Waterbury’s Amazon facility passes another hurdle
ANDREAS YILMA
NAUGATUCK – The Inland Wetlands Commission on Thursday
approved an application by Bluewater Property Group to build a multistory
Amazon distribution on property straddling the Naugatuck and Waterbury town
line.
Next up, the Naugatuck Zoning Commission will hold a hearing
Wednesday on the proposed development at the Board of Education conference room
at 6 p.m.
“Based on the testimony of Timothy Onderko and Dean
Gustafson, and letter from the commission’s peer reviewer Andrew White of Tighe
& Bond, the (Inland Wetlands) Commission does not believe that either the
remaining on-site wetlands or the nearby off-site/off site wetlands will be
negatively impacted,” commission Vice-Chair Marcia Puc said.
As the proposed project is in both Naugatuck and Waterbury,
applications are moving ahead in both land use departments.
Waterbury Inland Wetlands & Watercourses Commission also
gave a unanimous approval to move the project ahead now to its zoning
commission.
Bluewater Property Group looks to develop a
650,000-square-foot, multifloor retail distribution center on the
Naugatuck-Waterbury line in the area of 0 Great Hill Road and 191 Sheridan
Drive on 183 acres. It’s divided up to about 114 acres is in the city and
roughly 69 acres is in the borough.
The plan also calls for a conservation easement of about 33
acres along the eastern side of the site where about 13.6 of those acres are in
the borough.
The Naugatuck wetlands board approval comes with nearly a
dozen and a half conditions which includes a dust control plan for blasting to
protect wetlands; the applicant is required to employ best management practices
as described in the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection
guidelines for Soil Erosion and Sediment Control; and monitoring reports by a
landscape architect or wetlands biologist shall be submitted to the commission
for each of the three growing seasons quarterly following the completion of
remediation, restoration and stabilization measures.
“The current proposal calls for no direct wetland impact and
approximately 0.94 acres of 100-feet upland review area encroachments but also
the enhancements of 1.86 acres of invasive removal and native plantings,” Puc
said.
The applicant has proposed retaining walls around the
perimeter of the new development to minimize land disturbance, reduce earthwork
and protect on-site wetlands and vernal pools, according to the Inland Wetlands
Commission resolution.
New Haven officials hope state grants will kick start development at 2 blighted sites
NEW HAVEN — Officials hope that long-vacant privately owned
parcels, including an alleged
contaminated illegal junkyard, can be kick-started into economic
productivity with state remediation grants.
Last week, Gov. Ned Lamont announced New Haven received
$386,000 in Department of Economic and Community Development Brownfield
Remediation grants for two projects, with the aim of cleaning blighted and
contaminated properties.
“All of these blighted properties have been vacant for years
when we should be using them to grow new businesses and support the development
of badly needed housing,” Lamont said in a statement.
In New Haven, a $186,000 grant will support environmental
investigations, hazardous building material surveys, structural assessments,
and remedial design plans for 4.9 acres at former
manufacturing sites at 71 and 89 Shelton Ave., and the city will share a
$200,000 grant with East Haven for assessment work at a 21.47-acre site
including 201 and 181 Russell St. in New Haven.
New Haven Deputy Economic Development Administrator Carlos
Eyzaguirre said that although the properties are privately owned, there are
significant costs associated with addressing contamination at sites that can be
repurposed to serve a public good with housing or additional city tax revenue.
The Russell Street site has "been a mess for many
years," said Helen Rosenberg, New Haven economic development officer.
"There has been some assessment done, but nothing
really that substantive. The (Environmental Protection Agency) and DEEP were
involved in doing some minor cleanups focused on PCBs, but there's still some
contamination there," she said. "The goal is to characterize the
environmental condition of the site so we know what's involved in the cleanup
and so we can market it, most likely for commercial industrial."
Eyzaguirre said it's "an opportunity for us to get
our arms around a site that has been unproductive but also invites other
deleterious uses.” In 2021, state
officials took action at the site, a former Coppola Metals scrapyard, alleging
it was being used as an illegal junkyard. According to city tax records, the
properties also have unpaid taxes dating back years.
At the Shelton Avenue sites, city officials said the owners
are seeking to remediate the property to bring it up to residential standards.
"I think with limited space in a city this size, you
see a significant public benefit to doing housing on this site," said
Eyzaguirre. He said the city is "motivated" to work collaboratively
with the owner on a housing project.
The site, which was once used for radiological activity to
benefit the U.S. Navy, has undergone a significant amount of remediation
already, Rosenberg said. However, there are still some more "normal"
contaminants like PCBs, oils and metals that must be addressed, she said.
Besides New Haven, Ansonia received a $200,000 brownfield
remediation grant to support the environmental, hazardous building materials
and structural assessments for the former Ansonia Opera House.
The state's Department of Housing and the Connecticut
Housing Finance Authority also announced last week that financing agreements
were signed to support statewide housing development, including two New Haven
projects. At 86-100 Hazel St., $3.5 million in DOH funding and $500,000 from
CHFA’s Housing Tax Credit Contribution will support four two-unit buildings,
each with a unit for ownership and a unit to rent; $3.95 million in grant
funding from DOH will also support the rehabilitation of nine buildings with 23
units between them, supporting renters earning between 25% to 60% of the area
median income.
Other projects in the New Haven area supported by state
financing include:
A total of $5.5 million in DOH funding and $6.4 million in
CHFA financing for a new construction development in Cheshire consisting of 71
units, 56 of which will be affordable to households earning 30% to 80% AMI.
$20.9 million in DOH funding for a new 45-unit construction
in Cheshire for the Cheshire Housing Authority's Jack's Farm project.
A $2.63 million DOH loan for the new construction of the
Trolley Point building, 105 units of apartment housing in Derby.
Preston public gets say Tuesday on draft plan of development
Claire Bessette
Preston — The town has long held a goal of retaining its
rural character and agricultural traditions, but the new Plan of Conservation
and Development also looks to a future with increased development and a need
for better town facilities.
The Planning and Zoning Commission will hold a public
hearing at 6 p.m. Tuesday in the cafeteria at Preston Plains Middle School, 1
Route164, Preston, on the 2024 draft 289-page Plan of Conservation and
Development.
A copy of the plan is available for review at the town
planning office and town clerk’s office from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Tuesday
through Friday, and at the Preston Library. It also is posted on the town
website, www.preston-ct.org, by clicking
on the public
hearing notice on the town home page.
The colorful cover features a photo of a historic house, a
bucolic farm and an aerial view of the cleaned former Norwich Hospital, now
Preston Riverwalk. “A look at the past and present and vision for the future
for generations to come,” is written in a cursive font across the page.
Town Planner Kathy Warzecha said the document represents a
lot of hard work by the commission and planning staff. The plan still
emphasizes the importance of preserving the town’s rural character and farms.
“We want to work with the farmers, as we have always done,
and make sure that there’s an economic opportunity for them,” Warzecha said.
The most significant addition to the new 10-year document is
the preparation for development at Preston Riverwalk. A segment on the
Riverwalk runs from page 56 to 61, including maps and a layout of the
conceptual plan Mohegan tribal officials unveiled in 2017 when tribal and town
leaders announced an agreement for the tribe to acquire the property once
cleaned.
The plan recommends connecting the Route 12 Riverwalk with
the town’s plan to slow traffic and enhance pedestrian and bicycle safety along
Route 2A in Poquetanuck Village. The plan recommends intersection improvements
with dedicated turning lanes for the Riverwalk and better pedestrian
crosswalks.
“The addition of (Southeast Area Transit) services and of
bus shelters on Route 12 will add a new level of connectivity,” the plan
states, “as there is currently no public transportation serving Preston.”
The plan also recognizes that the Mohegan-Pequot Bridge may
be undersized for the anticipated development, especially with the Great Wolf
Lodge at the nearby Foxwoods Resort Casino opening Memorial Day weekend.
The plan recommends the town look at itself too regarding
anticipated development, examining the cramped 1974 Town Hall already too small
for current needs. The plan recommends considering office trailers in the
short-term and addressing the building’s lack of handicapped access.
And with Preston’s aging population — 17% of Preston
residents are over 65 years old and 32% are between the age of 44 and 64, the
plan states — the plan recommends the town examine upgrades needed to the
40-unit senior housing complex at Lincoln Park and the town senior center.
“The Senior Center is dated, inadequate, and does not meet
the needs of the senior,” the plan states. “The first priority is to upgrade it
to meet ADA requirements.”
New London looks to streamline water projects with list of pre-vetted contractors
John Penney
New London — The city’s public utilities department plans to create a master list of pre-vetted engineers and other contractors, which officials said will help projects get done quicker.
The requests for qualifications now being advertised by New London Public
Utilities (NLPU) seek firms with engineering expertise in one or more areas:
water treatment facilities, water supply dams, water tanks and storage
facilities, wastewater pressure and force mains, wastewater treatment
facilities, and storm water systems.
Water and Water Pollution Control Authority Chairman Barry Weiner said the city
in the past has waited until a project is “well along” in the planning process
before screening potential contractors, including those that specialize in pre-
and post-construction work.
“That takes a lot longer than if we had a list of qualified vendors we can
choose from,” Weiner said. “This list will make it easier for us to get our
ducks in a row right away.”
Being chosen as a pre-qualified vendor will not guarantee a company is given a
work contract, and the scope and fee for a specific project — which potentially
would range in cost from $100,000 to $10 million — would be negotiated
individually.
Weiner said NPLU has several projects on the horizon, including pipe
replacements and upgrades to its sewer plant, that will benefit from having an
on-call list of qualified contractors ready to work.
“The work never stops,” he said.
NLPU, which owns and operates a series of water, wastewater and storm water
systems in New London, Waterford and East Lyme, is seeking consultants able to
provide project planning, design, construction oversight, general technical
support and on-call services and to “work well with groups of city officials,
citizens and businesspersons,” according to the bid documents
Weiner said many of the city’s major water-related projects are funded in some
way with state money.
“And that kind of funding typically comes with a deadline,” he said. “So, time
is of the essence — we don’t want to be delayed because we’re still looking for
the kind of support services this new list will provide.”
NPLU Director Joe Lanzafame said the master list will preclude the department
from advertising for consultants every time a new project is planned. The list
will also give NLPU officials a snapshot of a particular company’s skills.
“We can look at this list and easily see what their expertise involves,”
Lanzafame said. “And we can get that information before we’re too far along
into a project. It speeds things up.”
Once the list of firms is created, it will remain valid for five years and then
likely be re-advertised.
When a specific project comes up, letters will be sent to each qualified
company requesting it submit a written project proposal.
Those proposals will
be evaluated with a firm selected based on the quality of the submission and
cost considerations.
“The bottom line is, if you’re not on this list, you can’t be selected to do
any work in the city for us, unless it’s a special circumstance, for five
years,” Lanzafame said. “It’s an important list to be on.”
East Hartford officials drop grant request to aid Founders Plaza redevelopment
East Hartford officials have decided against applying for a
state Community Investment Fund grant in support of a massive, mixed-use
redevelopment of its Founders Plaza office park. At least not for the latest
round.
The partnership behind the "Port Eastside" project
has spent millions of dollars securing about 30 acres of the struggling office
park along the Connecticut River.
Plans call for about 1,000 multifamily units, mostly
apartments but with a handful of condos. The project would also include a
6.1-mile greenway and 400,000 square feet of entertainment, restaurant and
retail space, according to a recent statement from Port Eastside LLC.
Port Eastside was initially introduced as an $841 million
investment in summer 2023. While plans have been updated since then, the
project team has not offered an updated development estimate.
A request for up to $4 million in state Community Investment
Funds to help fund pre-development costs is on the Dec. 10 meeting agenda
of the East Hartford Town Council.
East Hartford Development Director Eileen Buckheit, on
Monday, said officials haven't had a chance to digest whether the conditions
that would apply to the CIF grant are appropriate for the Port Eastside
project, and so willl not seek support for Port Eastside in the CIF
application round due Dec. 13.
Buckheit said the town will, however, continue to seek
funding mechanisms to aid the project. It could even return to submit a CIF
application in later rounds.
The Port Eastside partnership includes brothers Bruce and
Harris Simons, of Simons Real Estate Group in West Hartford; Manafort Brothers
Inc. President Jim Manafort; Peter S. Roisman, head of Houston-based property
tech company REV Leasing; Nicholas Michnevitz III, president of West
Hartford-based MBH Architecture; Hoffman Auto Group Co-Chairman Jeffrey S.
Hoffman; Chris Reilly, president of Hartford-based Lexington Partners; and Alan
Lazowski, chairman and founder of LAZ Parking.
East Hartford’s Town Council, in March, approved conditions
of a $6.5 million, state-funded grant, which will be used to demolish the
182,890-square-foot former Bank of America office building at 20 Hartland St.,
also known as 99 Founders Plaza.
In return, Port Eastside agreed to secure a building permit
for an apartment building of at least 150 units on that site within four years.
The 7.3-acre property at 20 Hartland St. is one of five
secured by Port Eastside for its development.