CT Construction Digest Monday October 19, 2026

$9 million Norwalk baseball complex set for 2028, with new fields and flood-control work

Shaniece Harper

NORWALK — Norwalk’s $9 million project to build a new baseball complex at Broad River Park is expected to be finished by fall 2028, officials said.

The project will replace the current two baseball fields and will add a third; and includes additional amenities, such as lighting for one of the fields, restrooms, a concession area, playgrounds, pickleball courts and additional parking. 

“This is a much-awaited project, and we are so excited to finally get it started,” Mayor Barbara Smyth said.

Jenn McMurrer, Smyth’s director of communications, said the project could take approximately 12 to 18 months to complete and construction will start between spring and summer 2027. She said officials still need to go out to bid for the project and choose a contractor.

McMurrer said the project is being paid for with a mix of state grants and city funds. She said the $9 million is a preliminary estimate and the total cost of the project could change depending on what kind of bids the city receives from potential contractors. 

“Broad River Park and its amenities are in need of a renovation. It has always been a home to Norwalk little league and now Norwalk baseball,” McMurrer said.

She said the city had three options for the fields: all turf, grass outfields and an artificial turf infield, or natural grass and clay infields.

The City Council ultimately voted against the option of using artificial turf in June 2025 — after it received strong opposition from residents due to environmental concerns — and approved the natural grass and clay material design instead.

McMurrer said the park area also has a “major concern of flooding,” so the project includes making underground drainage improvements to address it.

“There is an underground holding system being installed as part of this project, as well as a new main drainage line,” McMurrer said. “These upgrades will tie into any drainage work completed in the future by the city. All the drainage infrastructure will be in place as a part of this project.”

“Norwalk residents have suffered from flooding in the neighborhoods surrounding Broad River Park,” Smyth said. “Getting this done quickly and addressing the flooding concerns is a priority, while also making significant improvements to park amenities for our families, young athletes and the entire community to enjoy.”

When asked about what type of impact the project could have on nearby residents, McMurrer said, “All the work is on the park site, so we do not foresee any disruption to neighbors.”

An underground I-95 tunnel? CT studies concepts for Bridgeport, Fairfield corridor

Brianna Gurciullo

As the state Department of Transportation conducts a study of how to potentially make it easier and safer to travel along the Interstate 95 corridor in Bridgeport and Fairfield, the consultant team is open to all ideas - big and small.

During a public meeting Wednesday at Black Rock School in Bridgeport, a team of consultants presented a host of concepts from "transformational" ideas like moving portions of I-95 underground to much smaller projects like installing bike lanes and pedestrian refuge islands on roads off the highway.

"We really didn't want to leave any stone unturned when we were developing our concepts," consultant JJ Samus said during the presentation. "Beyond improving transportation, these ideas could really reconnect communities and strengthen local street networks and potentially create opportunities for economic development. But those improvements don't always need to be transformational to actually solve a problem or make a difference."

DOT started the study - known as a "planning and environment linkages" analysis - in 2024. The agency also has studies of I-95 in Greenwich, Stamford and eastern Connecticut underway.

About 120,000 to 130,000 vehicles travel on I-95 in Fairfield and Bridgeport each day, according to the website for the study of the corridor. Adding to the daily traffic in the area are vehicles on Route 1, Route 130 and Fairfield Avenue.

Reports on the needs and deficiencies of the corridor have already been completed. Among the issues identified were closely spaced interchanges on I-95, short entrance and exit ramps, failing signs at the ends of ramps and "substandard geometric and structural design," according to the consultant team.

All those deficiencies contribute to backups, and most crashes on the stretch are related to traffic congestion, the team said. Now, the consultants are developing a "universe of concepts" to address those problems.

The large-scale ideas include a tunnel for I-95, which would theoretically be built south of where the highway is currently located in Bridgeport. The land where the highway is located now would be turned into a "local boulevard and complete streets corridor," according to a conceptual drawing.

Another idea is to lower and cover sections of I-95 and Route 8/25 where the highways intersect in Bridgeport. That concept also includes relocating the New Haven Line where it crosses under I-95 and creating green space.

Then there are concepts that aren't quite as grand, like building "collector-distributor roadways" along I-95 or Route 8 that separate through-traffic from cars entering and exiting the highway.

Another concept on the table is turning the left shoulders on I-95 into part-time travel lanes, also known as flex lanes. During heavy traffic, an electronic sign above the highway would notify drivers that they can use the shoulder as a travel lane. DOT plans to install such a system on I-84 in Danbury.

Other concepts include adding a through-lane in each direction on I-95, eliminating certain ramps along the highway and relocating interchanges.

More than a dozen poster boards lined the gymnasium where the public meeting was held Wednesday, and each included multiple concepts for the I-95 mainline, specific interchanges, local intersections and pedestrian, bicycle, bus and rail infrastructure.

The concepts will go through three levels of screening, said Joe Rubino, another member of the consultant team.

"Level one is a fatal-flaw analysis," Rubino said. "We're looking for really big-ticket items that would say something isn't viable, and then it gets eliminated."

The other two levels of screening involve comparing the concepts and looking at potential environmental impacts, he said.

A final report, which is expected to be completed next year, will recommend short-term and long-term improvements for the corridor, according to the study's website. If a potential project requires federal funding or permitting, it will need to go through the federal environmental review process.

DOT will hold a virtual public meeting on the study on Wednesday, Oct. 21, at noon. After that meeting, members of the public will have two weeks to submit comments or questions about the concepts by filling out a form on the study's website, emailing study manager Edward Sabourin at Edward.Sabourin@ct.gov or calling 860-594-3293.

Avangrid invests in 40 substation projects across Maine, New York, and Connecticut

Dave Kovaleski

Avangrid is advancing work at more than 40 substations and substation facilities across Maine, New York and Connecticut.

The projects include everything from major substation rebuilds and equipment replacements to flood mitigation projects, automation upgrades and capacity enhancements. These investments are helping strengthen the electric system, improve service reliability and support growing energy demand. 

“Substations are the backbone of a reliable electric grid,” Avangrid CEO Jose Antonio Miranda said. “Across our service territories, we are making strategic investments to modernize critical infrastructure, strengthen resilience against increasingly severe weather, improve operational flexibility, and ensure our electric system is prepared to meet the needs of customers for decades to come.”

In Connecticut, Avangrid subsidiary United Illuminating (UI) advanced construction on flood protection improvements at the Singer Substation in Bridgeport. It also achieved engineering milestones for flood mitigation efforts at the Grand Avenue-Mill River substation in New Haven and Milvon Substation in Milford. In addition, final closeout activities continued for the Pequonnock Resiliency Project, which relocated and elevated critical infrastructure to reduce coastal flood risk.

Also, UI began construction on the Old Town Substation rebuild in Bridgeport, transformer replacement at Ansonia Substation and reliability upgrades at Sackett Substation in North Haven.

Avangrid subsidiaries New York State Electric & Gas (NYSEG) and Rochester Gas and Electric (RG&E) have also made significant progress modernizing critical infrastructure. NYSEG completed or advanced major projects at the Fraser, Milo, Meyer, West Hill, Fourth Street, Cayuga Heights, Cobble Hill, Canandaigua, and Aurora substations. RG&E advanced work at Substation 43 in Rochester.

In Maine, Avangrid subsidiary Central Maine Power (CMP) energized major upgrades at the Stickney’s Corner and Bonney Eagle substations. Further, it completed the Rock Row 34-kV switchyard project, and advanced battery system replacements and automation improvements at numerous substations throughout the state.

As electrification, economic development and new technologies continue to increase demands on the electric system, substations will play an increasingly important role in delivering safe and reliable power. 

Avangrid owns and operates seven electric and natural gas utilities, serving more than 3.4 million customers in New York and New England. Avangrid also has nearly 100 energy generation facilities across the United States and more than 11 gigawatts of installed capacity. 

The 6 developments to watch across Connecticut

Sandra Diamond Fox, Andreas Yilma, Mark Zaretsky, Alexander Soule

Development news in Connecticut this week included two former Cheshire schools put up for sale, a pair of developments proposed in Southbury, and word that a master plan for the $1 billion redevelopment of Stratford's former Army Engine Plant is expected to be revealed in December.

Cheshire

The former Chapman and Darcey elementary schools in Cheshire helped to educate and launch generations of Cheshire kids into the world, but soon the properties will be put to new uses — and the day after they were listed for sale, agents were already getting plenty of interest. Toby Brimberg, vice president of the commercial/industrial and retail group for O,R&L Commercial real estate in Branford, said he had already received "dozens" of feelers from developers in the first two days the properties were listed. But any decisions on what the former schools might become next are still a long way off, he said.

Fairfield

Fairfield Housing Corporation's Judd Homestead, a 40-unit affordable apartment complex still under construction, received more than 1,000 pre-applications from prospective tenants just over a week after opening its application process, underscoring the demand for affordable housing in Fairfield. Construction of the five-building, three-story development at 980 High St. began in May and is expected to be completed in January. The Fairfield Housing Corporation began accepting pre-applications Sept. 28 and will accept them through Oct. 26.

Hamden

Developer John Ranciato Jr. understands that not everyone in the neighborhoods along and near Old Coach Highway in Hamden likes the idea of his proposed 150-unit Paradise Woods affordable housing complex, which was filed under the state's 8-30g affordable housing statute. He met with about 30 neighbors in the Hamden Elderly Services senior center in the Miller Memorial Library recently to try to bridge the differences. Some neighbors made it clear that they believed the proposed development on a forested 33.5-acre parcel off the west side of Old Coach Highway would turn their neighborhood into something different from the place they moved into, and they did not consider that to be acceptable. But people generally listened to one another and acted in a civil manner.

Southbury

If a pair of Southbury developments come to be, the town could see dozens of newly built houses and townhouses. Both proposals were scheduled for an Oct. 14 hearing before the Zoning Commission. At 295 Old Woodbury Road, developer Scott Volpe’s Connecticut Residential would build 18 multifamily townhouses, with a commission agenda not specifying how many units. Under Charles Spath Jr., Burr Farm Properties is planning a cluster subdivision with 18 homes on wooded land fronting Kettletown Road, just over a mile north of Kettletown State Park and near the Willow Creek Estates development where 20 houses are included in a third phase of construction.

Stratford 

Developers planning a $1 billion redevelopment of Stratford's former Army Engine Plant expect to submit a master plan by December after unveiling the first comprehensive vision for transforming the 77-acre waterfront property into a mixed-use district with housing, parks, shops and public gathering spaces. Point Stratford Renewal presented the concept during a Sept. 28 joint meeting of the Town Council, Traffic Authority, the Planning and Zoning Commissions and the Inland Wetlands and Watercourses Commission for the brownfield at 550 Main St. The project team said it expects to spend the coming months refining the plan through additional public input before filing its development proposal.

Wilton

The applicants behind a controversial plan for a 280-unit senior living community on the site of a former convent on Belden Hill Road in Wilton have withdrawn their proposal and instead plan to restart the process by seeking a pre-application review. In a letter to the Planning & Zoning Commission, attorney Lisa Feinberg said the applicants, Hines SL Wilton Associates LP and SSND Real Estate Trust, "believe that slowing the process down and having an opportunity to hear from the commission is important. This commission is not comprised of the same members who provided feedback in 2025." 

CT Construction Digest Monday October 12, 2026

Why Electric Boat could get $25 million from Connecticut to redevelop mall in Waterford

Paul Schott

Submarine builder General Dynamics Electric Boat could receive up to $25 million in state funding to support its redevelopment of Crystal Mall in Waterford, CT Insider has learned. 

The new funding for the Groton-headquartered Electric Boat consists of up to $20 million in tax credits for urban and industrial re-investment from the state Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD) and a sales-tax exemption potentially worth $5 million from the state-chartered venture-capital organization Connecticut Innovations, according to officials with those agencies. DECD and Connecticut Innovations disclosed their agreements with Electric Boat in response to inquiries from CT Insider. 

Electric Boat acquired the languishing mall last year, and it plans to open a company campus there next year. While Electric Boat recently secured federal contracts for 14 new ships that are worth a record-breaking total of about $77 billion, state officials said that the company’s expansion to Waterford also deserves public funding. 

“We’re growing jobs significantly, and we’re putting a failed commercial property back onto the town’s tax rolls as a really strong, robust asset. That’s good for the local community,” DECD Deputy Commissioner Matthew Pugliese said in an interview. “And then we’re creating that activation. We’re adding thousands of workers into the area that are going to take part in going to restaurants, running errands at lunch and going shopping.” 

State funding to support new company campus, more jobs

To earn the full $20 million in tax credits from DECD, Electric Boat would need to meet several requirements. Among them, it would need to spend $255 million on Crystal Mall’s redevelopment by the end of 2028. It would also need to hit targets for retaining and adding jobs, including reaching 16,646 positions in Connecticut by the end of 2030 and then maintaining at least that many jobs in the state through 2035. It would receive the full $5 million sales-tax exemption from Connecticut Innovations if it reaches 16,625 jobs in the state at any point by 2031. 

Electric Boat already has about 17,000 employees in Connecticut, part of a companywide total of approximately 28,000. In the past few months, it has added hundreds of people in Connecticut, reflecting an initiative to hire about 8,000 this year across its facilities in Connecticut and Rhode Island. 

“Re-purposing the mall supports Electric Boat's job growth and revitalizes the surrounding area,” Lauren Carmody, Connecticut Innovations’ chief marketing officer, said in a written statement. “Job creation is central to CI's mission, and this is a clear opportunity to support both the company and the state.”

In response to an inquiry from CT Insider, Electric Boat provided a written statement that spoke generally about the company’s partnerships with local and state governments. 

“As a matter of policy, Electric Boat does not discuss specific financial arrangements or negotiations,” the statement said. “We have a long history of working closely with our state and local partners to support economic development, and the revitalization of Crystal Mall represents another major step forward for EB, our employees the town of Waterford and southeastern Connecticut.”

Electric Boat did not demand state funding for the mall’s redevelopment, according to Pugliese. 

“It felt like a very collaborative conversation,” Pugliese said. “They didn’t come to the state and say, ‘This is a prerequisite. Here’s our project, and what’s the best number you can give us?’ It was an iterative conversation, trying to understand the opportunity and the challenges on delivering on that opportunity.” 

Gov. Ned Lamont, a Democrat who has held his current position since 2019 and is running for a third term, supports the new funding.  

“Crystal Mall is one of the most important adaptive re-use projects in the state’s history,” Cathryn Vaulman, a spokesperson for Lamont, said in a written statement. “This property is turning from a nearly empty mall to a source of more jobs for our residents and more investments in our towns. Companies are choosing to stay and grow in Connecticut, and that’s something Gov. Lamont will continue to support.”

State Sen. Ryan Fazio, the Republican nominee for governor, was more circumspect about the state’s financial support for the project. 

“Sometimes, one-off deals can pay for themselves. But oftentimes and probably more times than not, they do not pay for themselves,” Fazio, who has served in the state Senate since 2021, said in an interview. “I hope this is one that is beneficial and pays itself back many times over. And that certainly is a possibility. But the broader point about economic policy in Connecticut is if we have lower taxes for everybody, special deals for big companies would not even be necessary.”  

It is possible that the state might have financially supported other options for Crystal Mall's redevelopment, such as multi-family housing. 

“DECD’s brownfield redevelopment grant was discussed (with Town of Waterford officials), but there were no specific details on project scope or eligible activities under this program,” Pugliese said of talks before Electric Boat acquired the mall. “The brownfield redevelopment grant has a maximum of $6 million, but that is to fund remediation, abatement and demolition activities.”  

Among similar projects, the state has awarded $14 million in grants to support the redevelopment of Enfield Square. But the mall’s future is uncertain again, as town officials recently said that an agreement between the mall’s owner and a Nebraska-based developer had lapsed. 

Major demand for more submarines

Electric Boat became the owner of Crystal Mall through three acquisitions last year: $6.4 million for the 121,000-square-foot wing that housed Macy’s, $11 million for the 151,000-square-foot section that hosted Sears and $25 million for the 542,000-square-foot main section of the mall. 

At that point, the mall was mostly empty. Crystal Mall’s last anchor tenant, JCPenney, closed in May 2024. Its exit was preceded by the exits in recent years of Bed Bath & Beyond, Christmas Tree Shops, Macy’s and Sears. 

Training and testing areas, as well as offices, will be housed at the new campus. Company officials estimate that most of the 4,000 to 5,000 employees who will work at the hub will be on site by the middle of next year. The new facility will support the company’s “decompression plan” to reduce people and materials at the shipyard in Groton to facilitate faster and more efficient shipbuilding. That initiative has taken on even greater urgency, as the company pursues its plan to hire 8,000 people this year. 

“The innovation part is what I think we’re looking forward to most at this property,” Electric Boat President Mark Rayha said at a groundbreaking ceremony on Aug. 21. “There’s an opportunity to reset labs, reset our ability to do advanced engineering and automation — to do things in different ways than we’ve ever done them, so that we do things smarter, do things faster and deliver more submarines to the nation.” 

Electric Boat’s growth is driven by the U.S. Navy’s demand for new ships. In July, the company was awarded contracts worth a total of about $77 billion. The allotment includes about $42 billion for nine more Virginia-class, fast-attack submarines and nearly $30 billion for five more Columbia-class, ballistic-missile submarines. Those are company-record contracts for both programs.

Before acquiring Crystal Mall, Electric Boat was already receiving state funding to support its workforce in Connecticut. Through First Five Plus, a DECD program focused on job retention and creation at large companies that was launched in 2011, it has received a $35 million loan and about $3 million in grant funding. About $17 million of the loan has already been forgiven, or essentially written off. It could get the remainder forgiven, if it meets certain job targets. It could also receive nearly $5 million in additional grant funding. 

In addition, Connecticut Innovations awarded the company a $20 million sales-tax exemption in 2018. CI officials said that funding supported Electric Boat’s “expansion and job growth.” 

$1B vision is taking shape for Stratford’s 77-acre waterfront site. Here’s what’s planned next

Andreas Yilma

STRATFORD — Developers planning a $1 billion redevelopment of Stratford's former Army Engine Plant expect to submit a master plan by December after unveiling the first comprehensive vision for transforming the 77-acre waterfront property into a mixed-use district with housing, parks, shops and public gathering spaces.

Point Stratford Renewal presented the concept during a Sept. 28 joint meeting of the Town Council, Traffic Authority, the Planning and Zoning Commissions and the Inland Wetlands and Watercourses Commission for the brownfield at 550 Main St. The project team said it expects to spend the coming months refining the plan through additional public input before filing its development proposal.

Once fully built over the next 15 to 20 years, the public-private project is expected to exceed $1 billion in investment, create roughly 500 jobs and eventually generate more than $15 million annually in property tax revenue, said economic development consultant Mike Freimuth.

Officials said new development generating tax revenue is still likely two to three years away. Site preparation remains underway, with asbestos abatement complete and roughly 1.1 million square feet of former industrial buildings demolished. Crews are expected to finish most remaining demolition and flood-resiliency work by year's end, leaving the property ready for vertical construction by the end of 2027.

"This is a very creative, exciting undertaking for the town of Stratford," Freimuth said. "Over the next few months, we'll start sorting more of this out and putting it on the table for people to digest and react to."

Planners said the development would combine housing with restaurants, retail, hospitality, entertainment and public gathering spaces while also exploring opportunities for research and development, manufacturing, recreation and wellness.

Mayor David Chess said the development represents a once-in-a-generation opportunity for Stratford.

“I don’t want (Point Stratford Renewal) thinking about this as just another project,” Chess said. “I need them thinking about this as if it’s their home and they are trying to create a place that they can be incredibly proud of, that they’ll want to bring people to.” 

Project planners said community feedback has consistently emphasized that the redevelopment must do more than add housing. While residential development will provide the financial foundation for the project, they said the site also needs destinations that attract residents and visitors year-round.

"Great communities don't rely on a single use," said Elizabeth Stoel, a vice president with planning and design firm Corgan. "They thrive because many uses reinforce one another.”

The preliminary concept also calls for reconnecting Stratford with its waterfront through a continuous greenway linking parks, wetlands and trails along the Housatonic River. Proposed amenities include overlooks, open space, bicycle connections and recreational areas for activities such as kayaking.

Restoring public access to the Housatonic River has become one of the project's defining goals, said Tatiana Choulika, a partner with landscape architecture firm Field Operations. 

Developers said public feedback over the past year helped shape six guiding principles: improving waterfront access, creating an authentic Stratford identity, expanding recreational opportunities, honoring the site's manufacturing legacy, strengthening the local economy and investing in resilient infrastructure.

The redevelopment also builds on changes the town has already made to encourage redevelopment of the property.

Attorney William Hennessey said Stratford's 2023 Plan of Conservation and Development singled out the former Army Engine Plant as a redevelopment priority. The Planning and Zoning Commission later revised zoning regulations to allow a broader mix of uses through the special permit process while requiring permanent public waterfront access and high architectural standards.

Hennessey said the zoning changes came with conditions, including permanent public access along the waterfront and higher architectural standards for new buildings.

The former Army Engine Plant, which closed in the late 1990s, is the focus of one of Connecticut's largest waterfront brownfield redevelopment efforts. Developers say the goal is to transform the long-vacant brownfield into a resilient mixed-use neighborhood that reconnects Stratford to its waterfront while creating new places to live, work and gather.

Amazon's eastern CT warehouse plans draw scrutiny from Save the Sound

Amazon’s latest effort to bring facilities to eastern Connecticut has caught the attention of an environmental group.

Save the Sound’s legal team will be filing a comment to the Killingly Inland Wetlands Commission related to the proposed warehouse In Killingly. The organization is also having “internal discussions” about the proposed facility in Norwich, Save the Sound Legal Fellow Gabriel Slaughter said.

“We’re concerned about the increase in the number of impervious surfaces will have on the local and regional watershed,” he said.

Save the Sound will need to submit a comment by Oct. 19 for the Killingly project. Save the Sound still wants to learn more about the details of the Norwich proposal before taking further action, Slaughter said.

“It’s important to think about how proposals can minimize their impact to the watershed through low impact development,” he said.

Save the Sound's mission extends inland

Save the Sound’s mission statement is “to protect and improve the land, air, and water of the whole Long Island Sound region.  “Even though the organization’s name is “Save the Sound,” matters concerning inland sites have been a part of the organization’s preview for some time now, Slaughter said.

“The organization focuses on matters within the Long Island Watershed, so (the Killingly) facility, for example, could have impacts on the waterways that make their way into the Long Island Sound,” he said.

Amazon in Killingly

The proposed Killingly Amazon location is being developed by Ryan Companies U.S. It would be a 1.288 million square foot facility on 556 acres of land, located between I-395, Westcott Road and Mashentuck Road. The proposal was originally denied in July, then reintroduced in August.

 The Killingly Inland Wetlands Commission last met on Oct. 5, and the public hearing was continued to Nov. 2.

Amazon in Norwich

The Norwich Amazon proposal is being led by the Bluewater Property Group. It is a 1.066 million square foot facility located in the Norwich Community Development Corporation’s Occum Industrial Park, at the addresses formerly known as 432 Canterbury Turnpike and 189 Lawler Lane.

The Norwich Inland Wetlands, Watercourses & Conservation Commission last met on Oct. 2 and the public hearing was continued to Nov. 5.

Developer details plans for historic ‘Day’ headquarters in New London

Harriet Jones

The developer currently converting the former headquarters of The Day newspaper in downtown New London says the $28 million housing venture will be completed by early 2028.

High Tide Capital says the historic building at 47 Eugene O’Neill Drive will become 68 market-rate apartments, and include a museum dedicated to the newspaper’s history as well as two ground-floor commercial spaces.

The apartments will total about 52,600 square feet across five floors, and include 17 studios, 32 one-bedroom apartments, 18 two-bedroom units and one three-bedroom apartment.

Eastern Bank is the project’s senior lender. The financing also includes a $5 million loan from the Connecticut Municipal Development Authority, a quasi-public state agency that helps communities develop housing in downtowns and near transit hubs, along with additional support from JPMorgan Chase and Eversource.

“Downtowns thrive when people live in them,” said Dash Davidson, principal at High Tide Capital. “The Day redevelopment puts residents within walking distance of train, ferry and bus transit and every one of those residents is a customer for the local cafes, shops and restaurants.”

The newspaper moved out of the building in June 2025 after 118 years at the location. It moved into premises on State St formerly owned by Frontier Communications.

New London is currently experiencing an upswing in interest from housing developers as submarine builder Electric Boat continues a historic hiring spree, aiming to add 8,000 employees by the end of the year.

The city has greenlit several large new build apartment projects, but has also emphasized re-use of historic buildings in its downtown area.

CT Construction Digest Wednesday October 7, 2026

Wetlands hearing on massive Amazon project in Killingly grinds on

Sara Bedigian

Killingly — The Inland Wetlands and Watercourses Commission again continued its public hearing on a nearly 1.3 million-square-foot Amazon warehouse distribution center to Nov. 2.

Several residents, who have opposed the Westcott Road project since it was first submitted several months ago, continued to do so during Monday night's three-hour hearing. The group has now hired engineer Steven Trinkaus as their expert witness in an effort to gain intervenor status. The commission is expected to grant the status on Nov. 2.

If intervention status is granted, intervenors become 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.

Trinkaus raised numerous issues with the project's engineering in regard to stormwater management, sewage disposal and wetland impacts.

Trinkaus claims that the proposed stormwater system will not meet the pollutant load reductions set by the state’s Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, which "will adversely affect the water quality in these systems over time.”

He also claims that no viable feasible and prudent alternatives have been provided for the development that would reduce the impact on wetlands on the site.

Before Trinkaus spoke Monday night, Evan Seeman, an attorney who represents Ryan Companies, the developer, tried to discredit Trinkaus arguments, claiming they are not factual.

Seeman told the commission that Trinkaus has been found to be not a credible witness by the Connecticut Superior Court’s land use litigation docket on four occasions over the last two years.

He read some of the court documents, which state that Trinkaus’ conclusions were factually inaccurate or based on outdated information and selectively omitted evidence.

“There are many other inconsistencies in his report and problems that we will point out in our written response but we wanted to get across to the commission now this is who you are going to be hearing from,” Seeman said.

Trinkaus said he spent most of his career supporting development, but over the last five years he changed paths.

“I don’t consider this opposition work because you will never hear me say I oppose something, I will simply point out technical aspects which comply or don’t comply with applicable regulations and standards to minimize or eliminate environmental impacts,” Trinkaus said.

Norwich residents are opposing a proposed 1.1 million-square-foot Amazon distribution center and are also using Trinkaus as their expert witness. The developer of the Norwich Amazon facility is Bluewater Property Group.

Michelle Murphy, leader of the Keep Killingly Rural Coalition that hired Trinkaus, said he is an established engineer who does things the old-fashioned way, without technology like artificial intelligence. She compared his "old timer" ways to the way Killingly functions.

Seeman has opposed the public’s intervenor status petitions.

Ryan Companies' representatives reiterated their recent improvements to the facility Monday such as reducing the building size by 58,000 square feet in addition to an 87,000-square-foot reduction in an earlier revision — and a reduction of 230 parking spaces.

The new application states the building will be 1.288 million square feet with 290 acres of the 555-acre site designated for permanent conservation. Three percent of the site's wetlands would be impacted by the project.

The revisions come in Ryan’s second application 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.

Seeman said the developer just received comments from Tighe and Bond, an engineering firm hired by the town, to review the plans. The commission also did not have time to review them.

Tighe and Bond engineer Joseph Cannis said most of his 30 comments request additional clarifying information, and that “there wasn’t anything in there that we saw as truly egregious.”

The outstanding issues relate to “site grading, stormwater design documentation, drainage system performance, and operations and maintenance,” according to the analysis.

Adam Winstanley, founder of Winstanley Enterprises, explained Monday he has contracts to buy the 25 properties that make up the site and is working closely with Ryan Companies and Amazon on the project.

Winstanley said he chose Amazon as the client for the warehouse over two other Fortune 500 companies because he knew from previous experience the company is flexible.

“They are a company that is willing to compromise to get this plan developed and to move forward,” he said.

The commission is also fighting an appeal from its initial denial. Ryan 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 Planning and Zoning Commission is also slated to hold its third night of public hearing on the new application at its Oct. 19 meeting at 7 p.m.

Rocks slow down East Lyme bridge replacement

Gianni Salisbury

East Lyme — The town is moving forward with the Colony Road bridge replacement project after a two-month delay due to rocks found in the work zone.

In July, the towns said Public Works Department employees discovered an unexpected amount of rock where the west abutment was supposed to be built.

Construction on the $6 million replacement project between 16 and 22 Colony Road, over Latimer Brook, was then paused as the town decided what to do. Construction began in April and was expected to be complete by Nov. 30. The project is fully funded with state and federal grants.

On Monday, the Public Works Department posted on Facebook that the town decided to redesign the project and work with and around the rocks rather than drill through the rock which they said would have placed a "serious noise burden" on the surrounding neighborhood.

The department said that construction will resume this month but is unsure when it will be complete. Right now, the new bridge is expected to reopen sometime next summer.

"While this has delayed the project, we feel this was the best course of action," the department wrote on Facebook.

The bridge is being replaced because its culverts, a drainage system that allows water to flow underneath the bridge, were in poor condition and needed to be replaced. The plan is to replace the culverts, portions of which were built in the late 1960s and early 1980s, with abutments and concrete box beams for the water to flow through.

The culverts have now been removed, but the abutments couldn't be built due to the rock.

The length of the new bridge will be 87 feet compared to the current 37 feet.

Residents can still use Egret Road to access the neighborhood beyond 22 Colony Road. About 322 vehicles per day travel across the bridge.

According to the town, garbage and recycling collection for Colony Road will continue on Fridays, but pickup times may vary. The town asks that residents put their carts out by 7 a.m. and wait until the following business day before reporting a missed pickup. Project updates will be posted on the town's website and Facebook page throughout construction.

The Colony Road bridge is the first of three bridge replacement projects the town hopes to complete over the next several years. The town also has plans to replace the Egret Road bridge over Latimer Brook and the Fairhaven Road bridge over the Pattagansett River.

Anyone with questions related to the project can reach out to Alex Klose, the deputy Public Works director and acting engineer at aklose@eltownhall.com or (860) 691-4112. 

With redevelopment, city leaders hope for a more connected Union Station

Cristina Ortiz 

Union Station’s massive arched windows and soaring waiting room have greeted generations of travelers arriving in New Haven. Now, more than a century after the current building opened, a transformation is underway.

The initiative Union Station Partnership is pursuing renovations to the building alongside a broader plan of development for the surrounding area. As part of the $24.8 million state-funded refurbishment, Union Station will get renovated restrooms and retail spaces, a new central atrium and exterior repairs.

City officials see the transit hub as an anchor for New Haven’s growth, while preservation advocates are asking to save some crucial elements of the station. Shared between both visions is Union Station’s role as a gateway to the city.

“It’s the front door to New Haven, but it’s also, for New Haven, the front door to the world,” Christopher Wigren, the deputy director of local nonprofit Preservation Connecticut, said in a video interview.

Union Station’s current building opened in 1920 after the previous train hall burned in 1918. Architect Cass Gilbert designed the building for the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad, which wanted its New Haven station to embody the importance of rail travel in the region.

Wigren described the waiting room as “dignified, elegant, but not overwhelming.”

The station has not always served as New Haven’s front door. It closed in the early 1970s as railroads struggled against growing car and air travel. Passengers continued using the platforms while the main building remained closed. The station was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1975. It reopened after a major renovation in 1985.

That rehabilitation also added new architectural elements to the station. Elizabeth Holt, the interim director of historic preservation at the New Haven Preservation Trust, pointed to the iconic metal passenger tunnels, whose futuristic design contrasts with Gilbert’s Beaux-Arts.

These tunnels are at risk of replacement, a proposal that has drawn opposition from some who want to retain their distinctive design.

“I personally think that the juxtaposition of the design of the tunnels to the original building is what makes it unique,” Holt said in a video interview.

Aïcha Woods, a former executive director of New Haven’s City Plan Department, said 20th-century urban renewal fundamentally changed the station’s relationship with the rest of New Haven. The construction of Route 34 cleared and divided areas between Union Station and Downtown, leaving the station surrounded by transportation infrastructure rather than the dense neighborhood that had once connected it to the city.

“That redevelopment also kind of stranded the train station,” Woods said in a phone interview. 

More recent planning efforts have tried to mend that separation. The Hill-to-Downtown plan, developed around 2013

The city’s housing authority also plans to build as many as 2,500 new housing units across from the station, Mayor Justin Elicker said in a press conference last week. New Haven recently failed to win a $26 million federal grant to support construction near the station but plans to go ahead with its first phase. Elicker has frequently touted transit-oriented development in the city.

“We see Union Station as a real anchor to both our economic future and the quality of life here in the city,” Michael Piscitelli, the city’s economic development administrator, said in a video interview.  

Development around the station could allow more people to live near the rail while strengthening New Haven’s position as a regional employment center, Piscitelli added. For him, that means thinking beyond simply adding more places for commuters to park.

“We’ll never be highly competitive economically if we are overly dependent on cars or the highway system,” Piscitelli said.

That debate predates the current redevelopment. In 2015, the New Haven Urban Design League argued that weak local transit made it difficult for people arriving at Union Station to travel the “last 1/2 mile” to other parts of New Haven. The group argued that limited transit connections increased demand for parking around the station, according to notes from its president, Anstress Farwell.

The latest redevelopment efforts also raise questions about the station’s interior.

Piscitelli said commercial activity should still be focused on commuters.

“First and foremost, we have to serve the passenger and the traveling public,” Piscitelli said.  

Preservation advocates agree on that priority, but some question whether the proposed interior redesign accomplishes it. Farwell wrote in an email that she thought businesses could set up shop on the balconies or lower level but argued that “having retail/hospitality complicate the necessary functions of the waiting hall defaults on its purpose.”

Farwell pointed to Grand Central Terminal as an example of a historic station where commercial activity exists without taking over the central waiting space.

Wigren made a similar argument.

“What Union Station is about is transportation,” Wigren said. “It’s a place for coming and going, and that, I think, needs to be the focus of it.”  

But Woods said the future of Union Station will depend just as much on what happens around the building. More housing and activity near the station could help better connect an area shaped for decades by highways and parking with the rest of New Haven.

“Just having a kind of 24-hour presence and vibe and activity around the station would be amazing,” Woods said.  

New Haven, the city’s Parking Authority and the Connecticut Department of Transportation are collaborating on the redevelopment.

CT Construction Digest Tuesday October 6, 2026

New NPU wastewater treatment plant 80% complete 

Daniel Drainville

Norwich — Nearly three years into a $200 million project to build a new wastewater treatment plant, Norwich Public Utilities says the project is about 80% complete.

Construction began in November 2023, and is expected to complete in 2028. Both plants are on Hollyhock Island, and the current one continues to operate during construction of the new one.

"The analogy we use is changing a flat tire without stopping the car," said NPU spokesperson Chris Riley, one of several NPU officials who offered a tour of the facility last week.

The current wastewater plant has served the city for nearly 100 years. It was upgraded in 1955 and again in 1973. NPU says each of the upgrades was designed to give the plant another 25 years of use.

Construction workers were working Friday while NPU workers carried out regular plant operations. Plant Operator Dave Grundwalski said the construction constantly changed the path plant workers take in and out of the facility.

Water/Wastewater Utility Project Engineer Matt Hross began the tour showing a new concrete "influent junction chamber" — where the three wastewater pipes carrying sewage and storm water to the plant will meet.

The three pipes are the Cove Street Force Main, the Rose Alley Force Main and the Yantic Interceptor, a gravity line that brings sewage to the plant from homes and businesses along the Yantic River. A gravity line uses a downward slope to bring the wastewater in, while a force main uses a series of pumps to push the wastewater through.

Grundwalski explained that the Cove Street Force Main brings sewage and wastewater from Route 82 all the way out past the post office. Rose Alley brings all the sewage from Don Mallon Chevrolet throughout the city all the way to the industrial park. The two mains converge at the chamber — a concrete box where all the wastewater gets mixed together before heading into the plant.

The current junction is underground and the new junction, which is not yet connected, is above ground.

After being mixed in the new junction, the wastewater will head to the new headworks facility, a building where debris and grit is filtered out from the wastewater.

Grundwalski said items such as plastics, flushable wipes and even the occasional pairs of jeans, can get stuck in the junction.

Inside the plant, biological processes and UV light are used to clean the water before it is discharged into the Shetucket and Thames rivers.

NPU General Manager Jeff Brining said the project will benefit the health of the rivers and Long Island Sound.

NPU says reducing the amount of nitrogen discharged into the Thames River by building the new plant will have an enormous beneficial impact on water quality in the Sound.

The new plant will discharge 75% less nitrogen than it does currently, equivalent to a reduction of about 100 tons of nitrogen into the Thames River each year.

In addition, large rainstorms currently overwhelm the current plant, leading to untreated wastewater being discharged directly into the Shetucket and Thames rivers, and ultimately, the Sound. The new plant will be able to manage an additional 3 million gallons of wastewater per day, cutting down the amount of untreated wastewater that will go to the river.

The state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection ordered the city to upgrade the plant because its was not meeting water treatment requirements. NPU faced fines if it did not build the new plant.

Last month, NPU's Board of Utilities Commissioners approved a new, three-year rate schedule for all utilities which increases sewer customers' wastewater rates by 15.1% in each of the three years. The increase is largely due to having to repay loans for the project. The new rates take effect Nov. 1.

The project is funded by $72 million in state grants, and another $128 million in 20-year, 2% low-interest state loans, which will be repaid by NPU's 7,800 sewer customers.

If NPU did not increase the rates, Brining said, it would default on the loans and go bankrupt, affecting all gas, water, sewer and electric service to customers.

North Haven voters to decide on $19.8 million for road improvements

Brian Zahn

NORTH HAVEN — Residents will decide whether to use up to $19.8 million in bond appropriations for a variety of road upgrades, including pedestrian and cyclist safety improvements and paving. A vote on the projects will take place at an Oct. 20 town meeting.

This comes after the North Haven Board of Selectmen approved five separate items related to road improvements at its Thursday meeting, including upgrades to Sackett Point Road, Church Street and Pool Road.

First Selectman Michael Freda said four of those five items are eligible for state reimbursement and only one proposal, a $7 million bond authorization for milling, paving and other road improvements between the months of April and September 2027, will be fully encumbered by the town's debt service.

Freda said in an emailed comment Friday that the list of roads that would be repaved under that $7 million bond is "under discussion but not finalized for next year."

All five of the items will be up for a vote at the Oct. 20 meeting, and they will be grouped together as one question. Residents will vote on a total of three questions at the meeting. One of the other two is a tax cut for veterans with disabilities connected to their services and the spouses of those killed in action. The last item is a grouping of various budget line item transfers from the 2025-26 fiscal year.

Of the five projects headed to the Town Meeting for public approval, three are related to specific roads.

One of those projects, which would be funded by a bond appropriation of up to $7 million, would contribute to reconstruction efforts of Sackett Point Road, including road paving, the installation of new sidewalks and lighting, signage and better drainage. Last year, the town reached an agreement with a rail line operator to add signage near the Sackett Point Road underpass to prevent a recurring issue with tractor-trailers getting stuck beneath the 12-foot-9-inch underpass.

Another bond authorization proposal would allocate up to $3 million for drainage improvements on Pool Road, including replacements of storm drains, sewer pipes, curbs and runoff and pavement repairs.

 Additionally, up to $2 million would support pedestrian safety improvements on Church Street, which bridges the Town Green to Town Hall.

The fifth proposed bond ordinance would include up to $800,000 for an initiative to make town roads safer for pedestrians and cyclists, encompassing a $784,000 state connectivity grant North Haven received last year.

The Oct. 20 town meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. in the North Haven High School auditorium.

CT Construction Digest Monday October 5, 2026

How Amazon's new warehouse in Occum would alter the area's wetlands

Matt Grahn

About three acres of wetlands would be permanently affected by Amazon’s proposed 1 million-square-foot shipping facility in Norwich, with plans calling for roughly 9 acres of new wetlands to be created nearby to offset the impact.

Those plans are at the center of three applications now before Norwich’s Inland Wetlands, Watercourses & Conservation Commission. One application covers the Amazon facility at properties formerly known as 432 Canterbury Turnpike and 189 Lawler Lane, while the other two involve properties at 370 and 374 Canterbury Turnpike where the replacement wetlands would be created.

The commission held a public hearing on the applications as Amazon works through the approvals needed to build its proposed first-mile shipping facility at Occum Industrial Park. The facility would encompass about 1 million square feet and become the industrial park’s largest occupant.

The public hearing was continued to Nov. 5.

What is the developer’s plan?

The building, which will be 1.066 million square feet, will include 58 docks, 405 trailer parking spaces, and 729 employee parking spaces, which includes 8 motorcycle spaces. The facility will have 500 employees, and the facility will work 24/7 over two or three shifts, Landtech Wetland Scientist Brian Carey said.

There will be a cantilever bridge over the wetlands, and culverts that maintain channel continuity, aquatic passage and hydraulic passage, Carey said.

Runoff will be captured and treated, and there will be sediment separators. Storm water can be stored in basins and gradually released. There will be routine inspections of the water quality protecting measures, Timothy Onderko of Langan CT said.  

The Amazon property has been assessed for endangered species, and none were found. Alternative plans were considered, but they all had a greater impact on wetlands. Other wetlands related reviews will be needed, including from the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers,  Carey said.

On 370 and 374 Canterbury Turnpike, land will be dug out gradually to create slope to create the new wetland. It will be planted with native trees, shrubs and other vegetation.

Even though Norwich recently gave land to Avalonia from the industrial park, it's possible more land will be given to the land trust organization, NCDC President Kevin Brown said.

Public comments

Before the meeting, brothers Frederick Browning and Sam Browning IV commissioned a report, written by engineer Steven Trinkaus, pointing out issues with the project. Some of Trinkaus’ issues include how effective the pollutant control measures would be, the increase of runoff during storms, no plans for snow, and the fact the new wetlands would be on the opposite side of the Amazon site.

Nathan Weiss, one of the owners of the Sunny Waters Mobile Home Park, was concerned about the high water table, as the residents of the park have a total of 121 septic tanks, and also about how visible the Amazon facility will be, and if there would be vibrations from truck traffic.

The public input will be considered, and questions will be answered as a part of the Nov. 5 continued hearing, Carey said.

Fairfield starts $8.2 million flood projects after years of Rooster River flooding

Eric Bedner

FAIRFIELD — After years of flooding in the area of the Rooster River, Fairfield has started construction on the first of two detention basins and is beginning plans for the second, officials announced.

Stamford-based Grasso Construction began work on the detention basin site at Fairchild Wheeler Golf Course on Sept. 28 as the first of two phases of $8.2 million in flood mitigation projects in the Rooster River corridor, according to First Selectperson Christine Vitale’s office.

The first basin is being built in coordination with and financial support from the city of Bridgeport, which owns the golf course.

Additional funding comes from Fairfield bonding and state grants.

Surveyors are also beginning construction staking at the second basin location at Tunxis Hill Park.

Officials expect both basins to be substantially complete with some functioning flood mitigation by the end of the year, with final completion expected by the spring.

However, the projects are highly dependent on the weather, which could affect construction, officials said.

Vitale is touting the two basins as a major step towards a comprehensive flood mitigation strategy throughout the Rooster River watershed.

“Mitigating flooding along the Rooster River has been a priority for Fairfield,” she said. “After years of planning and permitting, it is exciting to see that construction crews are in place and the work is beginning.”

As the southern part of the state continues to see more unpredictable weather and intense rain, officials must be proactive in addressing flooding, Vitale said.

“I spent a lot of time in those neighborhoods that were most severely impacted by the Sept. 13 storm,” she said. “I understand the frustration and anxiety of our residents and hope that seeing that work is beginning will provide some comfort that plans are now being put into action.”

A third phase in flood mitigation is to remove sediment from the river, and preliminary testing and survey work for dredging has been completed, according to Vitale’s office.

However, work will require the town to coordinate with the state and private property owners along the river as easements are required.

Work on the third phase is expected to take place over the next two years, local officials said.

MAJOR EXPANSION: City, school officials break ground on Smith Elementary reno

Claudia S Hilario

NEW BRITAIN — City and school officials broke ground on a major renovation and expansion of Smith Elementary School. The project will renovate the existing school and add a new 22-classroom center for pre-K students.

Officials from the city, school district, state and federal government gathered at the Rutherford Street campus to mark the start of construction. The project is part of New Britain’s long-term effort to update its public schools.

“This is an exciting day for Smith Elementary School and for the future of early childhood education in New Britain,” Superintendent Dr. Tony Gasper said. “We are honoring the history of a school that has served generations of New Britain families while creating modern, welcoming and inspiring learning spaces for the generations still to come.”

Plans call for modern classrooms and new technology inside the school. The project will also include energy-efficient building systems, better security and access controls, five new playground and recreation areas and changes to traffic patterns for buses, families and students.

The new Pre-K Early Learning Center will have 22 classrooms and its own main entrance. It will also include offices and a multipurpose room, allowing the district to provide more early childhood education opportunities.

“Investing responsibly in our schools is an investment in the future of New Britain,” Mayor Bobby Sanchez said. “It’s exciting to see years of work and planning now taking shape in modern, safe classrooms for our students and educators and expanded access to early childhood education.”

New Britain currently qualifies for a 79.64% state reimbursement rate for eligible school construction costs through Connecticut’s School Construction Grant Program. The state funding will reduce the amount of eligible construction costs that must be covered locally.

Newfield Construction is handling construction on the project, while Kaestle Boos Associates designed it. This is the fifth New Britain school project being completed by Newfield Construction.

During construction, Smith Elementary students and staff are temporarily attending classes at the former Pope John Paul II School building. The temporary move allows construction to take place at the Smith campus.

The Smith Elementary project comes after the recently completed renovation of Holmes Elementary School. It is the latest project in the city and school district’s ongoing effort to renovate and modernize New Britain’s public school buildings.

Electric Boat’s expansion fuels housing push in southeastern CT

Harriet Jones

Housing shortages are commonplace across Connecticut, but Electric Boat’s expansion is putting particular pressure on the state’s southeastern corner.

The submarine maker is on pace to meet its goal of hiring 8,000 new workers this year, while also expanding beyond its Groton waterfront shipyard and New London engineering building into a new training and support center at the former Crystal Mall in Waterford.

That influx of new workers is placing demands on the housing stock in all three locations, and the pace of development has stepped up. But efforts to accommodate that growth are raising questions about land use, zoning, traffic and infrastructure.

Groton, which hosts Electric Boat’s historic waterfront shipyard, has taken a data-driven approach to both spurring development and addressing residents’ skepticism about the need for new housing.

The town carried out housing market analyses in 2021 and 2023, prompted by Electric Boat’s expansion and the influx of residents to Connecticut’s waterfront communities during and just after the pandemic.

The first study found that within 10 years, the town needed more than 4,500 new housing units just to meet basic demand. The second study put the need at 6,500 units.

The town is now partnering with the Department of Defense on a more comprehensive regional study focused on “missing middle” housing — such as duplexes, townhouses and small apartment buildings.

The ongoing study indicates that southeastern Connecticut may need as many as 18,000 new housing units by 2035.

Jonathan Reiner, Groton’s director of planning and development services, said changing household sizes are adding to demand.

“If you just look at housing patterns, in 1950, there were four people per household,” he said. “Now we’re much closer to two people per household. We need 100% more housing units just to house the same number of people.”

In 2019, Groton rewrote its zoning regulations to allow multifamily housing in more areas, recognizing that larger developments were needed to meet demand.

“That really does seem to be what developers are interested in building right now as opposed to subdividing and then building single-family or duplex houses,” said Deborah Jones, the town’s assistant director of economic development.

The missing middle study is expected to recommend further zoning changes to encourage smaller multifamily developments, including buildings with three or four attached homes.

Most development applications involve undeveloped land, although officials want to encourage the reuse of old school buildings and former strip malls along Route 1.

“It’s an enterprise zone,” Reiner said. “We’ve adopted a mixed-use center type of zoning. It’s a tax increment financing district. But we haven’t seen that redevelopment on a large scale to what we’re looking for, for kind of that walkable mixed-use center.”

Groton currently has around 1,400 to 1,500 housing units either under construction or expected to break ground this fall.

About 23% of the town’s current housing stock is affordable, but Reiner said many longtime residents are being displaced as a more affluent workforce moves in. He sees additional missing middle housing as one way to help address that problem.

Meanwhile, he said municipalities need to take an active role in deciding how to accommodate growth.

“With ​communities, ​there’s ​this ​kind ​of ​push-pull ​against ​developers,” he said. ​“We can’t just wish the growth pressures away. Developers ​are ​the ​people ​that ​are ​building ​our ​community ​for ​us.”

Investor confidence

In New London, commercial real estate firm RJ Development & Advisors (RJDA) just started work on a second major waterfront apartment complex.

The $95 million project, called The Mizzen, will bring 251 studio, one- and two-bedroom apartments to the Fort Trumbull neighborhood, close to Electric Boat’s New London engineering building.

Plans call for a 250,000-square-foot building and 232 parking spaces. RJDA said the first apartments are expected to be available in mid-2028.

The project is adjacent to The Beam, a 203-unit apartment complex completed in late 2022 that marked RJDA’s first entry into the New London market.

“When we came into the market in 2021, there really was no proof of concept that new Class A construction was viable at scale,” said Yves Joseph, RJDA’s CEO. “The Beam leased up to 90% in 90 days. We’ve been building all over the state and have never experienced an absorption that effective and that rapid.”

RJDA acquired the 6.28-acre site for The Mizzen — the last remaining parcel on the once-disputed Fort Trumbull peninsula — in early 2023.

Joseph said the firm adjusted the mix of apartments in the new building to include more two-bedroom units, addressing what it sees as a gap in the market.

The firm said it plans two additional phases after The Mizzen, including more apartments and retail space, and is working with the city on rebranding the neighborhood as New London Landing.

Felix Reyes, New London’s director of economic development and planning, said developer interest in the city has grown since about 2016.

“The biggest issue with southeastern Connecticut in regards to housing growth at that time was can you get the rents? Is the development able to pencil out?” he said.

The success of early projects, coupled with Electric Boat’s growing backlog of contracts, gave investors confidence that the region could support larger developments, Reyes said.

But meeting housing demand will require a regional effort, particularly because New London has little available land.

Alongside new construction, the city is encouraging developers to restore older, vacant buildings. Reyes said officials want to avoid repeating past mistakes, including the clearing of the Fort Trumbull neighborhood, which prompted a nationally prominent eminent domain case that left land vacant for years.

“Let’s stop with these big-idea visions of urban planning and focus on the infrastructure that we currently have,” Reyes said. “How do we best utilize what we have? How do we do historic preservation the right way, how do we do adaptive use?”

By working with developers on smaller projects tailored to individual properties, he said, the city has helped reduce the number of vacant downtown buildings from more than 30 to fewer than 10 in the last eight years.

Those projects often rely on a combination of city and state assistance to make them financially viable, including tax breaks, enterprise zone incentives, funding to clean up contaminated properties, and grants and loans.

Reyes said the city has also tried to make zoning requirements, including parking rules, more flexible to facilitate development.

Reyes, who is a New London native, worries about gentrification driving out longtime residents. Around a quarter of the city’s housing stock is currently affordable.

“The reality is that if we don’t build — the people are coming,” he said. “So if you don’t build for them, they’re going to go into your neighborhoods and then they’re going to outprice the people that currently live there.”

Reyes said about 800 new housing units have been completed in the city since 2018, with another 500 under construction. About 2,300 are proposed or going through the planning process.

‘Getting inquiries’

Waterford, the suburban community that neighbors New London, has experienced less pressure in recent years, but officials are preparing for additional housing demand as the former Crystal Mall is converted into a workplace for up to 5,000 Electric Boat employees.

Mark Wujtewicz, Waterford’s planning director, said he is working with the regional council of governments to forecast housing demand and develop a housing growth plan that meets new state requirements.

“We’re definitely looking at an increase. What those numbers are, how they’re going to work out, right now I don’t know,” Wujtewicz said.

Interstate 95 and Route 1 run through the town, and Wujtewicz said he hopes to steer development toward those corridors to limit traffic impacts elsewhere. The Crystal Mall site is next to the interstate, and the town is also considering additional access roads for the property.

One potential site for a major housing development is the former Waterford Airport, a roughly 190-acre property that has remained largely undeveloped for nearly four decades.

Following a former owner’s bankruptcy, a court-appointed receiver in Arizona took possession of the property. Mathon Fund I Liquidating Trust has pursued zoning changes to allow housing on the site. An early development concept envisioned as many as 750 units, but the eventual size and scope of a project remain unsettled.

As for other large-scale developments in Waterford, Wujtewicz said nothing is firm yet.

“We’re getting inquiries,” he said. “But nothing formally submitted yet — it’s more talk than anything else.”

Planners propose $1B redevelopment of ex-military site in CT. Residences and restaurants are included

Don Stacom

Nearly three decades after the U.S. Army walked away from a massive riverfront property in Stratford, planners this fall are working out the potential mix of apartments, condos, retail space, public parks and trails for a proposed $1 billion redevelopment.

Propelled by an eager town government and the Lamont administration’s hunger for new housing, the Point Stratford initiative has advanced further this year than ever since the former Army Engine Plant shut down in 1998.

A years-long, $74 million environmental cleanup of the property’s 20-acre tidal flats was completed this summer, and heavy equipment is now more than halfway through demolishing about 1.2 million square feet of factory buildings that once churned out tank engines, military seaplanes and helicopters.

But by far the biggest advance is in the design for the future.

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The development partnership that owns the 77-acre site was making plans to put up a 1.1 million square-foot distribution center, similar to the behemoths that surround Bradley International Airport.

But last winter, newly elected Mayor David Chess pitched a vastly more ambitious idea: a mixed-use project emphasizing a mile and a half of new public walkways along the Housatonic River, waterview residential buildings, restaurants and possibly a hotel.

“This is what I campaigned on. Building a warehouse on waterfront property would be a sin. What we can build is a beautiful seaside town with a lot of retail,” Chess told The Courant. “We can have biking and walking and all kinds of activities along the water, a park, a day dock, a hotel, a sports complex. We have the same landscape architects working on this who did the High Line in New York.”

In a recent Facebook message to residents, Chess proclaimed that the long-awaited redevelopment will be a major factor in shaping the town’s future.

“This project is truly a turning point for our community, and together we are going to revitalize Stratford for generations to come and enhance quality of life for everyone,” Chess wrote. “This is not just another project. This is a transformational project: a development that will put Stratford back on the map and make it a premier location.”

To advance the idea, Chess has to convince Point Stratford Renewal, the investment partnership that bought the land for $1 from the federal government in 2024. The Army had chosen Point Stratford Renewal as its preferred redeveloper 11 years earlier.

During last fall’s mayoral campaign, Chess took his case to PSR’s partners: Ted Lane, a former senior executive at the Trammel Crow international real estate development firm, and Jim Cabrera and his son, Peter Cabrera, both principals at Greenwich-based Eagle Ventures.

“We told him ‘We’re politically agnostic, but if you get elected give us a call and we’ll have lunch.’ And that’s what happened,” Jim Cabrera said.

“We told him this would be a heavy lift: We already had all our approvals for the warehouse, and the underlying zone for the property was industrial. We were heading down that path. In 2024, there were 14 tenants looking for more than 1 million square feet,” Cabrera said.

“But he was excited about housing on the waterfront. He said he’d get us the planning dollars if we did residential. And with residential, we’ve had a brownfields grant, DECD (Department of Economic and Community Development) money. The governor came to hear for presentation for 15 minutes and stayed for two and a half hours,” Cabrera said.

Chess, a physician and businessman before running for office, told PSR that a waterfront center of parkland, recreation spaces, housing, stores and restaurants would benefit Stratford as well as the state, and stood to be more lucrative than a simple warehouse.

“We knew the planning costs would be significant, and I said I’d help find a way to pay for that and get further dollars for remediation,” Chess said. “A few weeks ago, we secured $2 million (from the state) to help with planning. We have a tentative $5 million for brownfields.”

He credits his town council and Stratford’s state legislative delegation for providing aid and is currently pursuing further state remediation grants. He is adamant that the investment will pay off.

PSR projects that over a 20-year-long buildout, Point Stratford will create more than 500 construction and related jobs, then ultimately generate 750 full-time, part-time and seasonal jobs in the stores, hotel, restaurants and residential buildings. It’s projecting $15 million in annual tax revenue to Stratford once everything is built.

“The last administration was going to put a warehouse there. Warehouses are empty calories, they don’t help us. That was a low-yielding opportunity. And the taxes we would get from a warehouse would be microscopic to what we’ll get from a development,” Chess said.

Consultants are preparing a master development plan to show just what would be built. Currently the expectation is that about 20% of the housing will be priced as “affordable,” but the size, architectural features and heights of the potential residential buildings are still being determined.

“We’re calling this a coastal community and we don’t want it to be a generic development that could be anywhere,” Jim Cabrera said. “There are unbelievable views to the south and the east after the third story.”

He’s emphasizing flexibility after a lesson in fast-changing market conditions during the Harbor Point project that he pioneered in Stamford 20 years ago.

Jim Cabrera, who grew up in Old Greenwich, led Stamford’s redevelopment of its then-shabby South End, an multibillion-dollar initiative that replaced abandoned and decaying industrial buildings with some of the most modern and expensive high-rise apartment towers in Connecticut. But the 2008 financial collapse tanked his company, Antares Investment Partners, which had to relinquish the project to Building and Land Technology before it was completed.

So Point Stratford Renewal is staying flexible about the exact mix of condos, rental townhouses and traditional apartments, as well as the amount and style of retail space and commercial space.

“The master plan we deliver by December will have the ability to do a lot of things,” he said.

A key to Harbor Point was adding walkways and paths to expand public access to the waterfront, and both Jim Cabrera and Cross see that concept as crucial to Point Stratford.

PSR’s consultants have held a series of community engagement meetings this summer, talking with about 1,000 residents. A survey also drew responses from about 1,000. The message that came through most clearly is that Stratford people wanted to get access to their waterfront; they’d been fenced out for decades, and the Stratford Greenway abruptly ends in the woods just yards north of the Army Engine Plant property.

Chess envisions extending the bikeway and building a boardwalk along the property’s entire waterfront. When the master development plan is put forward in December, it may also include a small museum to mark the property’s spot in aviation and military history.

The factory complex started in 1929 as the headquarters of Sikorsky Aviation Corp., and 10 years later Igor Sikorsky took the first flight of the VS-300 — the prototype of modern helicopters — from the property. Vought-Sikorsky Corp. produced the first Clippers that Pan Am used for its overseas routes, and built thousands of Corsair fighter plans during World War II.

“We want to honor that history. Doing what the town wants is pretty important,” Jim Cabrera said. “We also want to put in something that’s financially sustainable. There’s going to be flexibility to do whatever the market wants: Townhouses, flats for sale or for rent, some age-restricted housing.”