CT Construction Digest Tuesday September 22, 2026

Allen Street Flooding Fix Could Take Up to Four Years

Luke Fenney

NEW BRITAIN — City officials outlined the next steps in the proposed multimillion-dollar solution to replace the roughly 100-year-old storm and sewer pipes under Allen Street — an area known in colonial times as the “Great Swamp” — at City Hall Thursday night.

New Britain’s director of public works, Mark Moriarty, told residents, “what we’re really trying to do here is stop flooding and to stop sanitary sewer issues — that’s the crux of the project.”

Allen Street’s century-old 24-inch clay pipes lack the capacity to handle water, which has led to chronic flooding in the area. City officials said they plan on installing new 66-inch pipes in the area which could help decrease flooding.

Moriarty estimated the construction for the storm and sanitary sewer would take about two full construction seasons, and projected an overall timeline of three to four years.

Other work will include road reconstruction, water main replacement, as well as sidewalk and curb installation. Construction cannot begin until the city receives an authorization letter as well as a project review from the state Department of Transportation.

Moriarty said he expects that letter to come at the beginning of next year, but also acknowledged that the city will be in a “waiting game” for some of the final steps to begin construction.

“We’re just trying to get through a process which is pretty bureaucratic,” he said.

Audience members at the meeting included Allen Street residents, city officials, as well as Democratic State Rep. Dave DeFronzo.

While many residents said they appreciated the update, several expressed frustration and anxiety about the shifting timelines and how long they may be living with flooding before construction begins.

“We’re not questioning you in any way. We just want realistic numbers. So when people ask us what’s going on, we can give them reasonably realistic answers,” Frank Chase, an Allen Street resident, said.

Sharon Case, Frank’s wife, said the couple were “cracking up on flooding — and we lived in a houseboat.”

While Moriarty said he felt the project was in “good funding shape” he also described it as a complex project without many similar models for the city to follow.

“There’s not like similar projects out there that we can compare apples to apples to. That’s why we’re nervous about the cost,” he said.

The project has secured roughly $13 million through local, state and federal grants.

In May, Mayor Bobby Sanchez, announced an additional $5 million in state bonding support through a partnership involving New Britain’s legislative delegation, Gov. Ned Lamont and U.S. Rep. Jahana Hayes on top of the initial $8 million in combined federal, state and transportation infrastructure funding that was already secured for the project.

The city has been meeting with its design consultant, Cardinal Engineers, every two weeks to discuss the project. Moriarty estimated that the full design plans will be ready for review by January.

There is also a scheduled meeting with all project utilities scheduled at 10 a.m. on Oct. 20.

Sanchez made the chronic flooding on Allen Street a top priority during his 2025 campaign for mayor. At the meeting, he promised to make sure that the project makes it over the finish line.

“When I focus on something, I focus on it. If it comes to a point where we can’t get some information from the state, I’ll be on that phone. Actually, it won’t be the phone – I’ll be going to Hartford personally to make sure we get what we need,” Sanchez said.

The city will host a similar meeting to update citizens on the progress of the project in December.

Montville officials again push for large commercial project near school

Jack Lawkowsky

Montville — The Planning and Zoning Commission is scheduled Tuesday to consider a proposal by the town to lease a portion of the road that leads to Mohegan Elementary School to a commercial developer. 

State law requires the commission to review any transfer of property by the town and issue a report.

Mayor Leonard Bunnell is asking the commission to allow the town to lease a portion of PTA Lane in Uncasville to Dominic Carpionato, a Rhode Island-based commercial developer whose previous attempt to develop the land for a "large-format" operation voters defeated in July. 

In July, voters were asked to transfer the road to Carpionato. 

Bunnell is making the request without disclosing any details about the project Carpionato wants to build. The only information that has been released is that it will provide jobs and tax revenue with no specifics.

Bunnell, who could not be reached to comment Monday, asked the commission to make a decision Tuesday.

If the lease is approved, Carpionato would realign PTA Lane at his own expense. This will maintain two-way public access from Route 32 to the school, "with no change in location of access" to Route 32 and the school, Land Use Director Dennis Goderre wrote in a memo to the commission. 

An original proposal rejected by voters and the one being discussed Tuesday called for the displacement and relocation of residents in a mobile home park on Golden Road, which adjoins PTA Lane in a loop. 

Carpionato owns about 10 acres at 87 PTA Lane, across the street from the mobile home park. He does not own the mobile home property.

Carpionato previously said his company would work with the park's tenants "to achieve a positive outcome for all."

The town said that properties that sit directly on Route 32, which includes the 30 mobile homes at 15 Golden Road, 1905 Route 32, 73 PTA Lane and 25 PTA Lane, offer "substantial development opportunity."

Most residents of the mobile homes have said they don't want to leave the park. Some have lived there for decades and are worried about where they would go if displaced. 

Goderre said residents in a mobile home park have protective rights when an owner sells the land, including "certain notices and financial assistance."

He added the playground at the school would have to be taken down and replaced with one up to modern standards, like ADA accessibility, and moved to the rear of the building. 

The town would also require Carpionato to extend the sidewalks from Route 32 to the school entrance along Golden Road and PTA Lane, and putting in a new traffic light at the intersection with Golden Road.

The town also wants Carpionato to install sidewalks on both sides of Route 32, leading to the Montville Commons plaza, with Stop & Shop and Home Depot, across the street. It also wants more signs and crossing signals to improve pedestrian safety. 

Approving the lease, town officials said, would provide the town much needed revenue and a chance to develop the "underutilized" area of PTA Lane and Golden Road. Bunnell has previously said the town is in "dire" need of more commercial tax revenue. 

Goderre said letting the developer build this project could "create jobs, bring visitors and supports needs of local consumers."

Officials break ground on 120-unit Benedict Court in Greenwich

Greenwich officials gathered Friday to mark the groundbreaking of Benedict Court, a 120-unit multifamily development at 19 Benedict Place in downtown Greenwich.

The six-story building is being developed by Lonicera Partners and Nimbus Properties, with design by BKSK Architects, and is slated for completion in 2028.

Forty percent of the units — 48 apartments — will be set aside for moderate-income households, in collaboration with the Town of Greenwich and Greenwich Affordable Housing Trust Fund, officials said.

“Benedict Court’s affordability mix meets Connecticut’s 8-30g statute and represents a way to provide housing options for those who work in town but can’t afford to live here but who also earn too much to qualify for conventional affordable housing,” said Phil Wharton, a partner at Nimbus Properties. “They’ve been stuck in the middle — until now.”

The building will include a mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom apartment units, with all parking located below grade. Amenities will include a fitness center, resident dining room, private library, coworking space and a shared rooftop terrace.

Check out major developments to watch in Connecticut

Thousands of housing units, new hotels and a massive Amazon fulfillment center are part of the next wave of major development taking shape across Connecticut.

In this special report, Hartford Business Journal examines four development efforts — from Bridgeport’s waterfront and the neighborhood around Hartford’s Dunkin’ Park to a vacant Enfield corporate campus and a long-stalled industrial site on the Waterbury-Naugatuck border.

The stories explore what’s being built, what developers envision next and how financing, public investment and market demand will shape the pace of construction.

Check them out here:

After 25 years, massive Bridgeport waterfront redevelopment enters new phase

With a 420-unit apartment complex welcoming residents and a hotel under construction, Steelpointe Harbor’s developer is planning a residential tower as part of a broader vision for roughly 2,000 apartments and condominiums.

Read the story

Salvatore envisions up to 2,500 apartments around Hartford’s Dunkin’ Park

Developer Randy Salvatore’s plans for North Crossing and the former Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute campus could bring roughly 2,500 apartments and a boutique hotel to the ballpark neighborhood. The buildout could take another decade.

Read the story

Dormant Enfield corporate office campus set for nearly 500-unit residential redevelopment

A roughly $150 million plan would transform the former MassMutual campus into apartments, for-sale townhomes and commercial space. Developer MB Financial hopes to begin the office conversion and first phase of townhouse construction in early 2027.

Read the story

3.2M-sq.-ft. Amazon fulfillment center rises on Waterbury-Naugatuck border

The multilevel facility is expected to be completed in 2027 and employ about 1,000 people. Its construction follows decades of unsuccessful efforts to develop the site and adds to Amazon’s expanding Connecticut footprint.

Read the story

CT Construction Digest Friday September 18, 2026

Stamford Hospital expansion plan raises neighborhood concerns over traffic and safety

Robert Marchant

STAMFORD — Plans for a new cancer-care unit at Stamford Hospital are raising concerns from the neighborhood about traffic congestion and pedestrian safety.

Stamford Health is seeking approvals for major construction at its campus off West Broad Street from the city's Zoning Board. The existing Bennett Cancer Center would be relocated to a new, 73,000-square-foot building. In addition, Stamford Health’s behavioral health unit and inpatient rehabilitation program would be relocated, with behavioral health moving into the existing cancer center building.

Stamford Health is seeking approvals for major construction at its campus off West Broad Street from the city’s Zoning Board. The existing Bennett Cancer Center would be relocated to a new, 73,000-square-foot building. Stamford Health’s behavioral health unit and inpatient rehabilitation program also would be relocated, with behavioral health moving into the existing cancer center building.

The project would increase parking on the campus from 1,400 to 1,696 spaces. It would include a new 355-space parking garage and additional surface lots.

At a recent Zoning Board meeting, where a preliminary plan from the hospital was reviewed, a half-dozen speakers raised concerns while noting they supported the hospital's mission. 

"This area is already heavily congested, and the narrow roads create a serious safety concern, especially for schoolchildren getting on and off school buses," resident Priscilla Dorsey  said.

Dan Lombardi, president of the Hubbard Heights Neighborhood Association, said, "We are quite concerned about the impact of this construction on our neighborhood. A project of this size comes with many concerns."

Lombardi said visitors to the hospital sometimes park on residential streets, causing problems, and expressed concern that the additional development could worsen traffic and parking issues.

"How are we going to make sure traffic is controlled and our children and adults stay safe," asked another neighbor, Alexis Farrow. "How is traffic going to be regulated?"

Lisa Feinberg, an attorney representing the hospital, said the proposed cancer unit was not expected to bring in many more patients or a require a significant expansion of staff. 

"We aren't creating new demand," she said, adding that the additional square footage was needed for upgraded technology and “changes in the medical environment.”

Feinberg said a traffic study submitted by the hospital's consultants had been reviewed by the city's traffic bureau. An additional review would be conducted when a final site plan was submitted, she said.

"I can promise that Stamford Hospital is committed to continue being a good neighbor and doing what is in the best interest of the community," she said. 

Zoning Board member Keith Walker said he would like to see particular attention paid to school buses and youngsters walking in the area.

"We should work together as a community to figure that out," he said, referring to achieving the highest possible level of safety.

Zoning Board members said they supported the concept of upgrading the hospital, while acknowledging concerns about parking and traffic.

 "I'm happy to see the hospital grow and meet the needs of the community," said Zoning Board Chairman David Stein.

The proposal was closed by the board for additional discussion and review. 

State Siting Council grants Plainfield intervenor status in trash plant proposal

Sara Bedigian

Plainfield — The state Siting Council voted Thursday to grant the town’s request for party and intervenor status and schedule an Oct. 22 public hearing on the waste-to-energy trash plant.

The decision means the town will now have a seat at the table when discussing whether to approve the widely opposed facility near the intersection of Norwich Road and Black Hill Road, which plans to convert municipal solid waste into 45 megawatts of electric power and renewable natural gas.

The town was also granted Connecticut Environmental Protection Act intervenor status, which allows any person or group to join a state administrative proceeding in Connecticut to raise environmental concerns.

In a Sept. 2 letter to the Siting Council, the town’s attorney Ann Catino listed Plainfield’s concerns on how the facility would impact air, water, wildlife, noise and traffic. The letter also lists the state-listed protected species known to live on or near the property.

The facility is planned to be constructed on 81 acres within a larger 506-acre sand and gravel mine property owned by O&G Industries, which operates Rawson Materials.

Siting Council Vice Chair John Morissette said it is not uncommon to grant a municipality party and intervenor status and that they have done it in the past, “so I would support this as well,” he added.

The motion passed 7-0 with one abstention. Council member Daniel Lynch said he temporarily abstains because he knows people at the energy division at O&G Industries and must see what their role is in the project.

The council also voted to schedule the public hearing for Oct. 22, with the evidentiary session beginning at 2 p.m. and public comment session at 6:30 p.m. The council agreed to send the transcript of the hearing to the Plainfield Town Hall.

The deadline to submit public comment has been extended to Oct. 15.

The council voted at its Sept. 3 meeting to hold a public hearing after the town; Sen. Heather Somers, R-18th District; the Council of Environmental Quality; and approximately 36 residents requested it. The council is not required to hold a public hearing.

The council also voted Thursday to extend the final decision deadline from February to August of 2027.

Since the petition for the facility was filed by SMART Technologies on Aug. 7, Plainfield has been working to fight against it. The town voted to allocate $250,000 of its fund balance toward hiring specialized attorneys, like Catino earlier this month.

SMART attorney Lee Hoffman told the Siting Council in an Aug. 19 letter that the developer is not opposed to a public hearing and welcomes “the opportunity to hear from members of the public regarding the project and to answer any questions the Council or staff may have regarding the project.”

A pre-hearing conference to set the rules and schedule for the Oct. 22 public hearing will take place on Sept. 30 at 11 a.m.

Amazon project in Norwich could bring 500 jobs, starts review

Matt Grahn

Norwich residents got a chance to learn more about the proposed Amazon facility for the Occum Industrial Park.

The Norwich Community Development Corporation and the Bluewater Property Group, the developer for Amazon, gave a public information session on Sept. 17, where the two entities gave a presentation, and the public was able to ask questions at any time.

“We are at the start line,” NCDC President Kevin Brown said. “There is a long road ahead of us.”

Bluewater Project manager Elena Rossi and Head of Development Alexandra Escamilla gave the presentation alongside Brown.

There will be a second public information session at 66 Franklin Street on Sept. 22 at 5 p.m. Interested attendees are asked to sign up via NCDC’s Envision Norwich 360 website. The presentation will also be livestreamed on the website.

Otherwise, questions about the project can be sent to Bluewater at aescamilla@bluewaterpg.com or erossi@bluewaterpg.com.

What is Bluewater Property Group?

Bluewater Property Group, of New York and Pennsylvania, has been in business for 25 years. Over the years, Bluewater and its predecessor companies have worked on 20 Amazon facilities, with the first completed in 2010.

“Bluewater pursues every project as a partnership with the jurisdiction at all levels. Large projects require community engagement and long-standing,” the slideshow stated.

What will the Amazon facility do?

The proposed Amazon facility is a first-mile e-commerce fulfillment center, which means trucks will bring in merchandise, and it will be packed and shipped to the last mile delivery centers, from which vans deliver the items to customers, Rossi said.

The Norwich facility is expected to receive 40 to 60 trucks per day, Brown said,

The Amazon facility in Plainfield is a last-mile delivery center, Rossi said.

The Norwich Amazon building will be a little over 1 million square feet, but only 54 feet tall, which is shorter than other iconic Norwich Buildings, including The Wauregan and the Flatiron building, Rossi said.

Amazon and Bluewater are expect to create 500 regular jobs, over 200 construction jobs, along with other incidental economic impacts, Rossi said.

Even though Amazon is a company that embraces automation and other new technologies, Amazon will still need to employ people who know how to keep the technology running, Escamilla said.

The Amazon development, along with the Occum Industrial Center as a whole, will bring more tax revenue into the city. Depending on what the City Council decides when the time comes, this could mean more cops or other city employees, a reduction in taxes, or help pay down debts, Brown said.

Meeting attendees had numerous questions, including those related to traffic, public safety and the environment.

The next steps

The Amazon plans will be presented before the Norwich Inland Wetlands, Watercourses & Conservation Committee and submitted to the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection on Oct. 1. The plan will also be submitted to the Commission of the City Plan on Oct. 22, with a decision on Nov. 17.

Univ. of New Haven to break ground on $45M business college building

Andrew Larson

The University of New Haven will break ground Friday on a four-story, 50,000-square-foot building for its Pompea College of Business, backed by more than $25 million in gifts from two university alumni and their families.

The building will be constructed at the corner of Campbell Avenue and Ruden Street, at the southeast entrance to the university’s West Haven campus. The university has described the site, which sits at a major campus crossroads, as a new gateway to the school.

The Pompea College of Business moved from the university’s satellite campus in Orange to West Haven in fall 2025. The new building will give the college a dedicated home on the main campus.

The principal gifts came from Dennis and Barbara Martin and Charles and Tamera Pompea.

Martin, the former CEO and board chair of Illinois-based Federal Signal Corp., made a $10 million leadership gift to the project in April 2025. In July, the Martins pledged another $5 million challenge gift, which will be fulfilled if other donors collectively match it. The university said it is nearing that goal.

Pompea is the former owner and CEO of Middletown-based Primary Steel and a former owner of the Springfield Falcons hockey team. He is a former chair of the university’s Board of Governors and remains a member of the board.

The building will be named Martin Family Hall. The business college was named for the Pompeas after they made the largest gift in the university’s history.

The project is expected to cost $45 million and open in July 2028, according to the university, which applied to the West Haven Planning and Zoning Commission for site plan approval in March.

Planned features include an artificial intelligence, business analytics and financial trading room; an executive boardroom; the Sussman Family Sales Institute; and a classroom for business pitches. The sales institute is supported by a separate seven-figure commitment from entrepreneur David Sussman.

“This pioneering facility is both an investment in the future of business education and a powerful testament to our donors’ strong belief in the university, our vision, and our students’ unlimited potential,” University President Jens Frederiksen said.

Pompea College of Business Dean Brian Kench said the building is designed around hands-on learning.

St. Louis-based Grace Designs is the architect, while Consigli Construction Co. Inc. is the contractor. The project is expected to create about 35 jobs, including an estimated 25 for West Haven residents, according to the university.

The business school project is one of several initiatives supported by more than $100 million in philanthropic commitments the university says it has secured since 2024.

The fundraising also is supporting the university’s move to NCAA Division I athletics and a new campus in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Founded in 1920, the private university offers more than 150 undergraduate and graduate programs. It also has campuses in Riyadh and Tuscany, Italy.

CT Construction Digest Wednesday September 15, 2026

Killingly Amazon warehouse developer again reduces size of facility

Sara Bedigian  Killingly — The developer of a proposed 1.3 million-square-foot Amazon distribution center on Westcott Road presented a new application to the Inland Wetlands and Watercourses Commission Monday night that included a reduction of the building size and parking area, as well as advanced wetlands mitigation.

Ryan Companies Project Engineer Tim Onderko said the size of the building has been reduced by 58,000 square feet in addition to an 87,000-square-foot reduction in an earlier revision.

The new application said the building will be 1.288 million square feet with 290 acres of the 555-acre site designated for permanent conservation and protected space.

Onderko said the developer has also reduced the parking area by 230 spaces, further reducing impervious area on the property.

“Great care and concern have been put forth in this project ...” Onderko said. “This package alone I think sets a new precedent for preservation and conservation here in Killingly.”

This action comes after commission members voted 3-2 to deny the initial permit without prejudice on July 6, meaning the developer could change and resubmit the plan, which it did on July 15.

The commission denied the initial application because the developer failed to “exhaust feasible and prudent alternatives.” These alternatives included reducing the building footprint and creating a tiered parking structure instead of surface parking to reduce impact to wetlands — which Ryan representatives addressed Monday.

Onderko said the developer worked to reduce surface area instead of designing a tiered parking structure. He said that while a tiered parking structure would be feasible, it is not a “prudent alternative” because it would have no impact to the site wetlands.

He said the proposed surface parking lot is designed to provide optimal pedestrian and vehicle safety and emergency access, as well as allowing for landscape plantings and green space.

Onderko compared the proposed facility to other warehouse and distribution sites around the area, stating that “from a current design and building operations, we believe it is in line with current standards.”

Onderko also addressed previous public comments about making smaller buildings instead of one large facility. He said the development of the one facility is concentrated in one space as opposed to fragmenting the site, which would lead to more development and impact.

Emphasis on wetland mitigation

Ryan representatives said their revised submission advances wetland mitigation efforts and could improve environmental conditions.

Dean Gustafson, senior soil and wetlands scientist at All-Points Technologies Corp., said the revised submission includes five years of post-construction monitoring to “ensure the mitigation areas are achieving their success standards, providing the appropriate level of wetland functions and values.” According to the established code, he said only two years is required.

This also includes monitoring of invasive species for five years, Gustafson said.

The application maps 214 acres of conservation area and 76 acres of land that will be given to the town as a conservation easement.

Gustafson said he is highly confident the development can replace over 23,000 square feet of low-quality wetlands with nearly 83,000 square feet of high-quality wetlands.

Gustafson said in the 40 years he has been a wetland consultant in Connecticut, he has never been involved in a project that has this much conservation area that has been provided to the town.

“This is a significant amount of land that is being preserved in perpetuity that will also preserve aquatic and wetland resource habitats in and around this project site,” Gustafson said.

The site will impact nearly 3% of low-quality wetlands.

“Any suggestion that a project can't be approved because of loss of wetlands, including low-quality wetlands, is not accurate,” Evan Seeman, an attorney representing Ryan Companies, said.

Intervenor status and opposition

Twelve residents filed intervention petitions against the project prior to Monday’s meeting.

Commission chair Sandy Eggers said the commission has not reviewed the forms yet and did not feel prepared to make decisions on intervention status Monday. The commission voted to make a decision on the status at its next meeting on Oct. 5.

If intervention status is granted, town lawyer Rich Roberts said, the intervenors becomes a party in the proceeding and “have a seat at the table” when the commission meets with the applicant as opposed to just being part of public comment.

Michelle Murphy, leader of the Keep Killingly Rural Coalition, said Monday if she and members of her coalition can be granted intervention status, the developer and commission can discuss their concerns of soil erosion, stormwater runoff and groundwater control, and water quality with the coalition’s expert witness.

The intervenor status will allow the coalition’s expert witness to respond to questions and work with the developer and commission.

Ryan Companies has filed an opposition to the public’s intervenor status petitions.

Residents have been fighting the approval of the project since it was first filed several months ago and continued to do so Monday, citing concerns that ranged from traffic and road safety to pollution and environmental problems.

“This is the Last Green Valley, it cannot be a green valley without the green,” resident and high school student Avery Main said. “Building this Amazon facility will cause irreparable damage. As one of the future generations of this town, I hope you take my opinion into consideration.”

The public can also submit written comment online by 2 p.m. before the commission’s next meeting.

Pending litigation

Attorneys representing Ryan’s contract purchaser, WE Acquisitions LLC, and the owners of the more than 25 properties that make up the site, filed an appeal in Putnam Superior Court on July 22 alleging the commission was “biased and illegally predetermined an intent to deny the application.”

The case, which has since been transferred to Hartford Superior Court, has scheduled a remote status conference at 11 a.m. on Oct. 13, according to the court docket.

The commission went into executive session following the public portion of Monday’s meeting to discuss pending litigation with town staff.

Monday’s meeting marks the first night of public hearing for the new application of the proposed facility. The commission voted to continue the public hearing to its next meeting on Oct. 5.

The Planning and Zoning Commission is also slated to hold a public hearing on the project at its Sept. 21 at 7 p.m.

Developer wants more housing in Enfield MassMutual redevelopment as part of first site plan 

Joseph Villanova

ENFIELD — The developer behind a planned revamp of the MassMutual site is seeking 23 more housing units in its "phase one" site plan.

Branford-based MB Financial Group wants to redevelop the office campus at 85 and 100 Bright Meadow Blvd., a 65-acre site formerly home to insurance company MassMutual, into a mixed-use complex with as many as 487 apartments and condominiums and some 12,000 square feet of commercial space.

The developer filed a site plan application, formally received by the town last week, for "phase one" of the planned development.

A project narrative included with the application states that the approved master plan included a total of 157 new construction townhouse units, but the developer is now seeking to build 180. With 178 apartments to be built in the three vacant office buildings, the total count would be 358 housing units, representing a 14.5% increase in the overall site density.

The remaining housing included in the approved master plan is a potential new construction apartment building that would have five stories and 129 units.

The "phase one" site plan includes the 178 apartments in the existing offices, approximately 12,000 square feet of commercial space, and the construction of 62 new townhouses, spread across three of the property's eight lots.

MassMutual left Enfield for Springfield, Mass. in 2021, leaving the site largely vacant since. An earlier development, a sports and entertainment complex dubbed "All Sports Village," earned some town approvals in 2024 but fizzled out before any construction began.

MB Financial Group purchased 85 and 100 Bright Meadow Blvd. for $4 million in May 2025, filing applications for its redevelopment plan not too long after. The Planning and Zoning Commission approved a zone change and master plan for the Bright Meadow Boulevard site in September 2025, and a subdivision application in April 2026.

The agenda for the PZC's Sept. 10 meeting indicates that the town must act on the application by Nov. 14.

CT Construction Digest Tuesday September 15, 2026

Two designs remain for Connecticut's future Mixmaster. Here's what happens next

Brianna Gurciullo

Two concepts have advanced to the environmental review stage, but only one will emerge as the best option for reconstructing the nearly 60-year-old interchange where Interstate 84 and Route 8 intersect in Waterbury.

The state Department of Transportation recently issued an email update about the “New Mix,” a long-term program to modernize the collection of stacked highway bridges known as the Mixmaster. The agency said a federal and state process has begun to assess how an overhaul of the interchange could affect the environment.

Through a years-long study completed in 2025, DOT has already narrowed down the many ways the Mixmaster could be replaced to two options.

One alternative, the “Modern Crossover Interchange,” calls for part of Route 8 to be reconstructed on the east side of the Naugatuck River. The other alternative, the “Naugatuck River Shift,” would move the river eastward, allowing Route 8 to be unstacked on the west riverbank.

Now, the two options “will be studied in greater detail,” DOT said in its email update. “This work will help identify a preferred alternative that best meets transportation needs while considering environmental, community, and economic impacts.”

The environmental review process is expected to take about three years, with a final decision issued in fall 2029, according to a DOT fact sheet.

“Throughout the process, there will be multiple ways to learn more about the project and alternatives, engage with the project team, and provide feedback,” the fact sheet says.

Either the Naugatuck River Shift or the Modern Crossover Interchange would cost an estimated $3 billion to $5 billion in 2022 dollars. DOT has said construction on the core of the interchange isn’t expected to start until the mid-2030s or early 2040s.

The Mixmaster has been rehabilitated multiple times over the years, with the most recent major project completed in 2024.

But many components are expected to reach the end of their useful lives by 2045, according to DOT. The interchange also doesn’t meet current safety and traffic flow standards and is costly to maintain because of its stacked bridges, the agency has said.

A 2018 analysis found that another rehabilitation project “would not substantially improve the interchange’s functionality, nor would it extend its lifespan significantly relative to the cost of a full replacement,” according to the website for the New Mix program.

“There is a limit to how much the lifespan can be extended for the interchange’s steel support structures and for the decks upon which cars travel,” the website adds.

The program also includes “early action projects” to make improvements in the area while planning continues for large-scale construction work.

One of those projects is currently underway. It includes removing the Exit 21 off-ramp on I-84 eastbound and extending an auxiliary lane to the Exit 22 off-ramp. The project is expected to wrap up in summer 2028.

Connecticut DOT says UI’s monopole plan in Fairfield, Bridgeport would be ‘beneficial’ to railroad

Gary Larkin

In advance of today’s Connecticut Siting Council meeting to reconsider UI’s plan to install monopoles throughout Fairfield and Bridgeport, the state Department of Transportation has issued a letter saying it would be beneficial to the railroad for the transmission lines to be removed from the catenaries.

In the letter to the Siting Council, DOT Commissioner Garrett Eucalitto wrote that the agency’s position remains unchanged on the utility’s plan to remove the transmission lines from CTDOT railroad catenaries and rebuild them on steel monopoles along the Metro-North Railroad corridor from Fairfield to Bridgeport.

Specifically, Eucalitto wrote: “The design UI put forth in its application aligns with CTDOT’s vision and objective on efficiently improving transportation infrastructure.

“CTDOT also indicated that other alternatives, such as the underground alternative within the railroad ROW supported by many of the intervenors, would not be feasible for the Department. … [It] would add time, cost, and significant adverse impact to railroad operations, in addition to unnecessary and substantial risk to the rail infrastructure.”

He goes on to describe how CTDOT is engaged in historic efforts to modernize and improve the infrastructure along the entire New Haven Line with the ultimate goal of increasing train speeds – a regional and national priority.

These improvements will include, but are not limited to, rebuilding tracks, adding new catenary structures, installing track sidings, building additional bridge spans and adding wayside equipment to support this high-speed rail initiative.

The CSC had to reconsider its prior approval of United Illuminating’s project to install several large overhead monopoles through both municipalities as part of a plan to update the transmission line near the Congress Street substation. That was because New Britain Superior Court Matthew Budzik ruled in April that CSC should not have approved the monopoles north of the Metro-North train tracks.

UI applied for a certificate of environmental compatibility and public need for the Fairfield to Congress Railroad Transmission Line 115kV Rebuild project last year. That project calls for relocating and rebuilding the existing electric transmission lines from the railroad catenary structures to new steel monopole structures along about 7.3 miles of the Metro-North Railroad corridor.

The meeting is scheduled for 1 p.m. To watch on Zoom, click on this link. The Meeting ID is 816 7109 0607. The Passcode is Eqc7Ty. To join the meeting via phone, dial +1 929 205 6099 US (New York). Meeting ID is 816 7109 0607. Passcode is 825434.

CT prosecutors seek 12 years for ex-school construction chief as he asks for no prison time

Recommending a long term behind bars, federal prosecutors described Connecticut's former top school construction official Konstantinos “Kosta” Diamantis as a calculating betrayer of the public trust.

However, Diamantis himself is requesting a much lighter sentence that includes no prison time.

Convicted of taking bribes and other crimes after a trial last year, Diamantis bullied school contractors into handing him bundles of cash and hiring his daughter for "a low-show job at inflated rates," prosecutors wrote in a memo seeking to lock up the disgraced former state legislator for up to 12 years and 7 months.

"For his greed, corruption and abject lack of integrity, Diamantis is deserving of a sentence with the advisory guidelines range of 121 to 151 months of imprisonment," prosecutors wrote.

Diamantis, 70, a lawyer who resigned from the state bar in February, is to be sentenced on Thursday. A jury last October found him guilty of 21 counts of bribery, extortion, conspiracy and making false statements to federal investigators.

Free on a $500,000 bond, Diamantis is asking the court for home detention and maximum probation.

“Mr. Diamantis does not minimize the seriousness of the jury’s verdict or his breach of the public trust,” his attorney, Norm Pattis, wrote in a motion to U.S. Judge Stefon Underhill at U.S. District Court in Bridgeport.

Although the sentence would not carry prison time, Pattis said, it would include restrictions against future government employment or contracting, financial disclosure and monitoring, payment of restitution when appropriate and a prohibition against profiting from his crimes.

“His request rests on the combined force of his age, lack of physical dangerousness, loss of the position that enabled the conduct, financial ruin, loss of professional status, diminished earning capacity, family circumstances, and the limited additional sentencing value of a decade or more in prison,” Pattis said.

In his trial testimony, Diamantis said that in his spare time, he acted as a lawyer and consultant for a masonry company and a construction administration firm that worked on multimillion-dollar school projects in Hartford and Tolland. In the end, the jury believed executives from the two companies who already had pleaded guilty to charges in connection with the scheme that spanned 2018-21.

Antonietta Roy, owner of Construction Advocacy Professionals, said she feared she might not keep contracts, so she hired Diamantis’ daughter for an administrative job at $45 per hour and gave Kosta Diamantis $4,500 in checks and cash. 

The nine-day trial also included testimony from John Duffy, Diamantis' former brother-in-law and vice president of Acranom Masonry of Middlefield, who said the company's successful bid on a project was budgeted to include a $70,000 payoff for Diamantis.

In their sentencing memo, Assistant U.S. Attorneys David E. Novick and Jonathan N. Francis bulleted reasons Diamantis should serve prison time. Those points included:

The "persistence and sheer duration" of his corruption. "This was not a one-off error in judgment — which, in any event, would have been very serious for a senior state official exploiting his office for personal gain," prosecutors wrote.

The memo further stated that "Diamantis's crime was a fundamental betrayal of trust placed in him by the State of Connecticut."

Diamantis used his power to dictate the award of critical contracts. Connecticut's school construction funding system "left less-affluent districts and those otherwise in urgent need vulnerable to Diamantis's corrupt schemes," prosecutors wrote.

Diamantis's exploitation of vulnerable school districts meant those communities were subjected to contractors who were hired not for the quality of their work, but because they were paying bribes. For example, Diamantis forced Hartford officials to hire Acranom for the fourth phase of a Weaver High School project, even though the company's previous work was "so shoddy" that much of it had to be redone, prosecutors wrote.

Diamantis faces a second trial scheduled for early next year on additional public corruption charges. Federal prosecutors claim Diamantis quashed a state audit of a Bristol eye care practice that was engaged in healthcare fraud when he worked in the state Office of Policy and Management.

Diamantis allegedly took $100,000 payments to try to persuade state officials to cancel the probe of Family Eye Care, federal officials said.

Ahead of his sentencing on Thursday, Diamantis also has sought a pardon from President Donald Trump, which could allow him to keep his $75,000 annual state pension.

Enfield voters to decide on $511 million school renovation project in November

Crystal Elescano

ENFIELD — Voters in Enfield will decide in a Nov. 3 referendum whether to approve a $511 million school renovation and expansion project involving four elementary schools and the conversion of Eli Whitney Elementary School into Eagle Academy Therapeutic Day School. 

The renovation and expansion project would include work at Hazardville Memorial, Prudence Crandall, Edgar H. Parkman and Henry Barnard elementary schools. District officials say it is driven by aging facilities, changing educational needs and enrollment growth. 

The Enfield Town Council unanimously approved the referendum date during its Sept. 2 meeting. 

Schools Superintendent Steven Moccio said the pre-referendum committee investigated the various options and sought to minimize the number of school transitions for families. 

“Right now, our families go to a pre-K school, then transition to a kindergarten-through-second-grade school and then to a third-through-fifth-grade school,” he said. “This plan would allow students to have one home base from pre-K through fifth grade.” 

Four schools seems like the right number, Moccio said, explaining that the decision was informed by input gathered through community conversations. 

During the last legislative session, work at Prudence Crandall and Hazardville Memorial was approved for state funding. The remaining three components — Parkman, Barnard and Eagle Academy — must now go through the state approval process, according to Moccio. 

Enfield is one of several Connecticut districts pursuing major school construction projects. Projects in Milford, Norwich, Seymour, Stamford, Waterbury and Westport secured spots on the state’s 2026 building priority list.

Recently, a planned $122 million project to build a new Pulaski Elementary School in the Meriden Public Schools was added to the state’s priority list, with construction expected to begin this winter. 

The total cost for the Enfield project is estimated at $511 million. Enfield’s share is projected to be $89 million, with state expected to reimburse approximately $422 million of the cost, according to the district and Tecton Architects. 

The referendum’s authorization of $511 million for the project includes: 

$105 million for Hazardville Memorial Elementary School;

$114 million for Prudence Crandall Elementary School;

$109 million for Parkman Elementary School;

$122 million for Barnard Elementary School; and

$61 million to convert Eli Whitney Elementary School into Eagle Academy. 

The referendum also would authorize the town to issue up to $89 million in bonds or notes. The remaining costs would be covered by state grants and other available funds. 

The Enfield project would be completed in two phases. Hazardville Memorial, Prudence Crandall and Parkman are scheduled to reopen in fall 2030. Construction on Barnard and Eagle Academy is expected to begin in 2030, with completion projected by 2032, according to officials. 

The first phase would be designed between 2026 and 2028, with construction beginning in 2028. Design work for the second phase would take place between 2028 and 2030, followed by construction beginning in 2030.

CT Construction Digest Tuesday September 8, 2026

Connecticut still has parkway entrance ramps with stop signs. Here’s what could change

Brianna Gurciullo

When entering a highway from a complete stop, good judgment is key.

Ron Parrs, who has been an instructor with The Next Street driving schools since 2018, said new drivers must develop that skill. They need to learn how to determine whether they have enough time and space to speed up and match the rest of traffic without forcing cars on the highway to brake.

“Can this be nerve-wracking? Absolutely,” Parrs said. “Will ‘experienced’ drivers behind them blow their horns or act aggressively? Yes.”

Still, entering a highway from a stop is a skill Connecticut drivers must learn to drive on some highways. 

On the Wilbur Cross Parkway, which is part of Route 15, there are eight interchanges with at least one entrance ramp controlled by a stop sign. 

The Connecticut Department of Transportation has projects in the design stages that would include removing stop signs and adding acceleration lanes at some of those interchanges to reduce crashes. At one entrance ramp, located at Interchange 51 in Hamden, there were more than 400 crashes over a five-year period.

The Wilbur Cross Parkway was constructed in the 1940s as an extension of the Merritt Parkway, which was designed for speeds of 30 to 45 mph. The speed limit on the parkways today is 55 mph, but Parrs said instructors know many drivers travel faster than that.

Over the years, some stop-controlled on-ramps have been modified or completely reconfigured, said DOT spokesperson Eva Zymaris. Drivers still encounter stop signs when entering the Wilbur Cross Parkway at:

Interchange 38B northbound (old Interchange 55B) in Milford;

Interchange 41 northbound and southbound (old Interchange 56) in Orange;

Interchange 42B southbound (old Interchange 58) in Orange;

Interchange 46 southbound (old Interchange 59) in New Haven;

Interchange 51 northbound and southbound (old Interchange 61) in Hamden;

Interchange 52 northbound (old Interchange 62) in North Haven;

Interchange 53 northbound and southbound (old Interchange 63) in North Haven; and

Interchange 62 northbound (Old “Maintenance Exit” Interchange) in Meriden.

DOT is looking to make major changes at three of the interchanges in the next several years.

As part of a project at Interchange 51 in Hamden, the agency plans to remove the stop signs at the northbound and southbound on-ramps and build auxiliary lanes. Drivers will use those lanes to more gradually speed up and merge with traffic.

Construction is expected to begin in spring 2028 and cost an estimated $28 million. DOT has scheduled a public meeting on the project for Sept. 15.

About 465 crashes occurred at the interchange’s southbound entrance ramp from 2021 through 2025, and the vast majority were front-to-rear crashes, according to Connecticut Crash Data Repository statistics that DOT compiled for CT Insider.

The northbound on-ramp had about 160 crashes during that period, and nearly all were front-to-rear collisions. There were far fewer total crashes at the off-ramps: about 25 at the southbound ramp and fewer than 10 at the northbound ramp.

The Interchange 51 project includes the addition of acceleration lanes for both on-ramps, the addition of a deceleration lane for the northbound off-ramp, the elimination of the southbound off-ramp, and sidewalk and crosswalk installations along Whitney Avenue.

The agency is also targeting spring 2028 for the start of construction at Interchange 46 in New Haven. The plan is to build two acceleration lanes where a stop sign currently sits at the southbound entrance — which was the site of more than 200 crashes over a three-year period, according to DOT.

The project, which additionally includes the relocation of the entrance ramp for Route 15 northbound, will require major work on two bridges. All the construction is expected to cost about $90 million.

Back in the Hamden-North Haven area, DOT has plans to reconfigure Interchange 52, but the timeline for that project is unclear.

Could a day come when there are no stop signs at any entrances?

“CTDOT continues to strategically review all of the interchanges on the Wilbur Cross with a focus on the ones that include stop-controlled ramps,” Zymaris said.

New London celebrates a downtown development boom years in the making

John Penney

New London — For weeks, the sounds of muffled explosions and rock-splintering work have reverberated from a busy construction site at the corner of State and Unions streets, shaking nearby City Hall windows and startling passersby.

But the cacophony is music to the ears of Felix Reyes, the city’s director of economic development and planning.

“I’m so happy,” Reyes said Tuesday as excavators dug deep into a former church property at 66 Union St. in preparation for construction of a 46-unit apartment complex.

That project is one of several similar developments either underway or planned for the downtown area that primarily encompasses Bank and State streets.

Reyes, at a recent City Council meeting, said there were more than eight major development projects in active construction, most of them related to housing.

“There’s trucks, there’s cranes, there’s bulldozers all over,” Reyes said. “The last time we saw this much activity was probably when they were demolishing buildings in the '40s and '50s and into the '60s.”

And that housing expansion is extending beyond downtown and into Fort Trumbull, where a 250-unit complex just broke ground — the first of two such projects planned for the peninsula.

A development boom years in the making

Just across the street from the $26 million Union Street project, headed by the Eastern Connecticut Housing Opportunities group, the Maine-based High Tide Capital firm is busy adding 40 apartments onto two new floors above the former Frontier Communications building where The Day leases ground-floor office space.

High Tide on Tuesday announced an Oct. 3 groundbreaking ceremony for a 68-unit apartment complex at The Day’s former headquarters on Eugene O’Neill Drive, a project that also entails adding a new public park on Atlantic Street at the rear of the property.

The company next month will also update its plans to turn a former bank adjacent to the former Day building into a hotel/restaurant/retail complex. The prolific High Tide also received approval to renovate a former sail-making business at 6 Union St. into a workforce housing complex with 18 units.

Several other downtown housing projects are planned that entail renovating existing structures in anticipation of introducing upper-floor apartments above retail or restaurant businesses. The Mystic-based ES Goodman firm plans to use a $2 million state loan to help add 25 apartments into the long-vacant Cronin building on State Street and renovate its 134-year-old ground floor into space for a new public market.

“We’re expecting to see 300 or so new downtown apartments, when you include projects still in the pipeline,” Reyes said. “That’s a mix of workforce, affordable and market-rate units.”

Reyes said the explosion of downtown construction is the result of years of work with a variety of partners that coincided with a market hungry for new housing.

“We’ve spent 10 years working with groups from the federal level down to our local Planning and Zoning Commission,” Reyes said. “Everyone understands there’s a great need for housing, and our partners understand New London is a good place to invest.”

Reyes said getting the housing projects off the ground meant searching for various state and federal monies, as well as state tax grants that support — up to 30% of the project cost — the rehabilitation of certain historic buildings.

But it’s not just new housing on the downtown horizon. The Garde Arts Center plans to use a $4 million state Community Investment Fund grant to help transform a long-vacant Mercer Street catering hall into a new gathering and performance venue.

But while housing advocates are cheering the influx of new apartments, other downtown businesses, including some restaurant owners, are skeptical that those projects, on their own, will revitalize the city.

‘More than just housing’ needed

In January, the Chamber of Commerce of Eastern Connecticut hosted a well-attended grand opening ceremony welcoming the Water Street Waffle Co. to its new home at 133 Bank St.

Dozens of city and state officials, along with community and business boosters, praised co-owner Bobbi Seger’s decision to open a new branch of her and her husband's successful Texas locations by sampling the restaurant’s signature Belgian waffles.

But on Wednesday, Seger said her business is essentially treading water, hamstrung by slow weekday foot traffic she said was exacerbated by other issues.

“The economy isn’t great, but we’re having to go out every morning and clean up litter from nearby businesses while our employees and customers are dealing with loitering and panhandlers,” Seger said. “The lack of parking is outrageous and there’s drug deals on the corners. People don’t want to come downtown.”

Seger said her weekend customers are keeping the door open, but there needs to be significant changes made if she’s going to stay open.

“There needs to be more around here than just housing,” she said. “There needs to be shops and boutiques that actually bring people here, a reason to come downtown — and not another vape shop or tattoo place.”

Seger said other nearby tourism spots, like downtown Mystic, seem to have cracked the code of keeping their streets clean and filled with sorts of specialty stores that keep visitors coming back.

“New London is beautiful, but the city needs to enforce its littering rules and figure out how to attract new businesses here,” she said.

‘Always a work in progress’

Reyes said commercial enterprises, especially retail businesses, have seen a dramatic customer shift in recent years as people pivot away from brick-and-mortar establishments toward online shopping.

Most ground-floor downtown buildings are zoned only for commercial use, with housing relegated to upper stories.

“Our Planning and Zoning Commission does work hard to protect those ground-floor businesses,” Reyes said. “But it’s those niche businesses — places like (the Telegraph record store) — that seem to do better.”

Reyes said there’s a fundamental error many people make when it comes to downtown activity, especially restaurants.

“Though there are exceptions — like Tony D’s or Tox Brewery — they typically come and go just like in every city,” he said. “There’s always going to be work in keeping downtown spaces full; there’s never going to be a moment when we look around and see everything’s filled. It will always be a work in progress and then passing the baton to the next generation.”

The key, Reyes said, is to use the housing boom and existing popular attractions, like the Garde, as a commercial attractor.

“From a planning perspective, housing can breathe new life into a downtown,” he said. “We want to use art, culture and tourism venues to support our smaller retail operations.”

And the city is poised to welcome what is expected to become its biggest tourist attraction: the National Coast Guard Museum, which, when it opens next August, is anticipated to bring 300,000 annual visitors to the city.

“That museum is going to be a shot into the local and regional economy, but it’s not a silver bullet,” Reyes said. “It’s up to us to brand ourselves correctly.”

Reyes noted it’s not just about sheer numbers. He noted the local ferry service operating from the city’s waterfront brings in as many, if not more, people, to New London each year as the museum will.

“But (the ferry visitors) are going to Block Island and other places and then leaving without staying to eat and shop,” he said. “With the museum, the city becomes a destination on its own.”

Seger said she also hopes the museum will bring in a fresh wave of customers but was dubious whether it would be enough to solve core downtown issues.

"Relying on the museum as our only hope, I'm nervous about that," she said. "There should be other reasons for coming here."

‘Things are now accelerating’

When asked about the downtown development surge last week, Mayor Michael Passero ruefully referenced a 2018 column in The Day titled “Passero: The empty buildings mayor” that ran soon after he was elected to a second term in office.

The column lambasted Passero’s seeming inability to address everything from empty and blighted storefronts and littered streets to the dearth of new development opportunities.

“And some of that was true at the time,” he said. “But we’ve come a long way since then and things are now accelerating.”

Passero said one of the biggest regional development spurs is an Electric Boat hiring spree that requires a substantial amount of new workforce housing.

“But we’ve also done a lot of hard work in recruiting investors to the city thanks to the work of our building and planning departments,” he said. “Developers don’t want to waste their money if they don’t feel welcome. And we don’t have a lot of unnecessary red tape preventing development.”

Passero said the frequent turnover of some downtown storefronts isn’t unique to New London.

“I go to Greenport, N.Y., frequently — which is busier than New London — and while there’s always a couple of the same anchor stores and restaurants there, there’s still always newer places replacing old ones,” he said.

Passero said he’s betting that all the new housing can help stabilize some of the retail losses.

“We’re not there yet, but it’s about turning downtown into a neighborhood,” he said. “The more you increase a population density, the more sustainable it is for the storefronts there.”

CT town issues resounding vote against trash plant. Concern is ‘impacts to air quality and water quality’

Don Stacom

After deciding in a landslide vote to spend $250,000 for attorneys, Plainfield taxpayers are preparing to tell state regulators why they vehemently oppose allowing a massive trash-to-energy plant in their town.

Roughly 90% of voters at a referendum endorsed the town hiring a legal team to fight Smart Technology System’s proposed 81-acre facility.

Just a year earlier, the town voted about the same way in an advisory referendum on Smart Technology’s proposal: 1,148 opposed the project and just 125 supported it. At Thursday’s referendum, residents agreed to back that opinion with money, voting 770-90 hire lawyers to fight the proposal when it goes to a regulatory hearing — and then possibly in court if the company wins a permit to build.

State Sen. Heather Somers, who has opposed the trash plant idea since it arose two years ago, is urging residents to address their concerns to the Connecticut Siting Council immediately. The council for several weeks advertised a deadline of this Sunday for written public comment, but this week it voted to conduct a public hearing sometime in the fall.

“Plainfield is already designated as an Environmental Justice Community, and residents deserve careful consideration of the cumulative environmental impacts of another waste-to-energy facility,” she wrote in a Facebook post to townspeople.

“The proposed location is on an aquifer and in a residential area, raising concerns about potential impacts to air quality and water quality,” Somers wrote. “Plainfield already has a trash-to-energy facility, and there is another facility nearby in Lisbon. Residents have legitimate questions about the need for additional waste-to-energy capacity concentrated in this area.”

Katie Prokop, a conservative activist in eastern Connecticut, wrote that state government should pay attention to Plainfield voters.

“This is exactly what people in northeastern Connecticut have been screaming about for years.
Our towns are not Connecticut’s dumping ground,” she wrote.

“Our relatively inexpensive land is not an invitation for Hartford to treat this corner of the state like the place where every massive industrial project nobody else wants should go,” Prokop wrote. “At what point does the state of Connecticut acknowledge that the people who actually live here have spoken? Because this isn’t some little recycling center tucked away in an industrial park. The proposal calls for approximately 1,800 tons of trash a day. The developer itself estimates around 120 truckloads every weekday.”

Smart Technology has said its gasification process is far cleaner than burning trash in municipal incinerators, and maintains that its project would be a huge boost to a state facing the loss of both landfills and traditional trash-burning plants.

Torrington-based construction giant O&G Industries is the primary driver advancing the Smart Technology plant. The company employs about 850 people, does hundreds of millions of dollars in infrastructure work around the Northeast, and is frequently Connecticut’s choice on big-ticket contracts to construct schools, rebuild highways or repair bridges.