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.