Housing, restaurants part of future plan for Bridgeport's former PSEG power plant site
BRIDGEPORT — Robert Christoph Jr. has with his father spent
years slowly transforming vacant harborfront property at the tip of the East
End into the Steelpointe mixed use destination of Bass Pro Shops, a seafood
restaurant, a new marina and an under-construction upscale apartment complex.
On Tuesday afternoon Christoph was among those gathered
across the water at the decommissioned coal-fired power plant to welcome its
new owner, Bridgeport Station Development, and celebrate the start of the
estimated three-year demolition of the old industrial landmark visible from
land, sea and air.
"One of the biggest challenges we have in Bridgeport is
perception, not reality," Christoph said afterward, a reference to
outsiders who still may have a negative idea of Connecticut's largest
municipality despite its economic progress. "This is the last bit of
perception they hang their hat on."
Daniel O'Keefe, Connecticut's economic development
chief, offered a more vivid, and maybe a bit hyperbolic, description of the
dormant property with its towering red-and-white striped smoke stack.
"This is like a dystopian hellscape that is finally
coming down," he told the group of fellow state and local officials,
including Gov. Ned Lamont, one of the biggest cheerleaders of turning the
South End-based plant into something more attractive.
"This (coal plant) is not the last, best use for this
land here in the 21st century," the governor said during his remarks. His
administration a year ago committed
to spending $22.5 million to tear the facility down.
Bridgeport Station Development is a limited liability
corporation founded, according to state records, in May and based in
Baldwinsville, New York. Partners have most recently been involved with
transforming another
ex-coal-fired plant along Great Egg Harbor Bay, New Jersey.
One of its key members, Chad Parks, also spoke
Tuesday. He said the business entity recently purchased the plant from prior
owner PSEG for $1 and the demolition is actually beginning this week, although
initially the work would be confined to the interior.
But Parks promised that in the coming months "you will
indeed start to see a skyline changing."
The goal is for the buildings to be down and the site
remediated of environmental contaminants in three years. During that time
currently vague plans for housing, restaurants and waterfront access will be
fine tuned, with input from area residents and businesses, Parks said.
"We understand what this property means to the
community and neighborhood," he said. "We're dedicated to hearing all
voices as our plan takes shape."
He also noted the work the local regional planning
organization — the
Connecticut Metropolitan Council of Governments — has been doing over the last
few months with a consultant to study potential new uses for the
property. That final report is expected to be completed by the end of
December.
The land also lies in a flood plain and will, according to
the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, need to be
raised before anything new is constructed there to avoid future flooding during
severe storms.
Parks said Bridgeport Station Development is responsible for
the underground clean up costs, the extent of which are still being determined,
thus the $1 purchase price. Meanwhile the
state last fall committed $22.5 million toward razing the plant
through the new Connecticut Community Investment Fund. That pot of money is
administered by a board consisting of state legislators and various
department heads.
A few of Bridgeport's other requests for CIF dollars
have been rebuffed in recent years, but Lamont noted his administration had
no qualms about investing in taking the plant down.
"You had us at 'Hello,'" he joked.
Mayor Joe Ganim praised the collaborative work over
the past few months between the city, the state and PSEG to get to this
stage.
"This has really been everybody coming together, making
this a great day," he said. Ganim boasted that he believes the project is
"one of the most transformative waterrfront development projects" on
the Atlantic coast.
But, he said, for a while getting the project moving had
felt "like push-starting a car."
The plant was decommissioned in 2021 under an agreement
initially forged under Ganim's predecessor, Mayor Bill Finch, who was not in
attendance Tuesday, and continued when Ganim took office in late 2015. In
exchange PSEG built a new natural gas-fired facility next door that came online
in 2019 and was sold
in 2023.
Months ago PSEG had suggested it might want to hold
onto the former coal plant site and repurpose it for renewable energy projects.
And at one time Christoph had expressed interest in
redeveloping the land.
"I have plenty going on," he said Tuesday.
"It's good to have multiple developers doing multiple things."
Bridgeport does have a history of large projects that either
never move ahead or are built far more slowly than initially intended,
Steelpointe among the latter.
Parks in a brief interview after the event said that while
there are still some unknowns about the underground contamination, he is
optimistic construction can begin three years from now.
"If the stars align, when we're done with demolition
we'll come out of the ground," he said.
New life promised for an old coal-fired plant in Bridgeport
For one dollar, a development group with a brownfields
specialty has purchased the ultimate fixer-upper — a 33-acre parcel on the
Bridgeport waterfront that comes with responsibility to demolish a power plant
and its iconic red-and-white smoke stack, remediate the site and redevelop it.
Bridgeport Station Development LLC was introduced Tuesday by
the administration of Gov. Ned Lamont as the new owner of Bridgeport Harbor
Station Unit 3, which was the last of Connecticut’s coal-fired generators of
electricity when PSEG closed it in 2021.
“Work will begin this week, and while a lot of the activity
will be on the interior to start and so not always visible, you will indeed
start to see a skyline changing over the coming months with ongoing
demolition,” said Chad Parks, one of the partners in the development group.
The Community Investment Fund, a competitive grant program
overseen by lawmakers and the Department of Economic and Community Development,
already has committed $22.5 million for the demolition of the plant,
essentially making the state a broker in the deal.
“The state grant award brought PSEG to the table and helped
to catalyze conversations about what the future of this site could be, and
we’re here today to announce the sale of this site by PSEG and the transfer of
ownership to Bridgeport Station Development,” said Matt Pugliese, deputy
commissioner of DECD.
“I can say definitively that without the Community
Investment Funding from the state, this property would have sat, possibly,
dormant for many years instead of us all being here today,” Parks said.
While the grant offsets the costs of demolition, the $1
purchase price indicates that PSEG is selling the liability for any required
environmental remediation along with the potential for waterfront development.
Parks and his partners are players in the ultimate niche
real estate business: Taking a chance on brownfields, most recently another
coal-fired power plant in Cape May, N.J. The old power plants, which required
water for cooling and the delivery of coal, come with huge potential and
significant risk.
“It’s a liability transfer business,” Parks said.
The state’s financial commitment is limited to the
demolition grant. Bridgeport Station Development is responsible for any other
costs, as well as redeveloping the land under conditions outlined by the state.
Industrial reuse is off limits. The state wants to see mixed
use, preferably with a substantial housing component, all of which would be
subject to local approvals and the engagement of a South End neighborhood eager
to emerge from the long shadow of its industrial past.
“This is not going to be something where folks prescribe
what’s going to happen in your neighborhood,” said Rep. Antonio Fellipe,
D-Bridgeport. “There’s going to be collaboration. Folks are going to talk to
the community, and we’re going to put something here that makes it a better
place to live and make sure that you can have something that you want in your
south end.”
Other officials and the developer made the same promise.
Asthma rates in the area historically have been among the
highest in the U.S., as is the case with neighborhoods in Hartford and New
Haven, a combination of industrial pollutants and heavy motor vehicle traffic.
Those two cities also have defunct power plants awaiting remediation and
redevelopment.
Felipe, who grew up in the South End and now represents it
in the legislature, described the neighborhood as literally on the other side
of the tracks.
“We can talk a lot about the air quality and the asthma that
some of our family members may have had stemming from the coal plant, but also
just the amount of TLC that was lacking in the area,” he said. “When you passed
Park Avenue in the underpass, when you passed the train tracks, it felt
different.”
DECD Commissioner Dan O’Keefe described the vibe of the
abandoned coal plant as a “dystopian hellscape.”
The area will retain a newer natural-gas fired power plant
also owned and operated by PSEG. It opened in 2018, clearing the way for the
closure of the dirtier coal-fired plant that had been used intermittently in
its last years, providing 400 megawatts of power at times of peak demand.
It was needed for just two days in 2020 and none in 2019,
but the station ran for the first two months of 2021 during a prolonged period
of extreme cold.
PSEG was the last of its owners and operators. United
Illuminating opened the plant in 1957 to provide power needed by industry in
southwestern Connecticut. It was designed to burn oil or coal, but was
converted to coal-only in 2002.
Lamont, who has described himself as bullish on the
potential of the Bridgeport waterfront, and a one-time political rival, Mayor
Joseph P. Ganim, joined in the announcement of a sale that is a first and key
step in turning the site into a mixed-use project that will restore public
access to the waterfront.
“You don’t allow me to invest anymore,” said Lamont, a
businessman married to a venture capitalist. “But if I could, I’d be investing
in Bridgeport, because I just see an amazing future here.”
The demolition will take three years and include the
implosion of the smoke stack and three boilers. Parks said, “It’ll be a visible
celebration of new beginnings.”
Half of IIJA funds unspent with Trump set to take office
Three years into the five-year federal law, $568 billion,
or 47%,
of Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act funds have been announced,
per a White House fact sheet released Nov. 15.
More than 66,000 construction projects are advancing via
President Joe Biden’s signature piece of legislation.
Announced funds are up about 25% from $454
billion for 56,000 projects disbursed as of May — the law’s halfway
mark — and up 42%
from the year-ago period. The law, however, faces an uncertain future
as the Trump administration prepares to take office.
Dive Insight:
Biden officials are rushing to get infrastructure
funds out the door ahead of the incoming Trump administration, AP News
reported. On Nov. 15, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg
announced over $3.4 billion in IIJA grants to expand passenger rail,
make roads safer, improve ports and otherwise strengthen supply chains,
according to a U.S. DOT news release.
“We’re in the middle of an infrastructure decade unlike
anything this country has seen since the time of Eisenhower and the Interstate
Highway System,” Buttigieg said in the release.
Although 19 Republicans voted for the IIJA, President-elect
Donald Trump has pledged to scale back the government and dismantle parts of
Biden’s bills. Experts say that federal
support for public transportation, Amtrak, high-speed rail and electric
vehicles may be at risk.
Nonetheless, cutting IIJA funding may pose a political
challenge, since Republican-leaning
states and districts have benefited from it, per the Global
Infrastructure Investment Association.
Still, Trump could put his own stamp on it by “reallocating
funds within existing frameworks, streamlining regulations to speed up project
approvals, emphasizing public-private partnerships (P3s), focusing on energy
infrastructure such as pipelines and refineries, and potentially directing
funds towards border infrastructure,” per the GIIA.
Many members of the construction industry expect that infrastructure
funding is here to stay. New
PCL Construction CEO Chris Gower told Construction Dive, “Generally, I
don’t think there will be a major pullback in infrastructure spend.”
Where IIJA funds have gone thus far
The $1.2 trillion IIJA’s
size and complexity pose challenges to implementation, according to
Brookings research.
Announced funding, captured from agency press releases, is
preliminary and non-binding, whereas awarded funding represents actual
obligations, according to the White House. The funding flows through more than
400 programs and is channeled by a variety of federal, state and local
entities. The amount of awarded funding to date, however, is unclear.
The largest portion of IIJA money is designated
for road and bridge construction, according to White House data analyzed by
CNBC, followed by rail, broadband, power and water projects. Biden has also
focused on replacing
lead pipes nationwide in the next decade.
Per the White House, the IIJA has created 940,000
construction jobs and funded:
11,400 bridge projects.
Improvements on over 196,000 miles of roads.
6,000 cyber security and climate resilience efforts.
2,400 drinking water and wastewater projects.
580 port and waterway projects.
400 airport projects.
The Biden administration also touted its three-part approach
to speed up federal permitting:
Invested $1 billion through the Inflation Reduction Act to
hire experts and invest in new technologies to expedite reviews.
Passed reforms to the National Environmental Policy Act and
finalized the Bipartisan Permitting Reform Implementation Rule to accelerate
the environmental review process.
Used executive authorities to improve permitting and
environmental review processes.
The administration said it has also expanded the use of
categorical exclusions, the fastest form of environmental review.
Amtrak Secures $112M in Federal Funds to Upgrade 13 Projects in Northeast Corridor
Amtrak Media
As part of what Amtrak calls its "New Era of
Rail," the rail service announced Nov. 18 that it is continuing to fund
projects designed to modernize the Northeast Corridor (NEC) and unlock major
bottlenecks on the busiest passenger railroad in the United States.
Amtrak's NEC is one of the busiest and economically vital
transportation systems in the world, with more than 2,000 daily trains
operating over some portions of the Washington-Boston route each day and
providing vital connections for 7 million jobs within a 5-mi. radius of an NEC
station.
The $112 million in competitive grants will support 13
Amtrak-led projects through the Federal Railroad Administration's (FRA)
Federal-State Partnership for Intercity Passenger Rail Program (FSP-NEC).
The initiative was created and funded by Congress to address
decades of under-investment and help replace aging infrastructure assets,
reduce travel times, improve reliability and deliver a modern customer
experience for the hundreds of millions of riders who travel along the corridor
each year.
"Thanks to this new round of competitive grants, Amtrak
will continue to deliver a new era of passenger rail and advance vital
infrastructure projects that drive economic growth, create jobs and transform
this critical corridor that benefits millions of Americans," said Amtrak
CEO Stephen Gardner.
Funds to Be Spread to Projects Across Several States
Amtrak-led projects may now advance further into planning,
development or construction thanks to the new funding. They include expanding
and modernizing major stations, replacing aging bridges and renewing rail
infrastructure and support systems.
Among the project development activities that Amtrak has
planned are:
Expanding the capacity of New York Penn Station to double
passenger train service between New York and New Jersey from 24 to 48 trains
per hour — or more during peak hours — and transforming the busiest train
station in the Western Hemisphere into a modern, world-class facility.
Expanding and modernizing the 115-year-old Washington Union
Station, Amtrak's second busiest station, in partnership with project sponsor
Union Station Redevelopment Corporation (USRC).
Finalizing the design and beginning construction to address
near-term needs at Washington Union Station, including the relocation of an
existing power substation, adding new digital technology functions and a
replacement of existing Amtrak Police Department and employee facilities.
Final design and construction work for the Baltimore Penn
Station Redevelopment Project at Amtrak's sixth busiest station.
Old NEC rail bridges also are due to be replaced, according
to Amtrak, including:
The 115-year-old Sawtooth Bridges, a series of four spans in
Kearny, N.J., where supplemental final design and pre-construction support
services are set to get underway. The four structures currently carry more than
400 Amtrak and NJ Transit trains per day over tracks also used by PATH
passenger trains and Conrail's freight service. When complete, the new
four-track NEC structure will double track capacity in one of the most
congested and complex locations on the corridor where these different services all
come together.
The 120-year-old Connecticut River Bridge in Windsor Locks,
Conn., on the Amtrak-owned New Haven-Hartford-Springfield corridor. There, a
planning-level study for the structure's eventual replacement is scheduled. The
effort is a separate project from the new Connecticut River Bridge now under
construction in Old Lyme/Old Saybrook, Conn.
Additionally, a number of renewal projects are planned to
upgrade NEC rail infrastructure and support systems. Among them are:
The final design and construction of Zoo to Paoli Electric
Upgrades along an 18-mi. segment of the Amtrak-owned Keystone Corridor between
Paoli and Philadelphia, Pa.
Construction of a new Substation 41 on an elevated platform
to improve the reliability of Amtrak and commuter services along a heavily
tracked segment in Kearny, N.J.
The project development and final design for signal system
upgrades along 26 mi. between New Brunswick and Elizabeth, N.J. that will
enable more frequent train service and higher speeds.
Development and final design for signal system upgrades that
will benefit Amtrak and MARC trains between South Bowie, Md., and Washington
Union Station.
Final design and construction for replacement of
approximately 100 mi. of catenary wire that will improve Amtrak and MARC
service reliability between Baltimore and New Carrollton, Md.
Project development and final design activities for catenary
system upgrades along 23 mi. in Northern New Jersey between County and Newark
interlockings. Once completed, this work will replace existing catenary
structures that are nearly 90 years old, improving reliability for Amtrak and
NJ Transit customers.
Development and final designs for the addition of a new
interlocking in Exton, Pa., filling in a gap of universal interlockings along a
15-mi. stretch of the Amtrak-owned Keystone Line. Additionally, the project
will introduce modern controls, signaling, and safety systems.
Several of Amtrak's key partners also received funding to
advance mutually beneficial projects, including the Connecticut Department of
Transportation's (CTDOT) work along the NEC to make track improvements and
mobility enhancements, advance its Hartford Line Rail Program Double Track
Project and separate Hartford Station relocation effort, and the state's
planning study to replace the Cos Cob Bridge in Greenwich.
In addition, the New York Metropolitan Transportation
Authority (MTA) will use the FRA grants to reconstruct New York Penn Station,
and the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) will work to
implement its regional rail master plan throughout the greater Philadelphia
region.
Over the past year, Amtrak has advanced several projects
funded by the FSP-NEC Program, including breaking ground and beginning
construction on a new Connecticut River Bridge, kicking off the Susquehanna
River Bridge project in Pennsylvania and beginning demolition and early
pre-construction activities for Baltimore's Frederick Douglass Tunnel program.
Torrington to demolish Hotchkiss Brothers Co. building
TORRINGTON – City officials invite residents to a farewell
ceremony and demolition of six of the seven buildings that once housed the
former Hotchkiss Brothers Co. facility at 199 Water St. and 229 Church St.
today at 11 a.m.
Parking will be at 190 Water St., the old Register Citizen
building.
Redevelopment plans for this 3.2-acre site envision a
vibrant mixed-use residential project with 155 apartments, 14,000 square feet
of commercial space and an extension of the Naugatuck River Greenway along the
western portion of the property. This transformation is made possible by a $1.5
million Brownfield Remediation Grant from the state Department of Economic and
Community Development.
The ceremony will feature remarks from key figures, a
symbolic groundbreaking, and moments of reflection and remembrance.