Train stations in Windsor Locks expected to be completed by September
WINDSOR LOCKS — A new double-track train
station supporting a
rail line between Hartford and Springfield, Massachusetts, as well as the
historic downtown train station, are both expected to be constructed and
renovated by early this fall.
The $65 million new train station has been under
construction for about three years, and the "major initiative" is
expected to revitalize downtown Windsor Locks by attracting new daily
visitors, First Selectman Scott Storms said.
The project is the culmination of several local
administrations and is being completed in a timely manner and less than its
initial budget.
The historic train station is also being renovated to
compliment the new modern train station, with both expected to be completed by
September, Storms said.
Several other improvements along Main Street are also
planned, such as a walking path, and exterior sidewalk and ramp work that will
connect both train stations.
Considering the station's close proximity to Bradley
International Airport, travelers are likely to provide a boost to the local
economy by visiting nearby businesses, Storms said.
"I think you're going to have a more viable downtown
area," he said, adding the new transportation opportunities and housing
construction are "all tied in together."
"I think it's transformative for our town," Storms
said. "It's very exciting."
Meanwhile, the state has awarded a $4 million grant
for brownfield remediation on the parcel adjacent to the train station.
The grant will be used to clean up ash and waste on the
land, as the historic train station used the property for a dumping ground.
Once remediated, the land will be home to a $42 million
mixed-use complex with a design that connects it to the new train station.
Boston-based Trinity Financial already has local approval
for 120 workforce housing units in two buildings, along with roughly 9,000
square feet of retail space.
Construction on the first phase of the project consisting of
about 70 apartments is expected to begin this fall and run through 2026, Storms
said.
Because all of the new construction is being done in the
town's Tax Increment Finance, or TIF, district, taxes will be spread throughout
the district, leading to more future developments, Storms said.
Storms' main concern is the increased traffic downtown that
will come from the new developments.
However, "there's no way to avoid that with the
location of the new train station and the buildings," he said. Ultimately,
the developments are "very positive for our community."
Contaminated New Haven sites at old coliseum, along Quinnipiac River to get $1.8 million remediation
NEW HAVEN — A portion of the former New Haven Veteran's Memorial Coliseum site and property along the Quinnipiac River are among about two dozen sites across Connecticut to receive grants from the state for remediation and other blight abatement efforts.
The 1.13-acre coliseum site, 275 South Orange St., is currently a parking lot and was awarded $880,000. The funds will be used for site remediation that will enable the construction of a phase of a multi-use development that will include 7,159 square feet of retail space and 120 residential units.
The other New Haven site, chosen through the Department of Economic Community Development’s Brownfield Remediation and Development Program is a 1.34-acre site located along the Quinnipiac River at 185, 212 and 213 Front St.
The $947,500 grant will be used for the demolition and abatement of blighted buildings and excavation of petroleum-impacted soil. The site has a history of industrial use, including a coal yard, fuel tank farm, and metalworking shop. The remediation, officials said, will pave the way for the construction of 70 residential units, retail spaces, and a 29,000 square foot green space and boardwalk to improve pedestrian access.
New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker said the city has set an ambitious goal of building 10,000 new housing units over the next ten years, with at least 30 percent of those being affordable or deeply affordable units.
"These grants will help activate and transform two previously underutilized properties into two exciting new developments that will add nearly 200 new units towards that goal," Elicker said. "Both sites are high-profile properties, one the former site of the New Haven Coliseum and the other prime waterfront property along the Quinnipiac River, and their development represents yet another clear demonstration of the continued excitement for and investment in the future of New Haven.”
Regarding 275 South Orange St., Elicker said that after years of underutilization as a parking lot that it's been "amazing to see the former New Haven Coliseum site transformed into a new multi-use development with new housing and businesses that are expanding the footprint of downtown New Haven."
As for Front Street along the Quinnipiac River, Elicker called it one of the most picturesque locations in all of New Haven.
"However, this part of Front Street currently represents a bit of an eyesore with a stretch of blighted buildings," he said. "The plans to tear down these old buildings, remediate the properties, and replace them with new housing units, retail space, green space and a pedestrian boardwalk with waterfront access represents a very exciting development for the Fair Haven community.”
Fereshtah Bekhrad, owner of the Front Street properties, said Tuesday that the grant is an important addition and major development to the project, especially related to remediation of the contamination. Bekhrad said she is hopeful to complete the project, which covers 80,000 square-feet of land, in about three years.
Will Cannon, development manager for Spinnaker Real Estate Partners, said Tuesday that the company is grateful for the continued support from the city and the state in advancing the coliseum redevelopment.
The recent award of a brownfield grant supplements private investment to bring critical infrastructure improvements and environmental remediation closer to reality, directly supporting the delivery of new mixed-income housing, job opportunities and long-term tax revenue for the City," Cannon said "We look forward to the continued collaboration as we advance this next phase of the project."
The state released a total of $18.8 million grants that will be used for the assessment and remediation of 227 acres of contaminated land across Connecticut. The funding will support 23 properties in 19 towns and cities, helping cover the costs of cleaning up these parcels so they can be redeveloped and returned to productive use, state officials said.
This round of funding is projected to attract $218 million in private investment and facilitate the creation of 450 housing units. Approximately 52% of the total funding will be allocated to distressed municipalities, officials said.
“Old, polluted, blighted properties that have sat vacant for decades do nothing to stimulate our economy, grow jobs, and support housing growth,” Governor Lamont said. “With these grants, we are partnering with towns and developers to take unused, lifeless properties and bring them back from the dead, rejuvenating land that can be used for so much more and can bring value back to these neighborhoods.”
West Hartford receives two remediation grants from the state
WEST HARTFORD — The town is among about two dozen municipalities in the state to receive grants in the latest round of funding from the state Department of Economic and Community Development’s Brownfield Remediation and Development Program.
West Hartford received a $200,000 grant for assessment activities of the former AC Petersen Ice Cream production facility, a 1.02-acre site located at 240 Park Road. The assessment and subsequential cleanup will allow the building’s existing businesses, including the Playhouse on Park, a performing arts theater, to expand into the environmentally affected areas that have been unused or underused for several decades, according to state officials.
Another $688,000 grant will focus on demolition and remediation of the 1.21-acre site located at 579 New Park Ave. The remediation activities will enable the construction of a mixed-use, transportation-oriented development project that will include 70 residential housing units, officials said.
West Hartford Town Manager Rick Ledwith said assessment grant for 240 Park Road would be a critical step toward assessing and ultimately remediating the site to support the expansion of existing businesses, including Playhouse on Park, calling the area "a vibrant and well-loved part of town."
"We are incredibly grateful to the state of Connecticut for this support. It is a small step toward solidifying Playhouse on Park’s future on Park Road," Playhouse on Park Executive Director and co-founder Tracy Flater said. "We are at the very beginning stages of planning to acquire and remodel our space; and to acquire and redevelopment the plant to include office, teaching, rehearsal space and more. This first step of assessing for contaminants is a critical one."
Regarding the brownfield grant for the remediation of 579 New Park Ave., Ledwith said the support will help advance the development of the Jayden, a transformative mixed-use, multifamily development within the town's transit-oriented development district.
"This project not only aligns with our goals for redevelopment and affordable housing expansion, but also represents an important step in continuing the growth of our TOD corridor and enhancing connectivity for our residents," Ledwith said.
The grants are part of a total of $18.8 million in state grants that will be used for the assessment and remediation of 227 acres of contaminated land across Connecticut, and allow them to be restored to productive use, state officials said.
This round of funding, officials said, is projected to attract $218 million in private investment and facilitate the creation of 450 housing units. Approximately 52% of the total funding will be allocated to distressed municipalities.
“Old, polluted, blighted properties that have sat vacant for decades do nothing to stimulate our economy, grow jobs, and support housing growth,” Gov. Ned Lamont said. “With these grants, we are partnering with towns and developers to take unused, lifeless properties and bring them back from the dead, rejuvenating land that can be used for so much more and can bring value back to these neighborhoods.”
CT Construction Digest Wednesday June 18, 2025
Old Lyme needs $7.5M more for controversial sewer project
Jack Lakowsky
Old Lyme — The town will need $7.5 million more than expected to install sewers at Sound View Beach, which it owns, however the Board of Selectmen wants more information before sending the question to voters.
Steve Cinami, chairman of the Water Pollution Control Authority, said voters will now be asked to approve $17.1 million, up from the $9.5 million voters approved in 2019. The $7.5 million is up from a previously proposed increase of $4.5 million, which did not include other necessary parts of the project.
Selectman Jim Lampos, who lives in the Sound View neighborhood, said the $1,932 yearly cost to users is about $300 shy of unaffordable by state standards. If the state deemed the project unaffordable, it could not go ahead.
But he pointed out the costs for users to connect to the main sewer line and the systems in East Lyme and New London, are not included in the yearly user fee. Neither are maintenance costs.
Lampos, and First Selectwoman Martha Shoemaker, said property owners need to know their entire cost before the $7.5 million request moves forward. They also want more information on the cost-sharing agreement between Old Lyme and the private beach associations, Old Colony Beach, Miami Beach and Old Lyme Shores.
"We need to know, solidly, what we're getting ourselves into," Lampos said.
State funding will cover half of the $17.1 million. Sound View Beach property owners will have to pay back $8.5 million to the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection at a cost of $1,932 a year per dwelling unit. There are 270 dwelling units.
The yearly cost per unit has now increased about $570. Sound View residents will pay $522,000 a year for 20 years to repay the loan, Cinami told selectmen in a meeting Monday.
The town's three private beach associations are splitting the remaining portion of the $61 million cost of the project, which includes shared infrastructure, a pump station and the lines that carry sewage through East Lyme to the New London treatment plant. The state has ordered the town and beach associations to undertake the project in an attempt to stop septic tanks from polluting Long Island Sound.
In a June 10 meeting, Cinami said property owners are responsible for pipes from their property line to their house, while the town is responsible for what's between the property line and the sewer main.
Cinami said he wants the town to send an informational postcard to residents leading up to an Aug. 4 informative town meeting. Cinami said at that meeting he won't answer questions about the need for the project, only its financing. He said he will bring more information to the next Board of Selectmen meeting.
He also spoke to unexpected costs, which could drive the project beyond the state's affordability cap. Cinami, who owns a construction company, said that unlike other projects he has managed, there's no existing sewer system beneath Sound View that would need to be removed at an extra cost.
With $3B in federal funding frozen, charging station projects across CT mothballed, scaled back
In June 2024, the town of Wallingford unanimously approved a special permit and site plan for a privately developed facility that would be devoted exclusively to charging electric vehicles (EVs).
At the time, the project was touted as the first of its kind in the U.S.
The plan submitted by Gem Property Group LLC intended to develop a 2.04-acre vacant lot just off Exit 15 of Interstate 91 at 1 Miles Dr. The proposed facility was approved for up to 38 EV charging stations, 36 of which would be beneath a canopy.
There would be no gas pumps, just EV charging stations.
The project also proposed a 3,000-square-foot retail building for a convenience-style store to provide packaged food, beverages and other items for people waiting while their vehicles charged.
A year later, anyone driving past that property can see it remains undisturbed, covered in tall grass and with no visible signs of site-preparation work.
In an exclusive interview with Hartford Business Journal, the developer said the EV project is now dead, primarily because of, well, climate change — that is, changes to the regulatory climate.
Following the election of President Donald Trump and his administration’s subsequent decision to freeze more than $3 billion in National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) funding, as well as the state legislature’s decision to reduce similar EV support, the Wallingford project is not the only significant charging station development in the state to be canceled or scaled back.
That will slow down the state’s efforts to expand charging infrastructure, which is seen as crucial for the broader adoption of electric vehicles.
‘Unplugged’ for the moment
Elizabeth Verna, a principal with Verna Builders & Developers, said her family runs Gem Property Group and has owned the Wallingford property on Miles Drive for more than a decade.
A year ago, she said she was bullish about the EV charging station development. Now, her family is considering alternatives because interest in the facility has evaporated.
Verna said the potential tenant was relying, in part, on the subsidies and backed out of the project after the federal funding was frozen.
“After speaking with the Realtor, everything just went cold, which is fine,” she said.
“It’s maybe a blessing,” she continued. “If government incentives were needed to keep a market strong, then it would have been risky to put a tenant in there that was surviving only because of subsidies or incentives.”
She added that she thought the Miles Drive site was a great location for the project.
“EV is not charged right now,” Verna said. “It’s unplugged, for the moment. I’d love to plug it back in.”
‘We just pared back’
So would Michael Frisbie.
He and his business partner, Abdul Tammo, own Hartford-based Noble Gas Inc., which operates 13 gas stations across the state and is developing four more. EV charging stations are planned for each of the new sites.
In February 2024, the town of Orange approved a Noble Gas proposal for a nearly 8,400-square-foot facility off of I-95 that would feature an EV showroom with charging stations, and include a gas station, convenience store, ice cream stand and drive-thru coffee and sandwich shop.
Noble Gas also is opening a station in Windsor that was supposed to feature up to 20 EV chargers. Its new gas stations in East Hartford, Hamden and Newington will each also have a few EV chargers.
Frisbie, though, said the Orange and Windsor projects have since changed.
“We just pared back in Windsor so that we don’t have as many, but we still have some,” he said of the EV charging stations.
Instead of 20, the facility has four.
“When, hopefully, the subsidies open up again — which I think they will at some point — then we are already positioned to be able to add on,” he said.
As for the EV showroom and service center, “they’re on hold for the moment, until such time as (the subsidies) come back,” Frisbie said. “We will have EV charging at the facility that we’re going to be building in Orange.”
He said Noble Gas still plans to eventually build the EV showroom, but “it’s probably part of phase two.”
Despite the setback, Frisbie said he is “still committed to pushing forward with the infrastructure for EV vehicles.” He envisions creating Noble Gas fueling facilities that include high-speed diesel pumps and EV chargers.
“I’m actually driving an EV, even though I own gas stations,” he said. “So, we think the future of EV is still pretty strong. The challenge is, we were planning on using some of these subsidies as part of the investment.”
He noted there is still some charging-station funding available aside from the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) program.
Eversource Energy, for example, states on its website that it offers EV charging rebates for Level 2 and DC Fast charging projects, with rebates of up to $250,000. It adds, however, that the number of rebates granted each year is limited.
‘A perfect storm’
Attorney Lee D. Hoffman, chairman of Hartford law firm Pullman & Comley who focuses on clients developing energy projects, said the current political and regulatory environment for electric vehicles is difficult.
“You have a perfect storm of problems right now,” Hoffman said. “Nothing that’s insurmountable, but the federal administration froze the (National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure) funding, and it’s not clear what’s going to be the permanent fallout from that. We don’t know if it’s a temporary hiccup, or if that funding is never going to come out of the current administration.”
In addition to the funding freeze, the so-called “Big Beautiful Bill” making its way through Congress makes significant changes to the Biden-era EV tax credits. The bill phases out the clean vehicle credit, which allows a tax credit of up to $7,500 for consumers buying a new EV, and up to $4,000 for buying a used EV.
The credits were intended to encourage consumers to buy electric vehicles.
Eliminating the tax credits and freezing the funding creates uncertainty, Hoffman said, particularly for construction projects that generally have to order equipment and materials well in advance.
“If I’m delayed in getting my financing by 60 or 90 days, it may result in 120- or 180 days’-worth of delay because of supply-chain issues,” Hoffman said. “The charging equipment may get sold to somebody else who isn’t waiting on NEVI funding.”
In addition to the dramatic federal changes, EV projects in Connecticut have been waiting to see what the state legislature would do with its resources.
During the recently ended legislative session, lawmakers passed a bill, which Gov. Ned Lamont was expected to sign, that caps the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority’s EV charging program expenses at $20 million per year for the two-year budget.
Rep. Jonathan Steinberg (D-Westport), co-chair of the Energy & Technology Committee, said during debate on the bill that the program was among several that “got haircuts, but were not decapitated.”
Hoffman said the spending caps are less than what has been in place previously, “but it is still a significant amount of money that can be expended on this infrastructure.”
Frisbie said Noble Gas is a Connecticut family-owned business, and regardless of the federal or state cuts, is here to stay.
“We’ve invested a lot of money in the state of Connecticut, and we’re happy to do it,” he said. “We’re glad to be here.”
Others also are undaunted by the cuts. A developer in Enfield recently proposed building an EV charging station and café on an 0.55-acre vacant lot at 1561 King St., in Enfield. The facility would include 21 charging stations.
For her part, though, Verna said the plan is to replace the Wallingford EV station project with something else, perhaps a medical office building. But that remains to be determined.
“I don’t have any brilliant ideas right now,” she said. “I’d love to have an EV station there, but what are you gonna do? You can’t have everything.”