State Pier work proceeds as ground broken on New York offshore wind farm
New London — At a pace of roughly 200 truckloads of
rock and soil a day, the 7 acres of water separating the two piers at the State
Pier facility is slowly being displaced.
Filling that space to create one larger pier area is part of
one of the biggest construction projects in the city in recent history,
helping to reshape an industrial waterfront site on the Thames River that was
built more than a century ago.
State Pier in New London is a whirlwind of activity these
days, host to dozens of construction workers operating cranes, excavators and
dump trucks with the single purpose of completing the estimated $235
million project by next year.
Representatives from the construction and engineering
firm Kiewit, construction manager of
the project, provided a brief tour of the construction site on Thursday.
Progress also can be tracked online at statepiernewlondon.com.
The modernization project is the result of the Connecticut Port
Authority’s agreement with port operator Gateway Terminal and joint venture
partners Ørsted and Eversource. The project includes widening the pier and a
major update of infrastructure to create a facility with heavy-lift capacity to
accommodate parts needed to construct offshore wind farms.
While Ørsted and Eversource are contributing more than $70
million toward the project and will lease the facility for 10 years, CPA
officials are quick to point out that the updated facility will be better
suited to host an array of cargo when not in use by the offshore wind industry.
State Pier is expected to be put to use by the
beginning of next year. Ørsted and Eversource broke ground on a 12-turbine
South Fork Wind project off the coast of Long Island on Feb. 14. The
wind farm is expected to generate 132 megawatts, enough to power 70,000 homes,
and be operational at the end of 2023.
It’s the smaller of several wind farm construction projects
associated with New London’s State Pier, which is expected to be used for the
assembly and delivery of components. A larger project, the 704 megawatt
Revolution Wind, is being planned for waters off the Rhode Island Coast.
Connecticut Port Authority Executive Director John Henshaw
said dredging started in earnest once the project obtained a federal permit
from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in December.
Dredging of the silt and organic material from between the
two piers, known individually as State Pier and Central Vermont Railroad Pier,
was completed on Jan. 20. This was needed to create a stable footing for
the 380,000 cubic yards of material needed to fill the more than 7 acres of
space between the piers and create one large central wharf area.
During Thursday's tour, there was a constant stream of dump
trucks depositing material that was being pushed into the water by bulldozers.
Officials say there are 25 trucks working on the site, each
making an average of eight trips per day, or 200 total trips. Some of the
material is taken from soil excavated from the property and stockpiled atop the
CVRR Pier. Some dredge material also will be used.
The type of fill being hauled to the site is classified
as “clean fill” and authorized for use by the federal permit from the Army
Corps of Engineers. Officials say it is soil consistent with the physical and
chemical criteria established by federal and state guidelines that mandate the
material — mostly rock and soil — be devoid of any pollutants.
Waterford-based Kobyluck Sand & Gravel secured the
contract for the major part of the fill operation.
Elsewhere, a demolition dust control mister was humming as
excavators clawed and jackhammered into a portion of State Pier that
is being demolished. Cranes are positioning and driving into the ground
large pipe piles that range in diameter from between 30 and 42 inches. The
piles are driven into the ground to create retaining walls, known as combi
walls, at various places around the piers, including the delivery berth and receiving
platform.
More dredging will occur after Oct. 1 in the turning basin
area, where ships will maneuver around the pier.
Henshaw said he expects the fill activity to be completed by
the end of the summer, when the material in the Central Wharf area will be
compacted before a final surface is completed. While there have been no major
delays since the start of construction, there have been hiccups.
The state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection
reports that since it issued a permit for work at State Pier in August, it has
fielded several complaints — specifically about the dumping of snow and
use of a turbidity curtain around the in-water construction area. Those
complaints resulted in follow-ups from DEEP but did not require any further
enforcement, a DEEP spokesperson said in an email on Friday.
On Jan. 2, a DEEP emergency response unit responded to a
report of the release of hydraulic oil from a dredging machine. In response,
absorbent booms and pads were deployed to soak up the oil in the river and the
equipment was repaired, DEEP said. The case has since been closed.
On Feb. 4, Henshaw reported to the CPA board that a
“trespasser,” later identified as port authority critic Kevin Blacker,
“breached the site” and caused work to stop while state police responded.
Henshaw called the incident the “the height of irresponsibility” and promised
an arrest if another incident occurs.
Of the complaints filed with environmental officials,
Henshaw said, often “the complaints don’t match the reality on the
ground.” The CPA is in regular communication with DEEP and the Army Corps of
Engineers about ongoing work, he said.
As for the timeline and cost of the project, Henshaw said
challenges to the CPA’s permit applications helped delay the project. He
acknowledged that the schedule is closely associated with the cost of the
project.
“The dredging permits in-water took a little longer than
anticipated. That was a challenge and one we have to overcome,” Henshaw said.
“I think we’ve tried to be clear there are repercussions associated with the
delays. However, we’re doing our best to try and mitigate those through savings
where we can."
The final price of the project still is being negotiated and
is expected to be announced in the coming weeks. Henshaw said it's likely the
CPA will work on an amendment to the contract with Kiewit prior to the
guaranteed maximum price being finalized.
“Ultimately, what we’re trying to do is the best with the
budget we can,” Henshaw said.
He said he expects Ørsted and Eversource to begin using the
State Pier site by Feb. 1, 2023, when some deliveries are expected. Some work
on the pier is expected to continue through April 2023.
Companies named in subpoena were primary recipients of hazmat work
Two companies named in a federal grand jury subpoena
investigating former state official Konstantinos Diamantis were the primary
beneficiaries of millions of dollars’ worth of hazardous waste abatement work
on state buildings since 2017, records show.
Asbestos Abatement and Insulation Services (AAIS)
Corporation and Bestech Inc. of Ellington are two of the four companies that
the state Department of Administrative Services chose in 2017 to be on an
exclusive list of contractors that would handle all abatement work on state
buildings. The list was originally intended for state agencies and
municipalities that needed emergency work done.
Since the contract went into effect, there have been 284
projects, each identified as a separate work order under the one contract, including abatement at college campuses
and the former Seaside Sanatorium in Waterford.
Diamantis’ team was in charge of the contract, state
officials said Friday. AAIS and Bestech were among the names that federal
authorities asked officials to search for in
a subpoena issued in October that centers on Diamantis.
The grand jury investigation has raised questions
about whether Diamantis, who ran the Office of School Construction Grants &
Review — first at DAS and then at the Office of Police and Management — pressured
municipalities to hire specific contractors, construction managers and
hazardous waste and asbestos removal companies.
An analysis by the CT Mirror shows that AAIS and Bestech got
all but 15 of the 284 purchase orders issued by the state for hazardous waste
disposal and demolition from fiscal year 2017 through 2022 — contracts that are
paid for by the state and not tied to school construction jobs.
On Friday, after receiving questions about the arrangement
from the Connecticut Mirror, the state abruptly canceled the contract, even
though it was supposed to run until April.
In July 2021, state officials created a new contract, identified as “20psx0154,” to increase the
number of contractors on the hazardous waste abatement list from the four on
original contract “16PSX0110.”
DAS spokeswoman Lora Rae Anderson said Friday that state
officials are going to amend the 2021 contract and “that guidance for both
state and municipal use is going to be updated.” She did not give a timeline
for that update or explain what it would entail.
Anderson said Diamantis’ school construction grant team was
in charge of the hazardous waste and abatement contract.
Representatives from AAIS and Bestech, as well as Diamantis’
attorney Norm Pattis, did not respond to requests for comment last week.
Two companies, 98.8% of the money
The Mirror’s analysis shows:
· Since the 2017 fiscal year, the state
has paid out about $29.2 million for hazardous waste and asbestos abatement
work under DAS contract “16PSX0110.” AAIS received $20.6 million of that and
Bestech $8.2 million, purchase orders show — about 98.8% of all the money spent
through the contract.
· The state issued 284 purchase orders
under the emergency contract.
· One of the contractors, Haz-Pros, got
five jobs. Environmental Services Inc. got 10.
· AAIS was named on 214 purchase
orders, including exclusive agreements to do work at all state colleges and
vocational schools. Some of the work was assigned by other state agencies, such
as the Military Department, but the majority were assigned by DAS.
· Bestech Inc. got the remaining 55.
“Wow, I had no idea it was that much money,” Raymond
Newbury, Haz-Pros Asbestos Services Manager, said Thursday in an interview.
“We did not get that many” jobs, Newbury said. “I knew they
(AAIS) were getting most of the work. I thought it was just the familiarity
with the people that dealt with the contractors.”
‘I would call Mike’
Newbury said the contact for almost all abatement jobs was
not Diamantis but Michael Sanders, who worked on the school construction grant
team that Diamantis oversaw. Sanders had been doing state abatement contracts
for years, first at the old Department of Public Works before moving to DAS.
Sanders died in December. The state medical examiner's
office has ruled his death a drug overdose, but the investigation is still
open.
“I would call Mike a couple times a year and tell him that I
could really use some work,” Newbury said. “But you know, when I asked Mike, he
would say that AAIS were just cheaper.”
A review of the pricing lists submitted by the four
companies who were awarded the contract shows that while AAIS offered cheaper
prices on asbestos removal for other jobs such as mold remediation and lead
paint removal, the price ranges were very close among the four contractors.
Sanders' role
Sanders is listed as the Construction Services Associate
Project Manager in the "memorandum of understanding" that transferred
the school construction program from DAS to the Office of Policy and Management
in 2019. The grant program went to the oversight of OPM when Diamantis was
named its deputy secretary.
Anderson said Diamantis and his team, specifically Sanders,
were in charge of the hazardous waste abatement contracts.
"Municipalities are responsible for their own
contractor procurement and contracting per state statutory requirements for
bidding. Therefore, the Department of Administrative Services does not select
vendors for towns," Anderson said.
Gov. Ned Lamont fired Diamantis from his OPM position on
Oct. 28, days after the federal subpoena was served. When told he would be
placed on administrative leave from his school construction job, Diamantis retired.
Diamantis had run the school construction grant program for
more than six years. It’s unclear when Sanders joined the school construction
grant team, but Newbury said Sanders was the only person he dealt with since
the contract went into effect.
A May 2020 letter from Bristol’s former corporation counsel Dale
Clift shows that Sanders was deeply involved in one hazardous waste abatement
school contract in Bristol in 2020. According to Clift, Sanders advised the
city to reject the lowest bid, from Select Demo Inc., and instead hire Bestech.
Clift’s letter said that the “directive” delivered by
Sanders was issued by Diamantis.
“(Sanders) represented that you were directing all bids for
abatement and demolition to be rejected,” Clift told Diamantis in the letter.
“This directive came so late in the process and was so surprising, the project
personnel sought and received verbal reinforcement and validation of your
directive over the next several days.”
The city eventually hired the low bidder anyway.
Sanders worked in state government for 27 years until he
died in December under what police described as “suspicious circumstances.”
Police found the 53-year-old’s body at a home in Old
Saybrook on the evening of Dec. 17. Police arrested the man living in the house
and charged him with risk of injury to a minor and possession of narcotics.
The state’s Chief Medical Examiner later listed Sanders’
cause of death as an accidental overdose tied to cocaine and fentanyl.
Manchester project questioned
Around the same time that Bristol officials say they were
being pressured by the state to hire Bestech, a similar scenario was playing
out in Groton — this time involving AAIS, who were not the low bidder for a
hazardous waste disposal/demolition contract there.
Groton also eventually chose the lowest bidder, Stamford
Wrecking, but only after that company’s lawyer — New Haven attorney Raymond
Garcia — questioned why his client wasn’t getting the contract.
In January 2021, Garcia was contesting another contract in
Manchester, which was in the process of renovating the Buckley Elementary
School. In two letters to city officials, Garcia warned they needed to put the
contract out to bid for everyone and not just the contractors on the state’s
emergency list. But assistant city attorney John F. Sullivan responded in a
letter saying that Manchester was just following the state’s guidance.
”The contract in question is identified as State DAS
Contract 16PSX0110. The Town is selecting a bid from one of the four
contractors approved by the state for this type of work under this contract,”
Sullivan wrote.
The city asked the contractors on the state’s list for bids,
and three of them — AAIS, Bestech and Haz-Pros — submitted bids, with AAIS
getting the contract as the lowest bidder, for $1.47 million.
After the Manchester contract went to AAIS without Stamford
Wrecking getting a chance to bid for it, Garcia took his concerns to Attorney
General William Tong on Feb. 2 in a three-page letter that outlined how the 2017 contract was
being circumvented.
A new contract
The discussions among Garcia and state officials, including
Diamantis and Assistant Attorney General Margaret Chapple, led to the issuing
of a new directive to municipalities on March 2, 2021. The directive,
signed by Diamantis, clarified when municipalities should use the state’s
hazardous materials abatement contractors list for their school projects.
The directive states that if municipalities planned to use
one of the companies on the so-called emergency contractor list, they needed to
solicit a minimum of four bid proposals in order to be eligible to get state
funding.
Then, in July 2021, state officials put the old hazardous
material abatement contract, which was set to expire in April 2022, out to bid
again in order to get more contractors on the list.
DAS contract “20psx0154” added more contractors to the
emergency list. In addition to AAIS, Bestech and Haz-Pros, four new companies
are included: Manafort Brothers Inc., New England Yankee Construction, Omni
Environmental and Stamford Wrecking Company, which had been battling the state
for nearly a year.
Newbury said he was notified about the new contract and did
bid to stay on the list, even though he hasn’t gotten much work out of it.
“I think the contract is in effect, but I don't know anybody
that's used it yet,” Newbury said.
State records show that only one purchase order has
been issued under the new contract: a $1.45 million purchase order on Feb. 8
for a hazardous material remediation at Norwalk Community College.
The contractor is AAIS.
Torrington sets hearing for high school building project
TORRINGTON — The school building committee and its team of
architects and engineers are getting ready to formally present the $159 million
project, which was approved
by voters in November 2020, to the Planning & Zoning Commission in
March.
The SLAM Collaborative, based in Glastonbury, filed the
application with the land use office in early February, which includes a
special exception use permit and site plans for the new construction.
The approved project includes a new middle-high school building
and administrative offices. The old building will be torn down after the new
high school is completed.
“Torrington Middle School (grades 7-8), High School (grades
9-12) and Central Office Administraton department will be located in a new
309,900 state of the art facility on the existing Torrington High School
property,” the SLAM Collaborative wrote in its application. “The existing THS
building will be abated and demolished, making way for site circulation,
parking, and a new and renovated athletic fields complex. The middle school
wing is 3 stories and the high school wing is 4 stories, with a partial
basement walk-out level.
“(Torrington’s zoning regulations) allows the school to be
permitted in the R6 zone,” according to the application, which allows the
school building project because “it is in the best interest of the health,
safety and welfare of the public.”
The Board of Education’s School Building Committee had to
ask for an additional $20 million to fund the project, which was
approved in a referendum in January, by about 5 percent of the town’s
21,000 eligible voters, with an outcome of 1,129-301.
Voters in November 2020 approved building the new
middle-high school and administrative offices for $159 million. Earlier this
year, the state legislature announced that instead of 65 percent reimbursement
for all eligible costs for the project, that amount would be increased to 85
percent.
Residents voted in favor of spending $159.6 million for a
new middle-high school building including a new central administrative office
wing, with the expectation that, with about $85 million in state reimbursement,
the city’s share would be lowered to $74.6 million. With the higher
reimbursement, the city’s share was reduced to $28 million.
In December, school building committee co-chairmen Mario
Longobucco and Ed Arum came to the City Council asking to add $20 million to
the project, citing increased student enrollment and rising costs for
construction and materials. The co-chairmen said more students will add to the
overall footprint of the new facility. That, coupled with escalating
construction and materials costs, have resulted in the project running over
budget.
“This year alone, there are 137 new students in grades 7-12,
that were not here pre-pandemic,” Longobucco said at the time. “Construction
costs $525 per square foot. And as we all know, everything’s going up.
Materials costs have gone up. ... So we had to go back to the drawing board.”
The Planning and Zoning Commission is expected to review the
building committee’s site plan application at its next meeting in March.
Shelton developer says downtown plan lacks sufficient parking
SHELTON — John Guedes’s plans to redevelop the former
Chromium Process site would further strain an already limited parking situation
downtown, according to a fellow downtown developer.
Angelo Melisi, Jr., the developer of Bridge Street Commons I
and II in the heart of downtown, is calling on the Planning and Zoning
Commission to deny Guedes’s plans, as presently submitted, to construct a
four-story building with 30 apartments and 34 parking spaces on land presently
used for city parking.
“Given the current situation in downtown Shelton, and in the
immediate vicinity of this proposal, this is simply not enough parking,” Melisi
wrote in a letter submitted to the commission.
Melisi said he supports the development of more apartments
and commercial space downtown, but wrote “I do object to the construction of
more apartments and more commercial space without adequate parking.”
While praising city officials and the commission for its
efforts in helping revitalize downtown, Melisi said the need for parking has
been significantly underestimated.
“I am very concerned that downtown might become a victim of
its own success unless steps are taken to ensure that all new construction has
adequate parking facilities,” Melisi said.
“From my own experience, I am certain that allowing 30 new
apartments and 8,350 square feet of commercial space, with only 32 parking
spaces, would be a serious mistake,” he added. “(It) would impose significant
hardship both on my properties and those of other landowners in the area.”
Melisi’s letter was entered in the record during the
commission’s public hearing Wednesday on Guedes’ plan to construction Chromium
Commons, a four-story structure with first-floor commercial space and 30
apartments on the top floors, at 113 Canal St., former site of the Chromium
Process manufacturing building.
Guedes
— who along with his partner Biagio Barone has an agreement in place to
purchase the site from the city — is seeking approval from the
commission to have the property designated a Planned Development District
(PDD).
Guedes said his development will not have an adverse impact
on parking downtown.
“No issues,” Guedes said when asked about any negative
impacts.
Guedes also noted that the new development sits next to the
Conti lot, which is used as a community parking lot.
“The lot where Chromium Commons is proposed to be built is
currently used as a parking lot,” Melisi said. “I counted 45 cars parked there
at noontime (Feb. 15), and the lot is usually completely full at night.
“Once parking is no longer available, the parking situation
will be even worse, because the available parking in the area will be reduced,
while the demand for parking will be increased,” Melisi added.
Guedes said he was “surprised” by Melisi’s stance on the
application as presented.
“Out of the entire City, he was the only one to show
concern,” Guedes said. “The fact is that the City issued an RFP (request for
proposal). I responded to it, and the Board of Alderman voted to accept it and
sell it. At that time, if he had an interest in (the property) he had the
opportunity to respond to the RFP. He did not. The site is not a city parking
lot. It is a redevelopment site.”
Last year, the Board of Aldermen approved the sale of the
property to Guedes and Barone for $100,000. As part of the agreement, the
developers will pay $137,500 for brick pavers for the River Walk extension
being built at the rear of 129 Canal St.
The original purchase price for the property was $250,000,
but Guedes and Barone reduced their offer to $100,000 after learning that a
portion of the former Chromium Process site — listed as 125 Canal St. — had
been sold by the city to Melisi.
Melisi said Bridge Street Commons I (50 Bridge St.) and
Bridge Street Commons II (427 Howe Ave.) occupy the entire block across Canal
Street from Guedes’ proposed development. Between the two sites, Melisi said
there are 116 apartments and 8,500 square feet of commercial space and 154
parking spots.
“My experience has shown that these 154 spaces are not
enough,” said Melisi, adding that he is also acquiring the lot at 426 Howe Ave.
(at the corner of Howe and Center Street) to provide an additional 24 spaces to
be used for the
restaurant, Chaplin, opening in the soon-to-be-completed building.
Melisi said he has found cars regularly parking on both
sides of both parts of Canal Street, including in no parking zones, and both
sides of Center Street.
“On an almost daily basis I have unauthorized parkers in
Commons I and Commons II parking areas,” he said. “Last Friday evening, a
prospective tenant told my office that she had spent 45 minutes looking for a
parking space.”
The former Chromium Process site, which has been
environmentally remediated, borders on Canal Street East and Canal Street West
and is adjacent to the Housatonic Rail Co. and a few hundred feet from the
Housatonic River. The site is currently used as a parking lot and is within
walking distance of public parking facilities.
The city is in the process of leasing the parking spaces on
the Eversource property, located across the street from the now completed Cedar
Village at Carroll’s. Those additional 70 spaces would put the available
parking spaces downtown at about 500. The city also leases parking spaces at
the Conti building.
New Haven approves 473 housing units across 4 projects
Mary E. O’Leary
NEW HAVEN — Low demand for office space is behind a full
conversion to residential use for one downtown property and the addition of
apartments to another, while the city’s neighborhoods are also welcoming new
developments.
A total of 473 housing units across four projects were
approved at the latest City Plan Commission meeting as this sector continues to
grow in spite of a lingering pandemic.
Thousands of apartments have been approved in recent years,
which includes a sprint more recently by developers looking to get approvals
before the new Inclusionary Zoning rules kicked in Friday.
The rules require a set-aside of affordable apartments for
new developments and major renovations or a monetary contribution toward
low-income units.
One-time mall to become apartment complex
City Plan approved the final conversion to residential from
offices at the former Chapel Square Mall at 900 Chapel St.
It gave the OK to 87 more apartments there, adding to the
185 already approved for a total of 272 apartments.
The newest approval is for 10 one-bedroom and two
two-bedroom units on the second floor; 15 one-bedrooms on the sixth and the
10th-13th floors at the complex at Chapel, Church and Temple streets. The
ground floor retail will remain.
Attorney Christopher McKeon, who represented owners CSD Mall
LLC, a division of PMC Property Group, said construction will begin immediately
on the second, sixth and 11th floors with the rest undertaken as the office
leases expire.
McKeon, whose office is in the tower at 900 Chapel St., said
there are “significant vacancies in numerous portions of the building. That is
not unusual in office buildings throughout the country.”
Apartments to top off office building
At 142 Temple St., owned by Olympia LLC, the board approved
adding four residential floors to a three-story commercial building that will
continue to maintain its current office spaces.
The proposal already has the necessary zoning and parking
approvals.
Architect Kenneth Boroson said the two retail spaces on the
ground floor will remain. There will also be a new staircase and elevator
strictly for the residents.
There will be 60 apartments: 12 studios, 44 one-bedrooms and
four two-bedrooms. The studios are around 565 square feet; one-bedroom
apartments range from 615-750 square feet and two-bedrooms are 810 square feet.
There is some outdoor space on the fourth floor with a roof
deck on the seventh floor. Boroson said the facade will be brick-like material.
There will be 4,450 square feet of outdoor space, 5,410 square feet of amenity
space and 350 square feet of green roof area.
The new structure will be wood. Boroson said the structure
has to be light. The architect said the roof will be removed and the new floors
put on it.
Damaged factory building to be razed
At 10 Liberty St., Vesta Liberty Street LLC wants to
demolish a dilapidated factory in a BA zone that produced architectural
lighting fixtures and build a 150-unit apartment complex at Liberty, Putnam and
Spring streets.
It is a mixed neighborhood with automotive facilities and
railroad yards close by as well as homes to the north and west.
The shuttered Electrix Illumination factory, which consists
of four buildings, went out of business in December 2020.
Susan Fiedler and Tanya Segal are the investors in Vesta
Liberty Street LLC.
The project calls for some parking on the first level with
other spaces to the rear for a total of 136 parking spaces.
The apartments would be located on levels two through five
and feature balconies and a roof terrace with views of downtown and Long Island
Sound.
The owners are planning to meet with the community to
explain their plans.
The old factory is on the city’s inventory of historic
structures, but the owners determined that the cost of remediating it would be
prohibitive. They will apply for the demolition permit — which incorporates a
90-day delay — when they are closer to construction.
Segel said a tenant who had signed a 10-year lease for the
property left after 18 months. They scrambled to find a new use and in the
meantime brought it up to environmental residential standards and cleaned out
the debris.
The owners determined the property was better suited to
residential use and found there was a need in the neighborhood.
“We have accomplished a lot in the last 14 months although
it is not all visible,” Segel said.
Apartment location with outdoor activities
This project has been a long time coming for developer Ives
George of RJDA. He is a familiar face to the commission, having started the
complex deal in October 2016.
He got final approval this month for the L-shaped, 176-unit
apartment building at 291 Ashmun and 309 Ashmun St. on city property bound by
Canal Street and south of Henry Street.
It will consist of 68 studio apartments; 64 one-bedroom
units; 32 two-bedroom units and four three-bedroom apartments. One-third of the
apartments — 58 of them — will be affordable housing, a major desire of the
city as it looked for a developer for the site.
“It has been a long haul, but we are extremely excited to be
at this point,” Joseph said.
There will be 97 parking spaces and accommodations for 38
bicycles. The considerable amount of open space incorporates the Farmington
Canal Heritage Trail, which borders the property.
Joseph said one of the inspirations behind the project was
to “highlight and emphasize the Farmington Canal Trail as an amenity not only
for our building, but for the entire community.”
Commissioner Marchand suggested the developer consider a
mid-block crosswalk to make it easier for people to get on the trail. It would
also serve as traffic calming.
Joseph said he plans to incorporate bike maintenance
facilities on his property. He agreed that maximizing the bike-friendly nature
of the development will be key to its success.