New Haven’s Union Square redevelopment plan to be showcased in public hearing
New Haven residents will have a chance to comment on the
first phase of a massive plan to revitalize the Union Square area at a City
Plan Commission meeting Thursday.
The plan includes renovating the Robert T. Wolfe Apartments,
the former Church Street South Housing Project, and surrounding community into
high-quality mixed income housing.
The plan also includes 40,000 to 50,000 square feet of
retail and commercial space.
Construction includes a new multi-level, mixed-use development on the site of the former residential development, in the section located across from Union Station.
Phase One will include approximately 541 residential units
and approximately 31,000 square feet of retail and commercial space, consisting
of three buildings and two parking lots. The entire plan envisages around 2,500
residential units.
The city says current Robert T. Wolfe residents and former
Church Street South residents will be offered the option to return to the area
as the project comes online. Around 40% of the units in the redevelopment will
be offered at below market rents.
The latest version of the plan is the result of more than
two years of community meetings, task forces and survey input from the
neighborhood. The total cost for the multi-year revitalization project has been
estimated at more than $2 billion.
The city has said it intends to apply for a federal
Department of Housing and Urban Development Choice Neighborhood Implementation
Grant worth up to $26 million to help it complete phase one.
The plan includes measures to calm traffic in the area, improve public spaces, and encourage retail, food, services and activities that support community life.
State Regulators Approve Gravel Pit Solar Expansion In East Windsor
EAST WINDSOR, CT — State regulators voted Thursday to
approve a modification that clears the way for an expansion of Gravel Pit Solar
in East Windsor, advancing a plan that would add up to 30 megawatts of
additional capacity to the existing facility.
The Connecticut Siting Council voted 6–0 to approve the
draft findings of fact, draft opinion, and draft decision and order for Docket
492A during its March 5 meeting, with council member Michael Lynch recusing
himself from the vote.
The action approves the written decision documents and
authorizes issuance of a modified certificate for the project, which was
originally approved as a 120-megawatt solar facility on multiple parcels in
East Windsor.
Vote Clears Expansion Plan Forward
Council members reviewed the documents, which were dated
Feb. 27, before taking the final vote. During the discussion, council member
Michael Carter asked for an update on the status of an ISO New England large
generator interconnection agreement referenced in the findings, but staff said
they did not have an update.
During the council’s review of the draft opinion, council member Patricia Hall requested language clarifying that any final landscaping plan required to reduce visual impacts would include ongoing maintenance. Staff indicated the change would be incorporated into the final documents.
Expansion Would Add Up To 30 Megawatts
Under the modified plan, Gravel Pit Solar would expand onto
additional adjacent parcels in East Windsor and add new solar arrays in four
non-contiguous areas, with output limited to no more than 30 megawatts
delivered to the grid.
The expansion proposal identifies 15 additional parcels,
with an approximately 150-acre facility expansion site within a larger project
area spanning hundreds of acres.
Most Infrastructure Already In Place, State Says
The project would use the existing Gravel Pit Solar
substation and the Eversource switchyard, and the plan does not call for new
transmission interconnections or new transmission structures to serve the
expansion.
The draft opinion describes an expansion that would include
tens of thousands of solar panels installed on fixed racking, along with
inverters, fencing and new gravel access drives serving the four array areas.
Town Orders Addressed
The ruling also addresses municipal “regulate and restrict”
orders submitted by the East Windsor Planning and Zoning Commission. The
council’s draft opinion states that local zoning regulations do not apply to
facilities under the council’s exclusive jurisdiction, and the council granted
Gravel Pit Solar’s appeals of the town’s orders under state law.
Environmental conditions were included in the approval.
The draft opinion includes conditions aimed at reducing
impacts, including requirements tied to visual screening and siting decisions
in areas where the project could be visible from local roads.
It also outlines wildlife and habitat considerations near
Ketch Brook and describes additional requirements focused on a high-quality
vernal pool area near one of the proposed array areas, including directing the
developer to consider reducing or eliminating panels in that area to the extent
feasible.
The project’s operational plans would be filed in a required
management plan.
As part of the approval, Gravel Pit Solar must submit a
Development and Management Plan that includes finalized designs and project
plans, such as a final site plan, erosion and sediment control measures, and
other construction details.
The draft opinion also references proposed operational
measures, including emergency response training, post-construction noise
verification and long-term vegetation management that could include sheep
grazing in some areas.
Danbury I-84 rush hour shoulder lane plan aims to put ‘time back in the hands’ of drivers
DANBURY — Transportation experts will update residents
Thursday about the state’s
latest thinking to “quickly” address Interstate 84’s design flaws by
building rush hour travel lanes on the inside shoulders
of the highway between Danbury Fair mall and
Exit 7.
“The flex lane is designed to be constructed quickly and
efficiently on the existing roadway, which means fewer disruptions and faster
improvements to traffic flow,” the state Department of Transportation says
about the first-of-its-kind
project in Connecticut, expected to cost $250 million.
The word “quickly” is a relative term for the DOT, at least
when it comes to fixing a 10-mile stretch of I-84 in Danbury that the DOT
says “has historically been one of the most congested roadway segments
in the region.”
By “quickly,” the DOT means the construction of the state’s
first rush hour shoulder lane could be complete by the “early 2030’s,” the DOT
says.
“The shoulder on the median side would be repurposed into a
temporary travel lane during the busiest times to maintain traffic flow and
keep travelers moving. The project also includes the addition of a travel lane
on Route 7 in the southbound direction approaching the I-84 westbound merge at
Exit 7,” the DOT says in a news release about Thursday’s public
information meeting. “By making better use of the existing I-84 footprint,
the flex lane would create a more reliable and efficient experience for
everyone.”
The DOT’s focus on informing the public about the shoulder
lane on Thursday, beginning with an open house at 5:30 p.m., followed by a
presentation at St. Joseph Church Hall, 376 Main St., does not mean the state
has forgotten its grand plans to reconstruct I-84.
The state’s larger
plans, which could cost $5 billion and aren’t expected to be complete until
the mid-2040s, are in the beginning stages of an extensive environmental
review. The next steps after that include design, permitting, right-of-way
acquisitions and budgeting.
Meanwhile, Danbury, as a city, and
greater Danbury, as a region, continue to be among the fastest-growing places
in the state, which is only expected to increase I-84 traffic.
“Population growth in Danbury through 2040 is projected to
increase by over 14%, the highest projected growth rate in western
Connecticut,” says a 2025
DOT report. “Continued population growth in the region will exacerbate
congestion and mobility issues. Traffic forecasts for 2040 indicate that peak
average daily traffic volumes will increase to 130,000 vehicles per day
(approximately 18%) on I-84 between Interchanges 3 and 7.”
All the more need to find solutions that will not take a
generation to build, the DOT says.
The special shoulder lane, which could begin construction in
the summer of 2028, would be closed to trucks and typically only be open during
the morning and afternoon rush hours. Digital signs over the lane would
indicate when the lane was open, and a solid yellow line would separate the
shoulder lane from the other travel lanes.
Residents who cannot attend the in-person meeting on
Thursday night are invited to attend a video-conference meeting at noon on
March 10. Residents must register to
attend via Zoom.
“The flex lane would reduce the potential for bottlenecks
and sudden slowdowns that can lead to crashes by improving how all vehicles
flow through the corridor,” the DOT says.