Stamford’s housing authority plan for Oak Park: Raze 27 buildings, fix flooding problems, rebuild
STAMFORD — In the wake of World War II, the Oak Park housing
complex was a promise: 108-units, all for “moderate-income” veterans.
“And it is now in need of complete redevelopment,” land use
consultant Rick Redniss told the Zoning Board.
On behalf of the Charter Oak Communities, Stamford’s housing
authority, Redniss has put before the Board a new plan for the property. Across
three phases, the housing authority will tear down Oak Park and replace it with
updated and larger units. The buildings will include 16 one-bedroom, 114
two-bedroom and 36 three-bedroom apartments.
For the Oak Park redesign to move forward as currently
proposed, the Zoning Board must approve changes to the parking requirements for
affordable housing projects. The board will again discuss Oak Park at its June
6 meeting.
The 27 buildings that make up Oak Park were all built in
1948 as “temporary housing for World War II veterans,” according to Charter Oak
CEO Vin Tufo.
Over the years, Tufo has repeatedly said that the complex
was just a temporary solution when first built: “It was really never built to
last this long,” he told The Stamford Advocate. Because of the project’s
“temporary” nature, it has required extensive investment from Charter Oak, he
said.
The project also receives no operating subsidy from the
government, according to documents submitted to the city. Rental payments are
the only funding that covers property expenses.
“While rents do cover basic operating expenses, they do not
address structural and building system issues that affect 75-year-old wood
frame buildings,” Redniss and Mead wrote in a project summary.
But after a certain point, even the temporary fixes have
fallen short. Charter Oak Communities eyed making substantial updates to Oak
Park in 2020 when it asked for just under $300,000 in city dollars to fund roof
and basement repairs on the property. That request failed; now, Charter Oak
wants to solve some of the problems it addressed through a more comprehensive
redesign.
The plan is to tear down the current facility and during the
rebuild, improve the drainage since Oak Park has long suffered from serious
flooding problems.
Though Redniss explained that most of the flooding issues
extend far past what Charter Oak can fix through redevelopment, the new Oak
Park will have permeable pavements and underground infiltration systems to help
hold stormwater runoff.
During the renovation process, Charter Oak says that
residents will be able to remain in the complex. Those who live in the
apartments under construction will be moved into other vacant units, Redniss
told the Zoning Board. Each project phase includes several dozen apartments.
Charter Oak also plans to tweak the income levels of
residents it targets, according to Jonathan Gottlieb, who heads the housing
authority’s development arm.
Charter Oak currently restricts the complex to families
making less than 80 percent of the Stamford’s area median income. Once the
renovations are completed, the plan is to change the income restrictions to
target people making between 25 and 60 percent of the area median income.
Because the local median income jumped significantly in
2022, Charter Oak “has not identified anybody (currently living there) whose
income would be over the most current” income thresholds.
Norwalk to replace aging West Cedar Street bridge with wider two-lane overpass
Richard Chumney
NORWALK — Engineers plan to replace the 112-year-old bridge
on West Cedar Street that crosses the Five Mile River with a wider overpass
that can accommodate two full lanes of traffic and a sidewalk.
The larger concrete bridge will be designed to match the historic
but slowly deteriorating stone structure that stands near Norwalk Community
College’s main campus, according to Vanessa Valadares, a city engineer.
“We would like to keep the same look that we have on the
bridge that is there now,” Valadares said during a meeting with the Norwalk
Conservation Commission last week. “We think it's very important for the
neighborhood.”
In 2019, the city hired Alfred Benesch and Company, a
Glastonbury engineering firm, to design a new bridge after state inspectors raised
concerns about the existing structure’s condition. The narrow bridge was built
in 1910 and an estimated 4,500 vehicles pass over it every day.
“A lot of people currently utilize the bridge as a one-lane
alternating roadway,” said Ricky Mears, an Alfred Benesch project manager.
Mears said the firm is proposing to replace the aging
structure with a bridge that is 28 feet wide, a 10-foot increase over the
existing bridge. The wider bridge will be able to accommodate two 11-foot
lanes, a pair of 3-foot shoulders and a 5-foot sidewalk.
Engineers believe the wider and sturdier bridge will allow
pedestrians, cyclists and vehicles to travel over the river more efficiently
and in a safer manner.
In an effort to resemble the appearance of the yet-to-be
demolished bridge, Mears said the proposed bridge will employ a “precast
concrete arch” system with stone masonry walls.
“A stone veneer will be utilized on the face of the proposed
arch, parapets and wingwalls to replicate the aesthetics of the existing bridge,”
engineers wrote in an application submitted to the city.
The replacement bridge is expected to cost $3.8 million.
Valadares said the project is being paid for with a combination of local, state
and federal funds.
In addition to handling more traffic, Mears said the new
bridge will also be better positioned to withstand flooding since it will be
wider and will stand slightly taller than the existing overpass, which sits in
a floodplain.
Mears said engineers plan to submit a finalized bridge
design by early July. Demolition of the old bridge and the construction of the
new structure is not expected to begin until the spring of 2024.
Since the bridge is surrounded by a series of wetlands, the
construction plans must first be approved by the conservation commission before
work can begin. The commission voted to hold a public hearing for the project
on June 14.
Commission members did not voice any concerns about the
bridge design following the presentation. Chairperson John Moeling praised the
engineer’s proposal for “salvaging the look” of the old bridge.
“Despite the fact that it jams everybody up traffic-wise,
it's a pretty cool looking bridge, especially in context with the surrounding
river and wetlands,” Moeling said.
Energy secretary: US offshore wind jobs should be union jobs
JENNIFER McDERMOTT, Associated Press
NEW LONDON, Conn. (AP) — The growing offshore wind industry
is often touted as a boon for job creation, but who will do the work?
The U.S. energy secretary and Danish wind developer Orsted
say they want American union workers to build offshore wind farms to dot the
U.S. coastlines — the building trades workers who could otherwise be left out
of a transition to renewable resources.
A majority of onshore wind and solar farms have been built
either with non-union workers or without collective bargaining agreements,
except for in California where unions are more involved in the industry,
according to North America’s Building Trades Unions. Orsted signed a project
labor agreement this month with the national union representing 3 million
people in the building trades to construct the company’s U.S. offshore wind
farms with an American union workforce.
“Our recent experience in the last two decades with onshore
wind and solar has been that the majority of those projects are not built with
us,” NABTU Secretary-Treasurer Brent Booker said this week. “So this is
groundbreaking in setting the standard for an emerging industry here.”
The Biden administration wants to deploy 30 gigawatts of
offshore wind energy by 2030, generating enough electricity to power more than
10 million homes. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm visited the New London
State Pier facility last week to see how Orsted, energy provider Eversource and
the state of Connecticut are transforming it into a hub for the offshore wind
industry.
At a press conference after, the Democratic governor and
Democratic congressmen spoke about creating American jobs — messaging that will
surely play into their reelection campaigns.
Gov. Ned Lamont said there are “hundreds of good paying jobs
right here” and “we're just getting started.”
U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal thanked the unions, saying
“this is the future of energy in the United States of America right here.” U.S.
Rep. Joe Courtney said they're maximizing every opportunity for the state to
grow in a sustainable way.
U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy, the only one not up for reelection,
echoed the same message, saying offshore wind is the “holy grail of public
policy” because it creates jobs, helps the local economy, makes the country
more secure and helps save the planet.
Flanked by building trades members, Granholm said the
administration is committed to creating “union jobs in America in this clean
energy economy.” She said she wants predominantly American union workers to
build U.S. offshore wind farms and would like to see project labor agreements
in all aspects of the energy transition, drawing cheers from workers at the
pier.
“That’s what we’d like, all union,” she told The Associated
Press.
Allison Ziogas, Orsted's U.S. labor relations manager, said
one of the reasons they sought the agreement with NABTU was to assure workers,
particularly in the fossil fuel industry, that they can have good-paying jobs
in offshore wind.
“There is not the same level or quality of jobs with the
solar industry, so it’s kind of created a false narrative that you can have
good jobs or a healthy climate but not both,” she said. “And we really
recognized that if we didn't have everyone on board, we knew how things would
wind up. It would wind up in gridlock.”
Orsted currently has six projects in five states. The
“National Offshore Wind Agreement” covers contractors working on those projects
and future ones, with no termination date on the project labor agreement. It
sets the terms and conditions for union workers to build offshore wind farms,
with targets to ensure a diverse workforce. It contains provisions for training
to ensure they can construct the complex infrastructure.
Ziogas said nearly all of the total work hours on each
project will be done with union labor, with a team from abroad with experience
installing turbines supporting the offshore work. She said Orsted is committed
to “creating an American industry,” and hopes the agreement sets the bar for
it.
Keith Brothers, head of the building trades in Connecticut,
said he briefly spoke with Granholm at the pier about the project labor
agreement. Brothers said it's about creating opportunities, not only for a longtime
tradesman but also for a new apprentice looking for a career in the emerging
U.S. offshore wind industry.
“That’s what’s exciting about it, it’s new. We really don’t
know what it’s going to bring or how many jobs. But we know it’s a lot,” he
said. “We know it’s new and there’s a lot coming.”
The first U.S. offshore wind farm began operating off Block
Island, Rhode Island, in late 2016. Orsted acquired the developer and now
operates that five-turbine wind farm. The first commercial-scale project is off
the coast of Massachusetts.
The Biden administration has also approved the construction
and operations for South Fork Wind, a joint venture between Orsted and
Eversource. Its transmission system will connect to the electric grid on Long
Island, New York, making it the state’s first offshore wind farm and
jumpstarting the offshore wind industry there. The onshore construction started
in February.
Stratford planning for Sikorsky Aircraft deal’s impact on local economy
STRATFORD — The town is preparing for possible job growth at
the Sikorsky Aircraft plant following a state deal to keep them in Stratford
until 2042.
Stratford’s main areas of focus are on the local housing
market, supporting local business and infrastructure, according to Economic
Development Director Mary Dean.
Gov. Ned Lamont on Monday signed
a bill promising up to $75 million in tax incentives over eight years
for Lockheed Martin subsidiary Sikorsky Aircraft, should the company win the
government contracts to be the U.S. Army’s next supplier of Black Hawk or armed
scout helicopters.
The deal will keep 8,000 jobs in Connecticut at minimum,
Lamont said Monday. The deal affects more
than 30,000 jobs, directly and indirectly, and 242 suppliers throughout
Connecticut, according to state officials. Of those suppliers, 18 are located
in Stratford.
Dean said that they plan to work with any local businesses
or subcontractors who are seeing an uptick in business.
“We’ll work hard for the businesses to make sure that they
have the capacity and the room they need,” Dean said.
Some measures of preparation have already been undertaken,
Dean said. For example, the town instituted a job board on the Economic and
Community Development Department website for local businesses to advertise
their openings.
Dean mentioned the construction work done to improve the
entrance and egress on Route 110, where Sikorsky’s plant is located, that was
funded by a state urban action grant.
“Sikorsky is prepared in terms of getting their employees in
and out and not causing a lot of traffic,” Dean said.
To help address the housing shortage in the area, Dean
pointed to a couple of housing projects in the works at the Center School
property and at the old Christ Church property, called the Village Inn. She
said there are also a pair of smaller mixed-use properties on Ferry Boulevard.
“Adding these new apartments, I think, will make a
difference,” Dean said.
She said as Stratford’s seniors age — 19.9 percent of the
town is 65 years or older, according to Census
data — they may want to move into the new apartments being created,
which could open up opportunities in its single-family housing market.
Mayor Laura Hoydick said the town has been in a similar
position before, since Sikorsky already has a contract for the CH-53K
helicopters. She said the town will likely use the “same playbook” but with
“different components.”
Lamont said at a press conference Monday that he is not
worried the potential added jobs would strain local markets. He said that the
state is “ready” and is preparing for the deal, should Sikorsky win the contracts.
The deal is subject to Sikorsky winning either one or two of
the government contracts it is currently in the running for — a replacement for
the Black Hawk helicopter and an armed scout helicopter.
Should Sikorsky win both from the Pentagon, it would be
eligible to receive the full $75 million, and if it wins one the deal
decreases to $50 million, Connecticut Department of Economic and Community
Development Commissioner David Lehman said previously.
“Our collaboration with the State of Connecticut on this
project will sustain and help bring more high-tech, high-paying jobs to the
state, while bolstering Connecticut’s leadership in aerospace production for
decades to come,” Paul Lemmo, president of Sikorsky, said in a statement to
Hearst Connecticut Media.
State Sen. Kevin Kelly, R-Stratford, called the deal a “shot
in the arm” for the Connecticut economy, highlighting the state’s ranks among
the lowest in job and income growth nationwide.
He said he hopes it will “help improve the quality of our
housing” and “hopefully it will create more affordable housing.”
“It’s good for the area. I think it’s good for getting
people employed,” Kelly said.
Kelly said by creating more jobs, it will improve the town’s
grand list.
“Hopefully it will grow our grand list, which will allow us
to put more into education and improve an already good educational system into
a better one,” Kelly said.
Fred Carstensen, a University of Connecticut Economics and
Finance professor, said he sees this deal as helping to maintain the current
workforce, rather than increase it. He said that the value of manufacturing has
drastically increased while employment has fallen over the last 20 years.
“In many cases you’re trying to preserve the number of jobs,
because every worker is becoming more productive,” Carstensen said. “So, even
though you’re expanding output, you’re not expanding jobs, so you’re trying to
preserve the jobs.”
He said since these are high-paying jobs, it will trickle
down into the local economy “in an extraordinarily important way.”
Opposition grows to Old Mystic energy storage facility
Stonington — A group of neighbors, the Aquarion Water
Co. and some town officials are criticizing a proposal by a Virginia firm
to construct an energy storage facility off rural Prentice Williams Road in Old
Mystic.
They say it endangers the aquifer where it is located and
the nearby Aquarion Water Co. reservoir, does not conform to the rural
zoning in the area, and poses both a fire and safety hazard for neighbors.
The state Siting Council and not the town, though, will
decide whether to issue the required permit for the
project.
The only control the town would have over the
project is that residents would have to approve the
tax abatement the firm has said it would be seeking for the
project.
"How many places allow a commercial
industrial complex on GBR-130 (greenbelt residential) land)?
It's mind-boggling. It does not make sense, " said Curt Floyd,
who along with several relatives lives in homes on
nearby Laurence Eleanor Street on farmland that has been in
his family for almost 300 years.
Scott Connuck, the senior project developer for East Point
Energy of Charlottesville, Va., said Friday that last week he met
for the first time with neighbors to discuss their concerns. He described
the meeting as very productive.
"Clearly we have a lot of due diligence to do. We are
in the very early stages of this project. We have a long way to go," he
said.
Two weeks ago Connuck outlined the project to the Economic Development
Commission. The so-called Grid Scale Energy Storage system uses lithium ion
batteries and is designed to produce resiliency in the energy grid when power
is needed. Renderings of the project show 34 battery enclosures the size of
cargo shipping containers and a substation placed on a concrete slab and
surrounded by a security fence and trees for screening. The 27-acre
site at 94 Prentice Williams Road owned by Amons Stack LLC, whose
principal is Lawrence Williams of Old Mystic, is zoned greenbelt
residential, which means 130,000 square feet of land is needed to build a home.
Connuck estimated that the project, which takes electricity
from the adjacent Eversource power lines and stores it in batteries for later
sale and use, would be worth tens of millions of dollars. He said East Point
Energy would be seeking a tax abatement from the town for the project.
After listening to the plan, EDC members agreed to support
the project and work with East Point to craft a development agreement, so
the town is competitive with other communities that might be trying to lure the
project to their town with a tax abatement.
But Floyd and his relatives say they
never knew about the EDC meeting because neither East Point nor
Williams, their cousin, had told them about the project. They said they learned
of it when The Day published a story about the EDC meeting.
At that meeting, Connuck told the EDC they had not
reached out to neighbors because the immediate neighbors were relatives who did
not oppose it.
The opposition
In a letter to the Conservation Commission, which heard
a presentation on the plan last week, Carolyn Giampe, the
director of sustainability & Environmental Management for the Aquarion
Water Co., wrote that the proposed site for the battery storage facility
is situated within the watershed for the Dean/Palmer Reservoir system that
serves more than 14,000 people, the majority of whom live in
Stonington.
"The tree clearing and addition of impervious surface
will have a permanent negative effect on the water quality of the nearby
wetlands, watercourse, and drainage which enters the public drinking water
supply reservoir. We believe battery storage is an important part of
Connecticut's clean energy future and we understand the difficulty of siting
infrastructure projects. However, we urge the developer to seek a
location that does not adversely affect the drinking water supply for the
community," she wrote.
First Selectwoman Danielle Chesebrough said last
week the town needs more information about the entire program.
"But I can't see a situation where the
community would support that," she said.
Both she and Selectwoman Deborah Downie, a
licensed environmental professional, said there are a lot
of environmental concerns about the project.
Floyd, his spouse Donna Cristadore, along with
relatives Cody Floyd, Wyatt Floyd
and Craig Floyd outlined their concerns about the
project.
They said the entrance to the property goes through
wetlands and the road leading to the site is between 10 and 17 feet wide.
With the need for heavy equipment to access the site for construction
and deliver the storage containers, they said the road would be
blocked to fire trucks, police and ambulances.
Curt Floyd, the former deputy chief of the
Poqounnock Bridge Fire Department in Groton who now works for the
National Fire Protection Association, said he has studied lithium ion
battery fires across the country. He said such runaway fires can only be
extinguished with huge amounts of water but sometimes they are
allowed to burn themselves out, which he said could last a week. He
said water put on any fire would flow into the Copps Brook watershed
that feeds into the Aquarion reservoir. He said fire could spread to the
adjacent forest.
Floyd said the nearest fire hydrant is 2
miles away, which means tankers would have to shuttle water to
the fire down the road, which is too narrow for two
trucks to pass each other. In addition, he said, residents may have
to evacuate.
Cody Floyd questioned what the monitoring procedures would
be to determine whether conditions were creating a
fire danger.
Old Mystic Fire Chief Ken Richards, whose
department serves Prentice Williams Road, could not be
reached to comment.
Curt Floyd said the family is not against technology to
reduce carbon emisisons.
"But not in the middle of the woods in a GBR-130
area," he said. "There are plenty of places Stonington with
substation where they could put this that is easier to access with
emergency services."
East Point response
Connuck explained his firm used maps and Google Earth to
identify possible locations for such a project.
"There's a limited amount of electrical infrastructure
where this makes sense," he said, adding his firm has identified other
sites in Connecticut. He declined to say if any of those are in southeastern
Connecticut.
Connuck said that typically his firm requires a seven- to
10-year tax abatement to be approved by a community for a project to go
forward. Such abatement helps offset large upfront costs for such projects.
As for concern about the location of the project above an
aquifer and near a reservoir, Connuck stressed there would be no air or water
emissions from the project and no runoff onto adjacent properties.
He said the batteries are contained within nonflammable
metal containers, which remain water- and airtight even in a fire. He said
when such batteries have caught fire there has been no
groundwater contamination. He said risk of fire is very low as the
batteries are monitored 24 hours a day and systems can remove oxygen to
stop a fire while water and firefighting foam can be used to
exteinguish them. In addition, he said, the immediate area around
the battery enclosures is gravel with no vegetation
that can catch fire.
As for access by emergency vehicles during
construction, he said other locations are on rural roads
and can be managed to ensure access.
In addition to increased tax revenue for the town as
the tax abatement is phased out, Connuck said the project has variety of
benefits such as reducing pollution and the need for more
electrical infrastructure, improving reliability during blackouts
and providing power during peak demand periods.
"Its quiet and it's safe," he said.
Sherman Street bridge replacement on horizon in Norwich
Norwich — Two months behind the anticipated April 1
start of the Sherman Street bridge
reconstruction, the city has awarded the $10.3 million contract for the
work to Plainville-based Manafort Bros. Inc.
The long-planned project now is expected to begin in June,
but the bridge will not completely be closed to traffic until after the school
year ends for Norwich Public Schools on June 22, city Public Works Director
Patrick McLaughlin said.
The city awarded the contract to Manafort on Friday. The
company was the low bidder at $10,319,393, about $200,000 below the
second-lowest bidder, McLaughlin said. Bids were received in January, and
McLaughlin said it took longer than expected. Manafort still must post a
performance bond and sign the contract, expected within about a week,
McLaughlin said.
A meeting to set the construction timeline will be scheduled
for early June. City emergency responders and school officials will be invited
to learn the timing of the closure of a major connector between the Asylum
Street/New London Turnpike areas and the Backus Hospital and Norwich Free
Academy area.
The project will replace the two bridges on Sherman Street
over the Yantic River: the main bridge, built in 1955, and a smaller bridge
over an adjacent canal. The larger bridge is rated in poor condition by the
state Department of Transportation, with the substructure labeled as
satisfactory. The smaller bridge, built in 1920 and reconstructed in 1964, is
rated even lower at “serious” condition with a substructure in poor condition.
The sidewalk and asphalt are crumbling, and pipe railings
rusted. One section of a chain-link fence between the two bridges is missing.
The $10 million project, paid for with 80% federal funds,
10% state funds and 10% city money, could cause traffic headaches for everyone
from city residents to ambulance and school bus drivers and students walking to
NFA from Asylum Street and nearby neighborhoods.
Construction is slated to begin with utility work on the
Asylum Street side of the bridge before the span is completely closed to
traffic for the majority of two construction seasons, in 2022 and 2023. During
the winter of 2022-23, the bridge will be reopened as construction shuts down,
but it will be closed again in spring of 2023 until completed.
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.
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. Asylum Street in the vicinity of the bridge also
will be raised 18 inches. The bridge will be shifted 20 feet to the north,
toward New London Turnpike, to straighten out the intersection. A new three-way
stop sign equipped with flashing lights, erected in July 2020 to improve
traffic flow on Sherman Street, will remain after the construction.
A large sewage pipe suspended from the bridge, exposed to
the weather and potential damage from flood-borne debris rushing beneath, will
be incorporated into the new bridge. Norwich Public Utilities will construct a
pump station on the Asylum Street side of the river as part of the project.
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.
The Norwich Fire Department already is well experienced with
the detours, Fire Chief and Emergency Management Director Tracy Montoya said.
In October 2015, the city reduced the weight limit on the bridge due to its
deteriorating condition.
“We don’t typically send fire apparatus over that bridge,
because of the weight limit,” Montoya said.
Montoya is concerned that the bridge closure and
construction could cause traffic backups on Asylum Street that could delay
emergency vehicles longer.
Developer proposes distribution center, offices in Bloomfield
Douglas Street Ventures LLC, a Farmington-based development
company, is proposing to build a 74,520-square-foot warehouse and distribution
center in Bloomfield, including 5,000-square-feet of office space.
The 8.7-acre property at 59 and 69 Douglas St. is near the
intersection of routes 218 and 187 and provides easy access to Interstate 91.
The land, which is vacant, is owned by Douglas Street Ventures, a limited
liability company controlled by Steven Levesque.
The building would be one story and a maximum of 44-feet
tall, and the parking lot would have 72 spaces.
The western side of the building, facing away from Douglas
Street, would have 20 loading docks with 36 additional parking spaces.
There would be three access points off of Douglas — two for
trucks and one for cars. Fifty-five trailer parking spaces are proposed at the
southern end of the property.
The company has applied for a special permit and a public
hearing is scheduled before the Planning and Zoning Commission in June.
The property is in an industrial zone, which the company
says is suitable for the project.
The site plan includes landscape buffers to mitigate views
of the proposed site along with spillover light and noise to nearby properties.
Douglas Street Ventures plans to lease the property to a
tenant, who has not been named.