Rochambeau Bridge to open new westbound span between Newtown and Southbury
NEWTOWN - Engineers will open the rebuilt westbound span of
the Rochambeau Bridge at the Southbury border on Monday and begin work on the
second half of the $53
million reconstruction project.
“(It’s) still ahead of schedule,” said state Rep. Mitch
Bolinsky, who represents Newtown, in a recent release. “We expect the new
westbound span to be open to traffic during the week of January 3, 2022.”
Now that construction of the westbound span that carries
Interstate 84 over the Housatonic River is complete, work will focus on
rebuilding the eastbound span, expected to begin in the spring
“The new, temporary crossover being installed to make way
for the eastbound closure will be engineered to have better vision, be safer,
be more user-friendly and be easier to navigate than the one being removed,
hopefully minimizing the slowdowns of the original.” Bolinsky said.
The Rochambeau
Bridge project, which began last summer and is expected to be complete by
the end of 2023, is one of three high-profile construction projects underway in
Newtown by the state Department of Transportation.
State work to reconfigure Route 34 at I-84’s Exit 11 is
expected to continue through the spring of 2024, Bolinsky said.
“Significant improvements to the area of Wasserman Way,
Route 34 and the area around and feeding Newtown High School will reduce volume
by as much as 60 percent in the Wasserman-Berkshire intersection by creating
direct access to I-84 from northbound Route 34 and the area fed by Toddy Hill
Road,” Bolinsky said. “Simply put, this is the beginning of the state's portion
of what may be the most significant traffic flow, safety and congestion-relief
project for Newtown in decades.”
“This project will create a noticeable, positive impact on
the entire Exit 11 area,” Bolinsky continued. “From improved sight-lines to
dedicated turn-lanes, greater safety and far less congestion.”
Further south on Route 34, state work is also nearly
complete to update traffic lights at the intersections of Gray’s Plain and
Bennett’s Bridge roads.
“At long last, this very dangerous Sandy Hook intersection
is only days away from the activation of a new traffic control device,”
Bolinsky said. “Known for terrible sight lines and fast-moving traffic on Rt.
34, it will be a welcome change for anyone who drives here on a regular basis.”
Development projects coming to Torrington in 2022
TORRINGTON — As 2022 arrives, city leaders are preparing
themselves for new projects and developments involving businesses and places to
live. Several of those projects, including apartment building on Franklin
Street, have already begun; others, such as a project to repair and install new
sidewalks on East Main Street, are still in the planning stages.
The largest and likely most costly development in Torrington
is the middle-high school building project, which voters approved in 2020 for
$159 million. Most recently, the school building committee asked the City
Council to borrow $20 million more to supplement the project, saying it was
over budget because of construction costs and other factors. Voters will be
asked to approve that funding in a referendum set for Jan. 25.
The city recently asked residents to participate in a
housing survey, asking what type of home they had, what they preferred, and
what they think is needed. City Planner Marty Connor commented at the time that
“We’re more fortunate that most towns in the area, in that we have some
affordable housing ... But we may not have the kind folks are looking for.
Empty-nesters, or a young person who wants to live and work downtown, might
have another kind of housing in mind. That’s what the study is for. A lot of
other towns in the northwest corner don’t offer much in alternative housing,
but we certainly do.”
The Pennrose
project , dubbed Riverfront, a mixed-use, mixed-income residential
community replacing the former Torrington Manufacturing Company site on
Franklin Street. The project is expected to be completed in 2022.
The completed project will include a mix of one-, two- and
three-bedroom units available for a range of incomes. Of the total 60
apartments, approximately 75 percent will be reserved for households earning up
to 70 percent of the area median income, and the remaining will be rented at
market rate, according to Pennrose representatives.
Another proposal for a row of buildings on Water Street
known by many as the Hotchkiss Bros. factory buildings, are
also eyed for development using a similar concept. A development group
led by Paul Janerico, owner of Water’s Way and Paydirt LLC, presented the City
Council with a concept design of the properties at 199 Water St., formerly
known as the Hotchkiss Bros. factory, north to 229 Church St., formerly known
as the Minetto building.
The plan calls for 155 apartments, ranging from studios to
four-bedroom units. The project will include razing some of the more damaged
sections of the buildings and restoring others that can be saved, Janerico
said. The project proposes having a retail store area, restaurants, and
amenities for the tenants such as dog-washing stations, a gym, a community
room, a swimming pool and hot tub, according to the concept drawings.
That idea was met with many concerns when it was presented
as a concept plan to the City Council earlier this year, mainly because of the
impact it could have on the school district. In August 2021, the City Council
approved a Memorandum of Understanding, which gave the developer the green
light to file applications for the project. To date, no applications have been
filed.
Helping businesses grow
Connor, who retired from his job as city planner in
December, said Torrington has tried its best to be business friendly, while
choosing projects that will benefit the city.
With a focus on improving the downtown entertainment and
dining district, town officials in 2021 welcomed the Sophie Gallery on Water
Street, joining Five Points Gallery; another one, the Iota, is opening this
year, according to developer and Torrington Downtown Partners member Steve
Temkin.
The Torrington Downtown Partners recently purchased the
former home of the Torrington Beauty Academy, where a virtual golf center will
open sometime this year, and the partners will use as its headquarters.
On Main Street, the former Libby building near the Warner
Theatre, now known as the Clayton, has been completely renovated into
apartments, many of which are occupied. The building’s owner, Vincent
Cappelletti, bought the building in 2019. Cappelletti has said he wants to find
a tenant for the storefront on the street-level floor of the Clayton to be used
as a diner.
Another restaurant opening in 2022 is Geppetto, which was
delayed in 2021 by a small interior fire, as well as supply chain problems.
Connor said a number of spaces are still available for more restaurants and
businesses.
The Yankee Pedlar
In the fall of 2021, Mayor Elinor Carbone told the City
Council that she and city attorney Vic Muschell had taken legal
action against the owners of the shuttered Yankee Pedlar inn on Main
Street. The mayor said recently that settling the situation surrounding the
historic property, which stands across the street from the Warner Theatre, was
one of her goals.
The inn has not been used since Jayson
Hospitality bought the building in 2014. It was gutted several years
ago and since has sat vacant — and vulnerable to fire, vandalism and
trespassing, according to city officials. Over the last few years, the interior
was stripped, making it more vulnerable to decay, Carbone said, adding that the
building’s roof was also a concern.
As a result of concerns officials said they have about
safety and liability, the city had sued the owners in January, claiming the
hospitality company owes money for fines and other costs.
The city gave the owner extensions to pay fines and begin
remediating the building, but nothing happened and the building continued to
sit unoccupied, officials said. In January 2021, officials opted to use a state
statute regarding abandoned and blighted properties to protect the building and
sue the owner.
Danbury’s largest proposal for apartments, shops and offices will undergo its first review in 2022
DANBURY - A proposed development that would transform 32
vacant acres of Mill Plain Road on the city’s booming west side into an
11-building complex of apartments, offices, shops and continuing care beds will
come up for its first public scrutiny in the new year.
Plans by Danbury-based
developer Albert Salame to build 200 apartments, a 90-bed continuing
care facility, and a handful of low-rise buildings for offices, retail and
entertainment near the west side campus of Western Connecticut State University
will be reviewed by the city’s Planning Commission during a public hearing on
Jan. 19.
“We have worked for many years to develop this project, said
Salame, referring to plans dating to 2005, when he was marketing the parcel as
a science
park. “Hopefully this will satisfy this generation…and future generations.”
Salame is referring to a plan unveiled in October that would
create 1,000 parking spaces and at least 500 car trips daily in the heart of
Mill Plain Road - the fastest-growing commercial corridor in Danbury.
Blueprints call for four new buildings where the land is
zoned commercial between Amity Lane and Crestdale Road - a bank with a
drive-thru, a 100-seat restaurant, a 30,000-square-foot building for shops, and
a freestanding retail building intended as a coffee shop.
Further back in the property behind those four buildings are
plans for a two-story structure with offices and retail, a separate
51,000-square-foot office building with an underground garage, and a
three-story continuing care facility with 90 beds.
In the northern-most part of the property which is zoned
residential and abuts WCSU’s westside campus, plans call for three four-story
buildings with a total of 200 apartments, ranging from studios to 3-bedroom
units. Near the apartment cluster are plans for a 3-acre park with a clubhouse,
a pool, and tennis courts.
The plan, known as WestConn Park is the largest development
of its kind in Danbury, which continues to be one of the fastest-growing cities
in the state. Most of the commercial and residential building is happening on
the west side, in areas such as Mill Plain Road.
One mile west of the WestConn Park proposal, construction is
underway on a 45,000-square-foot Caraluzzi’s
Market and liquor store, for example. Further west on Mill Plain Road
near the I-84 Exit 2 exchange, a medical marijuana dispensary named The
Botanist opened in October in a converted bank building. Finally,
three blocks east of the WestConn Park site, a virtual reality-themed “extreme
play” arena that opened in a former fitness center got permission
to serve alcohol in the facility’s second-floor café this summer.
“We may have wanted the entertainment district to be on Main
Street, but it turned out to be on Lake Street and Mill Plain,” said City
Council member Paul Rotello at a recent meeting. “You can recreate there and
have amazing dinners every night of the week and never go to the same place
twice in a month.”
Salame, whose developments include the Stop & Shop plaza
just east of the WestConn Park site, said he is hopeful about the prospects of
a reopened
Maybrook commuter rail line from Danbury to Southeast, N.Y. The track
runs parallel to I-84 and Mill Plain, on the other side of the street from the
WestConn Park site.
At the
same time, the top complaint elected leaders hear from Danburians along with
concerns about overcrowding in the schools is traffic congestion and problems
related to the city’s race to keeps its roads updated.
Expect
planners in January to question the developer’s consultants about how much
extra traffic WestConn Park will put onto Mill Plain Road and how much extra
rain runoff the development will put into the city’s storm drains.
State approves $61M for Meriden highway interchange project
Mary Ellen Godin
MERIDEN — The state Bond Commission recently approved $61
million in funding to begin phase I of a project to improve the Interstate 691,
Interstate 91 and Route 15 interchange. It also provided money to begin road
paving in the city’s downtown.
“We hosted a viewing party (for the interchange work) over
the summer,” said Director of Public Works Howard Weissberg. “We’ve been
working with DOT to provide communication and updates. The DOT has been great
working with us on this.”
The project to redesign and rework the troublesome highway
junction is split into three phases, with the first phase addressing the
northwestern section of I-691 to I-91.
The design phase and noise study were completed in the fall.
Requests for qualifications went out in the fall, and requests for proposals
are underway. The design/build contract will be awarded next summer.
Construction is expected to begin in fall 2022 and end in the spring of 2025.
“This project is designed to improve safety and congestion,”
DOT project manager Sebastian Cannemela said in August.
Over the course of three years, the DOT has recorded 90
crashes along I-91 northbound near the junction, with 17 injuries. Of those, 26
were rear end crashes indicative of congestion, 21 were sideswipe crashes,
indicative of weaving, and 31 were fixed object collisions indicating a vehicle
went off the road.
The first phase of the project is estimated to cost more
than $57 million and the overall cost of all three phases is estimated at
around $330 million. Roughly 120,000 vehicles travel I-91 north daily, while
80,000 travel I-691 east, according to project engineers.
The first phase includes making a two-lane connection
eastbound from I-691 to I-91 north. The project involves widening the existing
ramp from I-691 east to I-91 north to two lanes and widening I-91 north to
accommodate an auxiliary lane from the interchange to the Middletown rest
area. Work consists of redesigning exit 11 on I-691 to add a lane and rebuild a
two lane bridge at the merge to I-91 north. The Preston Avenue exit will also
be reconfigured with two lanes and the existing bridge replaced.
Engineers don’t expect any lane closures during peak hours.
“We gathered back in 2015 to begin our discussions on that
choke point in particular,” said Mayor Kevin Scarpati. “It’s taken a long time
but we’re finally at a point where money is being allocated. Howard is in touch
with DOT to focus on our residents but also commuters who want to save time
while traveling through that portion of the city.”
The state also approved funding for downtown
repaving on West Main Street, Colony Street, Hanover Street, State Street,
and Grove Street. The project is being coordinated with a traffic signaling
project underway.
“One of the challenges was coordinating the paving with the
traffic project,” Weissberg said. “We are putting in mast arms starting in the
spring. It’s like two moving targets.”
The city will begin issuing requests for proposals on the
paving project, estimated to cost $1.2 million. The work is completely
state funded.
The eventual goal is to make South Grove, Cook Avenue and
Hanover Street two way roads. West Main Street will remain one way.
“We’re very excited,” Weissberg said. “We want to get
the contractor out in March to begin the sidewalk work and upgrade ramps.
We’re going to be very busy.”
The road paving, new sidewalks, new traffic
signals and eventual two-way traffic will go a long way to improving
downtown, said Scarpati.
“It’s tied into quality of life and economic
development that we are trying to enhance in the downtown area,” Scarpati said.
“The roads are in poor condition. While we’ve done a lot with downtown, there’s
still more to be done.”
Public hearing scheduled for solar panel project in Southington
Devin Leith-Yessian
SOUTHINGTON — A public hearing is scheduled for Tuesday to
solicit public feedback on a proposal to install solar panels on property owned
by Rogers Orchards.
The hearing is being held by the Planning and Zoning
Commission, which is evaluating a special permit application to allow the
project to go forward. The applicant, Energy Venture Management, Inc., is
seeking to install 18,800 square feet of ground-mounted panels to the rear of
the orchard’s farm store at 320 Long Bottom Road.
The owners of Rogers Orchards were not available for comment
and calls to Energy Venture were not returned.
Town zoning regulations allow solar panel arrays to take up
no more than "one-half the footprint of the principal structure or 600
square feet, whichever is greater." The application notes the
principal structures on the property total 41,500 square feet, meaning the
proposed array would amount to 45.3 percent of the footprint.
Energy Venture’s application states while the property is
zoned for residential use, which has limitations on the installation of solar
panels, it has historically been for commercial use as an orchard.
“We are asking for a variance to the above Zoning
Regulations as this is a unique situation. The parcel of land while in a
Residential Zoned area is a Commercial property,” the application says.
The application also says that the panels would be located
far enough from the property line to conform with setback requirements and
would be shrouded by trees and structures. The town has notified six property
owners within 500 feet of 320 Long Bottom Road about the hearing.
Construction is also underway on a 37-acre solar panel array
at 1012 East St., near YMCA Camp Sloper. The 4.7-megawatt project by
Hartford-based solar company Verogy could generate enough electricity "to
power 1,126 average homes for one year,” according to the company.
The Connecticut Siting Council, which oversees the placement
of major electricity infrastructure, granted the project conditional approval
in May 2021. Verogy notified the council in August that work was beginning.
“Construction is well under way,” the company said in a
recent statement. “From an electrical perspective, the site was energized on
12/27/2021. We will continue construction and other site work to complete and
stabilize the project site through the first quarter of 2022.”
The project was opposed by Karabin Farms, which argued to
the state Siting Council that the farmland the solar panels were installed on
should be preserved for agricultural use.
The 103-acre parcel that the panels were placed on is owned
by the Catholic Cemeteries Association, which had leased the land to Karabin
Farms for growing hay and other crops.
The state Department of Agriculture ruled that sufficient
measures were being taken to preserve the value of the farmland impacted by the
project, including allowing sheep to graze throughout the site and adding
beehives. Paul Zagorski, an attorney for Karabin Farms, wrote to the Siting
Council arguing that the decision underestimated the extent of work that would
be required to rehabilitate the land for agricultural use after the 25 year
lifespan of the solar panels.
Long-awaited Sherman Street bridge replacement to start this spring in Norwich
Norwich — A project that has been designed and
redesigned over the past decade now is on the calendar for construction to
begin April 1.
The city advertised for bids last month for a
contractor to replace two bridges on Sherman Street that cross over the Yantic
River. Bids are due Jan. 19, and construction on the project is expected to
start April 1 and run through fall of 2023.
The project will replace the main bridge, which dates to
1955, as well as a smaller bridge over an adjacent river canal. The larger
bridge was built in 1955 and is rated in poor condition by the state Department
of Transportation, with the substructure labeled as satisfactory. The smaller
bridge was built in 1920 and reconstructed in 1964 but is rated even lower at
“serious” condition with a substructure in poor condition.
The estimated $10 million project — paid for with 80%
federal funds, 10% state funds and 10% city money — likely will cause
traffic headaches for everyone from city residents to ambulance drivers, school
buses and students walking to Norwich Free Academy from Asylum Street and
nearby neighborhoods.
The Sherman Street bridge is a major crossing point over the
Yantic River, and detours will take drivers miles away along New London
Turnpike to Norwichtown or West Main Street into downtown.
“It’s going to be a challenge,” Police Chief Patrick Daley
said of the traffic. “We expected it to be a challenge. I hope the public is
patient and cooperative. There’s no easy detour, because it’s crossing a
river.”
Public Works Director Patrick McLaughlin said city officials
have been talking to school system officials about the pending construction and
detours.
Construction is slated to begin April 1 with utility work on
the Asylum Street side of the bridge before the bridge is completely closed to
traffic for the majority of two construction seasons in 2022 and 2023,
McLaughlin said. During the winter of 2022-23, the bridge will be reopened as
construction shuts down, but it will close again in spring of 2023 until
completed.
The project calls for replacing the two spans with one
“clear span,” which will be raised up 18 inches to avoid potential damage by
the flood-prone Yantic River.
Currently, a large sewage pipe is suspended from the bridge,
exposed to the weather and potential damage from flood-borne debris rushing by
beneath the bridge. The project calls for incorporating the sewage pipe into
the new bridge substructure, which will be “a huge help” to better protect the
pipe, Norwich Public Utilities spokesman Chris Riley said. NPU will construct a
pump station on the Asylum Street side of the river as part of the project.
Riley said all four city utilities, water, sewer,
electricity and natural gas, cross the Sherman Street bridge. All four services
will be upgraded and modernized with the new bridge construction.
The bridge also will be shifted slightly to the north to
better line up the intersection with Asylum Street, which now features a sharp
right turn from Sherman onto Asylum, difficult for school buses and trucks.
Asylum Street will be raised about 18 inches at the intersection as well to
match the height of the new bridge, McLaughlin said.
The three-way stop signs at the Sherman-Asylum intersection
installed several months ago will remain in place. The three-way stop was planned
as part of the bridge replacement, but the city installed the two new Asylum
Street stop signs early, and McLaughlin said it has worked well to ease traffic
turning from Sherman onto Asylum Street.
The sidewalk on the new bridge will shift from the north
side to the south side of the bridge.
During construction, the vehicular entrance to the Upper
Falls Heritage Park, on Sherman Street just past the bridge, will be closed.
The park will remain open to pedestrians through a stairway access a bit farther
up Sherman Street.
Proposed Route 2 luxury RV campground under review in Preston
Preston — Plans for a controversial RV campground at
the junction of routes 2 and 164 will dominate the agendas for the Inland
Wetlands and Planning and Zoning commissions in January.
The plan by Blue Camp CT LLC, the company created by
Maryland-based Blue Water Development Corp. for this project, calls for
a resort recreational campground on three parcels totaling about 65 acres
of land owned by the Mashantucket Tribal Nation. The land fronts on Route 2,
and abuts Avery Pond, where the developer proposes to build a “safari
tent” camping area, a floating dock and an elevated boardwalk for golf cart
access to the shore campsites.
Blue Water Development has entered into a lease agreement
with the Mashantuckets for the property that now consists of open fields,
wetlands, brush and forested areas. The property had once been farmed, and
later was used for a sand and gravel operation. A residential house and other
buildings were torn down years ago.
The 304-unit project, called Bluewater Recreational
Campground Resort at Avery Pond, is made up of 104 drive-thru RV sites, each
with 2,424 square feet of space; 169 back-in RV sites, each with 2,223 square
feet; four compact RV sites with 1,819 square feet, and 27 safari tent sites
with a minimum 1,500 square feet. The proposed campground would be seasonal,
running from about April 1 through Oct. 31.
In addition to the campsites, the project would have a 5,000-square-foot
welcome center, three 1,560-square-foot bath houses, a 1,640-square-foot
pavilion, a 3,350-square-foot maintenance building, a 3,857-square-foot
swimming pool, a 950-square-foot splash pad, an 1,800-square-foot volleyball
court, a 5,033-square-foot playground, two 1,288-sqaure-foot bocce areas, two
7,000-square-foot tennis courts, a 118-foot-long floating dock in Avery Pond
and a 12-foot-wide golf cart boardwalk to the safari tent area in the northwest
portion of the site.
Parking areas and a private road network through the
property also are proposed.
Members of the wetlands and planning commissions toured the
property in December, accompanied by dozens of Preston
residents. Documents, including the site plan, wetlands reports, maps,
comments from outside agencies and some written comments from residents, are
posted on the commissions’ pages on the town website, preston-ct.org.
The wetlands commission opened a public hearing on the
project Dec. 21 that featured a two-hour presentation by project attorney Harry
Heller of Montville. The commission will continue the hearing, with residents
scheduled to speak, at its Tuesday, Jan. 18, meeting. The hearing portion will
begin at 8 p.m. at Preston Plains Middle School.
If the wetlands commission cannot complete the hearing that
night, it will need to request a 35-day public hearing time extension from
the applicant, Town Planner Kathy Warzecha said. Once the hearing is concluded,
the wetlands commission will have 65 days to review and vote on the
application.
In addition to the work in the pond for the floating dock
and along the lake shore, the wetlands commission must review plans for
stormwater retention, erosion and sediment, and temporary disturbances to areas
near the wetlands during construction.
The town’s professional wetlands consultant, Joseph R.
Theroux, submitted a 17-page report on his review of the project’s wetlands
impacts and made several recommendations for the commission.
Although residents have yet to speak at the wetlands
hearing, several submitted written comments to the commission in opposition to
the project.
Gary Piszczek, chairman of the town Conservation and
Agricultural Commission, acknowledged that his commission has no regulatory
authority over the project but called the proposed floating dock and elevated
boardwalk “a long term adverse environmental impact to the Avery Pond
ecosystem.” He also noted that ownership of the pond itself is in question.
“A key question of concern to the Conservation Commission is
who actually owns Avery Pond, a cornerstone of the campground development
according to the applicant,” Piszczek wrote in his comments. “The answers we
received were no one knows, or no one at all. If no one owns Avery Pond, then
our view is that everyone does and should.”
He continued that the concerns of the residents “should
weigh heavily” on the wetlands commission as it reviews the potential impacts
of the project.
Land for the proposed campground is mostly in the town’s
Resort Commercial zone, with one part in a residential zone. In both zones,
campgrounds are allowed through a special exception permit from the Planning
and Zoning Commission, which requires a public hearing.
The PZC is scheduled to open its public hearing at 7 p.m.
Tuesday, Jan. 25, at Preston Plains Middle School. Warzecha said the commission
can open the hearing and start the review process before the wetlands
commission completes its process.
The Blue Camp application to the planning commission called
the project a “luxury level hospitality property” compatible with the Resort
Commercial zone and said the project design would be a “low profile use” with
landscaped buffers planned between the campground and neighboring properties.
The application pointed out that the town’s Route 2 Resort
Commercial zone has been “primarily fallow” since its inception, and the
project would be “a significant benefit,” attracting vacationers who would
support other businesses in the town and surrounding communities.
Salvatore will transform Hartford’s Downtown North neighborhood in 2022
Norm Bell
These are exciting times in Hartford’s Downtown North area.
Dunkin’ Donuts Park has become a civic gem.
Years of talk and litigation have given way to meaningful
redevelopment efforts.
Now developer Randy Salvatore, the man behind resurrecting
The Goodwin as a boutique hotel, is promising 2022 will bring earth-shaking
change.
Literally.
His company’s earth-moving equipment is prepping to make
real progress on his grand $200 million plan for his North Crossing mixed-use
development.
The 328-space parking garage is up and the first building’s
270 apartments should be ready for occupancy about the time the Yard Goats
throw out the first pitch this season.
What comes next isn’t quite as clear, Salvatore explains.
There are plans for 550 more apartments to be built in two phases. Plus lots
more parking.
There is going to be a grocery store, but just where and
when remains in flux. Would-be operators balked at the original site and
Salvatore is now shopping a site with adjacent parking. If an operator steps
forward, that project could move ahead quickly.
If not, he’s ready to start on more residential units as
soon as the city signs off on the final plans. The second phase of North
Crossing recently gained momentum after the state Bond Commission approved a
$13.6 million loan for the project, which will be funneled through the Capital
Region Development Authority (CRDA).
Somewhere not far downstream is more commercial space,
featuring restaurants and entertainment venues.
By any measure, it’s a major undertaking and not one either
Salvatore, the city or the Downtown North community could afford to see damaged
by the impending financial collapse of the nearby Hilton Hotel.
So, armed with the promise of funding support, Salvatore has
agreed to take over the top dozen floors of the 22-story hotel and convert them
into an additional 147 new apartments. The Bond Commission also recently
approved an $11 million loan to help fund the conversion.
“I have a huge investment in the DoNo project, which we are
building right next door [to the hotel], and reputationally if this hotel were
to close it would be a huge black eye to the city of Hartford and it would have
ripple effects throughout,” Salvatore said. “So, I got involved to try and
figure out some way if we could keep this together.”
Special sauce
Converting hotel rooms into residences isn’t a new concept
for Salvatore and the Stamford-based RMS Cos. Yes, those are his initials. RMS
has projects — condos, apartments, hotels, even UConn dorms — across the state.
It’s an operation that’s grown incrementally, success after success.
After graduating from The Wharton School with a degree in
economics, Salvatore thought finance was his field but a year at Coopers &
Lybrand convinced him he needed to shift gears.
Three years in commercial real estate gave him the
underpinning to relaunch as a developer. It also provided an unusual
opportunity that started his career as a builder.
As a broker, he had leased some office space but the
would-be tenant was on the verge of backing out after bids for the build-out
came in high.
Faced with the prospect of losing his commission, Salvatore
jumped in and assembled a team of subcontractors to do the job at a reasonable
price. The project turned out well and everybody walked away happy. Then other tenants
in the building started asking Salvatore if he’d bid on their build-out
projects.
Today, his crews do much of the work — from excavation to
steel work — on RMS projects. The organization is vertical, Salvatore explains.
From design to construction, sales and leasing to management, RMS wants to
handle as much in-house as possible.
As a developer, his first project was a modular home on a
$70,000 plot of land. His first loan officer had been his youth basketball
coach. Another modular home led to some single-family residential and condo
projects.
In 2008, the Stamford YMCA was in dire financial shape, not
unlike the Hartford Hilton today. Salvatore thought he saw a way to turn the
Y’s residential tower into a condo project. He couldn’t get it to pencil. But a
colleague’s idea of a hotel made sense and RMS was suddenly in the hotel
business.
The RMS hotel portfolio now includes The Blake in New Haven,
The Lloyd in Stamford, Hotel Zero Degrees in both Danbury and Norwalk and The
Goodwin. It also has a set of residences for UConn students in Stamford.
Its rental communities stretch from Canter Green in Union
Township, New Jersey, to four properties at City Crossing in New Haven — Aura,
Parkside, The Pierpont and The Maddox. There are townhomes at Sleepy Hollow in
Stamford, Mayfair Square in Danbury. There is also an age-restricted complex,
Simeon Village, in Bethel. And then there is North Crossing in Hartford.
The special sauce for RMS is amenities. As Salvatore
explains it, today’s renters crave social interaction. So North Crossing will
include yoga space, bowling lanes, a golf simulator, grilling pits, pool and
common areas with a mix of coffee bars, and quiet work areas.
A rooftop deck will offer entertainment space with a view of
the baseball games. Pets are important to renters so the buildings and grounds
will cater to their special needs.
Marketing of the first residential units will gear up early
in the new year when the North Crossing website adds floor plans, video tours
and all-important pricing information.
Salvatore would only say that prices “will be competitive”
with similar properties in the area.
Units will range from junior one-bedroom units at about 550
square feet, to one-bedroom units at 750 to 900 square feet and two-bedroom
units at 1,000 to 1,250 square feet. Floor and corner locations will factor
into pricing. He expects in-person tours to be available in March with move-in
starting in April.
Then it’s on to the next phase, whatever that becomes.
Momentum is important in bringing the kind of density that will create the
community buzz he envisions.
For Salvatore, the positive experience of working with city
officials on The Goodwin was an important factor in his decision to tackle
North Crossing. He knew the combative history of redevelopment efforts in
Downtown North, but that was not what he found.
Negotiating inclusion of 10% below-market-rate units went
smoothly, he reports. The CRDA is helping finance the project.
“It is the wish of the community to get this done,”
Salvatore said.
Windsor developer buys South Windsor land for $1.5M
AWindsor-based developer has purchased 126 acres of
undeveloped industrial land in South Windsor.
South Windsor Technologies Center LLC sold the undeveloped,
industrially zoned property at 100 Schweir Road to South Windsor Land and
Cattle Co. LLC for $1.5 million on Dec. 15, according to land records.
The South Windsor Land and Cattle Co., which was formed Dec.
9, is headed by Robert Butler, president of The Butler Co., a Windsor-based
company that provides plowing, maintenance, design and construction services,
according to state records and the company website.
Attempts to reach Butler on Monday were unsuccessful.
Butler Co. has built retail sites for Home Depot, Walmart,
Lowes and others. It has also built for school districts, colleges, industrial
users and large-scale residential developments, according to its website.