CT Construction Digest Friday July 31, 2020

Bristol seeks new partner to clean up, renovate Sessions Building brownfield property
SUSAN CORICA
BRISTOL – The city is seeking to partner with New Colony Development Fund to clean up and renovate the Sessions Building brownfield property at 273 Riverside Ave., which is considered a gateway to downtown.

The Board of Finance granted a request by Justin Malley, the city’s Economic and Community Development executive director, for a bid waiver and $100,000 so the city can get to work with New Colony, which Malley said is one of the few land banks in Connecticut.
Rather than foreclosing on the property, working with a land bank will allow the city to avoid legal liability for the pollution there, he said.
“We’ve been working on Sessions for over 10 years, maybe 15,” Malley said. “We’ve gotten to a point where we learned where the bad stuff is and what it’s going to cost to remove it - to the tune of about $1.5 million.”
The building is a 80,000 square foot, blighted, very under-utilized factory building on a key downtown gateway, According to Malley. He also said that they knew there was something better destined for that building, but they have these challenges.
In addition to the site pollution, Malley said the Sessions family, who own the property, are in tax arrears for almost $1 million.
“They are cooperating with us, and I think the whole group understands it’s a real challenge,” said Malley.
Malley explained that land banks are fairly new in Connecticut and there aren’t many here.
“One of the things they do is they are able to take possession of these troubled properties so that we don’t have to as a municipality. Land banks are the only entity that can take it on our behalf, hold it while the property is cleaned, and eventually hand it off to the developer,” he said.
Bristol was working with one land bank but the director retired so now the city developing a relationship with New Colony, he said. “The president is Dale Kroop, who was the economic development chief in Hamden for 25-30 years. He’s somebody I respect a great deal.”
Last January, the City Council approved a plan to redevelop the Sessions Building into market rate apartments, through a public-private partnership between Vesta Corp. and the Bristol Housing Authority.
Vesta Corp. is a Weatogue-based owner, manager, and developer of apartment housing, including more than 20,000 housing units in 13 states and the District of Columbia. The project will differ from other BHA projects, as it will be not be subsidized for lower-income earners.
Their construction partner will be D’Amato Construction and the architect will be Quisenberry, Arcari and Malik of Farmington.
Arthur Greenblatt, Vesta CEO/president, told the council the plan is for 91 apartments, “pretty much even split between one and two bedroom. We’re estimating they would be somewhere between $1,100 and $1,500 out in 2022, when we think the first units will become available.”
“Riverside Avenue is a very critical corridor for us as it leads into downtown and it’s going to be our focus for the next two to three years,” Mayor Ellen Zoppo-Sassu told Greenblatt at the time. “As you develop your project we’ll be working with the other property owners there as well.”
The Sessions Building sits on 3.54 acres. Built in 1907, it was the site of a trunk hardware manufacturing business which used heavy metal compounds in the painting and plating operations.
Since the Sessions Co. ceased operations in 1984, other industrial users have leased space in the building, including Armaloy and Plymouth Spring. The building is still owned and operated by members of the Sessions family.
In past 15 years, the city, with support from the federal Environmental Protection Agency and the State of Connecticut, has done several environmental site assessments at the site. The most recent, in 2017, concluded that remediation would cost at least $1.4 million.

State Pier occupants granted another extension to stay
Greg Smith and Julia Bergman     
New London — The two commercial fishermen and a major local road salt distributor based at State Pier are once again being granted extensions to stay at the facility as plans for a finalized move are still in motion.
Pier operator Gateway is allowing DRVN Enterprises to remain on the premises for several more weeks, and it is negotiating an agreement to allow DRVN to stay through December to have more time to sell the 90,000 tons of salt it still has at the facility and find a new location, said David Kooris, interim chairman of the board of the Connecticut Port Authority, which is responsible for the care, custody and control of the port property.
Kooris said any new agreement would stipulate that DRVN could not bring any more salt to the facility. The company currently is in the process of moving its salt from its current location at the pier to what is known as the Central Vermont Railroad, or CV, Pier so that testing and boring can be done as part of the $157 million redevelopment plan to ready State Pier for use by the offshore wind industry.
The two commercial fishermen working off CV Pier also will be offered an extension, Kooris said, but that offer has not been formally made yet.
The extensions come as a July 31 deadline for vacancy at State Pier was looming. The original deadline was March 31, which was extended by four months in part because the port is still occupied by Skanska, a company using the pier as a staging area for the multimillion-dollar construction project at Electric Boat. Skanska was able to cover basic costs of security and insurance at the site.
The current agreement with Skanska goes through August, and the company might get a “modest further extension as long as their footprint can be managed in a way that doesn’t affect the (redevelopment) project,” Kooris said.    
The port authority previously had approved an extension of a contract with AECOM, an engineering firm initially hired to oversee permitting and predevelopment work at State Pier, to explore potential sites for the two commercial fishing outfits that have worked from CV Pier for nearly two decades.
Kooris said the fishermen will be able to stay at CV Pier on a month-to-month basis while the City of New London and the New London Port Authority find a location for them to relocate to in the short term, with AECOM still working on a permanent solution.
AECOM has identified at least four locations in New London: a spot under the Gold Star Memorial Bridge, two sites at Fort Trumbull and another on the city’s waterfront, at the end of the Bank Street Connector. Docks would need to be built at most of the locations, which would drive up costs.  The city’s port authority is likely to make recommendations to the Connecticut Port Authority on what is most feasible.
New London Seafood owner Gary Yerman, whose operation has worked out of Fort Trumbull since 1989 and who has a long-term lease with the city, said there is room at his location for the fishermen but the pier is in dire need of infrastructure upgrades. He recently sent a letter to the two fishermen with rental estimates.  

“We could make accommodations but we’d have to make some alterations,” Yerman said. “We do have room for them and welcome them here.”
Representatives from the fishermen at CV Pier, Montville-based Donna May Fisheries and Waterford-based Out of Our Shell Enterprises, could not be reached to comment.
Mayor Michael Passero said the pier at Fort Trumbull is in line to receive $3 million in upgrades. The money was first promised by Deepwater Wind and the commitment was later honored by Ørsted, which purchased Deepwater. There had been some controversy when the Connecticut Port Authority discussed using that money to solve the problem of relocating the fishermen. Passero said he has received assurances the money will be directed to the Fort Trumbull pier.
The only short-term solution to moving the fishermen, Passero said, is the Custom House Pier on the city's waterfront. He said the pier could accommodate the fishermen on a temporary basis but he expects a commitment from the port authority to relocate them permanently. Custom House Pier is the designated location for a new waterside restaurant, a venture that required numerous approvals and negotiations with the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection and other agencies. The restaurant is expected to move in next spring.
DRVN owner Steven Farrelly could not be reached to comment. The Southeastern Connecticut Council of Governments last month wrote a letter of support for DRVN to DEEP, expressing concerns about how difficult and costly it will be to procure salt during the winter months if DRVN were forced out of business. Farrelly has said he has yet to find a suitable location to move the salt and continue his business, given that it depends on access to the deepwater port.

New housing activity in CT takes a tumble in June
Luther Turmelle

The number of housing units issued permits last month in Connecticut was down by 13.4 percent compared to June 2019, according to new data released by the state Department of Economic and Community Development Thursday.

There were 283 units issued permits among the 104 Connecticut communities reporting last month — the fewest for any June since 2010.

Vernon led all reporting towns with 39 permits issued in June. Two Fairfield County communities, Greenwich and Norwalk, issued 17 and 16, respectively.

The city of Milford had the largest amount of new housing activity in New Haven County last month, with 16 units approved.

After a robust May, New Haven saw its permit activity drop in June.

Only two units were issued new housing permits in New Haven in June, compared to 307 the previous month — when the statewide total was 535.

That kind of volatility in new housing permit data from month to month is not unusual, according to Donald Klepper-Smith, chief economist and director of research for New Haven-based DataCore Partners.

“If a large project gets a lot of permits in one month, but not another, that skews the data,” Klepper-Smith said. “What we saw in June was part of the stepdown process associated with the coronavirus and its impact on the economy.”

Development of apartments was down in June: permits were issued last month for 171 single-family homes, while 102 were issued for apartment complexes, defined as five units or more.

However, Klepper-Smith said having first-half permit data for this year running slightly ahead of last year, given the current state of the economy, is encouraging.

“The good news is we’re treading water in terms of activity and housing is becoming more affordable,” he said. “And if there’s any kind of silver lining from the pandemic in terms of economic activity in Connecticut, it’s that we’re seeing an in-migration of people from New York state and other areas because of the (relatively) lower cost structures associated with living here.”

New housing activity is considered a key economic indicator because of the number of jobs associated with it as well as the need to purchase durable goods to go into the homes. Examples of durable consumer goods are appliances, home and office furnishings and lawn and garden equipment, as well as consumer electronics.

 

 

CT Construction Digest Thursday July 30, 2020

Peek into Middletown’s new middle school reveals state-of-art facility
Cassandra Day
MIDDLETOWN — A walk through the new middle school, on track to be complete by August 2021, reveals the shell of a three-story building that will provide students with the latest tools in 21st-century learning.
 Officials are thrilled the $87.3 million Woodrow Wilson Middle School project at 1 Wilderman’s Way is on schedule and under budget.
“This is the little engine that could, because it forged up the hill and it kept going, regardless of what they were faced with,” Middletown Common Council Majority Leader Gene Nocera said. “This has been an incredible team effort.”
About 140 workers from a variety of trades are doing work concurrently — in sections labeled A, B and C. That meant work needed to proceed at a rapid pace, Nocera said. “It’s an avalanche of stuff. Sometimes it’s like a blizzard coming at you.” “Things happen in sequence, so if you were to just build the building ground up, you’d start with steel, have the steel guy do his thing first, then the roofer or electrician;it would take forever,” said project manager Joe Vetro of Torrington-based O&G Industries.
All along, project principles have been working hand in hand with architect Randall Luther, a partner at TSKP Studio of Hartford.
“Randall and his team have an incredible vision of what this new school will look like,” Nocera said. The exterior will be brick and limestone to match the former Middletown High School across the street, now converted into apartments.
Sixth-grade students, who would have entered Keigwin Middle School, will be incorporated into the facility, which is divided up into three, three-story pods, or houses, where sixth-, seventh- and eighth-grade students will be mostly isolated from the others.
The design is much like the team arrangement of junior high schools.
Each group will proceed through the houses as they advance in grade, Vetro said. It’s meant to impart a feeling of progression.
The relatively small plot on which the facility is being built presented some problems, architect Luther said. “We couldn’t fit the building on the site without tearing down part of the school to start.” “We could barely fit the building in,” Vetro said. Hunting Hill Road, which passes by the middle school, was closed, and is expected to remain so during the week. Visitors will pass by a gated entrance to gain entrance.
The new complex, in conjunction with the athletic fields across the street, will convey a campus feel.
A problem presented itself one month into the pandemic: Once COVID-19 hit Connecticut, the governor said only construction projects already underway could continue.
The steel came from New York-based Schenectady Steel, where production was deemed nonessential by Gov. Andrew Cuomo, said Nocera, co-chairman of the Middle School Building Project committee, along with Councilwoman Jeanette Blackwell.
In mid-April, the city implored Connecticut leaders that leaving one-third of the steel standing indefinitely could present a safety hazard. The project eventually was allowed to continue.The council is expected to vote Aug. 3 on renaming the facility for the Beman family, abolitionists who were instrumental in the city’s participation in the Underground Railroad.
“We’re on the right side of history,” said Common Council Minority Leader Phil Pessina, who has come out in support of the new name.
“Our children, when they get into that building, yes, they’ll know it was formerly Woodrow Wilson (named after the 28th president, now regarded as a racist), but they’re going to learn about the family, the Beman Trail, and the historical perspective this building will represent,” Pessina said.
Those involved in the project understand former graduates feel they’ll lose a piece of their history if the facility is renamed, the councilman said. “But, we need to heal.”
The building will be entirely air-conditioned, with the HVAC system circulating fresh air; and full of skylights letting natural light in, with daylight sensors for cloudy days and evenings. Also, photovoltaic panels will offset energy use, Luther said.
The sun will shine through the three-story school and be visible all the way to the ground floor due to the open design plan.
Those standing in the hallway, which runs the length of the building, will be able to see through the entire facility and out the windows overlooking the old middle school and, on the other side, the new Pat Kidney Athletic Complex.
Pessina likened the setup to neighborhoods amid a larger backdrop of the city.
“You’re going to spend all three years in one little town,” Luther said, where there will be only 300 students per pod instead of 900 in total. The ascension from grade to grade will give students a sense of “graduating” to each floor.
Each house will be color-coded — red, orange and green — with graphic images exclusively for each.
The facility will include an innovation lab and STEAM classrooms, among other state-of-the art features. Instead of a cafeteria, the lobby serves that purpose.
“It’s all wide open. You can see other classes. It’s very transparent,” Luther said.
“I see it as a very holistic community because of the grades, mixtures. We, as humans, need to interact. We need to identify our strengths and weaknesses, and the educators will bring that out,” Pessina said.
“I really feel confident we got it right,” Nocera said.

Bristol's $3.6 million high school turf fields to be replaced
SUSAN CORICA
BRISTOL – With the synthetic turf fields at both Bristol Eastern and Bristol Central high schools are proving defective well before their 10-year warranty was up, both will be replaced at no cost to the city, according to Wyland Dale Clift, city corporation counsel.

The two fields together cost about $3.6 million and were installed during the summer of 2016. They were designed by Milone & MacBroom and built by Turco Golf, with material manufactured by Sprinturf.
There have been significant problems at both fields where “the synthetic turf and pad appeared to shrink and pull back from the protective nailer board, making the fields unplayable,” said Jeffrey Steeg, assistant corporation counsel, in a letter to Comptroller Diane Waldron.
Clift said at first Sprinturf was coming out to make repairs, but it wasn’t really solving the problem, so he got his office, Athletic Director Chris Cassin, and the companies together for discussions.
“We got them into a room a couple of times and everybody has come to the conclusion that it was the other guys’ fault. The really frustrating part is we will never really know whose fault it was without litigating this,” he told the Board of Finance on July 28.
As of July 27, Clift said, they came to a verbal agreement that the companies will completely replace both fields, with a new 10 year warranty.
“Once we get this down in writing the repairs will commence probably in about two weeks, starting with Bristol Central,” he said. “Bristol Eastern will involve some underlying drainage issues that need to be addressed, probably by November we will have that one replaced.”
Clift told the finance board the general contractor that did the original drainage work didn’t want to participate in the agreement. The finance board members approved his request for up to $70,000 to get another contractor in to fix the drainage at BEHS so as not to delay replacing the field itself.
Noting that he didn’t want to go into any details because of the sensitivity of the issue, Clift said he has “high confidence” the city will be reimbursed for the drainage repair cost.
After the meeting, Mayor Ellen Zoppo-Sassu issued a clarification about statements made in the course of requesting of the $70,000 to facilitate the tentative agreement to repair the turf fields.
“No conclusions have been made regarding precisely what has caused the fields’ conditions to degrade over the winter seasons. Rather than dwell on supposition, the City is very grateful that most of the vendors contracted for the new fields have offered their expertise and materials to address the City’s concerns fully. We sincerely apologize if any of the statements made to secure funds from the Board of Finance have been taken to imply that fault was being cast towards any of the parties. These vendors graciously have stepped up to ensure that Bristol has the highest quality playing surface for its high schools’ fields,” her statement read.
At the same meeting finance board also agreed to waive bid requirements on the drainage repair. Roger Rousseau, the city’s purchasing agent, said Milone & MacBroom have already developed the designs necessary to do the repairs and recommended a list of four contractors with specific experience in this type of work.
Clift said the defective fields used a polished silicon product as infill to avoid using the usual crumb rubber, which is a suspected carcinogen. However, the silicon product doesn’t hold up well in parts of the country with cold winters which may have contributed to the field problems.
The replacement fields will use a new infill product called BrockFILL, made of organic wood fiver material, he said.
Cassin told the finance board he has spoken to a representative from Brock USA, which manufactures BrockFILL, visited fields that use it in Worcester, Summerville, and Marblehead, Mass., and spoken to an athletic director from North Kingstown, R.I., which also has a field with the product.
“Everyone has spoken very highly about the field and the product,” he said. “The ones in Summerville, Marblehead, and North Kingstown were all put in last year and have gone through a winter.”
Cassin said people he has talked to who are familiar with BrockFILL say, unlike some other organic infills, it doesn’t float if there is heavy rain and it doesn’t need to be kept at a certain moisture content.
“One of the factors they’re touting with this new product is it’s cooler compared to crumb rubber, which is a dark material and absorbs heat. Turf certainly gets a little hotter than traditional grass fields but these stay substantially cooler than the traditional crumb rubber,” he said.
Back in 2016, school and city officials said the new turf fields would provide better playability, even in inclement weather, and would be easier to maintain. The old fields were traditional grass and dirt, which mud, ice, and flooding often rendered unplayable.
The issue of the turf fields being defective was first raised to the City Council last year by then-Councilor Dave Mills.
Mill said the fields have had rips, which caused the material to pull away from the curbing that surround it by about 12 inches, with the gap filled with “stone dust or some type of material.”
“These are showpieces for our athletic department,” Mills said then. “They are wonderful fields that have gotten great use, but obviously they are not perfect and they should be. When you pay for a product you should get the product you pay for.”

Bristol Hospital's Emergency Center construction project on time, on budget
JUSTIN MUSZYNSKI
BRISTOL - Bristol Hospital’s Emergency Center construction project is still “on time” and “on budget” for a completion date that would coincide with the hospital’s 100 year anniversary in 2021.

Hospital officials are hoping in September to begin erecting the steel structure to a 12,500-square-foot addition, and by the fall, local ambulances should be using bays in their permanent home.
The construction site, which sits on Newell Road, is still undergoing underground electrical work. Thomas Roche, director of facilities and construction at Bristol Hospital, said some utility wires that run along the road, which is owned by the hospital, will be taken down for underground wiring - which he said is being done for aesthetics purposes.
Construction broke ground in February and has mostly remained on schedule. The renovations to the existing Emergency Center and a 12,500-square-foot addition are part of a four-phase, $15 million project.
Newell Road, which leads to the Emergency Center entrance, will no longer be a one-way road and will now circle in a U-shape off of and back onto Goodwin Street. The project’s architect, Ronald Goodin, of Phase Zero Design, said the U-shaped road will be much safer and better for ambulance drivers.
“This is a big project for this town, for this hospital,” Goodin said.
Goodin, who formerly worked as a VP of facilities in another hospital, has built a long-term relationship with Bristol Hospital, winning multiple project team awards in the process on previous endeavors. The outside area around the Emergency Center will give individuals a chance to get out of the hospital during what could be a very stressful time to take a breather in a relaxed environment.
The inside of the Emergency Center will also have as much of a calming effect as possible, he said.
“There’s going to be a lot of things that won’t make it look like an Emergency Department,” Goodin said.
The main area in the center will resemble a rotunda with a water wall near the entrance and high ceilings, giving it more of a “spa-like” feel, Goodin said.
“It’s just a very organic design,” he said, adding that the nurse’s station will take on a figure eight, allowing nurses to have visibility over all their patients.
“We want people to feel more relaxed and take the stress out as much as possible,” Goodin said.
Mary Lynn Gagnon, executive director of the Bristol Hospital Foundation, said fundraising for the Emergency Center project has raised “just about $3.9 million.” Though the goal has been to raise $4.5 million, the coronavirus pandemic has made that more difficult, causing several fundraisers to be rescheduled or canceled.
“One thing covid has taught us is how important the Emergency Center is,” Gagnon said, adding that the foundation will be reaching out to community members for help through a social media and a mailing campaign.
“This (project) is long overdue,” Gagnon said.

Apartments the likely target for redeveloping Trinity Street offices downtown
Joe Cooper
The state’s announcement Tuesday that it would hand over historic office buildings on Trinity Street to the Capital Region Development Authority (CRDA) likely means one thing for the quasi-public agency: more residential housing downtown.
“It’s likely those buildings will go to some sort of residential use, and be converted,” CRDA Executive Director Michael Freimuth said referring to state offices at 30 and 18/20 Trinity St., which the Lamont administration will shed in order to consolidate office space leases and save $7.1 million in five years by moving about 160 workers mostly downtown to renovated spaces on Capitol and Farmington avenues.
“It’s likely they will be redeveloped as part of a larger puzzle that includes the properties on Capitol Avenue around the corner,” Freimuth said of redeveloping the buildings as part of the nearby Bushnell Park South project.
Converting adjacent state offices on Trinity St. into apartments would continue an ongoing focus for CRDA, which is charged with revitalizing the city and in recent years has backed development of 1,500 or so units downtown. Another 400-plus rental units are expected to debut in 2020.

Before CRDA can begin marketing the properties to prospective investors, the state will need to relocate workers there between September and the early months of 2021. The state is expected to formally transfer the property to CRDA during next year’s legislative session under a real estate conveyance bill, Freimuth said.

CRDA at that time would seek bids for redeveloping the Trinity Street buildings, the longtime home of the Secretary of the State and the Freedom of Information Commission, and additional land on Capitol Avenue and West Street.
“That’s the thought at this hour, but it’s still coming together,” he said. “It could go a variety of ways.”
[Read more: Hartford’s office market in limbo as COVID-19 uncertainty delays expansions, renewals]
New rental units on Trinity Street, Freimuth said, would compliment the mixed-use conversion of a historic office building at 55 Elm St. that has been used in recent decades by state workers, including the Attorney General's office.

Norwalk developer Spinnaker Real Estate Partners and West Hartford’s Simon Konover Co. are leading that project, but it's not yet clear whether they would be interested in renovating the Trinity Street properties that the state estimated would need an investment of up to $80 million over a decade. Spinnaker officials could not be reached for comment.

“I imagine they would be [interested], though I haven’t spoken to them about it,” Freimuth said. “I think they [Spinnaker] have quite a bit to chew on with 55 Elm, as well as some land that’s around it.”
In the early 19th century, the 18/20 and 30 Trinity St. buildings served as one of the epicenters for the city's insurance industry.
The Orient Insurance Co. in 1905 built and launched the 18/20 Trinity St. office near the corner of Elm Street and across the street from the state Capitol. The building, designed by Davis and Brooks, originally featured a large dome, which was later taken down. It currently houses offices for the Permanent Commission on the Status of Women, the Latino and Puerto Rican Affairs Commission, the Commission on Children, the Asian Pacific American Affairs Commission, and satellite offices for the Auditors of Public Accounts, among other state agencies, state records show.
The Phoenix Insurance Co. built the adjacent 30 Trinity St. office, and it was later owned and used by Hartford health insurer Aetna in the 1950s.

Neighbors challenge in court Enfield PZC’s approval of massive distribution center
Jessica Lerner

ENFIELD — An administrative appeal has been filed on behalf of the residents of the Misty Meadows neighborhood questioning the legality of the Planning and Zoning Commission’s approval of a 501,500-square-foot distribution center at 113 N. Maple St.

The appeal, filed in Hartford Superior Court by land use lawyer Kenneth Slater Jr., details how the PZC allegedly “acted arbitrarily, capriciously, unlawfully, and in abuse of the discretion vested in approving the application” and asks the court to order that the site plan approval of the application be rescinded.

During a 5½-hour virtual public hearing held on the matter on July 9, about 35 residents spoke in opposition of the massive 43-foot-high distribution center proposed by Adam Winstanley, owner of the Massachusetts-based real estate developer Winstanley Enterprises.

They expressed concerns over increased truck traffic, noise, the safety and wellbeing of students at he nearby Hazardville Memorial School, the impact on property values, and the unknown second tenant.

The distribution center is designed to accommodate two tenants — Agri-Mark, a Massachusetts-based company that distributes a wide variety of dairy products, and a second tenant that’s yet to be named.

“One of main themes of the complaint is … a rush to judgment, and approving a plan that in a number of respects was simply non-compliant,” Slater said.

While the PZC did hold a public hearing, Slater said the commission didn’t really give a fair process to the neighbors to be heard.

“They limited their time, and when they got to the end, normally they would give members of the public an opportunity to respond to things to the applicant said, having given the applicant over an hour of time at the beginning of the hearing,” he said.

Town Attorney James Tallberg and PZC Chairman Ken Nelson had no comment on the pending litigation, though Nelson mentioned he wasn’t surprised the residents decided to take legal action.

Winstanley could not be reached for comment.

The public hearing began by allowing the representatives from Winstanley Enterprises to speak for more than one hour, followed by members of the public being allowed to share their opinions on the project, most of whom vehemently opposed the large-scale project being built on a 71-acre parcel.

Afterward, the “floor was turned back to the applicant who provided rebuttal information and responses to comments made by the public,” during which the microphones and telephones of all participants of the public were muted by Nelson.

Slater and several members of the public utilized the virtual meeting function of “raising their hands” to request an opportunity to be heard, but these requests were ignored.

In addition, the public wasn’t given an opportunity to speak for a second or third time following the applicant’s rebuttal, only being allowed that one round of “time-restricted commentary” despite pending requests to be heard again, which the appeal states amount to a fraction of the time afforded the applicant.

Following the rebuttal, Tallberg then counseled the PZC against extending the public hearing and delaying the vote, even though Slater states in the appeal that the commission had more than 100 days before it was officially required to close the hearing and render a decision.

The PZC, Tallberg said at the public hearing, went above and beyond by holding a lengthy public hearing to allay some of the residents’ legitimate concerns, and the commission should move forward and make a decision to approve the application.

The administrative appeal also claims the PZC violated its own bylaws by continuing the meeting past midnight — a unanimous vote to approve the site plan application was taken shortly before 12:30 a.m. — and approving an application that failed to comply with zoning regulations.

 

CT Construction Digest Wednesday July 29, 2020

BLT seeks plans for Stamford peninsula once proposed for Bridgewater Associates HQ
STAMFORD — Developer Building and Land Technology announced Tuesday that it would explore new projects for the 14-acre peninsula that it owns in the city’s South End, a site that was controversially proposed several years ago as a headquarters for the world’s largest hedge fund.

As the developer of the mixed-use Harbor Point complex that encompasses 100 acres across the South End, BLT is proposing as much as 1 million square feet of new buildings on the waterfront property. Potential developments could include a life sciences center, a corporate headquarters or a multipurpose hub with medical research buildings, apartments, a hotel and an e-sports arena, according to renderings posted on a website for the project.

BLT is willing to consider a number of scenarios including making an outright sale of the peninsula or retaining ownership and being the sole developer or co-developer of the site, according to Gary Greenspan, executive vice chairman of global brokerage at commercial real estate firm Cushman & Wakefield, which is jointly marketing the peninsula.

“We have not made a decision on what we want to do,” Greenspan said in an interview. “Speaking on behalf of BLT, they’re open to any structure that works for any potential tenant coming in… I think Stamford would welcome a good tenant or a good user that would be accretive to the continued growth of Stamford.”

Planning for the new undertaking started last summer, and the coronavirus crisis has not diminished BLT officials’ confidence, according to Greenspan.

Cushman & Wakefield is marketing the property with another commercial real estate firm, Binswanger.

“In our opinion, this is a site that   has really very few, if any, equals,” Greenspan said. “It’s a piece of land on the water (in a city) that has been growing insanely over the last five to 10 years. It’s now become a little bit of refuge for companies that are looking to diversify out of one location into others.”

Any new development would complement the surrounding Harbor Point, which encompasses more than 4,000 existing or under-development apartments; more than a dozen restaurants; and a number of office buildings including an approximately 500,000-square-feet complex at 1 Elmcroft Road that stands yards from the peninsula.

BLT’s main offices are based at 1 Elmcroft.

“We have been rapidly developing Harbor Point for the last 12 years, transforming the former industrial area into a vibrant live-work-play master planned community and creating a thriving ecosystem for residents and businesses,” BLT Chairman Carl Kuehner said in a statement. “We are excited to see this premier site, the final piece of the puzzle for Harbor Point, come to life.”   

Since acquiring the peninsula in 2008, BLT has eyed the land for major development.

But controversy has long overshadowed the land. BLT angered many residents and local officials when it tore down the peninsula’s boatyard in 2011, when it ended its lease with Brewer’s Yacht Haven West. In 2018, it opened the nearby Hinckley boatyard in the city’s Waterside section in a compromise agreement with the city’s Zoning Board.

In 2012, BLT and Bridgewater Associates announced a plan for the hedge fund to relocate its headquarters        from Westport to the peninsula. Then-Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s administration pledged to support the project with approximately $115 million in jobs-related incentives.

But the rancor over the boatyard’s demise and other criticisms — a number of Connecticut Republicans, for one, decried the plan as corporate welfare for the world’s largest hedge fund by assets — led to Bridgewater’s decision in 2014 to abandon the project. The firm subsequently used state subsidies to help fund upgrades to its Westport offices.

Today, BLT and other key backers appear undeterred by the contention of the past decade. BLT’s press release for the project included laudatory statements from Gov. Ned Lamont and Stamford Mayor David Martin.

“Connecticut offers a plethora of advantages that corporations — large and small — recognize as beneficial to their bottom line, and we have what it takes to help them achieve their success,” Lamont said in his statement. “Stamford’s desirable geographic location coupled with the revitalization that’s taken place in the South End present boundless economic potential for those organizations who can recognize it.”

Martin cited Harbor Point’s transformation of the South End.

“Many long-term residents of Stamford can remember when the South End was one of the most depressed areas of our city but now it stands  out as a shining example of what’s possible in Stamford,” Martin said. “The peninsula at Harbor Point provides many of the benefits of living in a modern city   building off of the economic growth in our region."            

Confusion over Winchester school project funding
Emily M. Olson
WINSTED — Gov. Ned Lamont’s recent mention of Winchester as being among the communities receiving state money for school projects created confusion after local officials learned the town’s project was not approved for funding.
The $17 million renovation of the shuttered Mary P. Hinsdale School is the only school project under way in the town and officials will be seeking state money to help pay the cost.
The State Bond Commission approved $200 million for school construction projects when it met July 21 and while the town of Winchester was noted by Lamont at the start of the meeting as among those included for state funding, it was not in fact part of the 2019 package, two officials said. The video of the meeting can be seen here.
The Register Citizen reported the money was awarded after the meeting.
Though Winsted applied for $7 million in state bonding to be used for a $17 million renovation plan for Hinsdale School, it may be months before the town’s school renovation project funding will be considered, because it must pass through the hands of the legislature first, state Rep. Jay Case said.
Winchester Town Manager Robert Geiger said he spoke with Case the day after the bond commission meeting and was told the funding was not yet approved.
“I came in this morning, and after speaking with our finance director, we watched the bond commission meeting (online),” Geiger said on July 22. “They were approving (school construction projects) for the previous year, 2019, not for this year.”
Geiger immediately called Case, who first said “Yes, Winchester got the money,” Geiger said. “I wanted to be sure, so I asked him to confirm it. He called me back and said we didn’t get it.”
Max Reiss, director of communication for Lamont, said, when asked about the bond meeting, that he did not know why the governor named Winchester. A message also was left seeking comment from OPM spokesman Chris McClure.
Case said he contacted Lamont’s office, also the day after the bond commission meeting, and was told by the deputy chief that all school construction funding requests are required to go through a legislative process for approval.
“We approved (projects) for 2019, not for 2020,” Case said. “The $200 million is for projects that are going on now.”
Case said that the bonding process has been delayed by the coronavirus pandemic. For a district to be considered for money for the next fiscal year, it must first hold a referendum and gain approval from residents, Case said. After the referendum, the district must file the construction project plans with the state Office of Policy and Management.
Because Winsted is a priority school district, meaning the schools are part of the state’s free and reduced lunch program, it is put on a list for a priority committee in the governor’s office, he said. That list is marked “preapproved.” If the school district is not a priority district, it likely waits longer to be considered. After being placed in committee in the governor’s office, the funding request is reviewed and sent to the state legislature. The legislature reviews it and votes on it, usually on the last day of the legislative session. The legislature then sends the funding request to the state bond commission to await final approval. Bond commission meetings are called by the governor’s office; there are no set dates for the meetings, Case said.
Because of the coronavirus pandemic, the legislature has not been in session and the process of reviewing funding requests for 2020 never happened, Case said.
Lamont and the bond commission’s approval of $200 million on July 21 was for 2019 projects and the money is part of “progress payments,” meaning that the legislature approved the funding last year, but the bond commission had not yet, Case said.
 “The step where Winsted is right now, (waiting for the legislature) because of COVID-19, is usually done on the last day of our legislative session,” Case said. “We didn’t have one. We’re still waiting to do our session.”
The plan to renovate Hinsdale remains in place, but what the state decides could impact the cost, Geiger said.
“We could go ahead and borrow the whole ($17.43 million) but we’re not going to do that,” he said. “We still need to do the architectural drawings, so that when we do get the funding, we can pull the trigger on bids.

Winsted road project draws mixed reviews, with calls for making traffic one-way
Emily M. Olson
WINSTED — Whiting Street has many facets.
Some areas have repurposed factory buildings, while others have apartments or single-family homes. The street feeds onto Holabird Avenue and Route 44, and is often busy with traffic, making it difficult to cross. The roadway’s width also varies, from nearly 30 feet to 20 feet. Sidewalks are inconsistent.
A proposal to improve the street, to be funded by state dollars, drew a mixed response from residents and town officials this week. The Planning & Zoning Commission this week gave its approval for the 8-24, or municipal improvement, application, with a stipulation: That another meeting be held with all interested residents, including the Whiting Mills building owners and tenants, as well as emergency services, public works and the architects present.
Funded by a grant
Members of the Winchester Public Works Department presented designs for the project to the PZC. The proposal includes making the road 22 feet wide, curb-to-curb, installing sidewalks from the end of Whiting Mills to South Main Street (Route 44), improving the drainage, paving and a new bridge. Residents can see the drawings and other details of the proposal at https://rb.gy/nojqec.
The public works department is seeking “a positive referral” from the commission, using the state’s 8-24 application, which requires towns and cities to present plans to the public and the planning commission. Representatives from Weston and Sampson Engineers, including project manager Lisa Slonus, architect Ryan Chimeliewski and engineer Nick Palermo joined Public Works Director Jim Rollins for the presentation. The entire meeting was held on Zoom.
The project is supported by a grant of $500,000, administered by the state Office of Policy and Management and the state Department of Transportation, Slonus said. “The project is from the Responsible Growth and Transit Oriented Development Grant,” she said. “The funding focuses on the use and reuses of places where private and public investments have been made, to protect landscapes and landmarks and a better quality of life.”
According to Slonus, a study to develop the project began in 2019. The objectives of the improvements, she said, are to calm traffic, provide better road drainage systems and “better connectivity” for residents living in the area.”
Slonus also noted that the grant funding won’t be available forever. “There’s a limited amount of time to do the work, or the town will lose the money,” she said. The grant expires at the end of 2021.
Public input
Whiting Street may be best known for Whiting Mills, owned by Eva and Jean Paul Blachere, who purchased the Whiting Mills complex of historic buildings in 2004. Since then, the couple has gained approximately 60 tenants including artists, retailers and offices in the space. The American Mural Project, an ongoing public art installation founded by artist Ellen Griesedieck and overseen by Executive Director Amy Wynn, is also is housed in a brick factory building on Whiting Street.
A small number of residents, including those representing Whiting Mills, were disappointed to learn the street will be accessible to two-way traffic. A one-way traffic plan was preferred, especially by the owners of Whiting Mills, who say safety will be compromised, and that it prevents them from having more sidewalk areas and bringing in more tenants such as restaurants. The American Mural Project was also worried about the impact of traffic street if it remains two-way.
“We were very excited to see the project but we were surprised that Whiting Mills didn’t even get a mention,” Jean Paul Blachere said. “We thought we were important to the town.
“In previous meetings we were told we’d have a sidewalk on our side, and there’s no allowance for a sidewalk for people to come out of our building,” he said. “They’re being put in danger. What have we done to deserve that?”
“We’re excited to see something happen, but we’ve been waiting 16 years since we took over the building, and we need a sidewalk, all the way alongside our building to Holabird Avenue,” Eva Blachere said. “That was the understanding of this project.”
The road
Making the street 22 feet wide from one end to the other, Slonus said, is intended to calm traffic. “By constraining the roadway, or providing other elements along the road, (it will) force and encourage drivers to slow down,” she said.
Raised crosswalks, which almost resemble a low speed bump, are also part of the design. Slonus said these crosswalks are safer for pedestrians and also slow traffic. Some areas of curb would also have “bumpouts” which are intended to narrow the road and slow drivers.
The final design, Slonus said, will be completed this fall, then be sent to OPM and the DOT for administrative review. Bidding and construction will be done in 2021, with the project wrapping up in the fall of that year.
Planning & Zoning Commission Chairman George Closson brought up the issue of one-way traffic after the presentation. “We decided to go forward with two-way traffic,” Slonus said Commission member Willard Platt asked how large trucks would access parking lots with a narrower road, and wondered about school buses on the street, once the American Mural Project begins having large groups of school children visit the building.
“There’s going to be obstacles entering the mill; there’s going to be a lot of school bus activity,” Platt said.
“It would be good to review the flow pattern there,” Closson said. “Find out where the buses would be dropping (students off). That should be added as a concern.”
Closson commented again about making Whiting Street one-way.
“I was surprised to see a two-way street,” he said. “Why did you retain it?”
Rollins said local fire and ambulance groups in town insisted that the street remain two-way.
The Blacheres also asked again for a sidewalk directly along their mill building. “If we were able to have a sidewalk, we could attract retail or restaurants to Whiting Mills, that would improve the building even more, and the town,” Jean Paul Blachere said.
Rollins said that a residential street off Whiting near the Route 44 intersection would be impacted if the street were one-way.“Strong Terrace still needs a place to go,” he said. “We’d end up with a mutiny if they had to go down Whiting to Holabird to get out ... If you can rally around this idea, however, I’m happy to look at it again. I just don’t know if we’re going to get anywhere with it.”
“I want another public hearing on this,” Closson said. “It’s important to get this rolling.”
The commission’s approval of the 8-24 will be sent to the Board of Selectmen. Rollins said he will “get the players involved” for another discussion of the Whiting Street project. No specific date was set.

State office shuffle to save $7M; CRDA to redevelop Trinity St. buildings
Joe Cooper
tate officials say it will save more than $7 million in five years by relocating some 160 state workers mostly in downtown Hartford to newly renovated offices on Capitol and Farmington avenues.
The moves, led by the Office of Policy Management (OPM), Gov. Ned Lamont's budget office, and the Department of Administrative Services (DAS), will bring workers from adjacent buildings at 30 and 18/20 Trinity St. to either 165 Capitol Ave. or 55 Farmington Ave. beginning in September and through the start of 2021, DAS announced Tuesday afternoon.
The state is also shedding two leased offices at 330 Main St., which was recently acquired by a prominent Hartford developer-landlord, and 2275 Silas Deane Highway in Rocky Hill. Workers at the former offices will also be moved to Capitol and Farmington avenues.
A projected $7.1 million will be saved in operating and lease costs over a five-year period, DAS said, as it will also avoid the need to invest up to $80 million to rehabilitate the Trinity Street offices over the next decade. Instead, the Trinity Street buildings are expected to be transferred to the quasi-public Capital Region Development Authority (CRDA) for redevelopment.

[Read more: New Hartford office tower owner, Congressional candidate Askar staying course during quiet leasing period]

In a statement, CRDA Executive Director Michael Freimuth said the Trinity Street buildings offer an opportunity to boost the so-called Bushnell South redevelopment project of the former state parking lots across the street from The Bushnell Performing Arts Center.
"Coupled with CRDA’s ongoing development of a new district garage as well as recent private acquisition of 55 Elm for residential/mixed-use development by the Spinnaker Group, the Trinity properties provide the next phase to rebuild the neighborhood along Bushnell Park, ultimately stretching into the south end of Hartford and the hospital district," Freimuth said.
DAS said 163 employees will be impacted by the upcoming moves in the following state offices/agencies: Office of Chief Public Defenders; Board of Firearms Examiners; Judicial Selectmen Commission; Office of the Child Advocate; State Contracting Standards Board within the Office of Governmental Accountability; State Elections Enforcement Commission; Department of Administrative Services Print/Mail services; The Commission on Women, Children, Seniors, Equity and Opportunity; the Freedom of Information Commission; and Office of State Ethics.

Connecticut’s coffers have swelled — not shrunk — during COVID
Keith M. Phaneuf
State government’s coffers have swelled by hundreds of millions of dollars since the coronavirus struck in mid-March, despite warnings of a nearly $1 billion deficit just three months ago.
Connecticut’s rainy day fund, which stood at $2.5 billion when the pandemic struck, now approaches $2.8 billion, according to an ongoing review of thousands of state tax returns filed after July 15.
And while the legislature’s Office of Fiscal Analysis still expects Connecticut to exhaust most reserves over the next 11 months, they now project the state will maintain a modest, $250 million cushion one year from now. 
That’s a far cry from two months ago, when Gov. Ned Lamont warned Connecticut might be broke by mid-2021 and potentially saddled with $500 million in operating debt. The governor hoped to avoid this debt by seeking concessions from labor unions, who declined, noting they provided givebacks in 2009, 2011 and 2017.
How has state government gotten richer since the pandemic began?
“That’s a fair question,” said Rep. Jason Rojas, D-East Hartford, co-chairman of the Finance, Revenue and Bonding Committee. “I think it’s a matter of us having a conversation” with Lamont’s budget office.

Administration officials and the legislature’s nonpartisan analysts both warned during a joint forecast three months ago that fiscal projections were little more than a shot in the dark.

Normally they project revenues each spring immediately following the April 15 income tax filing deadline. But there was almost no data available to budget agencies when they prepared their April 30 estimates.
That’s because Lamont deferred that deadline to July 15 to ease financial burdens during the height of the pandemic.
Hundreds of thousands of Connecticut residents were receiving unemployment benefits, many temporarily enhanced with emergency federal funds. Those benefits are subject to income taxation, but analysts also warned it’s impossible to predict how those numbers would trend.
How long would the federal government prop up these enhanced benefits? How many of these people would return to work as the pandemic eased? And what if the coronavirus worsens, taking unemployment with it, this fall or winter?
The update provided Tuesday to the finance committee, only the second since the post-July 15 analysis began, upgraded revenues for the just-completed fiscal year by nearly $640 million compared with an April 30 projection.
In fairness, roughly two-thirds of that is a phantom gain. Federal Medicaid payments expected in July simply arrived before the last fiscal year ended on June 30, wiping away a big chunk of the nearly $1 billion deficit projection from three months ago.
But other revenue growth isn’t tied to an accounting switch.Tax receipts accruing back to the just-completed fiscal year are running $200 million higher than expected. And based on that data, analysts also bumped expectations for 2020-21 tax receipts by $50 million.
Economists have said many investors sold their stocks in late 2020 amidst growing fears of a recession. And even more did so as the markets plunged in March, reaping big, one-time capital gains.
Still, OFA staff warned nothing is certain at this point. “Our FY 21 projections are preliminary and subject to significant change pending further analysis,” staff wrote in a memo to the finance committee.
Kosta Diamantis, the governor’s deputy budget director, also cautioned against the temptation to spend reserves quickly.
“While it may certainly appear as good news for our state, and testament to strong financial management, that we are able to … improve our estimates for the deposit into the Budget Reserve Fund, we cannot lose sight of the challenges that are ahead in FY21,” Diamantis said. “Uncertain times require we stay the course of fiscal stability.”
Connecticut’s coffers also are swelling, however, because the Lamont administration spent hundreds of millions of dollars less than originally planned this fiscal year, and legislators have been pressing all summer for more details.
The budget routinely tasks the Executive Branch annually with achieving savings targets through attrition or other efficiencies. The savings goal for the just-completed fiscal year was $209.2 million in the General Fund, which covers about 90% of all operating costs in the overall budget.
The Lamont administration estimates it saved $544.1 million.

The Appropriations Committee has been meeting since June with agency heads, particularly those whose departments returned large sums of money.

Sen. Cathy Osten, D-Sprague, who co-chairs the panel, said lawmakers are concerned, but aren’t drawing conclusions yet.
“I don’t know that that’s fair yet,” she said, adding that a key meeting still must be held in August with Lamont’s budget director, Office of Policy and Management Secretary Melissa McCaw. “That’s why we have to finish our meetings with all of the state agencies.”
Osten added that some legislators are worried that more money should have been sent to social service agencies, other care providers, and to public colleges and universities to cope with the pandemic.
“I don’t think we can wait too long,” she said. “Clearly we have some concerns we have to address.”

CT Construction Digest Tuesday July 28,2020

$6M Simsbury land sale would sink controversial affordable housing development
Greg Bordonaro
A controversial Simsbury housing development that included an affordable component and has been on the table for more than two decades, would officially be dead if a pending $6-million land sale to a California-based conservation nonprofit is completed in the months ahead.
The Trust for Public Land (TPL), which has been an active acquirer and preserver of land in Connecticut since 1986, is in negotiations to purchase 288 acres of rolling fields and tobacco barns in the northern section of town that would be preserved as farmland and open and recreational space.
The property — situated west of Hopmeadow Street, abutting Hoskins and Firetown roads, and near the International Skating Center of Connecticut — would also pay tribute to Martin Luther King Jr., who worked on Simsbury tobacco fields as a young man during the 1940s.
The land is currently owned by commercial landlord Griffin Industrial Realty Inc., which first proposed its Meadowood residential development in 1999 as a 640-home subdivision that would include around 160 (or 25%) affordable dwellings.

The town rejected the project several times, ultimately leading to a prolonged court battle that wasn’t settled until almost a decade later, when Simsbury agreed to allow Griffin to proceed with development of 296 homes — including 88 affordable units — as long as it remediated the site.

The cleanup was completed in 2014, town records show, but the development never happened.
Earlier this year, New York-based Griffin Industrial announced that it was shifting its business model to focus on managing and leasing industrial/warehouse space, which is why the company is seeking to exit the Meadowood residential development, though it remains an alternative use for the site if the TPL deal falls through, according to Tim Lescallet, Griffin Industrial’s senior vice president.
“While we believe the sale to the Trust for Public Land is at a price below the value we could have achieved through a development on the land, we are pleased that by working with TPL we can enable a project that will benefit so many conservation and preservation interests in the community,” Lescallet said.
Simsbury First Selectman Eric Wellman said he believes the conservation land purchase will have the support of residents, who will ultimately be asked to shoulder a third of the purchase price.

TPL is asking the town for $2.2 million to help finance the deal.

“Being able to preserve in perpetuity the look and feel of the north side of town, which has a history of farming, is an incredible opportunity,” Wellman said.
Honor Lawler, a Connecticut project manager for TPL, said the Simsbury Meadowood property appeared on her nonprofit’s radar screen about a year ago.
Aside from the opportunity to preserve significant open space, the nonprofit was drawn to the land’s historic roots, she said.
As a student at Atlanta’s Morehouse College, civil rights icon King spent two summers working in Farmington Valley tobacco fields, including in Simsbury farmland, Lawler said.

TPL’s plans for the site include preserving 3 acres of historic barns and creating an interpretive display to honor the civil rights leader and movement.

Other plans include preserving:
• 138 acres as open space that could be used for new trails;
• 24 acres for future athletic fields;
• and 117 acres of farmland.

“We really think this serves the community through a number of public benefits,” Lawler said.

Protecting places

TPL was founded nearly 50 years ago in San Francisco and has had a presence in Connecticut since 1986.
Its mission is to create parks and protect land for public use or conservation.
Its New Haven office has helped protect 93 Connecticut properties spread across 7,600 acres with a fair market value of $150 million, according Walker Holmes, the nonprofit’s state director.
“Our goal is to catalyze communities to be healthier and more connected,” Holmes said. “We work with communities to protect the places that matter most.”

[Read more: HBJ examines developments in CT towns, cities]

TPL has already been involved in two previous Simsbury projects, including protecting 427 acres of forest, fields and wetlands known as the Ethel Walker Woods, located near the private Ethel Walker School on Bushy Hill Road.
The Meadowood land sits between the Massacoe State Forest and 4,400-acre McLean Game Refuge. The goal is to connect all three sites to create an expansive network of new trails, Lawler said.
About 117 acres would be preserved as working farmland that could be leased to local farms, she added.
The biggest challenge to moving the deal forward is obtaining financing for the $6-million purchase. The Trust is pursuing several capital sources in addition to the town funding, including a state open space grant as well as grants from the Connecticut Department of Agriculture and state historic preservation office.

Wellman, the first selectman, said he hopes the project gets all necessary local approvals in the coming months so the proposed town funding can be voted on in a referendum this November.

“At the end of the day our residents are going to have the final say,” Wellman said, noting that the COVID-19 pandemic has put pressure on his and all other Connecticut municipalities’ budgets, which could impact voters’ appetites in supporting the open space purchase.
TPL has signed a purchase contract with Griffin Industrial that expires next February. If the deal isn’t finalized by then, the deadline could be extended another six months, Lawler said.
“We have a really good track record of completing our projects, but it doesn’t come without its challenges,” Lawler said. “We are pretty confident this is what the community wants and it provides a lot of public benefits.”
Some criticism
The move away from an affordable housing project comes as there is growing pressure at the state level to enforce zoning reforms on Connecticut municipalities, especially the state’s wealthier suburbs that often fight residential projects meant for lower-income people.

The town of Simsbury spent years earlier this century opposing the Meadowood subdivision with the issue eventually reaching the state Supreme Court, which ruled the municipality improperly blocked the development.

A settlement was reached in 2008 between the town and Griffin Industrial to allow a scaled-back project.
Earlier this month, a coalition of affordable-housing advocates gathered outside the state Capitol to demand lawmakers to tackle the issue of housing segregation in Connecticut, whose cities have significantly higher populations of low-income residents.
The movement is gaining momentum amid the broader calls for social justice sweeping the nation following the death of George Floyd Jr. in Minneapolis.
Wellman said one of the few complaints he’s heard about the conservation purchase is that it undercuts new affordable housing. However, he said an affordable housing project would be better served being located closer to downtown where there is easier access to public transportation.

Currently, only about 4% of housing in Simsbury — a predominantly white suburb — is considered affordable, according to a 2018 data analysis by the nonprofit Partnership for Strong Communities.

“I’m all for affordable housing,” Wellman said. “This isn’t the spot I would have chosen.”

Torrington site in need of cleanup ahead of construction of 60-unit apartment complex
BRUNO MATARAZZO JR.
TORRINGTON — More than a century of manufacturing at 100 Franklin St. littered the ground underneath with a mix of contaminants, some of which will need to be excavated in preparation for a four-story apartment complex to be developed on the site.
Mercury, lead, arsenic, copper, extractable petroleum hydrocarbons and PCBs need to be removed and the city will be picking from nine companies that responded to a bid proposal to do the excavation and removal. The bids are in the process of being vetted, but many came in below the city’s estimate, according to Mayor Elinor Carbone.
The city has slightly less than $800,000 in state grants to cleanup Franklin Street as well as $400,000 in a revolving loan fund from the EPA. Carbone said some of the bids were considerably lower, some around $300,000.
A bid is expected to be brought forward to the City Council next month.
The site is the future home of 60-unit apartment complex called Torrington Riverfront to be developed by Pennrose. In March, the Torrington project was awarded $1.35 million in yearly low-income housing tax credits by the Connecticut Housing Finance Authority, which administers the U.S. Treasury tax credits.Of the 60 one-, two- and three-bedroom units, 75% will be affordable housing, including 12 units of federally subsidized Section 8 housing.The site was the home of the former Torrington Manufacturing Company and was a complex of connected buildings that dated back to the early 1900s. The entire complex was demolished in 2010. The 2-acre parcel has been reviewed and studied for 13 years in preparation of the brownfield remediation. “We continue to meet with Pennrose,” Carbone said. Only certain areas in the site need to be excavated and removed, according to the remedial action report by GZA GeoEnvironmental Inc.One of the two major sites is the former coal house area at the edge of the property along the Naugtack River where the Naugatuck River Greenway will be built. Since arsenic was found at that area, it will need 2 feet of clean fill to go over the impacted area and landscape areas will need 4 feet of clean fill.The other site is the former “Building F” where mercury impacted soil in a 50-by-120-foot area will need to be removed. That area will be the parking lot for the complex.  Some contamination can be capped and some need to be removed and in this case, what’s there needs to be removed,” said Rista Malanca, the city’s director of economic development.Malanca said the goal is to have work start by Aug. 14 and be completed in approximately six weeks. In March, developer Charlie Adams of Pennrose said he hopes to close on the deal and begin construction by the end of the calendar year.

Mayor: ‘We need to cash in’ on chance to lure jet set to Danbury Airport
Rob Ryser

DANBURY — Mayor Mark Boughton got the idea when he noticed Amazon executives flying into Danbury Municipal Airport earlier this summer.

If the city’s two-runway airport were marketed as a key amenity for helicopter owners, jet setters and corporate plane travelers, could Danbury capture a bigger share of the relocation wave from New York to Connecticut?

“The airport is something in the era of COVID with people looking to pull out of New York that we might be able to leverage to bring more business to Danbury,” Boughton said. “I do think there is an opportunity there, and we need to cash in on it.”

In response, the Boughton administration is rewriting the job description of an open position at the airport to focus on economic development and marketing, to “expand the uses and let people know the airport is available if they want to come to Danbury to relocate.”

The campaign to elevate Danbury Airport as a centerpiece amenity comes at a time of leadership change and new investment at what has traditionally been one of the busiest general aviation facilities of its kind in New England.

And while noncommercial flight activity is down at Danbury Airport as it is across the state, there may be new opportunities for growth if increasing numbers of larger aircraft at nearby Oxford Airport force more small-plane traffic to Danbury.“It’s an opportunity for us to pick up smaller planes who don’t want to be in the larger traffic,” said Michael Safranek, the former longtime operations manager at Danbury Airport who was promoted in late spring to replace retiring administrator Paul Estefan. “One of the goals we’re shooting for is to be an economically viable benefit to the city.”

The improving condition of the city airport — which recently underwent a $1.4 million runway surface upgrade — contrasts with 2016, when the Federal Aviation Administration banned bad-weather night landings at Danbury Airport because trees had intruded into the airspace of a landing zone.

The city spent months negotiating tree cutting rights with private landowners while one charter aviation company complained it was losing $50,000 per month because it had to divert flights to Westchester County in nearby New York.

“That was all cleared up,” Safranek said during an interview last week. “Now we’re trying to build this into a stronger economic engine.”

Among the first priorities is the construction of two new hangars, which would be built and maintained with private money, Safranek said.

Also in the works is a $180,000 study sanctioned by the FAA to identify runway obstructions and other airport infrastructure conditions. The city is expected to kick in $4,500 for the study, while the rest is picked up by the FAA and the Connecticut Airport Authority.

The study comes at the same time as a $69,000 federal coronavirus relief check, made out to the airport

Elevating the airport

When Boughton noticed Amazon executives flying into Danbury Airport to prepare a new shipping facility for 400 workers at the former Scholastic distribution center off Interstate 84, a tidal wave of 10,000 out-of-staters — mostly from New York — was already pouring into greater Danbury and Connecticut.

Some out-of-staters were buying homes here to escape the stifling effects of the coronavirus lockdown in New York City, while others were coming for the lower property taxes, real estate agents said. From March through May, out-of-staters requested 1,800 address changes in greater Danbury alone — 83 percent of which were from the Empire State, according to the United States Postal Service.

Boughton began to think there was plenty of space at the city’s 248-acre airport for people to land their helicopters, planes and corporate jets.

“This is vital for us,” Boughton said. “We needs to move from the airport just being a mention to it being a centerpiece or a selling point to various companies looking to move out.”

Meanwhile, Danbury Airport has seen a slight upswing in takeoffs and landings — at least before the coronavirus crisis turned the economy upside down. There were 50,000 combined takeoffs and landings at Danbury Airport in 2019, an increase of 4,300 over 2018. However, that 2019 number is well below the 70,000 traffic count in 2016.

Danbury’s dropping numbers are part of a statewide trend for general aviation airports, fueled by the rising costs of obtaining a pilot’s license and of owning a plane, the Connecticut Airport Authority says.

All the more reason for Danbury to specialize its operations by targeting emerging markets, Boughton said.He added the city will fill the open position created when Safranek was promoted once the new job description is complete.

 

Town official: ‘Powerful incentive for new construction’ launches in New Milford

Katrina Koerting

NEW MILFORD — Most of the industrial space in town is occupied and so the Town Council has approved a new tax incentive to help businesses looking to create theirown space.

The changes will fully defer property taxes for new construction and substantial improvements for five years as a way to attract new businesses to town. The tax deferral ordinance previously offered abatements that were based on a sliding scale and could be used for seven years.

“It’s a short, but powerful incentive for new construction,” Economic Development Director Karen Pollard told the Town Council.

The benefit only applies to projects that increase the value of the property by at least $50,000 or new building projects. Businesses expanding existing spaces will continue to pay the original taxes during this time with the deferment only applying to the new assessed value.

It also decreases the eligibility threshold to $50,000 to encourage more small businesses to build or expand  existing spaces.

“This incentive sends a strong message to businesses and investors that New Milford is determined to attract new business and development investment,” Mayor Pete Bass said. “The opportunity for a tax deferral is a concrete and measurable benefit to offer to those considering expansion or new construction in New Milford.”

The Town Council will still have to approve each request.

The Economic Development Commission began considering changing the tax deferral ordinance in September after the market analysis done for the town showed the vacancy rate for New Milford’s 3.4 million square feet of industrial space was only 2.4 percent.

Pollard said a healthy vacancy rate is usually 5 to 10 percent and demand at the time was for 100,000 to 250,000 square feet.

By changing to this upfront benefit, the commission hoped to incentivize new construction or expansion to meet the demand, make New Milford more competitive and make the up-front costs “attractive and affordable,” she said.

Most towns offer a sliding scale, just as New Milford was doing. But Pollard said it wasn’t consistently generating new opportunities or leading to New Milford’s selection as a finalist so the town increased the benefit.

“This should generate more interest from existing businesses who want to expand as well as put us on the radar for commercial and industrial projects from outside of Connecticut who are working with site selectors and commercial brokers,” she said.

She said this is especially true now as companies are looking to leave New York City during the coronavirus pandemic.

“New construction takes longer and is generally more costly than acquiring vacant space, however, they can have a facility constructed to their specific needs,” Pollard said. “Where the tax deferral will help is during the cost comparison phase, by offering this expanded incentive we will reduce costs for five years to better compete with existing spaces or lower rates in other states.”

More eligible uses for the tax deferrals within existing commercial and industrial zones were also added, including hotels, warehouses and distribution, as well as research and development.

The changes also include priority geographical areas, such as the Riverfront Revitalization zone and the Downtown Village Center to encourage businesses to locate there.

The ordinance was also expanded to include blighted properties, as well as brownfields.

“This would encourage the cleanup of problem properties, not just those with contamination,” Pollard said.

 

 

CT Construction Digest Monday July 27, 2020

Winterberry Garden’s diversification play leads to fertile growth
Natalie Missakian
It was Thanksgiving eve 2018 and Winterberry Garden employees were working late into the night, assembling garland with bulbs and decorations so they could be loaded onto trucks and driven north to MGM Springfield.
The casino had just opened that August, weeks after orders for holiday decorations typically are placed with suppliers. Because of the late timing, the garland and the accompanying trimmings could only be shipped to Winterberry unassembled.
But employees did what they needed to do to deliver on Winterberry’s promise to have the decorations up by the Monday after the holiday.

“We ended up pulling all of our office staff into the greenhouses,” recalled Chief Financial Officer Bryan Stolz. “Myself and about a dozen others were there until 10 o’clock at night, wrapping up the last of it. We were able to get it done on time and it looked fantastic.”

That kind of commitment is what has kept Winterberry in business — and growing — since brothers Scott and Al Leavitt founded the company in Cheshire in 1985 with just “a pickup truck, some shovels and an old tractor,” said Stolz.
Since moving to Southington some 20 years ago, the landscaping and construction company has expanded and diversified, bringing on a third owner, Chris Daigle, a licensed irrigation professional.
Today, the company offers services that include landscape maintenance, fertilization, residential and commercial landscaping and design and golf course irrigation and service in addition to its retail garden center on West Street. The company has grown 60% in the last three years alone, to 175 team members at peak season, Stolz said.
Much of the recent growth has been in the golf course irrigation business, where Winterberry has made a name for itself with clients in several states, including Nebraska, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Florida. Maintenance service has also grown organically through word-of-mouth, said Stolz.

“A lot of our clientele really appreciate the fact that we can do so many things in-house,” he said. “Because we’re organized into departments, you’re always getting a specialist.”

Stolz said the company is proud of the way it re-prioritized its business during the COVID-19 pandemic, launching an online sales tool and curbside pickup at the garden center.
Another point of pride is the company’s commitment to employee growth.
Stolz himself started as a junior designer 13 years ago after graduating from UConn School of Business, and worked his way up to CFO. His career trajectory is not unique at Winterberry.
“Our retail manager started here working a shovel in the garden center and now he’s one of our senior managers.” Stolz said. “We try to identify star performers and let them guide their own career.”

New Haven bioscience development wins final approvals
Michelle Tuccitto Sullo
lans for a new 10-story bioscience tower in downtown New Haven secured more approvals this week, paving the way for the developer to bring the project to fruition.
Developer Winstanley Enterprises plans to build the new 500,000-square foot building at 101 College St. It will mean more room to accommodate the region’s growing bioscience industry, which needs more lab, research and incubator space.
Tenants will include bioscience companies and the Yale University School of Medicine.
The New Haven Development Commission approved the project at a special meeting on Wednesday.

Also, the State Bond Commission on Tuesday approved funds to provide a grant-in-aid to the city of New Haven. This money will help with the design and construction of tunnels, driveways and city sidewalk improvements associated with the development of the 101 College St. building. The $8 million will be provided in installments. 

The site is across from Alexion tower, and the new building will be built over the Route 34 corridor.
Developer Carter Winstanley of Winstanley Enterprises has indicated that construction could begin as soon as August, with the project completed in late 2022. News of the project first broke in January.
An agreement with the city outlines various benefits for the community, such as a public space for outdoor programming, a dedicated classroom for city schools and workforce pipeline to help high school students pursue careers in the biosciences.
Mayor Justin Elicker said in a statement this week, “101 College is a project of statewide economic significance and with assistance from Governor Lamont’s workforce team, the development will also be closely attached to the Hill neighborhood through a workforce pipeline at Career High School and scholarships for local students interested in careers in the biosciences.”

The project is part of the city’s ongoing Downtown Crossing redevelopment initiative, which seeks to reconnect the downtown area to the medical district and Hill neighborhood.

The new bioscience tower is expected to create some 1,000 construction jobs, and between 700 and 1,000 permanent jobs, and would generate some $78 million in wages, according to Attorney Carolyn Kone, of Brenner, Saltzman & Wallman, which represented the developer in the application.

Viking Construction’s focus on quality yields staying power, growth
Natalie Missakian
If Viking Construction Inc. had a company motto, it would be this: Always finish strong.
“Our clients and reputation are everything,” said company Vice President Anthony Gaglio Jr. “It’s important for us to leave a good impression.”
That reputation for quality has been a key to the Bridgeport-based company’s staying power and growth, Gaglio said. More than 80% of the company’s work is from repeat business, so ending a project on a high note is crucial.

What else sets Viking apart? Experience, investment in technology and commitment to community, Gaglio said.

“We’re always looking at how we can do [a job] better, safer and faster, and make it more efficient,” Gaglio said. “We never get complacent.”
Viking’s roots stretch back nearly a century, when Gaglio’s great-grandfather immigrated from Italy in 1927 and founded Frank Mercede & Sons construction company in Stamford, a predecessor to Viking.
Gaglio Sr. launched Viking in 1991 with his uncle, Frank Mercede Jr., who sold his stake to Gaglio Sr. in 2006.
The company has grown to 53 employees and boasts a portfolio of projects, many in the public sector, that run the gamut from public schools to assisted-living facilities, wastewater treatment plans, affordable housing complexes, churches, office buildings and more in Connecticut and New York state.

One of its recent high-profile jobs was construction of the Strawberry Hill K-8 Magnet School in Stamford, which is expected to open this fall. Another major project underway is the Willow Creek mixed-income housing community in Hartford.

One way Viking stays competitive is by embracing technology, said Gaglio. For example, it recently invested in software that uses GPS to help calibrate site work, telling a bulldozer how far to lower and lift its blades to remove the precise amount of topsoil a project requires.
Other technology investments have allowed the company to collaborate with clients virtually and keep worksites safe through cutting-edge surveillance tools.
Viking also prides itself on its community involvement. In 2012, it launched the Viking Construction Education Scholarship program as one way to give back to the community.
The four-year, $4,000 scholarship is offered annually to a high school senior or college student who has declared a construction-related major.

Gaglio said one aim of the scholarship is to highlight the benefits of a career in construction, which like many blue-collar industries has struggled to attract young talent to replace retiring workers.

“We’re hoping we can pique an interest,” Gaglio said.
Even as the company grows, Viking continues to treat employees like family, Gaglio said, with many members of the original team still working there today. Gaglio’s mother, Caroline, sister, Jessica, and brother, Chris, also work part time for the company.
“No one works for us, we all work together,” he said.

Plan submitted for another solar facility in East Windsor
Joe Chaisson
An application for a 4.9-megawatt solar photovoltaic facility in East Windsor was submitted Monday to the State Siting Council by Greenskies Clean Energy.
Pending approvals, the developers would commence financing, detailed engineering, procurement, and construction efforts in 2020, with commercial operation planned for 2021, the application says.
The development marks the second solar project announced in town in just under a month. Plans for Gravel Pit Solar Project, a 120-megawatt development, are expected to be submitted to the State Siting Council by the end of the week, First Selectman Jason E. Bowsza said.
Green Skies is proposing a solar facility on two parcels within the town’s A-1 agricultural/residential zoning district. The solar array would use approximately 28.7 acres of the 39 total acres, the application says.

The parcels, which are owned by the Mulnite family, are active farmland with existing farm roads and tobacco barns and have frontage to the east on Rockville Road and Barber Hill Road.

The Mulnite family has been farming the property since 1905. Rental income generated by the solar project would support the landowner’s business, Mulnite Farms Inc., the application says.
The photovoltaic arrays are anticipated to bemade up of 395-watt panels, per the application.
Greenskies Clean Energy has developed, owns, and will operate other large-scale ground-mount projects in the state, including a 5-megawatt alternating currency facility in North Haven, another 5-megawatt alternating currency facility in Stonington, and finally a 1-megawatt alternating current system at the East Haven Landfill.
According to Selectman Charlie Nordell, approval will not be needed from the Board of Selectmen unless a tax abatement agreement is reached as the development is a state-sited project.

Bowsza said that the developers have approached him about a possible agreement and talks are planned sometime next week.

The developers plan to submit an application for a General Construction Stormwater Permit for the proposed facility, which will run in parallel to the Siting Council review and decision, per the application.