'No end in sight': Centerplan's lawsuit against city, designers of Dunkin' Park faces new hurdle
It’s alive.
A high-profile lawsuit brought by the original developer of
Dunkin’ Park against the city, and multiple subcontractors, has been winding
through the state’s court system since 2016.
The $56 million ballpark, home to the Hartford Yard Goats
Double-AA baseball team, opened in 2017.
While the stadium has succeeded in bringing crowds of more
than 6,000 fans to downtown Hartford, a dispute over cost overruns and delays
with its construction – and the city’s decision to fire the original developer,
Middletown-based Centerplan Cos. – remains mired in controversy.
A major piece of the lawsuit was resolved in October, when
the City Council approved
a $9.9 million settlement with Centerplan and an insurance company.
The city also withdrew its counterclaim.
The agreement enabled the city and other defendants to be
withdrawn from the case. Also, it allowed Stamford-based developer RMS Cos. to
begin constructing a 228-unit apartment building and parking garage on a lot
across from Dunkin’ Park, one of the properties involved in the dispute.
But it did not settle claims between Centerplan and project
architect Kansas City-based Pendulum Studios II.
In April, Pendulum filed a third-party complaint against the
city and several subcontractors, reeling them back into the case. The
third-party complaint says the city and two subcontractors are liable for
damages caused by their own negligence, and that Pendulum had no way of
anticipating the problems that occurred.
Another subcontractor, BVH Integrated Services, has filed an
apportionment claim against the city and five other defendants.
Meanwhile, Centerplan has filed a cross complaint.
The 18 parties now involved in the case have filed numerous
motions to dismiss and strike, but the case appears to be headed for another
trial – a process that could take years.
The case already went to trial in 2019 and a jury ruled in
favor of the city, finding that Centerplan and another company, DoNo Hartford,
“controlled Pendulum at all relevant times and were, therefore, responsible to
the city for any of Pendulum’s design errors, defects and deficiencies.”
Centerplan appealed, and the state Supreme Court reversed
the jury’s decision.
Recently, the city filed a motion to strike/dismiss the new
claims, to which Pendulum has objected. There are currently 13 pending motions,
and a hearing is set for Oct. 1.
On Sept. 16, Centerplan filed a motion for an order
referring the case to mediation.
An attorney for Centerplan, Louis Pepe of McElroy, Deutsch,
Mulvaney & Carpenter, argued in the court filing that the case has already
consumed “more than its fair share of judicial resources,” but “the end is
nowhere in sight.”
He noted that the legal fees involved for 18 parties in
protracted discovery proceedings will be “prodigious,” making the case
increasingly hard to settle.
“Counsel for all the parties owe their respective clients
and this court an obligation to explore, in good faith, all alternatives —
including mediation — to the continuation of this debilitating litigation,”
Pepe wrote.
Upgrades to tennis courts on hold due to costs
JOHN MCKENNA
LITCHFIELD – Unanticipated costs have the Board of Selectmen
and the Park and Recreation Commission rethinking a plan to remove the cracked
asphalt surface of the two tennis courts at Community Field and put down a new
asphalt surface.
As part of a long-range $2.6 million capital improvements
plan for the field, $168,000 has been budgeted for a new surface in the 2024-25
fiscal year.
Bringing the planned upgrade into compliance with
handicap-accessibility requirements, however, has increased the projected cost
to $299,000, the Board of Selectmen learned last week.
The plan also calls for new nets and posts, sediment control
and a catch basin, and removal of the fence around the courts and installation
of a new fence.
New asphalt courts would have a life span of 25 years,
public works department Assistant Supervisor Brett Seamans told the board.
Selectmen and the Park and Recreation Commission, seeking an investment that
would last longer, are considering the idea of a reinforced concrete surface at
an estimated cost of $447,000.
Concrete courts would last 40 years, according to Seamans.
Park and Recreation Commission member Jonathan Torrant, a
former selectman, advised the board that an investment in concrete courts would
be a sign of the town’s commitment to Community Field.
“We don’t spend enough money on Community Field and the Town
Beach as it is,” Torrant said, noting that the tennis court cracks have been an
issue for a few years. “We can’t keep putting this off and we need to get going
on it and show some progress with the capital money we’ve budgeted.”
First Selectman Denise Raap, citing future budget challenges
and the town’s inclusion in a Region 20 Board of Education financial crisis,
said the board is going to have to weigh the options for the courts.
Asking the Board of Finance for more money, Selectman John
Bongiorno added, would be a hard sell.
“But I do think it is a good idea and I want to see it
approved, although I’d want to know that the job would be done the right way,”
Bongiorno said of the idea of a concrete surface.
According to Park and recreation Commission member Ray
Schmid, the tennis courts are in such bad shape that they may have to be closed
to the public. The commission is due to discuss that possibility when it meets
Sept. 30.
CT Construction Digest Monday September 23, 2024
New London flood prevention plan envisions ‘linear park’ along waterfront
John Penney
New London – An ambitious $16.5 million flood mitigation proposal for South Water Street calls for a combination of new flood walls and road-raising, along with design elements to make the downtown waterfront area more attractive and functional.
The plan, which requires several steps before it can be approved or funded, focuses on a 1,300-foot stretch of South Water Street, just below Bank Street and a few feet away from railroad tracks.
Felix Reyes, the city’s director of planning and economic development, said the road, where the rear sides of several Bank Street properties are located, has the tendency to collect floodwater after heavy rains.
One solution, floated by the Fuss & O’Neill civil and environmental engineering firm to the City Council’s Economic Development Committee earlier this month, proposes building flood walls between 3 and 6 feet near the Amtrak rail lines.
The firm said the walls would be sturdy enough to withstand coastal flooding events up to a 100-year flood, which the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, predicts have a 1% chance of occurring each year.
The wall construction would likely coincide with raising sections of South Water Street by up to 2½ feet to make the undulating road a uniform height, said Akta Patel, an engineer with Fuss & O’Neill.
Patel said a recent University of Connecticut flood analysis anticipated a 20-inch rise in sea levels by 2050, which could lead to flooding in the common areas of South Water Street.
“That’s already happening in some areas with flooding into basements and some property owners building flood walls,” she said. “And it’s only going to get worse as sea levels rise.”
Ian Law, a Fuss & O’Neill associate, said he envisions a series of beautification improvements to the South Water Street area to be added in conjunction with the mitigation work.
Those additions could include transforming a nearby alley connecting Bank Street into a pedestrian staircase; creating tree-filled plazas; adding stadium-style seating; and laying cobblestone pavers.
Law said existing business delivery paths would remain during the creation of the “linear park.”
The project would require the cooperation of nearby property owners and Amtrak officials. Law said his firm met with several property owners in the spring and will do so again.
The project cost was broken down into three segments: $160,000 for tree planting; $1.6 million for drainage; and $14.7 million for road elevation, flood wall and amenity work.
Law and Patel said the cost of the project could be covered through a combination of FEMA and state Department of Economic Development grants.
Reyes said another meeting will be held with property owners ahead of grant application preparation.
“This is not just about South Water Street,” Reyes said. “We have multiple development projects happening on Bank and State streets, as well as other parts of the city. And they all tie into each other. If you have flooding on South Water, it affects them all.”
WEST HARTFORD — Town officials this week revealed their plans to reconstruct part of New Park Avenue, with designs calling for what would be the town's first-ever separated bike lanes.
Up until now, bike lanes in West Hartford have only ever been painted lines on the roadway. But the town's new $6 million plans to overhaul a stretch of New Park Avenue will provide cyclists with a safer mode of transportation through a two-way separated bike lane buffered by concrete curbing.
It's part of West Hartford's plans to improve safety on the busy roadway, which has seen an increase of both residential and commercial development over the past few years. Housing has already been built along the corridor with two more projects planned that will bring hundreds of new residents to the area.
Plans also call for a partial road diet, bringing travel lanes down from four to two with traffic sharing a center left turn line, just like the road diet implemented on North Main Street. The project will also create a raised platform bus stop with enhanced crosswalks that will shorten the distance pedestrians have to travel to cross the roadway.
"There’s some new development along here as well, so it’s a busy area in terms of roadway and traffic volumes," said Joe Balskus of VHB, the consultant working with the town on the project, at a public meeting held on Tuesday. "We know bike lanes are safest when they’re separated. We’re doing a road diet and at the same time we’re enhancing the pedestrian crossings for those who use the bus."
That road diet would lessen closer to the Home Depot plaza, Balskus said, adding that pedestrian crossing distances will be shortened along the corridor. Crosswalks would overall be enhanced for safety, Balskus said.
"The whole thing about pedestrians and crossing is exposure," he said. "How much is that pedestrian exposed crossing the roadway? With the road diet... you have a refuge island. Your exposure is minimized."
Much focus during the meeting was given to how cyclists will traverse the roadway in the future. Balskus and Dan Amstutz, a senior transportation planner with VHB, outlined how the separated bike lane on the western side of the roadway — beginning where New Britain Avenue meets New Park Avenue — will work.
The nine foot wide travel lane will stretch to Talcott Road, at which point cyclists would then enter a 10 foot wide off road multi-use path that cyclists would share with pedestrians. That path would stretch to Oakwood Avenue. In the past, the town has said they could look at extending that path to Flatbush Avenue, but that would be a completely separate project.
"It really creates that dedicated space for people to bicycle along the roadway which currently doesn’t exist," Amstutz said. "It creates much greater separation away from the traffic."
Amstutz said the separated bike lanes should appeal to a wider range of cyclists.
"It eliminates some of the risk and fear of colliding with vehicles," he said. "It gives the less experienced bicyclist a place where they can be not right in the middle of traffic. If that makes it more attractive to a wider range of people who want to bicycle, it will hopefully get more people out to bicycle and use this to get to locations along the roadway."
The project will be funded by $3.7 million in state funding, while the remaining $2.3 million will be funded by the town itself. Plans should go out to bid soon with construction starting in the spring of 2025.
As road work continues in Middletown, find out what streets are slated for completion
MIDDLETOWN — With a goal of repairing some 10 miles of local street surfaces by the end of the year, crews will be paving, milling, patching and conducting other preservation efforts through the fall.
Current projects include Ridgewood Road, which will be finished by Monday, according to acting Middletown Public Works Director Howard Weissberg.
Final work on Smith Street, between Middle Street and the I-91 bridge over Smith, which began last year, is expected to be complete by Tuesday, he said Friday.
Next up will be curbing and more preservation work on the south side of town, in the Chauncy and Chamberlain roads neighborhood, by October, weather permitting, Weissberg said.
Paving is “sorely needed” in these areas, he explained.
Work on Rose Circle and Stoneycrest Drive, off Newfield Street (Route 3), both of which contain several apartment complexes, is underway.
Completed already are Northview Drive, Oak Ridge Drive and Plumb Road, Acacia Drive, Basswood Drive, Congdon Street, Lee Street, Paddock Road, Mile Lane, and the Wesleyan Hills area.
Construction typically begins in late spring. "We hit the ground running in May,” the director explained.
The department is using some techniques that haven’t been used in Middletown in the past to ensure longevity.
“That will allow us to get more miles treated,” he said.
“Fall is typically when everything starts happening," Weissberg said.
State Local Capital Improvement Program funding, as well as city road bonds, are paying for the work, he said.
For the next couple of weeks, the state Department of Transportation will mill and surface a nearly 3-mile segment of Washington Street (Route 66), as well as St. John Square leading to Route 9, according to the agency.
Project completion is estimated for Sept. 30.
Similar construction will be performed on Route 17 from Randolph Road (Route 155) to Loveland Street, through Oct. 8.
Also, water main replacement on Court Street between Main and Broad streets will take place through October.
The director, who asks for the public’s patience during the process, acknowledged traffic delays and other issues will be a “challenge” for motorists.