'It’s happening quickly': Griswold water, sewer project to start after $8 million from CT
Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz joined local officials Friday to highlight the $8,707,755 recently awarded to the Town of Griswold through the Community Investment Fund.
The money
will be used for a municipal water infrastructure project that will
support more than 325 acres of commercial land along Route 164 and facilitate
the Heritage River Village development, which will consist of affordable and
age-restricted housing, new public facilities plus a YMCA and child development
center.
“We chose this project because it covers a number of our
administration's priorities,” Bysiewicz said Friday. “As I mentioned,
affordable and workforce housing, childcare and, also, economic
development.”
Bysiewicz said the state has identified eastern Connecticut
as a childcare desert.
“We cannot have growth in employment without having more
early childhood education spots,” she said.
When will construction begin for the water project
Griswold First Selectman Tina Falck said the new sewer
system will be installed in early spring. At the same time, installation of the
water line and water tower will go out to bid.
Bids for the water line and tower are expected to be awarded
in late April, with construction slated to begin in June or July. Falck hopes
construction will be completed by late fall.
“This is happening. It’s happening quickly,” Falck said.
“We’re working very hard on it.”
Where the water infrastructure project is going
The project is located at the intersection of Route 164 with
Interstate 395.
“This is going to be a real economic driver not just for
Griswold, but the whole area,” Bysiewicz said.
Bridgeport tackles cleanup, legal issues at Remington Arms plant
BRIDGEPORT — State Rep. Christopher Rosario looked out over
the blighted former Remington Arms ammunition plant and recalled growing up
near the landmark Barnum Avenue campus.
"I remember vividly hearing my mom and dad say, 'Don’t
go down over there,'" said the East Side Democrat.
The property is still not the kind of place children should
frequent, or for that matter anyone other than construction workers wearing the
proper clothing and safety equipment. But it is becoming easier to picture a
day when it will be clean and ready for redevelopment.
Rosario and other local officials participated in a press
conference recently to mark the next phase of demolition of the factory. The
initial work following delays began
last April in response to a warning by the building department
an "imminent danger" of collapse. Now it is time for the
remaining five crumbling structures to come down.
First, though, crews will remove the foundations of the
previously razed sections of the plant along Helen Street, which, thanks to the
wet winter, have become concrete and twisted steel swimming pools ringed by
fencing.
"That area is closest to where people live so we want
to clear (and) tidy up the site first," explained William Coleman, deputy
director of economic development. "This approach will also give the
contractor more room to work on the demolition of the rest of the
buildings."
It will likely be around 10 months before the property is
completely cleared off at, so far, a total cost of $15 million, $5
million of which the city budgeted in 2020, the
balance awarded from the state in 2021.
Rosario suspects more dollars might eventually be needed and
said he will if necessary be ready to secure additional state aid.
The press conference was organized by Mayor Joe Ganim's
administration and took place hours before voters headed to the polls Tuesday
in a court-ordered special mayoral election. Ganim's victory in last fall's
general election was thrown out by a superior court judge due to allegations of
mishandled absentee ballots. The mayor, a Democrat who won
Tuesday's do-over election versus Independent candidate John Gomes and
Republican David Herz, had been holding various press events this
winter to highlight touted progress during his last eight years in
office.
Ganim called Remington Arms "a picture of progress,
commitment and hard work.”
But it did not start with him. And given how long that
progress has taken, may not end while Ganim is in office, depending on whether
this new four-year term is his last.
Bridgeport gained control of the property from developer Sal
DiNardo in the mid-2010s following a foreclosure fight over back taxes. Bill
Finch, a Democrat, was mayor. A subsidiary of DuPont, the last industrial
user, in 2000 agreed to assume responsibility for cleaning up any underground
soil and water contamination after the city removed the buildings.
How long Dupont's work will take is currently unknown, at
least publicly. Ganim's economic development chief, Thomas Gill, said once the
city completes its above-ground work and has a better handle on Dupont's
timeline, officials here can begin seeking developers. The land is currently
zoned for a mix of residential/office/commercial/production uses.
Not every structure is coming down. The city fortified the
landmark Remington Arms shot tower for it to be incorporated into any future
plans there.
“Its one of a handful in the country. It’s a draw. It's
historically significant. It's rare," said Todd Levine, a staffer with the
Connecticut Historic Preservation Office by phone last week. That agency for
several years has been consulting with Bridgeport on Remington Arms.
And while it was ultimately determined that all the other
buildings were beyond salvaging thanks to time, weather, fire and vandalism, at
the urging of the state historians the city is also leaving a smokestack with
its powerhouse near the tower.
Levine's colleague, Marena Wisniewski, said between the shot
tower and the smoke stack, the idea is to give future tenants, visitors and
passersby at least a glimpse into the property's past.
"That really takes that corner of the site and really
you're able to experience that industrial world," she said.
"You're going to be able to get that feeling when the site is
redeveloped.”
Besides the demolition and underground environmental cleanup
there is another issue the city must address to prepare Remington Arms for its
future — a legal battle with DiNardo.
DiNardo has claimed that the city under Finch in December
2013 improperly tore up tracks at the plant that his company, Remgrit,
which owns an adjacent parcel, had access to under decades-old agreements.
Remgrit has argued in a court filing that the rails were worth
at least $1.4 million and wants them replaced.
The matter was initially scheduled to head to trial
but since
summer, 2023 the parties have been seeking a court-mediated resolution. An
update filed in court in December stated Ganim's administration and Remgrit
"have agreed in principal on a method of resolving this matter and are in
the process of working out the specifics. Moreover the expected agreement will
require approval of the Bridgeport City Council."
But as of January the sides were granted an extension by a
judge due to an unspecified problem involving "state approval."
Jeffrey Hellman, Remgrit's New Haven-based attorney,
declined to comment on the situation. Russell Liskov, Bridgeport's lawyer
for the case, said last week, "We're still negotiating on what could be a
proper settlement" but would not elaborate on how the state might be
involved.
Gill said the desire is to have not just a physically clean
site but one without any legal encumbrances before seeking interested
developers.
"It's just important to get everything out of the
way," he said.
Aquarion to install nearly 1.5 miles of water main in New Milford; delays possible on two streets
NEW MILFORD — Work to install water mains is scheduled
to begin Monday, March 4, on Prospect Hill Road and Dorwin Hill Road, which
will ensure continued water system reliability for customers, Aquarion Water Co. said.
The project will install 8,296 feet, or about 1.5 miles, of
water main, according to Aquarion. It is part of an ongoing program to
improve Aquarion’s water distribution system and ensure the highest quality of
water.
The projects on Prospect Hill Road and Dorwin Hill Road
are expected to be completed by July. Final paving will be then coordinated
with the town and the state.
“We greatly appreciate residents’ patience during this project,” said Justin
Xenelis, Aquarion’s utility programs manager. “We will work closely with our
customers, contractors and town officials to coordinate the work and minimize
any disruptions.”
Drivers should expect minor traffic delays and possible detours from 7 a.m. to
5 p.m. due to the construction. Tolland-based Genovesi Construction
is the contractor for the water main replacement project.
Aquarion uses an Everbridge notification system to call
affected customers and keep them informed about scheduled and unscheduled work.
Customers are encouraged to sign up for this free service through
Aquarion’s website at www.aquarionwater.com/alerts-and-outages.
Manchester secures $1.9M in federal funding for solar, geothermal projects at elementary schools
MANCHESTER — The town will receive $1.9 million in
federal funding for two of its "net-zero" elementary schools
after the costs to renovate them exceeded the initial estimates.
The money, announced by U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal on
Friday, will help cover major renovations at Bowers Elementary School,
which reopened
its doors at the beginning of the 2023-24 school year, and Keeney
Elementary School, scheduled for completion at the start of next school year.
In June 2019, local voters approved up to $93 million for
the SMARTR2 school renovation project to convert three of Manchester's
elementary schools into emissions-free buildings powered by sustainable energy.
Manchester secured $81 million in bonds for the project, with roughly
two-thirds sourced from the state's Construction Grant Program, and allocated
$5 million from the town's reserve fund.
Buckley Elementary School, the first of the three to be
renovated, was completed in September 2022 and has since been verified
by the state as its first "net-zero" K-12 school.
Officials from Blumenthal's office said the price of solar
and geothermal energy equipment at Bowers and Keeney has increased, and
the $1.9 million will cover half of the outstanding costs.
Manchester recently received $800,000 for a sidewalk
program that would help provide safe pedestrian access to and from
Keeney, with construction expected in summer or fall 2024.
Meriden sets timeline for new senior center and health department
MERIDEN — When the call comes to set up an emergency
shelter, Health and Human Services Director Lea Crown loads her car up with
cots and supplies from the Health Department on Miller Street to set up at
the Meriden Senior Center.
"It's a
lot," Crown told members of the Senior Center/Health Department Building
Committee this week. "It would be great to have one local spot, separate
from the senior center with a separate entrance especially at the Cook Avenue
location downtown. It would be known as a hub for services."
Committee members were updated by Crown and Senior Center
Director Rick Liegl about the value and potential of a
gymnasium/all-purpose room for fitness, and public health uses at the planned
facility.
"During the pandemic we were giving out
COVID shots five or six days a week," Crown said. "We saw tens
of thousands of people. The senior center and the health department are both
under the Department of Health and Human Services. We're under one umbrella. So
for continuity for the public and staff, it's important we're all under one
roof."
The city plans to use two grants to begin construction of an
estimated $48 million new senior center, a new health department, and an
all-purpose room to use for senior activities that can be shared for public
health uses. The first grant is for $2 million to cover environmental cleanup
and demolition of the vacant medical office building at 116 Cook Ave.
The demolition and abatement part of the project is ready to
be put out to bid for a contractor. The committee is also putting out
requests for qualifications for an architect to design the new facility and
provide a cost estimate.
Acting City Manager Emily Holland recently met with state
lawmakers and City Council leaders to finalize a Community Investment Fund
grant application for $5 million to begin the design and construction phases of
the new project. Holland and the City Council are also finalizing a request for
qualifications to potential bidders expected to be completed by March 12. Those
requests will be circulated to potential bidders by March 26. Committee
interviews will be from March 26 to April 9, and selection of an architect with
a signed contract by mid-April.
Committee members agreed to wait until the entire project
was designed before possibly trimming any aspects, particularly the
gymnasium/all-purpose room.
The committee and "members of the public spent a year
studying what the needs were both at our current facility and other
facilities," said Mayor Kevin Scarpati. "We had professional insight
into what this would look like including the gymnasium. That multi-purpose room
was critical for the community and your needs."
Crown continued that the health department has flu clinics,
health fairs, and other events throughout the years that won't interfere with
the senior center or the health department if there is a new building. Health
department guests must now walk through a public waiting room to meet with
public health officials in the current building, she said.
Committtee Chairman Bruce Fontanella suggested they go
through the architectural selection process with a "charge to build what
we want. When bids come in we'll have that option to change," he said.
"We're making the complex into three parts. gymnasium, senior center, and
health department with separate costs. I suggest the architect take that same
approach."
The Community Investment Fund grant is administered by the
state's Department of Economic and Community Development to spur economic
development. One committee member asked if building a senior center fit within
the scope of economic development.
Holland replied that the program stipulates the parcel
be used in conformance with the TOD (transit-oriented district) and the city is
in compliance with the grant documents.
Members of the public had questions about the length of time
it took to demolish the building given the city had the $2 million. Some of the
delay is due to the abrupt change in city manager following Timothy Coon's ,
leaving Holland to research the amount of cleanup already completed at the site
to share with the contractor. She is also confident the city can allay concerns
about the chronic flooding problems at the site, given the past and future
flood control work around the downtown area.
Set for Hartford growth spurt, UConn seeks to offer downtown student housing
The University of Connecticut is deepening its ties to the
Capital City, with plans to grow its downtown campus footprint while connecting
students to new research, employment, internship and even housing
opportunities.
The expansion includes UConn taking over 51,000 square feet
of vacant space at the XL Center, where the school this fall will debut new
research and clinical programs.
University leaders are also strongly considering the
addition of student dormitory space downtown. The effort would likely include a
partnership with a private developer who would convert an empty or
underutilized office building into student housing.
The overall expansion, school leaders said, aims to create
new work and internship opportunities for students, while also opening up
potential partnerships with Hartford businesses, nonprofits and arts programs.
Dormitory space would also satisfy students’ long-running
desires for a more traditional college experience in the city, said Mark
Overmyer-Velazquez, dean and chief academic officer of UConn’s Hartford campus.
“For me, it’s all about how do I improve their education and
their experience, and enhance those with what’s going on in the city,”
Overmyer-Velazquez said.
UConn is finalizing a five-year lease for the XL Center
space, which was previously occupied by the University of St. Joseph’s pharmacy
school.
UConn has set a tentative $1.2 million budget to retrofit
the space, which will host a new agricultural and food science program, sports
medicine center, mental health clinic and two badly needed lecture halls.
State lawmakers last year allocated $5 million in bond
funding to support the expansion. The state Bond Commission approved those
funds in December.
It will be the largest expansion in Hartford by UConn since
2017, when the school debuted its new $150 million regional campus in the
former Hartford Times Building.
The Hartford campus, which relocated from West Hartford,
brought with it much fanfare, originally hosting about 2,300 undergraduate and
graduate students and 300 faculty.
UConn also has its graduate business school in downtown
Hartford, located at Constitution Plaza.
Residential expansion
UConn could begin offering downtown housing options by the
end of this year or in 2025, school officials said.
In addition to undergraduate students, it could accommodate
pupils from UConn’s Hartford-based law school and Farmington-based medical
campus.
“We are looking at establishing a residence hall for
undergraduate students, and also possibly graduate students in downtown
Hartford,” UConn Provost Anne D’Alleva recently told the Hartford
Business Journal. “Students at the Hartford campus have for some time shared
that they would like to have a housing option as part of their college
experience.”
UConn is considering a pilot program in which it would lease
downtown apartments from a private landlord and make the units available for
students.
It’s a model the school already employs at its campus in
Stamford, where UConn leases three residential buildings that house about 500
students who live in suite-style apartments.
UConn, which directly manages those residence halls, plans
to lease additional space near its Stamford campus this fall to increase
student housing options there, officials said.
UConn also has student housing available at its Waterbury
campus that operates in a slightly different manner.
“There is a lot of demand for housing in Stamford, and we
believe that demand would be equally strong for a residential experience at the
Hartford campus,” D’Alleva said.
D’Alleva said UConn isn’t looking to acquire additional
Hartford real estate, so any dormitory space would require a partnership with a
private landlord or developer.
“The process right now is about identifying a suitable
location and then, I think, we need to assess what renovations might be
necessary,” D’Alleva said.
Christopher Reilly, president of prolific Hartford-based
developer Lexington Partners, said his firm is speaking with UConn about
possibly redeveloping existing office space into dorms, which would be leased
to the university.
“They are very motivated, and we are still trying to work
out how to do it all,” Reilly said.
New programs, greater impact
City officials said UConn’s Hartford expansion will provide
downtown an economic boost.
The move will bring hundreds of additional students to the
city each weekday during the school year.
“We are talking about all of these younger students and grad
students who are going to be spending their time there, that will create a new
attraction for business,” said Hartford Economic Development Director
Patrick Pentalow. “I think it’s a huge win for Hartford, and I think it’s a win
for UConn as well.”
The XL Center will host a new food innovation center headed
by UConn’s Department of Agriculture. The center is meant to help Connecticut
farmers produce in-demand crops, increasing the value of the state’s
agricultural sector. The center will also pair UConn faculty with industry to
conduct research and joint projects.
The psychology clinic will provide low-cost therapy services
to the public and hands-on experience for students. The Institute for Sports
Medicine inside the XL Center will bring together researchers, physicians,
clinicians and physical therapists from the UConn Department of Kinesiology in
Storrs and UConn Health to provide instruction and services, said Pamir
Alpay, UConn’s vice president for research, innovation and entrepreneurship.
“This will be a very central location where we can do
clinical work, where we can do research work,” Alpay said.
Alpay said the university hopes the new clinical
opportunities will help spur future enrollment growth. The Hartford campus
began the 2023 fall semester with 1,473 undergraduate students.
D’Alleva said the upcoming Hartford expansion also
complements the university’s recently adopted 10-year strategic master plan,
which calls for “seven world-class campuses and one flagship university.”
The campuses include Storrs; the regionals in Hartford,
Waterbury, Stamford and Avery Point in Groton; along with the UConn Health
facility in Farmington and UConn’s law school in Hartford.
“The idea is that we want to build each of our campuses and
take advantage of opportunities that each of our locations represent,” D’Alleva
said. “Of course, Hartford is our capital and a major business city in the
nation, and so we want to build our presence in Hartford.”
Spinnaker pays $3.25M for 2.2-acre development site key to planned Hartford neighborhood
Norwalk-based Spinnaker Real Estate Partners, on Tuesday,
paid $3.25 million for a 2.2-acre parking lot seen as key to Hartford’s efforts
to build a vibrant new neighborhood south of Bushnell Park.
The purchase of the land near the city center sets the stage
for the eventual redevelopment of the parcel in accordance with the city’s
Bushnell South master plan, which calls for a neighborhood of 1,200 households,
mixed with parks, commercial space and parking structures.
“It brings the land together,” said Capital Region
Development Authority Executive Director Michael Freimuth. “This was the
missing piece in the jigsaw of real estate.”
Freimuth confirmed the sale, which, as of Friday morning,
had not yet been logged in the city’s online land records.
The CRDA, in January, agreed to lend Spinnaker $3 million
toward the purchase of the properties at 63 and 67 Capitol Ave., and 186
Buckingham St., in February. In return, Spinnaker had to pledge the site would
be barred from consideration for a new federal courthouse. The developer also
agreed to three years of free parking access for the Bushnell Center for the
Performing Arts, and that the theater could seek to invest in first-floor
commercial space or parking on-site as it is redeveloped.
Spinnaker had an option to purchase the property from the
Simon Konover Co., and was under deadline pressure to exercise it.
Freimuth said he doesn’t expect to see development activity
on the newly acquired site for three to five years, as Spinnaker works through
other Hartford projects already in the pipeline.
Spinnaker is nearing completion of its $66 million
redevelopment of two antique office buildings at 55 Elm St. into 164
apartments. This development site is just north of the site Spinnaker bought
from Konover. Freimuth said he expects the first apartments to begin renting by
this summer.
Next, Spinnaker will move forward with ground-up
construction of 180 apartments in two new buildings on the grounds of 55 Elm
St., Freimuth said. He estimates that work could begin in 18 to 24 months.
CRDA has lent $13.5 million toward the ongoing construction
at 55 Elm St. Of that amount, $6.5 million is a “bridge loan,” in place until
historic tax credits are secured with completion of construction, Freimuth
said.
For now, the plan is to roll that funding into Spinnaker’s
next development at 55 Elm St.
CT town plans summer upgrades for Elm and Hubbard Streets
KURT MOFFETT
WINSTED – The town plans to improve the condition of two more of its worst roads this summer.
The Planning and Zoning Commission held an informational
meeting last week to hear about the two road projects – Elm Street, from Main
to Gay streets, and Hubbard Street, from Boyd Street (Route 263) to its dead
end.
Public works Director James Rollins told the commission both
projects will improve the roads, sidewalks and drainage. His department intends
to put the projects out to bid this spring and begin construction this summer,
with completion by fall.
“We’re right on schedule,” he said.
Engineers David Battista and Robert Colabella designed the
Elm Street project, which Battista said is estimated to cost $1.55 million. The
town is paying for most of the project through an $18.3 million bond package
voters approved in 2022, Rollins noted. There is some state grant money
covering the cost of certain sections.
Colabella said the project includes installation of 16 catch
basins over an 870-foot stretch of road. It also extends up connecting roads
High and Wheeler streets by 75 feet each, Gay Street by 45 feet, and Thibault
and Center streets by 80 feet each. The sidewalks will be
handicapped-accessible and two fire hydrants will be replaced.
Battista said one of the major improvements he and Colabella
designed is reshaping the crown of the road so that storm water flows better
and drains into the new catch basins.
“If you drive through there after heavy rain, especially at
the Wheeler Street intersection, back toward Gay Street, there’s puddles there
all the time,” he said. “The road is dead flat so there’s no place for the
water to go.”
Battista said motorists traveling through that area during
construction should be aware the town will at times make the roads one-way or
block them off entirely, “depending on the work they’re doing and what kind of
equipment they need to bring in to do the work.”
The contractor also will have to come up with a plan with
the police and fire departments and the ambulance service to ensure emergency
vehicles can get to where they need to go during construction.
Colabella said Elm Street is one of the town’s oldest roads,
and there is a “conglomerate” of utilities at the intersection of Elm and
Center streets. Battista said their firm hired a utility location service to
help them find underground utilities.
“The biggest problem we will have is finding things we had
no idea they were there,” he said. “There’s a lot of junk in the street out
there.”
As for Hubbard Street, Rollins said he does not have a cost
estimate yet, but the town will pay for the entire road project through the
bond package. He said there is a section of road near the dead end where they
will not construct a sidewalk “because they don’t know what to do with it.”
The engineer for this project, Charles Hornak, said the road
has a lot of drainage issues and the pavement is in poor condition, especially
at the dead end, where it has completely crumbled. He also said there is a lot
of “ponding” at the intersection with John Street, which contributes to the
destruction of the road.
Rollins said of the 22 road upgrade projects included in the
bond package, the town so far completed five of them: Marshall Street, Case
Avenue, Case Avenue bridge, the Taylor Brook culvert and Whiting Street.