CT Construction Digest Thursday October 28, 2021

Construction's career crisis: Can the industry attract millennials and Gen Z?

Ryan Golden

Construction employment carries with it a perception that the work does not pay well or is more likely to be affected by an economic downturn than other fields.

These fears are not entirely unfounded, said Priya Kapila, compensation practice leader at FMI Corp., a consulting and investment banking firm that works with clients in construction, engineering and similar sectors. Historically, contractors sought to control costs in part by leaning on lower base salaries, particularly for entry-level positions, and making up for it with bonuses, she said.

Layoffs that occurred in tandem with downturns such as the mid-2000s recession further the narrative. "There's an inherent challenge of business cycles," Kapila said. "Even today, we've seen people exit the industry who are less inclined to come back."

That does not play well with a generation of workers who are looking for economic stability, she added. But Kapila noted that construction's reputation as a low-paying industry is not entirely deserved. Particularly for construction management graduates, FMI's research has shown the industry offers competitive pay compared to other sectors. And with a competitive talent market that has led companies across industries to increase wages, "you can't get away with low pay," Kapila said.

Other sources echoed that thought. "If you're a drywall contractor and looking for people, drywall finishing is a skill … you can't just take someone from off the street," said Brent MacDonald, an instructor in construction management at Indiana State. "You have to train them to be a drywall finisher and pay them accordingly. And now that we have this competitive talent market, you can no longer pay someone $13 an hour."

Figuring flexibility out

It is not just about pay, however. During the pandemic, many companies adjusted operations to accommodate more flexible ways of working, including fully-remote and hybrid work. The in-person nature of construction work, at odds with home-based work, may have a mixed impact on recruiting efforts.

"People are re-evaluating their inputs or qualities for quality of life," said Paul Crovella, an assistant professor at the State University of New York's College of Environment Science and Forestry who specialises in sustainable construction. Crovella noted that while the pandemic may not have reduced overall interest in construction industry careers, it also may have led to a desire for a way of working that places less emphasis on in-person elements. Some students see the prospect of spending time on job sites as a positive. "For those individuals, it's akin to leaving your office and being able to work across the factory floor."

Flexibility is "still something that the industry is trying to figure out," Kapila said. But the incentive to pursue it is there for employers, she added, particularly because employees in their early 20s may place less value on retirement benefits, profit sharing and other areas that contractors have traditionally advertised to candidates. "You have to really give thought to the total package when you're approaching candidates and think about which components might matter most."

Even before the pandemic, construction industry analysts acknowledged that conflict in expectations between younger workers and the job sites that sought their labor. In a 2016 report by Marcum LLP, researchers Anirban Basu and Joseph Natarelli wrote that millennial employees as a group demonstrated a preference for jobs with flexible work hours. But that expectation "isn't consistent with the bulk of construction activity," the authors said.

At Cincinnati-based Messer, remote work implies a cultural question. "How are we any different from the folks building the buildings?," said Nick Apanius, the company's senior vice president in charge of HR and professional development operations, adding that even the company's employees who could work mostly from home have demonstrated a desire to be with their teams in-person and see job sites for themselves. "We think people need to be in the office, and I know that's a challenge."

But Messer has implemented flexible work guidelines over the years, even for those who perform in-person operations, he added. That can be particularly important during the pandemic, when workers need to take care of elderly parents, children or other dependents.

Appealing to Gen Z, millennial values

The challenge of marketing construction to young workers may seem daunting at first glance, experts say.

"If you put a hammer in their hands before an iPhone, you might have a chance," quipped Donald "Bo" McNabb, senior instructor in construction management at Indiana State University's College of Technology, when asked how contractors could drum up more interest in the field. "That's what they're competing with."

A number of sources suggested that employers need to appeal to potential workers earlier in their lives. Casey Welch, CEO of Tallo, an employment and scholarship platform geared toward younger workers, noted that this process can start well before students graduate from high school. "The best place to get that talent is to start to build it," he said. "If you want to get them, get to them early and get to them often."

External groups can play a part in those efforts. MacDonald talked about one initiative supported in part by the Wabash Valley Contractors Association, a local trade group, to implement an exhibit this past summer at a local children's museum. The exhibit allows visiting kids to explore hands-on activities such as drawing, welding and assembling.

Such initiatives could encourage the next generation of workers to "drop the phone and pick up something real," to borrow MacDonald's phrasing, but not all outreach is guaranteed to be successful. He relayed his experience presenting to students at a local middle school. MacDonald said he tried but perhaps failed to help students connect their everyday experiences to construction.

A robust recruitment toolbelt

For more recent graduates or even those already in the workforce, construction work carries an entrepreneurial element that could have its own appeal, according to Welch. That some who enter the industry end up opening their own businesses may offer something to financially prudent younger workers that other career paths may not, he said.

Other sources supported this idea. Younger workers have "grown up in a period of debt crisis," Basu, chief economist for Associated Builders and Contractors told Construction Dive, leading to concerns that college alone will not guarantee them a prosperous future. That could breed interest in the possibilities that fields like construction can provide.

"For instance, many electricians start their own firms, same thing with plumbers and roofers, so on and so forth," Basu said. "And they might find that appealing as well. So there's hope out there, but there has to be a coherent sustained effort by the industry to reach out to these prospective demographics."

The pandemic presents "a terrifying climate to start your adult life and professional life in," said Isabel Perez, a recruiter at Messer. “Younger workers, she added, "want to work for a company that makes them feel like part of the team, that helps them grow."

Perez, who said she is still early in her career and did not originally consider a job in the construction industry while in college, believes that the worker-owned structure of Messer played a big role in her decision to join the company. "We all have a stake in the game, [and] everyone is here to lift each other up, to help you grow," she continued. "I knew that was where I wanted to go. That was the most important thing to me."

Technology also can be a tool in recruiters' utility belts. Apanius noted the influx of investment in construction technologies, particularly into artificial intelligence systems that allow engineers to plan projects virtually before they head out into the field. "How we build buildings now is very different from 20 years ago," he said.

Construction employers may look to how other industries dealing with similar shortages have changed their recruiting strategies. Welch touted Tallo's work with the trucking industry to implement gamification into recruiting applications. He has also seen trucking companies highlight immersive technologies, such as virtual reality, that can give prospective candidates a better idea of the work they would need to perform.

Crovella had a similar thought. Contractors, he said, "have the chance to use some of the same immersive technology that has fascinated this generation in other areas." He noted a plethora of examples of companies using VR to simulate welding and other critical skills.

A few sources noted that while these and other strategies may not always land, construction work has advantages that few other industries can boast.

"What we do isn't for everybody," Apanius said. "But at the end of the day, you can look behind you and look at what you created from nothing."

Tangibility. That's another passion driving industry veterans.

"You want to be able to drive by something and say, 'I had a hand in building that,'" MacDonald said. "You can't do that as an accountant working on budgets."

Up to $1.9M in federal rescue funds could go to Meriden library project

Michael Gagne

MERIDEN — Efforts to renovate the Meriden Public Library’s nearly 50-year-old building on Miller Street received a boost this week.

That boost began on Monday night, when the Meriden American Rescue Plan Steering Committee voted unanimously to recommend the library’s application for use of between $1.665 million to $1.9 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act funds to replace the library’s aging heating, ventilation and air-conditioning system.

The final funding amount, which still needs to be voted on by the City Council, will be based on which library improvement project the council ultimately backs.

On Tuesday night, the council’s finance committee, by a 3 to 2 margin, voted to recommend the council as a whole support funding the expansion project. 

Finance committee Chairwoman Yvette Cortez, Deputy Mayor Michael Cardona and Councilor Nicole Tomassetti, voted in favor of expansion. Councilors Dan Brunet and Michael Carabetta voted against expansion, saying they instead supported a base renovation. 

Two years ago, the council had approved the library’s plan to renovate the 45,000-square-foot building without expanding. The library building committee on Tuesday night presented plans for expanding and renovating the library to finance committee members during a remote videoconferenced meeting. The library’s architect during that presentation also showed finance committee members plans for a base renovation without expansion. 

According to funding figures shared Tuesday night, the total project cost for renovating the library would be just under $10.25 million. The net cost of the project to the city would be lowered to around $7.43 million, after a $1 million state library grant, $150,000 in funds raised by the Friends of the Meriden Public Library, and the potential $1.665 million in ARP funds are factored in. The cost of that project has increased since the council last voted to authorize funding for it. The council in 2019 authorized $6.8 million in bond funding for the renovation and would need to authorize at least $634,076 more, based on figures shared with the finance committee. 

Meanwhile, the Library Building Committee and the architect who drafted the renovation and expansion plans, have put forth the expansion proposal, which would increase the building’s existing space: adding more than 3,200 square feet in public space throughout the building and nearly doubling the building’s meeting room space. Currently the building has 2,570 square feet in meeting area space.

The plans would increase that space to 4,994 square feet. 

The total cost of renovation and expansion would be just over $13 million. After grants, private fund raising, and the $1.9 million in ARP funds, the city’s expense would be close to $9.97 million. After deducting the $6.8 million the council previously committed toward the project, the council would need to authorize committing another $3.167 million to fully fund that project. 

‘Once in a generation’

Prior to the finance committee and the ARP committee’s votes, Thomas Welsh, who chairs the Library Building Committee, described a tight timeline: the committee must have a construction contract in place by January 2022 or risk losing the $1 million State Library Grant. 

Welsh also noted the cost of the project had increased over original estimates because of the pandemic’s impact on the supply chain, including construction. The costs also include $200,000 in code compliance to cover the installation of a new sprinkler system, which wasn’t required when the library was originally constructed, Welsh explained. 

Welsh said the library not only serves the entire community of Meriden, but is located downtown, an area with a large concentration of low income residents. 

“Those would be the folks most impacted if we are not able to do this renovation process,” Welsh said, describing the proposal as “a once in a generation project.”

Carabetta said he does see the need for a renovation. However, he was against expanding the library. 

Brunet agreed, saying it’s not true that there is no additional library and meeting space available. He said expanding the library would come with additional overhead, including maintenance, heating and electrical costs. 

Tomassetti and Cardona disagreed. 

“I think it would be a mistake to not develop the building to its fullest extent,” Tomassetti said. 

“I think the space could really benefit the public,” Cardona said, adding he believes the city needs more meeting space.

Mayor Kevin Scarpati, who voted in favor of allocating ARP funding during the steering committee’s deliberations, reiterated the sentiment that the proposal is “a once in a generation project.” He urged council members to consider the library’s future use.

“... I urge the council to consider what this means to not just library users today, but students, schools, businesses, nonprofits and hopefully us who will take advantage of the library in the future,” Scarpati said. 

Cheshire Academy will reduce tuition costs, improve campus

Mariah Melendez,

CHESHIRE — Cheshire Academy, one of the oldest independent boarding schools in the country, recently announced it will be making changes to tuition cost and its campus in the coming months. 

For Head of School Julie Anderson, the change is about equity and responding to the hardships of families in the area. 

“We understand that, when families look at schools to send their children to, the price of Cheshire Academy can cause a family to overlook the school for their children,” she said. “We spent a lot of time discussing this with our peer schools, financial advisors, alumni and board of trustees and we decided that we would take this leap of faith in lowering our fee structure.”

For the 2022-2023 school year, Cheshire Academy will reduce by a third its traditional tuition for day students — from $42,320 to $29,850. Seven-day boarding tuition will also be reduced by 10%, from $63,600 to $57,250.

“We really took into consideration what would be more reasonable for families in our area here, and we still will offer financial aid and need-based aid to those who qualify for it,” Anderson said. “This really feels like we are doing the right thing.”

According to Anderson, the changes are designed to make Cheshire Academy more appealing to families in Cheshire and around the world who are struggling financially. 

“We understand that COVID-19 took a toll on all of us, and COVID-19 really made us rethink our priorities, which is why we are also changing a number of things on campus as well,” Anderson said.

In addition to the fee-structure change, Cheshire Academy is also going to be adding a variety of new campus additions to help ensure that sports and other activities are equitable. 

“We are planning on installing a new turf field and improving the one we currently have, so we will have two turf fields available for use by our sports teams,” Anderson said. 

Currently, Cheshire Academy only has one field, making it difficult for both men and women’s teams to practice or schedule games. 

“We really wanted better equity for our teams,” Anderson said. “This will allow for better access to the fields, which really reflects the college model we are trying to replicate.”

In addition to the new turf field, Cheshire Academy also has plans for three new tennis courts and the construction of a new $25- to $30-million field house and theater complex.

In order to make these new improvements happen, Anderson said Cheshire Academy will be utilizing funds received from their alumni and Board of Trustees. 

“We received a bequest and a substantial endowment from two individuals who we are incredibly grateful for, but we are not going public with their names at this time,” she added. 

Bozrah rejects data center because of project questions

Mary Elizabeth Lang

The Bozrah Planning and Zoning Commission held a public hearing at Fields Memorial School on Tuesday, Oct. 12, to get feedback from residents regarding a proposed zoning change. The change, requested by GotSpace Data Partners LLC of Boston, Mass., would establish a new zoning category, the Technology Park District (TPD).

GotSpace had approached the town more than a year ago with the idea of building a series of data centers in a 40-acre parcel located in a wooded area behind properties on Bozrah Street (Route 163) and Houghton Road.

Planning and Zoning Chair Stephen Seder opened the meeting to comments and questions at 7 p.m. Also present were Planning and Zoning Commission members Scott Barber, Manuel Misarski, Stephen Coit and Nancy Taylor, as well as two members of the Board of Selectmen, Glenn Pianka and William Ballinger. Residents of Bozrah, including owners of property near the site of the proposed data center, raised several concerns, not the least of which was the fact that the owners and representatives of GotSpace were noticeably absent. The reason given for the no-show was that the company is undergoing a change in leadership, which raised more questions regarding the stability of the company and its ability to complete the project and follow through with any agreements it might make with the town.

Other concerns included disruption of the rural nature of this portion of Bozrah. Adjacent properties include several private homes, a church and the town-owned Maples Farm Park and Homestead, with its restored historic farm house, hiking and riding trails, picnic tables and a large field currently used as a soccer pitch. The park, which is near the senior center, a playground and a Little League field, is also the site of Bozrah’s well-known Farmers Market. In a sense, Maples Farm Park has become the town green for the community and has been the site of community harvest pot-luck picnics, weddings and other public and private events.

Residents spoke about the need for a closer look at similar data centers built by GotSpace to determine any impact on the community of the construction and daily operation of a 24-7 business. Would traffic patterns be affected? What about excessive noise levels from construction and the ongoing operation of generators? Would the buildings and parking lot create light pollution?

Others were concerned that GotSpace had apparently decided that their needs for electric power far exceeded the capabilities of our local power company, Bozrah Light and Power, so they had applied to Eversource to bring in the power that they needed.

The Planning and Zoning Commission and two representatives from the Board of Selectman were able to answer some of the public’s questions, but it appeared after less than an hour of discussion that although Bozrah residents might be amenable to the idea of a technology park in the future, they were not satisfied with the proposed zoning change nor with the lack of information and data forthcoming from the company that had applied for it.

When the hearing ended, the Planning and Zoning Commission voted to reject the proposal from GotSpace without prejudice, which they explained would allow for a future proposal either from that development company or some other entity who would be willing to meet with the community and satisfy their concerns.

CT Construction Digest Tuesday October 26, 2021

Stamford's soon-to-be $81.7M, 928-spot commuter garage project gets official debut

Verónica Del Valle

STAMFORD — The road to a new commuter garage in Stamford has been far from smooth, but on Monday morning, Connecticut officials celebrated finally moving forward on the perennially postponed project.

Five years after a deal to reimagine the Stamford Transportation Center and its dilapidated state garage fell apart, Gov. Ned Lamont, Transportation Commissioner Joseph Giulietti and a bevy of elected officials gathered to showcase one of the Northeast’s busiest train stations into the 21st century by building a new commuter garage.

“Parking should not be a hassle,” Lamont said from a podium just across the street from the garage-in-progress while flanked by Stamford Mayor David Martin, U.S. Rep. Jim Himes, D-Conn., and Stamford’s delegation to the state legislature. “Parking should be something that's easy, affordable, with a lot of capacity. That's what we're doing right here.”

Engineering crews have already broken ground on the 928-spot garage, a project that will cost the state $81.7 million, according to Giulietti. The entire edifice, which will feature a bridge that directly connects with one of the train platforms through an enclosed pedestrian way, is scheduled for completion in summer 2023.

The multi-million dollar car depot will encompass only a fraction of what the state originally planned to replace in 2013. The Department of Transportation that year struck a deal with a private developer to create a $500 million office, housing, retail and hotel complex beside the train station and move commuter parking a quarter-mile away. That proposal drew ire from commuters, who wanted the state to rebuild the existing garage instead.

The new building on Washington Boulevard will replace the existing state garage on Station Place, a 36-year-old structure plagued by problems since the beginning. The state plans to demolish the more structurally deficient half of the garage once the new parking facility is completed.

“This is prime real estate,” Giulietti said of the parcel. “We're looking to go and attract investors so that we can offset some of our costs for going into an operation by maybe putting in something there that will generate funds for the system.”

Even during the pandemic, the Stamford Transportation Center has remained one of the most frequented locations in the Metro-North railroad system. Data from the system shows that more than 8.4 million people rode Metro-North trains from the Stamford Transportation Center in 2016, making it the second-busiest station behind Grand Central Terminal in New York City.

After seeing a 95 percent reduction in ridership during the height of the COVID-19 crisis, the passenger count has since bounced back and hovers at around 50 percent of pre-pandemic levels, Metro-North President Catherine Rinaldi said at the ceremony. Almost two years after the virus first took hold, 175 trains a day stop at Stamford station. Weekend train service is completely back to normal, and on the weekdays 82 percent of the usual trains visit the stop, she said.

Though creating a better place for cars is the most obvious component of the garage redesign, the future of multi-modal transportation in Stamford was also front and center during the celebration.

Though future plans for the transportation center itself are still incomplete, the state plans to repave and redesign all the roads surrounding the garage and the train station, according to Giulietti. The paving would create dedicated feeder paths for the buses, taxi cabs and rideshares that frequent the station.

On top of that, he said, the new garage will bring pedestrian improvements to the streets to facilitate both walking and biking. The project will also connect nearby pedestrians to the planned Mill River Greenway, the project that will connect Stamford from the South End to Mill River Park.

Ed specs approved for $24 million project to make Old Greenwich School accessible, safe

Ken Borsuk

GREENWICH — A $24 million plan to renovate and expand Old Greenwich School in a project that would solve problems ranging from accessibility to flooding has moved a step closer to reality.

The specifications, which serve as guidance for drawing up the architectural plans, call for three new kindergarten classrooms, a new first grade classroom, upgrades to the HVAC system, renovations to a multipurpose room, a resource room, accessibility at the main entrance, security upgrades and outdoor improvements.

An elevator would also be added that is “accessible on all levels” to solve a long-standing problem in the school building.

“We really focused on fixing this school with respect to health, safety and putting the classrooms back in good shape without flooding,” Karen Kowalski, a member of the project’s feasibility committee, said at Thursday’s school board meeting. “What we have come up with here is an ed spec that meets those needs and does not drive for any fancy extras. I was proud of the group that came up with this. We worked very hard on this and this is what the community wants.”

The Board of Education unanimously approved the guidelines at its meeting last Thursday. The next step is to seek approval for the project.

Superintendent of Schools Toni Jones is expected to request $1.5 million in the proposed 2022-23 school budget for the design work. That would require approval from the Board of Education, Board of Estimate and Taxation and the Representative Town Meeting through next year’s budget process.

The proposed school budget, scheduled to be unveiled Nov. 4, is also slated to include money for improvements at Julian Curtiss School.

If the design money were approved for Old Greenwich School, then the construction money would be requested in a budget for a later fiscal year, either 2023-24 or 2024-25. Only then would construction begin on the project.

The final cost of the construction has not been determined, but the preliminary budget is slated at $24 million.

School dates back a century

The Old Greenwich School dates to 1902, with additions built in 1950, 1957 and 1995 and a renovation completed in 1993. No significant capital projects have been completed at the school for 25 years.

The planned renovations have become a priority for many school officials and parents, particularly on compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Old Greenwich School Principal Jennifer Bencivengo told the school board that approval to fully fund the renovations was her “birthday wish.”

“This is a request for a safe, ADA-compliant building with adequate HVAC and air quality,” Bencivengo said. “Our committee’s proposal is not for a building with excessive extras or bells and whistles. It is the bare minimum for what we need to provide a safe learning environment for all our students, teachers and staff.”

With portions of the building below sea level, sewage flooding is a frequent problem, with three such incidents since July, Bencivengo said.

And because the school is not ADA-complaint, she told of staff members forced to carry children with injuries to the nurse’s office, she said. Also, the temperature inside the old building can soar so high hot days that it can trigger fire alarms that require students and staff to evacuate, Bencivengo said.

Support for the plan

Parents also spoke at the school board’s public hearing in support of the educational specifications.

PTA President Erica Jacoby said that after her daughter once fell from the playground’s climbing bars and had to be carried to the nurse’s office. And she said she saw a boy on crutches who had to be supported by his mother while entering the school building.

“This was just the start of a 7-year-old’s day,” Jacoby said. “I can only imagine how he fared navigating the stairs from his second floor classroom to the ground floor cafeteria, art and music rooms multiple times during the day. How different these situations could have been in an ADA-compliant building.”

But Jacoby and others added that the proposed budget had been reduced and complained it would invest only the “bare minimum” needed for the school.

Board Chair Peter Bernstein said the ed specs were “great” but also expressed his concern about “what we’re not doing.” He asked about the building’s walls and ceilings, pointing to the ceiling collapse and flood at North Mianus School last winter, which caused millions of dollars in damage.

“That is something the board going forward will certainly need to think about as you move these projects forward in the older buildings,” Bernstein said. “This building was designed before 1900. I just worry about the very older parts of the building where we slapped on some paint, maybe put a drop ceiling in, but really didn’t pay attention to what’s going on.”

Russell Davidson of KG&D Architects, who put together the specifications, said the four new classrooms would not expand capacity at the school because part of the building would be reconfigured.

“One room is needed because we’re going to move the main office down to the ground floor,” Davidson said. “Two rooms are undersized, are not accessible and prone to flooding, and one existing room is undersized and we need that room to cut through to make the corridor to the new addition.”

Wetlands OK brings Shelton's Mas land development one step closer

Brian Gioiele

SHELTON — Extending Constitution Boulevard West is one step closer to fruition — and with it the development of the city-owned Mas property.

The Inland Wetlands Commission, in a 6-0 vote in a special meeting Thursday, approved the city’s permit application for extension of the roadway, with street construction occurring within regulated wetlands areas.

Extending the roadway and use of the Mas property has been on the table for years, but Mayor Mark Lauretti began the most recent push in April when he presented preliminary plans for creating the road leading into the city-owned land, which would be developed into a manufacturing corporate park.

Lauretti has stated that one major manufacturer — whose name he would not give because negotiations are ongoing — is seeking a 270,000-square-foot building on the property. Negotiations have been going on for about a year, and he said he hoped a deal could be struck within the coming days.

He said the plans remain in the initial stages, with proposals still needed to go before the Planning and Zoning Commission and the State Traffic Commission.

“We are working with the state on a grant for the road construction,” Lauretti said. “I have spoken to (Gov. Ned Lamont), and he said he’s onboard.”

Lauretti has stated that the road work would cost between $10 million and $12 million. Bids are out now, he said, and once those come in, he will have a better idea what the state will cover and what the city will pay. He said he expects a groundbreaking for the extension this spring.

The application approved by Inland Wetlands Thursday is for phase one roadway construction only, with a portion of Bridgeport Avenue to be widened along with intersection improvements. Portions of Cots Street and Blacks Hill Road will be also be reconstructed as part of this project.

This work also calls for the city to purchase 55 and 56 Blacks Hill Road, according to the application submitted to Inland Wetlands.

Plans on the city website show an extended roadway with seven separate lots, one of which is 10.6 acres of designated open space. In all, there is a 276,250-square-foot building, two 105,000-square-foot buildings, and two 34,250-square-foot buildings, along with related parking for each separate structure.

The 70-acre parcel — known as the Mas property — sits near Bridgeport Avenue, and the roadway plans include extending Constitution Boulevard to reach Shelton Avenue/Route 108. Lauretti stated that a zone change would be needed, requiring plans to go before the Planning and Zoning Commission at some point.

In 1988, the P&Z approved a Planned Development District for most of the Mas property that included four 10-story office buildings and an 82-unit residential condominium.

The project collapsed in the real estate crash of the late 1980s. The lead development entity was Citytrust, a Bridgeport-based bank that no longer exists.

The city bought the land after it went into foreclosure and got an adjoining small parcel once environmental remediation was completed.

That Planned Development District designation has since expired. Lauretti said a new zone change request would call for the property to move to light industrial or another similar zone. Much of the land is zoned residential.

The Mas property is now vacant. It is mostly wooded with considerable stone ledges and several ponds, including one some 600 feet long and 250 to 300 feet wide, and lies between Bridgeport Avenue, Cots Street, Tisi Drive, Sunwood Condos on Nells Rock Road, Regent Drive, Walnut Avenue, and Kings Highway. Part of the land abuts the back of the Perry Hill School property.

Meriden Markham Airport reopens after runway work

Michael Gagne

MERIDEN — Meriden Markham Municipal Airport is once again buzzing with the hum of airplane propellers. 

After a $1.88 million reconstruction of the airport’s runway and taxiway, a job that took just shy of two months, takeoffs and landings resumed this week.

The daily buzz of airplane propellers is something Constance Castillo, manager of Meriden Markham, said she had missed. The airport’s last flight before the project was on Aug. 23. 

Castillo explained the upgrades had been badly needed. Prior to the project, the airport’s 3,100-foot-long and 75-foot-wide runway was last repaved more than 15 years ago and beyond its useful life.

The work included new LED lighting and drainage improvements. 

The first flight since the project began was on Wednesday, said Castillo, who was joined by Mayor Kevin Scarpati, City Council Majority Leader Sonya Jelks and other officials for a ceremonial ribbon cutting celebrating the new runway and taxiway on Friday. 

The project’s entire cost was covered by a Federal Aviation Administration Airport Improvement Program grant. Castillo said the grants typically require a 10% local match, which was waived.

Officials said the project began and ended on time. In fact, it was completed a day ahead of schedule. This week, the tenants, most of whom were displaced to other airports while the project was underway, had returned. 

The project was helped by fortuitous weather — work began around the time Hurricane Henri, by then a tropical storm, arrived in New England. The storm minimally impacted the region. 

Scarpati said the fact the project was completed on time and under budget was a credit to the contractors who carried out the work. 

Jelks, who serves as the CIty Council’s liaison to the Aviation Commission, credited the airport’s staff for keeping the facility “alive and viable.”

Jelks said the airport is “a critical part of who Meriden is and where we’re going and what we want to do. We’re so grateful for all the work that goes into the airport and all the work that goes into updating it for the future.”

Mark Poole, owner of the Meriden Aviation Center school that operates at the airport, described the past two months as having been rough for the center’s instructors and students.

But classes are getting back to normal. “We just moved the airplanes back… We just reopened yesterday,” Poole said. “Flights will be going out.”

Lt Col. Jim Whitesell, vice commander of Connecticut Wing Civil Air Patrol, was similarly elated. 

Whitesell said Civil Air Patrol, a public service organization that carries out emergency services and disaster relief missions in the air and on the ground, had been an airport tenant for longer than he knew. 

Abby Weaver, of Southington, is a cadet with the patrol. She attends Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Florida, with the hopes of becoming a pilot in the military, flying C-17 cargo aircraft. 

The 18-year-old said it’s good to be back at Meriden Markham. 

“I definitely missed it. I’m glad to be home,” Weaver said. 

Bartlem Park South project on ballot in Cheshire

Mariah Melendez

CHESHIRE — In the upcoming election, residents will have the opportunity to vote on two questions, one of which will decide whether the community moves forward with the Bartlem Park South project.

The plan, focused on the property next to Bartlem Park, often referred to as the Chapman Property, would extend the park to the south and turn it into a multi-use town field and center.

The $14.87 million proposal was presented to the public back in January. For this referendum, however, the public will be voting on whether to allocate $7.9 million for phase one of the plan.

The town has also decided it would use $2 million of the funds received from the American Rescue Plan Act to help offset some of the costs of the first phase. 

“This plan is really a result of what we heard at our community engagement meetings,” said Ryan Chmielewski, a representative of the engineering firm Weston & Sampson, during an initial meeting back in January. “We tried to make sure everyone’s voices were heard. We heard from the environmentalists who wanted a ‘do-nothing’ plan—we (listened to) neighbors who showed great concern (about) the backfield and lights, so they are not right up against bordering properties.”

Prior to the January presentation, Weston & Sampson held a number of public hearings for residents to express their concerns and suggestions. The final proposal includes the construction of a variety of field and performance spaces, as well as expanded parking, lighting, and drainage improvements for the entire park.

Town Manager Sean Kimball also expressed his excitement over the possibilities of improving upon the yearly Cheshire Chamber Fall Festival & Marketplace, which is held at Bartlem Park each year and is one of the biggest events in town.

Phase one would include establishing a town green community space, great lawn with an outdoor entertainment venue, multi-purpose synthetic athletic field with field lighting, an additional restroom pavilion, a network of walking paths, stormwater management, and an increase of existing parking by up to 165 spaces. 

A highly anticipated portion of the Bartlem Park South project is the proposal for the creation of a Town Green, something which Cheshire is currently lacking. 

“One of the biggest components of this is giving the town something that it's lacking right now, which is a dedicated Town Green,” Chmielewski explained to the Town Council back in January. 

The second referendum question is focused on road improvements, something which the Town Council has put out for referendum the past few years. 

The improvements are set to cost the town $1.7 million and will include road treatments such as restoration, milling and paving, chip seal, microseal, crack seal and other surface treatments, as well as the implementation of a concrete curb replacement program, and associated project costs.

CT Construction Digest Monday October 25, 2021

Plans for nearly 700 new apartments in New Haven gain key approval

Mary E. O’Leary

NEW HAVEN — Look for hundreds more luxury apartments to be built as the city opens up its harbor district to residents and approves another apartment tower in the Wooster Square neighborhood.

The City Plan Commission approved a text amendment to the Fusco Corp.’s planned development district that will allow up to 500 apartments at 501-585 Long Wharf Drive. The commission also approved a required Coastal Management Site Plan.

In a separate vote for an unrelated project, a total of 186 more apartments have been approved for development by the Epimoni Corp. at 20 and 34 Fair St.

Wooster Square is undergoing a transformation with more than 700 apartments under construction in little over a block.

For City Engineer Giovanni Zinn, the Long Wharf approval makes concrete some of the recommendations in the Long Wharf Growth Plan that seeks to make this area more resilient to protect the important industries there and welcome a residential component.

Zinn said the Fusco proposal fits into the city’s approach to planning for the future while taking into consideration sea rise levels, climate change, protecting its strategic assets and environmental justice.

The original PDD was put in place when the Fusco Corp. constructed its Maritime Center on adjacent property in 1984, where it has its main headquarters and other business tenants.

The new proposal still has to go to an aldermanic committee hearing and get approval from the Board of Alders. City Plan will then address a full site plan, although considerable detail has already been released.

Fusco wants to construct two mixed-use buildings of 13 and 15 stories with a range of apartments from studios to three-bedrooms. The first floor would contain 20,000 square feet of commercial space, including a public market with indoor and outdoor food services.

The project will sit on 4.3 acres with some 2 acres landscaped for public use and featuring plazas, seating and a contiguous harbor walk, a big plus for the Hill neighbors who reacted positively to the proposal.

It will not be wood and podium construction, which is mainly what is featured in New Haven, but rather the buildings will be made of brick, masonry and glass, according to attorney Matthew Ranelli, who represents Fusco.

The growth plan proposed five new walkable, mixed-use neighborhoods for Long Wharf, one of which was a Harbor District. It said that Long Wharf was underutilized and it recommended “denser development of new residential and commercial uses.”

Ranelli told the commission that the proposal “will create a destination for New Haven residents and others to visit the shoreline. The mixed-use amenities will create a synergy and direct connection with the (Canal Dock) boathouse, Long Wharf Park, and the Hill South and Downtown neighborhoods.”

The approval comes as Brian Thompson, director of the land and water resources division of the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, recommended that the alders turn down the proposal over potential flooding concerns.

Thompson said the property straddles two 100-year flood zones and adding “significant residential density increases, rather than minimizes, the hazards to life and property inconsistent” with the Connecticut Coastal Management Act.

“The proposed (PDD) modifications would create a pathway for a large population of residents to live in an area that is exposed to existing impacts from coastal storms and flood events, which will be exacerbated in the future due to climate change,” he wrote.

Thompson told the alders that if the development were to receive any state or federal funding, “the residential component of the proposed buildings will need to be elevated to the 500-year Flood level plus two feet of freeboard,” according to state law.”

He said it is DEEP’s policy to “minimize the necessity of public expenditure and shoreline armoring to protect future new development from such hazards.”

Zinn said the city shares DEEP’s concerns for the protection of residents, as well property and not to approve something that would later require investments in structures and other protections.

Zinn said it is still early in the process, but staff feel that “Fusco has shown a pathway (to protection against flooding) by having their first floor elevation at 15 feet, which is two feet higher than the base flood elevation of 13 feet.”

“There is no substitute for elevation in terms of preventing flooding,” he said.

Zinn said there are important technical challenges, but as a coastal community that will be faced with the brunt of climate change, New Haven has opted to determine what it can do to mitigate it now, rather than “throw up our hands” and wait for the serious impacts to unfold.

Zinn said the city is already tackling part of the climate issue by creating natural ways of dealing with storm runoff as New Haven plans for the next 50 to 100 years.

The city engineer said there is an environmental justice side to this.

“We can’t give up the benefits of being in our strategic location and simply have to live with the burdens of it,” Zinn said, of the negative impact creation of Interstates 91 and 95 had on neighborhoods.

Plans are in place to protect the transportation corridors and the Metro North rail yards, something that is of importance to the region.

Zinn said using responsible quality development also is a way to “create and fund the infrastructure” that will be needed to mitigate climate change.

Others pointed out that while residential buildings are questioned, a fuel terminal could be built by right and is allowed as a water-related use under coastal management.

“Starting a transformation now will allow the city to still benefit and prosper from these transportation corridors,” the engineer said of the highways and rail connections.

Chairwoman Leslie Radcliffe said she agrees with Zinn’s interpretation and is impressed with the extent of Fusco’s consultation with the neighborhood, as well as the amenities that are open to the public.

Aicha Woods, executive director of City Plan, said she feels the applicant “did a really good job” of addressing the safety concerns and the building code.

She said New Haven is an historic coastal city that has to manage the transition from polluted industrial water uses to clean uses, while also anticipating climate change and reducing dependence on fossil fuel.

Wooster Square

On the Epimoni project, which was the subject of numerous public meetings with Wooster Square neighbors concerned about a lack of affordable units, the commission approved the seven-story apartment complex and the public greenway.

It will feature studio, one-, two-, three- and four bedroom units and more than 1,000 square feet of commercial space.

It has already been approved as a Planned Development Unit and has gained zoning relief to allow apartments starting at a minimum of 850 square feet down from 1,000 square feet.

The developer will grant the city an easement for the greenway which will open up Fair Street. Darren Seid of Epimoni, a New York firm, while turning over the greenway to the city, said his company will provide the maintenance for the amenity.

Seid also owns the 299-unit Olive and Wooster apartment complex that is slated to open next month and is located next to the Fair Street project.

Rents at Olive and Wooster will range from $1,911 for studios to $5,700 for four-bedroom apartments, according to its website. It will feature 8,000 square feet of retail space.

Next to Olive and Wooster is The Whit, under construction by Hines, a Houston based builder. It will have 230 apartments.

Homeland Security bill would include $50 million for Coast Guard Museum in New London

Greg Smith 

U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., announced this week he is making a hard push for Congressional approval of a $50 million boost to the fundraising effort for construction of a National Coast Guard Museum in New London.

Murphy, Chairman of the U.S. Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security, included the $50 million in the Fiscal Year 2022 Homeland Security bill, which provides discretionary funding of $71 .7 billion.

It would mark the first time federal money would be directed toward construction of the museum, as it is exempt from previous restrictions, Murphy’s office said. Past work by the local congressional delegation, including Murphy, Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn. and U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney, D-2nd District, cleared a path for use of federal funding on design and engineering elements of the estimated $150 million museum project.

There has been $20 million in federal funds appropriated to the museum in prior years to preserve artifacts, and design, fabricate and install exhibits.

The new Homeland Security bill also includes $6 million for improvements to New London’s City Pier to accommodate the barque Eagle, which is expected to dock adjacent to the future Coast Guard Museum along the city’s waterfront. The museum would be located behind Union Station.

Murphy, in an op-ed this week in The Day, highlighted the importance of museum and need to jumpstart funding for construction.

“It makes no sense that the Coast Guard is the only historic branch of the armed services with no national museum. The other armed services have over 77 museums between them,” Murphy said.

Murphy said he views the museum as an opportunity for new educational experiences for children and touted its potential to bring more visitors to southeastern Connecticut, create jobs and funnel upwards of $20 million a year into the region’s economy.

Museum officials have said in the past a large federal commitment to the museum was likely to open the doors to more private donations. Fundraising for the museum began in 2014, around the time New London, under former Mayor Daryl Justin Finizio, donated a 0.37-acre site to the Coast Guard to accommodate the future museum.

Retired USCG Capt. Wes Pulver, president of the National Coast Guard Museum Association, welcomed the news of a large federal investment. The $50 million would inch the museum association closer to its $150 million fundraising goal.

The museum association reports $79 million in fundraising to date.

"Our Connecticut Delegation, led by Senator Murphy, Senator Blumenthal, Representative DeLauro, and Representative Courtney have been committed to working with their peers in Washington to secure additional authorities and resources in support of a premier National Museum in southeastern Connecticut,” Pulver said in a statement. “When coupled with previously committed Federal, State, and private funding from across our country, we are well postured to begin Construction Phase I in 2022."

The first phase of the project is expected to include bulkheading portions of the waterfront in anticipation of construction. The project remains in the permitting phase.

The museum association said the $50 million would be in addition to the $29 million raised in private donation towards construction of the $100 million museum. The association estimates $30 million will be needed for exhibits and furnishing, of which $20 million is already committed in federal funds.

The state of Connecticut has committed $20 million toward construction of a pedestrian bridge to ferry people over Water Street and the train tracks to the museum and city’s waterfront.

Blumenthal called it “absolutely shameful and inexplicable” that there is no museum to commemorate and celebrate the Coast Guard.

“It’s more than just a museum. It’s a tribute to a national treasure, our Coast Guard,” Blumenthal said.

Blumenthal said the passage of the spending bill will not come without obstacles but work is ongoing behind the scenes to persuade colleagues in Congress.

“Our task is to lay the groundwork for a vote on the floor. It’s really been a solid team effort,” Blumenthal said.

Courtney called the inclusion of $50 million in the spending proposal a "breakthrough step towards making this long-overdue museum a reality in New London."

"There are several steps left to go, but I will be strongly supporting this effort as the House and Senate start working on a final budget agreement for 2022,” Courtney said.

With government funding set to expire on Dec. 3, Congress needs to reach an agreement on Fiscal Year 2022 appropriations bills before then or pass a continuing resolution for Fiscal Year 2021. A continuing resolution would not include the new funding.

Century-old ex-factory on New Britain’s East Side on track to become apartment complex

DON STACOM

A roughly 250,000-square-foot former General Electric factory on New Britain’s East Side is on track to be converted to nearly 150 apartments.

A Boston developer intends to remodel the five-story building at 321 Ellis St. over the next two years, and the city has agreed to tax incentives to make the plan work.

WinnDevelopment is looking to secure state low-income housing tax credits for the project, and the city this summer amended its redevelopment district master plan. The plan is for a mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom units.

It won’t be age-restricted, but the city’s housing authority wants to get a large number of seniors housed there.

“This would fill a big need in that part of the city. We’re thinking of senior citizens — we’ve got a list of hundreds of people waiting for senior housing,” Mayor Erin Stewart said.

WinnDevelopment has provided no cost figures, but city officials estimate the project will be in the $50 million to $60 million range. If the state tax credits are approved, WinnDevelopment would buy the property from Ellis Street Holdings LLC and begin a large-scale renovation.

The building is the largest part of a complex that’s on both sides of Ellis Street and connected by three-story enclosed walkway above the road. WinnDevelopment would buy the section south of Ellis, the northern part would remain leased to small businesses and industries.

The complex, built in stages between 1916 and 1936, was once home to Landers, Frary and Clark, one of New Britain’s major employers in its industrial heyday. The company employed as many as 1,000 workers in the late 1930s, and produced an extensive line of irons, cake mixers, heaters and other electric appliances.

The company closed the factory in 1965; General Electric continued manufacturing there for four years before moving operations elsewhere. The building has been used by a collection of small-scale industries since then, and part of it has stayed mostly vacant.

New Britain is giving the company a 20-year phase-in of annual taxes. WinnDevelopment would pay about $50,000 in the first year of operations, and that rate would rise each year to reach $120,000 after 20 years.

WinnDevelopment is in negotiations with the state to renovate 290,000 square feet of space at the former Fairfield Hills psychiatric hospital in Newtown. The company two years ago converted East Haven’s former high school into The Tyler, a 70-unit apartment building for seniors.

WinnDevelopment has done extensive renovations of former mills and factories in Massachusetts, Rhode Island and elsewhere. Stewart said she’s confident the company can get the New Britain project done.

“This type of development is what they’re used to doing,” she said.

Biden Pares Back Policy Goals in Search of a Deal

Ken Thomas and Kristina Peterson

WASHINGTON—With a series of deadlines approaching, President Biden’s increased involvement in talks over his sweeping social-policy agenda shows the line he is walking between being a pragmatic deal maker, with hopes of delivering tangible political wins, and his desire to enact transformative, long-term progressive policies.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) said Sunday she was optimistic lawmakers would be able to agree this week to a framework on the legislation and vote on a separate, roughly $1 trillion infrastructure package before current highway funding expires next Sunday. The administration hopes to have a deal in hand before the president heads overseas this week on a trip that includes climate talks in Scotland.

“We’re pretty much there now,” Mrs. Pelosi said on CNN, noting that lawmakers were working to pin down sources of revenue for the package, likely including a new annual tax on billionaires’ unrealized capital gains.

Mr. Biden met Sunday at his Delaware home with key centrist Sen. Joe Manchin (D., W.Va.) and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) in an effort to resolve some lingering issues, including whether to expand Medicare benefits.

Mr. Biden has suggested areas to cut or pare back in the legislation, which carries a price tag of about $2 trillion, an amount that has been trimmed from a projected $3.5 trillion.

“He has given us ample time to figure out our priorities, but one of the principles is finality,” said Rep. Ritchie Torres (D., N.Y.), who said the president at a White House meeting with lawmakers last week indicated that it was time for the negotiations to wrap up. “He conveyed to us a sense of urgency.”

Long known as a moderate, Mr. Biden has embraced more liberal policies in recent years but remains roughly in the ideological center of the Democratic Party, which has itself moved to the left. He has sought consensus in the recent meetings, going around the room and asking lawmakers to describe their priorities, according to people familiar with the exchanges. In some cases, Mr. Biden, who spent nearly four decades in the Senate and another eight years as vice president, has spoken by phone with lawmakers on his walk to the White House residence at the end of the day, aides say.

But he has also said the U.S. needs to show that it can deliver on its commitments, a message he hopes to send when he travels to Europe Thursday for the Group of 20 nations summit in Rome and the Glasgow Climate Summit in Scotland.

The proposal, which his administration calls “Build Back Better,” served as the backbone of his policy agenda during the 2020 presidential campaign. Until recently, he has avoided describing in detail the terms of his negotiations. During a CNN town hall Thursday night, Mr. Biden spoke of his plans in lofty terms, saying his goal was to “build the middle class and the working class.” But he also pointed to a series of concessions he has made in search of a deal.

He said a proposal to provide 12 weeks of paid leave for new parents and caregivers had been reduced to four weeks. He said a plan to expand Medicare to include coverage for dental, vision and hearing was a “reach” because of opposition in part from Mr. Manchin and fellow centrist Kyrsten Sinema (D., Ariz.) but floated a potential $800 voucher to cover dental work. He confirmed that a tuition-free community college plan—a longtime priority for him and first lady Jill Biden—had been pulled because of a lack of support but that he hopes to increase Pell grant payments.

Behind the scenes, Mr. Biden told lawmakers Tuesday that Mr. Manchin’s opposition to a clean energy program, a key part of the bill’s climate change provisions, meant it would need to be scrapped. And he noted that Ms. Sinema had opposed raising tax rates on the wealthy and corporations, something he disclosed during the televised town hall.

Mr. Biden has held dozens of meetings and phone calls on the proposal, frequently conferring with Mr. Manchin and Ms. Sinema, who are viewed as a key to reaching an agreement on the bill. Mr. Biden huddled over a breakfast of omelets with Mr. Manchin this past week, according to a person familiar with the meeting.

“These negotiations are—how do you thread the needle here?” said Louisa Terrell, the White House director of legislative affairs.

In the House, some Democrats want Mr. Biden to make fewer compromises with the two senators.

“They need to continue to push this Congress, our colleagues in the Senate,” said Rep. Steven Horsford (D., Nev.), who spoke with Vice President Kamala Harris about it when she was in Las Vegas on Monday.

Mr. Horsford said he has urged Mr. Biden to resist Mr. Manchin’s push to add a work requirement and lower the income thresholds for the child tax credit, which according to the latest proposal would be extended at current levels for one more year instead of four. Mr. Biden said in the CNN town hall that he would oppose the work requirement on the child tax credit.

But Mr. Biden needs both Democratic centrists on board to win approval. Republicans remain firmly opposed to the plan and have accused the president of overreach, arguing that Democrats erred by immediately passing a $1.9 trillion Covid-19 relief package earlier this year without any GOP support. That set up a more difficult political environment, Republicans contend, to then pass another sprawling package.

“Because they shoveled out $2 trillion in spending there, it’s overheated segments of the economy, which has made it more difficult for them,” said Rep. Patrick McHenry of North Carolina, the top Republican on the House Financial Services Committee.

Democrats view the social-policy bill as central to their 2022 midterm strategy and have praised Mr. Biden’s deep involvement in the latest round of negotiations.

Still, some Democrats expressed concern that they set expectations too high by passing a $3.5 trillion budget resolution without first securing the support of the crucial centrist Democratic votes in the Senate.

“We’re not going down from $6 trillion or $3.5 trillion—we never had those numbers. … It’s given the impression that that’s what we have and that we’re cutting back from it,” said Rep. Scott Peters (D., Calif.). “What we have is zero. Anything we add is literally a plus and is a success.”

As contours of the plan emerged this past week, some expressed disappointment after it looked on track to fund a variety of programs for a shorter period. Many lawmakers had said they hoped to fund fewer programs for a longer stretch.

For example, many Democrats had hoped to make expanded Affordable Care Act subsidies permanent. Currently they are expected to be extended for three years, according to lawmakers and aides.

“Nobody’s going to notice the ACA subsidies if they only inch up or they expire in a year or two,” said Sen. Chris Murphy (D., Conn.).

In Tuesday’s meeting between Mr. Biden and moderate Democrats, lawmakers brought up worries that the short duration of many programs would set up a series of future policy cliffs, said Rep. Ami Bera (D., Calif.), who attended it.

“Concern was expressed in the room,” Mr. Bera said. “It does give us an opportunity over the next two to three years to actually see which programs have the biggest impact, but we are going to have our work cut out for us to extend some of these important programs.”

Liberal House Democrats, who pushed to include a broader array of programs for shorter durations, said they were confident the public would embrace them. Rep. Mark Pocan (D., Wis.), who attended a meeting of progressive lawmakers with Mr. Biden on Tuesday, praised the president’s negotiating style.

“He operates behind the scenes,” Mr. Pocan said. “He’s very effective, doesn’t do a public fight unless he has to and because of it, things are moving, I think really well.”

CT Construction Digest Friday October 22, 2021

City officials tour new Bristol Arts and Innovation Magnet School, see progress on reconstruction

Dean Wright

BRISTOL – City officials took a tour of the new Bristol Arts and Innovation Magnet School’s interior Wednesday to get a glance at the project’s progress and theater reconstruction.

“What was really needed was a new gymnasium because the old one doesn't conform to any physical education or team sports dimensions. We added a gym in the back,” said QA+M Architecture Architect Angela Cahill.

Cahill said among other desperately needed spaces in the old Bristol High School building was backstage space.

“The way the original building was constructed, the back of the stage wall was the back of the building and there was no place for performers to prepare and get into costume or build sets or anything that goes on in the backstage,” said Cahill. “We’re adding a two-story backstage addition that will include a scene shop and a costume shop and all that green space that performers need.”

The architect said that crews “pretty much gutted” the building.

“However, when you say gutted we didn’t knock down any of the demising walls between spaces because this building has such great bones,” said Cahill. “We are dealing with some smaller classroom sizes because this is 100 years-old. We would build an eight, 900 or maybe 1,000 square foot classroom now. Some of these classrooms are 700 and some are 800.”

Cahill said there were still “beautiful high ceilings” and “great proportions” to the classroom spaces, however.

“I believe that now all the (utility) services are coming to the building and now it’s getting detailed with construction inside,” she said.

The school is projected to be finished in June 2022.

Bristol Mayor Ellen Zoppo-Sassu joined the tour of the building along with City Councilman Greg Hahn.

“I had not been there for a few months,” she said. “It was great to see the progress being made and hear that there are approximately 100 people working on site every day with almost 25% of them being from Bristol. Those are extra benefits to these projects. The school and theater are going to be great additions to what is already a developing downtown.”

Tours revealed that the upper most floors of the school are beginning to be outfitted with dry wall as well as wood hutches for storage and other details. Lower floors still have steel framing exposed as workers continue to pull the structure together a piece at a time.

Ridgefield approves $2.9 million allocation from federal funds for sewer project

Alyssa Seidman

RIDGEFIELD — A resounding “aye” echoed through Veterans Park auditorium Wednesday night as residents voted to approve $2.9 million of federal American Rescue Plan monies for the Route 7 sewer project. Only a handful of “nays” could be heard from the audience.

The allocation will partially fund the construction of a new force-main sewer line connecting the District II plant on Route 7 to the upgraded District I plant on South Street. Voters approved an estimated $48 million for the projects in 2018, but the actual costs came in at more than $55 million, according to calculations from Ridgefield’s Water Pollution Control Authority.

The lowest bid for the Route 7 project came from M&O Construction Co., Inc. in New Milford at $8.3 million, approximately 40 percent higher than the initial estimate. The WPCA allocated $500,000 to narrow the funding gap, and additional grant funding could shave between $900,000 and $1.5 million off the total. The authority also ensured that any grants or rebates related to the project would be used to defray its overall cost, meaning the town would use less of the federal money.

Before public comment, WPCA Chairwoman Amy Siebert explained the need for the project and why town leaders didn’t want to delay its construction by going out to bid a second time.

The goal is to close the District II plant, construct a new pump station and pipe that wastewater to South Street for treatment. The consolidation addresses new regulations and environmental standards at the state and federal levels, while returning long-term operational cost savings, she said.

Since the price of building materials, equipment and labor has increased because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the expectation is any new bids would be higher than those that came in initially, Siebert said. She added that if ARPA funds weren’t allocated to bring the project to fruition, the town could potentially lose state funding and be subject to effluent permit violations.

“If we can get people’s support for this, this can help us not have to increase sewer user rates or taxes,” Siebert said. “Those of us who are on septic,” she added while raising her hand, “benefit as well by having these facilities upgraded for when our septic tanks are pumped out.”

Resident Susan Coco applauded this “strategic use” of ARPA funding while noting the project’s vitalness to the future of Ridgefield.

Resident Steve Jameson took issue with the proposal as the project would only benefit those serviced by the town’s sewage system, he said.

Resident Ed Tyrrell, the meeting’s moderator, voted against the appropriation. He said the project’s increased cost is not a result of COVID, but rather “bad estimating on the part of the WPCA.”

He also criticized town leaders for bringing the expenditure below $3 million and prompting a town meeting when a referendum would have provided “full public scrutiny.” “It violates the spirit of our charter,” he said.

Glori Norwitt, commissioner of the Ridgefield Economic and Community Development Commission, encouraged voters to look at the bigger picture.

“The police station, the fire station, the Boys & Girls Club, Main (Street) businesses are in the area served by this directly,” she said. “Everyone in this town will ... benefit from the sewer project.”

Massive warehouse proposed in South Windsor

Terry Corcoran

Aproposal to build a 359,000-square-foot warehouse in South Windsor is pending before two town land use boards.

The site plan application of property owner UW Vintage Lane II LLC of Glastonbury calls for building the warehouse on 30.3 acres bordered by Talbot Lane and Governors Highway.

The project, including building and parking, would occupy 5.3 acres of the land and have 54 loading docks, 118 parking spaces for trailers and 269 car spaces.

The owner has yet to say who would occupy the warehouse, but a fiscal impact report on the project from Donald Poland of brokerage firm Goman & York points to an ecommerce distribution site.

“Industrial space, especially warehouse and distribution space, is experiencing considerable growth and robust demand,” Poland wrote. “This is, in part, the result of Connecticut’s location between the New York and Boston markets, continued increases in ecommerce, and changing needs and requirements for modern warehouse and distribution space.”

The principal of UW Vintage Lane is Horseshoe Lane Associates LLC, which consists of Robert and Gianni Urso of South Windsor.

The Planning and Zoning Commission began a hearing on UW Vintage Lane’s request for site plan approval on Oct. 12 and will continue it Oct. 26 at 7 p.m. The property owner has agreed to a 65-day extension that gives the commission until Nov. 20 to act on the application.

The site plan application is also pending before the town’s Inland Wetlands/Conservation Commission, which continued its hearing Oct. 20. That commission must first approve the application before the Planning and Zoning Commission can act on it.

Several residents who live near the proposed warehouse expressed concerns about noise, truck traffic and the project’s impact on wildlife.

The properties slated for development are at 5 Talbot Lane, which is 1.29 acres; 25 Talbot Lane, 2.28 acres; 475 Governor’s Highway, 3.87 acres; and 551 Governor’s Highway, 22.93 acres. UW Vintage Lane acquired the parcels in March for a total of $2 million.

Construction's career crisis: How did we get here?

Zachary Phillips

A four-decade veteran of the construction industry, Greg Sizemore says he doesn't remember a time when there wasn't a "Help Wanted" sign on most jobsites.

When Sizemore — now the vice president of health, safety, environment and workforce development at Associated Builders and Contractors — started out as a laborer, he thought construction would just be a summer job. He recalls contractors looking for skilled and unskilled workers. Fast forward to today and the problem has only increased.

The issue is widespread: 92% of contractors have reported difficulty finding construction workers and of those, 42% said they have turned down work because of it, according to the most recent U.S. Chamber of Commerce Commercial Construction Index.

Here, Construction Dive takes a look at the historical factors leading to the crisis and the issues, both internal and external to the industry, that have led to the challenge to staff the country's jobsites.

The numbers

The construction careers crisis is one that has worsened for decades, but, like so much else, has also been worsened by the pandemic.

The number of construction workers in the U.S. hit an all-time high at 7.7 million workers in April 2006, until the Great Recession caused the number of workers to plummet. 2011 marked the low point of construction employment, with 2.1 million fewer workers than April 2006, according to Ken Simonson, chief economist for Associated General Contractors of America.

Beginning with 2011, however, employment numbers began steadily increasing. Total nonfarm payroll employment set records every month for five years through February 2020, Simonson said, until March of that year. The number of workers, seasonally adjusted, dropped from 7.6 million in February 2020 to 6.6 million in March 2020, a roughly 14% decline at the start of the pandemic, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. 

Construction has begun to climb out of that hole, but it still has yet to reach pre-pandemic employment numbers, while still seeing high demand for skilled labor that hasn't been met. 

More focus on higher education

One of the longest leading causes for construction's understaffing issue began about 40 to 50 years ago, when the country moved from an industrial to a post-industrial, service-based business economy, said Brian Turmail, vice president of public affairs and strategic initiatives for AGC.

The notion that every student should go to college rapidly spread, Turmail said, which was supported by the introduction of the GI Bill. 

The mark of success for many parents and their children has become the four-year degree, Sizmore said, and construction, plumbing, electrical work, masonry and other trades have become jobs for "someone else's kid."

In 1969, there were 8 million students enrolled in degree-granting postsecondary institutions, 5.8 million of which were full-time students, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. In 2019, there were a total of 19.6 million of those students enrolled, with 12 million as full-time students.

In addition, during those five decades, the number of women in college has skyrocketed: 57% of higher education students in 2019 were female. Construction has historically struggled to attract women to its workforce.

Less focus on the trades

The focus on higher education has led to high schools emphasizing reading and mathematics testing, both for the schools and for students, which has lessened the importance of, or removed altogether, classes helpful to the trades, like woodshop, said Anirban Basu, chief economist for ABC.

That's resulted in a large funding gap as well, Turmail said.

"For every dollar that the federal government puts in career technical education, which is about $20 billion a year, they put six into college — supporting the pre-K through 12 to college track," Turmail told Construction Dive. "So, the funding gap is $120 billion to $20 billion ... even though only about a third of the jobs in the United States require a four-year college degree."

Nevertheless, Sizemore pointed out, college is not the best route to a career for everyone. As of October 2019, 36 million Americans had some college education, but no degree and were no longer enrolled, according to the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. Others can take more than four years to finish their bachelor's degree. Those years have potential for a burgeoning worker to start and complete an apprenticeship and have a career.

Working conditions

"We've culturally devalued careers where you work with your hands and get dirty and you're exposed to the elements," Turmail said.

Construction is potentially dangerous. The hours are long and at times inconsistent. The workplace is outdoors and frequently moving. Workers can sustain long-term injuries or strain, even if they don't experience injuries on site. 

It's not just that working conditions can be dangerous, Turmail noted. The average construction jobsite opens before public transportation begins running each day. For a young person, getting up at 4 a.m. to go to work, while potentially not having a car, can feel like more of a sacrifice than someone with experience who's providing for a family, and is used to being woken up by their kids.

That combined with construction failing to demonstrate that it is a path to the American middle class, Basu said, has made it a hard selling point.

Other groups pour time, effort and money into recruitment services to show trade schools are a real option for high schoolers, but, Sizemore said, if they're not in the right ZIP code or sphere of influence with a local contracting group or trade group, its simply harder to get to those students and encourage them to take a chance on the trades.

Retention troubles

Some potential employees never even give construction work a real shot.

"I've heard (AGC) members say that, 'We have to hire two people for every position we need to fill because one's going to bounce out by the end of the week,'" Turmail said.

But where do those workers go? Turmail jested that they may turn to Starbucks, where the initial pay can be comparable, but they don't have the long-term career opportunities that they'd have in construction. Those who can find jobs in energy and manufacturing often choose positions in those industries, he said. 

That happened during the Great Recession as well, Basu said, as many workers left construction when there was an oil and natural gas boom, after a brief labor surplus of brought on by the economic collapse.

Other workers make career choices, Basu said, about the working conditions they want. Amazon has built fulfillment centers across the country, investing heavily during the pandemic and posting thousands of jobs. Though not known for stellar working conditions, Amazon warehouse jobs may be more enticing to workers who prefer to work indoors even though the pay is less, Basu said.

Retirement on the horizon

But retention doesn't just have to do with those leaving for other careers. The workforce is getting older, as the median age of construction workers reached 41, according to an analysis by the National Association of Home Builders.

During the pandemic, uncertainty over health and safety led workers across industries to avoid work if possible. Federal unemployment aid made that decision easier. 

Others with those same concerns "threw in the proverbial towel" and retired, Basu said. Knowing they were close to retirement already, many older workers saw the value of their assets, such as houses, appreciate during the pandemic. That made the decision to retire easier.