64-unit affordable housing complex approved on Glastonbury's Nye Road
GLASTONBURY — The Town Council has given its approval to a
plan to build a 64-unit affordable housing complex at 55 Nye Road, with town
officials anticipating construction to begin in 2025.
The council voted 6-0, with three members absent, on Dec. 14
to move forward with the project, which will consist of 24 one-bedroom
units, 28 two-bedroom units, and 12 three-bedroom units, according to
Tom Arcari of QA+M Architecture.
"We wanted to do something as a statement,
that Glastonbury is interested in affordable housing, and a diverse
population living in the community," council Chairman Thomas Gullotta said
on Friday, adding that he prefers to the call the project "workforce
housing" units.
Each unit would be equipped with stone countertops, wood
cabinets, and in-unit washer and dryer hookups, Arcari said.
Ten percent of the units would be handicap accessible,
Arcari said, and there would be close to 150 parking spots on the property.
A waiting list would be created for applicants who qualify
and applicant selection is usually on a first-come, first-serve
basis, Arcari said.
Gullotta said that the discussion of building affordable
housing in at the site "goes back more than three years ago," when he
and former town manager Richard Johnson discussed it.
"Richard heard that the Nye Road property was going up
for sale," Gullotta said.
In January 2023, the Town Council approved using American
Rescue Plan Act funds to purchase the office buildings at 50 and 55 Nye
Road for $3.15 million, with a proposal to demolish 55 Nye Road to make
way for the housing complex.
Town Manager Jonathan Luiz said that the the
building at 50 Nye Road would remain, and either be rented out to
commercial tenants or be used as office space by the town or the school
district.
Housing Authority Director Neil Griffin said that the total
cost of construction of the housing complex has not been finalized yet, but
estimates that the total project could cost around $27 million.
Griffin said that the town will apply for various energy
rebates and tax credits, including the federal Low-Income Housing Tax
Credit program.
The town will also use $500,000
from a STEAP grant that it was awarded in September to construct
the parking area, and will match the grant by contributing nearly $300,000 of
its own funding.
If the housing Authority receives the necessary funding, Griffin anticipates construction to begin in March 2025 with completion in September 2026.
$2.5M upgrades to busy Danbury airport's taxiway are 'force multiplier economically,' officials say
DANBURY — The city’s municipal airport, which officials say
is among New England’s busiest general aviation hubs, will see a
roadway that leads to the main runway at its south end resurfaced,
thanks to newly announced federal funding.
On Monday morning, local leaders, joined by U.S. Rep. Jahana
Hayes, D-Conn., and U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., announced the city
will receive $2.27 million in Federal Aviation Administration-awarded funds to
support a long-sought project to repave and install new lighting along taxiway
Charlie, as the span is known. City officials so far expect to cover $213,108
of the project’s overall $2.5 million cost.
Danbury Municipal Airport Administrator Michael Safranek
said the taxiway hasn’t received a complete overhaul in at least 35 years.
During that time, crews have “saw cut” and filled cracks with asphalt as
needed.
“The section we’re looking at hasn’t been paved and redone
in 35 years, so it’s in desperate need of rehabilitation,” Safranek said during
a press conference held in a brightly lit hangar off of Wallingford Road.
That hangar is owned by Eagle Air, a company that provides
charter aviation and aircraft management services. Officials spoke from behind
a podium in Eagle Air’s hangar, surrounded by two twin turboprop planes, as
they announced the influx of federal funds.
The project will begin this spring. It includes a full
repaving, starting with the taxiway's sub base layer, Safranek said. And while
that project is underway, airport leaders will tackle another project to
overhaul the taxiway's lighting.
Blumenthal described the investment as “more than just $2
million. It is a force multiplier economically. It will enable more development
for Danbury and this entire region.
“One of the first questions I’m asked by a company thinking
about moving here is how do we get there? How do we get executives to visit?
How do we get new employees to be attracted? And this airport is exactly the
kind of transportation hub for the region that is needed here,” Blumenthal
said.
He said the existing cracks in the taxiway's pavement are
“not only a nuisance, they are a potential danger."
The taxiway's repaving will affect the adjacent runway,
which officials said was repaved several years earlier.
Blumenthal said the latest resurfacing project and new
lighting will help the make the airport into "a model for the whole
country in terms of what regional airports should be,” saying further that
regional airports, like Danbury’s, are “our future.”
Hayes said Danbury Municipal Airport is the state’s second
busiest, and has potential to attract new businesses into the region through
improved infrastructure.
“We’re not going to attract new employees and people to this
region without having the infrastructure built out. People don’t want to have
to think about how will they address these needs after they’ve made a decision
to come here. So by making these investments on the front end, we are actually
investing in the future of Danbury and this region,” Hayes said.
Mayor Roberto Alves described investments such as the FAA
grant as tremendous opportunity, which the city needs to capitalize on.
“But to capitalize on them, we need partnerships that go
beyond what we are typically used to doing. We need to partner with our state,
with the federal government, get our municipal government on board, 100 percent
committed to chasing every dollar we can get to make things happen, to build,
to develop our community,” Alves said. “And this is an example of that.”
Busy airport brings in revenue
Safranek said the airport is on pace to hit about 56,000
“operations,” a word that the administrator used to refer to take offs and
landings — every time a plane’s wheels touch the airport’s grounds.
Danbury Municipal Airport will reach those numbers despite
having a considerably smaller runway than nearby Waterbury-Oxford Airport.
Danbury Municipal Airport’s runway for takeoffs is 4,420 feet.
“They have a 6,000 foot runway, so they can bring in larger
aircraft. But we do more operations than them, so it’s kind of a little bit of
a balancing act,” Safranek said. Danbury Municipal Airport services
non-scheduled general aviation, including charter providers, like Eagle Air,
private aircraft, and the two flight schools on the airport.
Safranek said the airport is looking to increase its hangar
space, which he said is at a premium right now — because aircraft are getting
more expensive. A small four-seat plane, like a Cirrus SR22, Safranek said, is
now selling for around $1.2 million.
“The best example I can give you is we just built nine
hangars. When the hangars first hit the market, they were about a half million
dollars,” Safranek said. “The last one just closed, for about $800,000, because
demand was spurring the increase. So there is demand here.
Safranek estimated the airport generates millions in revenue
for the city, with leases, tax revenue and other incomes. Adding more hangars,
he said, will bring “more substantial taxes and revenue coming in.”
The taxiway rehabilitation is a project welcomed by Eagle
Air’s leaders and it will be completed ahead of the company’s busiest season:
summer.
“We are your primary option to get to Martha’s Vineyard and
Nantucket, all summer long,” said Jennifer Forde, Eagle Air’s vice president.
She estimated the company charters two to three trips to Martha’s Vineyard or
Nantucket every Friday and Sunday during the summer months. The company is
planning some scheduled runs this summer. Bar Harbor, Maine, is another
frequent destination, as is Washington, D.C., Forde said.
The company has been in Danbury for “quite some time,” Forde
said.
She said any project that improves the airport’s operations
will positively affect her company, making the job for its pilots and overall
operations easier.
“It will bring more people to us. We can get more done when
we’re not fighting poor ramp conditions, things like that,” Forde said. “It
makes our lives so much easier.”
Waste reclamation facility proposed for North Haven's Universal Drive
NORTH HAVEN — Two local businessmen hope to bring a
large waste reclamation facility to North Haven.
Real estate attorney Bill Gambardella and
Andy Anastasio, owner of Anastasio Trucking, want to build AB Eco Park on
90 acres located off Universal Drive near Target. It would include areas to
sort and clean glass, plastic and metal to then sell and recycle; sort out
organic waste and capture greenhouse gasses; and put wet trash in air-tight
vaults to dry and decontaminate.
Gambardella said the facility would also take waste and
make resource-derived fuel for electricity, an alternative to fossil fuels.
Gambardella is a partner with Gambardella, Cipriano, Gottlieb & Hathaway PC and
a former member of the state House of Representatives.
He said the eco park offers a solution to the state's
practice of shipping waste to out-of-state landfills.
“Our plan is designed to try to take away that 25 percent of
waste that’s going out of state right now,” Gambardella said.
The partners are currently going through the town permitting
process. A small portion of the property is on wetlands. At the town’s regular
inland wetlands commission meeting on Wednesday, they requested to fill the
wetland area. That discussion and the public hearing that was held will be
continued at the January meeting. Gambardella said they expect to apply
for permits from the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection in
February.
Gambardella said he brings the business side, while
Anastasio, whose trucking business is on Middletown Avenue, runs the freight
trucking aspect and owns the adjacent freight yard. Part of the property is in
New Haven, but Gambardella said truck traffic will not be routed through
the city.
Plans have been in the works since 2016, Gambardella said,
and their team includes local and European companies. A concept letter to
investors in July 2023 says the eco park will be the first carbon negative
power plant ever built.
“All of the technology discussed is currently in large scale
operation elsewhere," the letter says. "Nothing we are proposing is
untested. We are just the first ones to bring all of these technologies
together in one place and use the synergies they create improve upon
established processes.”
North Haven First Selectman Mike Freda said he supports this
“major project” going through town regulatory process.
“Because of the nature of industrial development, it can be
a sensitive issue with the residents, and that's why I want the processes to
unfold in detail,” Freda said. “Mr. Gambardella is on board with this. We need
the processes to unfold, to address the residents' questions.”
Gambardella said he's been aware of this site since he was
elected to the legislature in the 80s and involved in voting to clean up the
highway area. He said it's "perfect" for this project because it's at
least a mile from any house, half a mile along the river and not visible except
from the highway.
City of Meriden seeks $1.5m state grant to build soccer complex
Mary Ellen Godin
MERIDEN — The City Council has resubmitted a $1.5 million
grant application to the state Community Investment Fund to build soccer fields
in Columbus Park on Lewis Avenue.
The city had applied last July for $1.4 million for the
Meriden Soccer Athletic Complex Project, but it was not included in CIF’s third
funding round. In December, the council reauthorized Acting City Manager Emily
Holland to resubmit the request for the fourth round.
“This is the same project,“ Holland stated in an email.
"The city requested $1.4 million in CIF funding last summer. The project
breakdown consists of $1.4 million for new construction, $80,000 (for)
contingency, and $20,000 for renovation of any existing facilities. Hartford
HealthCare has committed $1,754,895 to the project to cover the total estimated
cost of $3,254,895.”
The new artificial fields in Columbus Park will ensure
residents still have a place to play soccer, since the fields currently located
next to MidState Medical Center on Lewis Avenue are slated to close. The city
has a 99-year lease agreement with the hospital but MidState has stated it
needs the property to build a new medical office building for cancer
treatments. The new medical building will be taxable.
But soccer fields are a tight commodity in the city. Teams
often scramble for field times at the hospital, Kronenberger, and even at
Falcon Field, against the high schools and private leagues.
The project has been discussed by the council for several
years, but was delayed by the pandemic, city officials said. Parks and the
former city manager worked with MidState and field users to search for a
replacement site.
"The best site available for what would be intended
would be Columbus Park," said former City Manager Tim Coon, last summer.
"We will build two large soccer fields and one smaller practice field will
be retained."
The existing softball fields are natural turf fields that
the city hopes to convert to artificial turf, which is the reason behind the
funding application and pushes the project price tag closer to $2.8 million.
The fields will also be brightly lit.
Artificial turf is more effective in this situation because
these fields get heavy use, said City Council member Joe Scaramuzzo, who is
also president of the board of the Meriden Soccer Club. Turf fields require
more maintenance on a regular basis.
“Last season, we had a ton of rain and the conditions were
always wet fields,” Scaramuzzo said. “One of the big reasons for the
shortages... is a lack of lit fields. During soccer season during the spring
and fall, the days are shorter. There is certain programming we’re not offering
because there’s no field space.”
The fields are currently being used by the Meriden Amateur
Softball Association two nights a week, said Chris Bourdon, director of parks
and recreation for the city.
"Columbus is not in use nearly as much as it appears to
be," Bourdon said.
MASA has agreed to use Nessing Field and fields at Lincoln
Middle School and Platt High School for games and tournaments, officials said.
Scaramuzzo is confident the new fields will help alleviate
the soccer field shortage once built. Applications for CIF round 4 funding
closed in December. Should the city miss the fourth round, it may have to
consider other ways to fund the project.
CT DOT back with revised plan for Route 82's Crash Alley - when residents can voice opinions
The state's
next attempt to fix the stretch of road known as Crash Alley on Rte. 82 starts
with a hearing at Kelly Middle School next week.
After
filing and then pulling a roundabout plan for the 1.3-mile stretch of
road, the state's Department of Transportation is back with a new plan that
features four roundabouts total, down from the six initially proposed.
The hearing will take place on Thursday, Jan. 18, at Kelly
Middle School with a discussion forum at 6 p.m., followed by the presentation
at 7 p.m., and a Q & A after. This hearing will address Phase 1 of its new
plans for Rte. 82.
What's in the new plan?
The new plan will feature a large roundabout by Asylum and
Mechanic Streets, and one by Osgood Street for part one, intended to be built
by 2026. The second phase will feature a roundabout by Dunham Street and one by
Norman Road, intended to be built by 2028, according to the Phase
1&2 Combined Color Concept Plan.
There will be five property acquisitions needed for the
first part of the plan, with an additional 52 properties expected to be
impacted by a partial acquisition, a slope easement, and/or temporary
construction easements. The amount needed for part two, if any, aren’t stated
on the Project Webpage.
Phase one will cost $30 million, to be funded by 80% federal
funds and 20% state funds, the Project Webpage states.
Goal is to improve safety on Route 82
The goal of this plan, as before, is to improve the safety
of Rte. 82, which is state-owned road, the project webpage states.
“The corridor currently experiences a high number of turning
and rear-end crashes due to high speeds, lack of turn lanes, and numerous
driveway openings,” the webpage states.
The State Department of Transportation first presented to the public in June 2022. The state highlighted both the problems of Rte. 82, and argued that the design features of the roundabout and a lower speed limit would significantly reduce both the number of crashes, and how many crashes would result in injury. They based this on the success of other roundabout installations across the country, though those weren’t as concentrated as the original six roundabouts in a little over a mile the state wanted then, The Bulletin reported.
While some members of the public supported the state’s plan, arguing it being a matter of safety or an investment in the future, many were opposed. Some wondered if people would try to speed through side streets or if the improvements were worth the inconvenience of construction or the roundabouts themselves.
Business owners were also concerned, as the construction
might limit how much business they get, and a few were concerned about
relocating due to the state acquiring the property their business sits on.
By November 2022, the
state’s original plans were withdrawn. The state Department of
Transportation said it was aware of public outcry, particularly concerning
businesses where property would be seized for the project.
A two-week public comment period will follow the Jan. 18
meeting. The public can send their comments to DOTProject103-274@ct.gov or
contact Principal Engineer Scott Bushee at Scott.Bushee@ct.gov or 860-594-2079.
Timex developer plan opponents to appeal
STEVE BIGHAM
MIDDLEBURY – Residents say they plan to appeal last week’s
approval of a developer’s application to build more than 700,000 square-feet of
industrial space at the former Timex headquarters off Christian Road.
Middlebury resident Jennifer Mahr announced Monday that an
appeal of the decision was already in the works.
Last Thursday night, the Middlebury Planning & Zoning
Commission voted, 3-2, in favor of the application put forth by Southford Park,
LLC (aka Drubner Equities, LLC).
In addition, the board voted, 3-2, in favor of a proposed
text amendment that raises the maximum height for a building in an industrial
zone (LI-200) from 35 feet up to 44 feet.
The board’s decisions were met by a few groans from audience
members who once again packed the Shepardson Community Center to urge town
officials to say “no.”
Their opposition has garnered statewide attention and been
marked by anger over the town’s inability or unwillingness to halt what they
fear will be an Amazon-like facility with hundreds of trucks going in and out
day and night.
Yard signs opposing the “distribution center” still dot the
Middlebury landscape.
But commission members said the application “checked all the
boxes” for site plan approval, and indicated that the board was already looking
to change the town’s existing height restrictions.
Mahr, who heads the Middlebury Small Town Alliance, said she
was disappointed, but not surprised by the decision. Her group’s expected
appeal follows its existing appeal against the Middlebury Conservation
Commission for its own approval of the project this past May.
“The will of Middlebury’s electorate was completely ignored.
I look forward to this decision being overturned in court, and I urge
Middlebury voters to continue to hold town officials accountable for their
decisions,” she said.
Mahr’s leadership against the proposed distribution center
inspired her to make a successful run for the town’s Board of Selectmen.
She was sworn into office just this past month.
“I’m just disappointed that our Planning & Zoning
Commission did not stand up for the people of Middlebury ” Mahr said. “It
appears that town officials were not respecting the wishes of the people. It’s
what got me elected. It was clear that this town overwhelmingly did not want
that project.”
The proposed project still requires state approval pending a
Department of Transportation (DOT) traffic study.
The proposed distribution center plan appeared dead in the
water this past June when a bill was passed by the state legislature that
included a provision prohibiting any building over 100,000 square feet, if the
property contains more than five acres of wetlands, in any Connecticut small
town.
The bill, the brainchild of state Rep. William Pizzuto, a
Republican and Middlebury resident, was done so in an apparent attempt to
override home-rule zoning authority.
Southford Park, LLC responded by crafting a real estate
arrangement with Timex where it would only purchase certain areas of the
112-acre property, leaving much of the wetlands areas in the ownership of
Timex.
The move made the application exempt from the new state law,
town officials said.
Middlebury Zoning Enforcement Officer Curt Bosco said the
proposed project falls within the town’s current regulations for “light
industrial” use.
“They allow warehousing in the current regulations in
Middlebury. Warehousing is almost the exact definition of a distribution
center. Stuff goes in, they store it, and stuff goes out. That’s what
warehousing is,” Bosco said.
Mahr disagrees, pointing out that Middlebury’s “light
industrial” zone prohibits trucking terminals, except for the transportation of
goods manufactured on the premises.
“The LI-200 Zone is all about the creation of new goods and
is not a transportation zone,” she said. “E-commerce is light years ahead of
zoning regulations and developers are taking advantage of regulatory gaps to
build whatever they want, wherever they want.”
Mahr said small and semi-rural communities are bearing the
brunt of it.
Mahr said a distribution center to facilitate large-scale
interstate transportation of finished goods is the opposite of what it means to
be semi-rural and is not consistent with the town’s Plan of Conservation and
Development.
Bosco said Town Hall was approached two years ago by Timex,
which indicated that it was looking to sell the property.
In response, Bosco said, the town hired advisers to help
determine potential uses of the property. One glaring problem, the expert said,
was that the existing Timex property with its “glass design” was not suitable
for any future use or repurpose.
Southford Park LLC’s plan calls for “flex-space” use of the
property, with the potential for multiple tenants.
Bosco said the applicant’s request for a height exception
was made in accordance with new standards for industrial buildings, for such
things as robotics or cranes or racking systems, similar to the ones at Home
Depot.
A Middlebury police officer was present at last week’s
P&Z meeting.
Last May, angry residents confronted members of the
Conservation Commission after they approved the wetlands portion of the
application.
The Zoning Commission also approved the applicant’s request
to move 279,000 cubic yards of material on the site.
Grant for Bristol Babcock site denied, application to be revised
LIVI STANFORD
WATERBURY – City officials remained optimistic this week
about receiving additional state funding for continued work in remediating the
former Bristol Babcock site even though the city did not receive a $4 million
grant from the State Department of Economic and Community Development
Brownfields program.
Tommy Hyde, interim director of the Waterbury Development
Corporation, said he did not view it as a setback.
“It is always disappointing when we do not get the funding
at the first shot,” he said. “That being said, the state has been good to us
and our brownfield efforts. We have been very successful on pretty much all
rounds of brownfield funding. It is not a big deal. We update the application
and apply again.”
Jim Watson, spokesman for the Department of Economic and
Community Development, said Friday that applications for brownfield funding are
competitively evaluated using a rating and ranking system that considers
factors such as job creation, private sector funding, shovel-readiness and
public policy goals like housing or transit-oriented development, etc.
“This application scored low relative to others mainly
because it did not include a private developer or a proposed end use,” Watson
said.
Hyde said the reality, given the site’s condition, is it
would be impossible to have a developer come at this stage of the game.
Even so, in the next round of applications for state
funding, Hyde said he is hopeful that the city will receive funding as they
applied for a $2 million grant from the Environmental Protection Agency
Brownfield program.
If they receive the EPA funding, they will score higher,
giving them a higher probability of receiving the grant, Hyde said.
On Oct. 24, the Board of Aldermen approved acquiring the
vacant brownfield, the former Bristol Babcock property at 40 Bristol St. in the
city’s Platts Mill neighborhood near the Naugatuck line. The property has
remained vacant since 2002 and is in disarray after a fire in 2015 destroyed
large portions of the complex.
Developer Norman Drubner agreed to pay the city $1 million,
which the city plans on allocating toward securing and demolishing the
property.
There are more than 30 brownfields in the city, and the
city’s ongoing work includes transforming a dozen sites that threatened human
health and the environment into parks, businesses, and commercial and
manufacturing spaces.
Mayor Paul K. Pernerewski Jr. agreed with Hyde that the
project had not endured a setback.
“There is other preliminary work that has to be done,” he
said. “The initial goal is to get the shell of it down and cleaned up and have
it stop being an eyesore. The $1 million helps us start doing that.”
The mayor said housing is one of the potential uses for the
site, calling it a “good fit.”
But in the same measure, the mayor said it is too early in
the process.
The first step is understanding the contaminants at the
site, he said.
“The level to clean up a polluted site to residential
standards is very difficult,” he said.
The mayor said that community involvement in sharing their
thoughts on the redevelopment of the site is important.
“It is in the heart of a residential neighborhood,” he said,
adding that overall, there may be a push to make the area open space.
Alderman Majority Leader Christian D’Orso said it is
unfortunate that the city did not receive the funding from the state, but he
added that this is common.
“I can speak from personal experience that these grants are
very competitive, and all we can do is continue to apply for every opportunity
that we see,” he said, adding that he is confident that the city will receive
what is needed to complete the project.
Hyde said so much work needs to be done on the site that not
receiving the funding in this round does not impede the project.
“This is starting from scratch on a brand new brownfield,
which takes time,” he said. “We have the ($1 million), and the project
continues to move forward.”
Hyde said the city is moving forward with the project by
requesting proposals to hire a contractor to knock down the trees at the site.
They then will need to hire a licensed environmental professional to design
demolition specs and go out to bid for the actual demolition, which will
require more funding.
AGC: Labor crunch will continue to squeeze contractors in 2024
Contractors’ struggles to find workers will continue in
2024, but the majority still intend
to increase their staffing due to rising demand for multiple project
types, according to a new Associated General Contractors of America survey of
its members.
Nearly eight in 10 respondents said they have a hard
time filling salaried or hourly craftworker positions, but 69% still
said they anticipate a “total increase” in headcount. A fifth of respondents
said it will get harder to hire in 2024.
Nonetheless, contractors will need those workers. In 14 of
17 sectors, respondents anticipated the dollar value of projects they compete
for to increase this year compared to 2023.
Hiring isn’t the only ingredient creating what AGC CEO
Stephen Sandherr called a “mixed-bag” for contractors this year.
Respondents’ top concerns for 2024 included:
Rising interest rates or financing costs: 64%.
Economic slowdown or recession: 62%.
Rising direct labor costs (pay, benefits, employer taxes):
58%.
Insufficient supply of workers or subcontractors: 56%
Worker quality: 56%.
Material costs: 54%.
During a Jan. 4 webinar about the report, Lynn Hansen, CEO
of Charlotte, North Carolina-based Crowder Constructors, expressed cautious
optimism for the new year. Crowder works in the energy, mechanical,
transportation and electrical sectors in the Southeast, where Hansen said
federal work from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act has benefited the
company, but she also anticipates competition to increase.
That competition isn’t only for projects, but to find and
keep talented workers.
“Our good people are constantly being recruited,” Hansen
said. “We’re always looking for top qualified people and paying them
competitively is key.”
In order to recruit and retain more workers, nearly
two-thirds of respondents to the AGC survey said they increased base pay in
2023 more than they had the year before, and a quarter introduced or increased
incentives or bonuses.
Hansen said younger workers value more flexibility and time
off, and Crowder intends to invest more in technology to recruit workers.
At the same time, IIJA funding has come with more strings,
as federal projects require adherence to recently
updated Davis-Bacon rules.
“Paying our people and reporting requirements have not been
difficult for us,” Hansen said, though creating a registered apprenticeship
program in compliance
with the Inflation Reduction Act took nearly a year to get up and
running, she added.