Last of Stamford's original Conair building near Greenwich border torn down to make way for ice rink
STAMFORD — An indoor
ice rink sponsored by the family of the late
co-founder of Stamford-based Conair Corp. is one step closer to
completion.
Multiple excavators tore down the last
of the remaining Conair Corp. office building at 23 Barry Place on
Oct. 3. Behind the machines, workers moved loose pieces of debris among large
piles of rubble that were left from the destruction.
The demolition of the building makes way for the creation of
an indoor ice rink facility at 50 Barry Place, which will sit behind the
now-torn down Conair Corp. building. The facility will host youth ice hockey
and figure skating clinics, educational programs, leagues and
tournaments.
The Zoning Board unanimously approved the 35,500-square foot
structure in the city’s Waterside neighborhood near the Greenwich border in
March 2023. The Planning Board unanimously recommended the site plans and
special permitting to the Zoning Board during a meeting the month before.
The project was sponsored by the family of late billionaire
businessman Leandro Rizzuto, whose family founded Conair Corp. in 1959. Rizzuto
died in 2017 after a long battle with pancreatic cancer.
Headquartered in Stamford, Conair Corp. is known for its
personal-care products and Cuisinart culinary items.
Conair Corp. occupied the now-torn down office building
starting in 2014. The company moved out of the building in 2019 and about 400
employees worked at the new office on 1 Cummings Point Road, according to
previous reporting.
Manhattan-based American Securities, a private equity
firm, acquired
Conair Corp. in 2021, but the 11.7 acres of property on Barry Place — which
borders the Metro-North Railroad to the south — remained with the Rizzuto
family, according to previous reporting from February 2023.
The property also sits across from Innis Arden Golf Club in
Greenwich, where creating
a new ice rink became a hot topic in recent years.
Greenwich town officials have
resubmitted a plan to tear down the existing Dorothy Hamill Ice Rink in Byram and
build a new rink. The Planning & Zoning Commission has been studying the
plan since May with no movement on the project immediately expected.
The contentious project has been the focus of debate since
it was first proposed in 2017 and now includes replacing the Hamill rink
and rebuilding a baseball field that is currently next door. The current
Dorothy Hamill Ice Rink was built in 1971 and is long past its serviceable life
span.
DEEP uses Meriden as an example of using nature to control flooding as it expands climate program
MERIDEN — Unlike the devastation caused by August's
historic flooding, flood control efforts are not always visible and can be
a tough sell to the public, state officials said.
There are also steep match requirements that prevent many
municipalities from applying for state and federal grants on proactive projects
that could protect their communities.
To counter those challenges and others, state and municipals
officials recently called for information from councils of governments and the
public on ways to shore up their infrastructure before another catastrophic
weather event using the Climate Resilience Fund.
“The costs of climate change are being felt by communities
and consumers around our state, and most acutely for those who were in the
direct path of the devastating floods last month,” said Connecticut Department
of Energy and Environmental Protection Commissioner Katie Dykes. “DEEP is
committed to helping Connecticut communities compete for every federal dollar
available to fund a more resilient Connecticut that can withstand, adapt to,
and recover faster from future events."
Dykes was joined by members of several council of
governments, DEEP staff, educators, and municipal leaders at
the site of the Meriden Green resilience project, a 14-acre flood control
initiative that used natural features capable of withstanding severe flooding
events.
Part of the project meant joining three brooks, removing
narrow or bent culverts and channel deepening and widening. The city also built
a submersible amphitheater and purchased a steel and concrete bridge to
move people from one side of the city to the train station should flooding
prevent car travel.
"Our nationally recognized Meriden Green, which opened
in 2016, has added vibrancy to our city, but more importantly, it has been a
critical component in the city’s commitment to flood control and climate
resiliency,” said Mayor Kevin Scarpati.
The city has been devastated by floods before.
“During the 1990s, two of the floods that overwhelmed
downtown Meriden resulted in nearly $30 million of damage and forced multiple
businesses to either close or relocate,” Scarpati noted. “However, ongoing
flood resilience projects, such as the Meriden Green, are helping to revitalize
our community."
The flood control work continues in the west side where it
is tied to building a new senior center and building a skate park. The
city is still looking for funding to complete the job.
DEEP wants feedback for the DEEP Climate Resilience
Fund, including from municipalities, Councils of Government, tribes, electric
companies, academic partners, private entities and nonprofit
organizations.
DEEP also seeks public input on ideas for how the department
can reduce the administrative burden for local governments, including whether
the agency should create a program that provides in-kind assistance from
contractors DEEP gets.
At a roundtable discussion following a tour of the Meriden
Green, stakeholders suggested ideas such as maps of problem areas,
microgrids, regional stormwater authorities, access to grant writers and
engineering services to design projects ready to be funded. Several suggested
rainwater maintenance programs, and getting the public onboard with something
they don't see until it's too late.
DEEP wants to know ways it can potentially use state bond
funds to structure a Climate Resiliency Revolving Loan Fund, which was
authorized by the legislature in the 2024 session. This fund is for
low-interest loans to municipalities and private entities for infrastructure
repairs and resiliency projects in response to unplanned climate events.
Two public hearings will be held in October. A final
deadline for written comments is Nov. 8.
Dyke and others hope municipal leaders will apply regularly
to give the state an idea of how much it needs from the federal government.
"This will help them get on a routine, so towns can
plan," Dyke said. "We want to make sure that is
predictable."
DOT pours concrete deck on Norwalk's new Fairfield Avenue bridge as crews race winter weather
NORWALK — Crews rebuilding the Fairfield
Avenue bridge spanning Interstate 95 in Norwalk finished pouring
its concrete deck Thursday and will install parapet retaining walls in the
coming weeks, according to a Connecticut Department of Transportation
spokesperson.
Ideally, the crews will also be able to pave the bridge
before November — what DOT generally considers the start of winter, or when
cold wintry weather puts an end to roadwork for the year, DOT spokesperson Josh
Morgan said.
“Hopefully we can beat the winter weather shutdown,” Morgan
said.
But with climate change and the milder weather Connecticut
has seen in recent winters, Morgan said, DOT will continue the “day-by-day”
work to rebuilding the bridge, which was damaged in early May in a fiery
crash and torn down. Too-cold weather and excessive snow and rain will halt the
construction project, he said.
“We’re thinking dry thoughts,” Morgan said, noting
that August’s
heavy rains and flooding in parts of Connecticut did not delay the
Norwalk bridge project. Similar wet weather, out of DOT’s control, would be the
biggest obstacle in completing the project in a timely manner, he said.
Before crews could pour the bridge’s concrete deck, “every
utility line you could think of,” including water, fiber, gas and electric
lines, was installed in the last two weeks of September, Morgan said. Both
hurdles are major milestones in the project, which has caused
traffic delays in the area.
Crews are “really making some good progress” on the
Fairfield Avenue bridge rebuild, the DOT spokesperson said.
“Demo was the easy part,” Morgan said of the work to remove
the damaged old bridge in the days after the fiery crash. “The rebuild is a
little more complicated because you can’t shut down traffic.”
DOT shut
down I-95 in Norwalk, crippling the flow of traffic, for about 80 hours to
demolish the bridge that was rendered structurally unstable when a gasoline
tanker caught fire underneath it in after a crash on May 2.
The bridge is slated for construction closeout in early
spring — consistent with previous estimations so far, Morgan said. Before
reopening, sidewalks will also be installed, he said.
The state Department of Transportation is proposing to
redesign the Route 44 intersection at Main, High and Ely streets in Hartford,
located one block north of Dunkin’ Park.
The project would improve the poorly aligned intersection
and replace an antiquated traffic signal, which has reached the end of its
service life and lacks the ability to detect vehicles.
The intersection has four crosswalks and sidewalks on all
sides, which have deteriorated. Some of the crosswalks are not compliant with
the American with Disabilities Act, according to the DOT.
The redesign would bring the intersection into compliance.
About 44,000 vehicles pass through the intersection each
day.
The intersection is prone to crashes. Between 2020 and 2022,
there were 150 crashes at the intersection, 56% of which involved injuries,
along with two fatalities, according to the DOT.
Designs for the new intersection will be finalized over the
next three to four years. The DOT is also studying the possibility of
converting the intersection into a roundabout.
Construction would take another one to two years after the
design is finished. The total cost of the project is estimated to be $9
million, using state and federal funding.
Preliminary plans show shorter pedestrian crossings,
reconstructed sidewalks and parking spaces on either side of Route 44.
The intersection at Route 44 and Pleasant Street, which runs
along the side of Dunkin’ Park, may also be improved as part of the project,
with a formalized loading and unloading area in front of the stadium.
The DOT is accepting public comments until Oct. 8. For more
information about the project or to submit comments, visit portal.ct.gov/DOTHartfordPP063-0015 or
email info@hartfordmobility.com.