Gregory Seay
Stamford real estate developer Randy Salvatore, who is negotiating with the city of Hartford on a $200 million proposal to redevelop its Downtown North quadrant, says it will take six years to create the phased development he envisions.
"It's very rare that you have the opportunity this large on the edge of a municipality,'' said Salvatore, CEO and president of RMS Cos. in Stamford.
Although there is no formal name yet for what will eventually cover about 13 acres in four city-owned parcels in the shadow of Dunkin' Donuts Park, Salvatore says it will contain many of the housing, retail and other resident amenities — perhaps even a grocery store — proposed by the previous DoNo developer, Centerplan Cos. of Middletown.
Under the RMS plan, which was publicly shared at a city hall meeting July 24, the developer would erect 800 apartments — 150 of which would be built in a first phase behind the Red Lion Hotel on Trumbull Street — and 60,000 square feet of retail space, including space for a modest downtown grocery.
In addition, RMS proposes to create 2,000 parking spaces, including perhaps a 1,000-slot parking garage on Market Street. The plan does not include a hotel or office space.
Negotiations between RMS and the city continue over Salvatore's request for a 99-year lease on the four parcels.
"We envision a planned development with primarily about 800 units of apartment housing, and some retail and coworking space,'' Salvatore said.
That RMS already owns a downtown Hartford hotel had nothing to do with not putting one in DoNo, he said. Centerplan proposed to develop a Hard Rock Hotel in the area.
"I don't think there's demand for a hotel,'' he said.
Salvatore says his DoNo development, which has received positive feedback from lenders, does not envision any owner-occupied dwellings initially. However, if consumer demand and market conditions warrant, there is the possibility that some condominiums/townhomes could be added.
He declined to specify financing details for the Hartford projects, citing ongoing negotiations with the city for the long-term ground lease. Salvatore said he not only will have equity in the development, but also envisions having a long-term hand in his DoNo project, similar to past ventures.
He said his company has reached out to the Capital Region Development Authority, which has staked at least a dozen office-to-apartment conversions in downtown, about potential financial assistance for DoNo.
Salvatore said exact timing for the start of DoNo construction hinges on completing contract talks with the city as well as canvassing Hartford community groups and other stakeholders about what they want it to be.
Once the first phase of building starts and is completed, then the cycle will repeat until it is finally finished over a six-year period, he said.
He said RMS had a good experience with its current New Haven development, one similar in scope and pricetag to DoNo. There, the Hill To Downtown venture sits on land bisected and partly isolated by a freeway, similar to DoNo, he said.
Salvatore responded to an assertion from Larry Gottesdiener, a Massachusetts developer who built the Hartford 21 high-rise apartments and who previously owned office buildings downtown, that a replacement for the aging XL Center arena be relocated to DoNo.
"I don't agree with that,'' Salvatore said. "I really believe DoNo is meant to create life downtown. … The only way to do that is with residential.''
Griebel pitches pilot toll plan as anti-toll petition drive stalls
As one proposal to stymie electronic tolling sputtered to a halt Friday, Connecticut’s independent gubernatorial candidate pitched a limited, pilot tolling program that could be in place on commuter lanes by mid-2019.
Former MetroHartford Alliance President Oz Griebel, who is trying to petition his way onto the gubernatorial ballot, announced he would seek federal approval for tolls on the high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes on Interstates 84 and 91.
“Before you jumped in with both feet and really committed yourself (to tolls) we would have a chance to kick the tires on this,” Griebel said during a briefing at the Capitol.
Chairman of the former state Transportation Strategy Board, Griebel has said on several occasions he believes Connecticut cannot finance a major rebuild of its aging, overcrowded highway, bridge and rail systems without the revenue tolls would provide.
State Department of Transportation officials have estimated it would take about four years to fully implement a electronic tolls on all major highways, after which the system could yield as much as $800 million to $1 billion per year — minus whatever discounts Connecticut would award to in-state drivers.
Griebel sketched an outline of the pilot tolling proposal he would develop, if elected, in cooperation with the 2019 General Assembly.
Under his plan, HOV lanes on I-84 and I-91 — which currently are open only to cars with two passengers or more — would be open to all cars regardless of occupancy, and a toll charge would be set, for a period of 18 months to two years.
Because the pilot system would be limited to a few points around the Greater Hartford area, Griebel said he believes federal approval could be secured in expedited fashion, possibly in time to launch the program in July 2019.
Connecticut opened its first HOV lanes east of Hartford along I-84 and Interstate 384 in the westbound artery. In 1993, the state opened more lanes north of Hartford on I-91 south.
Griebel, who did not propose a specific fee, said the purpose of the pilot program is centered on information, not revenue.
“It would give us real data. … You could play with congestion pricing, you could play with different rates,” Griebel said.
The state also would have an opportunity to study commuter patterns and traffic and enforcement issues, Griebel said. Equally important, he added, motorists’ apprehension about tolls might be eased by an effective, efficient pilot program.
“Could people see there were tolls and the world didn’t come to an end? Yes,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Senate Republican Caucus indicated Friday it is not seeking to force a special session this summer to block Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s plan to spend $10 million for a detailed analysis on how tolls could be implemented on state highways.
House and Senate Democratic leadership indicated Thursday they also were not interested in a special session. Unless that changes, the House Republican bid to convene a session will come up short.
“We are looking at the issue, but the process has not been initiated in the Senate,” Nicole Rall, spokeswoman for the Senate GOP Caucus,” said Friday.
“I’m not surprised,” Deputy House Minority Leader Vincent J. Candelora, R-North Branford said, adding that Senate Republican leader Len Fasano of North Haven did not show interest in the special session when Candelora spoke with him recently.
House Republican leaders delivered 66 signatures from their caucus members to Secretary of the State Denise Merrill’s office Thursday afternoon. It would take signatures from a majority of both chambers to call the legislature into special session, which means 76 from the House and 24 from the Senate.
Candelora said his caucus wants to enact a bill prohibiting the administration from commissioning a study on tolling. The State Bond Commission, which Malloy chairs, voted Wednesday to approve $10 million in financing for a study.
The top Democrats in the legislature, House Speaker Joe Aresimowicz of Berlin and Senate President Pro Tem Martin M. Looney of New Haven, both indicated Wednesday they weren’t interested in a special session.
Aresimowicz, who has said he believes Connecticut cannot finance a major rebuilding of its transportation infrastructure without tolls, called the House GOP petition effort “political grandstanding.”
The speaker also said that if House Republicans want to have “an honest debate on how we can fix our failing roads and bridges without putting itsolely on Connecticut taxpayers, I’ll work to call us in tomorrow.”
Demolition company wants lawsuit reinstated against Waterbury after losing job
MICHAEL PUFFER
WATERBURY – A contractor is seeking to restart a lawsuit against the city, claiming Waterbury didn’t pay an agreed settlement and unfairly barred it from a nearly $1 million contract.
Standard Demolition Services was the lowest bidder on a job to demolish the former Risdon Manufacturing site and cart away debris, contaminated and otherwise. But the Waterbury Development Corp. board, on Monday, voted to give the contract to the second lowest bidder – New Britain-based Manafort Brothers Inc.
The city has $992,500 to spend on the project. Any winning company would have been offered a contract of “not to exceed $992,500.”
Standard offered significantly lower rates. If it’s offer is to be believed, then it might have done the job cheaper, or gotten more accomplished.
City officials originally sought $2 million clean the 3.4-acre site. But the Department of Economic and Community Development awarded half of the request. The current budget is what’s left after legal fees.
The city claimed the property for unpaid taxes in 2015. Then, on Dec. 31, 2016, a massive fire broke out and burned most of the shuttered 80,000-square-foot industrial building to the ground.
“Our goal is to demolish all the above-ground structures, remove all that debris and then to go subsurface as much as the money would allow,” interim WDC CEO James Nardozzi said.
Standard and the city have feuded over the company’s past work at the rehab of the former Chase Brass & Copper site along Thomaston Avenue, another industrial property that had been claimed by the city.
Standard, in a court filing, attributes its ban to that disagreement.
Attempts to reach city Corporation Counsel Linda T. Wihbey were not immediately successful Friday. Nor was an attempt to reach Standard’s attorney.
Standard was one of six bidders to apply for the Risdon job by the city’s May 30 deadline. Standard offered to knock down the charred remains and sort the wreckage for $190,050. That’s less than half the $395,999 offer from Manafort Brothers Inc., the next lowest bidder.
Companies also had to submit rates for providing clean fill and hauling away different classifications of material, including non-friable asbestos, friable asbestos, petroleum products and others.
WDC compared the anticipated costs, given the rates and the anticipated tonnage of each material. Those calculations were not available Friday, but WDC staff did provide the rates offered by the companies. In all but one category, Standard’s were lower. In some cases, significantly so.
On Monday, the Waterbury Development Corp. Board of Directors voted to give the contract to Manafort. By Friday, some language was still being negotiated and the contract had not been signed.
WDC Project Manager Santiago Bolanos, who is overseeing the Risdon project, attributed Standard’s disqualification to advice from the Corporation Counsel’s office.
Standard was hired to a $5.3 million contract in 2013 to participate in the city’s renovation of the former Chase Brass and Copper Co. complex along Thomaston Avenue.
Standard’s piece of the project took six months longer than expected. The city blamed Standard for costs associated with the delay and held back about $162,000 of its promised payment.
Standard blamed the city and its requests for changes. The company filed suit in 2016, contending it was owed more than $200,000, including the withheld payment and costs for added work.
In May, the city agreed to settle the case and pay Standard $81,000. Standard filed to withdraw the case from court.
Then in June, Standard’s lawyer’s petitioned to get the case going again, claiming the city hadn’t delivered the settlement payment as agreed. Standard also complained it had been unfairly disqualified from the Risdon project based on “past performance,” which it took to mean the Chase Brass project. Standard’s lawyers argue this is a “clear breach” of the settlement.
“The City of Waterbury released all claims relating to the Chase Brass project,” reads Standard’s latest court filing. “The City of Waterbury does not get to resurrect claims it released under the guise of a finding Standard is ‘disqualified’ to be awarded a project on which it is the low bidder.”