Under construction: Tens of millions being invested in downtown Waterbury revival
WATERBURY — A transfusion of tens of millions in public and
private dollars is being pumped into the historic heart of Waterbury to
revitalize the city center as a thriving, desirable place to live, do business
and visit for arts, culture and entertainment.
The returns on these investments, like the urban decline
that precipitated the ongoing
revitalization efforts, are going to take years, and perhaps decades in
some cases, to realize, and, like any venture, there are no guaranteed payoffs.
The major focus is the Central Business District that
encompasses historic downtown Waterbury and the new Freight Street District. It
is bounded by the Metro-North Railroad station on Meadow Street and the Freight
Street corridor to the west, Interstate 84 to the south, Saint Mary's Hospital
to the east, and to the buildings north of Waterbury Green.
Under Construction
Mayor Paul K. Pernerewski Jr. believes the investments in
the redevelopment projects in the downtown and elsewhere around the city are
going to start to pay dividends within the next five years.
“I think we’re still a couple of years out because it is
going to take a while to finish some of these larger projects,” Pernerewski
said. “I would say within three to five years you’re going to start to see
a big difference as these things move along.”
He acknowledges there is no reviving the booming post-World
War II downtown of the 1950s and 1960s, but he is confident the redevelopment
efforts can restore some of the luster, vibrancy and centrality of the Brass
City of those yesteryears.
West Main Street
The Board of Aldermen approved a $18 million bond issue to
support a
$28.9 million project to
redevelop West Main Street between Route 8 and
Riverside Street along the Naugatuck River and the Waterbury Green in
the center of downtown.
This city funding will be used to upgrade or replace
approximately 4,440 linear feet water, sanitary, sewer, and storm drainage
lines that date back to the 1800s in some cases.
This infrastructure work below West Main Street will lay the
foundation for a revitalized corridor that connects downtown Waterbury with
parts of the city that are on the west side of the Naugatuck River.
Once the underground utility work is completed, then work
can start on a streetscaping project using $9.8 million in federal funding to
complete the makeover of West Main Street from Route 8 and Riverside Drive to
Waterbury Green, including enhancements to sidewalks, lighting, and
roadways.
The complete streetscape project is under design and
construction is expected to begin in November 2026 and conclude the following
year.
The work involves reducing the number of travel lanes on
West Main Street to one through lane of traffic in each direction and making
the road a uniform width, creating a bus stop pull-off, adding a bicycle shared
lane from Riverside Street to the railroad bridge and a green strip on the
south side of West Main Street between Thomaston Avenue and the railroad
bridge.
Exchange Place
Then, there is the Exchange Place streetscape project on the
other end of the Waterbury Green that is expected to be completed in November
2026. Exchange Place is where East Main, South Main, North Main and Bank
streets converge downtown.
The city, Waterbury Development Corp., and the state
Department of Transportation have been collaborating on revitalizing the
section of the city's downtown from Exchange Place to North Elm Street near
the Waterbury Police Department.
The first phase to rebuild and beautify a quarter-mile
stretch of East Main Street was completed in 2021. Like the West Main Street
project, underground water and sewer utilities were replaced ahead of the
streetscape work. The city received $4 million in state grant funds for
this phase.
That section of East Main Street had been a bumpy
hodgepodge of rough patches and dingy roadway and sidewalks that included some
of the city's most prominent downtown assets, such as a branch campus of the
University of Connecticut and the Palace Theater.
The $13.6 million second phase of the street revitalization
project is under way. The DOT is providing $12 million, and the city is
contributing $1.6 million. The work includes roadway reconstruction and new
sidewalks, crosswalks, streetlights, granite curbing, trees, bus shelters,
street benches, bicycle racks and blue emergency phones.
The construction zones encompass
North Main Street from East Main Street to
West Main Street,
South Main Street from East Main Street south
to Scovill Street, and East Main Street to the
intersection of North Main Street, Bank Street,
Grand Street and the Travel Center Plaza.
The Exchange Place streetscape project is expected
to be completed in November 2026.
The city used a $7 million state grant to purchase the One
Exchange Place building and the Board of Aldermen in May approved a
$6 million city bond issue to complete renovations to the six-story
former office condominium. City officials plan to resell the downtown building.
“Hopefully, it will be back in private hands in a couple of
years,” Pernerewski said.
One Exchange Place has been described as a signature
downtown asset and a linchpin in the city's plans for revitalizing the downtown
and central business district.
The six-story building was built as an office condominium in
1988 and fell into disrepair over the next couple of decades in no small part
due to its fractured ownership structure. Seven sets of owners separately owned
each floor, and the building was inadequately maintained. Several owners were
significantly delinquent on property taxes, owing more than $811,000 to the
city at the time of its 2023 purchase.
The city purchased Exchange Place and the
adjacent Exchange Courtyard building nearly using $4.5 million out of
a $7 million state grant to save the two declining buildings. The city spent
the other $2.5 million on renovations.
The Board of Aldermen approved the sale of Exchange
Courtyard to the M4 Investment Group for $585,000 in January. M4 Investment
Group plans to transform the two-story, U-shaped commercial building into a
mixed-use development of residential apartments and commercial spaces.
Once the sale of Exchange Courtyard is closed, city
officials plan to spend the $585,000 proceeds on the One Exchange Place
renovations, lowering the city's bonding costs.
The $6 million in city bonding that was approved in May will
be spent to complete the rehabilitation, renovation and fit out of One Exchange
Place and prepare the office building for resale. City officials have estimated
this final phase will take two to three years.
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Pernerewski said city officials could use the proceeds from
the eventual sale of One Exchange Place to pay off the city bond issue at that
time.
The Board of Aldermen in May approved a 10-year, $974,875
lease to rent 8,165 square feet of space on the sixth floor to the Naugatuck
Valley Council of Governments to relocate the regional organization's
offices there from its current Leavenworth Street location. An existing medical
practice is renting space on the third floor via a month-to-month lease, and
the city plans to relocate the Waterbury Probate Court from a rented building
on Leavenworth Street to the fourth floor.
City workers displaced by the upcoming Chase Municipal
Building renovations will temporarily occupy the remaining floors. In 2023, the
Board of Aldermen authorized a $30 million bond issue to rehabilitate the
former corporate headquarters of Chase Brass & Copper Co. located across
Grand Street from City Hall. Earlier this year, the Board of Aldermen approved
a $2.5 million contract with Friar Architecture Inc. to design the
rehabilitation project.
The city plans to put One Exchange Place on the market after
the Chase Municipal Building project is completed and city workers return
there.
Other downtown projects
The Board of Aldermen more recently approved the
$1.6 million sale of the former St. Mary Catholic Grammar School complex to
a New York-based developer proposing to convert the downtown property located
across the street from Saint Mary's Hospital into apartment housing focused on
people working in the health care industry. The city purchased the property in
2023 using $1 million in federal funds from the American Rescue Plan Act.
Kaybar Development Corp. is proposing to construct a
four-building complex of 80 one- to three-bedroom apartments on the 2.2-acre
property at 55 Cole St. and 320 East Main St. at an estimated cost $18 million
to $20 million.
Kaybar is headed by Joe Gramando, a New York-based developer
behind some of Waterbury's largest downtown redevelopment projects in recent
years, including including the Brown Building, the former Howland-Hughes
department store and, most recently, the former Odd Fellows Hall.
Green Hub Development Corp. converted vacant office
space in the upper floors of the Brown Building on East Main Street into a
privately run dormitory for up to 92 college students attending the Waterbury
branch campus of the University
of Connecticut. Gramando is managing partner of Green Hub Development.
Green Hub purchased the the former Howland-Hughes
department store on Bank Street for $2.5 million in April 2018. At city urging,
the state invested $7.7 million into renovating the five-story, Renaissance
Revival-style building as an online education hub and executive offices for
Post University.
Most recently, Green Hub completed the restoration of the
former Odd Fellows Hall, a six-story, 130-year-old Venetian Gothic building
overlooking the Waterbury Green. The city acquired the downtown property
through a tax foreclosure in 2013 under then-Mayor Neil M. O'Leary. Five years
later, the State Bond Commission approved approved a $10 million grant for its
renovation. Green Hub bought the Odd Fellows Hall from the city for
$900,000 in September 2023 and invested $5 million its renovation.
The UConn Board of Trustees approved a long-term lease
agreement in June 2023 for the first five floors for housing humanities,
social sciences, and neuroscience programs of its adjacent Waterbury
branch campus. Green Hub maintains offices on the sixth floor.
At that time, the
former Miller & Peck department store, the oldest commercial structure
in Waterbury, was demolished to make room for a new five-story structure
anticipated to include four stories of apartments and ground-floor retail
space. Fairfield developer Joseph Iannelli bought the property last year
for $125,000, and he plans to invest $18 million in the new building.
Apartments are now becoming available in the former
Eugene L. DeFronzo law office downtown on Field Street. New York real
estate attorney John Mariolis recently completed a conversion of the
three-story structure that was built in 1918 into 22 market-rate one-bed and
studio apartments, and there are plans to add six more by the end of the year.
Mariolis is member of a Long Island-based family realty
investment business that has purchased eight properties in
downtown Waterbury. Brother Kirk Mariolis is leading the planned
redevelopment of the former Broadcast Center at 115 South Main St. into 18
market-rate apartments and five commercial spaces. The property, which was
once home to WATR Radio, was purchased in 2021 for $615,000.
Local developer Mike Batista is planning to convert a 125-year-old derelict building on South Main Street that also fronts on Bank Street into 23 new apartments and four commercial spaces. He purchased the four-story building for $171,000 in 2021. He previously converted the former Russell Building at 77 Bank St. and the former Farrington Building at 133 West Main St. into apartments.
"I think developers just see a lot of opportunities
here," Pernerewski said. "There is a big push to do
transit-oriented development, which works well in a city like Waterbury. The
buildings are great to rehabilitate. The architecture is good. The
structures are sound to do that kind of work."
Freight Street
The envisioned Freight Street District will be anchored by
transit-oriented development of residential, retail and commercial on the site
of the former Anaconda American Brass factory complex that helped
crown Waterbury as the Brass Capital of the World.
The city used $7.3 million in federal funding from the
American Rescue Plan Act and $10 million in state bonding to finance land
purchases, demolition work and and environmental remediation for the
Freight Street Corridor Redevelopment Project. Earlier this year, the
city joined the newly established Connecticut Municipal Development
Authority to support efforts to transform this one-time thriving hub of
manufacturing into a vibrant mix-used neighborhood.
The razing of the third and final building of the former
Anaconda factory complex was finished last year. The approximately 70 acres is
adjacent to the region’s most critical transportation infrastructure, including
Interstate 84, Route 8, and the Waterbury branch of the Metro-North Railroad’s
New Haven Line. It is also near the Naugatuck River.
The owners of the iconic
Union Station building at the intersection of Freight and Meadow
streets are proposing to redevelop the 70,000-square-foot, three-story landmark
property with its soaring clock as a mix of apartment housing and retail and
entertainment space. The proposal includes the development of 38 market-rate
apartments, including studios and one-bedroom and two-bedroom luxury suites.
The State Bond Commission in August approved $3.5 million
for the construction of a new indoor waiting room for the Metro-North Railroad
station in the former Republican-American building. The funding is a part of a
larger $20 million renovation of Waterbury Union Station that also will
involve replacement of the existing platform and installation of a new ticket
kiosk, upgraded security systems and an elevator.
CT DOT pushes Middletown Route 9 signal project to 2032 amid permit delays
MIDDLETOWN — The state Department of
Transportation has pushed back the completion date of the Route
9 traffic signal project because of a delay in getting work permits
for a roundabout on River Road.
Mayor
Gene Nocera told the Common Council last month the signal project,
originally set to be done in 2027-28, now won't be completed until 2032.
Nocera said he had heard rumors of a delay but his
fears were realized when DOT officials confirmed it at a meeting with city and
business leaders in August.
"Everybody was optimistic," Nocera said. "Now
we're looking at 2032, at the earliest."
A state Department of Transportation spokesperson said that
while the department is aware of the delays in permitting for the roundabout,
the design phase for the signal project is on track.
"The next steps for the Route 9 signal removal project
includes obtaining design approval from the Federal Highway
Administration," said DOT spokesperson Eva Zymaris. "The anticipated
date for bid opening is summer 2027, with construction slated to begin in
spring 2028. There has been no delay in the design of the project, but the
timeline was pushed out due to a very thorough permit review
process."
The Route 9 signal project is being designed to eliminate
dangerous interruptions and confusing entrances and exits onto the highway, DOT
officials have said. The plans call for improved access to the city's
waterfront and work to reduce traffic jams from Route 17 to the city's north
end up to the Arrigoni Bridge.
"In their current state, they are dangerous,"
Nocera said about the signal lights.
Phase I of the project, which involves taking out a ramp
from Route 17, should be completed by next summer. But then there is a
several-year gap before more work begins, Nocera said. He and others have
requested the DOT explain why there isn't other work that can be done in the
interim, but they have not received a response.
"That concerns us," he said. "Why can't you
do some of the work while you wait for the permits? Is there any other work you
can do?"
Details include removing two traffic signals on Route 9,
between Exit 22 near Silver Street and Exit 25 at Route 99 in Cromwell to
improve safety and reduce congestion.
Department of Transportation Project Manager Stephen Hall
delivered a presentation April 30 on the draft proposal to reconfigure
exits. The redesign is estimated to cost $143 million with 80% funded by the
federal government and 20% by the state.
The state has been working on the effort to remove the
signals since the early 2000s, Hall has said.
DOT: Crash every other day
Route 9 is a north/south running freeway except for a short
section of non-freeway in downtown Middletown where it overlaps with Route
17. This 0.36-mile stretch through the downtown features two signalized
intersections that have been linked to frequent crashes and delays, Hall
said.
Over the past three years, in that short stretch of highway
at Exits 23C southbound and 23 northbound, 500 crashes have resulted in 161
injuries, Hall said this spring. "It's a crash every other day, an injury
once a week," caused by wrong-way entrances, driver distractions and other
factors.
The traffic signals are the only ones on a state highway in
Connecticut, according to the DOT.
The DOT has eight cameras in Middletown near Routes 9
and 66 streaming footage 24 hours a day, which staff observe at the Newington
operations center. "If there is an incident, then we know about it and
alert drivers with message signs,” the project manager said.
Several downtown CT DOT projects have been completed or are underway, such as the pedestrian bump-outs on Main Street, reconfiguration of St. John Square, work on the Route 17 on-ramp to Route 9 North, and closing access to Route 9 at Miller Street, Hall said.
A new, right-hand off-ramp will be built south of the Route
17 interchange and north of Walnut Street at the intersection with River Road,
with the proposed roundabout to reduce traffic flow and prevent accidents,
according to Hall.
A pedestrian bridge over Route 9 will reconnect the downtown
to the riverfront, an area undergoing long-term redevelopment as part of the
Return to the Riverbend project.
Middletown officials said they hope to get another update
from CT DOT representatives.
Trump administration puts on hold $18 billion in funding for New York City infrastructure projects
JOSH BOAK
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump 's administration,
citing the government shutdown, said Wednesday it was putting a hold on roughly
$18 billion to fund a new rail tunnel beneath the Hudson River between New York
City and New Jersey and an extension of the city's Second Avenue subway.
The White House budget director, Russ Vought, said on X that
the step was taken due to the Republican administration’s belief the spending
was based on unconstitutional diversity, equity and inclusion principles.
In a statement, Trump's Transportation Department said it
had been reviewing whether any “unconstitutional practices” were occurring in
the two massive infrastructure projects but that the shutdown, which began
Wednesday, had forced it to furlough the staffers conducting the review.
The suspension of funds is likely meant to target Senate
Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York, whom the White House is blaming
for the impasse. He said the funding freeze would harm commuters.
“Obstructing these projects is stupid and counterproductive
because they create tens of thousands of great jobs and are essential for a
strong regional and national economy,” he said on X.
The spending hold was a preview of how the messy the
politics of the shutdown could get, with Vought later posting on X that $8
billion in funding for green energy projects in Democratic-led states would be
canceled. The administration has shown a willingness to use its control of
federal dollars to apply pressure on Democrats to reopen the government, with
commuters and thousands of jobs hanging in the balance.
The agency working on the subway line said it was blindsided
by the announcement. “For now, it looks like they’re just inventing excuses to
delay one of the most important infrastructure projects in America,” read a
statement from John McCarthy, policy chief and spokesperson for the New York
state-controlled Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
At a news conference in New York City about the federal
government shutdown, Gov. Kathy Hochul, D-N.Y., told reporters, “The bad news
just keeps coming."
“That’s what a partnership with Washington looks like as
we’re standing here. We’ve done our part. We’re ready to build. It’s underway,”
she said. “And now we realize that they’ve decided to put their own
interpretation of proper culture ahead of our needs, the needs of a nation.”
The Hudson River rail tunnel is a long-delayed project whose
path toward construction has been full of political and funding switchbacks.
It’s intended to ease the strain on a more than 110-year-old tunnel connecting
New York and New Jersey. Hundreds of Amtrak and commuter trains carry hundreds
of thousands of passengers per day through the tunnel, and delays can ripple up
and down the East Coast between Boston and Washington.
In a 2023 interview with The Associated Press, Schumer said
he and then-President Joe Biden were both “giddy” over the project.
Amtrak and the NJ Transit commuter rail system referred
questions about the White House's announcement to the Gateway Development
Commission, which is overseeing the tunnel project. Commission CEO Thomas
Prendergast said the agency remains “focused on keeping the project on scope,
schedule and budget.”
The commission did not address questions about the specifics
of the funding suspension or what it means for the project.
The Trump administration specifically targeted New York City
in putting a hold on the funding, but the move could also influence this year's
election for governor in New Jersey.
Government shutdown threatens to stall federal construction projects
Contractors across the country are measuring the potential
impact of a government shutdown. A meeting Monday between President Donald
Trump and congressional leaders didn’t result in an agreement between the
parties.
The federal government will shut down Wednesday, Oct. 1, if
Congress fails to reach a funding deal. Such a stoppage will freeze
construction activity immediately on certain sites, both temporarily and in
some cases permanently.
The first pain point will be on projects that rely entirely
on federal dollars, said Marsia Geldert-Murphey, a former president of the
American Society of Civil Engineers and current senior associate at GBA, a
Lenexa, Kansas-based AEC firm. Though money could be technically in place, a
shutdown could still sideline contracting officers and other oversight staff.
That could leave projects stuck in neutral, Geldert-Murphey
told Construction Dive.
“The real problem is going to be the federal employees,”
said Geldert-Murphey. “Are they going to be furloughed? In many cases, we can’t
move forward with the project if the federal oversight is not there.”
While projects in progress are typically allowed to move
forward, any activities that require input or approval from government
employees simply cannot proceed, said Erik Wright, principal at Precision
Construction Services, a San Luis Obispo, California-based contractor. He added
that delays are more likely than cancellations in these instances.
“When the government shut down in late 2018, early 2019 for
around 20 working days, projects in the final stages of contracting or early
stages of construction were delayed three to four months,” Wright told
Construction Dive. “We had contracts in process late in 2018 that didn’t end up
coming through until April and May of 2019, which presented significant cash
flow and staffing challenges for us.”
Being in a state of limbo would have immediate effects on
contracts and supply chains. Prices are locked for only so long, and prolonged
delays force suppliers to reprice bids and contractors to remobilize crews at
added cost, said Geldert-Murphy.
Fixed-price contracts
On the other hand, existing fixed-price contracts with
appropriated funds should be allowed to continue, according to Associated
General Contractors of America.
Most federal construction contracts are within this
category, as “they were already awarded on a fixed-price basis and funding was
appropriated at the time of the award,” according to an emailed AGC statement
shared with Construction Dive. That includes projects funded by the
Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, as well as the Highway Trust Fund,
according to AGC.
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For example, all projects sponsored by the Federal Highway
Administration and Federal Transit Administration shouldn’t be impacted, since
they’re not subject to annual appropriations; they should continue to operate
as normal, according to AGC. In other words, these agencies should continue to
make timely payments to contractors on work performed, regardless of a
government shutdown.
But cost-type contracts and awards still in the pipeline are
far more exposed to the fallout of a shutdown, should one happen. State and
local private construction tied to federal projects would also likely face
obstacles, added Geldert-Murphey.
“If the federal project is delayed and you’re assuming that
you’re going to be building connecting to something that’s already built, the
cascading effect can be devastating,” Geldert-Murphey told Construction Dive.
“If they [contractors] don’t have that communication on the federal side,
you’re at a standstill, which is again, a domino effect of pushing back
decisions that are being made.”
Many state, municipal and nonprofit projects rely on federal
grants, said Wright, meaning that a public shutdown could discourage private
clients from moving ahead with capital projects as well.
“The construction supply chain is tightly interconnected, so
if federal infrastructure or defense work slows, demand volatility for
materials and subcontractors will spread beyond federal jobs,” Wright told
Construction Dive. “Repeated shutdowns erode confidence in the government as a
reliable contracting partner, which can influence how firms price future bids
and whether they pursue certain opportunities at all.”
At Messer Construction, a Cincinnati-based contractor, Paul
Richter echoed these concerns.
“A prolonged shutdown
lasting several months could potentially stunt progress for planning and
development of future projects, leading to a disruption to the flow of work on
a longer-term horizon,” Richter, the operations vice president, told
Construction Dive.
The firm’s military projects are largely insulated in the
short-term, Richter said, because funding through the Military Construction
program or Operations and Maintenance accounts is typically locked in well in
advance. The risk stems from facility staff who may be sent home, which would
prevent renovation projects from moving forward. Richter added that a lengthy
shutdown would hinder future work as well.
That uncertainty, ultimately, will hamstring construction
activity once again.
“Any government shutdown creates uncertainty … including
potential delays in federal infrastructure projects,” Kristen Swearingen, ABC
vice president of government affairs, told Construction Dive. “ABC urges
Congress and the president to find a better way forward.”
The Democratic nominee, Rep. Mikie Sherrill, said on X that
if elected, she would "fight this tooth-and-nail and sue the Trump
administration to finish this critical, job-creating infrastructure project to
reduce congestion and improve quality of life in New Jersey.”
Republican challenger Jack Ciattarelli's campaign said
Sherrill owns the consequences of the shutdown.
“If Mikie Sherrill did her job as a congresswoman, we
wouldn’t be in this mess,” Ciattarelli campaign consultant Chris Russell said
by email.
Sherrill countered in a statement that “Washington
Republicans must come to the table immediately to find a bipartisan consensus
on a plan that reopens the government.”
The Second Avenue subway was first envisioned in the 1920s.
The subway line along Manhattan’s Second Avenue was an on-again, off-again
grail until the first section opened on Jan. 1, 2017. The MTA is working toward
building the line's second phase, which is to extend into East Harlem.
Associated Press writers Anthony Izaguirre in Albany, New
York, Jennifer Peltz in New York and Mike Catalini in Trenton, New Jersey,
contributed to this report.