Development projects to watch in Meriden, Wallingford, Southington and Cheshire in 2025
Significant new development projects took shape across
Connecticut in 2024, and 2025 will be no different. Here are several projects
underway in the region to watch.
WALLINGFORD
Executive Auto Group dealership
The Executive Kia dealership at 1164 N. Colony Road is
undergoing a major expansion and renovation expected to be
completed in 2025. The construction will double the size of the current
building, totaling 24,000 square feet. The new building will be divided into a
large glass-fronted showroom space and service garage.
With 136 parking spaces, the new showroom building will
occupy a more central position on the lot and be better connected to the
neighboring Executive Honda dealership, which is under the same ownership. The
new lot is also planned to have expanded green space over the current
structure.
Choate admissions building and bridge
The private school Choate Rosemary Hall is undertaking
several projects expected to be completed in 2025. A
14,000-square-foot welcome and admission center, Carr Hall, with a 70-space
parking garage, is being constructed at Christian and North Elm streets,
along with a renovation and a 3,600-square-foot addition to the central dining
facility at the Hill House Building.
These projects coincide with the school’s ongoing efforts to
gain the town's approval to build a 17-foot-tall
pedestrian bridge across Christian Street connecting a parking area to
sports fields.
Bio-Techne expansion
Minnesota-based medical equipment manufacturer Bio-Techne
plans to double the size of its laboratory and manufacturing center at
5 Technology Drive with a 54,000-square-foot addition. The Planning and Zoning
Commission approved a site plan revision for the addition at its Oct. 16
meeting.
Muddy River data center
With a zone change approved in December, developers are
expected to bring forward plans to construct a data center at 1181 Barnes Road alongside the Muddy
River. Concrete plans have yet to be presented, but if approved, it will be one
of the state’s first data centers constructed on this scale under new
legislation intended to attract new technological development to the
state.
Despite the potential to bring in millions in taxable
revenue to the town and attract vendors like Meta and Google, residents have
resisted the development due to environmental and noise concerns.
Connecticut Proton Therapy Center
A joint venture between Hartford HealthCare and Yale New
Haven Health Systems will be the first in the state to provide advanced cancer
treatment options using proton therapy. The 25,000-square-foot facility will be
located at 932 Northrop Road and will be one of 46 operating centers across the
U.S. Construction will continue through 2025. Officials say a grand opening is
not likely until late 2026.
SOUTHINGTON
$15M road work project
In November, voters approved using $15 million in bond money
to fix the town’s oldest and most damaged roadways. The town will chip seal the
pavement, a method believed to increase the longevity and durability of the
asphalt pavement.
The Public Works Committee will solicit input from the
public in January and February to determine the areas of greatest need.
Nature’s Estates
The Planning and Zoning Commission recently approved a
23-unit housing development for residents 55 and older at 205 Lazy Lane.
Located on 13 acres, the small community called Nature’s Estates will include
large areas of green space and community gardens. The units will be
single-story, with three designated affordable.
A major point of appeal for the small residential community
was its reduced environmental impact compared to the average subdivision.
Northeast Winemaking relocation
Local wine company Northeast Winemaking is relocating from 10 Jackson Way in Plainville to 1601
West St. in Southington, with the construction of a 10,640-square-foot building
where wine fermentation and winemaking classes will take place. Land will also
be set aside for a 6,000-square-foot expansion for a tasting room after the
initial construction is complete.
Meriden
Piano factory conversion
Construction of a $56 million piano factory conversion into
82 housing units on Tremont Street is underway.
Developers from Massachusetts-based Trinity Financial
renamed the former Aeolian Co. complex Tremont Flats at the Piano
Factory. The "adaptive reuse" project will turn the former
factory into a four-story apartment complex offering 71 affordable units and 11
market-rate apartments, ranging in price from $650 per month to $1,500. The
development aims to address local and state housing needs while preserving an
important piece of the city's history, developers said.
The project is expected to revitalize a run-down
neighborhood in the city's north end.
Colony project
Developer Choni (Johnny) Grunblatt has purchased five
buildings along deserted Colony Street for a mixed-use commercial development
and 69 apartments abutting the Meriden Train Station.
Grunblatt has permits to build a lifestyle center that
includes a coffee shop, possible rooftop dining, a food court, recreational
space, storage and bike space in the five buildings at 1, 9, 11, 21, and 51
Colony St.
The project could significantly impact the city's downtown
by attracting a younger population that can afford market-rate units and
utilize public transit.
116 Cook Ave.
A former medical office building that has become one of two
Cook Avenue eyesores is scheduled for demolition this year. The city has
received a $2 million state grant to raze the building that was destroyed in a
fire two years ago.
City officials are holding out hope to build a new senior
center on the property to replace the 80-year-old Meriden Senior Center on West
Main Street, which has no green space and traffic and safety concerns. However,
the project is tied to the city's flood control work and has been delayed by
about seven years.
Either way, the building has to come down, officials
said.
Meriden Brewery
A commercial brewery, tasting room and events patio
development on Research Parkway has won land use approval. Developer Dominick
DeMartino intends to build the brewery facing Foster's Pond, and the patio will
have visibility from Interstate 91 northbound.
DeMartino also received approval for 12 apartment units
nearby. The entire project is expected to tie into a linear trail along
Research Parkway from East Main Street to the Wallingford border.
DeMartino owns billboards along the highway and has projects
in Middletown and Wallingford.
CHESHIRE
Shops at Stone Bridge
The Shops at Stone Bridge, which began construction last
year, is expected to welcome customers in late 2025, a project official said.
The retail center is part of a larger, 107-acre development called Stone Bridge
Crossing that includes apartments, townhomes, a gas station and convenience
store at the Route 10 and Interstate 691 interchange near Cheshire's border
with Southington.
Tenants of the Shops at Stone Bridge will include Whole
Foods, T.J. Maxx, Saybrook Home, J. Crew Factory, Club Pilates, Barnes &
Noble and others. The retail center still has five commercial spaces yet to be
claimed.
Two elementary schools
Work on the town’s two new elementary schools will continue
this year.
Costing $90 million, the yet-unnamed north end school is the
largest capital project the town has undertaken. The reconstruction and
modernization of Norton Elementary at 414 North Brooksvale Road is projected to
cost $76 million.
Officials anticipate both projects, which broke ground Dec.
15, will be completed by fall 2026.
Stamford roadwork means detours: 5 major transit projects for drivers to watch in 2025
Ignacio
Laguarda
STAMFORD — New bridges, extra highway lanes and another
round of road pavings are on the docket for 2025 in Stamford.
The city has some major road projects planned in the new
year, some of which will likely cause traffic delays.
Here's what to know.
Interstate 95 auxiliary lanes
An auxiliary
lane will be added to both sides of Interstate 95 in Stamford in 2025
if the state's plans come to fruition before the end of the year.
The project involves adding an extra lane on each side of
the highway to connect Exit 6 and Exit 7. The $76 million project is 90 percent
funded by the federal government.
Lane closures are expected as a result of the work, however.
The auxiliary lanes are part of a larger project that aims
to improve the stretch of interstate between Exits 6 and 7. Other improvements
include the construction of noise walls between the interstate and nearby
neighborhoods as well as new lighting and signage.
Wire Mill Road bridge
Three of Stamford's lowest
rated bridges will still be under repair at the start of 2025.
The Wire Mill Road bridge replacement must be finished by
2025 or risk losing some or all of the nearly $2 million in federal funds that
back the project, City Engineer Lou Casolo previously told The Stamford
Advocate.
Hunting Ridge Road bridge
The 1940 Hunting Ridge Road bridge near LaRocca’s
Country Market in North Stamford will be replaced and is expected to open by
June, according to the city’s website.
The new bridge will be able to withstand “pressures,
velocities, impact and uplift forces from a 100-year flood,” according to the
city’s website.
The current structure was rated in “poor” condition by the
Connecticut Department of Transportation. The CTDOT has 11 rankings for bridge
conditions ranging from "failed" at one end to "excellent"
at the other. The "poor" rating is defined as as a bridge with
"widespread moderate or isolated major defects; strength and/or
performance of the component is affected."
The state will cover 45 percent of the $3.1 million budget
to replace the bridge.
Cedar Heights Road bridge
The bridge on Cedar
Heights Road that has been delayed multiple times is aiming to be
replaced by the end of April.
The most recent delay came after the city discovered the
bridge, rated in “serious” condition by CTDOT, was rebuilt too low.
Mill Road bridge
A small Stamford bridge on Mill
Road that was closed down in May 2024 because it was in critical
condition could fully reopen in 2025.
The bridge experienced "significant" cracking of
the pavement and "severe" deterioration of the steel beams
underneath, according to a construction report.
The condition of the bridge, which is on Mill Road just east
of the intersection with Old Long Ridge Road, resulted in the closure of
Mill Road.
The bridge, which was built in 1960 and runs over a small
unnamed brook, is about 19 feet wide and is supported by 12-foot steel beams
underneath as well as stone abutments on each end.
It was partially reopened to one-lane alternating traffic in
July.
The permanent replacement of the bridge structure was
approved for grant funding and will take place once those funds are in place,
according to the city's website.
Road paving program returns
A portion of Atlantic Street is freshly paved in the South
End of Stamford, Conn. July 17, 2024.
Tyler Sizemore/Hearst Connecticut Media
Paving season begins in spring and the city has a list of
dozens of roads it plans to tackle first. In 2023, officials released a list
of 200
roads that had been selected for paving over the next few years based
on an assessment
of the city's roadways.
In 2024, the list of roads to be paved was announced in
April. Paving season typically ends in November.
Development projects in the New Haven region to watch in 2025
Brian
Zahn
Across the New Haven area, shovels are entering the ground
and steel beams are going up. Officials have green-lit construction and
renovation projects to bring new businesses and housing to the region
throughout 2025.
Here is a look at some projects expected to make headway in
transforming Greater New Haven in the coming year.
New Haven
ConnCAT Place on Dixwell
Officials broke ground in October on the first
phase of a project expected to completely revitalize Dixwell Avenue. The
$200 million project to create a plaza with a mix of social services, private
enterprise and open space is helmed by ConnCORP, a subsidiary of the nonprofit
ConnCAT.
The first phase of the ConnCAT Place development will bring
a workforce training center, a child mental health and family clinic, a daycare
facility, a grocery store, a food hall for local restaurants, a
65,000-square-foot outdoor plaza and a 186-unit apartment tower where the
Stetson Branch Library, a New Haven Police Department substation and a faded
shopping plaza once stood in the city's "Black Main Street."
The second phase is expected to bring a 350-seat performing
arts center, a 60,000-square-foot office building and up to 15 townhomes.
Although most construction will occur this year, it is
unlikely to be ready before 2026. The project, first proposed to the Dixwell
community in 2019, has an expected construction timetable of 18 months.
West Haven
Riva
For years, Chick's
Drive-In was critical to the shoreline city's identity along Beach
Street, offering seafood and grilled hot dogs to beachgoers, but the landmark
restaurant closed in 2015 following the wishes of its proprietor Joseph
Celentano upon his death. In the aftermath of that closure, the restaurant sat
vacant alongside other former icons of the shoreline, such as the vacant
Debonair Beach Motel and Captain's Galley restaurant.
In 2023, the Chick's
sign came down and developers erected 12 townhome units in the
restaurant's former parking lot. Then, the restaurant
itself was demolished late that year. Last summer, the developers behind
the townhomes received approval to build Riva,
a beer garden-style restaurant that will incorporate a tiki bar and an
ice cream counter with views of the beach.
Riva is expected to open in 2025, and officials hope it will
be a critical development in helping to create a new, vibrant identity for the
city's shoreline. Officials have also approved 30 condo units at the site of
the former Debonair Beach Motel and a coffee shop with rooftop dining at a
former bait and tackle shop. In addition, a proposal to develop the former
Savin Rock Conference Center into a restaurant and banquet facility is making
its way through city boards and commissions.
Hamden
Newhall Recreation Center
Hamden will spend about $11 million in ARPA funds to
renovate the former Michael J. Whalen Junior High School's freestanding
gymnasium on Newhall
Street into a youth, arts and recreation center. The project is part of a
larger plan to transform the entire school property into a "community
campus." The two-story recreation center will feature a gymnasium, weight
room, black box theater, study lounge, kitchen and several rooms for programming,
plans show.
The recreation center has drawn backlash from some members
of southern Hamden’s Newhall community, who believe the town should use the
community campus money to help residents whose homes were built on a landfill.
Some members of the Hamden Legislative Council also have called to defund
the community campus and reinvest those funds into residents'
foundations.
Hamden has two housing projects planned for State Street and
the former High Meadows property, both of which have affordable units.
Timelines for those projects were not immediately clear.
North Haven
Washington Avenue
Several retail projects are planned in 2025 for Washington
Avenue near the entrance of the Amazon warehouse, including a retail center
anchored by 7-Eleven with five retail spaces and a space for a restaurant.
Development is also expected on a 3.3-acre site owned by Gengras Volvo North
Haven."When you've got one type of business interested in an area, it
attracts others," North Haven First Selectman Mike Freda said in October.
"And that kind of competition is good for consumers."
Wallingford
Choate admissions building and bridge
The private school Choate Rosemary Hall is undertaking
several projects expected to be completed in 2025. A
14,000-square-foot welcome and admission center, Carr Hall, with a 70-space
parking garage, is being constructed at Christian and North Elm
streets, along with a renovation and a 3,600-square-foot addition to the
central dining facility at the Hill House Building.
These projects coincide with the school’s ongoing efforts to
gain the town's approval to build a 17-foot-tall
pedestrian bridge across Christian Street connecting a parking area to
sports fields.
Bio-Techne expansion
Minnesota-based medical equipment manufacturer Bio-Techne
plans to double the size of its laboratory and manufacturing center at
5 Technology Drive with a 54,000-square-foot addition. The Planning and Zoning
Commission approved a site plan revision for the addition at its Oct. 16
meeting.
Connecticut Proton Therapy Center
A joint
venture between Hartford HealthCare and Yale New Haven Health Systems
will be the first in the state to provide advanced cancer treatment options
using proton therapy. The 25,000-square-foot facility will be located at 932
Northrop Road and will be one of 46 operating centers across the U.S.
Construction will continue through 2025. Officials say a grand opening is not
likely until late 2026.
Executive Auto Group dealership
The Executive Kia dealership at 1164 N. Colony Road is
undergoing a major
expansion and renovation expected to be completed in 2025. The
construction will double the size of the current building, totaling 24,000
square feet. The new building will be divided into a large glass-fronted
showroom space and service garage.
With 136 parking spaces, the new showroom building will
occupy a more central position on the lot and be better connected to the
neighboring Executive Honda dealership, which is under the same ownership. The
new lot is also planned to have expanded green space over the current
structure.
Clinton
The Station at Clinton
Work is expected to continue throughout 2025 to add
housing density near Clinton's train station. A luxury apartment building
called The Grand was completed in 2023, and work is planned for a luxury
apartment building called The Penn.
Elsewhere in town along the Route 1 corridor, roughly 100
units of housing are under construction or planned, including 50 units in the
former Abraham Pierson School.
Stamford to begin construction of 1000+ apartments in 2025: 5 developments to watch
Robert Marchant
STAMFORD – Hundreds of residential
units came to Stamford in 2024, and 2025 is also shaping up as another
banner year for development in the city.
While city officials and residents continue to grapple
with the proper balance for new housing and development, more
construction is assuredly on the way.
Stamford projects to watch in 2025
Large-scale construction projects have been approved at
locations in North Stamford, as well as the downtown. Hover over each dot to
see some of the residential development scheduled to move forward in 2025.
Large-scale construction projects have been approved at
locations in North Stamford, as well as the downtown. Long Ridge Road is set to
see over 800 new residential units, and the city's downtown is poised for
another large apartment building to join the half-dozen other
big residential buildings that have come to fruition in the past
several years.
Here are some of the development projects that were approved
for construction.
74 Broad St.
Scaffolding has been up around the old Burlington Coat
Factory store for over four years, but it will be coming down soon. The
development team says that demolition on the structure at 74 Broad St. will
begin in early 2025.
The proposed seven-story building next to the Ferguson
Library will be home to 280 new residential units. Approvals came
late in 2024.
Developer Randy Salvatore is behind the project, and Salvatore
also created The Asher, an apartment complex that is a block over from the
proposed development.
900 Long Ridge Road
Litigation over a planned apartment complex with 463 units
at 900 Long Ridge Road was
settled in late 2024.
The Zoning Board in 2023 denied
an earlier plan to convert the office park there, located just south
of the Merritt Parkway. The plan was revised to create more green space and a
traditional architectural design scheme, and the city and the developers,
Monday Properties, reached a settlement that ended the litigation.
The number of apartments was be dropped from 508 units to
463 units in the revised plans, and the commercial space was lessened from
20,000 square feet to 5,000 square feet.
The 36-acre property has been the location of a half-vacant
office complex for years.
800 Long Ridge Road
The old Xerox corporate campus is due for
re-development. Plans
have been approved for 354 apartment units to replace a four-story
office building and a parking garage on a 25-acre site. The 300,000-square-foot
building on the property was built in 1978 and was the corporate headquarters
for the Xerox Corporation from 1996 until 2006.
That project was the first to make use of Stamford's
regulations that allow residential conversions of office parks. Developer
Building and Land Technology is the developer of the residential complex.
700 Fairfield Ave.
The Planning Board voted to approve plans
by Toll Brothers, the national home building corporation, to build 56 condo
units in 13 two-story townhouse structures on Fairfield Avenue. The two-story
office building off Top Gallant Road, which is partially empty, would be
demolished to make way for the housing, according to the plan.
The offices were built
in 1979.
Main Street
While the look of Main Street downtown won't change much,
two older buildings there are due for a major overhaul.
Plans to convert the old seven-story Stamford Trust Company
building at 300 Main St., into a hotel and restaurant was approved by the city
Planning Board in December, part of a larger trend to re-adapt old office
space. The old bank building was constructed in the late 1920s, with a modern
addition added in 1984. Developer Tom Rich, who
has worked on a number of other large-scale projects in the city, is
seeking the conversion. The structure would house 149 rooms, as well as a
restaurant and meeting space.
Next door to the old bank building, another conversion is in
store.
JBM Realty and developer
Jeffrey Mendell have been given the go-ahead to convert the office
building at 400
Main St. into 41 apartment units. The building's interior will be gutted in
2025, and the development team says the apartments could be put on the market
in early 2026. The building, known as the Valeur Building, was constructed in
1926.
Also on Main Street, a 99-room
extended-stay hotel at West Park Place and a
149-room hotel at 300 Main St. are being proposed.
Here are Middletown's new housing, sports, cannabis and retail developments coming in 2025
Cassandra Day
MIDDLETOWN — The city is well-known for its vibrant mix of
culture, the arts and array of world cuisine, and is now moving into the new
year with plans for several multi-use projects to include apartments, a
boutique hotel, shops, restaurants and more much-needed parking.
Here's a look at some of the biggest projects happening in
2025.
Redevelopment
The city finalized its $3
million purchase of the one-acre Attention to Detail vehicle
customization property in December to make way for the proposed, block-size
Village at Riverside mixed-use development bordered by Court and Main
streets and deKoven and Dingwall drives.
ADT paid $510,000 in 2001 for the plot.
About 600 parking spaces are expected to be created, along
with housing including 19 townhomes and 258 studios, one- and two-bedroom
units. There would also be a public square and various shops.
This and other projects are anticipated to help the city
finally reconnect to its riverfront via a walking bridge over Route 9.
An outdoor
concert venue near the old Jackson Corrugated site is planned as part
of Middletown’s long-term Return to the
Riverbend project, which aims to redevelop the city’s portion of the
Connecticut River.
Springside
Middletown, a $100 million, 486-unit luxury apartment and townhouse
community situated on a 48-acre site at 494 Newfield St., is in the final
stages of construction.
The campus includes co-working spaces, private offices,
conference rooms, a fitness facility, swimming pool with splash pad and sun
deck, pickleball courts and nature trails.
Work is also continuing on the adaptive
reuse of the 20,000-square-foot former professional building and roller
rink at 545-47 Main St. The public-private partnership is being
undertaken by Middletown native JR Carnegie-Hargreaves.
Plans include a cafe, eight loft apartments, a wellness
collective with chiropractic and other providers, a retail incubator space and
entrepreneurial programs and offices.
A West Hartford real estate agent was recently granted a
zoning exception to convert the Masonic Temple on Pleasant Street into two
large housing units, along with retail and event space.
Two five-bedroom apartments will be built, with retail
establishments below on the first floor. At the back of the building will be a
two-floor event space.
Sports
Most recently, the Vale Sports Club youth soccer
organization on Newfield Street is proposing to build one
indoor and two outdoor soccer fields off Randolph Road along with a
brewery/restaurant and retail.
Some members of the public and zoning officials objected to
the idea of having a brewery in the neighborhood though. A public hearing was
continued to early January.
Owner Zach Eddinger’s concept also includes a gym,
shared office space, physical therapy office and retail mall similar to Main
Street Market.
Cannabis
Several marijuana-related projects are also in the
works, such as a “high-end”
dispensary at the former Woolworth's building at 428 Main St., with a
discreet entrance at the back.
It is being proposed by former state Department of Consumer
Protection commissioner and Wallingford attorney Gerald Farrell Jr., along
with developer and building owner Dominick DeMartino, who is redeveloping a
number of historic buildings downtown.
If realized, the business would be the first combination
medical and recreational marijuana facility in Middletown.
The intention is to run a “low-key” facility that won’t be
“in your face in any way,” Farrell has said.
Golden Hanuman is seeking a zoning variance to build a cannabis
manufacturing facility at 27 Stack St., the site of a former silk
mill. The company would be hand-filling vape cartridges, infused
pre-rolls, tinctures and other handmade products.
Applicant Alpha Patel intends to purchase oils from
wholesale cannabis suppliers and package the products with the Golden Hanuman
name.
Over the Arrigoni Bridge in Portland, Affinity
Grow at 47 Lower Main St. is proposing a delivery operation that would
contract Slap Ash Delivery of Chicago, Ill., and the cannabis transport company
Grow Green Girls of Coventry.
Affinity Grow was Connecticut's first micro-cultivator of
cannabis after recreational use became legal. Jobs for drivers, logistics
employees and support roles would be offered to local residents.
Hotels
A New York developer will be restoring two historic
buildings and turning them into a restaurant
and 20-room hotel and bistro in two historic buildings near Wesleyan
University.
Peter Brill, of Brill Hospitality Group in Wyoming, has been
approved to build an 18-unit
hotel at the Mather-Douglas House at 11 S. Main St., and a restaurant
with two rooms next door at the vacant former Danforth Pewter Shop at 15 S.
Main St.
In Cromwell, the state has awarded a $3
million brownfields grant to clean up the 13-acre former Red Lion Hotel
property as part of a $100 million plan to redevelop the land for a
mixed-use housing and commercial project at 100 Berlin Road.
The plan calls for 254 apartments, 51 of which will be
designated as affordable, 20 for-sale townhomes, 31,000 square feet of
commercial space and “high-quality” amenities for the residents.
Groton Long Point Road bridge construction slated to begin next year
Kimberly Drelich
Groton — A $15 million project to replace the 90-year-old
Groton Long Point Road bridge over Palmer Cove is slated to begin in 2026.
The work is expected to be completed in the spring of 2028,
said Joe Cooper, state Department of Transportation communications manager.
Cooper said the project will address the current bridge’s
structural deficiencies while designing a new span that is storm resilient.
The existing bridge, which has a concrete and steel beam
structure reinforced by a concrete deck, was built in 1935, he said. The bridge
deck and superstructure are rated poor.
The plan calls for increasing the bridge’s span from 50 feet
to 100 feet and widening if from about 35 feet to 41 feet. It also calls for
elevating the bridge from 9.3 feet to 12.1-13.1 feet.
The design plans, which are 30% complete, feature wider,
5-foot bike lanes and the addition of an approximately 5-foot-wide sidewalk,
said Cooper.
Greg Hanover, the town’s public works director, said the
increased bridge span will help with the tidal flushing of Palmer Cove and make
boat navigation easier.
Hanover said the proposal to raise the bridge means that the
clearance under the bridge would increase from 4.5 feet to almost 7 feet at
high tide to accommodate flood waters. He added the increased clearance will
benefit the Palmer’s Cove Marina located upstream from the bridge.
He said the road will be widened slightly to accommodate the
five-foot bike lanes in each direction and the sidewalk on the north side of
the bridge and causeway. The project also calls for lighting and guardrails
that meet current safety standards.
Cooper said the project will be funded 80% by the federal
government and 20% by the state, with no cost to the town.
Hanover said the town was successful in getting the bridge
into the Federal Local Bridge Program, which means no local funds will be used
and the state will administer the bridge design and construction. The town,
however, will still have a review and advisory role and is part of the design
team. Many of the features envisioned by the town have been incorporated into
the design phase.
During construction, Cooper said, one lane of alternating
one-way traffic will be controlled by signal lights. But to accommodate heavy
traffic in the summer, Cooper said the DOT plans to have both lanes open
between Memorial Day and Labor Day.
The second phase of construction will start after Labor Day
in 2027 and is expected to be completed by spring 2028, he said. But he said
that completion schedule could change, if there are delays with bids,
utilities, or permits.
The DOT, which first presented the plans at a public
information meeting last month, said the construction of the new bridge over
Palmer Cove and another project to replace a nearby bridge that takes Groton
Long Point Road over the Amtrak rail line will be done simultaneously.
$115M-plus East Hartford apartment development expected to launch this spring
Michael Puffer
After more than a year of delay, developers advancing the
roughly 400-unit “Concourse Park” luxury apartment complex in East Hartford say
they expect to break ground this spring.
East Hartford’s Town Council, on Dec. 19, signed off on
changes to a 27-year tax fixing agreement and a separate development agreement
with developers Brian Zelman and Avner Krohn that, among other things, reflects
delays for the complex.
The Council also approved several deed restrictions for the
25-acre development site off Silver Lane, which is currently held by the town.
These provide a measure of security for the roughly $16 million investment of
public funds into the site’s development.
With these agreements settled, Krohn and Zelman expect to
finalize the property acquisition later this month or in February, then begin
work in April or May. The developers are also finalizing agreements with
Eversource and the Metropolitan District Commission.
“Getting done what we did with the town a few weeks ago was
a pivotal point,” Zelman said. “We are not close to the finish line; we are
close to the start line.”
Current plans call for 309 units in eight, three-story
buildings, which are expected to be completed within two years of the project
launch.
Zelman, separately, expects to begin construction of a 93-
or 94-unit, four-story apartment building on the site some time in 2025. This
building will also take about two years to complete, he said.
Krohn and Zelman were initially expected to take possession
of the site in fall 2023. But an increasingly difficult financing climate
caused delays, as did questions about how to best handle the town and state
investment in the project.
East Hartford spent about $6 million to acquire and then
demolish the former Showcase Cinemas property off Silver Lane. The development
agreement between the town and developers calls for East Hartford to hand over
the property for $1. Additionally, $3 million in town funds and another $7
million from the state will help fund needed infrastructure and utility
improvements.
In return, Zelman and Krohn have a binding agreement to
deliver an amenity-rich apartment development of at least 300 units, although
they plan to build more than 400 units. Zelman estimates total development
costs of more than $115 million.
The recently changed development agreement makes clear that
the Capital Region Development Authority will oversee infrastructure and
utility work paid for with public funds. It requires the developers to spend
$10 million in equity toward the project and obtain certificates of occupancy
for at least 300 units by April 1, 2028.
Zelman said he and Krohn have spent more than $2 million to
advance the project so far, and will probably hit the $10 million mark before
the close of this year.
The new “declaration of restrictive covenants” requires that
the development be maintained as a “Class A” complex for at least a decade. It
also prohibits use of the site for development of discos, massage parlors, dry
cleaners, auto-body shops and other uses seen as undesirable for this property.
East Hartford Director of Development Eileen Buckheit said
the agreements reached Dec. 19 have cleared the way for a land transfer. She
also commended the developers for working through obstacles.
“I have to give them credit for hanging in there and
spending a lot of time and money on it,” Buckheit said. “I know it seems slow,
but this is very complicated.”
Alumni tour the old Torrington High School at Raiders Reunion before demolition: 'Very sentimental
Jack Sheedy
TORRINGTON – More than 700 former Torrington
High School students took the opportunity to enjoy a final tour of the
soon-to-be-demolished structures on Major Besse Drive on Saturday, Jan. 4.
That was just 17 days before classes will begin for current
students in the new
crescent-shaped high school just yards away.
The THS Varsity Alumni Club teamed up with a seven-member
committee of teachers and other volunteers to host “A Raiders Reunion,”
celebrating 62
years at the current location and 125 years of Torrington High
basketball.
Greeting alumni at the entrance to the old cafeteria was
Erin Sullivan, who has been an English teacher there since 2004. “Some of the
alumni I know were expressing some nostalgia and wanted an opportunity to see
it one last time, and so I agreed to get everybody organized,” said Sullivan,
who worked on the Raider Reunion Committee with Richard Dubois, Natalie
Giampaolo, Rachel Harrel, Travis Lipinski, Jennifer Lopez and Isabella
Viscariello.
“With the help of the (Torrington)
Historical Society and a wonderful donation from O&G
Industries for supplies, we decided to put together a display and
tours,” Sullivan said.
Torrington-based O&G Industries led the construction of
the new high school building, which is adjacent to the old one.
In the cafeteria, before embarking on self-guided tours of
the A and B buildings, alumni could get their pictures taken holding a sign
indicating their year of graduation and enjoy some free sweet treats. For a
small price, to benefit an athletic scholarship fund, attendees could take a
swing with a sledgehammer at a cinder block wall near the music department to
symbolize the building's demise.
Windows and walls were festooned with copies of old news
clippings and photos of former principals, vice principals and teachers. Long
tables strewn with yearbooks and period artifacts represented every decade from
the 1960s to the present. Scrapbooks bulged with news clippings from even
before the high school moved from Prospect Street in 1963. Other tables held
athletic trophies and other awards the high school has accumulated over the
years.
Mario Longobucco, a 1978 graduate and co-chair of the
Torrington School Building Committee, said he remembers the friendships he
formed at THS. “I’m still friends with the people we went to school with. It’s
just a beautiful community, and it will be in the new school, too,” he said.
The old building “used up its usefulness. It was just too
expensive to fix,” Longobucco said.
Reunion committee member Lopez said she is not an alumna but
said two of her three children graduated from THS and her daughter is a student
there. “I teach kindergarten at Vogel Wetmore,
so many of my students have been graduates here, and my whole career has been
here in Torrington," Lopez said of her 27-year career. "So, when Erin
asked for volunteers, I was happy to help and support the committee, because I
love Torrington, and we live here.”
She has fond memories of sporting events and open houses at
the building. “I still get confused walking through A and B buildings,” Lopez
said. “You’d think I’d know after all these years, but the kids figure it out
pretty quick. But it’s just been nice to be here and excited for the new
building. I think it’ll be wonderful for the kids, but it is very sentimental.”
Self-guided tours went on for several hours, after which the
THS girls basketball team played Oxford High School at 4 p.m. and the THS boys
basketball team took on Holy Cross at 6 p.m. The THS girls prevailed, 45-40,
while the boys lost to Holy Cross, 57-54. They will be the last two games
played in the Connie Donahue gymnasium before it is dismantled and
renovated. The gym will escape the wrecking ball and keep the name of the
school’s late beloved coach.
Construction of the new high school building, which abuts
the gym, began in 2022. The state of Connecticut will reimburse the city a
total of 85% of its $179 million price tag, Longobucco said.
Students will begin attending classes in the new building
Jan. 21, Sullivan said. Classes in the adjacent new middle school building are
slated to begin in September.