Massive offshore wind ship getting repaired in New London
New London — A monster lurks in the waters of the Thames River — actually a very, very big ship named after a mythical monster.
The wind turbine installation vessel Wind Scylla, hoisted out of the water on towering structures downriver from New London Union Station, is undergoing repairs at State Pier, according to Paul Whitescarver, executive director for the Southeastern CT Enterprise Region and chairman of the CT Port Authority Board of Directors.
Whitescarver said the repairs are minor. It's the second time the ship has docked at the pier for repairs. It is unclear how long the ship will be here.
"Every day the ship is moored here, there is a significant loss in revenue for the developer, hence their reluctance to provide timelines and probable repair requirements," Whitescarver said Monday.
Wind Scylla, which is 450 feet long, has a 1,500-foot-high crane and 344-foot-long legs that allow it to install wind turbine components in water depths of more than 200 feet. It can sail at 12 knots, or about 14 miles per hour. It is named after a man-eating monster from Greek mythology which along with another monster, Charybdis, protects a channel of water.
The vessel is being used to help construct three offshore wind farms, South Fork Wind, Revolution Wind and Sunrise Wind.
Revolution Wind, a 65-turbine offshore wind farm whose first foundation was installed last May, is a 704-megawatt farm, the country's first multistate wind energy project predicted to power 350,000 homes in Connecticut and Rhode Island. The other two will provide almost 700,000 megawatts to homes in the State of New York.
Scylla is owned by Cadeler, a Copenhagen, Denmark-based company that has a contract with energy company Ørsted. The Revolution Wind project is a joint venture of Ørsted and Eversource.
Because it is a foreign vessel, Scylla cannot load any offshore wind components, Whitescarver said. The federal Merchant Marine Act of 1920, widely known as the Jones Act, requires that any cargo shipped from a U.S. port sail on a U.S.-built vessel.
Ørsted has said wind turbine components would be shipped to the wind farm site with smaller vessels.
On Monday, Ørsted said Revolution Wind remains on track for a 2026 completion.
A live feed of the Wind Scylla repairs can be watched at www.secter.org/livefeed.
New federal courthouse in Hartford gets green light, enters design phase
Andrew Larson
The federal government on Monday released a “record of decision” for construction of a new courthouse on Allyn Street in downtown Hartford, which marks the final step in a two-year environmental review process.
The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) has selected the 2.2-acre site at 154 Allyn St., now a surface parking lot, situated between Union Station and the XL Center.
GSA will begin soliciting bids for design and construction this summer, according to Monday’s announcement.
The new building will replace the Abraham A. Ribicoff Federal Building and Courthouse, which was constructed in 1963 and no longer meets the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut’s needs for space, functionality and security.
The seven-story building at the corner of Main and Sheldon streets, next to Hartford City Hall, has eight courtrooms and 10 judges’ chambers, “some of which are severely undersized,” according to the GSA.
The new courthouse on Allyn Street will span 281,000 square feet and contain 11 courtrooms and 18 judges’ chambers. It will have offices for other federal agencies and a secure two-level underground parking garage.
The building will house 220 to 240 full-time employees.
When the project is finished, the district court plans to move its headquarters from New Haven to Hartford.
“The court is excited to see this project proceed past this important milestone,” U.S. Magistrate Judge Thomas O. Farrish said. “We thank our friends in the General Services Administration for their hard work in identifying and selecting this site for our new courthouse.”
In the record of decision, GSA outlines its reasons for selecting the Allyn Street property, the purpose of the project and environmental impact.
Moving the court’s operations to Allyn Street will improve efficiency, effectiveness, security and safety, while balancing potential impacts to the city, GSA says.
The GSA released a 500-page environmental impact report in May, which found that building the new facility on the Allyn Street site would have minimal adverse effects.
The GSA also considered a site at 61 Woodland St. in Hartford, along with a “no build” option.
The Allyn Street proposal received strong support from downtown business owners and landlords, who said it would help stimulate economic activity in the city’s downtown.
They noted the ample supply of nearby parking and that surrounding office buildings – which lost many of their tenants during the COVID-19 pandemic – could accommodate court-related services and tenants.
GSA plans to acquire 154 Allyn St., which is owned by SGS Allyn LLC, which is controlled by Bernard S. Bertram. He is the managing member of Brooklyn, New York-based Shelbourne Global Solutions, downtown Hartford’s largest office landlord.
Shelbourne bought the property in 2019 for $3.9 million, city records show.
The federal government has authorized $334.97 million for the site acquisition, design and construction.
The design of the new courthouse is expected to begin next year with construction beginning in 2027. The new courthouse should be substantially completed by 2030, GSA said.
For more information, visit gsa.gov/hartfordcourthouse.
Bridgeport gets $200K state grant to design continuous Yellow Mill Channel pathway
Brian Lockhart
BRIDGEPORT — The East Side street is named Waterview Avenue, which is apt because, for much of its length, that is all the public can do — admire from afar the Yellow Mill Channel running parallel to the roadway south to Bridgeport's harbor.
The state is investing $200,000 to try to change that situation.
Earlier this month, Gov. Ned Lamont's administration announced the area Metropolitan Council of Governments (MetroCOG), in collaboration with the city and Trust for Public Land, is receiving those funds to design a continuous pathway with more spots providing direct access to the channel.
The route would run from Waterview Park, situated at Crescent and Waterview avenues, down to where Waterview and Stratford avenues intersect at the Steelpointe harbor front redevelopment.
"MetroCOG is excited to partner with the city and Trust for Public Land on this community-driven planning grant," said the organization's executive director, Matt Fulda. "(We) all share the commitment to provide active recreation opportunities for all Bridgeport residents, and this grant, along with others, will further the goal of the city's 2017 waterfront plan."
The Yellow Mill Channel path is a piece of that larger, multiyear effort to open up an additional 20 miles of shoreline to better connect people living and working in Bridgeport's urban neighborhoods with the natural amenities that earned Connecticut's largest municipality the nickname Park City.
"The waterfront pathway is no pipe dream," said Vincent Mobilio, senior economic development associate for Bridgeport, who helped obtain the $200,000 in state aid.
Mobilio cited as progress: the decades-in-the-making Steelpointe on the lower East Side, with its mix of commercial, residential and recreational uses; the pending demolition and eventual redevelopment of the retired coal-fired power plant across the harbor on the South End shoreline; and the hoped-for construction of a proposed minor league soccer stadium, apartments and hotel along Kossuth Street, also on the lower East Side, adjacent to the Pequonnock River.
"With the big projects underway ... we'll see significant portions (of shoreline) come on line in large chunks," Mobilio said. "From these big projects, we're branching out into every neighborhood."
He noted Waterview Avenue has 200 units of new family housing, two elementary schools and a pair of marinas, so the Yellow Mill Channel route is a worthwhile focus and expense.
"Folks will be able to stroll along the water and relax and enjoy — bring a little St. Mary's by the Sea to the East Side," Mobilio said, referring to the picturesque section of the Black Rock neighborhood across town.
The city is also promoting its "Waterfront Wednesdays" initiative, encouraging participation in several outdoor events like birding, skating and painting at shoreline venues, including Waterview Park. For more information, visit https://engage.bridgeportct.gov/waterfront.
CT salvage yard with ties to Nascar proposes 36,000-sq-ft recycling center
Michael Juliano
AConnecticut salvage yard with a connection to Nascar racing has proposed building a two-story recycling center on its property.
Lajoie’s Auto Wrecking Co. plans to erect the 36,000-square-foot building on its 3.58-acre property at 40 Meadow St., according to plans filed with the city.
The building’s first floor will house an area for receiving, processing and shipping metal materials, a garage and welding area for business maintenance, offices and restrooms. It will also include a “museum” space to display the LaJoie family’s racing collection and memorabilia.
Family member Randy LaJoie is a former Nascar racecar driver, and is the father of Nascar drivers Corey and Casey LaJoie.
The second floor will contain more office space, a conference room and restrooms, the application said.
Plans also call for demolishing a metal building along the southern boundary of the property. The property currently has a 5,800-square-foot commercial/industrial building and other structures, including storage bays for recycled projects and an automobile crusher.
LaJoie’s, doing business as D&R Inc. of Norwalk and DLJ Associates, recycles vehicles and other metal products for reuse by the building trades and other industries.
Francis LaJoie founded the company more than 100 years ago as a business that recycled rags and paper. Today, it sells aluminum scrap to Pennex, Alcoa and Novelis; copper to Revere Copper, Acupowder International and Cambridge-Lee Industries; and steel scrap to Commercial Metals, McWane Ductile and Sims Metal Management.
“In its century of existence and operation in Norwalk, LaJoie's has served local residents and businesses, as well as large companies with government contracts such as Sokorsky Aircraft, Pratt & Whitney and Hubbell, and municipalities through Fairfield County, and various police and fire departments,” the application stated.
“Furthermore, the majority of the extended LaJoie family continues to reside in Norwalk – raising their families here, paying taxes here, spending their time working here, and patronizing local businesses.”