Big Y would spend $22 million on new Middletown store, create 150 jobs
MIDDLETOWN — A traffic study, drainage and landscaping plans
and other documents have been filed with the land use office to support a
proposed $22 million, 51,892-square-foot Big
Y World Class Market to be built in the south end of the city.
The grocery store would be located at 550 Highland Ave. on a
combined 7.31 acres between 502 and 550 Highland Ave., and South Main
Street/Route 17. The triangular plot is located on the east side of South Main
Street/Route 17 and west side of Highland Avenue.
The request is to fill 983 square feet of wetlands and
mitigate a 6,079 square-foot wetland area for the commercial development. It
would be built on the former Frontier Communications and adjoining lot near the
Durham line.
An
Inland Wetlands and Watercourses Agency public hearing on the matter
is set for Sept. 7.
The Springfield, Mass.-based chain would create about 150
new jobs (50 full-time and 100 part-time), and “substantially increase” the tax
base in Middletown, according
to the application.
If inland wetlands were to approve the plan, a special
zoning exception would be considered by the Planning and Zoning Commission,
according to Director of Land Use Marek Kozikowski.
The current building that would be demolished, formerly
occupied by Frontier Communications, is 40,000 square feet in size. South Main
Investors of Middletown owns the plot, and the developer is Mike Stone of Stone
Point Properties.
The triangular plot is located on the east side of South
Main Street/Route 17 and west side of Highland Avenue. A single-family home at
502 Highland is expected to be demolished to make way for construction,
according to land use documents.
An application for a sanitary sewer easement on another area
of the property was submitted to the land use department Aug. 22. The easement,
obtained in 1959, was between the city and former Southern New England
Telephone Co., the predecessor to Frontier Communications, documents show.
A large number of street trees would be planted on Highland
and South Main, Kozikowski said. The Urban Forestry Commission will be making
recommendations.
The state
Department of Transportation concluded the projected site traffic
volumes and analysis indicate there is “sufficient excess capacity” to
accommodate the store. The agency recommended that Route 17 be widened at the
Big Y driveway to provide a dedicated left-turn lane going southbound, and a traffic
signal installed.
The traffic study, based on DOT records from December,
indicates that Route 17 carries an average daily volume of 11,200 vehicles,
with peak-hour volumes of 779 in the morning hours, and 1,002 during the late
afternoon rush hour.
To gauge traffic, the DOT installed automatic traffic volume
counters on Route 17 and Highland Avenue, as well as manual turning movement
counts at Route 17 at Ward Street, Highland Avenue, Randolph Road/Route 155,
Wesleyan Hills Road, Route 155 at Highland Avenue and Ridge Road.
Traffic
incident data, collected by the University of Connecticut, between June 1,
2019, and May 31 of this year, shows there were 37 crashes involving 74
vehicles on Route 17, according to DOT data, the report said.
Of those, 13 occurred at the intersection of Route 115, and
15 at the intersection of Highland, with nine occurring at the Ward Street
intersection.
The main access would be moved from Highland Avenue to South
Main Street, documents show.
In all, 256 parking spaces would be created, including 16
accessible spaces, and 10 electric vehicle spaces with Volta fast-charging
stations, according to the documents.
The issue of bringing the national grocery chain to
Middletown has prompted conversations on social media for and against the
proposal.
More than 100 people recently shared their opinions on
the What’s
Happening in Middletown (Connecticut) Facebook page.
Many brought up traffic issues. They range from traffic
“nightmares” where Price Chopper is on Washington Street — compared to what the
store might incur on Highland Avenue. One person said the plot is small
considering a full-size grocery store plus parking would be put in “unless you
pave every square inch.”
There also was a good deal of support and excitement for the
Big Y, including one person who said the drive to a “decent” grocery store is
more than 6 miles from their home, “and the folks in Durham have to go much
further. A good grocery is needed on this end of town.”
Durham also is considering
bringing a grocery market to town. The Economic
Development Commission has created a survey asking respondents to
identify what type of grocery store they want in town.
The list of options are Big Y, Whole Foods, Roberts, or a
store similar in size to the Durham Market. Respondents also can select “none
of the above” and input a separate choice.
For information, visit middletownct.gov
Darien Finds Safety Concerns with Hanson Road Bridge
Gregory Stroud, Emilia Otte
DARIEN – The town of Darien announced via Instagram on
Monday.that they found deficiencies in the condition of a local bridge.
According to a Darien Department of Public Works press
release, the town detected defects on the Hanson Road Bridge during routine
maintenance checks. The bridge sits across Stony Brook River, about 1.1 miles
from Darien High School
The department said the town is in the process of
determining repairs, but the concrete bridge is “safe to travel over and is
being monitored on a regular basis.”
Darien’s consultant recommended that the town place
barricades along the north side of the bridge where the deficiency was noted, restricting
the width from both sides. The department advises drivers to use caution and
take alternate routes if possible.
According to the state Department of Transportation’s Eligible
Bridge List, Hanson Road Bridge was last inspected in 1991. As of March,
the structural deficiencies of the bridge were unknown, but it is eligible for
state rehabilitation/replacement.
The Western Connecticut Council of Governments added an action
to Darien’s 2021
Hazard Mitigation Plan to identify and upgrade bridges known to be
having adverse impacts on drainage, flooding, navigation, safety and
environmental quality. WestCOG assigned the action as a low priority. It is
anticipated to cost more than $1 million and could take until 2026 to complete.
Darien town officials did not respond to queries by CT
Examiner in time for publication of this story.
Federal Funding Rejected for Old Lyme Sewer Costs, New Meetings With Officials Raise Hope
Cate Hewitt
OLD LYME — The sewer project, estimated now in $55 million
range, may be in jeopardy because an $11.2 million request for federal funding
has been turned down.
At Saturday’s public presentation of the sewer project, Sen.
Richard Blumenthal announced that the Senate Appropriations Committee did not
approve the request.
“Unfortunately the number of applications for earmarks
doubled this year and this one was unsuccessful. The process begins again… and
we’re prepared again to seek federal funding for this very worthwhile goal,”
said Blumenthal via a zoom feed that was streamed to the middle school
auditorium where more than 100 residents attended the sewer presentation.
The three beach communities and the town had requested $14
million in federal funds toward shared infrastructure costs estimated at $16.5
million. The four communities have a total of 909 homes and the infrastructure
costs will be paid proportionately by the number of homes in each
community.
One of the next steps is to “pursue additional grants and
subsidies from state and federal programs” and to “investigate other
opportunities for cost mitigation,” according to the presentation, which is
available for download here.
However, the project’s “interim funding obligations” to pay
for project design are due January 31, 2023, the date to which the obligations
have been deferred. Each beach “may hold a referendum to reauthorize projects with
updated cost and funding information,” according to the presentation.
At the dais in the auditorium State Sen. Paul Formica told
the audience that he spoken with Mark Boughton, commissioner of the Connecticut
Department of Revenue Services, about using funds from the $5 billion in
infrastructure money coming to the state of Connecticut.
“We’ve outlined the project, we know that adding the sewers
is a huge cost to each individual homeowner. We’re trying our best to provide
some of those infrastructure dollars, should the decision be made to go with
sewers, to offset the cost of accessibility to sewers, and any fees associated
with that,” he said.
Formica said Boughton “is a fan of the project moving
forward, if that’s what the decision of the community is.”
The lengthy presentation emphasized objectives of complying
with a longtime state consent order as well as remediating pollution in Long
Island Sound. Officials from the town and the three beach associations — Miami
Beach, Old Lyme Shores, and Old Colony Beach — updated residents on the
estimated costs per household in each community.
First Selectman Tim Griswold told the audience that there
would not be a typical question and answer period after the presentation
because questions were to be submitted in advance.
“Some of the questions will be answered in the slides you
will see and then some that were not [answered] will be addressed by the group
at the end. Members of the panel will be available after the program if you
wish to speak with them,” Griswold said.
Frank Pappalardo, chair of the Sound View Sewer Coalition,
told CT Examiner via email that the coalition “was not asked to participate in
the meeting.”
Before the meeting, coalition members stood outside of the
middle school and handed out a list of 10 questions that members wanted
answered at the presentation. The group describes themselves as representing “a
majority of homeowners in Sound View and Area B, who do not believe sewers are
the most practical or cost-effective solution for this area.”
In his email, Pappalardo said he was “disappointed that not
a single one of the questions [that the coalition] submitted were answered at
today’s meeting… The only questions answered appeared to support the position
that sewers were the answer.”
Among the coalition’s questions, which included a range of
topics and concerns, was a request for current data proving that Old Lyme is
polluting Long Island Sound.
Pappalardo said the coalition supports updated testing and
analysis, and pointed out that Hawk’s Nest Beach — which, so far, has been
excluded from the project along with White Sands Beach — has had testing
done.
He said that much has changed since the original data — done
in 2010 — was used to justify sewers.
“Old Lyme adopted a mandatory 7-year septic pump-out
ordinance and animal waste mitigation. Many residents have also repaired
failing systems or replaced them with new engineered systems. Why not see if
these actions have had an impact before embarking on a 50+ million dollar
project?” Pappalardo said.
On Monday, Rich Prendergast, chair of the Old Lyme Water
Pollution Control Authority, told CT Examiner that meetings with Senators
Blumenthal and Chris Murphy and Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro have been set up in
the coming few weeks — and that the process has become easier than
before.
“There’s additional meetings. We don’t know when we don’t
know the content… It could be that they’re just trying to understand the
situation and or it could be that they’re trying to explain to us that you
don’t get the money right away,” he said. “We don’t really know but before it
was difficult getting meetings with the politicians.”
Scott Boulanger, chair of the Miami Beach Water Pollution
Control Authority, said Monday that the beach association members understand
the importance of the project and that it will minimize contributing to
pollution in Long Island Sound. He said the issue is cost — per equivalent
dwelling unit, the estimated yearly cost in Miami Beach is $3,600 a year for 20
years, but could be closer to $2,600 a year with grants from the federal
government and from the Department of Energy and Environmental
Protection.
“I think the homeowners want to do the right thing but
you’re asking somebody to spend quite a bit of money for something — they just
can’t afford $3,000 or $4,000 a year for 20 years,” Boulanger said. “Maybe we
made enough noise that now everybody is starting to focus… maybe there’ll be
some work being done to try to minimize the impact.”
Doug Whalen, president of Old Colony Beach, said his beach
association told residents 10 years ago that the project would cost them about
$1,800 a year for 20 years.
“We’re trying to keep that number there and the $11.2
million brings it there,” Whalen said.
Without the federal funding, the cost is estimated at $2,600
per equivalent dwelling unit per year for 20 years.
“When we sent this through 10 years ago, the vote was 197 to
12 — the residents were very into this program. Unfortunately because of supply
chain issues and COVID, the numbers came in 30 to 40 percent higher. We’re
trying to recover that 30 to 40 percent.”
He said Old Colony Beach was “very active” in pursuing other
avenues of federal and state funding.
“We want to be fiscally responsible to the residents but we
also don’t want to stretch it out too far — this was supposed to be flowing
back in 2019,” he said. “If we get those funds available, the shovel goes into
the ground within the next six months.”
Housing Boom: Backed by employer support, Farmington sees wave of multifamily development
With a plethora of stately homes and modest dwellings, both
new and old, Farmington’s housing stock includes options for people at
different stages of life, at various price points — as long as they’re willing to
take out a mortgage.
The dearth of multifamily construction in this town where
business is booming has made it difficult for people seeking to relocate
without the means or inclination to buy property, developers say.
That’s about to change.
Until recently, the town hadn’t approved a multifamily
development since 2013, which developers believe created pent-up demand. Now,
there are at least six multifamily proposals underway.
“I think the main issue is that Farmington has been
underserved,” said Jacob Reiner, chief operating officer of CSRE, a real estate
acquisition and management company based in Lakewood, New Jersey. “There hasn’t
really been any new construction. The supply really hasn’t kept up with the
demand.”
CSRE is one of the first companies to take advantage of
Farmington’s special innovation floating zone. Following an update to the
town’s Plan of Conservation and Development in 2018, the Planning and Zoning
Commission established the innovation zone to allow higher-density multifamily
and retail/commercial development on the same parcel in the UConn Health
neighborhood.
CSRE bought the former Hartford Marriott Farmington hotel
last year and is converting it into 225 apartments. The first units in the
high-end apartment complex, called UpHouse, are expected to open in October.
The 381-room hotel at 15 Farm Springs Road closed early in
2021. Each apartment will comprise about two hotel rooms.
The mixed-use development will include indoor and outdoor
pools, yoga rooms, a fitness club along with other resort-style amenities.
Non-residents will be able to purchase passes to the amenitized areas.
“There’s very strong demand for Class A-type housing in
Farmington and in the Greater Hartford area as well,” Reiner said. “We’re
looking to deliver a unicorn type of product that really doesn’t exist.”
Prime real estate along the Route 4 corridor, near UConn
Health and Jackson Laboratory, was not available for mixed-use development
until recent changes approved by the Planning and Zoning Commission, which eased
residential zoning restrictions.
Zoning change
Farmington Economic Development Director Rose Ponte said the
new zoning laws give developers more flexibility and promote the type of
housing the town needs — while leaving legislative authority to the commission.
As of 2017, 30.4% of Farmington’s land uses consisted of
single-family homes, compared to 4.1% multifamily, according to the Plan of
Conservation and Development. Also, more than 72% of Farmington’s housing stock
was composed of single-family homes on large lots.
“The lack of smaller, modern and high-quality rental units
in Farmington will exacerbate the disproportionately high percentage of persons
over 65 when compared to the rest of the state,” the 2018 conservation plan
said.
The plan also noted that younger people were opting not to
make the long-term commitment of homeownership, sometimes because they didn’t
qualify for a mortgage due to poor credit, lacked the ability to make a
downpayment or had too much student loan debt.
“(The) aging population coupled with a lack of attractive
rental options will become a very significant issue in Farmington,” the
conservation plan said. “This will transpire as younger residents move to more
urban areas with more rental options.”
Desirable location
Even so, Farmington is a popular place for local employees
to live. Ponte said the town is desirable for families and younger people
starting their careers, with its relatively low taxes, top-notch schools and
thriving economy.
“We have one of the lowest tax rates (29.32 mills) in all
the towns that surround us,” Ponte said. “We’re known to be very fiscally
responsible, but at the same time, delivering excellent town services. We have
wonderful schools, we have safe communities, we’re steeped in history and
preservation. We value our open space.”
Those might be some of the reasons Farmington — which has a
population of a little more than 25,000 — averages about 32,000 employees who
work in town.
“That, in itself, gives demand, because everybody, I think,
would rather live closer to their job rather than further away,” Ponte said.
The largest employer, UConn Health, has 4,660 regular
payroll employees, with 397 living in Farmington — the town with the
second-most UConn Health employees after West Hartford, a spokesman said.
Meanwhile, Jackson Laboratory, a nonprofit biomedical
research institution, employs more than 450 people at its Farmington office,
most of whom also live in Farmington or West Hartford.
Employees are attracted to the area’s performing arts
centers, museums, restaurants, parks and trails, according to LuAnn
Ballesteros, Jackson Laboratory’s vice president of external and government
affairs. Many are looking for short-term lodging.
“Currently, our most-pressing need in Connecticut is
short-term, temporary housing to accommodate our postdoctoral associates,
graduate students, visiting scientists, contract positions and other visitors
to JAX,” Ballesteros said.
Jackson Laboratory has a globally competitive workforce and
hires people from Connecticut, across the country and worldwide. Employees who
relocate to the Farmington area are looking for proximity to the organization’s
campus, along with “excellent schools, safe neighborhoods, and diverse,
sustainable communities,” Ballesteros said.
As a whole, the town has more than 4 million square feet of
office space, Ponte said. Along New Britain Avenue, there’s more than 2 million
square feet of industrial space — with about zero vacancies, she noted. The
manufacturers range from commercial laundry facilities to the German industrial
machine manufacturer Trumpf to aerospace suppliers.
“We are very diversified, whether it’s manufacturing,
whether it’s health care, we have financial advisers, we have bankers, we have
all sorts of different industries,” Ponte said. “And then we also have very
nice independent shop owners, and restaurant choices. So it’s really a nice
mix.”
Multifamily projects
More developers are hoping to capitalize on Farmington’s
development opportunities, and several multifamily projects are in the
pipeline.
The town does not monetarily incentivize or abate any
project, Ponte said. Instead, it focuses on keeping the tax rate low by adding
to the grand list.
In addition to CSRE’s plan to add 225 rental units, another
developer has proposed 199 apartments and more than 54,000 square feet of
commercial space in new and rehabilitated buildings at 1371 Farmington Ave.
Located at the midpoint between Unionville and Farmington
center, it’s on a 25-acre parcel along the Farmington River. The developer, JRF
Management LLC, is also proposing upgrades to the adjacent Farmington Heritage
Canal Trail.
Sager Development is proposing 62 mixed-income units, with
80% designated as affordable housing, at 80 South Road. The principal of Sager
Development, Geoffrey Sager, is also principal of Metro Realty Group, which has
received town approvals to build 146 units on a property near UConn Health at
402 Farmington Ave. Rock blasting for the project has begun.
Meanwhile, Pond LLC has proposed nearly 200 new apartments
adjacent to two office buildings near Batterson Park.
In the short term, rising interest rates and inflation have
made the rental market even more attractive, Reiner said. The “price-per-pound”
of renovating an existing hotel and converting it into apartments is less than
new construction, he said, and the turnaround is faster.
UpHouse will target workers who are looking for “a
lifestyle-type-of-environment, empty nesters looking for amenities they won’t
typically have in another community and obviously millennials who are making
amenities their priority,” Reiner explained.
Multifamily projects have not been without controversy. Some
residents have complained that large, high-density buildings are incompatible
with the town’s quaint and quiet character.
In 2021, residents of Tunxis Village voiced strong
opposition to the development at 402 Farmington Ave., calling it “out of
scale.”
But Ponte said these projects will help Farmington catch up
with other towns like Simsbury and Hartford.
“We’re trying to create these 24-hour communities where
young talent may want to relocate — and they can live, work and play all in one
area,” she said.
Kent sidewalk construction anything but smooth
LYNN MELLIS WORTHINGTON
KENT — The new sidewalk installation has been generating
concerns about the quality and design of the materials being used. Town
officials have also been criticized for their lack of communication with the
building committee and the business community.
Streetscape Building Committee Chairman Mike Gawel raised
concerns about the construction choices being made and the lack of inspection
by the engineering firm in the initial weeks of the project. He emailed the
selectmen but the issue was not addressed by the board until a special meeting
Aug. 22, after the cancellation of the board’s regular meeting on Aug. 18.
Resident Justin Money, a 25-year stone mason working in
Kent, shared his expertise by giving an eight-minute presentation to the
selectmen with drawings on a whiteboard, explaining his concerns about the
granite curbing being used with rough curving edges and a slippery top surface,
as well as the lack of adequate packing of the gravel base under the concrete.
Mike Doherty, the project manager from SLR Engineering,
acknowledged to the Streetscape Committee on Aug. 12 that work at the beginning
of the project had progressed faster than expected and that the engineers had
been informed, so as of that date no inspections had been done. Since then, the
inspector has been on site multiple times.
Doherty explained at the Aug. 22 meeting that density
testing had been done on the compaction of the base material and it met the
standard, averaging to 95% density. However, he did say that the contractor has
been told to alter the compaction method and he was open to having them soak
the material with water due to the drought conditions.
Doherty acknowledged that the installation of small sections
of granite curbing, instead of curved granite, would not be acceptable. Gawel
and Money explained this is what is installed next to the Morning Star Nursing
Home on Bridge Street.
“If there is curbing being put in on a radius that calls for
a radius curving that curving will be ripped out,” Doherty said. “There is no
chance that I’ll allow them to be putting in segments of curve to make up a
radius, so if that has happened that will be corrected.”
Doherty explained that there were granite curbing supply
issues that they became aware of during the bidding process and the bid
documents were altered. In addition, Mather Corporation was unable to get
suppliers in the northeast and had to get the granite from North Carolina. This
was an additional $67,000 and the selectmen were aware of the change.
Gawel said his committee had not been informed.
“Nobody in months has contacted me concerning any of the
changes,” Gawel said. “Not once was our committee consulted.”
He questioned whether the committee should continue or
disband. First Selectman Jean Speck tried to reassure him that his opinion was
valued.
Elissa Potts, owner of the Fife ‘n Drum restaurant, also
criticized Speck’s lack of communication with the business owners regarding the
project.
“…Your office needs to be sensitive to the retail community
and keep them informed,” Potts wrote to Speck Aug. 12.
The first email on the sidewalk construction was sent at 3
p.m. Aug. 1 – the same day work had begun.
Speck has promised to get an email out weekly with details
on the sidewalk progress and what was planned for the following week.
There is a construction meeting each Thursday. Those emails
started Aug. 20 and have what is planned for the next two weeks and a listing
of what has been done.