CT Construction Digest November 26, 2013

14 arrested in protest of Stamford based UBS

STAMFORD -- A platoon of protesters who oppose what they said is UBS' support of destructive mining operations in Appalachia descended on the city Monday, climbing a downtown construction crane to hang a huge banner, while others got into the financial giant's Stamford headquarters and chained themselves to a railing and the front door. The protesters created havoc for police, who closed streets and rounded up members of the group during the late morning and early afternoon. They arrested 14 people in connection with the protests.The events began when the protesters climbed the crane before dawn Monday morning at the site of a 15-story building under construction next to the Majestic movie theater on Summer Street. Three people went out on the crane boom 20 stories above the ground, while two of those hanging below the boom on ropes unfurled a 40-foot by 60-foot banner that said "UBS Stop Funding Mountaintop Removal."  For a time in the gusty winds, the two men hanging at each of the lower corners of the banner appeared to be in some danger. The boom was blowing with the wind and with the banner acting like a sail, it swung the boom and blew one of the protesters into the building. The bottom right corner of the banner was cut when it got snagged on a metal girder.

OSHA cites firm in Stamford crane crash

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited Concavage Marine Construction for “willful and serious workplace safety violations” following a May 22 crane collapse at the Avalon Bay Marina in Stamford.  The marine construction contractor, based in Port Chester, N.Y., had been hired to replace and repair storm-damaged pilings at the marina and faces $165,200 in proposed fines following an inspection by OSHA’s Bridgeport Area Office.
While installing pilings, the 80-foot boom of the barge-mounted crane fell over backward, bouncing off the stays of a sailboat and landing on top of a yacht. OSHA’s inspection found that the crane lacked boom stops and a boom hoist limiting device, necessary safety devices that would have prevented the boom from falling backward. The crane had not been inspected by a competent person who could have identified these and other hazards, according to OSHA, which said the hazards resulted in two willful citations carrying $98,000 in fines. A willful violation is one committed with intentional disregard for the law’s requirements, or with plain indifference to worker safety and health.

$20M makeover for vacant Hartford apartment building

Downtown Hartford is getting a lot of attention for its housing conversions, but there is work being done in the city's North End too: a $20 million makeover for a row of nine historic apartment buildings on Vine Street at a pivotal corner off Albany Avenue.
The Horace Bushnell Apartments, built between 1922 and 1925, have long been an eyesore, the majority of the buildings boarded up and vacant for several years.Now, workers are gutting the interiors and reconfiguring apartment layouts with modern open-floor plans, said Daniel O. Mérida, executive director of Sheldon Oak Central Inc., a non-profit developer of housing in city neighborhoods. The building closest to the corner of Vine Street and Albany Avenue will be outfitted with a first-floor community center for tenants' use.

Norteast Utilities finishes greater Springfield reliability project under budget

Northeast Utilities has completed the last few transmission components of its Greater Springfield Reliability Project, which the company hailed as coming in on-time and under-budget even as the project dealt with the major storms of recent years.The upgrade — finished late last week and announced Monday — will increase the flow of power around Springfield and north-central Connecticut, much like adding more lanes and more ramps to a highway would improve how traffic moves around a congested area."This improves the flow of power to the street system," said utility spokesman Frank Poirot. The utility, whose divisions include Connecticut Light & Power and Yankee Gas, upgraded 39 miles of transmission lines from Bloomfield to Ludlow, Mass., adding hundreds of tall steel transmission structures and improved substations and switching stations along the way.

 

 

CT Construction Digest November 25, 2013

Regional towns looking for Fastrak connection

The state Department of Transportation is making few changes to local bus routes feeding into the CT Fastrak system in the towns surrounding New Britain.

DOT officials hope to have Fastrak, the busway that will shuttle riders between New Britain and Hartford, operational in 15 months, by February 2015. The state has opened a comment period on bus routes that service the region.  Local towns hope DOT will add more bus routes or more times when buses travel through their towns, as a way to help residents connect to and from the Fastrak system.

Under the current plan, DOT will keep about the same number of buses running the same routes through Berlin and Plainville. Express buses will continue to stop once in Southington before swooping up to Hartford.  Michael Sanders, DOT transit administrator who will oversee the busway once it is operational, said the CT Transit busway is about linking places together.

“The more connections we can build in the better,” he said.

Sanders said DOT has already talked about adding more feeder routes that carry passengers to CT Fastrak.  However, the routes on the map currently are the routes DOT is committing to for the start of busway service, Sanders said.

 

Developer seeks tax breaks on stalled Norwich Hospital project

 

A long-vacant hotel project at Norwich’s southern gateway may be revived through tax breaks that a new investment team says will finally spark construction on a planned 113-room Hampton Inn. Known as tax increment financing, or TIF, the request by Raleigh, N.C.-based Winston Hospitality Inc. seeks a 20-year abatement that would allow it to use $2.94 million it otherwise would have paid to the city in taxes to fill a funding gap currently preventing the project from moving forward.Last week, aldermen decided the concept was worthy of consideration and charged City Manager Alan Bergren, Comptroller Josh Pothier and Norwich’s legal team with reviewing the proposal and reporting its findings to the incoming council on Dec. 16.“The city will not put any money in as an outlay. It will be money we repay for a period of time. That’s a way we can get this project off the ground and under way,” company CEO Robert W. Winston III told the City Council last Monday. “The vast majority of total capital that is going to be deployed to do this project will come from financial institutions and through our own equity.”

Regulators issue final approval for $7B natural gas expansion

 

The Connecticut Public Utilities Regulatory Authority on Friday issued a final ruling granting approval of Gov. Dannel P. Malloy's plan to add 280,000 customers to the natural gas home heating system, with total costs expected to reach $7 billion.
PURA had issued a draft decision on Nov. 6 approving the plan, and made the final ruling Friday after hearing testimony and rebuttals to that initial approval.
Friday's decision gives natural gas utilities Yankee Gas, Connecticut Natural Gas, and Southern Connecticut Gas more flexibility in making customer conversions more economical, in order to meet Malloy's plan to make natural gas the home heating fuel of choice in Connecticut. Currently, more than half of the state businesses and residents heat with fuel oil.

CT DOT offering options for bridging Flower Street

After Hartford community groups panned the first set of proposals for a new Flower Street pedestrian overpass above the CTfastrak busway, state engineers are back with options ranging from a helix ramp to a set of double elevators linked by a bridge. The various options would cost anywhere from $4.36 million to $9.58 million, according to Department of Transportation estimates. Each of the five designs has a different set of advantages and drawbacks, busway designers say. Some get high marks for providing a relatively short detour for bicyclists, pedestrians and wheelchairs users, but require frequent and expensive maintenance. The costliest option requires complex construction and create a laborious route for walkers, while one of the less costly choices would require narrowing Flower Street to accommodate a lengthy pedestrian ramp, according to a DOT analysis. CTfastrak designers have begun meeting with neighborhood organizations to get reactions to the designs, and the DOT says it wants to settle on one next year so it can seek contractors' bids. The DOT hasn't set aside funding yet, but has pledged that it will pay for the project.

Regulators give final approval for natural gas

State regulators Friday gave final approval to the Malloy administration's ambitious plan to expand Connecticut's natural gas infrastructure, adding 280,000 new customers over 10 years. It targets those who are on or relatively near gas mains, as well as those farther from pipelines who can cost-effectively convert.  Natural gas prices have dropped significantly in recent years as new drilling techniques, like hydraulic fracturing, have made extracting the fuel a vastly cheaper process.
In their decision, the regulators outlined premium rates for new customers and established business rules for how gas companies evaluate new pipeline construction. The plan met strong opposition from heating oil dealers in Connecticut, and an industry group said in a statement Friday night that it is considering unspecified "legal action" against the plan. Low prices in recent years have proven tough enough for the largely family-owned oil businesses. In their eyes, a state-led effort to expand the availability of the already fiercely competitive fuel was not good news.

 

 

 

CT Construction Digest November 22, 2013

Fort Trumbull developer, city fail to reach agreement

New London - Formal talks have broken down between the developers who proposed building housing in Fort Trumbull and the Renaissance City Development Association.
Months-long mediation between RCDA and father-and-son developers Irwin and Robert Stillman of River Bank Construction did not result in an agreement, RCDA President Linda Mariani said Thursday.But the RCDA has not given up on development of the first phase of the proposed 103-unit, Village on the Green."Mediation produced no agreement. ...But we've been talking with the Stillmans to see if there's any chance this beautiful project can happen," Mariani said.
But, she added, at the December RCDA meeting, the board will consider cutting ties with the Stillmans if there is no new agreement in place. "I'm always optimistic, but it's really hard because it has taken so long to get an agreement," she said. "By the first of the year, we'll know."
The Stillmans have been working on the project since 2009, when they were granted prime developer status for about 7 acres in Fort Trumbull. Last spring, the Stillmans were preparing to sign the final papers and break ground on the first 34 units, but the RCDA refused to turn the land over after a dispute about how the $18 million to $20 million project was going to be financed. The Stillmans were prepared to self-finance the project, but the RCDA wanted assurances in the contract.
The two sides were in mediation until recently. The RCDA maintains the Stillmans are in default of the contract. The Stillmans believe the RCDA breached the agreement. Reached by email Thursday, Robert Stillman declined to comment. Mariani said the Stillmans are planning to apply for financing through Competitive Housing Assistance for Multifamily Properties, a state program through the Department of Economic and Community Development that offers low-interest loans and grants that address affordable housing needs.

East Lyme commission approves small change in Gateway Commons project

 East Lyme - The Zoning Commission voted Thursday to allow five additional units, a total of 280 overall, for the initial residential phase of the long-planned Gateway Commons development.
In June, the commission approved a final plan for 275 residential rental units, the maximum number allowed in the zoning regulations for the proposed development near Interstate 95's Exit 74.
The residential and commercial village, for which the town approved a master plan five years ago, had stalled during the economic downturn. The commercial phase has yet to come before the commission, but the developers are in negotiations with the state regarding reconfiguring the Exit 74 ramps, a component of the overall plan, said Chairman Marc Salerno at Thursday's meeting.
The developers' lawyer asked to amend the regulations governing the planned development, which the town adopted several years ago, to allow five more rental units. The additional units would not change the project's footprint but would maximize unused spaces in the 10 buildings, he said.
Rocco Tricarico, one of three residents who spoke during the public hearing, said the five additional units were inconsequential, but the commission should have held a public hearing in June regarding the final residential site plan. He argued that there were significant changes to the project's master plan, such as more clustered housing and a residential component preceding the commercial one.
"In five years, we have heard nothing from the developers," he added, saying there were no outreach efforts, the way there were when they proposed the project years ago. The commission had held several public hearings years ago over the master plan, but the zoning regulations do not require a public hearing for the final site plan when the plan substantially conforms to the original master plan. The original master plan dropped the total number of units from about 475 to 275 units following public input. 

CT projects help grow Oct. construction market

 Groundbreakings on three major Connecticut developments helped boost the overall value of October construction starts by 5 percent, McGraw Hill Construction said in a report this week. The report cites Foxwoods' $120 million Tanger outlet mall, as well as two high-school construction projects totaling $169 million.They include additions and renovations at Orville H. Platt High School in Meriden and Wethersfield High School, McGraw said. Despite Connecticut's construction contributions, massive manufacturing plants in Iowa, West Virginia and Louisiana, as well as the start of a $2.8-billion replacement project at the Tappan Zee Bridge in New York represented much of the year-over-year gain, McGraw said.

Massive makeover planned for state office building in Hartford

The state plans a massive redevelopment of its office building opposite The Bushnell in Hartford — including the addition of a new parking garage — with the building being quietly figured into future space consolidation plans.The project, now estimated to cost $147 million, includes a top-to-bottom renovation of the 1931 building at 165 Capitol Ave. In addition, a parking garage would be constructed either just to the east of the building where there is a vast surface lot or to replace another existing garage on nearby Buckingham Street.“Everything in the building has to be modernized,” Jeffrey Beckham, a spokesman for the state Department of Administrative Services, told me. “She’s showing her age.”The plans, Beckham said, are at the earliest stages but are likely to include a complete gutting of the interior of the building and the possible elimination of interior, open-air courtyards. All the systems — heating, cooling and elevators — would be replaced, he said.
Beckham said some of the funds for the project have already been allocated but he declined to say how much, citing the project going out to competitive bidding.The building now holds 900 state office workers, mostly in the departments of education, administrative services, agriculture and consumer protection. But Beckham said a reconfiguration of office space in a modern floor plan could probably accommodate double the number of workers.That could make the building, at the corner of Capitol and Washington streets, key to the state’s plan to consolidate its office workers in fewer leased spaces to save money.Earlier this year, the state purchased two buildings in Hartford — 55 Farmington Ave. in Asylum Hill and Connecticut River Plaza in downtown — to help accomplish that goal.The purchase and renovation of those structures — totaling about 860,000 square feet — is expected to cost about $123 million. The state said it expects to save $100 million over 20 years in leasing costs by purchasing those buildings.Beckham said the state has selected Amenta/Emma, a Hartford architectural firm, to conduct a design study with development options. A report is due some time next year, Beckham said.

City seeks site for school

WATERBURY — Officials hoping to build a new elementary school in the East End are looking for a flat piece of land, with no pollution, preferably already owned by the city and with no need to displace any residents or businesses. But in a densely developed and hilly city with a long history of industrialization, it's hard to be too choosy. So school officials have set a list of priorities to help guide a private company hired to find a building site. The design and architectural firm Silver/Petrucelli + Associates has been hired to a roughly $25,000 contract, said Paul Guidone, chief operating officer and chief of staff for city schools. Silver/Petrucelli is expected to supply a list of possible sites in January. Guidone, working with consultant O&G Industries, set a list of priorities, along with boundaries for its search. These were shared with the Board of Education's Building Committee on Nov. 13, and generally agreed upon, Guidone said. The boundary chosen for the East End school search follows Wolcott Street from the Wolcott town line down through Hamilton Park, and then along Route 69 (Hamilton Avenue and Prospect Road) out to the Prospect town line.
School officials set their priorities as:
1) Size and shape of the property (at least five acres).
2) Reduction of student enrollment at Chase and Generali elementary schools.
3) A connection with the neighborhood and safety, including presence of sidewalks.
4) City-owned property preferred. Minimize acquisition of occupied space and subtraction from the taxable grand list.
5) Availability of sewer, gas, electric, stormwater and other utilities.
6) Level land preferred, followed by terraced land and lastly sloped.
7) Try to avoid polluted soils and groundwater.

Southbury suit is justified

Connecticut Attorney General George C. Jepsen has filed an antitrust lawsuit against three companies, and their respective top executives, that long had an informal agreement with Southbury to plow about a quarter of the town's roads. The Republican-American reported Mr. Jepsen contends the men launched "an illegal boycott and bid-rigging scheme" in the midst of the freak October 2011 snowstorm. The events that precipitated the suit are points of disgrace for town government, the companies and their executives. We're often leery of lawsuits, but this one is justified. In late 2010, the Republican-American and Sunday Republican exposed Southbury's questionable bidding procedures. Subsequently, the town rewrote its rules and severed the aforementioned agreement; the work was put to bid for the first time in decades. However, Southbury, then led by First Selectman H. William Davis Jr., waited until just before the storm to solicit bids. This inexcusable failure was disrespectful to residents and businesses. Obviously, unplowed roads are dangerous and a source of disruption, and bidding should have been done months in advance. The hold-up is especially egregious considering it's not unprecedented for Connecticut to see snow in October. As we asserted in a Nov. 11, 2011 editorial, the procrastination was rooted in town government's zero-accountability culture, and contributed to the town's "circus image." According to the suit, Harry H. "Chuck" Stone, Kevin W. Starchak and George H. Stone Jr., of H.I. Stone & Son, S&S Asphalt Paving Inc., and Stone Construction Co., respectively, were angry that their former plowing work would be open to bid. Days before the storm, they were asked to plow as usual, but, according to Mr. Jepsen, the executives knew "that an impending nor'easter gave them a unique form of leverage and opportunity (and) immediately began colluding and jointly refused to deal with the town ... unless they were given a guaranteed minimum contract." He summed up their attitude as "Agree to our demand to award us the work on our terms, or face the likelihood that a significant swath of town roads would be impassable." As a result, Mr. Davis called an emergency selectmen's meeting for Oct. 28, the day before the storm hit. The bidding policy was waived and the companies were granted a 75-hour contract, for $95 per hour. When it expired, they bid on a new one. The lawsuit alleges the executives conspired to submit rigged bids at rates — $125 per hour — significantly higher than they previously had been paid. They were awarded new contracts on Dec. 1, 2011. If Mr. Jepsen's version of events is accurate, the executives contemptibly used a serious situation to their financial advantage. In a Nov. 28, 2011 letter to the editor, Chuck Stone insisted they held firm because "it was not economical to plow one storm without knowing we would have the contract," yet when one takes the obstinacy in conjunction with the subsequent bids, it is hard to dispute Mr. Jepsen's assertions. According to Public Works Director Tom Crowe, this contract will not go to bid again until 2016. When it expires, the town owes it to residents and businesses to make sure a new one is in place well before snow season.

CT Construction Digest November 21, 2013

Press Release from Senator Dante Bartolomeo

Bartolomeo: State-of-the-Art Training Will Create Jobs and Energy Opportunities for Connecticut

Senator Bartolomeo is given a demonstration of pipeline construction equipment led by Bill Richards of Henkels & McCoy Construction. A $4 million investment from the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 478 has allowed for the creation of a training program in Meriden that will teach unemployed and underemployed construction workers to work on the expansion of Connecticut’s natural gas pipeline, which Senator Bartolomeo supported during the 2013 legislative session.

MERIDEN, CT—New jobs and affordable energy solutions are coming to Connecticut as the result of the Comprehensive Energy Strategy passed this year by the General Assembly and backed by Governor Dannel P. Malloy. Senator Danté Bartolomeo backed this ambitious strategy when it came before the legislature during the 2013 session, and welcomed the recent announcement of $4 million in funding from the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 478 to train unemployed and underemployed workers at their Meriden facility.


Pine Valley lots , bowling plans approved

SOUTHINGTON — The Planning and Zoning Commission unanimously approved a special permit use application to transform nine of the 18 holes at Pine Valley Golf Course into a residential subdivision. It also at its meeting Tuesday night approved a site plan to renovate a former distribution warehouse on Spring Street into a bowling alley and restaurant. Ninety-four lots would eliminate half of the holes at Pine Valley Golf Course on Welch Road. The subdivision is planned to be single-family homes priced from $470,000 to $600,000. It could take up to five years to complete. Plans for the development, proposed by Lovely Development Inc., include keeping 70 acres of the 138-acre property for open space.  Residents were concerned during the public hearing on Nov. 6 that there would be a lot of construction traffic on West Pines Drive. After hearing some complaints, David Lavallee, the acting town planner, said the applicant “reached out to some of the neighboring properties” and decided to use an alternate entrance for construction traffic.

“I’m delighted the applicant had the opportunity to reach out to some of the residents,” said Michael DelSanto, the chairman of the commission. Commission members were excited about the development.  “I think this is a win all around,” said Paul Chaplinsky, the vice chairman of the commission. “I think the developers put together a good plan.”

“I’m looking forward to seeing this project come to fruition,” DelSanto said.

 

Two plans being considered for athletic complex

 

WALLINGFORD — After receiving details on two different plans for Lyman Hall High School’s athletic complex on Monday, Buildings and Grounds Supervisor Marc Deptula is hopeful the Board of Education will approve one during a meeting next week to move the project forward.

“We’ll know more after they meet in executive session with how the board wants me to move this thing,” Deptula said. “Hopefully they have something favorable to tell me. I’d like to move forward.”

The school system has been trying to build a new athletic complex at Lyman Hall that would consist of a new track, all-weather turf field and lighting system. However, numerous factors have delayed the project — mainly issues with funding.  During an operations committee meeting Monday night, an architect presented a brief overview of the two plans for the athletic complex. Both plans consists of two phases needed to complete the project, both of which would be done during the summer.

The largest difference between the two plans is the size of the new track, according to Deptula. One plan consists of an eight-lane track, the other a six-lane track with an eight lane straightaway, Deptula said. Administrators made it a priority in the past to upgrade the track, install new lights and a lighting system, and add handicapped-accessible bathrooms. The phases of each plan may not consist of those things in that order, Deptula said, because the focus is being put on the track and field.

 

Paving work begins on Thames Street in Groton

 

Workers began paving Thames Street from the end of Bridge Street to Latham Street Wednesday, and will put on a second coat of asphalt today. The road will be closed from Bridge Street to Latham Street while the paving is done during the day, but businesses and homes will be accessible via side streets. Thames Street will be open by evening, said Gary Parker, of Milone & MacBroom, the design and construction administrator for the project. "It is heavily congested during work hours, so if people have alternative routes, we'd advise them to take them," he said. Voters passed a $6.37 million bond referendum in May 2011 to reconstruct the street, and after some waiting, the work started in July. Parker said the project is on budget. The company finished drainage improvements from Bridge Street to School Street earlier this year and has installed new sidewalks and granite curbing along about two-thirds of the road. Once paving is completed, workers will finish some driveway paving and cleanup work next week. "It's going to be nice when it gets done," said Penny Kormylo, who works at Circle Auto Body on Bridge Street. The second phase of road reconstruction will add off-street parking near a portion of city-owned land on the river side near Garbo's Lobster Co., along with the basic improvements, Parker said. Work on that section of Thames Street will be done in the spring. Milone & MacBroom had been working with a crew of about a dozen, but had 20 on the project Wednesday. Parker said the company had hoped to reach Fort Street, but AT&T still has utility poles to relocate, so the paving will end about 100 feet short of that goal. 

Water tank contract awarded

The Board of Selectmen has approved two contracts totaling $108,213 for the purchase and installation of a 30,000-gallon fire protection water storage tank in North Madison. The tank will be the latest installation of the town and North Madison Volunteer Fire Department program to provide fire protection water supply sources in the northern portion of town. The town received three bids for the 30,000-gallon, single-wall, glass-fiber, reinforced plastic storage tank. The selectmen accepted the lowest bid for $43,333 from Wildco Petroleum Equipment Sales of Bloomfield. The other bids were $47,925 from Chemswap.com and $49,500 from Blake Equipment Company, Inc. There were also three bids for the installation and associated construction of the water storage tank. The selectmen selected the low bid of $64,880 from Schumack Engineered Construction of Clinton. The other bids were from Machnik Brothers, Inc., for $67,600 and from Venuti Enterprises, Inc., for $83,000. This storage tank will be placed on Country Way near the intersection of Inwood Road and near St. Francis Wood, First Selectman Fillmore McPherson said. The site was chosen by the chief of the North Madison Fire Department. The North Madison Department, Town Engineer Mike Ott said, has a long-term plan laid out for this and future installations. The funding for this program is set up through a reserve fund with the town contributing $50,000 annually to the reserve. "The North Madison Department would like to install a tank every other year," Ott said. The last tank installed, however, was in the summer of 2008, Ott added. Funding, he said, was not the major issue, but instead the need to select sites and acquire easements to install the 30,000-gallon tanks on people's property.

Norwich lights the way as CT starts to push gas heat 

Norwich - Paul Blanchard’s heating system is purring like a kitten. OK, a very large kitten.
But to him, it's the sound of music. Before last winter that same system ran on oil. Now a new burner attached to his boiler runs on natural gas. “It’s the best thing we ever did,” said the retired banker, who added that he didn’t miss the smell of the oil that inevitably dripped in his basement. And the $1,200 to $1,300 he typically paid for oil: “I paid less than half of that last year with natural gas,” he said. Blanchard’s conversion happened through a program run by Norwich Public Utilities (NPU) -- one of a handful of municipal utilities in the state. The rest of the state, most of which gets power from the major utility companies, will have its own gas expansion program - slated to be finalized today by the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority.  That program is part of the state’s Comprehensive Energy Strategy, which calls for converting 280,000 homes and businesses to gas heat from oil and other fuels in the next 10 years. The goal is to take advantage of a fuel that, while not renewable, is cleaner than other traditional energy sources such as oil -- the most widely used fuel in Connecticut.  New domestic and Canadian reserves of natural gas have also made it significantly cheaper than oil in the last few years -– though prices have increased steadily since last winter and are forecast to continue rising. New England natural gas prices are predicted to remain, the highest in the nation, as they've been for decades. While pricing concerns and continued reliance on a fossil fuel have spurred in criticism from those who think the state is too focused on natural gas, the program is going ahead.  And some are thinking Norwich’s program -- Energize Norwich -- could become a model for the state program. But while Energize Norwich offers lessons on community outreach and collaboration for getting new gas customers, one of its key financial underpinnings is not likely to be replicated.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CT Construction Digest November 20, 2013

Construction Union Welcomes Malloy's Energy Approach

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy touted the benefits of his natural gas expansion plan Tuesday before a construction workers union whose industry is poised to gain jobs over the next decade under the plan.
Malloy spoke at a training center in Meriden for the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 478. The union is working to train its Connecticut members to fill pipeline construction jobs that will be created as the state greatly expands its natural gas infrastructure under a plan proposed by Malloy and recently given preliminary approval by regulators.
Under the plan, Southern Connecticut Gas, Connecticut Natural Gas, and Yankee Gas will expand 900 miles of natural gas lines to 280,000 customers. According to Energy and Environmental Protection Commissioner Daniel Esty, that likely will mean between 3,000 and 4,000 construction jobs over the next 10 years.
The plan also seeks to reduce upfront conversion costs for homeowners and businesses by increasing their rates and spreading that over a 10-year period.
Although the heating oil companies have opposed the plan and claim it will put their small, family-owned businesses out of work, Malloy was welcomed at the construction workers union shop. The construction industry was hit hard by the recession and has been slow to rebound.

Hugh McQuaid Photo

 

Gov. Malloy wearing his new jacket

The event’s organizers had affixed a large blue banner to a pipe in the garage bay. It read, “Governor Malloy Local 478 Dedicated To Connecticut’s Energy Future.” Once Malloy arrived, he was given a black Local 478 jacket with “Gov. Malloy” embroidered on one side.
Craig Metz, the local’s business manager, even offered the governor some chewing tobacco “to be a real pipeliner.” Malloy waved off the chew.
“We’re drawing the line, we’re drawing the line,” he said.

Malloy touts energy program at city training facility

MERIDEN ­— Gov. Dannel P. Malloy held a press conference at a pipe laying training facility on Cheshire Road Tuesday in an effort to build support for an energy program that includes expanding natural gas in Connecticut. The state Public Utilities Regulatory Authority is scheduled to issue a final ruling on the proposal Thursday. If approved, three gas companies would be allowed to expand service to about 280,000 new customers statewide. Malloy and other officials made remarks at the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 478 Training Center on Cheshire Road. The center trains pipe layers and others who would install and maintain natural gas transmission lines.

State Sen. Dante Bartolomeo and state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Commissioner Daniel Esty joined Malloy Tuesday. Connecticut residents have less access to natural gas than many surrounding states, Malloy said. Gas is both cleaner and cheaper than heating oil and could make the state more competitive in attracting businesses. “If we’re going to turn that around in Connecticut, we’ve got to get more natural gas into New England and into Connecticut specifically,” Malloy said. “It’s time that we address this issue.” Malloy and legislators enacted a law earlier this year allowing the regulatory authority to approve a new rate plan to finance the massive 10-year expansion. The authority said a rate increase for existing gas consumers “may be inevitable,” but it “wants to ensure that any increases in rates for existing customers are minimized.” Yankee Gas, a subsidiary of Northeast Utilities, said capital spending for the expansion would be $35 million next year and more than $96 million in the following two years. Southern Connecticut Gas Co. said capital spending would be $61 million in the three years, while Connecticut Natural Gas expects capital spending of about $47 million in the same period.

 

Workers to install narural gas pipelines VIDEO

 

MERIDEN, Conn. (WTNH)-- A big boost Tuesday for Governor Malloy's Energy Strategy. A national labor union is committing to training more workers to install hundreds of miles of new natural gas pipelines in the state. This year's General Assembly Session approved this policy of expanding natural gas to thousands more homes and businesses and Tuesday's announcement will help provide workers to build it. "We energize the new main, remove the 'hot cap' equipment and the service crews will come in and start installing the services to the new customers," said Bill Richards, Henkels & McCoy Construction. Your home or business hooked up to a main natural gas transmission line is something the Malloy Administration wants to see happen more and more over the next decade. "This is a long term vision, I know it's hard for people to wrap their minds around it...but this is really important stuff. We will not be competitive with other states if we stay at 31 percent," said Gov. Dannel Malloy, (D) Connecticut. There is just 31 percent natural gas penetration in Connecticut. That means just 31 percent of homes and businesses are able to hook up. Far, far less than are on line in New York, New Jersey and Massachusetts where energy costs are lower because of it. Because of Malloy's energy policy, the 'International Union of Operating Engineers Local in Meriden announced today they are providing $4 million to teach the art of pipeline construction to workers in need of jobs. "Making sure that you know how to do proper trenching...when you're doing transmission work, you're doing it in a very narrow area, very rough terrain," said Craig Metz, Operating Engineers Local 478.

 

Foxwood's $1B casino plan in Milford Mass rejected

 

MILFORD, Mass. — Voters gave a resounding no to Foxwoods' plan for building a $1 billion casino in the competition for a casino license in Greater Boston.  A referendum vote Tuesday resulted in 6,361 no votes and 3,480 yes votes. The measure was defeated 65 percent to 35 percent, according to complete unofficial results. The casino measure turned out 57 percent of the town's 17,400 registered voters, less than the 73 percent of voters who turned out during the presidential election in 2012.
"We respect the choice Milford voters made today," said Scott Butera, Foxwoods president and CEO. "Throughout this process we've gotten to know Milford and thousands of its residents. While we worked hard to offer a resort casino we believe would benefit the area, the town made a decision similar to many other communities across the state."  The vote was a critical step to keep alive a development plan that was one of three in Greater Boston competing for a resort casino license. After Tuesday's vote, the only proposals left standing in Greater Boston are in Revere and Everett.
Mohegan Sun's proposal for a casino in Palmer, Mass., competing for a casino license in Western Massachusetts, was rejected by voters on Nov. 5, leaving only MGM's Springfield proposal in play in the western part of the state.

Work begins on synthetic athletic fields in Hartford

Work began on the first of three new athletic fields in Hartford Tuesday, an all-weather, synthetic field at 85 Edwards St., the site of the former Quirk Middle School's west building. The city has partnered with the Cal Ripken Sr. Foundation for construction of the fields — at Quirk West, Annie Fischer School on Plainfield Street and Hyland Park on New Britain Avenue. Work on the Quirk field is expected to be complete by spring 2014, officials said. Design concepts for the other two fields will likely be finished by February, city architect Antonio Matta said, and work on the fields is expected to be complete by late summer or fall of 2014. The city contributed $4 million from its capital improvement budget for the work. Softball, baseball, soccer and football teams can play there, officials said. Last summer, members of several community and athletic groups complained of poor conditions at the city's athletic fields. They said that heavy use, a lack of maintenance and a shortage of funding were compromising the quality of the fields.

Commission approves drainage plan for South Glastonbury

GLASTONBURY — —

The plan and zoning commission unanimously approved a proposal by the town to improve drainage along a rustic country road and some of South Glastonbury's oldest farm fields.
The commission's approval was the last in a series of permits needed by the town to start the work. Those approvals included one from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; three permits — water quality, storm channel and flood — from the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection; and one permit from the DEEP's Office of Long Island Sound.

Daniel Pennington, director of physical services and the town engineer, said the project should alleviate a "long-standing storm drain problem" that has flooded homes along Dug Road and Tryon Street and left debris scattered on their lawns.

 

Pipeline training for states natural gas expansion

 

MERIDEN — Many unemployed and underemployed construction workers in Connecticut may soon find work thanks to the state's natural gas expansion proposed in Gov. Dannel P. Malloy's 2013 Comprehensive Energy Strategy. The International Union of Operating Engineers on Tuesday held a news conference and demonstration at its Local 478 Training Center here on how the workers are being taught the necessary skills to work on new gas distribution and transmission line projects.
"As you all will see, the way the Operating Engineers have always worked is we will show you instead of explain to you how we're going to maintain this work," James Callahan, the union's general president, said to about 40 union workers before the training demonstration.
The union is providing $4 million worth of equipment and construction experts for a training program begun in November to teach six-week pipeline construction classes at the 17-acre training facility on Cheshire Road. In one part of the demonstration, workers are trained to install distribution lines in the ground to bring natural gas to homes and businesses. In another area, trainees learn to use large sideboom machines to move and lay 120-foot-long pipes. In a third area resembling an enormous dirt play area for adults, trainees used bulldozers and excavators to dig trenches for the pipeline.
Keith Reinhard, an unemployed pipeline operating engineer from Cheshire, said he signed up for the Dec. 2 training session to learn how to operate clutch-controlled sidebooms.
I'm tired of bouncing around the country working," said Reinhard, 45, who has had sporadic employment for the past few years as a mechanic and working on pipelines. "Anything that'd pay the bills." During the news conference, Callahan thanked Malloy for "securing the work" with the energy strategy's passage and guaranteed the union will provide trained people to do it.
Malloy said 31 percent of Connecticut residents use natural gas to heat their homes, while the national average is 53 percent. The state also lags behind several northeastern states such as New Jersey, where 72 percent of residents use natural gas.

 

Hoping for pipeline work, A union train installers

We could be years away from a big buildout of natural gas pipelines under the state’s long-term energy plan, but when it happens it could be big. So on Tuesday, the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 478 flexed some muscle by demonstrating its new training program for unemployed and underemployed workers hoping to get into the pipeline pipeline. The Meriden-based union local would like the work to go to its members, of course, and is offering up $4 million worth of equipment for training, along with experts. “For over 100 years, Local 478 has been a top provider of highly skilled operating engineers in the state of Connecticut,” said Craig Metz, business manager for the local, in a written release. The idea, pushed hard by Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, who was on hand Tuesday, and encoded in an energy bill adopted earlier this year by lawmakers, is for the state to take advantage of natural gas supplies by building out a transmission and distribution system that regulators said could exceed 900 miles. Predictions call for a shortage of crews in a state that now adds just a tiny fraction of that pipeline amount in a typical year. The operating engineers’ training program drew a lot of cheers from labor, construction and political quarters, as Lori Pelletier, executive secretary treasurer of the state AFL-CIO called it a perfect example of government-labor cooperation.

      

CT Construction Digest November 19, 2013

CT Workers being trained in gas pipeline work

MERIDEN, Conn. (AP) — Unemployed and underemployed Connecticut construction workers are being trained to work on planned gas distribution and transmission pipeline construction projects.

It is part of a massive plan to expand natural gas service to about 280,000 new customers across the state over the next decade. Earlier this year, the General Assembly and Gov. Dannel P. Malloy authorized state regulators to approve a new rate plan to finance the expansion program. A final ruling by the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority is expected to be issued on Nov. 21.

The International Union of Operating Engineers, Local 478, is holding a news conference and training demonstration on Tuesday at the union's training center in Meriden, where 24 workers are being trained. Malloy and other officials are expected to be on hand for the event.

 

GE surprise: $15M for Newtown

 

NEWTOWN -- In a surprise move Monday night, General Electric executives told town leaders the Fairfield-based company will donate $15 million in a multiyear grant to design and build a community center for Newtown residents. First Selectman Pat Llodra said she expects the center will be located on the town-owned Fairfield Hills campus, near the Municipal Center. Llodra said this "great goodness'' from a company that employs some 150 local residents left her teary-eyed. The announcement was made just before the regular Board of Selectmen meeting. She said the gift is intended to help the town have space for every segment of the community to gather in one place, whether it is seniors playing mahjong or children who want to take art lessons.  In the 11 months since 26 people were killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School, Llodra said GE has become a generous corporate partner for the town's short- and long-term needs.  The town has had the use of four GE executives to assist in the town's recovery efforts, three of whom are scheduled to remain through early spring. Newtown has long wanted a community center that could house recreation, the arts, community-outreach services and resiliency programs under one roof. Tight finances kept the town from that goal, Llodra said.

MxCC to break ground in $1.5M project

MIDDLETOWN >> Middlesex Community College is hosting a ground-breaking ceremony to celebrate the start of construction of a new $1.55 million cafeteria. The 3,413-square-foot expansion includes a larger cafeteria and an attached, covered outdoor deck that will overlook campus that creates a new space for students and can serve as a stage for outdoor events. When complete, the cafeteria will be able to hold an additional 80 to 100 students. The ceremony will take place Nov. 25 at 9 a.m. in celebration of the new Founders Hall at 100 Training Hill Road. President of the college Anna Wasescha, President of the Board of Regents for Higher Education Dr. Gregory Gray, state and local officials, the project engineer, construction contractors, project administrators, students, faculty and staff are planning to be in attendance.  The finished construction, which is projected for August 2014, will result in the addition of a 2,027-square-foot interior space, renovation of 678 square feet of existing space, and the addition of a 1,386-square-foot exterior covered space.

59-lot subdivision goes to hearing in Glastonbury

GLASTONBURY ——

The plan and zoning commission will hold a public hearing Tuesday on one of the largest subdivisions to be proposed in town in years. Developer Jack Oliveri and Highmeadow Investment Properties LLC have proposed building 59 houses on the site of a 108-acre former sand and gravel operation off Hebron Avenue. The Penwood Crossing development would be extended into the property with a new road, Brayton Road, linking with Hebron Avenue.
"It's not the 132-lot or 108-lot developments that were going in during the 1970s, 80s and 90s," Community Development Director Kenith E. Leslie said, "but definitely the largest we've reviewed over the past five or six years."
Leslie said the development within the former MacClain Construction site "went dormant" soon after the real estate market collapsed in 2007. At that time, the developer had secured wetlands approval for the project, but never went before the commission. Leslie said no decision is expected Tuesday and the hearing will be continued to the commission's December meeting. "There is a lot of material to go over," Leslie said.

Second Hartford project secures financing

Developers converting a former office building near Hartford's Union Station into apartments completed the purchase of the building Monday and now have all financing in place.
The $14.9 million conversion of 179 Allyn St. — also known as The Professional Building — into 63 one-bedroom units is expected to get underway in early December, according to the developer, Dakota Partners. "We're looking at 10 months, and we hope to beat that," said Roberto Arista, a Dakota principal.Dakota purchased the 1880s, six-story building for $1.5 million in a foreclosure auction, Arista said.  The apartments will average about 750 square feet and rents will range between $925 and $1,025 a month, not including parking. The units will be 80 percent market rate and 20 percent "affordable," or with rents based on area income. The Nv Nightclub and the Black Bear Saloon are expected to remain tenants on the ground floor. The financing package includes $6.5 million from the Connecticut Region Development Authority's $60 million fund for promoting housing in downtown Hartford. The CRDA's funds are split between a $3.25 million equity investment and a $3.25 million loan.

Report: CT needs $836M to catch up on state college renovations

The four Connecticut State Universities and the state's 12 community colleges need an infusion of $836 million to complete necessary renovations and eliminate a growing backlog of construction projects.“There is a significant backlog,” said Jim Kadamus, a consultant with Guilford-based Sightlines, told members of the Board of Regents for Higher Education last week. The board hired the company to assess the system’s construction needs. The state has spent about $123 million a year to finance construction projects at the 16-campus public college system over the last several years. But only one-third of that funding has gone to keep up existing buildings and roads; the priority has been on new construction to handle overcrowding. “You are adding to the backlog,” Kadamus said during a 45-minute presentation to the Regents’ Finance Committee. “There is a relatively low investment [for construction] on an annual basis.” According to the Sightlines report, college systems across the country are deferring needed construction projects. Gary Holloway, a member of the finance panel, said he's trying to determine how the board can take action. But with the regents system already struggling fiscally and students recently protesting tuition increases, officials from Sightlines suggest teaming up with the state to fund these projects, an idea the Malloy administration was noncommittal about Monday.

CT Construction Digest November 18, 2013

Foxwoods mall will miss Christmas 2014

Construction realities appear to have crushed hopes that the new Tanger outlet mall at the Foxwoods casino would be open in time for next year's Christmas shopping season.
"Tanger expects to grand open Tanger Outlets at Foxwoods in the first half of 2015," said Charles Worsham, vice president of development for Tanger Outlet Centers.
That's a disappointment to Foxwoods, which had hoped to open the doors in time to capture the seasonal rush of shoppers.While Tanger officials view their first casino-related development as an experiment, Foxwoods officials are more certain that there's synergy in the marriage of destination retail and destination gaming.Foxwoods CEO Scott Butera has deep Las Vegas ties and is quick to point to the litany of successful retail ventures in and around casino properties in Sin City — the Forum Shops at Caesar's Palace, the Grand Canal Shops at the Venetian and a pair of outlet malls that bracket each end of the famed Strip.In his three years of trying to remake the debt-heavy Foxwoods, Butera has been focused on developing as many options as possible for the resorts guests. He's expanded the restaurant choices, renovated the resort's 2,200 rooms and updated the gaming floor at North America's largest casino.

Apprenticeships can lead to high-paying jobs to those without degrees

Instead of racking up debt while going to college, apprentices start earning money within their first year in the classroom.According to a recent report published by the office of Occupational Statistics and Employment Projections, enrolling in an apprenticeship program can be a cost effective way to boost earnings while gaining the job training you need.Most of these programs require apprentices to train with an experienced professional for at least 2,000 hours as well as completing classes. At the end of the program, apprentices receive a nationally recognized certificate of completion, either from the Department of Labor or from an approved state agency.There were more than 358,000 registered apprentices in more than 21,000 apprenticeship programs in 2012, according to the DOL's website, mostly in construction, manufacturing, and health-care industries.Popular programs include electricians (four years), cabinetmakers (four years), mine inspectors (four years), firefighters (three years), paramedics (two years), pharmacy support staff (one year), correctional officers (one year), and dental assistants (one year).

Construction plans eyed for replacing structure on Pine Street

BRISTOL — For the first time since the expansion of Route 72, new construction is being eyed along a stretch of Pine Street encompassed by the new roadway.The Belinda Co. is seeking to construct a new commercial building at 91 Pine St. that would replace a smaller retail structure that has been empty for a few years.The plan calls for razing the existing strip of stores, which included a Laundromat and an ice cream parlor in days past, as well as knocking down a century-old house at 103 Pine St. next door.The new commercial building, whose expected use is not clear from plans, would have 45 parking spaces in front and on the eastern side of the lot. The plan became public recently when The Belinda Co. asked the city’s wetlands commission for its approval. There is a narrow wetland just north of the property along the Pequabuck River. The parcels eyed for the project are on the north side of Pine Street, shortly before the right lane jogs off across the Savino Bridge to line up with Riverside Avenue. The existing commercial building there, constructed in 1990, is valued at $375,000 by the city assessor. The house next door that would be demolished as well is valued at $137,000.

Parking garage being explored for Fort Trumbul in New London

New London - The city and the Renaissance City Development Association are continuing to explore the construction of a parking garage in the Fort Trumbull neighborhood to accommodate the parking needs of Electric Boat and future development on the peninsula.Lawrence + Memorial Hospital, which is retrofitting a building on nearby Howard Street for medical offices, is also interested in parking in that area of the city."It's in the preliminary stages," Michael Joplin, a member of the RCDA, said Friday. "But everyone now is beginning to understand, yes, we have a parking problem, and a garage is the way out of it."Electric Boat, the city and the RCDA are discussing how to provide more parking for the roughly 3,000 people who work daily at the Electric Boat facility on Pequot Avenue, he said.The site being looked at in Fort Trumbull is on ledge and runs along the railroad tracks, Joplin said. The garage would be a public facility. The state Department of Economic and Community Development is also in on discussions, Joplin said, in an effort to help the city find federal and state grants to fund the project.Parking garages cost about $18,000 to $20,000 per space to build. A 500-space garage would cost around $10 million, Joplin said.EB has needed more parking than what is available in its own parking garage on Pequot Avenue ever since moving into the former Pfizer Global Research and Development Headquarters in 2010. Each day hundreds of EB workers park along Pequot Avenue and on streets in Fort Trumbull. Others are bused from the Groton facility to New London. Electric Boat needs between 400 and 650 more spaces for its workers, Joplin said.But Robert Hamilton, spokesman for EB, said the company provides enough parking for its employees.

Grocery store and apartments proposed for downtown New London 

New London - Klewin Development is proposing to build a grocery store and 40 apartments on a 3-acre parcel of city-owned land at the intersection of Bank and Howard streets.Klewin Development, with offices in Groton, has been talking with the city about plans for an 18,000-square-foot grocery store, with market-rate and affordable housing units above.Kyle Klewin, a member of Klewin Development, was granted prime developer status last February for the site. He is asking for an extension on the developer status and will make a presentation to the City Council Monday night.
The Economic Development Committee will meet at 5:30 p.m., followed by the City Council at 7 p.m.Klewin could not be reached for comment Friday, but in correspondence with the city he said the state Department of Economic and Community Development is supportive of the project. The company is preparing an application for funds from the Competitive Housing Assistance for Multifamily Properties, which awards grants and low-interest loans to projects that address affordable housing needs. The housing would be 80 percent market rate and 20 percent affordable.
The company is partnering with Sheldon Oak Central and the Women's Development Corp. for the project. The partners have applied for a $250,000 pre-development loan from the DECD. The money would be used to fund design engineering, environmental review, cost estimates, financial analysis, legal and financing fees. 

Plan to fix Oakville road moves slowly

WATERTOWN — Plans to straighten a dangerous stretch of Main Street in Oakville are moving forward, albeit a bit more slowly than originally planned.The 1,200-foot strip between Candee Hill Road and Rockdale Avenue was the site of 48 accidents between January 2006 and December 2008, according to Erik Jarboe, project engineer in highway design for the state Department of Transportation.Most of those accidents, 71 percent, were single cars hitting objects off the road with only 33 percent resulting in injuries, Jarboe said.He said people tend to drive pretty quickly through the curves, leading to the high accident rate.Of the 48 accidents, 63 percent were due to people driving too fast for conditions, Jarboe said.
The project will soften the curves, straighten the roadway, remove an old railroad bridge abutment, cut back rock to improve sight lines around corners and widen an area for a bypass at Candee Hill Road. It will also improve drainage, clean up the driveway to Steele Brook Commons and replace the asphalt sidewalk with concrete and extend it down in front of the Commons.
State workers will reconstruct the edge of the road at Rockdale Avenue and remove a driveway to Ro's Pizza, Jarboe said.The project is estimated to cost $2.1 million, with 80 percent of the funds coming from the federal government and 20 percent from the state.
Jarboe said the state is just completing the design for the project, with construction planned to start in late summer or early fall 2014. In 2010, the state had predicted that construction would start in spring 2012.Jarboe said the delay was caused by design changes around some rights-of-way and the environmental permitting process.
He said the project is complicated because workers will have to cut a lot of rock and remove a bridge abutment, but they should be able to work through the winter if it isn't too severe. The project should be complete by the summer of 2015, Jarboe said.
Once the project is complete, Jarboe said he would like to see the number of accidents go down to the single digits.The 1,500-foot section of road just south of the project area had five accidents per year over a three-year period, Jarboe said.

CT Construction Digest November 15, 2013

Foxwoods gets a makeover

Mashantucket - While blasting for the $115 million Tanger Outlets at Foxwoods is making a lot of noise lately - it starts around 2 p.m. most days - plenty else is happening at the Mashantucket Pequot Tribe's resort casino, which is in the midst of two other construction projects.
A $23 million renovation of rooms in the Grand Pequot tower and a $15 million makeover of food-and-beverage and retail in Foxwoods' concourse area began this spring.
Chris O'Connell, vice president of development and resort services, led reporters on a tour Thursday. He said the "monumental task" of renovating 785 Grand Pequot rooms, including 86 suites, is about 50 percent complete. Begun in April, the work is to be finished by next May.
All the old paint, wallpaper, carpeting, furniture and fixtures are being replaced.
O'Connell said a room that has yet to be renovated had a "1990 feel about it." A renovated room, on the other hand, features closet space instead of armoires, bright lighting in the bathrooms and "outlets all over the place." Night lights are activated by motion sensors and towels are stowed on shelves beneath the sink, eliminating the need for wall-mounted bars and racks.
The white counters and tabletops of crystallized glass are resistant to stain, O'Connell said, be it by mustard, relish, lipstick or ink.
In redesigning the concourse area, Foxwoods is seeking to replace the small-town New England motif that's been in place for 20 years with a more contemporary approach, according to Jens Baake, vice president of food and beverage.
"Our team went out on the (Mashantucket Pequot) reservation and took its inspiration from the land," he said. "It was clear the design had to be linked to nature. … The window space was an opportunity for our guests to see what's around them."

New London dedicates new magnet school

New London - Kayla Mateo's favorite subject is math, but the fifth-grader at Nathan Hale Magnet Elementary School for Performing and Visual Arts rarely uses a pencil and paper to solve equations.
"We use the computers to do math, sometimes we do word problems and sometimes we do regular math problems," she said Thursday as she gave a tour following an official dedication ceremony for the school, which boasts a student to computer or iPad ratio of nearly 1 to 1.When the newly renovated Nathan Hale opened in August, it became the second elementary magnet school in the city. It serves about 550 kindergarten through sixth-grade students, including roughly 20 out-of-district children."The children of New London and the parents of New London deserve this school," Superintendent Nicholas A. Fischer said at the dedication ceremony. "The people of New London deserve this school because the children are the future of this city, and the more attention we pay, not just to the quality of the facility but to the quality of the adults and the teaching and the care we give to children, the more we have to say about how important our city is."The school is loaded with technology, including projectors in each classroom that transform the white board into an interactive "smart board" capable of displaying images from the teacher's computer or camera. Teachers, like kindergarten teacher Jean Jordan, can use that technology to further engage students in the day's lesson."It's nice because when I'm reading them a book, they can see the pictures (on the board) but they can also read along with me," said Jordan, who has taught in New London for nearly 30 years.Keeping with the school's focus on visual and performing arts, the building has a dance studio with a spring-loaded floor, two music rooms, an electronic keyboarding classroom, two art classrooms and two computer labs. As the year goes on, more arts education will be integrated into the curriculum."We want each child to have a special dance, music or art experience by the end of the years," Principal Donna Slate said.

1.3M to lose jobless benefits by year end

Kerstin Foster depends on her $430 weekly unemployment check to make her rent, car payment and electricity bill. That's why she's worried about being cut off at the end of the year.
Foster, 45, is a single mom raising a 12-year-old son in Naugatuck, Conn. She was laid off in January from a civil engineering construction job, but believes she's close to landing a new job. She also knows it could still be a few more months before she is actually hired."I don't know if I should buy my son Christmas presents," Foster said.Looming in front of her is the week of Dec. 28, when she and 1.3 million other jobless Americans are scheduled to lose federal unemployment benefits.
That's when an emergency program to help the long-term unemployed like Foster will expire. During the Great Recession of 2007-2009, when the unemployment rate climbed to more than 10%, the government extended federal benefits to jobless Americans, whose state unemployment insurance had run out.Those benefits have been either extended or expanded 11 times, since being first enacted in June 2008. The last time was in Jan. 2, as part of a measure to avert the "fiscal cliff."
The federal unemployment insurance benefits kick in after a person's state benefits run out, and range between 14 to 47 weeks, depending on the state.

Farm River bridge plan creates anxiety in North Branford

NORTH BRANFORD >> It’s not a big bridge or very noticeable even. But it’s causing big anxiety in town.Fatigued by delays, traffic tie-ups and business disruptions at the Route 80/139 road projects in town for more than a year, business owners and Town Council members again lashed out at planners seeking input on replacement of the Farm River bridge this week.The estimate of a 2015 summer build for the $3.1 million span has moved to a fall 2015 award of bid and a summer 2016 build, officials for the Department of Transportation and engineering design firm STV Inc. said. The good news provided by planners seeking the backing of townspeople for the revised bridge plan is that the bridge will be built with a temporary span on the side instead of one-way alternating traffic, as originally proposed and ripped by locals as “an impossible situation.”Designers showed off plans for a temporary span to be built on the south side of the old bridge (built in 1930) that would take two-way traffic while the old bridge was being torn down and replaced.But that didn’t appease local business owners, such as Dawn Jacobson of Imperial Pools By Nova or Tony Catapano of Walt’s Auto Repair, who are located on the south side and concerned about customer access.
Some questioned the new timetable, some noted that the first, alternating-traffic plan was to be done in mere weeks while this one is a year from bidding to finish, and some questioned the width of the structure.Council member Andrew Esposito called other road projects in town “debacles,” and council member Al Rose said he is in construction and has seen what the state has done with road cuts near Valley Road and Route 139. “Do not believe anything they tell you,” he warned anyone dealing with a temporary acquisition of property by the state. “Do not believe any of the maps that they have, and make them state exactly what they’re doing.”

 Cash-strapped states turn to public-private partnerships

Still strapped for cash in the aftermath of the recession, states increasingly are partnering with private companies to build and maintain highways, prisons, water facilities, tunnels and even hospitals and schools.Since these partnerships began two decades ago, their popularity has increased to the point where today, two-thirds of the states have laws authorizing so-called “P3s,” and 24 states recently have considered legislation related to the partnerships, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.Under the P3 strategy, private companies typically cover the upfront costs of projects, in exchange for the right to run the facilities and to collect tolls or other payments. Privately-run toll roads have been around for a while, but now other types of P3s are drawing interest, in large part because states are running out of bonding authority and other public revenue-raising methods.
Take the $663 million Port of Miami tunnel, which is designed to funnel port traffic directly to the waterfront from an interstate highway, thereby avoiding downtown Miami’s traffic lights and narrow streets. The project began in 2009 with a “design-build, finance, operation and maintenance” contract with Bouygues Civil Works Florida, which is constructing the tunnel.

CT Construction Digest November 14, 2013

Several new businesses moving to town

Four sites in Montville - mostly located along Route 32- are under development. If all goes well, the town will soon have a Dollar General, another McDonald's, an affordable housing complex and a technology museum. "We're pleased to see some new projects going on in town," said Mayor Ronald McDaniel, who added that he hopes the town can continue to develop property along Route 32 and diversify Montville's tax base.The Dollar General store will be located at 855 Norwich-New London Turnpike, turning a long vacant lot into taxable property for the town. It will also bring about a dozen jobs to Montville, said developer William Pieniadz."This isn't a junk store," said Pieniadz, who said the company sells primarily name-brand items. "They're one of the largest retailers of quality brands such as Procter & Gamble, Kimberly Clark, General Mills, Nabisco."Pieniadz said the company, which makes more than $14.8 billion annually, is the nation's "largest small-box discount retailer" and is based out of Goodlettsville, Tennessee. The dollar store will provide "quick in, quick out" shopping for day-to-day dry goods and basic groceries, he said. The store is what Montville building official Vernon Vesey called a "cookie-cutter" project: a small rectangular box that should be quick to construct. The steel building package was delivered to the site recently, said Pieniadz, and the foundation is already in place. Last Friday they poured the concrete for the building's slab.
He expects the building to be erected within about six weeks and said he will turn the property over to Dollar General on Dec. 31 or earlier. The company will then bring in shelving and personal equipment and should open soon afterward.

Panel moves New Haven Coliseum plans to alderman

NEW HAVEN >> Residents, business owners, city employees and a local developer all applauded the proposed design for the former Veterans Memorial Coliseum site, and the development firm behind it. A joint community development and Finance Committee meeting Wednesday night attracted dozens of stakeholders who, despite waiting for a late start, were eager to sing the praises of the design and its potential impact on the city’s growth. After much testimony, the joint committee unanimously voted to move the proposal, with language flexibility, with recommendation to the full Board of Aldermen.Wednesday night’s meeting was the first of two aldermanic meetings at which residents are urged to testify as plans for the former Coliseum site roll into the final stages. The second is a Legislation Committee meeting at which members will consider a zoning map amendment that will allow for more flexibility in development and a more pedestrian-friendly environment. The city has worked with development firm LiveWorkLearnPlay for about three years to design the mixed-use vision for the site. The Canadian firm has invested $2 million into the plan and is prepared to start construction in summer 2014, pending Board of Aldermen approval. If approved, the plan will go forward in two phases, with the expected completion time between seven and ten years, said Max Reim, founding principal of the company.

Affordable housing tabled

TORRINGTON — The Planning & Zoning Commission on Wednesday tabled an application to build two five-story affordable housing buildings off East Main Street after questions from the public and the board lingered after a hearing.The Torrington Housing Authority, which owns the 100-unit Michael J. Koury Terrace on Tucker Drive, has proposed expanding that housing campus by 115 units. The two new buildings would be called Slaiby Village after Samuel Slaiby, a longtime member of the housing authority board.Claudia Sweeney, director of the housing authority for 12 years, said expanding housing for people aged 62 and older on the property has been discussed her entire tenure with the organization.One building would hold 47 units of affordable one-bedroom apartments strictly for veterans age 62 and older. The second building would contain 68 units of affordable housing for residents 62 or older on the 17-acre property.When complete there will be 215 senior housing units on the property and 133 parking spaces. A parking engineer said a parking study found that only 50 percent of the parking is used now."There are over 14,000 veterans in Litchfield County, over 2,800 in Torrington alone," Sweeney said. "Age 55 and older is the fastest growing segment of our population."Architect Paul B. Bailey of New Haven designed the buildings.
He said the chevron shaped buildings would have parking on the upper sides and back units would have a view of woods. Both buildings would have a lobby in the center with an office and meeting rooms and each building will have a common area. In one building the common room is planned for the first floor rear and in the other the public space would be on the top floor.Each floor will have trash and laundry facilities, the buildings will have central air conditioning and natural gas back up generators will be mounted on their roofs.

CT Construction Digest November 13, 2013

New Haven Development Commission tweaks plan for former Coliseum site

NEW HAVEN >> The Development Commission on Tuesday tweaked the proposed agreement for the former Coliseum site near the Ninth Square to update it from the original plan as it goes before aldermanic committees this week for approval by the end of the year.Live Work Learn Play, a Canadian company that has put $2 million into the plan over the past three years, is ready to start construction in 2014 for its mixed-use development.Over two phases, it will eventually see construction of 1,002 units of housing, 35 permanent and 20 seasonal businesses and 200,000 square feet of Class A office space, all developed around a 40,000-square-foot public square tied to the extension of Orange Street over what is now the Route 34 highway.“We’re very excited about this. We’ve fallen in love with New Haven and the community. It has been a labor of love,” Max Reim, founding principal of the company, told the commission of the $400 million development.The commission took out the reference to Long Wharf Theatre being part of the project and changed the mix of affordable housing to include middle class as well as low-income units, and multi-bedroom apartments to accommodate larger families.Reim said he also has pledged to work with UniteHERE over unionization of workers at the proposed 160-room hotel for the site, when that phase of the plan kicks in. “Every hotel that we have ever developed has always been unionized and we have an arrangement with UniteHERE, as well,” Reim said. “We intend to make sure that we work with the union and all unions very collaboratively. We come from a union city.” Reim’s company is located in Montreal. Reim had nothing but praise for the professional staff at the City Plan Department headed by Karyn Gilvarg and at the Economic Development Administration led by Kelly Murphy. Reim said the project, which will bring 4,700 construction jobs and 2,800 full-time jobs, targets local residents for those positions.

Aldermen OK funds for public works facility

WATERBURY — The Board of Aldermen gave the go ahead Tuesday to build the new centralized public works campus on East Aurora Street.The overall project approval came by way of approving the $2 million addition to the city's existing contract with Weston & Sampson Engineers Inc. to design the new facility.That addition brings the overall amount the city has paid to the Massachusetts firm to almost $5.1 million, all but $200,000 of which has been spent on the public works project.
The city had originally planned to build its new public works facility at the Waterbury Industrial Commons site, which it hired Weston & Sampson to design.But with a change of administration, Mayor Neil M. O'Leary reversed Michael J. Jarjura's plan to build the new facility at the Thomaston Avenue industrial park.Instead, O'Leary wanted to keep the industrial park open to manufacturers, one of which he says will be a Norwalk firm that wants to make chemical additives for wind turbines there.He slashed the public works facility budget from as high as $45 million to $20 million and announced he wanted to build an economical version of it at the former MacDermid property at East Aurora Street and Huntingdon Avenue.Weston & Sampson gave the city a $1 million "credit" for at least some of the money the city had agreed to pay for the WIC facility design, and asked to do the MacDermid design as well.The city development arm, Waterbury Development Corp., wrestled with whether to put the new facility design out to bid or stay with Weston & Sampson.After bidding questions arose during its troubled Municipal Stadium project, WDC's new leader, Kevin DelGobbo, said he would put every project out to bid, even if it didn't have to.But on Tuesday, WDC asked the board's permission to go with Weston & Sampson without bidding in part because it will save the taxpayers almost $600,000, DelGobbo said."They have all the knowledge of the department needs, the city needs, and that knowledge allows us to save money," said DelGobbo. "So we brought it to the board, to be open."WDC also got approval from the city purchasing officer.

Construction adds 11,000 jobs in October

Construction employment hit a 50-month high as employers added 11,000 jobs in October, the fifth consecutive month of sector job gains, and the industry unemployment rate fell to 9 percent, according to an analysis of new government data by the Associated General Contractors of America. Association officials said that the new employment figures indicate there was little nationwide short-term impact from the federal government shutdown and cautioned that skilled worker shortages are likely to grow as the industry continues to expand.“After some very dramatic declines and years of sluggish growth, the construction industry is slowly adding jobs,” said Ken Simonson, the association's chief economist. “The federal government shutdown did not appear to have undermined construction job growth in the short term probably because it did not significantly impact projects that were already under way.”Construction employment totaled 5,834,000 in October, an increase of 185,000 from a year earlier, and is now at the highest level since August 2009. Simonson noted that the October increase was the fifth consecutive month of construction job growth. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate for workers actively looking for jobs and last employed in construction declined from 11.4 percent in October 2012 to 9 percent last month.

CT Construction Digest November 12, 2013

Wallingford mulls impact of new trail

WALLINGFORD — An island known for the production of fireworks, and the site of several explosions, will become a recreational haven if and when the town obtains approval for the third phase of the Quinnipiac River Linear Trail project.The third trail segment is slated to run a mile north from its current endpoint after the tunnel under the Wilbur Cross Parkway. According to plans, Phase 3 would extend the trail across a 208-foot bridge onto Fireworks Island. The island is the former home of M. Backes and Sons Inc., a company that produced fireworks. The factory experienced explosions several times, and at least one of those blasts resulted in a fatality. But as part of the linear trail, the island would become ideal for outdoor recreation seekers who enjoy the beauty of the Quinnipiac River. Winding through the flood plain forest beside the river, the trail would provide for a “great recreational resource,” said Bill Root, an environmental scientist with Milone & MacBroom, the engineering firm designing the trail. An abundance of wildlife occupies the area where the trail would be built, he said, and the river is a “tremendous fishery resource.”

Maine wind makes CT solar affordable

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy's decision to finance a $1 billion wind farm in Maine will help Connecticut attain its renewable energy goals and support a solar farm development in Lisbon, with minimal impact on ratepayers, according to an administration source.When the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority on Oct. 23 approved Malloy's plan to fund a 250 megawatt wind farm in Maine and a 20 megawatt solar farm in Lisbon, the regulators noted the Maine deal didn't have a specific benefit to Connecticut.When combined, however, the deals bring down the purchase price of the entire 270 megawatt wind and solar buy, according to a Malloy Administration official.
The result: Connecticut electric utility ratepayers will pay less than 8 cents per kilowatt hour for the wind and solar power over the life of the contracts. That makes the cost closer to grid parity, meaning utility customers won't have to pay as high a premium for those renewable energy sources. The price of power straight off the electric grid fluctuates greatly, but the average is around 5 cents per kilowatt hour.The average 8-cent price for the two contracts was only possible because Connecticut is buying a large amount of cheaper power from Maine — probably 6-7 cents per kilowatt hour — that makes the cost of the Connecticut solar power — probably 12-15 cents per kilowatt hour — more affordable on average.

Northeast Utilities Northern Pass plan may face delays

A Washington, D.C.-based research and economic analysis firm is warning investors that Northeast Utilities Northern Pass transmission line project could face significant delays and significant modifications. Analysts Rob Rains and Tim VandenBerg, with Washington Analysis LLC, say in their report that Northern Pass, which would carry 1,200 megawatts of hydropower from Quebec into southern New Hampshire if it gets regulatory approval, “likely faces significant delays and cost increases.” “Regulatory hurdles and substantial political headwinds will likely prevent the project from going into service before 2018, at the earliest with delays until 2019-2020 very possible as well,” Rains and VandenBerg write in their report. “We simply disagree with Northeast Utilities’ past statement that it expects Northern Pass to be in service in 2017 and that it will receive state siting approval in 2015. “We also expect the firm to succumb to overwhelming political pressure from (New Hampshire) Gov. Maggie Hassan (D), Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R), and state lawmakers calling for them to bury more of the project underground in the northernmost portion of the state, beginning in Pittsburg and traveling through Coos County,” they wrote. The report notes that the cost of the project is at $1.4 billion and “we note that Northeast Utilities’ revised proposal, which called for burying just 7.5 miles of the 187-mile project underground, raised costs by more than 16 percent.”

New mayor seeks new site for Bridgewater

STAMFORD -- After emerging victorious this week, mayor-elect David Martin said that he hopes to re-establish a boatyard on the former site of the city's last working marina and persuade South End developer Building and Land Technology and hedge fund giant Bridgewater Associates to abandon plans to build a new headquarters on the 14-acre peninsula. Martin narrowly won election Tuesday over Republican opponent Michael Fedele, whose position on bringing Bridgewater to the peninsula shifted over his campaign.The new mayor will be sworn into office Dec. 1 and will find himself facing a number of issues, including how to strike a compromise that will still lure Bridgewater to Stamford while preserving the site off Bateman Way for its designated water-dependent uses.
One solution is to find an alternate location that would suit the hedge fund's specific needs.
The Gateway complex, another BLT project with 474,000 square feet of commercial space on 5.4 acres would allow Bridgewater to build a distinctive headquarters and has the strong selling point of being adjacent to the Stamford train station, Martin said.