Your questions answered about Costco's proposed Plainfield/Canterbury site
Alison Cross
Plainfield — Costco is preparing to build a massive
distribution center in town and across the Canterbury border to serve as the
warehouse giant’s hub for New England operations.
Seth Katz, the company's assistant vice president of real
estate, and Mark Marchisano, its director of development, unveiled their
company’s plans at an informational meeting Wednesday night at Plainfield High
School.
The sprawling site would cover 443 acres across both towns
and house a 1.1 million square-foot depot facility that would receive, sort and
ship Costco products to retail locations in the region.
While the project is still in the early stages of
development and no plans have been submitted, here is what Costco has shared
about the site, the jobs it would create, the trucks it would add to the roads,
and why some residents are pushing back.
Where is it located?
The depot facility would be built in Canterbury. Once that
is complete, Katz said the company is planning build another 1.1 million
square-foot building on the Plainfield property. Katz said when and whether
that happens depends upon the company's growth.
The truck entrance and exit for the depot facility would be
located in Plainfield at the site of the vacant Frank O’Connell Handcraft
Museum Annex Building next to Norwich Road Storage.
The north side of the property would abut the Tarbox Road,
Margaret Lane, Louis Lane and Douglas Drive neighborhood. The south side would
back up against the neighborhood on Topper Road, North Street and South Street
off Route 12.
Employees would enter and exit in Canterbury next to 234
Butts Bridge Road. A gated, emergency access route would also be located in
Canterbury from Tarbox Road.
How many trucks would it bring in?
Costco representatives anticipate that the depot facility
will process an average of 600 trucks per day. Marchisano said deliveries and
shipments start at 5 a.m. and end at 4 p.m., and occur Monday through Saturday.
Katz said the trucks will include a mix of Costco’s own
fleet and other manufacturers’. He said products will typically travel in from
the port of New York and be distributed to Costco stores in New England. Truck
drivers will come into Plainfield from Exit 28 on Interstate 395 and travel to
the depot facility using Route 12.
While all deliveries are scheduled for a specific time slot,
Katz and Marchisano said the facility is designed with a long queue and bullpen
area to accommodate the trucks on site. They also said Costco does not allow
trucks to idle.
Why are residents concerned?
During the meeting, residents from both towns raised
concerns about potential impacts on the environment, property values, traffic
safety and road conditions along with creating light and sound pollution and
straining emergency services like fire and emergency medical services.
The biggest pushback came from Plainfield residents who said
they do not want to increase the number of trucks on their roads. The town is
already home to multiple warehouses, including a Lowe's distribution facility
and locations owned by Amazon and Uline that will soon be operational.
Residents said the influx of trucks and the resulting
traffic have already disrupted life in their community. Others accused unruly
drivers of littering and urinating on their properties.
“We have concerns about what the impact on the community
will be and what benefits the community will get,” Polly Auger of Plainfield
said. “We didn’t get a clear answer on that.”
What jobs would it create?
Within the first year, Katz said, the depot facility will
employ 190 workers with an average hourly wage of $26. He said the company
expects its workforce to increase to 250 by year five with an average wage of
$30 an hour. The pay for a material handler currently ranges from $21 to $33.90
an hour.
During the construction phase, Marchisano said, Costco’s
contractors typically hire local subcontractors.
When is this happening?
Katz and Marchisano said Costco is still in the early
planning stages and has not established a timeline for construction and
operation.
In order to move forward, the project must obtain approval
from both towns' planning and zoning commissions, inland wetlands and
watercourse commissions and other regulators.
Katz said he expects that Costco will submit formal
applications within the next six months.
Why this location?
Katz said Costco currently operates 15 depot facilities, and
the Connecticut site will likely be one of 17 locations once it is up and
running.
The closest depot facility is located in Monroe, New Jersey,
which services stores in the Northeast. Katz explained that Costco’s New
England operations have outgrown the site, and the company has been looking to
add another location in the region for the last two years.
He said the proposed location in Connecticut offers the
“best opportunity” based on its location, access and size. Katz said the depot
would be a “generational facility.”
“The intent is that this facility will be around as long as
the company’s around,” Katz said.
What is the site used for now?
Most of the 443-acre site is currently a gravel pit operated
by Pasquale “Pat” Camputaro Jr. of American Industries.
Across both towns, Camputaro’s various LLCs own
approximately 283 acres of the proposed site. Another 99 acres on the
Canterbury side is owned by Denis and Lee Yaworski of Yaworski Realty Inc. The
remaining 60 acres on the Plainfield side is owned by 1197 Norwich Road LLC,
which is also connected to the Yaworskis, according to town land records and
state business records.
Marchisano said Costco would build the depot facility inside
the existing gravel pit. He explained that an elevated, landscaped berm would
shield the facility from view in residential areas.
How much is Costco paying for the land?
While the sale is not final, Katz said Costco has an
agreement with the property owners to purchase the parcels. Katz declined to
disclose the sale price. According to the towns’ land records, the appraised
value of the properties totals $1.67 million on the Plainfield side and $3.26
million on the Canterbury side.
The appraised value of Camputaro’s holdings in both towns is
approximately $3.24 million.
How can I share feedback?
Questions, concerns and comments about the project can be
emailed to Seth Katz at skatz@costco.com. However, Katz cautioned that Costco
typically does not respond to emails.
Katz said public meetings are the best forum to provide
input. He said Costco representatives will likely host another informational
session sometime after submitting their applications to the towns.
I-691, I-91 and Rt. 15 interchange work irks Meriden residents: 'The whole house feels it'
MERIDEN — For more than a year, Meriden resident
Lee Smith and his wife have been woken up multiple times a night by loud noises
and other disturbances due to the nearby reconstruction
of Route 15 and interstates 91 and 691.
It even shakes the foundation of their home on Bee Street,
which was recently repaved and has lessened the impact some.
“The whole house feels it,” Lee Smith said. "There are
so many dump trucks coming by every day here.”
State officials said the construction on interstates 91 and
691, and Route 15 (Wilbur Cross Parkway) interchange in Meriden will address
the high number of motor vehicle incidents that have resulted in more
than 2,200 crashes over that past 11 years.
Smith acknowledged that the aim of the work is to improve
the safety of the roadways, but said the construction itself seems be causing
hazards.
“They’re trying to fix it," Smith said of the
interchange. "But what’s happening is, in between fixing it and to the end
of the project, there's going to be so much damage because people are getting
into accidents every weekend. Me and my wife will be sitting here and all
of a sudden, we’ll hear (the sound of brakes screeching).”
He said the screeching is almost inevitably followed by the
“bang” of a collision.
“You just wait for it because it’s so bad,” Smith said.
Between Oct. 2, 2023 — after construction began — and Aug.
1, there were 1,419 crashes, nearly 300 of which resulted in injuries, and two
fatalities as drivers made their way through the active work zone, according to
data provided by Connecticut Department of Transportation spokesperson Eva
Zymaris.
Between the spring of 2014 and 2017, prior to the highway
work, there were more than 850 crashes, 230 injuries, and one fatality, she
said.
Officials have cautioned accidents in a work zone are
different conditions and not an exact comparison to the overall road accidents.
Drivers experience lane closures, traffic shifts, large construction equipment
and workers on and near the highway.
The goal of the state project, estimated to be complete by
2030, is to make the interchange safer for drivers. Once done, crews will have
replaced and rehabilitated several bridges in the corridor and improved traffic
flow across multiple travel lanes, Zymaris said.
One of those bridges is the Paddock
Avenue Bridge over Route 15, which entered a new phase this week that
is expected to be in place for the next 18 months. There will be alternating
one-way traffic, the DOT said, as vehicles move to the newly constructed side
of the bridge.
The overall goals of the project are to reduce congestion
and improve safety by “eliminating dangerous weaving points, correcting roadway
geometry, and adding multi-lane exits,” Zymaris explained.
This interchange is a “critical” link for passengers and
freight in the Northeast regional transportation network, connecting the I-84
and I-91 corridors between southern New York and Connecticut to points north in
Massachusetts and beyond, the DOT website says.
When viewed from above, the
highways form the shape of an X where I-91 and Route 15 come together
and run parallel to each other before splitting apart.
Atop the “X,” I-691 reaches its terminus across both
highways, forming a second web of ramps heading in all directions.
Zymaris conceded that construction projects such as this can
be a hazard.
“What we see in Meriden is happening on job sites across the
state, and it’s putting lives at risk," she said. "This is why we
need everyone to follow the slow down, move-over laws — to keep themselves and
our workers safe.
The accidents aren't Smith's only concern, as the noise and
reverberations from the work have also been disruptive.
The Smiths even went to City Hall because they thought their
foundation was starting to crumble as a result.
Lee Smith said he wonders if sound barriers help muffle the
sounds for others in the area.
Zymaris said there are some temporary barriers in place
"to alleviate construction noise.”
State Rep. Michael Quinn, D-Meriden, said he suspects “these
temporary things don’t completely subdue” the sounds.
He said work is being done overnight when fewer motorists
are on the road, but there's a balance between the benefits and
disadvantages of such reconfigurations, Quinn said.
“It’s a very difficult Catch 22, because on the one hand,
you don’t want anybody to be disturbed by what’s going on, but on the other
hand, there’s no way to make things better without there being a
disruption.
“Over the last 10 to 15 years, the number of accidents in
that mish mosh has increased significantly. The hope is once they get done with
all this reconfiguration, traffic will flow much better because they’ll have
additional lanes,” Quinn continued. “In some respects, it’ll probably get worse
before it gets better.”
To learn more about the project, including detours,
visit i-91i-691route15interchange.com.
Dozens of CT waterways identified as 'impaired waters' in new report
HARTFORD — A 40-page list of impaired waterways in
Connecticut that the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection
included in a report to Congress has spurred DEEP's estimate of nearly $5
billion in wastewater infrastructure needs over the next 20 years.
In general, water quality in most streams, rivers and lakes
in Connecticut is sufficient to support fish and other aquatic life
communities. For example, the latest statewide assessment showed that 76% of
the wadeable streams in Connecticut are healthy and meet aquatic life use
support goals.
However, in terms of marine waters, water
quality in Long Island Sound does not support fish or other aquatic
life during the summer months due to low oxygen levels in the marine estuary,
and bays and inlets along the Connecticut coastline.
DEEP's estimate of $250 million a year in wastewater
infrastructure needs over the next two decades was included a report that
states are required to submit to Congress every two years under the federal
Clean Water Act regarding the overall quality of waters in their state. The
biennial reports to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Congress are
intended to determine if waterbodies meet state water quality standards
relative to designated uses. In Connecticut, the designated uses reviewed are aquatic
life, fish consumption, shellfish harvesting for direct consumption, public
water supply, agriculture, industry, navigation and recreation.
The federal law also requires each state's Integrated Water
Quality Report to Congress to list “impaired waters” not meeting water quality
standards, and identify management actions necessary to protect and restore
them. There were dozens of "impaired waters" on this newly submitted
list. They include issues like algae, phosphorous and chlorophyll in Beseck
Lake in Middlefield to E.coli concerns in Cherry Brook in the Barkhamsted and
Canton area.
DEEP reports that demand for construction funding though the
state’s Clean
Water Fund has never been higher since its establishment in
1987. The Clean Water Fund provides a combination of grants and loans to
municipalities for wastewater infrastructure projects undertaken at the
direction of DEEP. It is financed through a combination of federal funding and
state bonding.
The Clean Water Fund had made commitments totaling nearly
$4.6 billion in grant and loan assistance through the 2024 fiscal year,
according to the latest annual report by the state treasurer’s office.
The state legislature and Gov. Ned Lamont approved a big
boost in Clean Water Fund bonding in the two-year, $55.8 budget that took
effect July 1. Nearly $860 million in general obligation and revenue bonds were
authorized for the 2026 and 2027 fiscal years, compared to the $105 million
authorized for the 2024 and 2025 fiscal years.
Within Connecticut’s borders, there are approximately
450,000 acres of wetlands, 6,000 miles of streams and rivers, more than 2,000
lakes and reservoirs, and a little more than 600 square miles of estuarine
water in Long Island Sound.
A public comment period regarding the state's water quality
report opened Sept. 12 and will close Oct. 14.
Written comments on the draft report may be sent
electronically to Rebecca Jascot at DEEP.IWQR@ct.gov. The public is asked to
use the following subject line: “2024 IWQR Comments." Written comments
also may be mailed directly to the Connecticut Department of Energy and
Environmental Protection, Bureau of Water Protection and Land Reuse, Water
Planning and Management Division, 79 Elm St., Hartford, CT 06106-5127, Attn:
Rebecca Jascot.
Housing options at UConn increase as school, developers try to keep pace with escalating enrollment
Despite adding hundreds more beds to its housing
portfolio in the past few years, the University of Connecticut's
student housing continues to reach
its limits year-after-year.
The rise in both on- and-off-campus developments in Storrs
in recent years mirrors UConn's larger enrollment
growth efforts, and the number of projects underway suggest surges in
both enrollment and the university's growing housing footprint around its main
and regional campuses are not slowing down.
Amidst record-high
enrollment, the university is currently housing a record number of
almost 13,400 students in Storrs, with housing at full capacity, said UConn
spokesperson Stephanie Reitz. At the same time, new off-campus options have
opened up, with a massive student housing development in the works that would
add more than 1,000 beds for Storrs students.
At a meeting Wednesday, the UConn Board of Trustees approved
agreements with a private developer to build a student housing community called
The Mark on land adjacent to the Storrs campus. It will include
approximately 1,350 beds on North Eagleville Road on two separate sites on
either side of the road, according to Board of Trustees documents.
The Georgia-based development firm Landmark Properties
bought the site in the spring, with plans to begin construction in late 2025,
according to a news
release.
“UConn saw a record-breaking 2024 freshman class and, as the
university moves forward with plans to expand its enrollment further over the
next decade, the demand for high-quality and pedestrian to campus living
options will continue to increase,” said Jason Doornbos, chief development
officer of Landmark Properties, in the March press release. “We’re excited to
help meet this growing housing need with the development of The Mark.”
The community is within walking distance of UConn’s academic
buildings, student center and athletic complexes, according to the release. It
will include fully furnished residences, and approximately 7,000 square feet of
retail space for the Huskies Tavern, which is currently located on the site.
The site on the north side of North Eagleville Road
will be constructed first in 2025, while the south half of the development
will be started in a future year, according to Board
of Trustees documents.
Because the site is bound by UConn property, the project
cannot be constructed without easements and cooperation from the university,
according to Board of Trustees documents. The Board approved those at the Sept.
17 meeting. In return, UConn will receive a lump sum payment of $600,000 and an
annual payment for operating expenses, according to the documents.
UConn's new agreement for The Mark comes just after another
off-campus student housing complex opened up in time for the new school year.
The Standard at Four Corners, launched by Landmark
Properties (the same developer as The Mark) in partnership with Manulife
Investment Management, can accommodate 890 students, according to a press
release. The new off-campus housing complex includes amenities like a
resort-style pool and hot tub, fitness center, 24-hour study lounges, gaming
lounge, and firepit and grilling areas, according to the release.
The Standard at Four Corners has 392 units ranging from
studios to three-bedroom apartments, costing between approximately $1,300 and
$2,000 per month for a bedroom, according to the website.
Reitz said the opening of The Standard at Four Corners also
helped ease housing demand, as some students chose to rent units there for the
new academic year.
Other UConn Storrs student housing options this fall include
units the university leased at The Oaks, an apartment building in
downtown Storrs, as well as some areas where lounges were converted into
living spaces to help meet demand, Reitz said. The university has employed the
same strategies in prior years to add capacity. And a 657-bed residence hall
had opened in Storrs in August 2024.
Last year, some students and families expressed their
frustration after being placed on a housing waitlist, as the
university updated its housing policy to no longer guarantee on-campus housing
for rising sophomores, juniors, and seniors. This fall, UConn had no
waiting list for on-campus housing by the first few days of the semester, as
all students who applied and were eligible had received housing offers, Reitz
said.
And it's not just Storrs seeing housing growth — UConn's
regional campuses have also launched new housing options recently.
In Hartford, UConn is leasing studio
and one-bedroom apartments downtown to accommodate up to 57 students in the
2025-26 academic year. At the same time, a new 200-bed
student housing development called The Annex is underway in downtown
Hartford, and expected to be ready in August
2026.
For the Stamford
campus, UConn Stamford acquired a new residential building this
academic year to help accommodate the growing enrollment amidst a housing
crunch — bringing the number of student beds up to 782.
At UConn Waterbury, officials were exploring a potential
lease agreement for approximately 104 beds in existing adjacent student housing
beginning in the fall of 2026, according to Board
of Trustees documents.
In addition, UConn officials have been discussing
plans for a new 250-bed residence hall and 125-seat dining facility on
the Avery Point campus.
Vote delayed on proposed power line through Bridgeport, Fairfield
John Moritz
Opponents of a proposed high-voltage transmission line in
Fairfield County won a temporary reprieve on Thursday as the Connecticut Siting
Council voted to table the issue to allow more time to study alternative
routes.
The move came two days after Gov. Ned Lamont waded into the
dispute over the transmission line by writing a letter to the Siting Council,
asking it to postpone a final vote that had been scheduled for Thursday. At the
same time, Lamont said he was meeting behind the scenes with the project’s
developer, United Illuminating, about a compromise.
While the governor lacks any formal authority to request a
delay from the Siting Council — an independent agency tasked with locating
power plants, transmission lines and other essential infrastructure — his
request was echoed in a filing submitted Wednesday by several parties to the
matter, including the cities of Bridgeport and Fairfield.
During the Siting Council’s meeting on Thursday afternoon,
council member Brian Golembiewski made a motion to table the vote until Oct.
16, which was agreed to unanimously.
Lamont’s office released a statement following the vote
thanking the Siting Council for agreeing to a delay.
“My office is in the process of convening a meeting with
representatives of all parties to facilitate a discussion on potential
alternatives and a path forward,” Lamont said.
Likewise, local officials from the two towns impacted by the
proposed transmission line expressed relief at the delay. Earlier this month,
the council held a non-biding straw poll in which a majority of council members
voted to support the project.
“I am very happy that they tabled the matter,” Bridgeport
Mayor Joe Ganim said in a test message. “I want to thank all the elected
officials and the Governor especially for requesting a delay and hopefully a
different result when they ultimately vote.”
United Illuminating did not comment on the council’s
decision Thursday prior to publication of this article.
The utility’s proposal, known formally as the Fairfield to
Congress Railroad Transmission Line, would move its existing transmission lines
from the aging cantenary structures above the Metro-North rail corridor onto a
series of large monopoles that would be built mostly along the south side of
the railroad tracks.
The proposed route has drawn the ire of local residents and
town officials who say the height of the proposed poles — up to 195 feet —
would tower over neighborhoods while suspending high-voltage wires near homes,
businesses, churches and a library.
A portion of the easement being sought by United
Illuminating to build the transmission line passes directly over the sanctuary,
basketball court and playground of the Shiloh Baptist Church, an 85-year-old
congregation located in Bridgeport’s South End.
“There would be no place for the kids to play basketball,”
said the Rev. Carl McCluster, the senior pastor at Shiloh Baptist. “The
playground could not be used because you could not enter it, because of the
easement that would take away the entrance to the back playground.”
Opponents of the project have repeatedly sought to have UI
bury the transmission line underground. The utility has argued that doing so
would add up to $500 million in costs to the project’s existing $300 million
price tag — estimates that critics argue are wildly inflated.
In an effort to forge a compromise that addressed some of
the local concerns, the Siting Council last year came up with its own route,
shifting some poles onto the north sides of the tracks through portions of
Fairfield. Opponents of that route filed a lawsuit, and in April a judge ruled
that the council had exceeded its authority by deviating from the utility’s
proposal.
As a result, the original plan went back before the members
of the Siting Council for reconsideration.
Earlier this month, the council met and held a non-bonding
straw vote in which two members who had previously opposed the original UI
route said they planned to allow the project to move forward. Another member
who had previously abstained also indicated they planned to vote yes.
One of those members who switched their vote, Khristine
Hall, said during the meeting that she had gone “back and forth, back and
forth,” over the utility’s proposal, which she called the most difficult
decision she’s had to make during her year-long tenure on the council.
Ultimately, she said, costs ended up being a significant
factor in the decision. “It cannot be ignored, particularly in the state of
Connecticut, when utility bills are so high.”
Lamont told reporters earlier this week that any additional
costs for adjusting the route of the transmission line could be spread out
among roughly 14 million electric customers in New England if they are
determined to be for safety or other practical purposes, rather than purely
aesthetic ones.
That process, known as regionalization, is governed by ISO
New England, the operator of the six-state electric grid. A spokeswoman for
ISO-NE said this week that the organization has yet to review the proposed
Fairfield-Congress line but that projects that are moved underground due to
state siting decisions are not eligible to have their incremental costs covered
on a regional basis.