July 3, 2019

CT Construction Digest Wednesday July 3, 2019

Developers hope to break ground on project next to Berlin train station in October
Adam Hushin
BERLIN - The vision of a bigger and better Berlin town center is beginning to take shape.
On May 23, Town Manager Jack Healy and the two principals of Newport Realty Group, Mark Lovley and Tony Valenti, signed the purchase and sales agreement for 861, 889, 903 and 913 Farmington Ave.
Those four properties next to the train station will make up the project known as “Farmington at Steele.”
The planned 80,000-square-foot development will include 76 market-rate apartments, 10,362 square feet of medical office space, and 8,618 square feet of restaurant and retail space, all organized into five buildings.
Building “A” will be a two-story medical office. Building “B” will be three stories, with retail space on the ground floor, and a total of 16 market-rate apartments on the second and third floors. Building “C” will be a coffee shop-style establishment with potential rooftop seating. Finally, buildings “D” and “E” will be connected by a clock tower and underground parking garage, and will have 30 apartments each.
The estimated $18 million project will be funded entirely by the Newport Realty Group’s private financing through equity and banking partners. No state funds will be used during the development phase.
Approximately $2 million in grants from the state Department of Economic and Community Development and the Office of Policy and Management will be used for aspects of the project that are required by the state, including an environmental survey of the land.
While, initially, the proximity to the train station was what attracted him to the project, Valenti told The Herald that working with the town of Berlin “has and continues to be awesome.”
“In partnering with the town, we will give Berlin what it needs. Luckily, those needs fit perfectly with ours,” Valenti said. “This is one of our bigger projects, so we’re definitely focused on it.
The project is being completed in phases, and at least one step is getting completed every single day, Valenti said.
The next big step is formal application and approvals from the town’s Planning and Zoning Commission, which should take place around the end of July or early August. This would allow for construction to start in October.
Farmington at Steele is part of an expanding vision for Berlin Economic Development Director Chris Edge.
“My goal is to have five restaurants and a brewery between Dairy Queen and Walgreens,” Edge said.
According to Edge, this project will generate tremendous commerce, and bring residents, businesses and additional excitement to the Farmington Avenue corridor.
This development is an example of the transit-oriented opportunities that the new train line from New Haven to Springfield has created for the state of Connecticut.

DEEP rejects proposals for Waterford’s Seaside State Park
Benjamin Kail
Waterford — State officials recently ended a lengthy effort to find a private partner to redevelop the historic former Seaside Regional Center into a luxury hotel on state park property, saying a pair of proposals failed to meet the state's criteria to move forward.
In a news release Tuesday, the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection announced it had received two proposals from developers last August. The agency had planned to evaluate the submissions, hold a public meeting and pick a developer by last fall.
But DEEP on Tuesday said that after an evaluation and "the submission of additional information by both parties, DEEP determined that neither proposal sufficiently met the criteria spelled out in the RFP to proceed with an award."
DEEP said it received proposals from New York City architect Scott Henson and Sonning LLC, led by Mark Steiner, who previously was contracted with the state to develop the property for almost 15 years. He requested the town make zoning changes three times, the last one rejected at a Planning and Zoning Commission meeting in 2014, just before former Gov. Dannel Malloy pulled the plug on the development and announced the creation of the state park.
A message left with Steiner was not immediately responded to and no one picked up at Henson's firm on Tuesday evening.
DEEP Deputy Commissioner Susan Whalen, in an email to The Day, said neither proposal was sufficiently responsive to the RFP's requirements on "financial feasibility, team qualifications and experience." The proposals "did not provide sufficient benefits to the state," she added. After the initial submissions in August, DEEP had requested additional information from both bidders seeking clarification on proposal elements "that were vague or insufficient for evaluation" on project financing and "team expertise to undertake such a project."
"Although we are disappointed that a development partner was not identified through this process, we remain committed to securing the best possible future for this state park," Whalen said in a statement.
DEEP's request for proposals was part of a yearslong effort by the Malloy administration to reimagine the abandoned buildings and grounds as a state park lodge on Long Island Sound. In 2014, Malloy suddenly proposed a state park and effectively ended Steiner's resort plans, which would have left the beach and grounds open to the public.
The RFP reflected a lengthy public comment process and DEEP's January 2018 decision to pursue a partnership with a private developer. The agency sought proposals that "offer amenities such as dining, meeting space, and a spa, and make the site an attractive destination that works in harmony with adjacent neighbors, the community, and nearby park properties."
The RFP also required the developers to commit to renovating four buildings listed on the National Register of Historic Places designed by renowned architect Cass Gilbert in the early 1930s. The site served as a tuberculosis hospital before housing people with developmental disabilities from 1961 to 1996.
State Sen. Paul Formica, R-East Lyme, who last year pitched a bill to sell the property to help the state avoid repair and maintenance costs, said previous estimates to repair the dilapidated buildings approached $10 million, which he argued was likely insufficient. He added that estimates to repair the seawall were between $4 million and $5 million.
"Whatever it is, the costs just get worse. The deterioration and decline of the property continues, and you're well into two decades of neglect," Formica said in an interview Tuesday, adding that holding off on selecting a developer was the right approach. "We've got to figure out what's practical and possible and affordable and how do we get there. We want to make sure we've got a good solution for everybody."
Whalen said estimates for repairs to the exterior of the buildings are in the range of $10 million. Estimates are not yet available, she said, for site remediation, which is handled by the Department of Administrative Services.
Seaside enthusiasts and more than 100 residents filed written testimony last year to push lawmakers on the Government Administration and Elections Committee to let plans for a public-private partnership play out at Seaside.
Eileen Grant, co-president of the Friends of Connecticut State Parks, said at the time that a Seaside sale "threatens every park. Shoreline state parks are in short supply. We don't need less of them, we need more of them."
Waterford First Selectman Dan Steward said he was "very disappointed" that the state "didn't find something."
"DEEP spent a lot of money on consultants, public hearings and trying to find out what to fit there," he said, describing the location as a pristine but challenging investment for developers who'd have to spend millions to repair historic buildings while leasing land from the state instead of owning it. "My opinion has always been there should be an outright sale of the property if they can't maintain it. The state has not done a good job of maintaining the property; they just don't have the personnel. Selfishly for the town, a sale would provide tax revenue from a private owner. But it's just a disappointing outcome that's been a long time coming."
DEEP said that, along with officials from the Department of Economic and Community Development and the Department of Administrative Services, it would "meet with local officials, developers and others to determine next steps."
The park, DEEP said, is "open as a place for passive recreation activities including walking, fishing and birdwatching." The buildings remain closed to the public.

Hartford prevails in DoNo ballpark lawsuit
Matt Pilon, Gregory Seay and Joe Cooper
he city of Hartford has prevailed in a long-running legal battle with the contractor fired from constructing the city’s Dunkin’ Donuts ballpark downtown.
Capping a civil suit that spanned nearly three years, a Superior Court jury on Tuesday decided that Middletown-based Centerplan Construction and DoNo Hartford LLC -- companies both controlled by Robert Landino -- must pay the city $335,000, court records show.
The jury found that Centerplan and DoNo were responsible for the delays that led the city to fire Centerplan as ballpark builder and terminate its related Downtown North redevelopment pact. That spurred the companies to file suit.
An attorney for the companies, Raymond Garcia, said Tuesday afternoon that his clients would appeal the verdict.
“There were a lot of people who questioned whether that was the right decision,” he said. “I believed strongly then and I think it’s clear today that it was.”
Bronin said that one possible outcome he wanted to avoid was the city being left with “a half-built hunk of concrete and steel where baseball is never played.”
The ruling clears the way for Hartford's second choice as DoNo developer, Randy Salvatore, to begin work on his $200 million vision to remake the DoNo quadrant with housing, office, retail space and parking.
It wasn’t clear Tuesday exactly how quickly things might move.
Salvatore did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
After the city terminated its agreements, Centerplan soon filed a $90 million lawsuit. The city filed a counterclaim in 2017, alleging breach of contract, negligence and professional malpractice.
Meantime, Arch Insurance hired a new contractor to complete Centerplan’s work on the stadium.
Arch went after Centerplan in court, winning a $39 million judgement earlier this year.

Torrington residents say plan to hire consultants for roadwork projects a waste of money
RUTH BRUNO TORRINGTON — Some residents called a plan to hire consultants to help the city engineering department expedite roadwork projects a waste of funds.
“We have not had a consultant make good on what they’re consulting on,” Torrington resident Glenn Royals said Tuesday evening. “We have to stop this crap of wasting money on consultants.”
Paul Kundzins, deputy public works director and city engineer, introduced the plan and said the department had whittled the consulting pool down to two potential groups that would provide inspectors for engineering projects, including roadwork, bridge assessment and bridge design.
“We’re looking to enter into general master agreements with two civil engineering consulting firms and we would be able to use them on an on-call basis when the need arises to hire consultants,” Kundzins said.
He said the agreement asks the City Council to approve the selection of the top two firms for use in the future, and contracts would be negotiated later on a case-by-case basis.
“This is just a general agreement to allow us to enter into negotiations,” Kundzins said. “Basically it allows that we don’t have to go out for another public solicitation of bids.”
Several council members requested more documentation on the consultant groups.
“I want to see this on paper. I want to see rates,” council member Paul E. Cavagnero said. “I want to know why these two groups stood out.”
Others suggested time limits on the terms of agreements.
“I wouldn’t want this to continue on an ongoing basis,” council member Gregg G. Cogswell said. “I feel like there has to be some window, whether it’s one year, two years … where you’re reviewing this to make sure it’s the right people you’re working with in terms of what they’re providing.”