CTDOT: Norwalk Merritt 7 train station completed, with ribbon-cutting set for walkway in next week
NORWALK — A ribbon-cutting ceremony for Norwalk’s
long-awaited new Merritt 7 train station will officially welcome commuters to
the completed project within the next week, a Connecticut Department of
Transportation spokesperson said.
Work crews completed construction between Christmas and New
Year’s Eve for the project that the state approved funding for in 2017 —
although part of the new station has been open to commuters since June, said
Josh Morgan, CTDOT communications manager.
“I think they were doing some finishing touches,” Morgan
said. “Most of it was completed by the end of Dec. 22, and then they had a
little bit of work there that week between Christmas and New Year's.”
Now that the construction work is finished, Morgan said the
station needs final inspections.
“So the building officials need to sign off to make sure
that it's safe,” he said. “Elevator inspectors need to go and ensure that the
elevators are working and functioning properly.”
These inspections are the last step before the official
opening for the project, which has been delayed by supply chain issues for
months at a time since the September 2020 groundbreaking — with delays even
into the last few weeks, Morgan said.
Most recently, the station’s completion hinged on the
delayed delivery of elevator parts and glass for the new pedestrian walkway, he
said.
“We're no longer waiting for those materials that we have
been struggling with over the last four to six weeks or so,” he said.
Despite supply chain issues and the recent construction
completion, Morgan said much of the new station has been open to the public
since June.
In just over three years, the train station got a
handicap-accessible and raised 500-foot-long heated platform that
will prevent snow and ice accumulation, 17 new parking spaces for a total of
105 and a pedestrian footbridge to the Merritt 7 office complex on the opposite
side of the tracks. The business complex includes Hearst Connecticut Media's
offices.
While commuters accessed the platform in the summer, Morgan
said the biggest change now that construction has completed is the station’s
pedestrian bridge.
“The pedestrian crossing that (goes) up and over to get on
the other side of the tracks and over to the Merritt 7 complex is really what's
going to be the biggest difference for people out there,” he said.
This footbridge enables commuters to cross the train tracks
rather than take a shuttle or navigate roadways to get to the other side, where
the office complex is located.
The Merritt 7 train station, which is on the Danbury branch
of Metro-North's New Haven Line, offers direct access to New York’s Grand
Central Terminal.
The project was initially slated for completion in fall 2022
but supply chain, underground utility and drainage system issues delayed the
work.
Former Bristol Myers property in Wallingford dormant despite warehouse approval
It has been a year since the owner of the former Bristol Myers Squib property on Research Parkway in Wallingford got approval for a 440,000 square foot warehouse and 10,000 square feet of office space, but it doesn't appear that construction of the facility is going to start anytime soon.
The only substantive action that has taken place since the
December 2022 approval of the warehouse occurred earlier this month when
the town's Planning and Zoning Commission approved a subdivision of the
property. That subdivision turned what had previously been one parcel of just
over 180 acres into two pieces of land, one of which is 5.65 acres while the
other piece of property is 174 acres.
A Framingham, Mass.-based company, Calare Properties, owns both properties created
by the subdivision.
The smaller of the two pieces of property is home to the
former Bristol Myers day care center, which now sits vacant at 7 Research
Parkway. The 20,320 square foot daycare facility is on the market for $3.1
million and is being marketed by Cushman & Wakefield, according to the
online real estate marketing web site LoopNet.
Planning and Zoning Commission Chairman Jim Seichter, as
well as Town Planner Kevin Pagini, said that officials with Calare have
indicated they want to sell the day care center. But both men said Calare
officials haven't divulged who they are building the warehouse for or indicated
when the facility might be built. There are multiple warehouses along Research
Parkway, which stretches from Wallingford into Meriden, including
two operated by Amazon. The local road runs parallel to Interstate 91,
which provides access to Interstate 84 via Interstate 691.
The day care center was built in 2000 and has a capacity for
150 children. Calare
bought the former Bristol Myers corporate campus in February 2018 for
$5 million and much of the campus has been demolished, including a 915,000
square foot building that served as the main facility.
The pharmaceutical giant announced in June 2015 that it
would close its 982,000-square-foot research, doing so three years later. Since
Calare bought the property, it has tried three times to get redevelopment plans
for the property approved, with two failed efforts preceding the PZC's approval
of the warehouse a year ago.
Plans approved by the PZC in December 2022 for the warehouse
include 105 loading docks, 96 tractor-trailer parking spaces and 530 regular
parking spaces.
William Manley, Calare's chief executive and chief
investment officer, did not return several requests for comment regarding who
the warehouse is being built for and when construction might start.
John Boyd, whose Florida-based company evaluates locations
for corporations, said the Bristol Myers property remaining undeveloped is
evidence of a slowing in the logistics sector. Some of the slowdown, according
to Boyd, has to do with current economic conditions.
"Some of it is an overall weakening of the U.S.
economy, and some of it is due to high interest rates and inflation," he
said.
But an equally significant factor, according to Boyd, is
"the enormous community backlash" to mammoth
distribution centers, Boyd said.
"New Jersey has become the poster child for this kind
of opposition," he said. Boyd said the state and several communities have
spent public money to acquire land that appeared to be attractive to warehouse
developers in
communities across central New Jersey and in
rural Warren County.
Demolition of flood-prone West Haven homes to improve drainage, create open space
WEST HAVEN — More open space will be created in a
residential neighborhood near the water as the city plans for the demolition of
eight houses in the area of Old Field Creek, continuing federally-funded work
that began in 2013 following Tropical Storm Irene and Superstorm Sandy.
The city on Dec. 22 posted a request for proposals to
prepare for the abatement and demolition of eight homes on six streets located
as northerly as Brown Street and as southerly as 3rd Avenue Extension. The
other streets with at least one home cited for abatement and demolition are
Jones Street, Peck Avenue, Marshall Street and Marion Street.
According to public land records, the eight properties
included in the RFP came under the city's ownership between August 2021 and
August 2022.
"It has been a very slow process in taking these homes
down, therefore we proposed to USDA that we take them down and then get
reimbursed which they have agreed to," Mayor Dorinda Borer said in an
emailed comment. "The anticipated timeline to take the buildings down is
late spring."
The purpose of the demolition will be to provide extra space
for drainage basins and to encourage water flow away from other homes in the
area, but Borer said there are certain deed restrictions that the city must
navigate as a condition of accepting the federal funds — namely that the city
cannot erect fencing and there are restrictions on tending the growth on the
property.
"Right now we are requesting an exception to allow us
to maintain them regularly so that they don’t grow unruly especially the lots
that are between homes," Borer said.
The city received its first round of grant funding from
the U.S.
Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resource Conservation Services' Emergency
Watershed Protection Program in 2013. Twelve
of first 13 homes demolished in the program's first phase were along 3rd Avenue
Extension and had been abandoned or bought out by the city because of
consistent flooding. Borer said the city received $1,102,350 in
federal funding for the project and the local cost of the $1,207,100
project budget is $104,750.
The RFP details that the purpose of the demolition of the
eight single-structure homes came about by offering residents in flood-prone
homes federal buyouts so the properties could be used for flood mitigation by
encouraging regrowth and open space, disallowing future development.
"Properties included in this RFP were selected from a
list of flood-impacted homes, and owners were approached to sell them
through the EWPP Program," the RFP says. "The City of West Haven now
maintains ownership of the homes and, in accordance with the USDA EWPP
agreement, is required to demolish any existing structures and return the
parcel to its 'natural' state. All included properties are deed restricted to
encourage native regrowth and prohibit future construction. The overarching
goal of EWPP is to reduce inland flooding impacts by increasing
floodwater retention and groundwater recharge, while adding open space to
the community."
The NRCS says on its website that all applications for
EWPP funding must successfully demonstrate that the project reduces threats to
life and property; is economically, environmentally and socially sound; and
must be designed to acceptable engineering standards.
Borer said the city is in the process of applying for
additional relief for city areas affected by flooding.
Norwich mayor urges spending restraints, touts economic development projects
Claire Bessette
Norwich ― Mayor Peter Nystrom highlighted major public and
private developments, fueled by millions of dollars in state and federal grants
during his annual State of the City address Tuesday but also urged city, school
and utility officials to curb spending in the coming budget years.
Nystrom noted that, other than the recent referendum defeat
of a proposed new police station, city voters have approved major city, school
and utilities projects in recent years. This included the overwhelming approval
of a $385 million school construction project a year ago and several road
improvement bonds and natural gas expansion projects for Norwich Public
Utilities.
NPU broke ground in November on a five-year, $200 million
new sewage treatment plant that is expected to greatly improve water quality in
Norwich Harbor and the Thames River, just as new owners of the Marina at
American Wharf are making major improvements to that centerpiece on the
waterfront, Nystrom said.
Nystrom, a Republican, will have to work with a Democratic
majority City Council in his final two years as mayor. In his address Tuesday,
Nystrom cautioned the City Council, school and utility officials that taxpayers
and ratepayers must pay for the approved projects over the next decade, and
they cannot be expected to bear other increased tax and rate burdens.
“Whether you’re a taxpayer or a rate payer the people of
Norwich suffer enough,” Nystrom said. “It's our job to be the guardians of
their monies and I ask the city council not to impose hardships on them
unnecessarily. All these issues that I've outlined are real and costly.”
Nystrom specifically criticized a proposal being considered
by the School Building Committee that calls for prearranged labor agreements
between construction unions and contractors for work on the first two new
schools.
Nystrom warned that such a policy would raise costs to
taxpayers by restricting the pool of bidders for the project and would hurt the
ability for small local businesses to bid on projects and delay critical time
schedules.
He said project labor agreements for the school construction
project would negate the added state grant reimbursements Norwich’s state
legislators secured in the last General Assembly session.
“This will drive the cost of schools up and it will limit
the workforce pool,” Nystrom said. “This is the last thing we want to do when
you consider that our state delegation worked so hard to get an increase in our
state reimbursement levels.”
Nystrom highlighted state and federal grants that have given
Norwich unprecedented funding boosts, with $28 million over four years in
federal American Rescue Plan Act grants and an $11.4 million in state Community
Investment Fund grant to build the access road into the planned second business
park in Occum.
Through the Norwich Community Development Corp., economic
development grants were matched with private dollars to move some long-stalled
projects, including redevelopment of the abandoned, blighted former YMCA into
the headquarters of Mattern Construction, and the creation of 17 apartments in
the former Reid & Hughes building.
“These investments will strengthen our grand list and help
relieve the financial pressures on the homeowners and taxpayers here in the
city of Norwich,” Nystrom said.
The past year was marked by both achievements and challenges
in Norwich.
Norwich Mayor Peter Nystrom shared his State of the City
address during the City Council meeting on Monday, talking about what was
handled well during the year, and what challenges lie ahead for 2024.
Public and private partnerships were important for Norwich
in 2023, as progress on the redevelopment of the Reid and Hughes and YMCA
buildings in downtown Norwich have been moving forward, supported by state
funds. Other efforts have been helped by the total of $28 million in American
Rescue Plan Act funds the city has received in the past four years. This
investment will help to grow the city’s grand list and help relieve the tax
burden on homeowners and taxpayers, Nystrom said.
Grants enhanced city projects
The city also received $11.4 million for initial
infrastructure for the Occum
Business Park for creating the roadways, connection to highways,
stormwater management, and more for the proposed business park. When the
business park gets going, it will also help with taxes, as the city prepares to
pay for a multimillion-dollar school building project, Nystrom said.
Other grants that came to the city this past year
include Norwich
Public Utilities receiving $10 million in April to upgrade 10 miles of
gas mains in the city over the next five years, and $1.6 million in February
for upgrades to reduce untreated sewage discharge from entering the Thames
River. The latter is timely, as the Norwich Marina has recently come under new
management, Nystrom said.
NPU
will also be investing $200 million over the next five years into sewer upgrades
for the region, which includes upgrading the sewage treatment plant on
Hollyhock Island. This helps protect the environment, and increases sewer
revenues, Nystrom said.
Affordable housing progress
The city has also worked toward creating more affordable
housing. The Westledge Housing Complex has created 120 more units of affordable
housing, and the developers of that property are looking to expand the Hills
Development Project in Taftville by adding 66 more affordable units. The Lofts
at Ponemah Mills will also be expanding with another 145 affordable units,
Nystrom said.
Challenges facing the city
One of the big challenges that will face the city is
affording the new schools, which will cost the city $385 million. Nystrom was
concerned about the possible use of Project Labor Agreements, as he argued it
would increase the cost, limit the involvement of local businesses, and
possibly delay construction, he said.
Nystrom also reminded the public that the city still needs a
new police station, and reminded the City Council to keep spending down, as
Norwich is in a revaluation year, and the council works “for the taxpayers, the
citizens of Norwich,” he said.
Top labor and safety stories of 2023
Zachary Phillips
From advancements in hard hats to the continued skilled
worker shortage, here are some of the topics that were most popular with
readers this year.
Labor issues nabbed headlines in 2023, and not just in
construction.
Actors, writers and autoworkers each made national news with
their strikes, demanding new contracts and benefits for their members.
Meanwhile, the White House took action on its pro-labor promises by updating
the Davis-Bacon Act, proposing new OSHA rules and, as recently as this week,
implementing a mandate for project labor agreements on federal projects.
Meanwhile, major funds from the federal government fueled a
boom in infrastructure and manufacturing work. That hasn’t come without issue,
however, as megaprojects gobble up available workers. The divide between open
jobs and the skilled workers to fill them remains wide.
And, as in years past, the trades were a hazardous place to
work. A new report showed that construction counted more at-work fatalities
than any other industry, even as contractors continued their efforts to improve
safety, both through cultural shifts and advancements in protective equipment.
Biden
mandates PLAs on large federal contracts
By Zachary Phillips • Dec. 19, 2023
The White House announced on Monday the implementation of an
executive order to require project labor agreements on federal construction
jobs above $35 million. Read
the full article ➔
Contractors
swap hard hats for helmets
By Zachary Phillips • June 29, 2023
Increasing availability and better protection have made
helmets the new standard for major contractors like Clark and DPR. Read
the full article ➔
OSHA
proposes change to walkaround rule
By Zachary Phillips • Aug. 31, 2023
The proposal would allow union officials or other employee
advocates to join in jobsite safety inspections. Read
the full article ➔
Manufacturing
megaprojects gobble up workers
By Sebastian Obando • Aug. 14, 2023