Lamont: 'Extraordinary' new Norwalk High School is part of CT's 'secret sauce'
Kalleen Rose Ozanic
NORWALK — Through tears, state Senate Majority Leader Bob
Duff said he is proud to be a Norwalk
High School alumnus as he and other officials ceremonially broke
ground on the school’s replacement.
“Hold your chin up and say it with pride,” Duff said,
recounting how his late band director, Jeff
Smith, told students to be proud of their hometown. “We will always be
proud to be from Norwalk.”
Duff said he was especially proud at the groundbreaking
Monday morning for the new Norwalk High School, a project for which he worked
to earn 80 percent state reimbursement of the costs.
Mayor Harry Rilling and Superintendent of Schools Alexandra
Estrella both described the high level of reimbursement as “unheard of" as
they stood amid large excavators, mounds of dirt and metal beams at the rear of
Norwalk High School, next to the turf field.
With that reimbursement rate, Norwalk’s taxpayers will be
responsible for $47.8 million of the $239 million project's cost.
The city’s commitment to developments in its housing,
transportation and education creates a desirable hub in Norwalk, Gov. Ned
Lamont said at the ceremony.
“I think Norwalk gets it right,” the governor said.
With a new school in a developing city, Lamont said he hopes
the "extraordinary school" will produce “amazing graduates who stay
in Connecticut and make their home in Connecticut.”
Education is the state's "secret sauce" to
developing the "most productive workforce in the world," he
said.
Lamont said that he is already seeing Connecticut’s
appeal in action. A local real estate agent echoed that
sentiment last
summer: Norwalk is a hot city to move to.
“I think people are voting with their feet,” Lamont said.
“They're coming to Norwalk, aren't they?”
And when more families move to the city, the new Norwalk
High School and P-TECH campus will help educate those students, he said.
The school
district anticipates that the new campus will accommodate over 2,000
students in the 332,628-square-foot space.
The new combined NHS and P-TECH campus will offer 56
classrooms, eight fewer than the current school. P-TECH will have 19
classrooms, one more than now, although the district’s website states that
there are other expansions of educational spaces in the plans.
The new campus will include “an additional two computer
science labs, eight small group/seminar rooms, four project areas and six
breakout spaces which are not included in the general classroom count,”
according to the project’s website.
The new campus will be leaps and bounds beyond the
capabilities of the current campus, Estrella said.
Estrella said she is looking forward to “so many things” at
the new school, but said the prospect of “having a state-of-the-art facility
that would align to the instructional program that we are building around
(future readiness) and being able to really have these spaces that are adequate
to make that come to life” is preeminent.
Three senior students also spoke at the ceremonial
groundbreaking, expressing their gratitude and excitement for a new campus.
They said they were only a little peeved that they won’t get
to attend classes on the new campus — although none of the school’s current
students will, given that the construction project is slated for completion in
time for classes in fall 2027.
One of the student speakers, Christian Pierre, 17, was
recently admitted to Harvard University, Yale University and Stanford
University, among several other prestigious institutions, to study
environmental engineering.
“We have students who work hard and this has been coming for
a while now,” Christian Pierre said.
Another NHS senior, Kiera Cunniffe, 18, who will attend the
University of Wisconsin to study kinesiology in the fall, said the new campus
will offer a wealth of opportunities for students.
“I can't wait to come back and visit,” she said. “I know
that all the students are going to have a great place to learn.”
Future students will have new educational tools to bolster
their experiences, said Aaron Charles, 17, a P-TECH senior.
“The new facilities and technologies will actually just be
the best for what the students really need,” Aaron Charles said.
All three students groaned about the outdated school and its
limitations, with constant roof leaks and poor WiFi connectivity topping their
lists of complaints.
Duff provided other shortcomings in the school, which was
completed in 1971: poor security features; HVAC systems that produce mold and
leave some spaces overly cold or hot; a lack of ADA accessible spaces; and
classrooms that only have two outlets, among a
The new school will alleviate the headaches on the current
campus, Rilling said.
“It's going to be the envy of the state of Connecticut,” the
mayor said. “It's going to be a state-of-the-art school.”
The new school will be constructed where the Testa
Field Complex is currently located. A new athletic facility will be built on
the site of the existing school, which will be demolished, according to the
project website.
Several new tenants, restaurants announced for Stone Bridge Crossing in Cheshire
Several more new tenants that will be part of the retail
component of the Stone Bridge Crossing mixed use development have been
identified, Andrew Martelli, the town's director of economic development
and grants, said Monday.
The latest tenants committed to be part of The Shops at
Stone Bridge include upscale furniture retail Saybrook Home, Choice Pet and two restaurants that are
part of the stable of brands operated by the Marketplace Hospitality Group,
Martelli said. The two restaurants are Mercato Italian Kitchen & Bar as
well as Market Place Kitchen & Bar.
Mercato has restaurants in Southbury, Canton and Shelton.
Market Place has locations in Danbury, Avon and Shelton.
The owner and operator of the retail complex,
Florida-based Regency Centers, announced
in February that The Shops at Stone Bridge would be anchored by
upscale grocer Whole Foods Market and discount retailer TJMaxx.
Whole Foods has 11 stores in Connecticut and is nearing
completion of another supermarket in Stamford. The Cheshire Whole Foods store
is one of two in the development pipeline, with the other being proposed in
Old Saybrook.
T.J. Maxx has two dozen Connecticut stores.
Since Regency Centers' initial announcement in February,
Starbucks and two other restaurants, Birdcode and Chipotle, have been confirmed
as tenants of the Shops at Stone Bridge.
Saybrook Home has stores in Old Saybrook and
Glastonbury. Keith A. Bolles, president of Saybrook Home, said he has been
eyeing the possibility of opening a Cheshire store for some time.
"Ever since the Furniture Barn in Cheshire closed, I've
been thinking about it," Bolles said of the
2019 closing of the high-end furniture retailer that was located on West Main
Street. "Nobody moved in to fill the void and the type of suppliers
they had was very similar to ours. With a Whole Foods in this new location, we
think it will be very attractive place to be."
Choice Pet is a Norwalk-based pet supplies and accessories
chain with 19 stores, 14 of which are located in Connecticut.
"The tenants that have been identified thus far speak
to the quality of the center and its ability to attract to consumers,"
Martelli said. "This retail center will attract customers from all over
the region, not just Cheshire."
The residential component of Stone Bridge Crossing includes
a 300-unit apartment complex as well as high end townhouses and condominiums.
Martelli said 25 of the townhouses sold in 2023 and had an average sale price
of $567,000.
Sale prices for the townhouses ranged from $434,000 to
$725,000, he said.
Hartford HealthCare to use $150M in new debt financing for systemwide facility upgrades
Hartford HealthCare will use up to $150 million in new debt
financing to fund significant upgrades at its various hospitals and a new
proton therapy center it’s developing in Wallingford in partnership with Yale
New Haven Health.
The debt is being issued through the Connecticut Health and
Educational Facilities Authority (CHEFA), a quasi-public state agency that
issues tax-exempt bonds and debt on behalf of nonprofit institutions.
CHEFA is involved in most debt issuances by Connecticut
hospitals, whether they are traditional public bond offerings or private
placement deals with banks.
Since nearly all Connecticut hospitals are nonprofit
organizations, they have access to tax-exempt debt issuances, which makes
borrowing cheaper and more affordable.
CHEFA’s board of directors in December voted unanimously to
approve Hartford HealthCare’s financing request, which includes two separate
direct placements with Morgan Stanley, according to CHEFA and HHC.
One direct placement of up to $35 million is expected to
close by the end of April, HHC said, and will be used to help finance the
planned proton therapy center, which is slated to be built in Wallingford, at
932 Northrop Road.
Yale New Haven Health, Hartford HealthCare and Proton
International announced in April 2022 that they secured final approval to build
and open the $75 million Connecticut Proton Therapy Center, which will provide
an advanced form of cancer radiation treatment.
There are just over 40 proton therapy centers in the U.S.,
but none in Connecticut. The closest centers are in New York and Massachusetts.
The partners originally planned to open the
25,000-square-foot facility sometime in 2025, but that timeline got delayed by
the pandemic, hospital officials have said.
Their new goal is to break ground on the project in the
coming months and have it completed in 2026.
Another direct placement of up to $115 million closed in
January, HHC said, and will be used to finance equipment purchases and property
upgrades at Hartford HealthCare’s seven hospitals and other facilities.
The planned funding allocations, records show, will include:
Up to $80 million for Hartford Hospital, which has 867
licensed beds.
Up to $20 million for Backus Hospital in Norwich (233
licensed beds).
Up to $20 million for the Hospital of Central Connecticut in
New Britain (446 licensed beds), the Bradley Memorial campus in Southington and
Hartford HealthCare Cancer Institute in New Britain.
Up to $15 million for St. Vincent’s Medical Center in
Bridgeport (520 licensed beds).
Up to $10 million for Windham Community Memorial Hospital
(144 licensed beds).
Up to $10 million for Charlotte Hungerford Hospital in
Torrington (122 licensed beds).
Up to $10 million for MidState Medical Center in Meriden
(156 licensed beds).
Up to $8 million for HHC Medical Group, with locations
throughout the state, including Avon, Bridgeport, Bristol, Cheshire, Derby,
Enfield, Farmington, Glastonbury, Guilford, Manchester, among others.
Up to $1 million for medical offices in Stamford, Trumbull
and Fairfield.
Hartford HealthCare didn’t provide specific details about
the new equipment purchases or types of facility upgrades it is planning.
However, in a statement to the Hartford Business Journal,
Hartford HealthCare said its hospitals and healthcare systems face growing
demands, so it is “making the necessary ongoing investments in the latest
equipment that will allow our acute-care campuses to continue providing
communities with world-class care at the most affordable cost.”
It added that the joint venture with Yale New Haven Health
to develop the proton therapy center in Wallingford “will allow us to provide
leading-edge, innovative treatment options for patients and further enhance the
quality of cancer care in the future.”
Hartford HealthCare in fiscal year 2023 reported nearly $6
billion in operating revenue and an operating surplus of $96.6 million,
according to data from the Office of Health Strategy.
HHC reported an overall surplus of $134 million in fiscal
year 2023, and total long-term debt of $1.4 billion, according to OHS data.
Vineyard Offshore Submits Proposal For 1,200 MW Offshore Wind Project In New England
Vineyard Offshore, an offshore wind development company, has
submitted a proposal, Vineyard Wind 2, for a 1,200 MW offshore wind project
to Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island responding to the New England
states’ solicitation for up to 6,800 MW of offshore wind capacity.
The proposal includes more than 200 letters of support from
local officials, suppliers, and stakeholders for all three states to witness
positive economic impact from the proposed project. It is also supported by an
offshore wind tribal benefit agreement signed with the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe.
The proposed project will deliver 1,200 MW of clean,
reliable energy to the New England grid, enough to power more than 650,000 homes,
beginning 2031. It will also avoid 2.1 million tons of CO2 emissions per year
across the region, equivalent to removing 414,000 cars from the road, as well
as improve air quality and reduce pollution-related health costs and
environmental impacts.
The project will be located 29 miles south of Nantucket in
lease area OCS-522, which is held by funds managed by Copenhagen Infrastructure
Partners (CIP), for which Vineyard Offshore serves as U.S. development partner.
Vineyard Offshore has proposed a comprehensive
multi-state project to provide substantial investments in Massachusetts,
Connecticut, and Rhode Island, responding to the New England solicitation’s aim
of creating cross-cutting regional economic impact. These investments include:
Offshore construction in Salem, MA: Salem Offshore Wind
Terminal will be the staging site for wind turbine installation, providing
union jobs and boosting an emerging offshore wind workforce and supply chain on
the North Shore.
Foundation components in Providence, RI: Vineyard Offshore
plans to source secondary steel components for foundations, internal and
external platforms, boat landings, etc. from Riggs Distler, working at its
current operation in the Port of Providence (ProvPort) or at a new site being
developed in East Providence, utilizing union labor and regional
subcontractors.
Grid interconnection in Montville, CT: Export cable from
Vineyard Wind 2 Wind will make landfall in New London and interconnect with the
New England power grid in Montville, employing hundreds of union workers for
construction of the onshore cable route and substation.
Operations and Maintenance in New Bedford, MA: Operations
and Maintenance (O&M) for the completed offshore wind facility will be
located at the New Bedford Foss Marine Terminal, providing long-term jobs and
strengthening the city of New Bedford, which is currently hosting construction
of Vineyard Wind 1, as a regional hub for the offshore wind industry.
The project will generate approximately $2.3 billion in
direct expenditure and 3,800 job-years of employment across New England, with
over $1.5 billion realized in Massachusetts, along with 80% of regional
employment.
Electricity market impacts and other benefits of about $4.8
billion over 20 years from adding 1,200 MW of offshore wind to the New England
grid include $600 million from reduced wholesale electricity market rates and
avoidance of winter price spikes.
It will also provide up to $37.5 million in directly funded
initiatives to promote an inclusive offshore wind workforce and supply chain,
position the region as a global climate innovation lab, address energy burdens
in low- and moderate-income households, and advance regional research efforts
in fisheries and the environment.
“Our project will deliver more than $2 billion in economic
benefits, create opportunities for workers and local businesses, and build on
partnerships with local governments, organizations, and institutions across all
three states, and we have the local support to show for it,” said Vineyard
Offshore CEO Alicia Barton. “By making effective use of ports, facilities, and
interconnection points throughout the region, Vineyard Wind 2 offers the most
economic project configuration possible while delivering economic benefits for
all three states.”