Bushnell Park Pond undergoing major dredging, restoration project
Amajor dredging and restoration project of the Bushnell Park
Pond is underway, aiming to fix long-standing issues with sediment buildup and
water quality.
The project, which began in May, involves removing sediment
that has accumulated over decades. The debris had caused the water to become
shallow and murky, and created drainage issues.
After dredging, the pond bottom will be restored and a new
pump will be installed to ensure a continuous supply of fresh water.
The project also includes repairing the brownstone walls
that line the pond.
The city of Hartford issued a bid solicitation for the pond
upgrade and awarded the contract to Torrington-based Yield Industries for $2.94
million.
The project is expected to be finished by June 30, 2026.
The park will remain open during the project, but the area
around the pond is currently fenced off and inaccessible.
Developer outlines plans for $12M sports complex in North Stonington
Gianni Salisbury
North Stonington— A New York City development firm outlined
its plan to about 40 residents Thursday for a $12 million project called the
North Stonington Sports Dome and Adventure Complex.
For the past few months, Fox Trails VII, LLC developers
Damion Barrett and Guy Shmuel have discussed the project with First Selectman
Bob Carlson. It calls for a sports dome on land they own at 701
Norwich-Westerly Road (Route 2) near the Ledyard town line. Carlson has said
the town would not contribute towards the cost of the project.
Shmuel told the crowd his firm's mission is to build a
year-round indoor sports facility that will be the largest and most advanced
indoor sports dome in the region. It would provide space for lacrosse,
basketball, soccer, pickleball, batting cages, tennis, volleyball, a golf
driving range, multi-use courts and fields, a restaurant, sports lounge, a
party room, a gear shop and space to expand.
He said he hopes the complex can be used for more than just
sports.
"You can use it for social events. You can use us for
special events, community gatherings and graduations," Shmuel said.
Donato Fraioli, who works in technical sales and product
development for Air Structures American Technologies Inc. (ASATI) of Rye Brook,
N.Y., described the construction of the bubble.
He said ASATI has a long history of constructing
air-supported structures for colleges and teams in Major League Soccer and the
NFL and would be responsible for constructing the bubble here.
He explained the bubble is essentially a fabric covering
inflated by air, which creates pressure to keep the bubble up. At the top of
the dome there is a cable net system which allows this system to work.
"What occurs is the internal pressure goes into the
fabric, transfers to the cables and down to the foundation. The air pressure we
put in the fabric or into the building, gives it stability," Fraioli said.
He said the pressure is resistant to snowstorms, high winds
and hurricanes.
Marquis Lobban, the firm's head of marketing, described the
demand for such a complex. He explained that due to the lack
of sports facilities in the area, there is large demand for
"pickleball, youth travel sport and wellness culture in the area."
Lobban said the bubble will be able to reach 1.1 million
residents in the 50-mile radius surrounding the bubble and that families,
schools, private sports teams and active adults would use the facility.
The complex, its fields and courts would be rented to teams
and schools.
He said area communities that have expressed interest in
using the facility include Groton, Preston, Waterford, New London, Plainfield,
Canterbury, Norwich, Stonington along with the Rhode Island towns of Hopkinton,
Ashaway and Westerly.
Lobban said that he firm's plan is to open the complex on
May 22, 2026. First though, it needs to obtain local sewer and water permits
and secure financing.
Residents request pool, track
Several residents commented on the plan during a
question-and-answer session Thursday.
Troy Hopkins, North Stonington's superintendent of schools,
expressed his support for the bubble while asking that a running track be
included in the project as Wheeler High School does not have one.
"We started an indoor track team two years ago and the
kids, they have no tracks to run on," Hopkins said. "We don't even
have outdoor tracks to run on. In the area, there's the Coast Guard Academy and
New Haven, where track meets are held. So I'm just suggesting throwing it out
there. It probably can't fit in your main bubble, but maybe in a second
bubble."
Resident Mike Urgo also supported the bubble and asked that
a 50-meter swimming pool be included because there are not many public pools in
the area.
"There are no 50-meter pools anywhere close to here
that are available for use. You can make money," Urgo said. "There
are a lot of teams that like to use them for swim meets. If you build a pool
that's that large, you could section it off so it could be used at the same
time for clubs and the community.
Resident Bill Ricker asked about the safety of the structure
and if any of ASATI's bubbles have ever come down. He pointed to a 2013
incident in which a synthetic bubble over the Cheshire Community Pool collapsed
during a snowstorm.
Fraioli said that in the 60 years his firm has built
air-supported structures, some have come down, but not in a while.
"Structures have come down in the past, but the steps
that we take today are to keep the structure from seeing these extreme
events," he said. "They happen very rarely, and we have a much lower
failure rate then we used to."
More information on the type of sports bubble ASATI has
built can be found on its website.
CT town officials question scale of $225M, 240-unit housing proposal on this riverfront property
Amid a
statewide housing crunch, Farmington officials raised questions this week
about a proposed riverfront development that could add 240 houses and
apartments or more — with pressure on town schools and traffic top of mind.
Crown Equities LLC is proposing between 240 and 296 houses,
townhouses and apartment units at what it would call the Enclave at the
Farmington River. The property includes a former gravel excavation plant, on a
swath of land between Farmington Avenue and the river. The
Minneapolis-based developer is exploring any opportunities to get financing
through the Build for CT program, which provides subordinate loans to fund
construction of "middle income" housing in Connecticut.
Crown Equities led an informal review of the project on
Monday before members of the Farmington Plan
& Zoning Commission. The company has contracts to purchase 65 acres for the
project if it is able to secure town approvals to move ahead.
Liz Sanford was one of two commissioners who expressed
doubts on the scale of the project, while stating support for the general
concept of housing at that site.
"We've heard from the community, 'How many more
apartments are you going to keep building in town?'" Sanford said.
"It just seems very big, very large — but very nice."
Both at that meeting and at another the following night
before an architectural review committee, Crown Equities executives pledged to
work with the town generally on any concerns. Crown Equities has been eyeing
the riverfront site for more than two-and-a-half years, said Jack Brandt,
president of Crown Equities, telling the PZC the firm is "not married to
any particular kind of concept."
"We're trying to figure out what works for the
community," Tom LaSalle, principal of Crown Equities, said Monday during
the Farmington PZC review. "We're not anxious for a fight."
Brandt and LaSalle could not be reached on whether the firm
is open to reducing the unit count below the stated threshold of at least 240
houses, townhouses and apartments. Crown Equities has a smaller project in
Simsbury in the works: Crown Simsbury on Casterbridge Crossing, where it
envisions 72 apartments in two buildings and another 54 units in larger
townhouses.
Farmington ranked
among the top dozen towns and cities in Connecticut for residential
building permit momentum over four years since the COVID-19 pandemic,
and led Hartford County according to data from the state Department of Economic
and Community Development. Across 2022 and 2023 combined, developers received
permits for just over 600 units of housing, the first two years since 2006 that
more than 50 permits got the green light in any single year.
Houses in the area have sold in about three weeks on average
this year after hitting the market, according to Berkshire Hathaway
HomeServices New England Properties. That is in line with Berkshire
Hathaway's average
for Hartford County, which has ranked regularly among the hottest
real estate markets in the United States by Zillow and Redfin.
Crown Equities currently envisions up to 86 houses, 30
townhouses and 180 more units either built as apartments or townhouses. Based
on its initial plan, Crown Equities is projecting a total development cost of
roughly $225 million.
Brandt said Crown Equities would build the apartment and
townhouse buildings, with the single-family houses left to other developers at
sale prices that could range from $800,000 to $1 million. The firm envisions
houses having garages at street level, and rooms on upper levels above flood
stages of the
Farmington River, which had catastrophic flooding after a pair of
storms in 1955.
For those willing to spend extra, elevators would be an
option in houses, with the headquarters of elevator giant Otis Worldwide less
than five miles distant.
CT town breaks ground on $24M affordable housing project that has been delayed for 20 years
Kurt Moffett
PLYMOUTH — Construction of a $24 million housing development
at 9 Scott Road is finally under way after 20 years, although a bit smaller
than originally planned.
The plan now is to build 47 affordable housing two-bedroom
townhouse-style units in nine energy-efficient residential buildings. The
18-month project is scheduled for completion in late 2026.
Heading up the development, called Oak Woods, is Connecticut
Housing Partners, a nonprofit that develops affordable housing.
CHP Chief Executive Officer Renee Dobos said the clearing of
land and the pouring of foundations has begun. Adjustments also need to be made
to the sewer system that was installed by a previous landowner years ago.
“In some areas it’s too high and not pitched correctly,”
Dobos said.
The blasting of ledge has also begun, which has disturbed
some neighbors.
Karen Zagurski of Washington Road, who lives on her 15-acre
farm across the street from the construction, said a blast awakened her last
week from a nap.
“It shook the house so bad, it scared the crap out of me,”
she said, adding that she was not notified in advance about the blasting, which
she said is happening about once per week.
Dobos said she was informed that the fire department did
notify neighbors. The blasting company also notifies homeowners if the blast is
expected to be significant.
Zagurski said she also wants to make sure a fence is
installed around the new housing development to prevent young children from
trespassing on her property and getting stuck in her pond, which is muddy and
murky and between 18 and 24 feet deep at the center, she said.
“I just want to protect others,” she said. “It’s not a safe
place for kids to play.”
Dobos said CHP and the contractor, Haynes
Construction in Seymour, are aware of the fence requirement. The
town’s Planning and Zoning Commission made the fence a condition of approval,
under a former landowner and developer.
The 29-acre site, which consists of three adjacent parcels,
was purchased in April by a limited liability partnership dubbed Nine Scott
Road Partners for $1.2 million. It has taken 20 years to get to this point.
Ownership changes, a lawsuit, COVID, and economic downturns have all
contributed to project delays.
Funding comes from a combination of public and private
institutions, including Webster Bank, the state Department of Housing, the
Connecticut Housing Finance Authority and CREA LLC, the project’s tax credit
investor.
“This project was not going to happen if we didn’t step in
and rescue it,” Dobos said.
The original plans for the site called for 59 or 60 units,
but Dubos said CHP could not secure the funding for that many. She said it’s
possible more units could be built in the future, if the money and the demand
is there.
All 47 units will be rentals and considered “affordable,”
as defined under state law, Dobos said. Oak Woods will have 12 units
that will rent for 30% of the area median income (AMI), or roughly $338 per
month; 20 units at 50% of the AMI, or $1,285 per month; and 15 units at 80% of
the AMI, or $2,000 per month.
Dobos said the rental limits with tax credit programs change
every year, “so by the time we start occupying, a year from now, it will be a
little bit different, but they typically don’t elevate too much.”
The Oak Woods development will help the town reach the
state’s goal of having 10% of its housing stock considered affordable, Dobos
said. The town currently has 1,865 affordable units, or 7.26%, which she said
is “pretty good.”
The town needs about 2,500 more affordable units to achieve
10%.