Ground officially breaks on new retail, luxury apartment development in downtown New Britain
NEW BRITAIN – It was an exciting and groundbreaking Tuesday
afternoon, literally, for both Jasko Development and the City of New Britain.
The duo hosted the unveiling of the architectural rendering for The Brit, a
brand-new mixed-use development downtown.
“This development, this project, is going to be nothing
short of transformative for downtown,” said Jack Benjamin, director of planning
and development at Jasko. “I look out in the crowd today and there are a lot of
faces around who have waited and worked for years if not decades to see
something like this materialize.”
This will be just the second project of this magnitude to be
done in the past 40 or 50 years.
“The first new ground up construction that we had was
Columbus Commons,” Mayor Erin Stewart said. “To do a project of this magnitude
takes somebody who has a unique vision to be able to see it through because it
is really difficult to find someone who says, ‘yeah, I’m going to demolish that
block and build new from the ground up.’”
Jasko Development took possession of the property about
eight months ago. At the end of August Jasko began demolition of the former
Burritt Bank and Jasko and the city officially broke ground at the site
Tuesday. Work will begin on the new development in the next two weeks.
“We expect to be completed hopefully this time next year if
everything moves quickly, that’s weather permitting,” said Avner Krohn,
chairman and CEO of Jasko Development.
Krohn brought up a few associates to help with the unveiling
of the rendering.
“I want to thank my wife, she puts up with a very crazy
developer,” he said with a laugh. “Without our in-house team at Jasko, like our
design team, this project doesn’t happen. We need a great team to put it all
together and come to fruition. I want to thank our lender Ion Bank; I want to
thank our equity because without them the team this project never happens.”
This is Jasko Development’s fifth project in downtown.
“It’s by far the largest and clearly the most significant
project that they’ve done to date,” said Gerry Amodio, executive director, New
Britain Downtown District. “And we’re all pretty familiar with the quality that
they do, promises kept, product provided in the time they say it is and a staff
that I call my friends and family at Jasko. “
The Brit will be six stories consisting of retail space on
the first floor and 107 luxury apartments above.
“I know (Krohn’s) not from the city, but the way he treats
his projects you would think that he was,” Stewart said. “He invests smartly
here, too, with the projects that he’s already done like the Andrews building.
He’s increased the quality of the housing that we have available here and I
think that’s important while keeping it affordable. I know it says luxury
apartments but it’s going to be market rate; I don’t want that to discourage
people.”
Krohn says they chose to name the building The Brit to pay
homage to the city and to have a young flare, which gears toward the 25 to 35
year old crowd they project will move into the building.
“I think it’s an awesome vibe it’s going to create,” Stewart
said.
Democrats begin to narrow their differences on Biden's agenda bill
Sean Sullivan, Seung Min Kim and Marianna Sotomayor, The
Washington Post
HOWELL, Mich. - Democrats in a flurry of private talks are
beginning to narrow their differences over the size of President Joe Biden's
sweeping safety-net bill, as liberals signal they are open to sizable
concessions on the scope of what could be the most far-reaching social
legislation in years.
The discussions, which remain highly fluid, suggest that
Democratic leaders are pushing to move beyond a series of angry intraparty
standoffs and focus instead on whether they can coalesce around a scaled-down package.
The outcome of the talks will also decide the future of a bipartisan
infrastructure bill that has been held hostage in the fight.
In a virtual meeting with about a dozen liberal Democrats on
Monday, Biden suggested a package in the range of $1.9 trillion to $2.2
trillion for the safety-net bill, according to people with knowledge of the
private discussion - significantly lower than his initial goal of $3.5
trillion.
Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., leader of the influential
Congressional Progressive Caucus, countered with a range of $2.5 trillion to
$2.9 trillion, according to three of the people, who spoke on the condition of
anonymity to discuss internal deliberations. The gap between Biden's maximum
and Jayapal's minimum marks a striking narrowing of differences from just last
week.
Biden signaled another potential compromise when asked by
reporters whether he would sign the bill if it includes the Hyde Amendment, a
provision banning the use of federal funds for abortions, as some centrists
want. "I'd sign it either way," said Biden, a position likely to
anger liberals.
While immersed in behind-the-scenes negotiations, Biden was
also trying to build support publicly for his plans. In a speech at a union
training facility here Tuesday, he downplayed the politics surrounding his
agenda and sought to emphasize the ways he said it would improve Americans'
lives.
"I want to set one thing straight: These bills are not
about left versus right, or moderate versus progressive, or anything that pits
Americans against one another," Biden said. "These bills are about
competitiveness versus complacency. They're about opportunity versus decay.
They're about leading the world or continue to let the world pass us by."
It is still unclear whether Democratic centrists, including
Sens. Joe Manchin III of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, would
agree to a figure in the range discussed by Biden and the liberal House
members, but the president has been in frequent contact with them in recent
days and suggested he knows what they would accept. Meanwhile, influential
liberals such as Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., have continued to lobby for the
$3.5 trillion figure.
Asked about Manchin after his speech, Biden said, "It
sure sounds like he's moving. I hope that's the case." Manchin on Tuesday
did not rule out a bill in the range $1.9 trillion to $2.2 trillion, CNN
reported.
But Manchin, asked about that Tuesday evening, reiterated
his preference for a figure of $1.5 trillion. "I think everybody knows I'm
at one-five," he said. "I've always been at one-five." He
declined to say whether he would be willing to entertain a higher number.
Beyond the numbers, the Democrats' newly pragmatic tone
suggests many in the party are concluding that, whatever their differences, the
collapse of Biden's agenda would be an overriding calamity. Operatives in both
parties say the Democrats are likely to lose the House next year, and it's
unclear when they would next have the ability to enact some of their longtime
goals.
But despite the flurry of talks, Democrats still face a
daunting task and the prospect of more derailments.
Even if they reach an agreement on the size of a social
spending bill, they must figure out precisely how to scale back the
legislation, which includes expanded Medicare benefits, universal
prekindergarten and free community college. That bill would then probably be
paired with the bipartisan $1 trillion traditional-infrastructure package
favored by centrists.
In his private discussions with lawmakers in recent days, Biden
has raised the idea of means-testing some programs, meaning only people below a
certain income level would qualify. Under questioning from reporters Tuesday,
Biden suggested that some provisions would probably be means-tested as part of
a compromise.
At Monday's meeting, Jayapal advocated a different approach
- keeping all the major elements of the safety net package but letting some
expire sooner to cut costs, according to two people with knowledge of the
discussion.
Some Democrats are betting that programs like free community
college or universal prekindergarten care would be popular enough if enacted
that it would be politically easy to renew them.
Jayapal has also been pushing to keep the spending number on
the high end. She told Biden in Monday's closed-door meeting that even the $3.5
trillion figure, which now seems certain to shrink, was a major compromise from
liberals' initial goals.
Democratic leaders say the range of $1.9 trillion to $2.2
trillion proposed by Biden for the social spending package could be acceptable
to Manchin and Sinema, the two holdout senators from the party's moderate wing
who wield enormous influence in an evenly divided Senate.
Still, Manchin has stressed the potential impact on the
nation's debt despite Biden's assurances that the bill would be paid for, and
Sinema, who has been negotiating directly with the White House, has declined to
publicly state her demands.
Biden's decision to hold long meetings early this week with
House moderates and liberals, but not with Sinema or Manchin, signal a desire
to build a consensus among Democrats beyond those two, said one White House
official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive strategy.
If successful, that could build pressure on Manchin and
Sinema to fall in line or risk being seen as the only roadblocks in the way of
a historic triumph for the party.
Biden has shown flashes of irritation in recent days about
the hesitancy of the two moderates in embracing his agenda. "I was able to
close the deal on 99 percent of my party," Biden said Monday. "I need
50 votes in the Senate. I have 48." The only holdouts, he added pointedly,
are "two. Two people."
Jayapal called Monday's meeting "very productive"
and added, "Progressives fought to get the full Biden agenda back on
track, and now we are beginning negotiations to deliver it to working people,
families and our communities."
The president spoke Tuesday at the International Union of
Operating Engineers Local 324 training facility, in a battleground area won
narrowly by President Donald Trump but represented by a centrist Democrat, Rep.
Elissa Slotkin. Pro-Trump protesters gathered nearby, prompting an apparent
reference from Biden and a reminder from the president of his electoral
victory.
Biden's travel strategy is guided in part by a desire to
show that his plans are popular in swing areas represented by at-risk
Democrats, according to the White House official.
He touted the infrastructure plan's investments in roads and
bridges Tuesday, as well as the social safety net's provisions to underwrite
the costs of education.
The president spoke against the backdrop of construction
equipment, including one yellow excavator with a "Build Back Better"
sign draped over the front. A large American flag hung from a tall crane.
Behind the scenes, Biden is diving deeper into the talks
with Democratic lawmakers.
On Tuesday morning, he met virtually with House Democrats
who represent competitive swing districts. In that session, he stressed that
all eyes are on the party to carry out its promises and said he would work for
the rest of his presidency to enact any items that are cut from the current
package, according to officials familiar with the conversation, who spoke on
the condition of anonymity to describe private talks.
The Democratic "front-liners" - that is,
vulnerable members - had a message for Biden, too, said the officials: The
party needs to start thinking about how to sell the expansive spending package
to voters in a way that emphasizes its economic benefits but doesn't overplay
expectations.
And as the Democratic lawmakers raised a litany of policy
priorities with Biden - such as climate change, Medicaid expansion,
prescription drug prices and the child tax credit - they stressed that they
needed both pillars of the president's domestic agenda passed to shore up their
reelection bids.
With even the party's liberals now accepting that the social
spending package must shrink significantly from $3.5 trillion, Biden and the
lawmakers he's been meeting with have been more vigorously exploring options
for paring it back.
The president in particular brought up the notion of
limiting who qualifies for certain benefits such as free community college,
according to people familiar with the Monday and Tuesday discussions. Biden did
not appear to take a position for or against doing so but raised the idea,
these people said.
Biden said Tuesday that his meeting with moderate Democrats
went well and that they are on the same page with him. But in some ways,
relations between the White House and the centrists have appeared to worsen
lately.
Notably, Biden drew anger from some moderates last week by
effectively siding with liberals who refused to vote for the infrastructure
bill unless a deal was reached first on the social spending plan.
The warming relationship between Biden and the left, on the
other hand, was evident during Monday's conversation, the people with knowledge
of the discussion said. Biden told the liberal lawmakers they were some of his
biggest supporters, adding that he had seen them praise his agenda on
television news programs.
Some liberals returned the compliment. "I have trust in
the president's judgment to come up with a fair compromise that's going to move
the agenda forward," said Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., who participated in
Monday's meeting.
WATERBURY — A two-year effort to rebuild a quarter-mile
section of downtown East Main Street is nearly done, but not without one more
boost in costs.
The city originally hired Milone & MacBroom to a
$543,000 contract providing construction oversight. After three subsequent
amendments adding time and tasks to the contract, the city is paying the
company – now called SLR International Corp. – $666,599.
Waterbury Development Corp. is now asking the Board of
Aldermen to allow another increase, this time for $181,948. That would bring
construction oversight costs on the project to $848,548, 56% more than the
original contract. The board is expected to vote on the request at its Oct. 12
meeting.
City officials blame much of the increase on surprise delays
and unexpected work that came up after the street was opened, exposing
century-old utility pipes in locations other than were pictured on city utility
maps.
Dayton Construction was paid $2.7 million for a yearlong
project to replace and repair water and sewer utilities under East Main Street
between the city Green and police headquarters. Oxford-based Guerrera
Construction then was brought in under a $2.9 million contract to rebuild the
street and sidewalks. The job also requires new lighting, seating, bus shelters
and trash receptacles.
Guerrera has until Nov. 11 to “substantially complete” its
work under its contract with the city. Officials expect roads and sidewalks to
be done in this time. Lights, seating, bus shelters and other tasks will take
longer due to supply-chain delays, officials say. Guerrera has until Jan. 19,
2022, to finish completely.
The Milone & MacBroom (SLR) contract last was changed in
October 2020, adding $100,000. At the time, a former WDC head blamed the
increase on COVID-19 related delays, added work, and inaccurate and outdated
maps of underground utilities.
Thomas Hyde, current head of WDC, said Tuesday it was known
at the time that increase would not be enough. The extra $100,000 approved in
October 2020 was drawn from the city’s water department, Hyde noted.
He said agency staff counted on that to carry the project
until the state came through with $3.2 million in grant support for the East
Main Street project. Officials didn’t want to rely more heavily on water
department funds than was necessary, Hyde said.
State authorization of the $3.2 million transportation grant
for the project was confirmed in April. Hyde said the $100,000 approved in 2020
is only running out now, prompting the current request.
“With the last amendment, we had funding up until this
point,” Hyde said, adding this last infusion of cash will be enough to provide
oversight through the end of construction.