Green future needs to be built with union jobs and prevailing wage
James T. Callahan
While the future of clean energy jobs is a hot topic of debate these days, the Biden administration is right to connect labor standards to renewable energy tax credits, pushing the industry towards good, union jobs. Indeed, virtually every major newspaper in the country has covered the story, including The Hill.
President Biden himself said, "When I think of climate change and the answers to it, I think of jobs. A key plank of our build back better recovery plan is building a modern resilient climate infrastructure and clean energy future that will create millions of good paying union jobs, not $7, $8, $10, $12 an hour, but prevailing wage and benefits."
The policy proposition is simple. In fact, it's common sense - taxpayers should not, with their own tax dollars, undermine construction workers' wages in their communities when they build public works, utilities, and energy projects. Further, the quality of the construction suffers when pay, safety, and productivity of the workforce plummets, which is exactly what happens in the absence of labor protections.
Through a host of longstanding tax credits, taxpayers underwrite close to one-third of the total construction cost of large-scale solar or wind projects. That has cost taxpayers billions since the inception of these programs, yet wages for construction workers building these projects continues to lag even as their share of the energy workforce grows.
Wind and solar producers employ 222,000 construction and installation workers in the U.S., according to a 2020 report compiled by the National Association of State Energy Officials and former Energy Secretary Moniz's nonprofit, Energy Futures Initiative. Overall, 4 percent of solar photovoltaic workers and 6 percent of wind workers belong to unions, the report says, lower than in nuclear and coal. It's also less than half the 13.4 percent rate in the private construction industry, according to U.S. government data.
Davis-Bacon prevailing wage establishes a wage floor for blue-collar construction workers, whether they are union or non-union, when they build federally assisted construction projects. This wage floor is established by a survey at the Department of Labor, and union wage rates do not prevail unless the survey reveals them to be dominant in a local construction labor market. In that way, the prevailing wage rates reflect the community's standards.
The prevailing wage rate says nothing about a contractor's union status. Instead, it just requires that those contractors pay workers the rates revealed in the survey, whether union or non-union. Where the survey reveals that pension, health care, and training investments prevail, contractors must also make those investments in their workforce.
Prevailing wage rates simply level the playing field for contractors, preventing employers from discriminating against any group of workers by paying them less. Prevailing wage laws are a pathway to the middle class and protect all workers against exploitation - regardless of race, ethnicity, or any other protected classification.
Under prevailing wage laws, contractors must compete for work based on who can best train, best equip, and best manage a construction crew - not based on who can assemble the cheapest, most exploitable workforce, either locally or through the importation of labor.
Studies show that prevailing wages have little or no effect on construction costs. This is because construction labor costs comprise less than one-third of total project costs. High-road contractors, those contractors who pay workers with family sustaining wages and benefits, can offset the hourly labor costs attributable to prevailing wage laws by hiring the most skilled and productive craftworkers.
Prevailing wage laws also support investments in the future workforce and help expand diversity in the trades by bringing women and people of color into the workforce through the system of registered apprenticeship - the "earn while you learn," on-the-job training model utilized by Operating Engineers and other construction crafts.
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) recently introduced the Clean Energy for America Act, legislation designed to modernize the federal tax code for building 21st century energy infrastructure. His bill overhauls the system that has over 40 different energy tax incentives that expire at different times and provide different levels of tax support. Essential to the members of the Operating Engineers, the Clean Energy for America Act would require energy infrastructure projects that receive this taxpayer assistance to comply with federal prevailing wage requirements and employ registered apprentices on construction job sites.
As bipartisan talks proceed on how we will build new, climate resilient infrastructure and transition towards a clean energy future, policymakers must continue to put workers first and ensure that we create family-sustaining jobs that pay prevailing wages, at a minimum. Connecting clean energy tax credits to strong labor standards can power both the nation's economic recovery and the clean-energy economy.
James T. Callahan is General President of the 400,000-member International Union of Operating Engineers, one of North America's largest construction unions. Callahan is Chairman of the IUOE National Training Fund and the Central Pension Fund, the second-biggest multiemployer pension fund in the United States
Chamberlain Elementary renovation project out for bid, hoping for late summer construction
Catherine Shen
NEW BRITAIN – The Chamberlain Elementary School renovation project is now out for bid and New Britain Schools hopes to begin construction mid to late summer.
“This project will be a ‘renovation to new’ project, which means the structure of the buildings will be maintained and there will be no demolitions or rebuilds,” said Kevin Dion, the school district’s director of facilities. “We’ll maintain the existing structures and modify the programming that we need.”
The district received state approval for the construction project earlier this month. They hope to conclude the bid process in June and to begin construction in late July or early August. The entire project has an estimated two-year timeline before students can return to the buildings.
Chamberlain’s much-needed renovations and upgrades will cost an estimated $50 million. Through a school construction bill that was passed by the state House last October, the legislation increased the state’s rate of reimbursement to New Britain to 95% of eligible construction costs. This means the Chamberlain project will cost the city an estimated $2.5 million rather than $10 million.
When speaking about the construction’s scope, Dion said when a project is considered “renovation to new,” it pretty much covers everything from flooring to mechanicals, to electrical upgrades and replacing door frames.
“We will also take care of anything environmental as well,” he said.
Through a feasibility study done by Kaestle Boos Associates, consultants addressed many program needs based on the educational specifications and coordination with the district. Some of the renovations will include a new family health center, a family resource center, and making the gym and auditorium accessible for community use during non-school hours.
The school is being renovated to accommodate roughly 500 students. The existing footprint of 88,375 square feet will remain the same, with the potential to expand in a future date.
Superintendent Nancy Sarra said a unique feature that Chamberlain will have is upgraded building acoustics to support students who are deaf or are hard of hearing. There are currently about 75 students in that population and Sarra said they expect the numbers to grow.
“It’s important for these students to have a community of learners with typical peers,” she said. “Right now, they’re all separated throughout the schools and we want them to have a sense of community by having them learn in the same space. So we’re really happy to be able to include that.”
Because of the pandemic, Dion said one aspect in the construction plans have changed, which was to have the ability to open windows. In previous projects, he said there was a thought process through the state that having sealed windows would be more energy efficient.
“That’s changed,” Dion said. “We now want to have the ability to get fresh air into the classrooms in case another pandemic happens. It’s also for school safety, for environmental reasons, and the remote chance that we lose air conditioning that we’d still be able to circulate good air flow.”
The plans will also provide code compliant handicapped accessible routes and parking, the portable classroom building will be demolished, the entire roofing system will be replaced, and full compliance for people with disabilities at restrooms, auditorium, drinking fountains, sinks, workstations and doorways.
“This project will be a source of pride,” Sarra said. “It will be a beautiful new building and when you have something like that, it raises the hope of families, as well as the students and faculty. I really think it’s going to renew a sense of hope in the neighborhood.”
For Dion, being able to modernize and improve a school building to meet students’ needs are what makes the project important to him.
“It’s been hectic, but ultimately it’s for the kids. I work for the kids and I fight every day for them, that’s where I get my reward,” he said.
Milford school renovation gets go-ahead from school board
Saul Flores
MILFORD — The city’s oldest school could soon feature some
of the most modern facilities, after the Milford Board of Education unanimously
approved an expansion for Pumpkin Delight Elementary School.
Built in 1949, Pumpkin Delight has not had any major
renovation since 1955. The Board of Aldermen unanimously approved a $12.9
million appropriation for the project at its May 3 meeting.
“The aldermen actually expanded the budget by 5 percent to
help make sure we got the necessary ventilation in the building,” said Eddie
Widofsky of Tecton Architects.
The project is currently in the design phase, with the
construction phase scheduled to begin in 2022, and completion scheduled for
2023.
“The majority of the building dates back to 1949, and it’s a
two-story structure,” Widofsky said, “It was added onto in 1955, with a
single-story building, and basically the building has remained as-is since that
time.”
Widofsky said the idea was to build an addition to the north
side of the building that would create a “loop of circulation” between the two
sections. This will eliminate some of the building’s dead-end corridors and
create an internal courtyard for students to learn and play safely, he said.
“We think this is going to be an exciting opportunity for
learning space, and play space, and it’s really going to blend the transition
between natural and built environment,” he said.
The new addition will house a new multipurpose room that can
function as a gym and cafeteria, and also include kitchen and storage space and
a new science classroom.
The current multipurpose room, which school officials said
is inadequate by today’s education standards, will be converted into a new
media center. Other major plans for the first floor are adding a secure
vestibule with a greeter station, renovating toilet rooms (both floors), and
converting the existing media center into bathrooms and breakout space.
To offset the loss of parking from the expansion, Widofsky
said the plans call for a new 23-space parking lot adjacent to the school’s
softball field. The new parking area also will allow improvements to the
drop-off area, with queuing space for four buses, aThe new section will also be
air conditioned, and Widofsky said there was “a high probability” that the
budget also would cover the two-story 1949 section. Air conditioning the 1955
one-story structure was also a possibility depending on the bids, he said.
“If worst comes to worst, that (air conditioning) can be
added in the future, easily,” he said.
Board Member Adam De Young said the project was a benefit to
families in the Pumpkin Delight district.
“I’m excited for this renovation and I know our families
will be thrilled,” he said.
School officials said the renovation would keep Pumpkin Delight a modern learning environment for at least the next 20 years.
Some states plan big spending with Biden's aid, others wait
David A. Lieb
Though still awaiting money from the latest federal coronavirus relief act, some governors and state lawmakers already are making plans to add the multibillion-dollar boon to their budgets.
Among their priorities: bailing out depleted unemployment accounts, expanding high-speed internet and providing additional aid to schools and businesses.
The $1.9 trillion pandemic relief law signed by President Joe Biden earlier this year contains $350 billion of flexible aid for state and local governments, plus billions of dollars more for specific programs such as housing assistance. Unlike earlier coronavirus aid, states have broad leeway to use the money to plug budget holes, invest in certain infrastructure or address the “negative economic impacts” of the pandemic.
States are expected to receive an initial installment soon, with a second round coming a year later.
“A billion dollars has just fallen from the sky, in some respects,“ said Vermont Gov. Phil Scott, a Republican. ”It’s here, right in front of us. We have to invest it wisely.”
Like many governors, Scott hadn't accounted for a new influx of federal money when he presented a budget plan earlier this year. Now he's working with lawmakers to add it to the state's spending plan while still awaiting guidance from the U.S. Treasury Department on specific ways the money can - or can't - be used.
Scott wants to put the money toward economic development, climate change initiatives, water and sewer infrastructure, housing and high-speed internet. Democratic Senate President Pro Tem Becca Balint also wants some to go toward workforce training.
In other states, the spending plans include bonuses for teachers and first-responders; aid to movie theaters and entertainment venues; construction at parks and public facilities; and grants to farmers, commercial fishing operations and food processors.
“Of course it’s classical politics: They announce it, no details and everybody’s filling in the void with what they want to spend it on,” Virginia Secretary of Finance Aubrey Layne said.
Officials in Virginia and about a dozen other states told The Associated Press they are waiting for Treasury Department guidance before developing specific spending plans. Federal law prohibits states from using the aid to make pension payments or fund tax cuts. Some state officials are concerned that other uses also could be ruled out, trigging a provision requiring them to repay the federal government.
“If we don’t know what the guidelines are, it makes it hard to spend the money, because we don’t want to spend it in the wrong way and have it clawed back,” said Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, a Republican.
The federal law, known as the American Rescue Plan, comes on top of $150 billion the federal government sent directly to states and local governments last year.
This year's law cites infrastructure for water, sewer and broadband internet as allowable uses. It’s less clear whether money can be used for other infrastructure, such as roads and bridges. But some states are planning to do so, anyway.
A budget plan passed by the Indiana Legislature allots $192 million in federal aid to pay off bonds for an Interstate 69 project and $900 million for other “future state infrastructure projects." Maine Gov. Janet Mills, a Democrat, rolled out a plan this week that allots $50 million for road and bridge work this summer.
A potentially wide-ranging provision allows states to use the federal aid for “government services” affected by a pandemic-induced reduction in revenue. States also can use the aid to provide extra pay for essential workers, such as the $1,000 bonuses included in a Florida budget for first-responders, teachers and early learning instructors.
Federal law allows states to address the pandemic's economic effects by providing aid to households, small businesses, nonprofits and industries such as tourism, travel and hospitality. But that doesn't necessarily prevent money from going to other purposes.
Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont, a Democrat, wants to use more than half the state’s flexible funds to plug budget holes over the next two years. But his plan also would spend millions on social programs.
Lamont wants to use $15 million to provide free admission for children at museums, aquariums, zoos and other venues from July through Labor Day; $3.5 million to help send low-income children to sports and specialty camps; and $1.9 million for programs that provide “safe, fun and healing spaces” for teenagers. He said the programs would provide a dual benefit - aiding children who were socially isolated during the pandemic and organizations that lost money because of a lack of customers.
Mills’ wide-ranging plan would provide aid to Maine’s agriculture and seafood industries, increase public support for private-sector research and subsidize health insurers to temporarily reduce premiums for small businesses and their employees, among other things.
Officials in Connecticut, Hawaii, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine and Maryland are among those wanting to use part of their federal aid to replenish depleted unemployment trust funds. Doing so could spare businesses from temporary tax hikes that could otherwise be imposed to repay federal loans that funded benefits when jobless rates spiked during coronavirus shutdowns.
A plan passed by Kansas’ Republican-led Senate would dedicate nearly $700 million to compensate small businesses that were forced to close or had their operations restricted because of the pandemic - a “pot of gold” that some Democrats said should be partly passed on to workers in higher wages.
Republican state. Sen. Mike Thompson said compensation should have been paid months ago, as pandemic restrictions were imposed.
“A lot of these businesses should not have been shut down,” Thompson said.
In Kansas and some other states, the federal funding surge has generated spats over who can control how it’s spent.
Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers, a Democrat, vetoed bills passed by the Republican-led Legislature that sought to use $1 billion for property tax cuts, $308 million for local roads and $250 million to pay off transportation bonds. Nonpartisan legislative staff had warned that those uses might not be allowed under federal law. Evers said he will instead spend the money according to his own plans, not all of which have been detailed.
New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham vetoed the Democratic-led Legislature’s plan to devote $600 million to the state's unemployment fund, $200 million to roads and $100 million to a college scholarship program. The Democratic governor said in her veto message that “the Legislature lacks the authority” to tell her how to use the money and that the state should wait for federal guidance.
Danbury's downtown streetscape project begins to lay 'foundation' for economic boost
Julia Perkins
DANBURY — The city hopes new sidewalks will be the
ingredient the downtown needs to flourish.
“If you have a good-looking, thriving downtown, what it does
is it brings other investments here,” Mayor Joe Cavo said.
That’s been Danbury officials’ mantra for years, but work on
the roughly
$12 million project to replace sidewalks and add amenities, such as
trees and planters, in downtown is finally beginning.
The city held a ceremonial groundbreaking on the $1.9
million first phase of this streetscape project on Monday, but Colonna Concrete
Masonry is expected to start on Delay Street next week.
“That will be exciting,” said Sharon Calitro, the city’s
planner. “They are in much need of replacement.”
The project is meant to “beautify” downtown and replace
sidewalks that were last upgraded in the 1990s, Cavo said. In turn, this will
attract developers and businesses to downtown, he said.
“It brings other opportunities for people to say, ‘Hey
Danbury’s got a great thing going on downtown and we want to be apart of it,’”
Cavo said. “They'll move their business here — and with their businesses come
jobs, so we can get Danburians employed. It's a great cycle if all the
ingredients are right and things work.”
The Greater Chamber of Commerce moved its
office from across from City Hall to the Danbury Green in 2019 as a sign of
support for the project.
“We wanted to plant our flag right in the middle of downtown
Danbury because we do believe there is a potential for growth down there,” said
P.J. Prunty, president and CEO of the Greater Danbury Chamber of Commerce.
He suspects the project will have a “domino effect,”
attracting businesses across the city, he said.
“It’s a great investment,” Prunty said. “The reality is:
business like to invest in cities that invest in themselves. This streetscape
project, it’s really a good foundation, quite literally, to build off of.”
Included in the first phase is redoing the Danbury Green and
installing streetscape on Delay Street, National Place, Railroad Place, Ives
Street, and parts of White Street and Post Office Walk. It should be done in
September.
The second phase calls for streetscape on both sides of Main
Street — from St. Peter’s Church to the former News-Times building where 150
apartments are under construction. Patriot Drive, Independence Way, Liberty
Street and Kennedy Park are included, too.
“It’s a much bigger area, so it’s a little more
complicated,” said Calitro, adding the second phase would hopefully start next
year.
Next steps
Construction on the first phase was supposed to begin last
year, but was delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic. With the state appearing
to be at the tail end of the crisis, the timing is right for the project, Cavo
said.
“It can be a great opportunity for everybody coming out of
the pandemic,” he said.
Existing businesses are excited about the project too, said
Angela Wong, executive director of CityCenter Danbury, which supports the
downtown merchants.
Wong said she has seen more people walking downtown this spring
compared to earlier in the pandemic.
“People want to be out and about,” she said. “They’re
discovering some of the new things that opened and enjoying what we have here.”
Through COVID-19, the downtown has added business like
ItadakiMĂS and Gomez Bakery. Meanwhile, Empire of the Incas upgraded
its facade thanks to a grant from the city.
Over the years, CityCenter has brought art downtown and held
events like summer concerts and the Taste of Danbury festival to attract
consumers. The organization will step up these efforts this summer by offering live
music, outdoor markets, table tennis and other attractions to get people to
return downtown after COVID.
To further entice people to downtown, the city is looking to
create a transportation center near the Metro-North train station, Calitro
said. This would involve moving the Pulse Point bus stop on Kennedy Avenue
closer to the station on Patriot Drive.
The proposal to create a faster
train ride from Danbury to Grand Central Station in New York would be
“phenomenal” for the area, too, Calitro said.
The city will continue to explore how zoning changes could
encourage development and work with CityCenter to support downtown merchants,
she said.
“It’s [the streetscape project] not the single solution, but
it's a great first step in being able to make positive momentum in downtown
Danbury,” Prunty said.
Danbury road to close as part of Eversource's project to replace gas pipes
Julia Perkins
DANBURY — Part of Old Shelter Rock Road will be closed
during certain hours over the next two weeks as Eversource replaces an old gas
main.
The work will be done on Old Shelter Rock Road from
intersection with Skyline Drive to the intersection with Woodside Avenue, according
to a notice from the city’s engineering department.
“It has been determined that this section of road is too
narrow for construction equipment and motorists to safely use at the same time
and therefore a road closure and detour plan has been developed,” the
department wrote.
Construction is expected to start Wednesday and last for two
weeks. Work will be done from 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on weekdays, with the plan to
reopen the road at 3:30 p.m. daily.
Detour and road closure signs were scheduled to be installed
on Monday.
Eversource is under a “strict mandate” to replace the old
cast iron gas pipes throughout Danbury after about four years of the city — and
then state legislators and the regulatory agency — pushing the company to do
so, said Antonio Iadarola, the city’s public works director and engineer.
He said Danbury likely has one of the largest number of cast
iron gas pipes in the state.
“They are incredibly dangerous in the sense that they've
aged and they’re fragile,” Iadarola told City Council late last week. “Any
disturbance or any vibration from a large truck coming down the road can create
a gas leak.”
Orange proposal would put 72 apartments, office, commercial space at Firelite Shopping Center
Pam McLoughlin
ORANGE - The Town Plan and Zoning Commission is considering
a mixed-use proposal for the Firelite Shopping Center that would include a new,
three-story building with 72 apartments, office and commercial space.
Attorney Marjorie Shansky, speaking for the developer, said
the goal is to create housing diversity, including for young professionals and
empty-nesters.
The developer, Robert Sachs, is seeking a special use permit
and site plan review for the 6.6-acre parcel in a prominent spot in town at 35
Old Tavern Road and 308 Race Brook Road.
Most commercial spaces in the plaza currently are empty,
including the former Nuvita frozen yogurt building. Under the plan, the newly
rehabilitated building facing Race Brook Road and housing a huge liquor store
would remain the same.
The proposal is for a 143,000-square-foot, three-story
building with 72 apartments, 226 parking spaces, and office and commercial
space. The building would have 37 two-bedroom units and 35 one-bedroom units,
and the plan is to have a courtyard in back with movable outdoor furniture, a
fire pit and other amenities for residential and commercial tenants to share.
The first-floor dwelling units would be in back, with the
first-floor commercial/office space in front, according to the plan, and the
second and third floors would be for the apartments.
The overall space, according to a landscape architect for
the developer, would be rich in trees and shrubbery where there is now a “sea”
of pavement. He said they would have more than the required amount, with 67
trees and 422 shrubs.
A representative for the developer said they intend to knock
down the Nuvita building after the complex is built, putting a new building
there that would be twice the size. There currently is no detail in the plan
for that building. The current freestanding building is 1,600 square feet and
the new building, for which there was no official document yet submitted, would
about 32,000 square feet, the developer’s team said.
The public hearing on the plan for “Fireside Commons,” as it
would be called, was continued for more information requested by TPZC members
and completion of a traffic study to take into account a nearby affordable
housing project being developed.
The TPZC public hearing on the plan was continued to May 17.
TPZC members, Chairman Oscar Parente among them, said they
have several outstanding questions for the developer, are seeking more details
for the planned building, and want a more concrete timeline, as well as a more
specific plan for the freestanding building that once housed the former Nuvita
frozen yogurt business.
A representative for the developer said they are aiming to
complete the project within a year.
A team member for the developer told the TPZC they would be
happy to come back with more details seeking approval before the building is
constructed.
The plan is to move the existing businesses in the plaza to
the Nuvita building as it is now, a representative for the developer said, and
then when the main building is complete, move them in and then knock down the
former Nuvita building and construct another.
City leader: New recreation center will be 'destination point' in Middletown
Casandra Day
MIDDLETOWN — The demolition of Woodrow Wilson Middle School,
slated for this summer, will pave the way for the construction of a new
recreation office, including renovations to the gyms and pool, creating the
first standalone building the department has ever had.
Incoming sixth- through eighth-graders will attend the
new state-of-the-art
Beman Middle School, presently sitting directly in front of Woodrow Wilson
on Hunting Hill Avenue, when the 2021-22 academic year begins Sept. 9.
Phase I of the project, estimated to cost between $400,000
and $500,000, will be funded through the $55
million 21st Century Infrastructure Bond approved by voters in 2020.
In total, $1.5 million is earmarked for the recreation center, Common Council
Majority Leader Gene Nocera said.
Work will also include replacing the leaky roof.
The designer is Middletown-based Landmark Architects, which is also
designing the the South Fire District expansion.
By late November or December, Middletown Recreation and
Community Services Department staff are expected to move into the facility.
“They are excited to have their own space and recreation
facility that can grow and expand,” Nocera said. The pool and gyms are in good
shape, he said.
For the past six years, the recreation office has been at
the senior center on Durant Terrace. Before that, it was at Riverview Center on
Main Street.
Popularity of the senior center has grown astronomically,
leaving the recreation staff in a cramped area, according to Cathy Lechowicz,
director of Recreation and Community Services.
“Since we moved in here, membership increased 600 percent,”
she said. “It is highly used nonstop throughout the day.”
Recreation administrators, which include a new aquatics director,
will control the large pool to schedule affordable swim lessons year round and
water safety classes — “a critical need in our community, ” Lechowicz said.
“We’re super excited about being able to have access to a
great facility,” she said. “We know the demand is there, so being able to use
the facilities as a launching pad and to continue to develop programs is super
exciting for our community.”
The pool, gym and weight room have been used by the
recreation department for camp and other programs for years, Nocera said.
“We’ll slowly do more significant repairs to the (auxiliary) gym,” so it can
partly serve as a small cafeteria and kitchen where people can eat and heat
food.
Since Public Works staff will oversee the project, Deputy
Director Chris Holden said the project will save taxpayer money.
“Essentially, we’ll be the construction manager,” he said.
“We’ll be able to use local vendors to do the labor: carpenters, plumbers.”
Once Wilson is knocked down, the first order of business
will be to build a wall along the exterior to create a self-contained area,
Holden said.
The complex will be directly across from new athletic
fields.
“It’s almost surreal,” said Nocera, a longtime city educator
who was once principal of Woodrow Wilson. “Look at what has happened at Pat
Kidney Sports Complex since we opened it up. That is used nonstop by
our community — for walking, basketball, bicycling, the playground. Morning,
noon and night, it’s being used.”
People enjoy living in a community with such amenities, the
councilman said. “They want to see quality: things that are well-designed and
beautiful and appealing. Now, in the back of a state-of-the-art school, you
have a rec center with a magnificent pool — the best in the area.”
“It’s definitely a destination point,” Nocera said. “When
it’s all said and done, it’s going to be marvelous.”
Interior Department approves first large-scale offshore wind farm in U.S.
Joshua Partlow
The Biden administration on Tuesday approved the first large-scale offshore wind farm in the United States, a project that envisions building 62 turbines off Martha's Vineyard, Mass., and creating enough electricity to power 400,000 homes.
Vineyard Wind is the first of a series of massive offshore wind farm proposals that could put more than 3,000 wind turbines in the Atlantic Ocean from Maine to North Carolina. The Biden administration has committed to processing the other 13 projects currently under federal review by 2025 in an attempt to meet the administration's ambitious goal of producing 30,000 megawatts of electricity from offshore wind by 2030, powering some 10 million homes.
The goal is part of the Biden administration's effort to fight climate change by shifting away from fossil fuels.
"I believe that a clean energy future is within our grasp in the United States," Interior Secretary Deb Haaland said in a conference call on Tuesday, describing the approval of Vineyard Wind as "a significant milestone in our efforts to build a clean and more equitable energy future while addressing the climate emergency."
Biden administration officials said that the Vineyard Wind project will create about 3,600 jobs for American workers.
So far, just two offshore pilot projects are currently operational - one off Rhode Island and the other off Virginia. Together, their seven turbines produce 42 megawatts of electricity.
The scope of the coming projects are far larger and have generated opposition from some coastal communities and commercial fishermen. Environmentalists have also raised concerns about the potential impact on fish, birds, and marine mammals, including the North Atlantic right whale, a critically endangered species that migrates through swaths of ocean designated for wind farm construction.
Vineyard Wind is a joint venture between Avangrid Renewables, a U.S. offshoot of the Spanish energy company, Iberdrola; and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners out of Denmark. Europe's offshore wind industry is decades ahead of the United States and European firms at this point dominate the industry and its supply chain.
Vineyard Wind's construction is expected to begin later this year, with work on the onshore substation in Barnstable, Mass., where the cables from the turbines will reach the land. More cabling and other work is expected next year and construction on the turbines themselves is planned for 2023 and 2024.
The Vineyard Wind project has been more than a decade in the making; the first meetings to talk about possible locations for the wind farm were in 2009. Along the way, the project size was reduced by 60% and turbines were spaced 1 nautical mile apart in response to concern from commercial fishermen and others.
Vineyard Wind developers have agreed to pay $37.7 million to commercial fishermen in Massachusetts and Rhode Island to compensate them for future losses.
Wheeler Clinic proposes 30,000-square-foot medical center and headquarters in downtown Bristol
Don Stacom
Wheeler Clinic is considering relocating its Plainville
headquarters to downtown Bristol, potentially starting the next-to-last major
development on the Bristol Centre Square site.
Wheeler envisions a three-story, 30,000-square-foot building
housing more than 200 administrative and frontline jobs.
If the project gets land-use approvals and building permits,
Wheeler would become the second major health facility on property. Bristol
Hospital opened a 60,000-square foot medical office building there two years
ago.
Wheeler’s plan is to move its executive and administrative
staff from Plainville and to consolidate medical operations it maintains in the
city at 10 Main St. and 225 N. Main St.
As a nonprofit, Wheeler wouldn’t be paying taxes but would
add essential foot traffic to draw restaurants, stores and service businesses
downtown, Mayor Ellen Zoppo-Sassu said.
“We’ve been saying a successful downtown will balance having
people here during the day and during the night — people who are living here,
working here and coming here for entertainment,” Zoppo-Sassu said.
“We’re seeing those pieces falling in place. Carrier is
bringing apartments on one side of Hope Street, Wheeler will bring more than
200 jobs and Bristol Health already brought 100 jobs,” she said.
Carrier Construction Co. earlier this year announced plans
for 90 market-rate apartments in multistory buildings it will construct between
Hope Street and the northern edge of the Centre Square property. Between 12,000
and 15,000 square feet of ground floor space would be reserved for retail and
commercial development.
Carrier is working with the city on a sales agreement and
hopes to begin construction by early 2022.
On the eastern edge of the parcel, developers Wesley Cyr and
Oliver Wilson are expected to build about 12 apartments with ground-floor
retail in a building they’re calling City Place. Zoppo-Sassu said city
officials work with Wheeler to modify some of its building boundaries so that
they could free up enough space on the southwestern edge of Centre Square to
accommodate future development, perhaps another apartment building with
first-floor retail similar to City Place.
Developments at Centre Square are being aided by temporary
tax deferments and other benefits. But Zoppo-Sassu said that once they expire,
the full 15-acre property should generate somewhere in the field of $1 million
a year in tax revenue.
The property was once the Bristol Central Mall, a failing
retail center that the city bought in 2004. It was less than half full at the
time and produced less than $80,000 a year in taxes.
Longtime residents for years have complained that the
once-thriving downtown has become moribund, and conditions only worsened as
small shops, the local Social Security office and the state court operation
closed.
But there have been signs of revival, including the opening
of the popular Main Street Pint & Plate restaurant as well as Better Half
Brewing on North Main.
“Downtown has been a generational failure starting with
urban renewal in the late ‘50s and ‘60s, and unfortunately that curse continued
for many years,” Zoppo-Sassu said. “But we’re hoping this puzzle piece by
puzzle piece development will yield economic benefits for everybody.”
Construction momentum at 12-year high, despite continued challenges
Joe Bousquin
This story is part of a series of articles looking at the COVID-19 pandemic's effect on the construction industry and how an expected rebound in construction work later this year could be slowed by a variety of forces. Click here for other articles in the series and check back for more throughout the year.
- The future of construction in 2022 looks bright, especially in the institutional sector, but contractors will have to overcome a multitude of challenges to enjoy it, based on two bellwether construction reports issued last week.
- The Dodge Momentum Index, which rose 8.6% in April, is now at a 12-year high, led by a 77% climb in the institutional category over the last three months. But that positive, which gauges the initial planning of projects and usually precedes actual construction spending by 12 months, was countered by current challenges of soaring material costs and obstinate workforce shortages in the larger construction industry, according to the Associated General Contractors of America.
- "Contractors are experiencing unprecedented intensity and range of cost increases, supply chain disruptions, and worker shortages that have kept firms from increasing their workforces," said Ken Simonson, AGC's chief economist, in a statement. "These challenges will make it difficult for contractors to rebound as the pandemic appears to wane."
The uptick in the institutional sector, which includes healthcare, education, dormitories, recreation facilities and public buildings such as courts and prisons, seems to be driven by longer-term optimism about the country's overall progress against COVID-19, even as the hurdles that threaten to hinder construction's emerging recovery remain in the near term.
"The institutional component of the Dodge Momentum Index had posted a long string of declines in the immediate wake of the pandemic as state and local governments grew concerned with the potential for widening budget gaps," said Richard Branch, Dodge’s chief economist, in an email. "However, since hitting a low in January 2021, institutional planning has risen to levels not seen in over 10 years driven by healthcare, labs, and education projects."
The flood of cash from the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan probably didn't hurt, Branch said.
"While the exact reason for the uptick is unclear, these projects have likely been under consideration for some time but have not moved forward into the formal planning process," he said. "The recent influx of fiscal stimulus from the American Rescue Plan in March, combined with a more optimistic outlook for COVID-19 infections has likely provided more clarity and moved these projects forward in the planning timeline."
The leading institutional projects were the $300 million first phase of The Cove JC laboratory and education facility in Jersey City, New Jersey, and a $175 million laboratory project in Boston, according to Dodge.
But while the outlook for construction spending a year from now looks rosy, contractors still have to make it past today's issues. For example, the disappointing jobs report for April, which showed just 266,000 new positions in the broader economy versus an anticipated 1 million, played out in construction as well, where hiring had been surging but fell flat last month.
That, combined with skyrocketing prices for key construction materials such as lumber, steel, cement and diesel fuel, has made the already complex operation of building out multi-million dollar projects that much more difficult.
"The fact that employment has stalled — despite strong demand for new homes, remodeling of all types and selected categories of nonresidential projects — suggests that contractors can’t get either the materials or the workers they need," Simonson said.
AGC pointed the finger at enhanced unemployment benefits keeping workers away from jobsites.
"Ironically, the latest coronavirus relief bill may actually be holding back economic growth by keeping people away from work at a time when demand is rebounding," said Stephen Sandherr, AGC's CEO, in the statement.
Following Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte's announcement last week that the state would end enhanced COVID-19 pandemic unemployment benefits and replace them them with a $1,200 bonus for unemployed workers who return to work, President Joe Biden on Monday pledged to stop people from gaming the system at the federal level, too.
"We’re going to make it clear to anyone collecting unemployment who is offered a suitable job they must take the job or lose their unemployment benefits," Biden said during prepared remarks from the White House.
Dirty work almost done in Torrington
Bruno Matarazzo
TORRINGTON — A massive brownfield remediation project on Franklin Street that will become the site of a 60-unit apartment complex is nearing completion.
Crews have dug large holes into the city-owned lot at 100 Franklin St., some as deep as 17 feet, to remove contaminated soil.
“The report we got (Tuesday) afternoon was, fortunately, they’re not digging down anymore,” Mayor Elinor C. Carbone said. “I’m hoping that’s the light at the end of the tunnel.
“We’re focusing on the area where the building will be” because EPA and state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection standards do not allow any more than one PCB per million, she added.
Carbone said recent soil analysis shows 1.4 and 2.1 parts per million based on daily test results of soil extracted from the property, formerly home to Torrington Manufacturing Co. The standard is 0.9 PCB parts per million or below, and the city will not be given any leeway.
In March, the City Council voted 5-1 to authorize Carbone to sign a 95-year lease with developer Pennrose, which seeks to construct a four-story apartment complex on the 2-acre site. The mayor said she hopes the cleanup will be complete in another week or two. The lease is expected to be signed by the end of the week. Then construction of the complex must start within 30 days.
Digging massive holes to extract soil has meant hitting groundwater in some areas, prompting concern about contaminants going into the nearby Naugatuck River. Carbone said crews have installed a monitoring well to test the river water and results have been clean.
“It’s not a question of the water or the impact on the river, it’s just meeting the standard DEEP and EPA have set for soil underneath the building,” Carbone said.
The city is using state grant money from the Department of Economic and Community Development for the cleanup. The city received an initial $1 million for the cleanup and can apply for an additional 50% of the grant money if cleanup costs exceed estimates. Recently, the city asked DECD for $400,000, but the mayor said Tuesday she will request $500,000 to get the full 50%.
Carbone said she does not think the city will need more than $1.5 million in grant money, but plans are being developed if that does happen. One possibility is using federal American Rescue Plan funding.
The site also includes the Franklin Street parking lot, which the city built in 2014 using an EPA revolving-loan fund. The mayor noted the site underneath the parking lot already was cleaned using EPA funds before the parking lot was installed.