Out with the old: Demolition begins on blighted Waterbury buildings
LANCE REYNOLDS
WATERBURY — Soon, most of the remaining buildings on a dilapidated 17.4-acre South Main Street property that South End residents have dealt with for decades will be gone, and city officials say they have received interest on future use of the former Anamet brass factory site.
Demolition company Stamford Wrecking on Monday started knocking down one of at least three buildings that will be removed from the property in the coming months.
A future redeveloper will decide whether a fourth building is taken down, said Tommy Hyde, interim director of Waterbury Development Corp. The site will retain the final building that the city spent $2.3 million on to repair its roof last year, he said.
All buildings being demolished, including a smokestack, are expected to be down within 90 days, Hyde said. His Board of Directors in July approved a $2.5 million contract with Stamford Wrecking for the demolition.
Once the site of major manufacturing companies from 1812-1977, city officials have invested more than $10 million through a mix of local, state and federal funding toward redeveloping the property, a city document states. Anamet ceased business operations in 2000, leaving the property vacant since.
“It has significant economic potential for the city,” Hyde said of the property.
The city earlier this summer received two “very interesting” responses after requesting proposals on future use of the site, Mayor Neil M. O’Leary said. He did not disclose where the proposals came from and what they entailed. Officials plan on meeting with the respondents in September, the mayor said.
O’Leary said he believes the site, once fully remediated, offers the city and future tenant “a beautiful piece of property,” with it abutting the Naugatuck River. The city’s second phase of the Naugatuck River Greenway project will run through the site upon construction, a city document states.
“It was very much a quality-of-life issue for the residents of the neighborhood,” O’Leary said. “Now, when these little kids come out of their house they can look at an open space instead of blighted, falling-down, dilapidated old factories.”
Nearby, city officials are working on a $6.3 million project on Mill Street that will transform the ruins of the former Nova Dye factory into a park featuring a baseball field and concession stand. Next to that property, the Brass City Regional Food Hub is looking to add greenhouses and a market cafe.
At the Anamet site, city officials will continue to conduct environmental assessments of the property after the buildings are demolished, O’Leary said. Officials will engage city boards and commissions as well as residents from the South End to ultimately determine the site’s future, he said.
“What we are hoping for is that we will be able to put something there that will generate tax revenue, grow the grand list, and of course, provide some significant job opportunities,” the mayor said. “These are the things that Waterbury needs to continue to do to survive.”
Lauretti: Artifacts discovery won’t delay start of Shelton’s Constitution Boulevard extension
Brian Gioiele
SHELTON — The discovery of indigenous peoples’ artifacts will not significantly delay the start of construction of the Constitution Boulevard extension planned for next month, according to Mayor Mark Lauretti.
Lauretti confirmed the discovery of the artifacts on what is known as the Churma property — the site at 55 Blacks Hill Road which was recently condemned by the city. Lauretti said the land has been transferred to the city, with a judge’s decision on final payment to the property owners still in process.
“Archaeologists are dealing with this now,” Lauretti said. “It is causing a little bit of a delay, but I still believe we will be starting next month.
“They have to excavate them, and that is still going on,” Lauretti added. “This is not really all that uncommon. (These kinds of artifacts) can be found throughout the city.”
The Constitution Boulevard work — on the drawing board for some three decades — is expected to be completed within a year from groundbreaking, Ron Nault of DeCarlo and Doll Architects and Engineers told residents of Cotts Street and Blacks Hill Road, all impacted by the extension of the road into the city-owned Mas property, during an informational meeting Wednesday.
Work can begin now that the city owns both properties that sit between Bridgeport Avenue and the city-owned Mas property. The city purchased 56 Blacks Hill Road for $590,000, with the cost being covered through use of American Rescue Plan funds, in February.
Nault said the plans call for Bridgeport Avenue to have four lanes at its intersection with Constitution Boulevard and new, modernized streetlights will be installed.
Nault said the work will include blasting and tree removal.
There will also be work on the area of Blacks Hill Road where it will intersect the new street. Nault said the work will be minimizing the present dip in the road.
Areas of Cots Street and Blacks Hill Road near the work will also be widened, which Nault said will improve the driving conditions in that area.
Nearly a dozen residents living and working along Cots Street and Blacks Hill Road voiced concerns about the impacts of this new roadway. Owners of the Shelton Medical Center, located on Cots Street, recommended making road improvements the length of Cots Street to its intersection with Bridgeport Avenue.
Lauretti said there are no plans to widen the remaining stretch of Cots Street at this time, and even suggested that a cul-de-sac may be created preventing a connection between Cots Street and the soon-to-be created Constitution Boulevard extension.
“We do not want to encourage people going off Constitution Boulevard to Cots Street,” Lauretti said.
Other residents wanted more clarity on the impacts of the plans, including what the projected traffic counts will be once complete.
Nault said the meeting was just informational — offering a chance for residents to ask questions and voice concerns — not a technical session, which will come in the weeks ahead.
“The traffic is designed for Constitution Boulevard only … this should not impact Cots Street or Blacks Hill Road,” said Michael Kanios, the city’s acting Department of Public Works director.
Kanios said that the Mas property will be a mostly industrial corporate park, with many warehousing facilities, not requiring hundreds of employees. He said that means the traffic for the sites would naturally use the new roadway from Bridgeport Avenue to access the Mas site.
Extending the roadway and use of the Mas property has been on the table for years, but Lauretti began the most recent push in April 2021 when he presented preliminary plans for creating the road leading into the city-owned land, which would be developed into a manufacturing corporate park.
Plans for accessing the 70-acre property include extending Constitution Boulevard to reach Route 108. Lauretti said a zone change would be needed, requiring plans to go before zoning at some point.
The Mas property is now vacant. It is mostly wooded with considerable stone ledges and several ponds, including one that is about 600 feet long and 250 to 300 feet wide, and lies between Bridgeport Avenue, Cots Street, Tisi Drive, Sunwood Condos on Nells Rock Road, Regent Drive, Walnut Avenue and Kings Highway. Part of the land abuts the back of the Perry Hill School property.
The city already has tentative agreements with Bigelow Tea and William and Nicole Charney, owners of Shelton-based Advanced Home Audio, which is presently located on Long Hill Cross Road, to purchase land on the Mas property.
The Charneys agreed to pay the city $85,000 per acre, which comes out to $510,000. The aldermen’s approval states the total acreage and payment amount will be determined after the final subdivision of the nearly 70-acre parcel near Constitution Boulevard.
That sale came weeks after Lauretti announced that Bigelow Tea was purchasing 25 acres of the property for an estimated $2.1 million for its future expansion.
July’s job gains ‘shockingly’ strong as construction adds 32K positions
Joe Bousquin
The construction industry added 32,000 jobs on net in July, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. On a year-over-year basis, industry employment increased by 4.2% or 311,000 jobs, according to an analysis from the Associated Builders and Contractors.
Overall, nonresidential construction employment increased by 18,300 jobs, with specialty trades gaining 10,300 positions. The nonresidential building category added 4,900 workers, while the heavy and civil engineering sector gained 3,100.
For all industries, job gains were profoundly better than expected, as U.S. employers added 528,000 positions, more than twice the consensus forecast of 250,000, with the unemployment rate falling to 3.5%, which matches the lowest rate seen since the late 1960s, according to ABC.
Anirban Basu, chief economist for ABC, said the numbers held some big surprises, but not all of them were good.
“Today’s employment report was expected to show an economy not yet in recession but at least headed in that direction,” he said. “Shockingly, that did not come to pass.”
The upside surprise actually drove stocks lower Friday, as the news is expected to give the Federal Reserve more motivation to continue to raise interest rates later this year.
While the overall job gains were positive, Basu said the broader economic environment still poses significant challenges. For months, economists have been warning of recession, a possibility that was underscored when U.S. GDP contracted for two consecutive quarters through June.
“Yes, the construction industry also added a healthy number of jobs in July, but the impact of macroeconomic deterioration is already apparent in other construction data,” said Basu. “Sky-high materials prices and shortages of skilled construction workers have forestalled a growing number of projects by suppressing demand at a time when the cost of delivering construction services remains elevated.”
He reiterated that while companies’ backlogs remain healthy, that may not be due to additions in their pipeline of work, as much as tepid progress on jobs in the current environment.
“While backlog remains elevated from a year ago, this may have as much to do with the fact that projects are taking longer to complete than with underlying economic strength,” said Basu. “The expectation is that backlog will begin to fade for many contractors as the economy becomes less supportive. At the heart of the issue is the Federal Reserve, which will continue to raise interest rates as long as the labor market retains this level of momentum.”
Construction starts on Wilton Center pedestrian bridge
J.D. Freda
WILTON — The town will soon have a connective tissue between the Metro North train station and Wilton Center with the construction for the long-anticipated pedestrian bridge starting this week.
“The pedestrian bridge project consists of building a bridge connecting the Wilton Train Station on Station Road to the Norwalk River Valley Trail on the opposite side of the river and improvements to the NRVT leading into Wilton Center,” the town said in a release. “The first task involves removing trees within the project limits. Then, the contractor will proceed with bridge foundation work.”
The project is expected to bring more walkability to the downtown area and look to boost the number of pedestrians shopping and eating in Wilton Center, especially by attracting those who may travel to Wilton by train. The benefits of the project fall in lockstep with that of the Wilton Center Master Plan subcomittee, which is currently planning the future of Wilton’s downtown.
Director of Public Works Head Frank Smeriglio said in June that the goal was to “get out of the ground” this summer, giving the project ample time before halting construction during winter weather. It is anticipated that work will continue through the fall and be completed next spring, according to the town.
“Once completed, the bridge is expected to facilitate residential development within and around the train station, commuter access to residences or shops in the center and access to the NRVT for bikers, walkers and runners residing on the opposite side of the river or arriving by train,” the town said.
The town received a $1.4 million dollar grant from the state through a Local Transportation Capital Improvement Program grant. Earlier this summer, the town entered into contracts with both Dayton Construction and Tighe and Bond to oversee the project.
Dayton, who will oversee the construction, will be paid $1.18 million. Tighe and Bond’s contract totals nearly $121,000.
Smeriglio said it will feature handicap accessible ramps on both sides, have lighting for commuters returning home and pedestrians walking at night, and will be 10 feet wide. It will stretch from the train station to Merwin Meadows, across the Norwalk River.
A section of the NRVT will be closed from behind Red Rooster Pub to the backside of the Merwin Meadows Park soccer field during construction. The town did say that it will make efforts to open a five-foot wide trail after work hours and on weekends for trail users.
The overflow parking lot on the west side of the train tracks will be closed throughout the duration of the project, the town said.