 percent funded by the federal government.
Despite CT DOT largely awarding construction projects to in-state companies, Don Shubert, head of the Connecticut Construction Industries Association said in May that “our members are working in Massachusetts, working in New York and Rhode Island, but there hasn’t been work in Connecticut in ten years.”
Shubert, along with a coalition of other groups, has been pushing for tolls on Connecticut highways as a way to fund future transportation projects through Move CT Forward.
Contract awards by CT DOT came under scrutiny following a report by the Hartford Courant that Florida-based FIGG Bridge Inspection, would oversee construction engineering and inspection for improvements to the Arrigoni Bridge in Middletown.
FIGG was blamed for the fatal collapse of a pedestrian bridge in Florida in March of 2018.
CT DOT has stood behind the selection, saying the firm has worked on multiple Connecticut projects in the past that CT DOT has “absolute confidence” in them.


 
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