STAMFORD — The staff at SoundWaters had hoped to open a
new $8 million center this summer, but due to construction delays, the new
marine education center will likely swing open its doors in late fall.
Supply chain issues are to blame for the delays, said Leigh
Shemitz, president of SoundWaters, the Stamford-based nonprofit organization
that focuses on protecting Long Island Sound through advocacy and education,
In particular, the elevator for the new building took longer
than expected to acquire and deliver to the site. The project managers
experienced delays in getting electricity to the building, and the elevator
vendor they were using wouldn’t set up an order until the power was on, Shemitz
said.
“Each delay builds on the other one,” she said.
But the delivery date is now set, and the elevator should be
installed in September.
The rest of the building is complete, she said, and an array
of solar panels have been fully installed.
“We’re at a really good place, save for the elevator,”
Shemitz said.
The building, a new state-of-the-art harbor education hub
called the Cohen SoundWaters Harbor Center, is one piece of a larger project
meant to create public access to Stamford Harbor and the Sound.
As part of the larger project, the access road to the
property will be replaced by one that lines up with Congress Street and will
extend to the new center, where a parking lot will be built. Near the water, a
crumbling parking lot and old chain-linked fence will be switched out for sand
dunes and a small beach area with new wetland tree plantings.
Once complete, the revamped park and waterfront will create
a rare access point to the Sound for residents of the Waterside neighborhood.
Once the elevator is installed, the building should qualify
for a certificate of occupancy and could technically open. But construction of
a new adjacent parking lot, a city project, has yet to begin.
The work on the lot will begin in two to three weeks, with a
completion date in about December, according to Domenic Tramontozzi, senior
construction manager for the city. While that lot under construction, the
existing lot near the Sound will be available for parking.
Once the new 12,000-square-foot center opens, SoundWaters
will be able to expand its offerings.
The center will house three programs: Young Mariners, which
teaches young students life skills through sailing; Harbor Corps, which offers
maritime job skills training for young adults; and Research Intensive, a
college-level marine research program for high school students. The center will
also include launch access for SoundWaters’ fleet of sailboats, and publicly
available kayaks and paddleboards.
The organization also has a location at the historic Holly
House on Cove Island, which will remain after the new center officially opens.
For more information on SoundWaters, visit soundwaters.org.
Connecticut new housing permits hit a 17-year high for July
The number of new housing permits issued in Connecticut last
month hit its highest July level in 17 years, officials with the state’s
Department of Economic and Community Development said Tuesday.
There were 743 housing units approved last month in the
state. That represents more new housing permits than were issued in May and
June combined.
One factor for the surge in new housing permits came from
multi-family residential construction, which includes both apartments and
condominiums, said Bob Wiedenmann, owner of Sunwood Development in Wallingford,
a new home builder.
Of the 743 new units issued permits, nearly 73 percent were
for developments of five or more units.
Another factor was an unusually large number of new housing
permits in Bridgeport.
More than half the new housing units that were approved
overall came from the Park City, where officials approved 423. New Haven had
the next largest amount of new housing activity, with 58 units approved.
“If you subtract the number of permits issued in Bridgeport,
the July numbers would be the lowest amount of new housing activity this year,”
Wiedenmann said.
Even with the surge in new housing permits, the total number
of new housing permits issued during the first seven months of this year was
3,037 units, he said. That’s the lowest number of new housing units issued
permits during the same period since 2011, according to Wiedenmann.
Donald Klepper-Smith, an economist with DataCore Partners,
said housing is one of the few economic indicators “that has held up pretty
well” this year in Connecticut.
“Transportation oriented housing along the Interstate 95
corridor has seen greater demand,” Klepper-Smith said. “That would explain the
number of units approved in Bridgeport and New Haven.”
Going into the fourth quarter of this year, Klepper-Smith
said he expects upward pressure on housing affordability in Connecticut because
of a series of interest increases by the Federal Reserve.
“It takes a while for policy changes to be reflected in
consumer behavior,” he said. “Higher housing prices are going to be baked into
the cake for the next couple of years as a result.”
New housing permits are considered a key economic indicator
because moving into a new house or apartment is usually accompanied by
purchases of big ticket items like appliances or electronics.
Wilton receives over $8 million for bridge projects
WILTON — The town will receive more than $8 million in
combined federal and state aid for the rehabilitate two bridges off of U.S.
Route 7.
Those two bridges — on Honey Hill Road and Cannon Road — are
part of a greater
Wilton capital plan that is anticipated to cost an estimated $22.7
million in total to rehabilitate the town’s inventory of 29 bridges.
The process will take shape over a number of years, with the
Honey Hill and Cannon Road bridges likely to start construction in 2025,
according to the town. Preliminary design work began in June.
“Based on initial concepts when preparing the grant
application, the value of work for Honey Hill Bridge is approximately
$3,500,000,” said Frank Smeriglio, the chief in Wilton’s Department of Public
Works. “The value of work for Cannon Road Bridge is $4,650,000.”
The Town of Wilton will receive at least 80 percent
reimbursement from the federal government for all phases of each bridge
project, Smeriglio said. Those phases include the design, rights-of-way and
construction work.
Remaining funds will come from the state to cover the full
cost of the projects, authorized under the Fixing America’s Surface
Transportation Act administered by the Federal Highway Administration and the
Connecticut Department of Transportation.
Based on initial concepts for both bridges, Smeriglio said
Honey Hill Road’s bridge work includes replacing bridge beams, the bridge deck,
asphalt, railings and guiderails.
“Cannon Road Bridge work consists of replacing the bridge,”
Smeriglio said, adding this includes replacing the foundation and bridge beams,
as well as the bridge deck and railings.
Nearby residents will be made aware of construction
schedules and alternate routes to get to Route 7 leading up to the start of the
project, officials said.
For now, consultants will continue to analyze what is needed
at each site, and the estimate and concurrent grant total will be adjusted
accordingly, Smeriglio said.
American School for the Deaf eyes multimillion-dollar W. Hartford campus expansion
The American School for the Deaf is in preliminary
discussions to build two new dormitories on its West Hartford campus that would
cater to deaf and hard-of-hearing students, as well as those on the autistic
spectrum and with emotional and behavioral issues.
The state Connecticut Health and Educational Facilities
Authority announced at its July 20 meeting that the 206-year-old school was
planning to borrow $20 million to build the dormitories. M&T/People’s
United Bank would be the purchaser of the $20 million direct placement
offering. The school is a first-time borrower through the authority,
which provides not-for-profit institutions access to low cost debt capital
Jeff Bravin, the school’s executive director since 2014,
said the estimated $20 million construction of the two dormitories is part of a
master plan that covers the next six years. Part of that plan also includes a
brand new museum, Bravin said.
Bravin, who is deaf and spoke through a translator, told the
Hartford Business Journal that the project is in the early stages and that the
engineering and architectural discussions have yet to take place.
Bravin said the plans are for the new dormitories to meet
the needs of the school’s population, including wide open spaces, a sensory
room and a lot of visual items.
“Deaf and hard-of-hearing people rely heavily on the
visual,” Bravin said. “We will have a lot of technology as part of these
buildings. We are focused on the health and safety of our students.”
Bravin said he hopes to break ground in the spring or early
summer of 2023 and for occupancy to start sometime in 2024.
“The school has grown over the past several years and
we are looking at more growth and enrollment and that would help pay off the
debt,” Bravin said.
The school currently enrolls about 150 students on campus;
85 students in its birth-to-three program; about 100 students through its online
academy; and 200 students through its outreach services programs. It also has a
brand new telehealth services program that caters to 12 students, Bravin said.
There are currently three larger and two smaller dormitories
on campus. The campus also includes cottages, Bravin said.
The school has students from about 15 states, primarily in
the Northeast and also caters to students from five countries, Bravin said.
Bravin said tuition costs range but begin at $35,000
annually. The state of Connecticut, he said, provides some funding for
students.
The 25-members of the school’s Board of Directors still must
sign off on the plan.
Construction Job Openings Up by 22,000 in July
The construction industry had 375,000 job openings in July,
according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of data
from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Job Openings and Labor Turnover
Survey.
JOLTS defines a job opening as any unfilled position for
which an employer is actively recruiting. Industry job openings increased by
22,000 last month and are up 38,000 from the same time last year.
Construction workers quit their jobs at a faster rate than
they were laid off or discharged for the 17th consecutive month in July.
"Though we may have collectively experienced peak
inflation, it is poised to remain unusually elevated for months to come,"
said ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu.
"Many factors will keep prices high, including energy
crises in Europe and China as well as a dearth of available skilled workers.
Today's JOLTS release is receiving considerable attention because many hoped
that job openings would decrease for the second consecutive month in July.
"That did not come to pass," said Basu.
"Economywide job openings bounced back in July and remain more than 60
percent above pre-pandemic levels. According to ABC's Construction Confidence
Index, the share of contractors who expect to increase their staffing levels
over the next half year remains elevated but has declined in recent months. As
long as the supply of labor remains inadequate to meet the demand for workers,
the industry will continue to experience upward wage pressures."
The Dotted Line: Recession fears spur uptick in terminations for convenience
This feature is a part of “The Dotted Line” series, which
takes an in-depth look at the complex legal landscape of the construction
industry. To view the entire series, click
here.
With talk of a pending recession growing louder by the day,
owners have increasingly been pulling the plug on projects, attorneys say.
While the uptick hasn’t been severe – yet – it has been noticeable by many.
“Right now, the termination trend is being driven by cost
increases and volatility,” said Jade Davis, a construction attorney at law firm
Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick.
“A lot of people thought stabilizing material costs would
help with price volatility, but supply chain issues have continued,” Davis
said.
Higher interest rates, as the Federal Reserve has waged war
against historically high inflation, have compounded the issue.
“The quick increase in interest rates has resulted in
several owners putting their projects on hold,” said David González, general
counsel at South Florida-based contractor ANF Group. While he says he hasn’t
experienced stoppages among his firm’s clients, he has seen it happening
elsewhere.
When owners pull the plug on projects, they typically do so
via a termination for convenience clause, which is built into most construction
contract templates, including those available from the American Institute of
Architects. Termination for convenience clauses are overarching language that
typically let owners, and in some cases contractors, walk for any reason they
see fit.
“The case law provides that under termination for
convenience, the contract can be terminated for any reason, or no reason at
all,” said attorney Josh Spitalnik, owner of the Spitalnik & Spitalnik law
firm in Roslyn, New York.
Shoring up projects
Attorneys say contractors should carefully navigate their
contracts and take steps to prepare for unilateral terminations, should they
become more prevalent.
“I suspect that as the labor shortages continue,
construction material prices increase and bank lending tightens, more jobs will
be stopped mid-stream,” said Carol Sigmond, a partner at New York City-based
Greenspoon Marder. “Contractors should take the long view – have a
strategy in place to work with owners to shut the jobs down in a safe and
lawful manner, while also trying to obtain fair compensation for work
performed.”
Doing so starts with knowing what’s in your contract. For
example, while most contract templates include termination for convenience
clauses, they also give contractors the ability to recoup “lost profits,” the
gains the contractor would have had if it worked the job to completion.
But owners’ attorneys will often try to strike those terms
upfront.
“As the attorney for a GC or sub, I always try to make sure
they get lost profits on uncompleted work,” Spitalnik said. But, “it’s often
difficult, especially when there’s an experienced construction attorney on the
other side.”
What contractors can reasonably expect to recover, however,
are costs that have already been incurred, as well as “demobilization” expenses
they take on to stop work in midstream.
“You should have provisions that you’re paid for work
performed, reasonable costs to demobilize and the cost of material and
equipment already purchased for the job,” Spitalik said.
Who’s left holding the bag?
In the current supply chain environment, however, where many
contractors have been ordering materials months in advance to ensure they have
supplies when needed, that can introduce additional risk.
“Downstream contracts can be greatly impacted because many
contractors and subs buy out the materials and cannot return them,” said Brad
Shefrin, a partner in the Denver office of Hall Booth Smith.
For that reason, contractors should make sure they stay on
top of invoicing and getting change orders approved before work gets done.
“The way to best protect yourself is to ensure the owner is
up to date with all payments and consistently process change orders,” Spitalik
said. “You do not want to be in a situation where you have done extra work,
then the contract is terminated for convenience, and no one wants to pay.”
The cost to owners
As a GC, it’s also a good idea to put some language
regarding termination fees into your contract, to make terminating for
convenience less palatable for owners.
“For owners, a termination for convenience almost always comes during difficult
financial times,” said Cleveland, Ohio-based Tucker Ellis partner Seth
Wamelink. “Owners often underestimate what their termination for convenience
costs will be.”
One way to make it less of an attractive option for owners who are already
stressed about making their project pencil out is to ensure there are termination
fees in a contract, as well as the lost profits component for contractors.
“That may disincentivize the owners from terminating in the first place,” said
David Fine, a partner at Worcester, Massachusetts-based law firm Mirick
O’Connell.