THE SUZIO STORY 125 YEARS OF FAMILY ENTERPRISE PHILANTHROPY AND SERVICE
The Meriden Historical Society is hosting an exhibit entitled "The Suzio Story - 125 Years of Enterprise, Family, Philanthropy, and Service" at its Museum and History Center, at 41 West Main Street in Meriden every Sunday in October from 11:00 to 3:00
Featuring
memorabilia and photographs from Suzio headquarters on Westfield Road as
well as videos of interviews with past and present employees
Capturing
the remarkable story of a 21 year old Italian immigrant, Leonardo Suzio, who
grew Suzio York Hill into one of the most successful and enduring family-owned
businesses in Connecticut history starting in 1898
Including
the role of 2nd, 3rd, and 4th generation Suzio members and Henry Altobello in
the evolution and growth of the business from building (1910's) to road
construction (1930's) to building materials (1955 - today)
Highlighting
Suzio loyalty to its origin city Meriden, its employees, its vendors, and its
community.
Fossil fuel company wants to expand gas pipeline in Northeast
Dubbed “Project Maple,” the proposal from Enbridge — a large
Canadian energy company with fossil fuel infrastructure throughout the U.S. —
would involve substantial upgrades on the Algonquin Gas Transmission line. This
pipeline runs from northern New Jersey through parts of New York, Connecticut,
Rhode Island and into Massachusetts, where it feeds into the Weymouth Natural Gas Compressor Station and then
connects to another pipeline north of Boston.
Details about the proposed project remain vague, but
according to documents from Enbridge, the upgrades would include replacing
existing underground pipes with larger ones, running secondary pipelines
alongside existing ones and expanding some compressor stations along the route.
By expanding gas capacity on the pipeline, Enbridge says the
project will help stabilize gas prices, increase electric reliability and
“[support] New England’s continued journey to Net Zero” by displacing oil use
in the region on cold days.
Project Maple is “designed to expand Algonquin in a smart,
targeted manner to meet the region’s growing needs for reliable access to
natural gas,” Max Bergeron, an Enbridge spokesman, wrote in an email.
But for environmentalists, building new gas infrastructure
is unnecessary and antithetical to the stated carbon reduction goals of many
states in the region.
“I’m skeptical of Enbridge’s claims that this project would
be beneficial to the region,” said Kyle Murray, the Massachusetts program
director at the Acadia Center. “As we saw this past winter, with dramatic
energy price spikes occurring in the natural gas market, our region is already
over reliant upon natural gas for its heating and electric needs. Expanding
this pipeline as the region is quickly moving to electrify its heating sources
and develop more renewable generation makes little sense.”
Nathan Phillips, a Boston University professor whose work
often focuses on natural gas infrastructure, agreed. He called the Project
Maple proposal “odious,” and said Massachusetts and other states in the
Northeast “don’t need the extra capacity that [Enbridge] is calling for.”
We have “better solutions,” he said.
Massachusetts, like many other states in the region, has
aggressive climate goals that require dramatically reducing reliance on fossil
fuels like natural gas. By 2050, the state aims to get most of its electricity
from non-carbon emitting sources of power like wind, solar and hydropower.
There may be some fossil fuel power plants still operating by then, but the state
plans to slash emissions from the electricity sector by 93% over 1990 levels.
“We are at a critical juncture in both our nation's history
and in world history in recognizing the real, tangible, serious effects of
climate change on our health, our environment, our communities” said Gillian
Giannetti, a senior lawyer with the watchdog group The Sustainable FERC
Project. “This is not the time to casually add more fossil fuel capacity.”
What does Project Maple entail?
Without a local source of natural gas, New England relies
entirely on fuel from other parts of the country. Most of the gas the region
uses comes through underground pipelines like the Algonquin Gas Transmission
line — if you live in Eastern Massachusetts, you likely rely on the Algonquin
pipeline for heating or electricity.
Natural gas is measured in “dekatherms,” and the Algonquin
pipeline currently can carry about 3 million dekatherms per day, or about 3.12
billion cubic feet of gas. (For context, the average household in Massachusetts
that heats with gas uses about 10-12 dekatherms of gas per month during the
winter.)
Enbridge wants to expand the system and sell more gas from
two points on the pipeline. At one end in Ramapo, New Jersey, the system could
provide an extra 500,000 dekatherms of gas per day, and at the other end, in
Salem, Massachusetts, the pipeline could carry an extra 250,000 dekatherms per
day.
That represents a substantial increase in gas capacity on
the pipeline. And in order to move all this extra gas through the pipeline,
Enbridge may need to expand existing compressor stations as well. (Compressor
stations “compress” gas to give it a boost and help it move efficiently through
a pipeline.)
Enbridge spokesman Max Bergeron said the company does not
"anticipate adding any additional compression at the Weymouth Compressor
Station as part of this project.”
In its description of the project, Enbridge says most of the
construction will take place “within or adjacent to existing rights-of-way and
at company-owned facilities,” meaning that it “can be developed with minimal
impacts to landowners, local communities and the environment.”
But Phillips, the BU professor, said he’s skeptical.
“I don’t think anyone is taking anything [Enbridge] says
with a great deal of confidence,” he said. The company’s description of the
project “set the alarm bells off” in Salem and Weymouth.
Why does Enbridge say the project is needed?
As noted above, New England doesn’t have a lot of options
for getting natural gas. But the region is also very gas-dependent; thousands
of homes rely on gas for heating and more than half of New England's
electricity is generated at gas-fired power plants.
According to Enbridge, despite state climate commitments,
demand for natural gas is projected to increase in the near future. And a
failure to meet that demand, the company says, will result in even higher
energy prices and could put electric reliability at risk.
Enbridge is also positioning Project Maple as a
climate-friendly project for the region.
It “will provide New England with an opportunity to secure a
cost effective, regionally produced, environmentally responsible source of
clean-burning natural gas to support the current and future demand for energy,”
the company wrote.
The logic is two-fold: First, if power plants have more gas,
they can rely less on dirtier fuels like oil. And second, as the region builds
out renewables, it will need so-called “balancing resources” that can quickly
ramp up to keep the lights on. Enbridge argues that using gas-fired power
plants to “offset the supply gaps that occur” when the sun isn’t shining or the
wind isn’t blowing will allow the region to safely add more renewables to the
grid.
While most energy experts say some amount of firm and
reliable power will be needed in the future, there's a great deal of debate
over what that will look like. Batteries, for instance, could help offset some
of those “supply gaps.”
Though not explicitly stated in Enbridge’s description of
the project, some energy experts believe Enbridge may also be hedging its bets
in the case that the Everett Marine Terminal closes next year. The terminal
is an important piece of energy infrastructure that accepts liquified natural
gas from big tankers and turns it into methane gas that can be used to run
power plants and heat homes.
Traditionally, about 80% of the methane that comes through the
Everett terminal has been purchased by the Mystic Generating Station, the
region’s largest gas-fired power plant. The other 20% goes into the underground
pipeline system where it’s used by other power plants or for home heating.
The Mystic power plant is slated to close next summer, which
makes the future of the Marine Terminal uncertain. The company that owns the
terminal has said in the past that it can’t afford to keep it open after Mystic
shutters next year unless another buyer for its gas steps up. So far, that
hasn’t happened, meaning the New England region could face even bigger gas
supply constraints in the near future.
Can climate-conscious states like Massachusetts stop this
project?
Interstate gas pipelines like Algonquin fall under the
jurisdiction of the federal government, specifically the Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission. But there may be a role for Massachusetts and other
states along the pipeline. The original Algonquin pipeline — like the Weymouth
Compressor — required state and federal permits.
It’s possible that the project will need the same, said
James Coleman, a FERC expert and law professor at Southern Methodist
University. But without knowing the full scope of what Enbridge is proposing,
he said it’s hard to say what the permitting process will look like.
Massachusetts environmental officials did not immediately
respond to a request for comment about the proposed pipeline project.
The state approved several environmental permits for the
Weymouth Natural Compressor Station during former Gov. Charlie Baker's
administration, much to the dismay of climate activists and south shore
residents. Things have changed since that happened, though.
Under a 2021 state law, any major project being built in a
state-designated environmental justice neighborhood, like Weymouth, requires
extra scrutiny. The law also requires that state agencies look at how any new
project would contribute to any existing environmental impacts in an area,
rather than simply looking at the impacts of a projects in a vacuum.
So what happens now?
In order for a project developer like Enbridge to get the
green light to move forward, it first needs to prove to the Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission that the project is in the public good. In the energy
world, that means proving there’s demand for the project, which is done through
an auction process. The company began that process on Sept. 12.
After the bids are in, Enbridge will ask the commission for
what’s called a “Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity.” This filing
will trigger an environmental review as well as public comment period where
concerned citizens, environmentalists and state leaders can weigh in on the
project.
Getting this certificate — plus any other permits the
project requires — will likely take several years and Enbridge anticipates its
proposed expansion will be on line as soon as Nov. 2029.
There are other complicating factors. Congress is debating
changes to the environmental review process for energy projects, which could
make pipeline projects like this easier to build. And the five-member Federal
Energy Regulatory Commission currently has one vacancy and a lame duck
commissioner whose tenure ends later this year. Who is nominated to fill those
seats could be help determine whether the commission looks favorably upon the
project.
But while there are a lot of uncertainties about the future
of Project Maple, Phillips, the BU professor, said one thing is clear.
“The fight is on," said Phillips. "We’re
mobilizing and we’re going to [put] pressure everywhere” to stop it.
This story was originally published by WBUR. It was shared as part of the New
England News Collaborative.
Darien's Noroton Heights Metro-North train station parking lot to undergo months-long construction
Mollie Hersh
DARIEN — Commuters may have to look a little harder for a
parking spot this October as the Noroton Heights commuter parking lot undergoes
construction.
Beginning Oct. 2, the north parking lot at Darien’s Noroton
Heights Metro-North Railroad station will be under construction for drainage
improvements, the town announced in a press release. Construction is slated to
last until Dec. 1.
As part of the construction work, the lot will be excavated
to install an underground drainage system intended to reduce flooding on
Heights Road by directing the flow of water runoff underground from the parking
lot.
During the construction, the number of parking spaces will
be reduced. However, work will be done in phases, so only portions of the lot
will be closed at a time.
The lot will remain open throughout construction and passage
will remain available.
In a press release, the town recommended commuters park in
the south lot accessible by Hollow Tree Ridge Road or Ledge Road.
The Noroton Heights station parking lot includes spaces for
annual permits, monthly parking and daily parking. Prices for commuter parking
across Darien will be increasing
beginning Jan. 1, which the Board of Selectmen approved earlier this month.
The price hike for parking is intended to generate more
revenue for parking lot capital projects, Darien's town administrator Kate Buch
said. The largest of these would be an overhaul of the Noroton Heights station
with a pedestrian overpass.
Annual permits for commuters are open to both Darien
residents and non-residents. Permit renewals are expected to be sent out to
current permit holders in October.
A prominent CT developer’s legacy and how his company now sees the future. ‘He never pulled a punch’
HARTFORD — The
long-awaited grand opening of Hartford’s new sports betting venue last
week was cause for celebration but talk at the event also turned to something
more sobering: the
sudden death two days earlier of prominent downtown developer Martin J. Kenny.
One guest at the festivities at the XL Center commented that it was upsetting that Kenny’s new plan for an apartment conversion in an vacant office building opposite Bushnell Park would certainly suffer a setback.
“We responded that is going forward as it was a good deal, and Marty’s partners and team would carry it through,” Michael W. Freimuth, executive director of the Capital Region Development Authority, who was part of the conversation, recalled after the event. CRDA has helped publicly finance housing redevelopment projects, including Kenny’s, over the last decade.
Kenny’s unexpected death at 67 on Sept. 16 shocked a broad cross-section of the community. Kenny was a major force in downtown Hartford development for more than two decades and an unwavering believer in a bright, revitalized future for the Capital City. But Kenny also was a strong influence in mixed-use projects in suburbs such as Windsor, Glastonbury and West Hartford where he often said new apartment construction had lagged for many years.
The real estate company founded by Kenny,
Hartford-based Lexington Partners,
quickly reassured Hartford and other towns and cities where it has active
projects that it would not only continue with those developments but it
expected new ones in the future.
“We will be moving full steam ahead with all the projects we
have in the works,” Alan Lazowski, chief executive of
Hartford-based LAZ Parking and
a longtime business partner and friend of Kenny’s, said.
Those include the $70
million conversion of a former convent in West Hartford into nearly
300 apartments, a project that is now nearing completion. To the east of the
Connecticut River, there is an massive $850
million redevelopment of Founders Plaza in East Hartford — now in its early
stages — that could include as many as 1,000 new apartments, restaurants,
entertainment venues, medical offices and a new pedestrian bridge across the
Connecticut River.
To the south, there is the redevelopment of the former
Crowne Plaza hotel in Cromwell to make way for a $100 million development of
housing and shops. And in the heart of downtown Hartford, a
newly-proposed, $26.7
million apartment conversion of the vacant office building at 15 Lewis St. across
from Bushnell Park.
“We have an extremely competent development, construction
and management team of 130 people,” Lazowski said.
The team, Lazowski said, is led by Chris Reilly, Lexington’s
president, who has worked with Kenny for six years. Kenny’s sons, Patrick and
Kevin, also are in leadership positions, in development and commercial leasing.
“We will honor Marty’s legacy by developing projects in
Hartford and beyond in the same spirit, enthusiasm and excellence that Marty
and Lexington has performed for decades,” Lazowski said.
Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin, who has worked with Kenny on
high-profile development projects in the city, said Kenny “was a powerful
force, but one of the things he was so good at was building a team. And he
leaves behind a very strong team that includes his family.”
Kenny was very much the public face of his company, however,
so it was a good move for Lexington to move swiftly to reassure that projects
in the works will proceed as planned, said Robert Yawson, professor of
management and chair of entrepreneurship and strategy at Quinnipiac University in Hamden.
“There has to be a quick, decisive action to minimize any
disruption and put the stakeholders at ease,” Yawson said. “So without Kenny,
they are pushing on with all of his plans and nobody should be worried.”
More nuanced, Yawson said, are the relationships Kenny built
up over time, particularly with decision makers on both the state and local
level — and what shape those relationships will take in Kenny’s absence.
Kenny’s stature in the development business was built on a
many faceted foundation. He was a lawyer and also worked in the commercial real
estate division one of Hartford’s old-line banks, Society for Savings. In
addition, Kenny brought political experience into the equation, having worked
In Washington D.C. for a U.S. senator.
He ventured into development in the mid-1980s with his
father, Maurice, a electrical contractor who built a real estate development
company. One his first projects was the conversion of the old G.
Fox & Co. department store warehouse into a parking garage, topped
with office space, known as Talcott Plaza.
But Kenny hit his career stride in multifamily, apartment
development, often tackling difficult projects.
Two decades ago, Kenny — soon after founding Lexington — saw
a coming wave of apartments in the cities, part of a broader return to cities,
particularly by young professionals. The shift also was marked by a move toward
more “walkable” developments in the suburbs with a heavy emphasis on amenities,
shopping and restaurants.
“If you’re going to be a good real estate guy, you have to
be able to see in the future because what’s going on today is completely
irrelevant by the time you deliver a real estate project,” said Suzanne
Hopgood, the former CRDA chair who knew Kenny for 25 years. “The world has
changed.”
Downtown Hartford apartments
In 2001, Kenny took on the redevelopment of prime property
in downtown Hartford between Trumbull and Lewis streets facing Bushnell Park.
The land was once proposed in the late 1980s for what would have been the
tallest building in New England, mixing offices and apartments. But the plan
fell apart in a devastating recession that soon followed that hit commercial
real estate particularly hard.
Kenny had a different vision: a nine-story apartment
building with a wide range of apartment sizes over storefront shops.
He successfully built Spectra on the Park — then Trumbull on
the Park — despite pressure from the city not to overwhelm historic buildings
on Lewis Street and skepticism that there would be tenants interested in the
apartments.
But Trumbull on the Park would set the stage for a new wave
of apartment construction in downtown Hartford — much of it converted, aging
office space — that is still unfolding today.
Kenny also saw the potential of downtown Hartford’s Pratt
Street with apartments over existing storefronts, both as a place to live and a
destination to recapture revitalization sapped by the pandemic.
Among his recent projects were partnerships involved with
apartment conversions on Pratt Street and the renovation of former student
housing into the Sage-Allen
Apartments at Temple and Market streets, both now enjoying 100%
occupancy.
Hopgood said Kenny’s success was rooted in being a visionary
but with willingness blended with a tenacity to keep tweaking a plan and its
financing, particularly when public funding was involved, until it was
acceptable to all sides.
“Marty could rework a deal and rework a deal and rework a
deal until he got it done,” Hopgood said.
‘Walk through walls’
As hundreds gathered for Kenny’s funeral service last week
in downtown Hartford, his son Kevin said his father didn’t shy away from
challenges.
“He lived by a single phrase all our lives. ‘Walk through
walls.’ It was his creed, and it was his code,” Kevin Kenny said, in his
eulogy. “No matter what the obstacle, walk through it, son. I stand here today,
so very proud that I had 36 years to watch him walk through every wall he ever
came up against.”
LAZ Parking, cut the ribbon for the Sage-Allen Apartments,
an 89-unit apartment complex in downtown Hartford. (Stan Godlewski/ Special to
the Courant)
Kevin Kenny remembered his father as one who never minced
words.
“He never pulled a punch,” Kevin Kenny said. “He was
honorable and truthful. If he had a bone to pick with you, it got solved with
his eyes fixated on yours, in person, live and uncut. He is respected because
he gave us respect. He gave us transparency even if you didn’t like the words
coming out of his mouth…He’s one of those few people out there that meant every
word he said and then followed through on it.”
Kenny spent most of his childhood on Long Island, N.Y. But
after his family moved to Connecticut in 1965, he later graduated from
Glastonbury High School where he played baseball and basketball.
“He was popular. Nice guy. Everybody liked Marty,” said Mark
Zimmermann, a Hartford attorney who was a high school classmate and remained
Kenny’s closest friend.
Kenny had a passion for music across all genres, from rock
and reggae to the blues. For years, he made music CDs for his friends at the
holidays, sharing mostly new releases that he had discovered and wanted to
share. His selections, Zimmermann said, depended on what mood Kenny was in.
“They were mostly groups or singers that I hadn’t heard of
or I didn’t know about,” Zimmermann said “It was accompanied by a two- or
three-page letter explaining everything. His knowledge and his interest and his
love for music was extraordinary. You could ask him about any band, singer or
group — and no matter how obscure — he’d know a little about their history.”
At the funeral service at St. Patrick-St. Anthony Church,
Kenny’s son, Patrick, remembered his father as delighting in his family, which
included eight grandchildren.
Patrick Kenny told the story of his daughter Adrianna, who
at four, showed the first signs of artistic talent. One day, Adrianna was at
her grandfather’s doing some art in the driveway. She took a large rock and
carved a giant “A” into the driver side of Kenny’s new jeep.
“My dad’s face turned red, and I could see his blood
boiling,” Patrick Kenny recalled. “There was a feeble attempt to cover up the
big “A” branded into the side of the jeep, but for the next two or three years,
you could still see it. I think he liked it. He liked the story. He liked the
experience of what can come with being a grandfather.”
Zimmermann, who also spoke at the service, said he now muses
about Kenny joining his parents and sister, who predeceased him, and trying to
figure out ‘how to turn the pearly gates into a multifamily development.”
Rubber Avenue reconstruction clears hurdles
ANDREAS YILMA
NAUGATUCK -The reconstruction of a portion of Rubber Avenue
including a roundabout is inching closer to commencing.
The Board of Mayor and Burgesses earlier this month approved
an agreement for the Rubber Avenue reconstruction with Kleinfelder Northeast for
$1.2 million.
The project will be paid for through the state’s Local
Capital Improvement Program (LoCIP).
Public Works Director James Stewart said the state will
reimburse the borough 10% above the construction bid for the construction
inspection. LoCIP is giving the borough over $9 million to rebuild a portion of
the road.
“The roundabout eliminates the most unsafe intersection in
Naugatuck, the stop lights at Route 63 and Rubber Avenue,” said Mayor N. Warren
“Pete” Hess. “With this project we’re essentially getting this money to redo
those roads. We’re making them safer in part by building a modern roundabout,
which is not a rotary.”
“Roundabouts are islands that guide people in a safe way
through an intersection, and it’s a great state project.”
The project will reconstruct about two-thirds of a mile of
Rubber Avenue from the intersection of Melbourne and Hoadley streets to Elm
Street. The project will include drainage improvements, and new sidewalks and
landscaping along the road.
As part of the project, the four-way intersection of Rubber
Avenue and Meadow and Cherry streets will be replaced with a modern roundabout.
The borough could potentially begin within a month.
Officials are hopeful to get some work done this fall and start a majority of
the work in the spring, Stewart said.
The state Department of Transportation acquired 3,956 square
feet of land on Rubber Avenue, 76 square feet on Cherry Street and 265 square
feet on Meadow Street for easements for new sidewalks for the project.
The borough has spent about $400,000 to design the project
which is a requirement for the program, Stewart said.
The borough board also awarded the Rubber Avenue
reconstruction project to B&W Paving and Landscaping in the amount of $8.5
million. The award has been endorsed by the Naugatuck Valley Council of
Governments and has received state DOT authorization.
LoCIP funds are also going toward this portion of the
project which will be a 2-year redevelopment, Hess said.
“The big issue that projects like this have involves
utilities. If the utilities don’t come through the way they’re planned, then
that’s our expectations,” Stewart said. “We’re going to have to start meeting
utilities right away to make sure that they stay on task because you can’t
fault a contractor if you can’t get the utilities to move.”
“It’s a big project and we just want it to move smoothly,”
Deputy Mayor Robert A. Neth said.