SLOAN BREWSTER
TORRINGTON – The city wants voter input on spending $6
million, 85% of which will be reimbursed by the state, for turf fields at the
new high school and middle school complex.
A referendum question on the appropriation is included on
the ballot for Tuesday’s election.
The expense would increase the cost of the school
construction project from $179.575 million to $185.575 million.
State Rep. Michelle L. Cook, D-Torrington, said the state
Department of Administrative Services approved the inclusion of the additional
$6 million with the funds the state will reimburse by 85%.
Previously, items such as athletic fields were not eligible
for reimbursement, she said.
Originally the high school construction project included the
fields but when the COVID-19 pandemic hit and the cost of goods increased, the
Building Committee decided to scale back on some things, including the fields.
It makes sense to cover that shortfall now, Cook said,
noting that athletics can keep students on track, giving them a reason to keep
up their grades.
“It teaches teamwork and camaraderie,” added Cook, who is
running for re-election Tuesday. “If we’re building a brand new school, a
state-of-the-art facility, which will be one of the best in the state if not
the best in the state, so how fair is to complete everything and leave the
outside fields undone?”
Mayor Elinor C. Carbone concurs. She said it wouldn’t make
sense to build a beautiful building sure to position educators “to really
present robust educational opportunities” and have “mediocre fields” requiring
a lot of maintenance.
“The fact that the state is willing to reimburse up to 85%
of the cost for expenses that otherwise would not qualify for reimbursement is
an incredible opportunity,” she said.
Carbone said the impact to taxpayers will be minimal.
Building Committee Co-Chair Edward Arum said the athletic
complex will consist of two baseball fields, two softball fields and a
multipurpose field. If they are grass, which is the plan as of now, Arum said
maintenance would be more expensive.
Lining, watering and mowing would run about $90 000 a year,
he said. The quote the committee got to maintain the turf is $22,000.
Turf can be used immediately, while the grass will need time
to grow. In addition, turf can be used daily while grass sometimes has to be
closed between activities to prevent overuse.
Arum said grass fields will likely need to be replaced about
every other year at an estimated $150,000 cost.
He noted that the 15% cost the city will cover will come out
of the $1.2 million in the budget to construct the grass fields.
Arum also gave an update on the school construction. He said
contractors are getting ready to install black top in parking areas between
November 8 and 18.
“So everybody will be for January 22,” he said.
The high school is scheduled for a Jan. 22 opening; the
middle school will open next fall.
XL Center construction bumps some seating at the Hartford arena as UConn games begin to ramp up
Fans of UConn Huskies hockey and basketball might
notice some changes at Hartford’s XL Center when the first games start playing
there next week — construction activity that has displaced some seating.
“We’re rocking and rolling … from a construction
standpoint,” said XL Center General Manager Ben Weiss. “The construction is
everywhere, and we’re dealing with it.”
Weiss and construction manager Robert Houlihan updated
the Capital Regional Development Authority on Friday with the latest in
the $145
million revamp of the aging arena.
With construction ongoing, some premium seating areas in the XL Center have
been relocated to higher levels, with more changes expected as the bowl
demolition ramps up, Weiss said of the arena area.
“We’ll get through this year and brighter days are ahead,”
Weiss added.
Between 30 and 40 construction workers are now on the job at
the XL Center, getting ready to demolish the current bowl and make way for a
revamped arena with upgraded seating, locker rooms, an elite club and a
new commercial kitchen.
Work will continue through the peak sports season at the XL
Center, with frequent Wolfpack minor league hockey, UConn hockey and men’s
and women’s basketball games, Houlihan said. The arena is expected to host up
to five events a week through the beginning of the year.
Construction hasn’t impacted attendance so far at the arena,
which drew 12,300 people for pop singer Sabrina Carpenter’s sold-out concert on
Oct. 2, according to CRDA Executive Director Michael Freimuth.
Work is also under way for a new commercial kitchen at the
XL Center, with plans to upgrade the food offerings for premium areas as well
as the arena as a whole, Freimuth said. Better food has the potential to
boost the arena’s per-attendee spending and overall revenue.
“This somewhat innocuous little corner of the building, this
could become critical going forward,” Freimuth said of the kitchen.
The start of roof improvements
at East Hartford’s Pratt & Whitney Stadium at Rentschler
Field are on tap for early 2025, Freimuth said. Once a construction
manager is chosen, work on the stadium’s roof could start as soon as
February.
Future work is needed on Rentschler Field’s IT infrastructure, metal detectors
and sound system, Freimuth said. The state’s bond commission is expected to
consider more money for the project. A 2023 study found that the East Hartford
stadium needed
at least $63 million in renovations to upgrade its antiquated systems.
Sale of the last city-owned Fort Trumbull parcels to developer finalized
John Penney
New London― A New Haven development firm on Wednesday
formally purchased the last parcels of city-owned land on the Fort Trumbull
peninsula with plans to start constructing the first of two housing complexes
on the property next year.
The Renaissance City Development Association (RCDA) the
city’s development arm, brokered an agreement in 2023 that included selling
6.28 acres split among three parcels to RJ Development + Advisors, LLC for
$500,000.
RJ Development, which built The Beam, a 203-unit apartment
complex on Howard Street, pitched building two 250-unit apartment complexes on
Nameaug and Walbach streets, and constructing a 1,200-space parking garage at
26 East St.
Both apartment projects call for a mix of market-rate studio and one-
and two-bedroom units with on-site property parking. The proposed six-story
East Street garage is expected to be heavily used by employees at the nearby
Electric Boat engineering offices.
Wednesday’s deal was finalized less than two months after
the City Council on Sept. 16 approved nearly $6.5 million in tax breaks over 20 years to RJ
Development, which would cover about half the $13 million in estimated
pre-construction costs. In exchange, the city will receive approximately $18
million in tax revenue over the life of the agreement.
“There is no inventory left on Fort Trumbull,” Mayor Michael
Passero said.
Progress after a controversial land taking
The Fort Trumbull area in the late 1990s was cleared of
homes and businesses as part of a plan developed by the city and the New London
Development Corp., the predecessor of the RCDA, to help jump start economic
development in association with the construction of Pfizer’s research
headquarters.
A bitter fight ensued in which a handful of property owners
refusing to sell their land led to the landmark 2005 U.S. Supreme Court case
Kelo v. New London. The court ruled in favor of New London and its use of
eminent domain to seize the properties for private development.
Except for construction of the Pfizer facility, now occupied
by Electric Boat, and Fort Trumbull State Park, the rest of the peninsula
remained undeveloped for decades, with the area becoming overgrown and devoid
of activity.
Talks with developers interested in Fort Trumbull land moved
sporadically in the years after the ruling but only gained real momentum in
2022 with the purchase of 4 acres by the Optimus Construction Management
company for $750,000.
The Massachusetts company, which specializes in building and
running senior living facilities, planned to build 104 apartments and a hotel
with extended-stay suites on the site.
Though there’s been no movement by Optimus to begin building
on the peninsula, RCDA Executive Director Peter Davis said there are some
promising signs that something will eventually be constructed at the sites.
“The timing for (Optimus) was horrible coming right before
the pandemic and the related supply chain issues,” Davis said. “But two weeks
ago, I had conversations with Optimus about a hotel chain interested in the
property, as well as a developer who worked on housing projects in Groton.”
Davis said Optimus recently hired an office employee to help
conduct “due diligence” work regarding the two projects.
“We brought people down for a site walk and they’re aware of
the community center construction,” he said, referring to the ongoing building
of a new $40 million city recreation center at Fort Trumbull. “I
think seeing that did a lot for them.”
A new RCDA mission
Felix Reyes, the city’s director of planning and economic
development, said Friday large-scale development projects move in cycles tied
to larger market and real estate forces.
“We’re seeing those plans from the 1990s and 2000s finally
realized,” he said about the RJ Development projects.
Passero, Reyes and Davis said while the RCDA’s initial
overarching mission – to successfully market city-owned Fort
Trumbull properties – is complete, there’s still plenty of other work on tap
for the nonprofit.
Reyes said he expects the RCDA to play a continuing role in
redeveloping land once home to the Crystal Avenue high-rises, as well as the
reconstruction of the Fort Trumbull “elbow” fishing pier.
“There’s a lot of historic buildings and neighborhoods that
need to be redeveloped for use, including the Garfield Mills district,” Reyes
said.
Davis said despite so many years of working almost
exclusively on Fort Trumbull, the RCDA is prepared to adjust its focus.
“We’ve had a partnership with the city going back to 2016
and we’re ready to shift full-time to other city projects,” he said.
Connecticut Siting Council approves controversial Enfield solar facility plan after revisions
ENFIELD — The
Connecticut Siting Council has approved a contentious $3.75 million
solar facility planned
for Town Farm Road after months of resistance from both residents and
local officials.
Avon-based Lodestar Energy filed
a petition in February for a 4,702-panel, 1.93-megawatt solar
photovoltaic electric-generating facility on 12.1 acres of unused farmland at
141 Town Farm Road in Enfield. The
proposed facility lands exclusively in the Siting Council's jurisdiction per
state statute, a
sticking point among elected officials in Enfield and beyond.
The developer amended
its petition in September in an attempt to address concerns from both
neighbors and Siting Council members, primarily intended to reduce noise
generation, glare problems, and visibility outside the parcel.
Members of the Siting Council voted 5-1 on Oct. 24 to accept
a decision and order to issue a declaratory ruling on Lodestar Energy's
petition, allowing the project to move forward. Bill Syme, the lone
dissenter, said that he still took issue with the loss of "prime
farmland" from the construction and how close the facility would sit to
residential properties.
"It's literally in people's backyards, and I have a
hard time with that," Syme said.
The Siting Council's decision states the governmental
body found that the proposed facility would not have "a substantial
adverse environmental effect" and adheres to applicable standards from
state and federal agencies.
Conditions placed on the Siting Council's approval
include site plan and landscaping adjustments, an annual maintenance plan to be
adhered to for the 20-plus-year life of the facility, and a post-construction
noise study to ensure compliance with state standards.
The Siting Council's opinion, accepted alongside the
decision and order, expands on its decision to issue a declaratory ruling,
stating that Lodestar Energy redesigned the site plan and revised the project's
landscaping after more than two dozen people spoke in hearing or submitted
statements about concerns including noise, health effects, and the
facility's location.
The opinion states that the facility is not required to
prevent any material effect to the status of the prime farmland on-site, as it
falls below the 2-megawatt capacity minimum as written in state statute.
Lodestar Energy will lease the project site from the
property owner and construction will occur over a six- to nine-month period
with works hours from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday.
Southington's safety and streetscape project expected to be completed by June 2025
SOUTHINGTON — Once the Plantsville Safety & Streetscape
Project is complete, Hop Haus patrons can expect a more attractive and safer
experience at the century-old
brick building on West Main Street, which vehicles have hit several times over
the years.
The $5.4 million project intended to improve
pedestrian and motorist safety in the area of Route 10 and West Main
Street is expected to be completed in late spring after a couple of hurdles
have caused a three-month timeline to become nearly a year.
Funded through the Local
Transportation Capital Improvement Program, the project includes roadway
redesign at the intersection, new concrete pavement, drainage work, new
sidewalks, decorative crosswalks, the installation of benches, and modified
traffic lights.
"The project itself, I think, is great. It's much
needed and long overdue," said Mike Miller, owner of Hop Haus Restaurant
Group. "Plantsville is an amazing part of Southington, and it's just going
to bring a lot of life to downtown and make it a nice little destination."
A separate project in tandem with the safety and streetscape
project built a wall and pocket park at the Hop Haus, which has been crashed
into over five times in seven years. With the two projects, Hop Haus should
be out of the line of fire.
"There should have been a wall put up six years ago to
protect people," Miller said. "In my opinion, that should have been
the first part of the project."
The Plantsville Safety & Streetscape Project also added
rapid flashing beacons at the crossing at the Linear Trail.
"The actuated crossing forces folks to stop, especially
those on bicycles, take a right, and then look before crossing," said Town
Manager Alex J. Ricciardone. "They think it's crazy because it doesn't
make sense. It's made to not make sense."
Paramount Construction began work in March on West Main
Street westbound, from the firehouse to the Hyde Away Café, followed by work on
South Main Street near the post office and Main Street from Grove Street to
West Main Street.
Work is currently being done in the remaining areas of West
Main Street, Main Street, and North Main Street.
"There are two separate villages here, and we wanted to
create a catalyst for economic development," Town Engineer James A.
Grappone said. "So, prior to us doing the project, you could see that the
business owners were starting to make improvements to the façade of their
buildings. So, we've been trying to work with the business owners to
incorporate what they wanted in the project, even though it was designed 12
years ago."
At the Town Council's Oct. 17 meeting, Councilor Michael
DelSanto was optimistic about the project's progress.
"I'm delighted to say that things have kind of been
somewhat buttoned up (in downtown Plantsville), even though there is a lot of
construction, but the construction companies and the police are doing a great
job ensuring that businesses are accessible, and traffic is directed correctly
with the additional issues that have occurred down there."
Lions Den Coffee Shop owner Vinny Infante said the project
has affected his business the most. His shop opens before work crews start in
the morning and closes well after they finish in the evening. But he has
adapted, and so have the crews.
"This project has already had a positive economic
impact on our business, as we see when there is no construction, we have lines
out the door to check out our top-quality drinks, amazing food and pastries,
and newly renovated patio," he said. "We have been growing at such a
rate even with the downtown renovation; we are bringing on the most team
members we have ever had to include a cook with a culinary degree who worked in
the hospitality industry in Colombia and Argentine to really highlight our
alcohol menu that is coming soon."
Council Chair Paul Chaplinsky Jr. said during the October
Town Council meeting that the central part of the downtown should be
substantially completed by the first week of November.
The entire project was expected to be completed by September
but hit a few snags. The biggest was the discovery of trolley tracks under some
roads.
"We weren't able to just pave," Ricciardone said.
"We had to dig down about a foot or two to get the grade to all flow so we
don't get flooding concerns. So that really added on time to the project."
The decorative poles throughout West Main Street, on which
banners and flowers will be hung, almost added a year to the project's timeline
and increased the budget as many needed to be replaced. Grappone said they
managed to get the replacement poles down to nine from 21.
Officials anticipate the project will be completed around
May or June. A mild winter could speed up the project.
"Paramount Construction will be returning in
March/April to complete the state road section on South Main Street, from the
Main Street intersection to the southerly terminus of the project,"
Grappone said.
While Miller expects the project to enliven downtown once
it's complete, he isn't happy about the time it is taking.
"The fact that this was supposed to be a three-month
project and of no fault of Southington due to the state of Connecticut, it's
turning into a year project, I think, is a little bit ridiculous," Miller
said. "It's done more than impede my business. My last four to six months
are 30 percent below normal. It's really hurting business and driving people
away from the center of Plantsville. If this was a three- or four-month project
like it was supposed to be, I can see the reward outweighing the inconvenience,
but there's been one problem after another."
Ricciardone said the town purchased signage to inform people
that businesses were open, spent $5,000 on a social media campaign with food
influencers to post about the restaurants, and visited the restaurants for
lunch. Miller said the efforts have helped.
"We appreciate the public's patience," Ricciardone
said. "This has been an extremely difficult project for the business
owners and the residents, but we hope all the hard work is going to pay off for
an absolutely awesome product when it's done."
This new CT soccer team and stadium could transform the region, but questions remain
Organizers are confident a project that includes bringing
an MLS Next Pro soccer team to Connecticut will have a transformative
effect on the region. But a year after the pitch was made public, questions
remain regarding just how
much money the project could cost taxpayers, and whether a
stadium will come to fruition in time for the team to play its first
games in Bridgeport in
2026.
Club owner Andre Swanston expressed optimism that fans will
turn out for MLS Next Pro soccer in a recent sit-down interview with CT
Insider, reviewing plans for both the Connecticut United Football Club and
stadium. Last week, the Bridgeport Planning & Zoning Commission tabled for
the time being any consideration of the stadium and larger development while
the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection assesses the
project under a coastal review procedural process.
Swanston has invested more than $1 million himself in the
project to date. But far more than that will be required to underwrite the
cost of the stadium and additional development like apartments, a hotel and
other recreational draws like restaurants to have the project pay off for
investors. The stadium facility alone could cost $75 million according to
a budget document from earlier this year reviewed by CT Insider, not including
"soft" costs like design work or any cost overruns during
construction.
With 16
months left before the start of the 2026 MLS Next Pro season, Swanston
needs to get
necessary municipal and state approvals in place to prepare the site for
construction of a “modular” stadium, which he estimates could be
completed in as little as 10 months but could take as long as 18 months.
Swanston did not rule out opening the season with a series
of road games if construction spills over into CT United FC’s debut season, as
the case with an MLS Next Pro team in North Carolina, or the
Hartford Yard Goats in their inaugural 2016 season in Major League
Baseball’s minor leagues. But that is not the goal, Swanston made clear, saying
that the benefits for Bridgeport are obvious for a new stadium with capacity
for 7,500 people and the possibility of one or more other pro sports teams sharing
it.
"You have the most densely populated, the most affluent
market without any of the top five men's sports leagues," Swanston said
last week during an interview alongside an MLS Next Pro executive at the
Norwalk office of Hearst Connecticut Media. "We've done the research.
We've put our money where our mouth is, and we've started laying that
foundation."
MLS Next Pro admission – at what price?
Sticker shock has already hit a similar project in Rhode
Island, where the rival USL Championship soccer league hopes to have a new
Pawtucket stadium for its Rhode Island Football Club affiliate. The Tidewater
Landing stadium’s construction costs were tabbed at more than $27
million, according
to WPRI, but taking on the cost of bonds to underwrite portions of the
project, estimated costs have ballooned to $132 million, though officials
expect the larger figure to drop in the coming years as debt is refinanced at a
lower interest rates.
The Hartford
Athletic also plays in the USL Championship league, at Trinity Health
Stadium adjacent to Colt Park in Hartford. The leagues
play on the same level of competition one step below Major League Soccer, but
do not schedule inter-league matches.
Swanston confirmed that to get the Bridgeport stadium off
the ground, it will take significant investment and he has been in
conversations with state officials about public funding. He deflected multiple
questions on any range of costs for the Bridgeport stadium and wider
development.
In a statement forwarded to CT Insider last week, the
Connecticut Sports Group led by Swanston stated the group believes it has
"strong support" in its words from the Bridgeport Planning &
Zoning Commission on key elements of the plan, and pledged to continue
working with city and state leaders "to address any remaining commission
requirements so the project can advance and deliver meaningful benefits to the
community," in its words.
The as-yet-unnamed Bridgeport stadium would be designed for
7,500 people, but with an expandable layout to get to a seating capacity of
10,000 if ticket demand proves strong for pro soccer in southern Connecticut.
LaBella, the company leading the design and engineering of the stadium, is also
working on the Rhode Island FC stadium.
Swanston said the National Women's Soccer League has
expressed interest in the idea of an NWSL team in Bridgeport, but has yet to
proceed toward any formal commitment. And Swanston continues to dangle the
long-term possibility of an MLS franchise for Bridgeport, saying the Bridgeport
site could be reimagined to accommodate a stadium for as many as 22,000
spectators, if MLS were to show interest. Under that scenario, the minor league
club could share the stadium with any new MLS team, or possibly relocate to a
smaller stadium in Connecticut.
"We've had a lot of inbound interest about other
potential tenants as well," Swanston said. "The modular
[architecture] allows some optionality going forward — you can build on top of
it, or you can remove it if you want to do more drastic changes to the
structure.”
Swanston is sticking to the revised timeline of a new
Bridgeport stadium in place by March 2026 for the start of that year's season,
while acknowledging the tightening window to finalize state and municipal
approvals for construction, and related financing. Swanston did not say
definitively whether he would launch the team at another temporary home in time
for the 2026 season if no stadium was ready at that point.
There is precedent for that scenario in MLS Next Pro,
after the Carolina Core played the first part of its debut season in 2019 on
the road while waiting on the completion of its $38 million stadium in High
Point, North Carolina.
The Hartford Yard Goats also spent their first season on the
road in 2016 after after delays completing Dunkin' Park in Hartford. The Yard
Goats had the third best attendance in Major League Baseball's affiliated
Double-A Eastern League in 2023 at more than 6,000 people a game, a gate that
bested more than half the stadiums at the Triple-A level according to
attendance data posted by
The Baseball Cube.
Swanston thinks CT United FC has all the ingredients for
similar success, and that he continues to work though challenges that come up
that have delayed
his original timeline for CT United FC to be ready for the 2025 season.
MLS Next Pro's senior executive drew a parallel between
the Bridgeport development an MLS Next Pro team in Cincinnati, which considered
a suburban setting for its team but opted instead for a costlier stadium within
the city limits.
"What we have learned is typically the best locations,
the best projects — the ones with the most impact — are the hardest, and this
one is no different," said Charles Altchek, president of MLS Next Pro and
executive vice president of Major League Soccer. "You don't have to be a
real estate expert to understand this is an incredible location that if
unlocked, in the right way with this type of project, is going to create a halo
effect of investment and energy and people wanting to be there."
Growing into a fan base
MLS does not provide financial support for teams and stadium
projects, according to Altchek, who lives in New Canaan. That is the
case despite more than 400 MLS Next Pro players having shuttled on to MLS
rosters at points during the 2022 and 2023 seasons, with 90 getting MLS
contracts, as Altchek disclosed in a post this year on the social media site X.
Altchek echoed Swanston in saying the league would rather
see CT United FC open the 2026 season in a permanent home in Bridgeport.
"You only get to launch once, and we've seen all
different versions of that," Altchek said. "What we have learned more
than anything is that you really need to take advantage of that moment, and
launching into your new stadium is a big part of that — that sets the tone for
how your fan base is going to engage with the team."
MLS Next Pro has seen attendance run the gamut in its
three years of league play. The St. Louis City2 MLS Next Pro club has drawn big
crowds, including a match attended by more than 10,000 people this summer at
the St. Louis stadium the team shares with its MLS affiliate St. Louis City.
But a Oct. 20 playoff game between host Inter Miami CF II
and the Columbus Crew2 showed an expanse of empty seats in a large portion of
Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale — despite the home team offering tickets for
free to individuals or groups of up to six. And Philadelphia Union II’s playoff
match against New York City Football Club II likewise showed large swaths of
empty seats.
New England Revolution II matches drew small numbers of
spectators in matches this summer as well, including at Gillette Stadium in
Foxborough, Massachusetts. In Everett outside Boston, New England
Revolution owner Robert Kraft is pushing for a soccer stadium with seating for
about 25,000 people for both the MLS club as well as its New England Revolution
II affiliate in MLS Next Pro.
Altchek said more teams will be making the move into new
stadiums in the coming years. And Swanston is not the only new club owner
wanting to kick things off in a new venue, with an
effort underway to build a stadium for an MLS Next Pro team for Albany, New
York.
"We're close to celebrating our 30th year in MLS and
we're in our third year of Next Pro, so we've learned a lot about what works
and what doesn't work," Altchek said. "What we have learned more than
anything at MLS is, for our teams to be successful they need to have a lot of
different elements — fan engagement, community development, the right brand, a
competitive team, all those kinds of things. But as important as all that is
the right stadium in the right location, and the stadium in many respects is what
unlocks the commercial opportunity."
Trumbull residents will vote whether to OK funds for a new Hillcrest Middle School
TRUMBULL — Hillcrest Middle School officials said
teachers have to go to great lengths to meet their students' needs due
to the building's lack of resources.
Principal Bryan Rickert said the 117,000-square-foot
building is bursting at the seams and staff are forced to convert
various spaces into other uses against their original design.
"We've used up every inch of space we have," he
said.
There is referendum
vote looming on Tuesday to decide if the town can build a new school. The
question on the ballot says "Shall the $142,375,000 appropriation and bond
authorization for the planning, design and construction of a new
Hillcrest Middle School be approved?"
If the majority of residents vote yes, the project can
move forward and officially begin. And if not, construction can't happen
and the process would have to start all over again.
Given the coming vote, Rickert expressed the dire state the
current building is in.
"Our students deserve it, our families deserve it and
our teachers deserve it," he said of a new school. "I can't wait to
see what our students can do once our teachers have all the resources they need
to provide an even greater opportunity for this 21st century we’re in."
Rickert said sometimes a classroom is converted for more
storage space, and other times a tiny makeshift classroom is created in the
hallway for students who need extra support.
"Every year it gets harder, and it will continue to get
harder," Rickert said. "What we don’t ever want to have happen is our
students at this school to be at a disadvantage because it can’t support what
our teachers can do."
During a walkthrough of the building on Oct.
18, students' bags were lined up along the hallway of the music department
because the classrooms were too cramped with seats and instruments.
The boys' locker room had an area sectioned off with gym
equipment, including bicycles and golf clubs, while sections of its damaged
floors were patched up with pieces wood and duct tape.
In the girls' locker room, desks and seats were stacked up
in showers that haven't been used in decades. Rickert said the showers were
there since the school's inception in 1967.
Michaela Durand, the school's technology innovation
specialist, said her daughter, a seventh grader, attends Hillcrest. Durand said
her 69-year-old father also attended the school back when it was a junior high.
Durand said despite the generations between the two,
the school hasn't changed at all, besides a paint job or two.
"When you think about what a school building looked
like in the 1960s, this is it," she said. "When Hillcrest opened,
this was the new building. Now to think that after all this time, it hasn’t
improved at all, but so much about teaching has changed."
Madison Middle School was formerly Trumbull High School
in 1960, according to records from the Trumbull Historical Society.
The records also showed Hillcrest and Middlebrook were
the town's two junior high schools, until a new high school was built on
Strobel Road in 1971, where it still stands.
Superintendent Martin Semmel said, since Madison Middle
School was originally designed as a high school, it has more suitable amenities
than Hillcrest does, like more space for an auditorium and more classes.
"It’s important to note that right now, Hillcrest, I
would say, is at a slight disadvantage to Madison Middle School," Semmel
said. "Madison Middle School is an old high school, and therefore,
contains some things that Hillcrest Middle School doesn’t."
He said, although a new Hillcrest building would be ahead
aesthetically, its programmatic needs would be catching up with what Madison
already has.
Jeff Wyszynski, principal at Hartford-based
Tecton Architects. designed Trumbull's District Master Plan, which
breaks down structural
issues among all 13 schools and lists each one by order of greatest
need.
He said Booth Hill Elementary School and Madison Middle
School are both being looked as next in line if the referendum is approved. But
determining which one would come next is still up in the air.
"I think what’s most important about the master plan is
it has that flexibility," he said. "A few years from now, some of the
priorities might change a bit, depending on what that need is."
According to the town charter, a referendum vote is required
for projects
that exceed $15 million.
The Hillcrest project costs approximately $142,375,000 and
the town would pay around $82.5 million.
Earlier this year, First Selectman Vicki Tesoro announced
that Rep. Sarah Keitt helped secure a 44 percent reimbursement rate from the
state, which drastically decreased the cost of the project to taxpayers.
Semmel said if the referendum isn't approved, the cost to
taxpayers will be much higher.
"If the referendum does not pass, there’s going to be a
significant cost due to the updates that need to happen here," he said.
"We are coming to a crossroads where the buildings need to be updated. And
if we don’t start with one ... we're going to end up with more and more costs
for all."