Stamford Hospital expansion plan raises neighborhood concerns over traffic and safety
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
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
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.