Bridgeport crane company proposes redeveloping Stratford property into storage yard
STRATFORD — A Bridgeport crane and rigging company is
seeking approval to transform property on Stratford's west side into a
construction equipment storage yard, giving the company a second location in
the region.
The applicant, 348 Surf Avenue LLC, has submitted a coastal
site plan and erosion and sediment control plan to redevelop about 1.1 acres
spanning several adjacent parcels on Surf Avenue and Charles Street, adjacent
to the Interstate 95 southbound Surf Avenue exit.
The property would become a second location for A&A
Crane and Riggings, which has provided crane, rigging and trucking services in
the Bridgeport area for about 30 years. The company currently operates from 900
Rusciana Ave. in Bridgeport.
The site, which is in Stratford's light manufacturing zone,
is currently occupied by Barre Granite Memorials, a stone monument
manufacturing and sales business that has operated there since the 1940s. Owner
Donna Miller said the business plans to relocate to a smaller location
elsewhere in Stratford later this year.
According to the application, the property contains three
structures — a garage and two commercial buildings — and is in poor condition,
resembling a junkyard.
Plans call for demolishing the garage, renovating the two
remaining buildings, installing new lighting and landscaping, and replacing
existing asphalt parking areas with gravel and crushed stone. A new
12-foot-wide gravel driveway would be built from Charles Street while the
existing driveway from Surf Avenue would remain.
About 15 to 20 pieces of construction equipment would be
stored on the site, including mobile cranes parked outdoors. Air handling units
and generators would be stored inside the buildings.
The yard would generally operate Monday through Friday from
7 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., although employees could access the property earlier for
out-of-state jobs. The application says the site would typically be used only
three or four days a week and is not expected to generate offensive noise,
smoke, odors, dust or excessive vibration.
The proposal is before the Stratford Zoning Commission,
which continued its public hearing until July 22 to allow review of outstanding
information.
The state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection
also recommended changes to the project's stormwater management plan, including
the use of permeable paving materials such as permeable asphalt to reduce
runoff, according to meeting minutes.
Shelton may forgo state funding to speed up Constitution Boulevard project
SHELTON — With completion of the first phase of the
Constitution Boulevard work in sight, Mayor Mark Lauretti may turn down state
funds, instead dipping into the city's coffers to pay for the remaining two
phases.
Paving on phase one of the Constitution
Boulevard West extension — from Bridgeport Avenue up the
hillside — is expected to be completed by year’s end, according to
Lauretti.
This work comes some three years after initial
groundbreaking, with the delays a product of state Department of Transportation
requirements demanded as part of accepting $5 million in Connecticut grant
money for the project.
It is those requirements — and potential for future
delays — that has Lauretti rethinking accepting future state monetary
awards for the final two phases and instead paying out of city
coffers. Lauretti did not have an estimated figure for the work as city
officials await bids for the second phase of the road creation which focuses on
roadways inside the Mas property, home to what the mayor envisions
as a
manufacturing hub.
“We may just fund the rest ourselves,” Lauretti told Shelton
Economic Development Corp. board members and guests during a tour of the site
Tuesday.
“But we have all the delays from the state for Phase One
behind us now,” Lauretti added. “We hope to pave the road (up to the Mas
property) by the end of the year.”
That paving plan involves the lowering of Cots Street by 8
to 10 feet to meet the roadway leading to the Mas property.
Necessary state permits entered an administrative logjam,
Lauretti said. It was during that forced hiatus the city learned it had to
purchase the state right of way along Bridgeport Avenue — where the city was to
break through to connect the road.
The city purchased the strip of land for $876,000 from the
state, land which was then leveled to allow for construction of the
roadway.
The city has been awarded some $3 million state grant for
the final two phases: phase two being the roadwork inside the Mas property,
which is currently out for bid, and phase three the final connection to Route
110.
But Lauretti said he remains unsure if he will take the
money.
“We may shift gears, bite the bullet and pay for phase two
and move forward,” Lauretti said.
Lauretti said the city owns virtually all the needed
property from Bridgeport Avenue all the way to what would be a connection on
Route 110.
“If we just fund it ourselves, we can build the road
quicker, get people on those properties and get people paying taxes,” the mayor
added.
Constitution Boulevard West — long just a concept on
paper — will allow development of the nearly 76 acres known as the Mas
property, which has been landlocked. The city has already agreed to sell
portions to various companies, including Bigelow Tea.
Shelton Economic Development Corp. President Sheila
O’Malley, who has obtained millions of dollars in state and federal aid for
various projects over the years, says accepting state funds can add 6 to 9
months to a timeline as the state demands significant paperwork and
requirements.
O’Malley said if the city accepts the $1.6 million for phase
two, it would be required to complete an engineering study for phase three — a
move that would add a year to the overall project.
“The goal is not to make money on the sale of the land,
although the city will get a significant return,” said Lauretti.
The city years ago purchased the Mas property for $600,000.
The city has reached contract agreements for nearly all 76 acres at $85,000 per
acre, which calculates to nearly $6.5 million.
“The real prize is the taxes the city will collect over the
next 40, 50 years. … Imagine what that would mean for the grand list,” Lauretti
said.
The mayor added there remains a “waiting list” to purchase
land on the Mas property. While the land has been rezoned for corporate
manufacturing, Lauretti said he has even received interest from a hotel and
banquet hall. The anchor is Bigelow Tea, which is under contract to purchase
some 25 acres and plans to build a 300,000-square-foot facility.
“We’re in a really good position here,” Lauretti said. “Now
we just have to finish this.”
Naugatuck road project will close key streets for about a month starting Monday, police say
NAUGATUCK — Motorists in Naugatuck “should
expect significant traffic impacts” as road construction begins Monday near May
Street and Lincoln Street, according to a post on the Naugatuck Police Department’s
Facebook page.
Police said these roads and intersections will be closed to
through traffic for about a month starting July 20: May Street between Donovan
Road and Mulberry Street; Lincoln Street between May Street and Auburn
Street; May Street at Donovan Road; May Street at Mulberry Street; Lincoln
Street at May Street and Auburn Street at Lincoln Street.
There will be detours, but those could change as
construction goes on, police said.
“We encourage motorists to plan ahead, allow extra travel
time and use alternate routes whenever possible,” police said. “Thank you for
your patience and cooperation as these roadway improvements are completed.”
Major changes planned for a Route 15 interchange, including removal of stop signs
It's out with the stop signs on the Wilbur
Cross Parkway near the Hamden-North Haven border,
and in with acceleration and deceleration lanes.
That’s the state Department of
Transportation’s plan for the stretch of Route 15 where drivers enter from
or exit to Whitney Avenue.
The agency recently announced
it will hold a public meeting about the project, which aims to make it
easier for drivers to merge onto the parkway, on Sept. 15 at Hamden Government
Center. It will also accept comments by email and phone for two weeks after the
meeting.
Construction could start as soon as spring 2028, depending
on availability of funding, right-of-way acquisitions and permit approvals, DOT
said.
On its webpage for the
project, DOT said it needs to ditch the stop signs because they lead
to a high number of rear-end crashes. It wants to install acceleration
lanes for both the northbound and southbound on-ramps and a deceleration lane
for the northbound off-ramp.
The interchange currently includes an Exit 51, formerly Exit
61, on the northbound side and an Exit 51 on the southbound side.
DOT plans to remove the southbound Exit 51 off-ramp as
part of the project. Drivers would instead use Exit 52, where the agency
has proposed installing a signal at the end of the ramp to allow for both left
and right turns onto Whitney Avenue.
The agency also wants to install pedestrian crossings where
the Route 15 ramps meet Whitney Avenue and build sidewalks where there is
currently a 1,500-foot gap along the road.
In addition, a wooden noise barrier along Route 15
southbound would be replaced.
The estimated cost of the construction is about $28 million.
In all, 80% of the project’s funding is expected to come from the federal
government.
DOT previously provided a cost estimate of $19.6 million,
but agency spokesperson Joe Cooper said that figure was from the “conceptual
design phase.”
“It later increased to $27.6 million to reflect design
updates, including the addition of a retaining wall adjacent to the Mill River
and acceleration lane onto Route 15 northbound,” Cooper said.
With both the design and construction costs included, the
total estimated cost of the project is $32 million, he said.
Last year, the agency was considering adding bike lanes to
Whitney Avenue as part of the project, but DOT did not immediately return a
request for comment on whether bike lanes are still part of the plan.
New Hopkins School Gibbs Innovation Center building gets green light in New Haven
NEW HAVEN — The private Hopkins
School, located on a hill overlooking the Westville section, will
build a 35,137-square-foot building to expand research, robotics and
technology programs and house the Gibbs Center for Innovation after
winning unanimous approval from the New Haven City Plan
Commission.
The CPC approved the project — funded by a
record $50 million gift from Hopkins alumnus John
C. Malone, the Milford-born billionaire founder and chairman emeritus
of Liberty
Media Corporation — Wednesday. Malone graduated from Hopkins in
1959.
Approval came after Hopkins representatives assured
members that all truck traffic would enter only between rush hours and only off
Forest Road, which is a state highway.
The project would be built on 2.9 acres of the historic prep
school’s leafy 101-acre campus, located on a hill at 986 Forest Rd.
overlooking Westville.
Several of the dozen or so neighbors who spoke raised
questions about trucks, dust and traffic. Concerns were fueled in part by
memories of Hopkins' last big construction project, a now-completed performing
arts center, known as "APAC," that is located near the 366-year-old
school's northern boundary, off Knollwood Drive.
That project caused problems for neighbors, several of whom
said they would like to see the private school, which is the third oldest
independent school in the nation, install sidewalks along Knollwood, which
doesn't have them.
The commission stopped short of requiring that, but Hopkins
representatives didn't rule out the possibility.
Trucks for the APAC project entered from a
different entrance off residential Knollwood Drive, not Forest Road, which is
state Route 122, members of Hopkins' development team said. Forest Road is what
West Haven's Campbell Avenue becomes north of the Boston Post Road.
Much of the truck traffic would be expected to come through
West Haven, off Interstate 95 Exit 43, members of Hopkins' development team
said. But Route 122, while residential north of Route 34, is a much wider
street than Knollwood.
Hopkins attorney Meaghan Miles of Carmody & Torrance
said trucks would only be allowed to enter and exit the campus between the
hours of 8:30 a.m. and 3 p.m., and only through the Forest Road entrance.
The Knollwood Drive entrance, which was used a few years ago
for the APAC project, "wouldn't work" because trucks would have to
drive the length of Hopkins main quadrangle to get to the new construction
site, she said.
"Hopkins' interest in (controlling) trucks is aligned
with the neighborhood, because those trucks affect their students," Miles
said.
City Plan Commission member and Westville Alder Adam
Marchand, D-25, who lives nearby and whose ward borders the campus, said he was
glad to see "that you're not going through Upper Westville." But he
expressed concerns because "it's a very steep hill getting up there. I
know, because I ride my bike up there."
Westville Alder Amy Marx, D-26, who lives on Knollwood,
raised questions about the quality of Hopkins' communication with its
neighbors, pointing out that she represents "almost all the houses noted
on the maps," yet she received no notice of the proceedings.
Marx pointed out that "noise carries in this
neighborhood. I hear noise all the way down at 290 Knollwood Drive from the
football field." She also expressed concerns about traffic.
Forest Road "is an old carriage road" and "we
have serious concerns about how many trucks" it can handle, Marx
said. She suggested that it might be a good idea for the commission to
require a traffic study as a condition of approval. She also was one of the
people to suggest that Hopkins install sidewalks.
The City Plan Commission did not include either as a
condition.
More generally, "we have a problem" with Hopkins
parents and employees "not being good neighbors," Marx said.
"...We have a lot of people thath treat Knollwood Driveway like a motor
speedway."
Miles later responded to Marx, saying her office "sent
out a little over 250 letters, including on the West Haven side." She said
it's in Hopkins' interest, as well as that of neighbors, for the
trucks not to disrupt people in the neighborhood or on campus.
Tim Appelbee, an architect with the S/L/A/M Collaborative in
Glastonbuy, said they anticipate about 1,400 trucks over 96 days, with a
maximum of 4.5 trucks per hour. He pointed out that the APAC project,
unlike this one, "was right next to Knollwood Drive.
Other neighbors expressed concerns, including Davis Darsch,
who lives across Forest Road from the entrance, who said he worried the
construction would make the traffic situation worse. Darsch asked for
measures to slow construction traffic and enhance safety, including possibly
installing convex mirrors to help guide trucks entering and existing.
"I'm not objecting to the building, itself. I'm asking
for protections for people who live directly across Forest Road from the
campus," Darsch said.
Corey Smith of Knollwood Drive said he worried about impact
on the neighborhood. "We've gone through two previous construction
projects with Hopkins," including the APAC project and tennis courts,
and the local impact in both cases went beyond what neighbors were led to
believe, he said.
"What we found were many trucks ended up idling on
Knollwood," with "heavy traffic in the mornings ... and it really
creates a dangerous situation," Smith said.
Erica Garcia-Young, who lives on Allston Avenue on the
opposite side of Forest Road, said that a few years ago, "neighbors and I
had to work with Hopkins because students were advised to park along Allston
Avenue" during a previous project.
Lauren Hui of Oliver Road, also off Forest Road, said she
also was concerned about trucks "using streets for idling or
staging." She said she would like to see signs posted, stating, 'No
construction traffic allowed along neighboring roads.'"
The area where the center would rise is now a lawn, known as
Pratt Field, and temporary parking lot at the southern end of the campus
quadrangle. It is just south of Thompson Hall on the campus, the application
states.
The Gibbs Center is named after pioneering scientist Josiah
Willard Gibbs, another Hopkins alumnus — Class of 1854 — whom Albert Einstein
once hailed as “the greatest mind in American history,” according to the
application.
The Georgian Revival facility would include a robotics
design and competition studio — for a program that now serves more than 130
students — and a 2,500-square-foot research center for the school’s Hopkins
Authentic Research Program in Science, known as HARPS.
It also would include computer science classrooms, an
innovation and fabrication space for engineering, entrepreneurship and
interdisciplinary projects, a digital media production studio, a learning
center, flexible classrooms and a 360-degree immersive theater, according
to the plans.
The design was prepared by The S/L/A/M Collaborative of
Glastonbury, Tighe & Bond, Salas O’Brien and Cavanaugh Tocci Associates
Inc. Construction is anticipated to begin in March 2027 and be completed in
August 2028.