May 19, 2026

CT Construction Digest Tuesday May 19, 2026

 EB seeking approval for first conversion projects at former Crystal Mall

Jack Lakowsky

Waterford — Electric Boat, the new owner of the former Crystal Mall property, is awaiting state traffic approval tied to its renovation project and is seeking town approval to approve conversions of old anchor stores into training centers.

EB wants to renovate the former Bed Bath & Beyond and Sears stores, according to Planning Director Mark Wujtewicz, who said he meets with EB officials weekly. The submarine maker has also applied for a building permit from the town.

Wujtewicz said last week the company seeks approval for "selective demolition" and conversions of the two former retailers. The Sears space would be made into permanent workforce training facility, while the shell of the Bed Bath & Beyond will be made into a temporary workforce training center.

"It would just be limited to this work," Wujtewicz said.

Wujtewicz said the company's conversion of the former mall, which officially closed its doors at the end of March after 40 years in business, is proceeding on schedule. He added that EB's purchase means the town has to rework its own long-term development plans and must abandon its vision of a mixed-use, business and residential operation.

EB purchased the mall property last year after pressure from the U.S. Navy to deliver submarines.

Moving some workers to Waterford would free up space in the Groton shipyard, which can’t expand because it has the Thames River on one side and neighborhoods on the other.

The Groton shipyard could then focus more on building submarines.

The company plans to begin renovating the mall as offices for its engineering, training and software development departments. It invested a total of $42.4 million to acquire the mall property.

Opened in 1984, the mall was once a busy regional destination where people could shop, eat and meet friends. Employees had to park at the Waterford Speedbowl during the Christmas season because every space had to be reserved for customers. In 2010, 140 stores occupied the once-bustling mall.

When the full transformation is complete, EB will occupy 542,000 square feet of space along Route 85.

In addition to the professional and business offices proposed, EB will use the building to house 50 classrooms for training and workforce development. Beginning in 2027, the company expects to employ up to 5,000 people on the 83-acre property, about 55 acres of which are developed.

The company plans to make changes to the Route 85 on- and off-ramps from I-95 to handle the increased traffic. EB Director of Communications and Public Affairs Myra Lee said she was not aware Monday whether the state had made a decision yet on a traffic permit for the project.

EB, which employs more than 24,000 workers in Groton, New London and North Kingstown, R.I.


NextEra-Dominion deal would put CT’s Millstone nuclear plant under new ownership

Andrew Larson

Connecticut’s largest power plant would change hands under a merger announced Monday, in which Florida-based NextEra Energy would acquire Dominion Energy, the owner of the Millstone Power Station in Waterford.

Millstone is the only operating nuclear plant in Connecticut, and its two reactors supply roughly half the state’s electricity and more than 90% of its carbon-free power, according to Dominion.

The deal, an all-stock transaction valued at about $66.8 billion according to Reuters, would transfer control of Millstone to NextEra.

NextEra, through a subsidiary, is the majority owner and operator of the Seabrook Station nuclear plant in New Hampshire, which sells its power into the regional grid operated by ISO New England, the same market Connecticut draws electricity from.

If the merger closes, the combined company would own both Millstone and Seabrook — meaning a single company would control all of the nuclear power generated inside Connecticut, along with a significant share of the regional nuclear supply that reaches Connecticut homes and businesses.

Seabrook is the second-largest nuclear plant in New England, behind Millstone.

Neither company’s announcement of the deal — nor its filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission — mentions Millstone, Seabrook, Connecticut or New England.

The companies framed the merger almost entirely around growth in the South and soaring electricity demand from data centers, particularly in Virginia, where Dominion runs a grid serving the world’s largest concentration of data centers.

The merged company would serve about 10 million customer accounts across Florida, Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina.

Connecticut is absent from that count because the combined company would not own a regulated utility serving Connecticut customers. Millstone sells its power into the regional market rather than serving a captive customer base.

The companies have proposed $2.25 billion in customer bill credits for ratepayers in Virginia and the Carolinas, where Dominion runs the local utilities.

The transaction requires approvals from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to transfer federal operating licenses to a new owner, along with clearances from federal antitrust regulators, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and utility commissions in Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina.

Since Millstone is not regulated by Connecticut’s Public Utilities Regulatory Authority, a sale of the plant’s corporate parent doesn’t require a PURA proceeding.

The companies expect to close in 12 to 18 months, though the agreement allows the timeline to stretch toward 2028 if regulatory approvals lag.

Connecticut buys a large share of Millstone’s output under long-term contracts that expire in 2029, and the state is in the middle of a procurement to line up new clean-energy supply for the years that follow.

Dominion submitted proposals to keep selling Millstone’s power to Connecticut into the next decade, and state energy officials expect to name winning bids later this year — potentially while the acquisition is underway.

The state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection said it will assess what, if any, implications the merger could have for ongoing proceedings.

The state Office of Consumer Counsel, which represents ratepayers, said the deal so far looks like a change in ownership that may not significantly alter how Millstone runs or what it costs.

“Based on the limited details currently available to the public, the proposed acquisition of Dominion Energy by NextEra Energy appears primarily to be a change in ownership, and as such the core operations and associated costs of Millstone Power Station may not materially change, but are subject to the details of the transaction,” the office said.

The office said it would keep watching as more becomes known.

“OCC will continue monitoring as additional information about the transaction becomes available, particularly as it relates to future contracts, financing structures and costs ultimately borne by ratepayers,” it said.


$150M plan seeks to redevelop aging CT cineplex into 300+ apartments, entertainment venue

Kenneth R. Gosselin 

Four months ago, the end credits rolled for the last movie shown at the Apple Xtreme Cinema, the lights were turned off and the cineplex boarded up.

But now, there are once again scenes of coming attractions.

A massive redevelopment planned for the 13-acre multiplex on New Park Avenue in Hartford — a project that could reach an estimated price tag of $150 million — could include more than 300 mixed-income apartments, with rents ranging from affordable — targeted at low-to-moderate income households — to market-rate, officials familiar with the plans said.

The apartments would be built on what are now parking lots to the north and south of the theater, bookending a renovated cineplex that could retain a couple of movie screens alongside a new restaurant and bar — perhaps offering wood-fired pizza — and a game arcade. In the rear of the cineplex structure— opened in 2000 and also operated under such brands as Crown and Bow Tie —  space would be converted to self-storage.

The project also would put to a new use a cineplex built for another era when multiple screens responded to the demand by the movie-going public. The movie industry was battered by the pandemic and increasing competition from the small screen.

Construction on “Edge 400” — its name drawn from the cineplex’s location near the town line with West Hartford in the city’s Parkville neighborhood — could begin by early 2027, bringing new attention to a less considered gateway to the city.

Construction would be divided into three parts, and it is likely to start on the southern parking lot where the focus is affordable and workforce housing — a slice of housing that the state has sought to encourage as Connecticut grapples with a housing affordability crisis.

“The intent here is to serve the workforce who can’t afford the high rents that exist in the city and the surrounding area,” said Marc Daigle, a principal in Massachusetts-based Emerald Development Group, a partner in the planned residential rentals both to the north and south of the cineplex. “We envision these for folks who work in the city, folks who work in some of the small businesses or hospitals where people just can’t find housing.”

Daigle said he has had discussions with local hospitals, and they have been supportive of efforts to develop housing with rents that are more within reach of their employees.

Eventually, there would be a mix of about 180 one- and two-bedroom units in three, four-story, structures on the southern parking lot, but initially building would focus on two.

If financing were to fall into place, the redevelopment at the 330 New Park Ave. property would move past previous failed efforts — dating back to 2020 — that also included housing and, at one point, a further downsizing of the theater in favor of a venue with arcade games, ax throwing, entertainment and a bar.

On the opposite side of the cineplex, two, similarly-styled buildings would encompass about 120 market-rate apartments on what is now the northern parking lot. It is possible that development on the three parts could overlap, each taking 18-24 months to complete.

‘Concrete jungle’

The cineplex redevelopment also could boost efforts to further encourage transit-oriented development along CTfastrak, the rapid bus service running between New Britain and downtown Hartford. The bus line runs behind the cineplex property.

According to Google maps, the distance from the planned apartments at the cineplex to the nearest busway station at Flatbush Avenue is an 11-minute walk or four minutes on a bicycle.

Jeffrey P. Cohen, a professor of finance and Kinnard Real Estate Scholar at the University of Connecticut in Storrs, said development now planned for the movie theater property fits squarely with the goals of transit-oriented development.

“Ideally, you want to have residential development so people can walk to transit services, rather than owning cars and use transit to commute,” said Cohen, who has led studies at UConn on transit-oriented development for the state transportation department. “Also having places to shop, eat and have entertainment within walking distance is another part of transit-oriented development, creating a walkable community.”

The plans call for the apartment buildings to be constructed much closer to New Park Avenue, in contrast to the cineplex, which is set back from the street.

“So, New Park does not appear as a TOD-type corridor, right now,” Jack Benjamin, Hartford’s director of economic development, said. “This is a concrete jungle, and it’s a sea of pavement. There’s an interest by the developers to bring a bit more greenery and make the actual sidewalk walking experience a little more attractive.”

Westchester County, N.Y.-based Diamond Properties has owned the entire cineplex property since a couple of years before the pandemic hit in 2020.

““Diamond Properties is excited to be continuing work to advance plans for a mixed-use redevelopment that prioritizes affordable workforce housing, alongside market-rate apartments and a community entertainment destination,” Diamond said, in a statement. “This is one of Hartford’s most visible gateway sites and it creates a historic opportunity for an exciting new ‘live, work, play’ community that will provide new housing opportunities for residents of Hartford and the region into the future.”

New development catalyst?

Emerald Development, a development consultant, is partnering with Tampa, FL-based Southport Financial Services, which would develop the affordable housing. Southport, according to its web site, has developed more than 100 affordable and workforce properties nationally since its founding in 1995.

Crucial to the financing of the affordable rentals would be low-income housing tax credits that the developers are seeking through the state. A decision on their application could come as early as this week.

Emerald also is in the midst of lining up financing for the market-rate units and another development partner. Daigle said there have been discussions with another group, but he declined to identify them.

Daigle knows the property well having been a partner in Waltham, Mass-based Dakota Partners. Dakota tried unsuccessfully to pursue both market-rate and affordable housing, with a coalition of investors never coming together.  Two years ago, Dakota, which completed two office to apartment conversions a decade ago, walked away from the cineplex project.

Daigle said he kept in touch with the family-owned Diamond Properties and, now, under Emerald, a development company he founded, he is moving forward with the housing portions of the redevelopment.

If successful, the redeveloped movie theater could provide a further catalyst to more closely integrating Hartford’s Parkville with the adjoining West Hartford neighborhood. Just behind the cineplex and beyond the route of the busway, are 34 acres once occupied by a scrap metal yard acquired by the city in a foreclosure in 2021.

The former junkyard is seen as ripe for future redevelopment, but an environmental clean-up is clearly a costly hurdle to be cleared.

Even so, the 34 acres could form a connection back to the heart of Parkville and Bartholomew Street. Bartholomew Street — in recent years considered the spine of an arts and innovation district — leads to the successful Parkville Market and Real Art Ways, the contemporary arts center now in the midst of a $24 million expansion.

Benjamin, Hartford’s economic development director, said the busway does present a barrier between the cineplex property and the heart of Parkville. But the challenge isn’t insurmountable, Benjamin said.

“I don’t think that’s out of the question,” Benjamin said. “You just have to find a way to get across the fastrak busway. There’s conversation you’d have to have with the state.”


Greenwich approves $41 million Dorothy Hamill rink despite push to cut funding

Eric Bedner

GREENWICH — Members of the Greenwich Representative Town Meeting overwhelmingly voted last week to approve a $542 million budget that includes $41.2 million for a new Dorothy Hamill ice skating rink, despite an attempt to eliminate most funding for the new rink.

The $542 million overall budget is roughly an increase of $21 million, or 4.1%, from the previous budget and includes a 3.6% increase in the town’s operating budget. It was approved 170-13, with one abstention.

The 4.1% overall increase aims to address budget deficiencies in previous years, Board of Estimate and Taxation Chairman David Weisbrod said.

Members of the RTM also approved a $92 million capital budget, including $41.2 million for a new Hamill ice skating rink, despite an attempt by some members to cut nearly all the rink funding.

RTM members from Districts 9 and 10 attempted to cut $38.5 million from the rink project — leaving only $2.7 million for final planning and architectural designs — but the proposal failed by a margin of roughly 90 votes.

Those in favor of the cut argued the approval of both design and construction costs at the same time limits the oversight of the RTM as the project advances and costs potentially increase.

Those against cutting the rink funding, however, said it has been thoroughly vetted, will provide a safe and modern space for residents and visitors, and was the result of a transparent process.

Considering construction costs continue to climb, supporters of the rink also argued waiting would increase costs in the long term.

First Selectman Fred Camillo said the debate regarding the rink has been ongoing for more than 50 years and the condition of the current rink is “kind of an embarrassment to the town.”

“It’s about time to get it done,” he said. “It’s been thoroughly vetted.”

Weisbrod noted the members of his board unanimously approved the budget, adding he’s “particularly proud” of the multi-year capital projects plan.

A proposal to cut $2.4 million from the total $4 million for a new pool at Greenwich High School also failed.

RTM members did, however, vote to cut $100,000 in design funding for the redevelopment of Roger Sherman Baldwin Park, leaving $150,000 to allow the Department of Public Works to analyze relocating a Parks and Recreation Department building on the site.

The $207 million Board of Education budget, an increase of 3.1% from the previous budget, is driven largely by contractual wage increases that represent 76% of the total education budget.

Pupil transportation is also expected to significantly increase by 18%, or $2.3 million, from the current fiscal year.

The schools administration was able to find some savings to offset cost increases, including cutting $1.3 million by eliminating 11.5 full-time equivalent positions as enrollment trends show a decline.

No layoffs are expected, however, as the positions will be eliminated by natural attrition, such as retirement.

Overall, “it was a very productive year with the budget,” Camillo said. “I think we came to a good conclusion.”

Members of the RTM also overwhelmingly voted to approve a $70 million bonding package.