Marine Company Plans Industrial Buildings for Thames River Site, Awaits Dredging Regs
Brendan Crowley
GALES FERRY – With their plans to process
dredged soil at a rail-connected industrial site on the Thames River
on hold, Massachusetts-based Cashman Dredging and Marine Contracting is now
pushing to develop the rest of the 165-acre site into a complex of industrial
buildings.
Cashman Vice President Allen Perrault presented a conceptual
plan to the Ledyard Planning and Zoning Commission on Thursday night showing
that the company intends to use the north side of the former Dow Chemical
property on Route 12 for its own marine equipment business, and will clear
woods and level a hill on the south side of the property to make way for
several large industrial buildings that Cashman would lease to other companies.
Perrault said that they plan to start by building a 20,000
square foot building on the north side of the property with a driveway onto
Route 12, which would house its marine contracting and equipment division.
There would also be a large space on the north side of the property for a lay
down area to store large equipment.
One of the largest costs of marine work is moving equipment,
Perrault said, and Gales Ferry gives Cashman a location to fix and store
equipment between its other centers in Staten Island and Quincy,
Massachusetts.
The major marine uses on the Thames River also makes it a
prime location for a dredging company, and the proximity to the New London
State Pier puts the company in position to supply aggregate material for
offshore wind construction, or to stage equipment for offshore wind, Perrault
said.
“We’ve already talked to an aggregate supplier with a quarry
in Connecticut who may be interested in railing aggregate here and shipping it
off by barge,” Perrault said. “The aggregate is inland, and this is the first
water site to get to from the quarries.”
Cashman’s attorney Harry Heller said that shipping out
aggregate wouldn’t increase the number of trains that run to the site, but it
will likely mean those trains have more cars to carry the materials in. There
wouldn’t be any aggregates brought in by ship and then transported out by rail,
he said.
Heller told the commission that the plans to process dredged
materials on the site – which have drawn heavy scrutiny from
the community – are temporarily stalled while the Department of Energy and
Environmental Protection works out new dredging regulations.
The dredging facility is still on the table, he said, but
for now Cashman is looking to move ahead with developing the rest of the
property – a process that will likely take 10-15 years to complete, depending
on the demand for those spaces, Heller said.
The conceptual designs Cashman showed the commission on
Thursday showed four new buildings on the southern end that Cashman would clear
and level: a 100,000 square foot building, and 80,000 square foot building, and
twin 40,000 square foot buildings.
The plans also show a new 100,000 square foot building and
38,000 square foot building between the existing American Styrenics plant and
the railway. American Styrenics, a joint venture of Dow and Chevron, has a
long-term ground lease and will remain on the site, Heller said.
Sean Duffy, head of industrial real estate for Cushman &
Wakefield, said the “intermodal” rail, highway and river access and its size
makes the site a unique opportunity for businesses. Duffy said demand is
trending towards larger buildings, and it’s unique to have a site in this
market that could accommodate multiple 100,000 square foot buildings.
“There isn’t another site of this size that can deliver
these kinds of buildings, even across the river at WestRock,”
Duffy said. “The transportation there is more difficult, the neighborhood
is more
challenging, the pads are smaller, the intermodal was more complex.”
The south end would be leveled and cleared to make room for
new buildings, but nothing new would be built until Cashman had a business
lined up to use it, Heller said.
“We’re not going to build buildings on speculation,” Heller
said. “We’re going to build buildings to suit when we have end users.”
Cashman has not yet submitted a formal application to the
town for any of the work considered in the conceptual plan.
Comcast tapping into East Windsor solar farm
Collin Atwood
EAST WINDSOR — Comcast, one of the largest
telecommunications operations in America, has purchased 70 megawatts of
renewable solar electricity from a town business that is in the early stages of
development.
Serving millions of customers across the nation, Comcast
will now power 43% of its Connecticut and Massachusetts operations utilizing
renewable solar electricity from the Gravel Pit Solar project in East Windsor.
The solar project, between Apothecaries Hall Road and
Plantation Road, is being developed by D.E. Shaw Renewable Investments and
North Light Energy.
In February 2021, the state Siting Council unanimously
approved the construction of the 485-acre solar development, which is planned
to be the largest of its kind in the Northeast.
Aaron Svedlow, president of North Light Energy, said the
project started construction in late January and will be completed in 2024.
He said the 120-megawatt clean energy facility will include
over 250,000 solar panels and will begin delivering to customers in 2024, with
Comcast the facility’s largest customer.
The facility will provide carbon-free electricity for
Comcast’s Western New England region headquarters in Berlin, NBC Sports in
Stamford, and NBC Connecticut in West Hartford, Joe O’Leary, press aide for the
Connecticut State Democrats, said.
“I am overjoyed that Comcast is pursuing this opportunity to
diversify its energy sourcing through Gravel Pit Solar,” Sen. Saud Anwar,
D-South Windsor, said. “This will have positive impacts statewide, for NBC and
Comcast through use of green energy and for East Windsor’s local business
growth.”
Comcast will purchase an annual volume of 111,000
megawatt-hours, a year’s worth of electricity use for more than 15,000 homes,
O’Leary said. He said the development will create around 200 construction jobs.
“This is a huge boost for municipal revenue growth — and it
shows that East Windsor is the place to be and to do business,” Rep. Jaime
Foster, D-Ellington, said.
The Board of Selectmen approved an agreement in June 2021
that will bring the town $378,000 in taxes annually, plus $1.5 million for
infrastructure improvements.
First Selectman Jason Bowsza said that upon completion, D.E.
Shaw Renewable Investments will become one of East Windsor’s largest taxpayers.
He said the development will reduce dust, noise, and truck
traffic, while prohibiting activity in the gravel mines, such as off-road,
all-terrain vehicles.
Contractors are completing the framework for the largest
building at Meadow Commons, a mixed-use project along the Berlin
Turnpike that is on track to be one of Newington’s biggest new developments in
a decade.
Most of the walls are up for the roughly 43,000-square-foot
retail building closest to the turnpike, and a large crane is assembling the
framework for the roof.
Framingham, Mass.-based Grossman Development Group is
also constructing several smaller retail buildings on part of a 24-acre tract
previously used by Eversource. In all, Grossman plans about 80,000 square feet
of retail space, with the first store opening in late summer. In a second phase
of the project, Criterion Development is scheduled to build more than 250
apartments on land in the back of the retail complex.
Mayor Beth DelBuono said Thursday that the development helps
Newington in numerous ways.
“It will bring much-needed housing as well a niche shopping
experience,” she said. “It’s like nothing we have in Newington and we can’t
wait to see the benefits to our community, as well as to all those who will
travel to Newington because of this development.”
The town last February approved a tax incentive for both
Grossman and Criterion that will freeze their assessments for the first 10
years of operations. Town officials at the time estimated the combined value of
the residential and commercial improvements would amount to more than $82
million, and construction inflation since then may have driven that figure up.
The site is about a half mile from the Berlin line, and is
just north of Best Buy. Meadow Commons is expected to house a supermarket, but
the chain has not been named yet.
Grossman said other tenants will include an outlet of New
Haven-based Sally’s Apizza; the chain’s website lists a Newington restaurant as
“coming soon.”
Additional tenants will be Shake Shack, an outlet of the
cookie retailer Crumbl, and the first Connecticut location for PJ’s Coffee.
Grossman is building the retail complex in partnership with
Long Wharf Capital and Callahan Inc., with financing by Washington Trust.
In its marketing to potential retail tenants, Grossman stressed the high traffic volumes on the turnpike. In addition to being a significant north-south artery, it has a heavy concentration of retail, restaurants and consumer service businesses.
“The site benefits from over 33,000 cars that drive by the
property daily and a new, fully directional signal (currently in permitting) in
order to access the site from the Berlin Turnpike,” according to Grossman.
“Meadow Commons is shadow-anchored by strong retail, including Raymour &
Flanigan, Best Buy, Target and other national retailers.”
In his 2021 presentation to the planning and zoning
commission, company President Howard Grossman said he is “very bullish” about
Connecticut and plans another project in Middletown.
The concept in Newington is to build “amenity retail and
boutique retail,” he said, describing it as “trying to be as Amazon-proof as
possible in this new world of retail and online.”
Grossman redeveloped several parcels in Shrewsbury, Mass.
into Lakeway Commons, a 375,000-square-foot mixed-use development.
It includes 100,000 square feet of retail, 250 apartments
and 14 townhomes, and its retail operations are anchored by a
50,000-square-foot Whole Foods. The Shrewsbury property also includes 250
apartments that were developed by Criterion.
The Shrewsbury tenants include Starbucks, Tavern in the
Square, Burtons Grill, Visionworks, UniBank, Jenny Boston Boutique, Scottrade,
Tile Works, Lunchbox Wax, Massage Envy, Club Pilates, Loyal Companion,
Orangetheory Fitness, The Tile Shop, The LUX Group, SkinMD, The Lash Lounge and
Shrewsbury Dentistry and others.
On the residential side, Criterion is a multifamily
development company based in Boston and Dallas. It has built more than 5,500
apartments.
Stratford legislators' bills target Bridgeport's sale of Sikorsky Airport to CT agency
BRIDGEPORT — The debate over the city's pending sale of its
Stratford-based airport to the Connecticut Airport Authority has reached
the state legislature.
A pair of lawmakers representing Stratford in Hartford —
Republican Senate Minority Leader Kevin Kelly and Democratic Representative Joe
Gresko — are behind four bills that would further complicate the CAA's already
delayed purchase of Sikorsky Memorial Airport and also give their town more
influence in the deal.
Gresko on Monday acknowledged the proposals — one would give
Stratford the right of first refusal to buy, another require Stratford's
approval of any sale, and the others attaching strings involving historic
preservation and future environmental impacts — may not survive the current
legislative session. But, he added, that is not necessarily the end goal.
"I can tell you the stories about what it takes to get
a bill passed," Gresko said. "To think all four of these bills will
pass? No. But a message is being sent that we feel, Stratford feels, that we
need to have a bigger role in the future of the airport. And hopefully we can
get our colleagues at the Capitol to agree with us."
Kelly said of the first submission in particular, "This
just seems like common sense, reasonable, fair, good government if one
municipality has property in another and wants to get rid of it, they should
first go to the town in which it's located and say, 'Hey, you guys want
this?'"
Kevin Dillon, the CAA's executive director, could not
immediately be reached for comment Monday.
Daniel Roach, an aide to Democratic Bridgeport Mayor Joe
Ganim who has been closely involved in the negotiations with the CAA, said of
the bills, "We'll see how it works out."
The four proposals are just the latest hurdle for the Ganim
administration's effort to have the CAA either buy or lease Sikorsky
Memorial and return regular passenger service there.
As
recently reported, an initial analysis of potential ground contamination at
the airport concluded the cleanup costs could be anywhere from $4 million to
$19 million, while the CAA has offered to pay $10 million maximum for the
property based on what Bridgeport has invested in the site beyond the federal
dollars that keep it operational.
And, under a state property transfer law, the parties have
to agree to a remediation process before the sale can proceed. Roach has said
the city is
seeking an exemption to that requirement given state legislators have been
moving to amend the transfer rule anyway.
The airport currently serves business, charter and private
flight services. The Ganim administration and CAA have been in talks for over a
year and both sides had initially
hoped to finalize a deal by the end of 2022.
Proponents of CAA control argue that entity, which already
operates Bradley International in Windsor Locks and other state airports, can
better position Sikorsky as a key travel hub that will further grow the
regional and Connecticut economies. Democratic Gov. Ned Lamont in November
2021 endorsed
a CAA take-over.
Meanwhile Stratford's Republican mayor, Laura Hoydick, and
her administration have
been trying unsuccessfully to make a counter-offer, arguing the town is not
against having expanded flights there, but should have control over the
facility instead of the upstate, Windsor Locks-based CAA.
One of Kelly's and Gresko's bills would "prohibit the
Connecticut Airport Authority from purchasing or acquiring an airport owned or
controlled by a municipality without first obtaining the approval of the
municipality within whose territorial limits the airport is located." In
other words, while the Bridgeport City Council must eventually vote on a sale,
Stratford leaders, in some capacity, would also need to give their blessing.
And two bills would, in various ways, place added
responsibilities on the CAA to ensure that its purchase of and future plans for
Sikorsky will not adversely impact the environment or any historic structures
on site. For example, it
has been unclear what a CAA takeover will mean for the airport-based
Connecticut Air and Space Center, which in 2015 obtained a 99-year lease
from Bridgeport and has been trying to refurbish the historic Curtiss hangar
for its home.
Kelly has served as the center's attorney and its leaders
have complained that they have been left out of any talks between the Ganim
administration and the CAA.
Dillon
last September said of the attraction, "If we're the airport
operator, we'd want to make sure it (the air/space center) has a home at the
airport. But we'd want the flexibility to be able to work with the museum to
relocate the facility if necessary."
Kelly on Monday said that besides the Curtiss hangar,
Sikorsky Memorial and Stratford in general have had key roles in aviation
history, and that history needs to be safeguarded. And, he noted, as for the
legislation that focuses on environmental impact, there are preserves,
sensitive habitats and species close to the site that must be taken into
account should CAA or another entity take the airport over and expand operations
there.
The debate over Sikorsky's future has put some area
legislators who have influence over the four bills in question in awkward
positions. Gresko, for example, is a Ganim ally and has a part-time job with
the city. Besides co-sponsoring the proposals he is co-chairman of the
legislature's environment committee, which has cognizance over two of his and
Kelly's submissions.
Meanwhile newly-elected Democratic state Sen. Herron Gaston,
who as a member of both the environment and transportation committees will also
be dealing with some of the four bills, not only represents portions of
Bridgeport and Stratford, but is another
of Ganim's top aides.
Gaston in a statement Monday said, "Bridgeport stands
to gain significantly from this acquisition should there be a meeting of the
minds."
"Any changes to Sikorsky Memorial Airport must first
and foremost protect residents in the immediate area and regionally
as well as the environment," Gaston said, adding he is
"committed to being a voice for the people of these impacted
communities."
He said he also wants to learn more not just about the CAA's
vision for the aviation facility, but Stratford's long-term plan too.
State reps. Antonio Felipe and Christopher Rosario, both
D-Bridgeport, have seats on, respectively, the legislature's environment
and transportation committees.
Felipe on Monday declined to comment on the quartet of bills
related to the airport's sale, but said that municipally-run airports
"have never worked."
"This (a CAA takeover) is the best way to kind of turn
it (Sikorsky) commercial and have some flights coming out of the region,"
Felipe said.
"I'm gonna let the process play out," Rosario said
of the four proposals. "I'm gonna advocate in the best interest of my
constituents and the city. I would love to take a quick hop flight down to
(Washington) D.C. and be home in half an hour flying out of Sikorsky."
He said having revived passenger service would also be good
for prominent local employers like M&T Bank and its executives.
Rosario said he would have liked Bridgeport to have
"gotten rid of" the airport years ago and voiced some concern about
the negotiations with the CAA "dragging on" and maybe the latter
eventually backing out.
Ganim and his staff have actually been thinking on-and-off
about selling Sikorsky since
just after his election in 2015.
The administration tried
to woo a private passenger carrier to the airport in 2019, but
ultimately concluded the CAA was better positioned to do so.
"I wish we didn't have so many hiccups," Rosario
said. "But obviously Sen. Kelly's gonna advocate for his town and do the
best he can. I'm gonna do the same for mine."
Cromwell Middle School Building Committee trying to close $21M budget gap in $56M project
Cassandra Day
CROMWELL — The Town Council voted to allow the Middle School Building Committee to proceed with the $56 million school project while expressing concerns about the budget being $21 million over what voters approved at referendum.
The committee’s website offers a breakdown: $17.2 million for construction and $3.8 million for other “soft” costs.
Council members will revisit the issue in April or May, when the next estimate is received.
The new middle school is “desperately needed,” Superintendent of Schools Enza Macri said Friday. “The current facility doesn’t have the educational space or layout to support a STEAM curriculum. This is significant when we think about preparing students adequately for high school and beyond.”
Voters passed the ballot measure June 14, 2022, by a vote of 970 to 231.
“I’m sure there’s nobody who wants to go back twice,” Mayor Steve Fortenbach said. If project costs exceed even $1 over $56 million, he added the question whether to spend more must again be put to voters.
Expenditures, Fortenbach explained, “can’t be looked at in a vacuum, because there are other projects in town the residents are looking for."
The district has said it expects about 60 percent of the final costs will be borne by the state Board of Education.
Building Committee Chairwoman Rosanna Glynn expressed frustration over the matter at a special Town Council meeting Wednesday, which followed their meeting.
“The committee was led to believe that our concept cost estimation had everything that we had discussed, such as the enlarged stage and auditorium. We had documentation indicating as much,” she said Thursday.
“It is also frustrating that there is no direct line to make an apples-to-apples comparison between the two designs. It will take some research and significant effort from the committee to put a clear comparison together. All the questions the Town Council asked, we asked ourselves,” Glynn said.
“The building committee has been very committed to their core value of transparency during this project,” Macri noted. “They expect it of themselves as well as their partners.”
Members will be reviewing project information “to see where a partner in this project may not have provided appropriate information,” the superintendent continued. “Financially, no one wants to be in this situation. I am confident that the building committee will sharpen their pencils and find additional cost savings.”
Rising costs may prohibit building sports fields and an auditorium, the committee wrote on its website, something Macri hopes the town will never face.
“Cromwell children deserve both a new middle school and the athletic facilities that go along with it. We should not have to sacrifice one for the other; however, this is a community project and we will work together to do what is best,” Macri said.
Some residents are wondering whether the project would simply be abandoned for the large increase in costs.
“Anything is a possibility, but, right now, we are way too early in the process to head in that direction,” Macri said, adding that there are two more outstanding estimates and bids. “We will really know what we are dealing with, cost wise, after those bids are received.
“At that time, a decision will have to be made, but the hope is, costs will be lower than predicted,” she added.
"We have to be very clear as we're moving this forward,” Councilwoman Jennifer Donohue said during Wednesday’s town meeting. “What are the costs, why are the costs different, and educating everybody on that, because we can't keep going back and doing this.
“Where's the trust in the project and what we’re doing?” Donohue asked.
“I think it’s imperative for the school building committee to dig deep and define our wants and needs on the school building project to try and bring that number down,” Fortenbach told The Press.
“We have a fiduciary responsibility to the residents. We should be delivering a great project,” but one that is also “fiscally responsible,” the mayor pointed out.
He acknowledged that inflation has hit everyone hard. “Everybody’s belt is tight all around. Electricity is up, the cost to heat your home up. Everything is more expensive today.
“Increasing [the tax] rate has a financial effect on everyone in the community,” Fortenbach said.
“No one wants to see this project go over budget, and we are going to do everything in our power to close the gap,” Glynn said.