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