Claire Bessette
Mohegan — Mohegan tribal officials say Gov. Ned Lamont assured them Monday that the state will soon act on an additional $7 million in bonding for the environmental cleanup of the former Norwich Hospital property in Preston, a nearly 400-acre site the tribe has long hoped to develop.
James Gessner Jr., the Mohegan chairman, and Chuck Bunnell, the tribe's chief of staff, met with the governor in Hartford.
“I was pleased that the governor reaffirmed his commitment to Preston and informed me that the bonding for the cleanup should be done in the next few weeks,” Gessner said in a statement issued after the meeting.
A Lamont spokesman, David Bednarz, said the governor will take the tribal leaders' "concerns into consideration as discussions with legislative leaders regarding a bond package continue."
In an earlier session Monday with reporters at the tribe's government center, Gessner, Bunnell and two other members of the Mohegan Tribal Council — William Quidgeon Jr. and John Harris — discussd the status of the project, known as Preston Riverwalk, which would be developed across the Thames River from Mohegan Sun, the tribe's flagship resort casino.
They called the project "a game-changer" for the region and a top priority of the council — second only to the tribe's ongoing development of an integrated resort in South Korea.
The tribe announced a conceptual plan for the development in the spring of 2017 after reaching a deal with Preston to take ownership of the property once the environmental cleanup is completed. The concept called for a theme park, a sports complex, an indoor water park, synthetic skiing, high-end RV camping, a marina, hotels, retail and senior housing.
The tribal officials said all of the components are still in the mix, along with proposals for traversing the Thames River, including gondolas, a tram and a seasonal ferry. Improvements to Routes 12 and 2A over the Mohegan-Pequot Bridge would require a partnership between the tribe and the state, they said.
Quidgeon said the tribe expects to receive a report from a development consulting firm in about 30 days with more specific proposals. He said the consulting firm is working with developers interested in particular parcels and is coordinating proposed projects that are complementary.
"We've given all our proposals to the consultant," Quidgeon said. "We want to make sure it works in connection with what we have here at Mohegan and for the town of Preston."
Tribal officials declined to name the consulting firm and said the pending report will first be presented to the tribal council for approval. No agreements have been signed with potential developers, Bunnell said.
Gessner said interested developers are eager to confirm plans as soon as possible and stressed that the Preston property is in competition with other sites worldwide for projects. Developers have "stood on the property" and looked across the river at Mohegan Sun and have spent large amounts of money preparing their development proposals, he said.
"That's why the urgency," Bunnell added, "because these are global players."
In October, Preston town officials and Mohegan tribal leaders requested the state provide a $7 million grant to be combined with a $2 million state loan the town had previously secured to remove extensive coal ash cinders the state had used for decades for roadbeds and parking lot sub-surfaces.
In recent weeks, state Sen. Cathy Osten, D-Sprague, whose district includes Montville, has pushed for the funding to be placed in the next bond package to expedite the final cleanup and allow the town to transfer the property to the tribe.
On Friday, state Sen. Heather Somers, R-Groton, and state Rep. Mike France, R-Ledyard, sent a joint letter to Lamont supporting the cleanup funding.
“This type of development would be a massive economic boon to southeastern Connecticut and would provide jobs, revenue and additional tourist destinations,” the lawmakers wrote. “In closing, we ask that the bond package be expanded to include the request for final state cleanup of Preston Riverwalk so we can continue to invest in our state, our local towns and our citizens in eastern Connecticut.”
US construction spending up 1.8% in January to record level
Martin Crutsinger, Ap Economics Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) — Spending on U.S. construction projects rose to an all-time high in January, helped by strong gains for home construction and government building projects.
The Commerce Department said Monday that construction spending increased 1.8% in January, the strongest monthly rise in nearly two years, pushing totally spending to a record seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1.37 trillion.
Spending on home construction jumped 2.1%, the strongest gain since August. The strength came from single-family home construction which rose 2.7% while apartment building was unchanged.
Home building has been seeing strong gains since the summer as falling mortgage rates have helped to spur a rebound after more than a year of lagging activity.
Nonresidential construction was up 0.8% in January with spending in the category that includes shopping centers and religious centers showing some of the biggest gains.
Spending on government building projects 2.6% with spending by state and local governments rising 2% to an all-time high while spending by the federal government was up 9.9% to the highest level since May 2012.
After six quarters of declining activity in housing, residential construction has grown at solid rates for the past two quarters with economists expecting that growth to continue this year.The overall economy grew at a moderate 2.1% annual rate in the final three months of last year but analysts are concerned that the spreading coronavirus will depress U.S. growth in the first part of this year because of disruptions to supply chains and cancellations of public events.
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said in a statement Friday that the Fed would be prepared to act to support economic growth if needed. The stock market last week suffered its worst week since the 2008 financial crisis as fears rose about how bad the economic hit will be from the virus.
Shelter Ridge wetlands public hearing finally closed
Brian Gioiele
SHELTON — A decision on the Towne Center at Shelter Ridge is on the horizon. The Inland Wetlands Commission finally closed the public hearing on the controversial project Feb. 27.
The board did not vote on the application. The board’s next meeting is March 12.
The public hearing had been open for more than a year, a point of contention by project opponent Save Our Shelton. Steve Trinkaus, a civil engineer advising the grassroots group, told the commission during its Feb. 6 public hearing that, under state statute, the hearing should have closed in May 2018.
While the commission granted the developers’ requests for extensions, the hearing’s statutory closure date is months past, said Trinkaus, adding that a final ruling should have been made by July 2018.
City corporation counsel Fran Teodosio disagreed, saying at the Feb. 27 meeting that precedent backs his opinion that the commission, with permission of the applicant, can keep the public hearing open as long as necessary.
Greg Tetro of Save Our Shelton disagreed with Teodosio’s opinion. That aside, Tetro stated the application — which calls for a development with 375 apartments and 300,000 square feet of retail space on 121 acres at the intersection of Mill Street and Bridgeport Avenue — has “failed under many factors” in studies done by Trinkaus, the city engineer and LandTech, a firm hired by the city to perform an independent “peer review” of submitted evidence.Tetro said all engineers involved - including those representing Towne Center at Shelter Ridge - are qualified, but three are opposed, one in favor.
Attorney Dominick Thomas, representing the developers, asked the commission to approve the proposal since there is “no evidence that the development would have any adverse impact to the wetlands.”
Thomas said the plans are designed to prevent water runoff after construction as well as protection of the migratory species in and around the vernal pool on site. Thomas said the vernal pool sits on the edge of the development inside more than 25 acres of open space.
The Planned Development District for the site was approved by the Planning and Zoning Commission in 2017, but that decision was appealed. That appeal has since been denied.
New Britain’s Jerome Home eyes $10M expansion, debt refinance
Matt Pilon
Seeking to bolster its finances and meet rising demand for dementia and Alzheimer’s care, New Britain’s Jerome Home hopes to break ground next month on a $10-million expansion.
Administrators of the 88-year-old nonprofit skilled nursing and assisted living facility, located along Corbin Avenue, are pursuing a borrowing as high as $20 million through the Connecticut Health and Educational Facilities Authority (CHEFA), a quasi-public agency that issues tax-exempt bonds.
The money would fund the construction and furnishing of a 19,000-square-foot, two-story addition containing 20 new memory care assisted-living apartments and a 5,000-square-foot rehab gymnasium.
The borrowing would also refinance approximately $8.8 million of debt related to a 2008 expansion that represented Jerome Home’s initial foray into assisted living. The 62 units built at that time included 16 memory care units.
In an interview last week, William Menoche and Lori Toombs, who are executive directors of Arbor Rose and Jerome Home, respectively, said expanding on the facility’s 12-year-old memory care units, which are often fully occupied, meets a demand and represents a wise financial move.
Jerome Home, which is owned and operated by a trust and has a longstanding management services contract with Hartford HealthCare, is relatively healthy, usually posting positive operating income, but rising costs -- minimum wage hikes totaling hundreds of thousands of dollars in added costs, as well as health insurance and building maintenance expenses -- have pressured trustees to take action to ensure things stay that way.
“Arbor Rose has been a great resource to Jerome Home because we’re able to move residents from one level of care to another, so it kind of does help us financially a little bit,” Toombs said. “We’re not looking to make a huge profit, but, looking 10 years down the road with expenses, we wanted and needed to do something.”
Menoche said the campus had enough space to build as many as 40 new memory care apartments, but trustees were mindful about taking on too much debt.
Over the years, Jerome Home acquired several residential homes on the northeastern edge of its campus, along Hamilton Street. Those homes are now demolished, which make way for the larger facility and a new parking lot.
As is common in assisted living facilities in Connecticut, virtually all of Arbor Rose is private pay. Most people and families pay out of savings or out of pocket, with a handful covered by private long-term care insurance.
A memory care unit at Arbor Rose can run approximately $6,000 a month, so it’s not cheap, but Menoche said trustees, mindful of that cost, chose to limit the size of the new units to keep the price as low as possible.
As the state’s population ages, Menoche is convinced the state will be forced to step in at some point -- perhaps in the next decade or two -- to subsidize assisted living.
“They’re going to have to,” he said. ”Because it’s cheaper to stay in assisted living and get the care than it is to go to a nursing home.”
Windsor Locks to get downtown train station
Sean Teehan
he Connecticut Department of Transportation will build a new rail station in Windsor Locks after receiving a $17.4 million federal grant, officials saud.
“Up and down the Hartford Line, towns like Windsor Locks have engaged in aggressive planning around the train stations to maximize the economic energy created by the investment in this train service,” said Gov. Ned Lamont in announcing the grant.
The new station will be located in Windsor Locks’ downtown area, about a mile north of a platform that currently serves as a stop on CTrail’s Hartford Line. It will sit next door to the $64-million, 160-unit Montgomery Mill apartment redevelopment that debuted in August.
Windsor Locks Director of Planning and Development Jennifer Rodriguez said in December that the Montgomery Mill project was partially meant to encourage DOT to build a train station nearby, but it’s demonstrating other benefits.
The town also proposed fixing a retaining wall and developing a parcel across the street from the Commons into another mixed-use building and parking garage, but no developer has officially expressed interest in that project.
In addition to CTDOT, other agencies that worked on funding for the Windsor Locks train station include the Department of Economic and Community Development, the Department of Housing, and the Office of Policy and Management, through its Responsible Growth Grant Program, a statement from Lamont’s office said. Windsor Locks also received a Community Connectivity grant from CTDOT for $321,949, for pedestrian improvements.
Lamont’s original CT2030 transportation investment plan, which included tolling cars and trucks in 14 locations, was soundly rejected by Republicans and Democrats, which forced him to scale down the plan to a trucks-only tolling option he said would have raised $187 million in annual revenue, helping to finance $19.4 billion in transportation improvements over a decade.