These are the major school construction projects that made Connecticut's priority list
Six major school construction projects across Connecticut
have secured spots on the state's
building priority list for 2026.
The projects in Milford, Norwich, Seymour, Stamford,
Waterbury and Westport — including two new elementary schools, one new
middle school and other upgrades — are expected to cost more than $300 million
altogether.
Each year, school districts can apply for state grants
for major
construction projects, like building a new school, renovating an existing
building or adding onto it. After the state Department of Administrative
Services reviews
these applications, it compiles the priority list and presents it to the
governor's office and legislature's School Construction Project Priority List
Review Committee.
The committee unanimously approved the 2026 priority list on
Jan. 14, and it's now up to the state legislature to give the green light for
funding.
For 2026, the Department of Administrative Services is
recommending $141.7 million in new grant funding to support the six school
building projects. Local funds pay the rest. Just how much the state will
cover for each project is dependent on the reimbursement
rate, which the Department of Administrative Services calculates using a
formula based on a town's wealth.
Here are the school construction projects designated as
priorities for state funding this year:
1. Jonathan Law High School, Milford
Project type:Expansions and upgrades
Estimated cost:$12.6 million
"Jonathan Law High School’s technical education
classrooms are undersized and located adjacent to traditional education
classrooms, which poses sound control and ventilation issues," according
to the project description. "To meet the growing needs of the student
population, and the renewed importance of hands-on, technical education,
Milford Public Schools plans to update their facilities to offer comparable
learning environments to that of other magnet and technology high
schools."
Expanding and revamping technical education classrooms and
facilities will allow the school to create more manufacturing and design
processes classes to support more career and technical education field career
pathways, according to the project description.
The project also includes bringing the current
mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems up to code to support new
equipment, proper heating, cooling and ventilation, according to the project
description.
At a 39.28% reimbursement rate, the estimated state grant
for this project could be nearly $5 million.
2. Teachers’ Memorial Global Studies Magnet Middle
School, Norwich
Project type: New school
Estimated cost: $69.4 million
As Norwich also works to build four new elementary schools,
this project calls for the construction of a new Teachers’ Memorial Global
Studies Magnet Middle School on the current site. Based on a reimbursement rate
of about 67%, the estimated grant funding may be around $46.5 million.
A district-wide facility assessment found that the building
infrastructure is in poor to fair condition, according to the project
description. "Many of the programmatic spaces lacked fundamental
requirements such as security, technology, power distribution and building
controls to regulate temperature and air quality," it says.
Two Norwich elementary schools also made the state's
priority list for 2025, as both John M. Moriarty and Uncas elementary
schools are slated to be rebuilt, with the old buildings demolished afterwards.
And the new Stanton and Greeneville elementary schools are currently under
construction.
3. Bungay Elementary School, Seymour
Project type: New school
Estimated cost: $60 million
Seymour residents overwhelmingly approved building a new
Bungay Elementary School in a referendum last
year. The current school is more than 70 years old.
According to the project summary, a town-appointed committee
identified "several deficiencies and areas in need of improvement and
found that the facility needs of the school were many and necessary to
adequately provide for the safety, physical needs and comfort of the students
and staff, including, but not limited to, the social and emotional needs of the
student population."
A 64.58% reimbursement rate means the state may cover about
$38.7 million of the project cost, according to the priority list.
The new building will be constructed where the fields are
now at the site of the existing school, so that the school can still be used
during construction, CT
Insider previously reported.
A town official said in a November
meeting that the new Bungay Elementary School could be open for
students as early as fall 2028.
4. Julia Clark Elementary School, Stamford
Project type: Renovations and additions
Estimated cost: $14.3 million
A new elevator, bathrooms, and window and roof replacements
are among the renovations included in the Julia Clark Elementary School
construction project in Stamford.
This is the lowest-cost project on the 2026 priority list.
With a 60% reimbursement rate, the state grant funding could be about $8.6
million.
The Julia Clark Elementary School additions and
modifications will be completed in two phases over two summers, according to
the project summary.
5. Roberto Clemente International Dual Language School,
Waterbury
Project type: Renovation and expansion
Estimated cost: $38.7 million
The renovation
and expansion of Roberto Clemente International Dual Language School
in Waterbury will allow the school to expand its dual language immersion
program through the eighth grade as originally planned.
The magnet school, which opened in 2021, offers a language
immersion program in which students learn in both English and Spanish. The
school initially offered pre-kindergarten, kindergarten and first-grade
classes, with the goal of gradually adding grade levels until it has PK-8
instruction in the 2028-29 school year.
The current school building was originally constructed in
1926, and "lacks the space and modern amenities required for a full
pre-K through eighth-grade program," according to the project summary.
"Expanding the school to include middle school grades
ensures continuity in this educational model, providing students with a
consistent and immersive language learning experience through grade 8,"
according to the project summary.
The project specifically includes renovations and the
construction of new facilities for specialized classrooms, arts and STEM
programs, and community spaces.
At a projected 78.93% reimbursement rate, the state could
pay for the majority of the project, with a $30.6 million grant.
6. Long Lots Elementary School, Westport
Project type: New school
Estimated cost: $110 million
The new
Long Lots Elementary School in Westport has the heftiest price tag on
the 2026 priority list.
Building has been
in the works for years, as the existing school has aging
infrastructure, including concerns about air
quality and mold.
According to the project summary, studies on the school's
conditions recommended that a
renovation "would not be cost effective or practical compared to
construction as new on the existing site."
The plan for a brand new, nearly 128,000-square-foot school
also includes housing the Stepping Stones Preschool Program, which is now at
the Coleytown Elementary campus where space is limited, according to the
project summary.
Construction broke ground in October
2025, and the new school is scheduled to open for the 2027-2028 school
year.
"Designed to meet modern educational, environmental,
and accessibility standards, the new Long Lots Elementary School will feature
flexible learning spaces, state-of-the-art technology, and improved energy
efficiency," according to an October
news release.
A projected reimbursement rate of about 11% means the
estimated grant for the new school's construction could be around $12.2
million.
Blumenthal introduces bill to help prevent roadside deaths of police, construction workers
After a series of deaths on
Connecticut highways in recent months, U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal is
introducing legislation aimed at minimizing roadside
accidents involving construction
workers, state police and good Samaritans.
The legislation would provide federal funding to states for
creating more awareness, as well as providing tools to collect data on where
and when these accidents tend to occur. That would give law enforcement more
information when determining where to patrol.
State Department
of Transportation workers and State Police joined Blumenthal,
D-Conn., on Thursday at the Connecticut Law Enforcement Memorial in Meriden to
announce the proposed legislation.
Blumenthal spoke of Trooper First Class Aaron
Pelletier, who was fatally struck by a hit-and-run driver during a traffic
stop in May 2024.
The father of two young sons “should be alive today,”
Blumenthal said. “Aaron Pelletier would be alive but for a reckless, careless,
negligent driver who killed him.”
After pulling over a vehicle on Interstate 84 in Southington whose
driver was not wearing a seatbelt, Pelletier was outside of his patrol car and
talking to the driver when a pickup sideswiped his cruiser and struck him,
police said.
There have been four roadside deaths of Connecticut police
and construction workers in about the past 18 months, Blumenthal noted.
“These four lives are a reminder of our obligation to do the
right thing,” he said. “Their deaths should be a powerful force for legislation
that will protect against reckless, careless drivers.”
Blumenthal’s bill aims to protect not only police and
construction workers, but also tow truck drivers, good Samaritans and anyone
else who finds themselves on the shoulder of a busy highway.
“Those environments can become deadly,” State Police Col.
Daniel Loughman said. The legislation would help law enforcement determine
vulnerable areas on highways in order to minimize accidents, he said.
Don Shubert, president of the Connecticut Construction
Industries Association, spoke of the dangerous conditions where his workers
routinely operate.
They often stand on the side of highways in the middle of
the night as vehicles pass by, and turn their backs to traffic in order to do
their work, all while knowing that accidents can occur, he said.
“Every one of my members can tell you about a close call,
maybe even worse,” Shubert said. “A small mistake can end up being a tragedy.”
Blumenthal’s legislation is not designed to protect just
construction workers and first responders, but also members of the public who
can be killed in work zone accidents, too, he said.
“Improving safety takes a lot more than just signs and
slogans. It takes clear policy, better tools, consistent enforcement and
sustained public attention,” Shubert said.
Loughman urged motorists to eliminate distractions while
driving and to not use cellphones, to slow down and to move over when they see
anyone stopped on the side of he highway.
“I think it’s a small adjustment to our own behaviors on the
roads that can save lives,” he said.
New Haven weighs eminent domain to acquire English Station for waterfront park
NEW HAVEN — City officials are weighing the use of eminent
domain to acquire the 8.6-acre island that houses the long-idle English Station
power plant if negotiations with the owners fail, a move aimed at transforming
the contaminated industrial site into a
public park and outdoor pool.
The option is spelled out in a Jan. 9 letter and proposed
order sent by Economic Development Administrator Michael Piscitelli to Board of
Alders President Tyisha Walker-Myers. The administration is seeking alder
approval to pursue the acquisition of Ball Island, a property the state has
indicated it is willing to remediate.
The order would authorize the city to negotiate with the
property’s owners — Paramount View Millennium LLC and Haven River Properties
LLC — to purchase the site, which the city hopes to rename the “Park at Mill
River.” It also includes language allowing the city to initiate eminent domain
proceedings if a voluntary sale cannot be reached.
“Be it further ordered that if it is not possible to
negotiate the terms and conditions of a mutually acceptable conveyance … then
the mayor is hereby authorized to direct the filing of eminent domain
proceedings,” the order states, citing authority under the city charter and
state law.
Representatives for the property owners could not
immediately be reached for comment.
Mayor Justin Elicker said his preference remains a
negotiated purchase and emphasized that eminent domain would be a last resort.
“First of all, the goal is not to have to use eminent
domain, and we’re negotiating with the owner in good faith,” Elicker said.
While eminent domain can be an appropriate tool for major public purposes, he
said, “it should be used very sparingly.”
Elicker pointed to the construction of John C. Daniels
School as an example of a justified use of eminent domain, and suggested the
English Station site could meet a similar threshold.
United Illuminating operated English Station as a coal- and
oil-fired power plant from 1929 until 1992. The site is contaminated with
polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), heavy metals and other pollutants, according
to the state attorney general’s office.
“It’s
been a blighted property for 30 years,” Elicker said. “Nothing
has happened on this property” until the city began pressing for
redevelopment. Turning the island into a public park, he said, would be “a very
special circumstance” and a classic public use.
City officials envision a waterfront park featuring New
Haven’s first outdoor public swimming and aquatics facility — an amenity
Elicker said would address a long-standing gap.
“There currently is no outdoor pool in the city,” he said.
“People who have the ability to pay can go to a private club. We want everyone
to enjoy access to a public pool … and to learn how to swim.”
The site lies between Wooster Square and Fair Haven, just
across the Mill River from dense residential neighborhoods and the John S.
Martinez School. Elicker said the park would serve nearby residents while also
becoming a citywide destination.
According to the administration’s cover letter to alders,
the proposed Park at Mill River would include active and passive recreation,
gathering spaces, and water access, including kayaking. The island offers views
of the Pearl Harbor Memorial “Q” Bridge, the city skyline and surrounding
neighborhoods.
Conceptual
plans have been presented at two public meetings, most recently last
week at the Dixwell Community “Q” House. The plans were prepared by the city’s
chief landscape architect, Josh Price, who stressed they remain preliminary.
“This is a concept only,” Price said. “This site needs to be
cleaned before any kind of park can take shape.”
Design ideas include sports courts, trails, a kayak launch,
a possible floating dock and a centrally located aquatic center. Price
described the island as a space long caught between neighborhoods and
districts, with the potential to become a new civic focal point.
“This is a substantial opportunity to give people the chance
to learn how to swim,” he said. “It’s a fantastic opportunity to make a
meaningful and enduring change for the city.”
The project could receive a significant private boost: the
New York City-based Roxanne and Henry Brandt Foundation has expressed interest
in contributing up to $10 million, according
to the New Haven Independent.
Funding for the acquisition itself is expected to come from
a Connecticut Department of Economic & Community Development Urban Act
grant awarded for Mill River district initiatives and accepted by the Board of
Alders in September, the letter to the alders states.
The administration urged alders to consider the proposal
within the broader context of the stalled remediation of English Station and
the revitalization of the Mill River neighborhood. A partial consent order
governing cleanup has been in place since 2015, but disputes between the state
and United Illuminating — now owned by Avangrid — remain unresolved.
“As we enter 2026,” the letter states, “there is reason to
believe that various legal disputes will be decided,” creating a rare
opportunity for the city to shape the site’s future and deliver what officials
describe as a generational public asset.