State Pier contractor finds temporary use for Thames River Apartments site
Greg Smith
New London ― The city has found a temporary use for the
Crystal Avenue property where the demolished Thames River Apartments once
stood.
Kiewit Infrastructure Co., the construction manager for the
nearby State Pier project, has signed an agreement to pay the city $10,000 a
month through December for use of the 15-acre parcel.
The agreement, which runs from March 1 through Dec. 31,
comes as Gateway New London LLC, prepares to start its work as the port
operator on April 21. Offshore wind turbines, which are to be assembled and
shipped from the pier, are expected to arrive shortly after.
Omaha, Nebraska-based Kiewit has already moved rows of
trailers beds loaded with material to the 40 Crystal Ave. property.
“Kiewit intends to use the space for our material storage
and lay down needs as we work toward project completion,” Kiewit spokesperson
Teresa Shada said.
The company is expected to be working in some capacity at
State Pier, which is a short distance from the site, for much of the year.
The terms of the agreement between Kiewit and New London
call for Kiewit to establish temporary office space and “lay down area for
equipment and materials,” on the Crystal Avenue property. Kiewit is responsible
for items such as trash removal and upkeep of the property.
Felix Reyes, director of New London’s Office of Development
and Planning, said the city was approached by Kiewit about using the Crystal
Avenue property. The agreement made sense, Reyes said, since the city is still
gearing up to market the property and ask for requests for proposals for the
future use of the site.
“The hope is we build something that increases our grand
list and increases jobs,” Reyes said. “The intermediate use of that space
doesn’t prevent us from doing that.”
The city is waiting for the results of an environmental
survey of the property that will detail the extent of any contamination. The
need for some amount of remediation, at least on some portions of the property,
is expected, Reyes said. The costs of any cleanup would be incorporated into
negotiations for use of the property.
Reyes expects the property will attract a use like a small
manufacturing firm. He said the city would prefer not to see proposals like
self-storage facilities or warehouses.
“We’re going to be patient and ensure we have the right
development. We owe it to our residents and to the state,” Reyes said.
The demolition of the buildings cost about $4 million. All
but $700,000 was funded by the state, which Reyes said remains a partner in
development of the site.
The city bought the property while the buildings were still
standing for $185,000 from the New London Housing Authority following a joint
effort to move the residents out of the federally-subsidized complex because of
the deteriorating conditions.
One of the first entities to show interest in its future use
was Connecticut Waste Processing Materials LLC and Manafort Brothers who
pitched a proposal to demolish the buildings and use the property for a bulk
shipping and storage facility in support of its own operations and possible for
the storage of road salt.
Reyes said it is possible that there is use of the site from
something related to the offshore wind industry.
CTDOT: Opening of new train station at Norwalk's Merritt 7 stop delayed until summer
Jonah Dylan
NORWALK — Due to construction delays, commuters won't be
able to enjoy the benefits of the new Merritt 7 train station until this
summer, according to the Connecticut Department of Transportation.
The opening of the new train station, which officials have
said will improve accessibility for riders and create
a "village effect" in the area, was originally planned for
fall of 2022, CTDOT said.
"CTDOT remains committed to getting projects done in a
timely manner while continuing to ensure quality and safety in the final
product," CTDOT director of communications Kafi Rouse said in an email
last week.
Merritt 7 is a stop on the Danbury branch of Metro-North
Railroad, the last one before the branch line merges onto the New Haven Line
near the South Norwalk train station.
"The completion of the Merritt 7 station project was
delayed due to supply chain and resource issues over the last few years,"
Rouse said. "There were also some unexpected conflicts with underground
utilities and drainage systems, which meant continued coordination with utility
companies and redesigning parts of the project. We anticipate opening the new
station and boarding platform this summer."
Work on the new train station for the Merritt 7, which is
located next to the original platform for commuters, began in September
2020.
The new station will be equipped with a 500-foot-long
platform and heated platforms to prevent snow and ice accumulation.
Additionally, the new Merritt 7 will be handicap accessible.
The stop serves 28 trains on weekdays, eight of which are
direct to New York’s Grand Central. Parking availability will increase from 88
to 105 spots, some of which will be in a newly constructed and paved lot across
the street from the station.
The new station will also include a walkway bridge to the
Merritt 7 offices.
Merritt 7 is home to IBM, Xerox, MassMutual and Frontier
Communications, among other companies. Hearst Connecticut Media Group,
including the Norwalk Hour, also has office space in the complex.
“They want to give it a village effect and you can get
everything you need,” Mayor Harry Rilling said at a 2021 event to tout the
project. “There are all kinds of things that can be done here to get things
running smoothly and traffic flowing.”
Connecticut first authorized funding for the project in
2017, when $21 million was approved to borrow for the upgrades
to the Merritt 7 stop and design work for a proposed station servicing Orange.
Funding from the Connecticut State Bond Commission put in
motion the two projects that had been on the books for several years.
Westport plans Cross Highway upgrades to make it safer for cars, pedestrians
WESTPORT — Cross Highway is about to get a bit safer as
officials work to improve
that area from North Avenue to Bayberry Lane.
Officials have found the area is unsafe for cars because
people drive fast, poor stop signs and traffic congestion. It also presents
safety concerns for pedestrians because of incomplete sidewalks and a lack of
marked crosswalks.
The new plan, which was discussed this week, hopes to fix
that. The project is in its early stages and is part of the town's plan
to address
traffic and pedestrian safety issues.
"This corridor between North Avenue and Bayberry Lane
has been on the radar for some time," Town Engineer Keith Wilberg
said.
The intersection at Bayberry Lane has a high accident rate,
Wilberg said, adding there have been 22 accidents reported there from 2017
through 2022. He said town engineers are not sure why that is, considering it
is a typical, 90-degree intersection.
One crash on Dec. 5, 2022 sent one person to the hospital,
according to a presentation at the public information meeting.
"In the long run, we're looking to make this corridor
better — both safer for vehicles and pedestrians and more efficient in terms of
moving traffic," he said.
Wilberg said it's a geometry issue with a four-way stop
at the North Avenue intersection, where drivers do not know who has the right
of way. There are also conflicting turns and it's hard to see the stop
signs and for drivers there to see other vehicles. The traffic study also found
congestion from school and commuter traffic.
Bayberry Lane also has visibility issues at the stop signs,
according to the presentation.
Both areas have problems with drivers going 35 to 40 miles
per hour though the speed limit is 25 to 30 miles per hour there, officials
said.
The pedestrian issues for the area include incomplete
sidewalks, a lack of marked crosswalks, limited accessible ramps and no
sidewalks on the bridge over Deadman's Brook, which forces pedestrians to enter
the roadway.
Wilberg said the town has hired a design engineer who
developed multiple potential improvement plans for the area.
Town officials have already collected data and surveyed the
area. They're now working on the traffic study and schematic design phase. They
are in the process of receiving feedback from residents, and reviewing that
feedback to decide which approach to choose.
Wilberg said they will enter the preliminary design phase in
the next few weeks. A design engineer will come up with what they call "30
percent construction plans," which outline the project in detail, though
leaves room for changes.
Though the town is unsure which plan they are going to use,
Wilberg said they presented options from no improvements whatsoever to a major
intersection reconstruction with a roundabout. Most likely, he said, they will
find an option somewhere in the middle of that spectrum, such as enhanced stop
signs with LED lights or adding traffic signals, like a flashing red light,
rather than a traditional traffic light.
"Each of the proposed solutions for these problems
carry with it benefits, and they carry drawbacks," Wilberg said, such as
property impacts and increased cost.
Wilberg said the public varied in feedback. Some were
thrilled to hear about getting sidewalks. Others were opposed to stop lights,
as they did not want to see flashing lights in their windows at night. He also
said many liked the idea of a roundabout, but were opposed upon learning about
the severity of construction.
There could be some changes to the neighborhood, such as
removing a few utility poles and trimming some trees, he said.
"The best thing I can say is we encourage residents to
come out," Wilberg said. "The public meeting is a time for them to
voice their concerns, and I like to see when the public does show up and say
that."
There will be another meeting for residents, most likely in
the summer or early fall, to voice their opinions on a more concrete
project.
Depending on what project is determined, construction could
happen in 2024 or 2025.
Shelton plans pause on apartment construction, except downtown
SHELTON — With the city’s affordable
housing plan not yet formally approved, the Planning and Zoning Commission
hopes to extend its moratorium on apartment buildings everywhere but
downtown.
The commission, at its meeting Wednesday, voted to hold a
public hearing on March 29 to discuss extending the moratorium on new
multi-family residential rental housing units throughout the city, except in
the Central Business District, which encompasses downtown.
The moratorium extension would run for a maximum of six
additional months, ending no later than Sept. 30, unless the commission decides
it would be appropriate to end it sooner. The original
moratorium took effect June 10, 2022, and several applications filed prior
to that date are still awaiting the commission’s decision.
“We definitely want this (moratorium) to be shorter,” said
Commissioner Ruth Parkins, who sat on the subcommittee on this topic with
fellow commissioners Elaine Matto and Charles Kelly. “We do not want this to be
longer than six months.”
“We decided we needed a little more time. We are not unduly
delaying the process,” Parkins added. “We don’t want to accept new applications
in these areas until we know what the final affordable housing guidance will
be.”
Shelton’s plan was a joint effort of the commission and the
Planning & Zoning department staff and includes a guide on the percentage
of affordable units the commission would require of high-density residential
rental projects.
“Section 8-30g of the Connecticut General Statutes gives the
land use board of a municipality the responsibility of developing a plan to
provide affordable housing in its community,” said Commission Chair Virginia
Harger.
“Having affordable housing options means that young people
who return to Shelton after college or serving in the military can again reside
in their hometown," Harger added. "It gives older residents who want
to downsize a greater ability to do so. It assists those employed in lower
paying jobs a chance to live where they work.”
The commission is in the process of putting the affordable
housing plan on the city’s website for residents to read and comment if they
choose by March 28, one day before the commission’s next meeting, at which the
intent is for the commission to approve the plan and forward it to the Board of
Aldermen. The aldermen will then hold a public hearing and finally vote to
adopt the plan.
When the moratorium was first approved, Harger said it
offered the commission the opportunity to investigate the impact of these
projects on traffic and parking; the city’s sewer system; potential increases
in demands on police and the schools; an increase in light pollution during the
evening; and whether state and local governments need to make necessary public
infrastructure improvements.
In its original resolution, the commission stated that the
city has seen “exceptional growth” in the number of such developments in recent
years through the use of the Planned Development District zoning
protocol.
“As a result, there has been concern on behalf of the
Commission members as to whether the continued approval of such multifamily
residential rental unit projects is changing the nature of those
neighborhoods," the resolution stated.
The commission‘s resolution also stated that the increased
density from the developments place additional demand on municipal services, in
particular, the sanitary sewer system.
Yale proposes restoration of 1926 golf course, residents concerned
Mary O'Leary
NEW HAVEN - The proposed felling of more than 800 trees, the
disturbance of wetlands on the Yale Golf Course and the construction of a
temporary hauling road on the Yale Nature Preserve has brought objections from
Westville residents as they seek a discussion with the university.
Yale, in its August 1,000-plus page water quality permit
application to the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection,
proposes restoring the 1926 golf course as close as possible to the original
design created by Charles Blair Macdonald and Seth Raynor.
In addition to the clearing and thinning of trees, the
proposal will permanently impact 253,240 square feet (5.6 acres) of wetlands
and temporarily affect 138,600 square feet (2 acres) of wetlands, according to
the application.
Amy Marx, who represented Alder Darryl Brackeen Jr., D-26,
and other neighbors at the most recent New Haven Environmental Advisory Council
meeting, said the residents are looking for "an open conversation about
the pros and cons of these decisions by Yale."Karen King, a spokesperson for Yale, said the work at the
golf course is part of the annual culling of trees which had been suspended for
three years because of the pandemic.
"Most of the trees have been identified by an arborist
as diseased and dying. The trees are located near public access areas and
pose a potential risk of overhead limb failure to community members, golfers
and staff," King wrote in an email.
The report states that tree clearing is proposed to provide
a line of sight for the players, fairway expansion, and aid in airflow to
reduce moisture on the course.
Marx said what she and others found on the course were
"big majestic, beautiful trees being cut that look entirely healthy."
The goal of the project is to restore the course to how it
was almost a century ago, which includes the tees, greens, bunkers and
fairways, as well as an extension of the length of the course to accommodate
championship play. Work will also be done on golf cart path realignment and the
driving range.
Much of the application also covers extensive engineering
tied to water conservation, including dredging ponds for improved water storage
capacity and a new computer-controlled irrigation system.
Photos of the course show dozens of cut trees stacked like
kindling at various locations with wood chips covering areas where stumps have
been removed.
"As time passes, we are in an interconnected world of global warming, and
the question becomes, at what cost are we cutting down trees? The Nature
Preserve and the golf course are not only a gorgeous natural preserve but also a
massive carbon filtration and sink for global warming," Marx said.
At the EAC meeting, Rob Schonberg asked what Peter Palacious
Jr., the course's general manager, meant when he commented on his plans for the
course in the September 2020 issue of Golf Digest.
"Using old prints as a guide," Palacious talked
about his vision of restoration to the original design in the article.
"Raynor intended no trees to be in the confines of the
course. Not only does clearing (those trees) out restore how Raynor
wanted the course to play, it will improve the turf and conditioning practices,
two complaints I know Yale has dealt with in the past," Palacios was
quoted as saying.
King did not answer a question on what the general manager
meant.
Schonberger said he heard from Yale that it is not its
intention to cull all the trees.
"They have not told me whether they are going to leave
one ... or whether they are going to leave hundreds," Schonberger
said.
Laura Cahn, chairwoman of the New Haven Environmental
Advisory Council, has asked New Haven Aldermanic President Tyisha Walker-Myers
for a public meeting on Yale's plans.
A review of the work is currently before DEEP and the US
Army Corps of Engineers. After that, it goes to the City Plan Commission
for site plan, soil erosion and sediment control permitting.
King reiterated that schedule, saying the university will
begin discussions locally and seek the necessary approvals once the other two
agencies have issued their findings.
The renovation is proposed to be phased in from
October 2023 to August 2025, with the administrative approvals taking place
this spring.
The golf course is on a 287-acre parcel along the city's
western municipal boundary. It is densely surrounded to the north and
east by residential properties and to the north and northwest by the Yale
Nature Preserve and Route 15.
The southern end is bound by the South Central Connecticut
Regional Water Authority's Maltby Lakes facility. A small area extends
into West Haven.
The restoration plan calls for the creation of a temporary
hauling road off Fountain Street, north of the course, connecting to the 7th
hole and then to the driving range.
After selectively clearing trees, this access road through
the adjacent Yale Nature Preserve was described as crushed stone that would be
24 feet wide with filter fabric under 16-foot-wide timber mats within the
wetland area. It will also feature sediment and erosion controls,
according to the report.
Creation of a hauling road is planned so the university can
"avoid residential neighborhoods and tight turns on narrow municipal
roadways to the maximum extent possible," the report reads.
The hauling road will run behind some 20 homes on Longhill
Terrace, according to a map in the report.
King also addressed the creation of the road and its purpose
to direct construction work away from local neighborhoods. She wrote,
"once the project is complete, the haul route would be removed, and the
area restored — with an eye toward enhancing community access from Fountain
Street."
In her letter to Walker-Myers, Cahn worried about increased
water problems for the neighborhood.
"Among many potential consequences, we are concerned
about the environmental impact on the neighborhood, which is already plagued by
excess water eroding soil, flooding basements, opening sinkholes, creating new
streams and running down streets during rainstorms," she wrote.
She said the city has 1.7 million trees, 118 per person.
"We need all the shade, particulate matter filtering,
oxygen yield, noise dampening, carbon storage and protection from erosion and
storm-water runoff provided by each of these trees," she said.
Cahn said mature trees sequester more carbon than new trees,
so additional planting would not solve the problem.
According to the report, there will be a second hauling
route from the 11th hole to Stevenson Road, temporarily disturbing 11,100
square feet within four wetland locations.
Of the 35 wetlands detailed in the report, only nine will
not be disturbed.
The report does address flooding problems on Stevenson Road,
noting that existing drainage issues have been identified where the golf course
property discharges toward Stevenson Road, particularly "at a drainage
swale between 271 and 285 Stevenson Road properties."
It found that the city's drainage network within the road is
undersized, causing flooding issues on neighboring properties. The Tighe &
Bond engineers propose installing a series of catch basins to discharge the
water through a headwall, improving the capacity of the municipal storm sewer
system.