Allen Street Flooding Fix Could Take Up to Four Years
Luke Fenney
NEW BRITAIN — City officials outlined the next steps in the proposed multimillion-dollar solution to replace the roughly 100-year-old storm and sewer pipes under Allen Street — an area known in colonial times as the “Great Swamp” — at City Hall Thursday night.
New Britain’s director of public works, Mark Moriarty, told residents, “what we’re really trying to do here is stop flooding and to stop sanitary sewer issues — that’s the crux of the project.”
Allen Street’s century-old 24-inch clay pipes lack the capacity to handle water, which has led to chronic flooding in the area. City officials said they plan on installing new 66-inch pipes in the area which could help decrease flooding.
Moriarty estimated the construction for the storm and sanitary sewer would take about two full construction seasons, and projected an overall timeline of three to four years.
Other work will include road reconstruction, water main replacement, as well as sidewalk and curb installation. Construction cannot begin until the city receives an authorization letter as well as a project review from the state Department of Transportation.
Moriarty said he expects that letter to come at the beginning of next year, but also acknowledged that the city will be in a “waiting game” for some of the final steps to begin construction.
“We’re just trying to get through a process which is pretty bureaucratic,” he said.
Audience members at the meeting included Allen Street residents, city officials, as well as Democratic State Rep. Dave DeFronzo.
While many residents said they appreciated the update, several expressed frustration and anxiety about the shifting timelines and how long they may be living with flooding before construction begins.
“We’re not questioning you in any way. We just want realistic numbers. So when people ask us what’s going on, we can give them reasonably realistic answers,” Frank Chase, an Allen Street resident, said.
Sharon Case, Frank’s wife, said the couple were “cracking up on flooding — and we lived in a houseboat.”
While Moriarty said he felt the project was in “good funding shape” he also described it as a complex project without many similar models for the city to follow.
“There’s not like similar projects out there that we can compare apples to apples to. That’s why we’re nervous about the cost,” he said.
The project has secured roughly $13 million through local, state and federal grants.
In May, Mayor Bobby Sanchez, announced an additional $5 million in state bonding support through a partnership involving New Britain’s legislative delegation, Gov. Ned Lamont and U.S. Rep. Jahana Hayes on top of the initial $8 million in combined federal, state and transportation infrastructure funding that was already secured for the project.
The city has been meeting with its design consultant, Cardinal Engineers, every two weeks to discuss the project. Moriarty estimated that the full design plans will be ready for review by January.
There is also a scheduled meeting with all project utilities scheduled at 10 a.m. on Oct. 20.
Sanchez made the chronic flooding on Allen Street a top priority during his 2025 campaign for mayor. At the meeting, he promised to make sure that the project makes it over the finish line.
“When I focus on something, I focus on it. If it comes to a point where we can’t get some information from the state, I’ll be on that phone. Actually, it won’t be the phone – I’ll be going to Hartford personally to make sure we get what we need,” Sanchez said.
The city will host a similar meeting to update citizens on the progress of the project in December.
Montville officials again push for large commercial project near school
Jack Lawkowsky
Montville — The Planning and Zoning Commission is scheduled Tuesday to consider a proposal by the town to lease a portion of the road that leads to Mohegan Elementary School to a commercial developer.
State law requires the commission to review any transfer of property by the town and issue a report.
Mayor Leonard Bunnell is asking the commission to allow the town to lease a portion of PTA Lane in Uncasville to Dominic Carpionato, a Rhode Island-based commercial developer whose previous attempt to develop the land for a "large-format" operation voters defeated in July.
In July, voters were asked to transfer the road to Carpionato.
Bunnell is making the request without disclosing any details about the project Carpionato wants to build. The only information that has been released is that it will provide jobs and tax revenue with no specifics.
Bunnell, who could not be reached to comment Monday, asked the commission to make a decision Tuesday.
If the lease is approved, Carpionato would realign PTA Lane at his own expense. This will maintain two-way public access from Route 32 to the school, "with no change in location of access" to Route 32 and the school, Land Use Director Dennis Goderre wrote in a memo to the commission.
An original proposal rejected by voters and the one being discussed Tuesday called for the displacement and relocation of residents in a mobile home park on Golden Road, which adjoins PTA Lane in a loop.
Carpionato owns about 10 acres at 87 PTA Lane, across the street from the mobile home park. He does not own the mobile home property.
Carpionato previously said his company would work with the park's tenants "to achieve a positive outcome for all."
The town said that properties that sit directly on Route 32, which includes the 30 mobile homes at 15 Golden Road, 1905 Route 32, 73 PTA Lane and 25 PTA Lane, offer "substantial development opportunity."
Most residents of the mobile homes have said they don't want to leave the park. Some have lived there for decades and are worried about where they would go if displaced.
Goderre said residents in a mobile home park have protective rights when an owner sells the land, including "certain notices and financial assistance."
He added the playground at the school would have to be taken down and replaced with one up to modern standards, like ADA accessibility, and moved to the rear of the building.
The town would also require Carpionato to extend the sidewalks from Route 32 to the school entrance along Golden Road and PTA Lane, and putting in a new traffic light at the intersection with Golden Road.
The town also wants Carpionato to install sidewalks on both sides of Route 32, leading to the Montville Commons plaza, with Stop & Shop and Home Depot, across the street. It also wants more signs and crossing signals to improve pedestrian safety.
Approving the lease, town officials said, would provide the town much needed revenue and a chance to develop the "underutilized" area of PTA Lane and Golden Road. Bunnell has previously said the town is in "dire" need of more commercial tax revenue.
Goderre said letting the developer build this project could "create jobs, bring visitors and supports needs of local consumers."
Officials break ground on 120-unit Benedict Court in Greenwich
Greenwich officials gathered Friday to mark the groundbreaking of Benedict Court, a 120-unit multifamily development at 19 Benedict Place in downtown Greenwich.
The six-story building is being developed by Lonicera Partners and Nimbus Properties, with design by BKSK Architects, and is slated for completion in 2028.
Forty percent of the units — 48 apartments — will be set aside for moderate-income households, in collaboration with the Town of Greenwich and Greenwich Affordable Housing Trust Fund, officials said.
“Benedict Court’s affordability mix meets Connecticut’s 8-30g statute and represents a way to provide housing options for those who work in town but can’t afford to live here but who also earn too much to qualify for conventional affordable housing,” said Phil Wharton, a partner at Nimbus Properties. “They’ve been stuck in the middle — until now.”
The building will include a mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom apartment units, with all parking located below grade. Amenities will include a fitness center, resident dining room, private library, coworking space and a shared rooftop terrace.
Thousands of housing units, new hotels and a massive Amazon fulfillment center are part of the next wave of major development taking shape across Connecticut.
In this special report, Hartford Business Journal examines four development efforts — from Bridgeport’s waterfront and the neighborhood around Hartford’s Dunkin’ Park to a vacant Enfield corporate campus and a long-stalled industrial site on the Waterbury-Naugatuck border.
The stories explore what’s being built, what developers envision next and how financing, public investment and market demand will shape the pace of construction.
Check them out here:
After 25 years, massive Bridgeport waterfront redevelopment enters new phase
With a 420-unit apartment complex welcoming residents and a hotel under construction, Steelpointe Harbor’s developer is planning a residential tower as part of a broader vision for roughly 2,000 apartments and condominiums.
Read the storySalvatore envisions up to 2,500 apartments around Hartford’s Dunkin’ Park
Developer Randy Salvatore’s plans for North Crossing and the former Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute campus could bring roughly 2,500 apartments and a boutique hotel to the ballpark neighborhood. The buildout could take another decade.
Read the storyDormant Enfield corporate office campus set for nearly 500-unit residential redevelopment
A roughly $150 million plan would transform the former MassMutual campus into apartments, for-sale townhomes and commercial space. Developer MB Financial hopes to begin the office conversion and first phase of townhouse construction in early 2027.
3.2M-sq.-ft. Amazon fulfillment center rises on Waterbury-Naugatuck border
The multilevel facility is expected to be completed in 2027 and employ about 1,000 people. Its construction follows decades of unsuccessful efforts to develop the site and adds to Amazon’s expanding Connecticut footprint.
Read the story