CT Construction Digest Wednesday June 18, 2025

Old Lyme needs $7.5M more for controversial sewer project

Jack Lakowsky

Old Lyme — The town will need $7.5 million more than expected to install sewers at Sound View Beach, which it owns, however the Board of Selectmen wants more information before sending the question to voters.

Steve Cinami, chairman of the Water Pollution Control Authority, said voters will now be asked to approve $17.1 million, up from the $9.5 million voters approved in 2019. The $7.5 million is up from a previously proposed increase of $4.5 million, which did not include other necessary parts of the project.

Selectman Jim Lampos, who lives in the Sound View neighborhood, said the $1,932 yearly cost to users is about $300 shy of unaffordable by state standards. If the state deemed the project unaffordable, it could not go ahead.

But he pointed out the costs for users to connect to the main sewer line and the systems in East Lyme and New London, are not included in the yearly user fee. Neither are maintenance costs.

Lampos, and First Selectwoman Martha Shoemaker, said property owners need to know their entire cost before the $7.5 million request moves forward. They also want more information on the cost-sharing agreement between Old Lyme and the private beach associations, Old Colony Beach, Miami Beach and Old Lyme Shores.

"We need to know, solidly, what we're getting ourselves into," Lampos said.

State funding will cover half of the $17.1 million. Sound View Beach property owners will have to pay back $8.5 million to the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection at a cost of $1,932 a year per dwelling unit. There are 270 dwelling units.

The yearly cost per unit has now increased about $570. Sound View residents will pay $522,000 a year for 20 years to repay the loan, Cinami told selectmen in a meeting Monday.

The town's three private beach associations are splitting the remaining portion of the $61 million cost of the project, which includes shared infrastructure, a pump station and the lines that carry sewage through East Lyme to the New London treatment plant. The state has ordered the town and beach associations to undertake the project in an attempt to stop septic tanks from polluting Long Island Sound.

In a June 10 meeting, Cinami said property owners are responsible for pipes from their property line to their house, while the town is responsible for what's between the property line and the sewer main.

Cinami said he wants the town to send an informational postcard to residents leading up to an Aug. 4 informative town meeting. Cinami said at that meeting he won't answer questions about the need for the project, only its financing. He said he will bring more information to the next Board of Selectmen meeting.

He also spoke to unexpected costs, which could drive the project beyond the state's affordability cap. Cinami, who owns a construction company, said that unlike other projects he has managed, there's no existing sewer system beneath Sound View that would need to be removed at an extra cost.

With $3B in federal funding frozen, charging station projects across CT mothballed, scaled back

David Krechevsky

In June 2024, the town of Wallingford unanimously approved a special permit and site plan for a privately developed facility that would be devoted exclusively to charging electric vehicles (EVs).

At the time, the project was touted as the first of its kind in the U.S.

The plan submitted by Gem Property Group LLC intended to develop a 2.04-acre vacant lot just off Exit 15 of Interstate 91 at 1 Miles Dr. The proposed facility was approved for up to 38 EV charging stations, 36 of which would be beneath a canopy.

There would be no gas pumps, just EV charging stations.

The project also proposed a 3,000-square-foot retail building for a convenience-style store to provide packaged food, beverages and other items for people waiting while their vehicles charged.

A year later, anyone driving past that property can see it remains undisturbed, covered in tall grass and with no visible signs of site-preparation work.

In an exclusive interview with Hartford Business Journal, the developer said the EV project is now dead, primarily because of, well, climate change — that is, changes to the regulatory climate.

Following the election of President Donald Trump and his administration’s subsequent decision to freeze more than $3 billion in National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) funding, as well as the state legislature’s decision to reduce similar EV support, the Wallingford project is not the only significant charging station development in the state to be canceled or scaled back.

That will slow down the state’s efforts to expand charging infrastructure, which is seen as crucial for the broader adoption of electric vehicles.

‘Unplugged’ for the moment

Elizabeth Verna, a principal with Verna Builders & Developers, said her family runs Gem Property Group and has owned the Wallingford property on Miles Drive for more than a decade.

A year ago, she said she was bullish about the EV charging station development. Now, her family is considering alternatives because interest in the facility has evaporated.

Verna said the potential tenant was relying, in part, on the subsidies and backed out of the project after the federal funding was frozen.

“After speaking with the Realtor, everything just went cold, which is fine,” she said.

“It’s maybe a blessing,” she continued. “If government incentives were needed to keep a market strong, then it would have been risky to put a tenant in there that was surviving only because of subsidies or incentives.”

She added that she thought the Miles Drive site was a great location for the project.

“EV is not charged right now,” Verna said. “It’s unplugged, for the moment. I’d love to plug it back in.”

‘We just pared back’

So would Michael Frisbie.

He and his business partner, Abdul Tammo, own Hartford-based Noble Gas Inc., which operates 13 gas stations across the state and is developing four more. EV charging stations are planned for each of the new sites.

In February 2024, the town of Orange approved a Noble Gas proposal for a nearly 8,400-square-foot facility off of I-95 that would feature an EV showroom with charging stations, and include a gas station, convenience store, ice cream stand and drive-thru coffee and sandwich shop.

Noble Gas also is opening a station in Windsor that was supposed to feature up to 20 EV chargers. Its new gas stations in East Hartford, Hamden and Newington will each also have a few EV chargers.

Frisbie, though, said the Orange and Windsor projects have since changed.

“We just pared back in Windsor so that we don’t have as many, but we still have some,” he said of the EV charging stations.

Instead of 20, the facility has four.

“When, hopefully, the subsidies open up again — which I think they will at some point — then we are already positioned to be able to add on,” he said.

As for the EV showroom and service center, “they’re on hold for the moment, until such time as (the subsidies) come back,” Frisbie said. “We will have EV charging at the facility that we’re going to be building in Orange.”

He said Noble Gas still plans to eventually build the EV showroom, but “it’s probably part of phase two.”

Despite the setback, Frisbie said he is “still committed to pushing forward with the infrastructure for EV vehicles.” He envisions creating Noble Gas fueling facilities that include high-speed diesel pumps and EV chargers.

“I’m actually driving an EV, even though I own gas stations,” he said. “So, we think the future of EV is still pretty strong. The challenge is, we were planning on using some of these subsidies as part of the investment.”

He noted there is still some charging-station funding available aside from the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) program.

Eversource Energy, for example, states on its website that it offers EV charging rebates for Level 2 and DC Fast charging projects, with rebates of up to $250,000. It adds, however, that the number of rebates granted each year is limited.

‘A perfect storm’

Attorney Lee D. Hoffman, chairman of Hartford law firm Pullman & Comley who focuses on clients developing energy projects, said the current political and regulatory environment for electric vehicles is difficult.

“You have a perfect storm of problems right now,” Hoffman said. “Nothing that’s insurmountable, but the federal administration froze the (National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure) funding, and it’s not clear what’s going to be the permanent fallout from that. We don’t know if it’s a temporary hiccup, or if that funding is never going to come out of the current administration.”

In addition to the funding freeze, the so-called “Big Beautiful Bill” making its way through Congress makes significant changes to the Biden-era EV tax credits. The bill phases out the clean vehicle credit, which allows a tax credit of up to $7,500 for consumers buying a new EV, and up to $4,000 for buying a used EV.

The credits were intended to encourage consumers to buy electric vehicles.

Eliminating the tax credits and freezing the funding creates uncertainty, Hoffman said, particularly for construction projects that generally have to order equipment and materials well in advance.

“If I’m delayed in getting my financing by 60 or 90 days, it may result in 120- or 180 days’-worth of delay because of supply-chain issues,” Hoffman said. “The charging equipment may get sold to somebody else who isn’t waiting on NEVI funding.”

In addition to the dramatic federal changes, EV projects in Connecticut have been waiting to see what the state legislature would do with its resources.

During the recently ended legislative session, lawmakers passed a bill, which Gov. Ned Lamont was expected to sign, that caps the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority’s EV charging program expenses at $20 million per year for the two-year budget.

Rep. Jonathan Steinberg (D-Westport), co-chair of the Energy & Technology Committee, said during debate on the bill that the program was among several that “got haircuts, but were not decapitated.”

Hoffman said the spending caps are less than what has been in place previously, “but it is still a significant amount of money that can be expended on this infrastructure.”

Frisbie said Noble Gas is a Connecticut family-owned business, and regardless of the federal or state cuts, is here to stay.

“We’ve invested a lot of money in the state of Connecticut, and we’re happy to do it,” he said. “We’re glad to be here.”

Others also are undaunted by the cuts. A developer in Enfield recently proposed building an EV charging station and café on an 0.55-acre vacant lot at 1561 King St., in Enfield. The facility would include 21 charging stations.

For her part, though, Verna said the plan is to replace the Wallingford EV station project with something else, perhaps a medical office building. But that remains to be determined.

“I don’t have any brilliant ideas right now,” she said. “I’d love to have an EV station there, but what are you gonna do? You can’t have everything.”

CT Construction Digest Tuesday June 17, 2025

Connecticut ranks as the 5th worst state for road conditions. It may be more complicated.

Natasha Sokoloff

Connecticut’s roads are ranked as some of poorest quality in the United States, according to data collected by the Federal Highway Administration. But assessing the state's true standing for road quality may be more complicated than that.

According to data from the Highway Performance Monitoring System, Connecticut is ranked as the 5th worst state for road conditions, which came as a shock to Eric Jackson, the executive director of the Connecticut Transportation Institute.

"There's a lot of different reasons that may play into it, but I wouldn't necessarily put Connecticut, as you know, one of the worst states," he said.

For one, it was important to acknowledge the factors around the data, Jackson said. The state annually collects data on its roadways, which he said can skew the rankings.

"So sometimes, a lot of these lists, you end up kind of either high up on the list, or it makes you look worse than you are, because the state is actually collecting more data than other states," Jackson said. "So we have more information that's available on the condition of our roadways than maybe some of the other states have."

According to data from the Bureau of Transportation, around 2,100 miles of Connecticut’s roads are classified as poor.

Connecticut's road quality assessment is based on the 2023 dataset of the Highway Performance Monitoring System. A spokesman for the state Department of Transportation said that the Highway Performance Monitoring System data "is not ideal for comparison, especially when just a one subset of one factor is used, due to differences in collection methods, network composition and size of network."

Even so, Jackson acknowledged there are a number of challenges that the state faces when it comes to its roadways, like location and weather.

"One of the other things that obviously works against Connecticut is we are in the Northeast," Jackson said. "We have to deal with winter weather conditions where places in the Midwest or in the South may not have winter to deal with."

According to the Bureau of Transportation data, Alabama is ranked as the state with the highest percentage of roads considered "good." In fact, almost all of the states with the highest rankings are located in the Midwest or the South.

Winter is "very tough on the roadways," as water can get inside the cracks in roadways and freeze, causing the cracks to expand and eventually destroy the pavement, Jackson said. "That's where you get a lot of the potholes that come in. So, you know, that's kind of working against us as well," he said. "I don't see Connecticut as any worse than any of the other northeast states that have to deal with a similar type of weather."

Regardless of where Connecticut's true ranking actually lies, poor road quality on any level doesn't come without a price. Poor road conditions are costing Americans an average of $1,400 annually in operating costs and lost time, according to the American Society of Civil Engineers.

Whether it be tires, suspension part or alignment issues, a survey of hundreds of car repair shops and service centers across the country found that a majority of respondents reported an increase in the number of vehicles requiring repairs due to poor road conditions in their area, according to reporting by Hearst Television's National Investigative Unit.

“Driving on deteriorated roads costs Connecticut motorists $2.2 billion a year – $841 per driver – in the form of additional repairs, accelerated vehicle depreciation, and increased fuel consumption and tire wear,” according to a May report by TRIP, a nonprofit national transportation research group.

But at the same time that roadway quality is costing drivers more, it's also costing more money to maintain the roads themselves.

"Construction cost inflation, the erosion of motor fuel taxes due to inflation, improved fuel efficiency, and the adoption of hybrid and electric vehicles threaten the state’s ability to keep pace with growing transportation needs," according to TRIP. "The Federal Highway Administration’s national highway construction cost index, which measures the rate of inflation in labor and materials cost, increased 45% from the beginning of 2022 through the second quarter of 2024."

Many states, and municipalities, are struggling with how to keep funding road maintenance and improvement while budgets are strained, Jackson said. 

"Basically, asphalt is a petroleum product, so as the price of gasoline increases, the price of the black, sticky stuff inside the pavement also increases. So we're seeing increases in cost to be able to put the asphalt down on the roadway," he said. "Everything's getting more expensive these days, and the payment and labor to put it down is the same -- it's costing a lot more."

That can lead to differences in road quality between states and between the local and the state level. The Connecticut Department of Transportation maintains 3,728.86 miles of roads, whereas the towns maintain 17,470.46 miles, according to a spokesman.

Even though local roads typically have lower traffic volume and take longer to wear out, when public works funding is cut in a town budget, it impacts a municipality's ability to pave and improve its streets. 

"The budgets that people are voting on have a direct impact on how well their roads are maintained, and how well during wintertime, how those roads are plowed or salted, and that kind of really impacts the longevity and quality of the roadways, town by town," Jackson said. And the state also faces funding challenges as well.

Some of the roads on the list for the worst segments in Connecticut include Cross Street and Wilton Avenue in Norwalk, State Street and Perkins Street in Meriden, and Main Street in Hartford, according to data from the Highway Performance Monitoring System.

The road quality data largely goes off of the International Roughness Index, measuring the roughness of road surfaces. IRI data does not include other roadway assessment factors, like rutting and cracking, the DOT spokesman said. In addition, some of the IRI data dates back several years, and roadway changes and improvements may have occurred since then.

East Hartford finalizes sale of former Showcase Cinemas site, opening the door for $115M residential development

Eric Bedner

EAST HARTFORD — The town has finalized the sale of the former Showcase Cinemas site on Silver Lane, paving the way for a $115 million development project that will feature more than 300 new apartments and various amenities.

The site had been dilapidated for years following the closure of the movie theater and prior to the town agreeing to purchase the property for $3.3 million in 2019.

Thanks in part to state and local funding totaling $10 million, the site has since been cleared and awaits development of a prime piece of real estate along Interstate 84.

Following the agreed purchase in 2019, the Town Council unanimously approved the sale of the 25.6-acre parcel to developers Jasko Zelman 1 LLC, which aims to transform the property into a destination dubbed Concourse Park.

Plans call for a residential community featuring more than 300 apartments and amenities, such as a dog park, pool, clubhouse, co-working center, and golf simulator.

Once completed, the property will fully return to to the town's tax rolls for the first time since the movie theater closed.

"This marks a significant step for a project that spanned three mayoral administrations," Mayor Connor Martin said. "I'm thrilled to see continued momentum and the strong commitment from Jasko Zelman."

The town will be sending out a bid for construction, and is expecting groundbreaking next year, Martin said.

"This has been a marathon to get to this point, and today we pause to reflect on the importance of this land transfer," he said. "Concourse Park exemplifies the economic development renaissance underway in East Hartford — the Silver Lane corridor is on track to become a thriving commercial and residential hub for our town's future."

The final sale has been delayed for more than a year and a half, as the closing was initially expected in September 2023.

Since then, the town and Capital Region Development Authority worked to finalize the use of $10 million in public infrastructure funding.

Under a revised agreement, the CRDA will oversee the use of public funds for utility and infrastructure improvements, while the developers are required to invest $10 million of their own and obtain certificates of occupancy for at least 300 units by April 1, 2028.

Due to additional delays, the developers were charged two months of penalties totaling $60,000. Of that, $45,000 will be credited toward building fees and $15,000 will be deposited into East Hartford's general fund, according to local officials.

East Hartford Director of Development Eileen Buckheit praised the town's legislative delegation, Martin, former mayors, the CRDA, the developers, and local leaders for the bringing the next step in redevelopment to fruition.

"This project has only reached this critical milestone because of the collaboration, persistence, and shared vision of all involved," she said.

Construction to begin this summer on Mystic River Boathouse Park

Gianni Salisbury

Mystic — After almost 10 years of planning, setbacks and surprises, the Town of Stonington has secured the funding needed to start construction of the Mystic River Boathouse Park on Route 27.

The $5.3 million project, located next to the new Delamar hotel and across the street from the former Rossie Mill, will feature a boathouse, a rowing center and a park. The boathouse will feature two bays to store rowing shells, oars, coach boats and equipment, while the second floor will house a 4,500-square-foot training center with rowing machines and strength training equipment.

Construction is set to begin next month and be completed by May of 2026.

Following the approval of contracts to construct the park by the Board of Selectman, the Board of Finance recently approved the remaining funding for the project. The town is now waiting for the state Department of Economic and Community Development to review the bid evaluations and agreements. The contracts are anticipated to be finalized by June 30.

The town had $4.9 million for the project, including $2.7 million in federal and state grants, when the Board of Finance approved the final $400,000 on June 4. Residents initially approved $2.2 million in bonding for the project in 2016. The project was then delayed by the need to identify and address contamination on the site, preserve a home on the property that is part of a historic district and redesign the boathouse after residents criticized its initial appearance.

First Selectwoman Danielle Chesebrough said this week that it feels great to move forward with the project and she is proud of everyone involved.

“It was such an amazing moment at the Board of Finance, and everyone that came out to work on this. It’s been really meaningful to see how much people have stuck with this project and just worked so hard. It’s because they believe it’s a great community asset,” Chesebrough said.

While the town is developing and funding the park, Stonington Community Rowing, Inc. has raised around $2 million to build the boathouse, according to John Thornell, its director of rowing.

The boathouse will be used by the high school rowing program and a community rowing program.

Nick Kepple, chairman of the Mystic River Boathouse Park Implementation Committee, said he believes the collaboration will “create a facility which will have a profoundly positive impact on our quality of life in Stonington.”

Chesebrough explained the park will be a place that everyone can use and enjoy, including the public.

In an announcement from the town, Leanne Theodore, the town’s director of human services, stated her department is looking to partner with local nonprofits in order to get people to use the boathouse and park.

“We are excited to begin to offer, and to partner with local nonprofits, to expand riverfront access for youth, families, and residents of all ages and backgrounds. This initiative reflects our commitment to inclusive, community-centered recreation opportunities for everyone,” Theodore said.

For Chesebrough, she is eager for the town to be able to use the park.

“We’re just really excited to be able to have it feel like a great place for people to get outside and enjoy some access to the Mystic River,” she said.

More information on the park can be found at www.stoningtoncommunityrowing.org.

Long-vacant CT nursing home site planned for 160 apartments. It’s been deteriorating for years.

Don Stacom 

Thirteen years after the HealthBridge nursing home in Wethersfield shut down, a developer is proposing to demolish the vacant building and put up 160 apartments.

The neary 11-acre property has been fenced off and deteriorating for years, and town officials are excited at the prospect of replacing an eyesore with an active use.

“This is great for the town, and Wethersfield needs the housing,” Mayor Ken Lesser said Monday.

Developer Joseph Calafiore is proposing to construct three mid-rise buildings with predominantly market-rate units, with a mix of studios and one- and two-bedroom units. Calafiore’s consultants contend it would mean a net fiscal improvement for town, but did not project specific figures.

Calafiore’s 341 Jordan Lane Development LLC will seek a zone change from the Planning and Zoning Commission; if it succeeds, it will later put forward a more detailed site plan application. The zone change hearing is Tuesday at 7 p.m. at town hall.

The project begins with razing the roughly 100,000-square-foot, single-floor building that’s been on the property since 1965, when it opened as the Jordan Lane Convalescent Hospital. The operation went through a number of names and corporate affiliations over the next 40 years, and at one point had more than 300 beds and served as a significant employer.

By 2010, it housed fewer than 180 patients and was posting losses of more than $1 million a year. It shut down in 2012, and the building has been problematic since, according to a 2023 lawsuit by 341 Jordan Lane Development LLC that sought to oust the nursing home’s final corporate owner, Wethersfield THCI Holding Co.

Trespassers had gotten inside, water had puddled in the basement and exterior stairwells, the eaves were rotting, and “the building has numerous broken windows and doors, some of which are boarded up,” Calafiore’s business asserted in the suit.

Last year a judge directed Wethersfield THCI to remove any remaining effects from the building and ordered 341 Jordan Lane Development to the company $160,000. Months after the suit was settled, the new housing complex application was submitted at town hall.

The plan is for two four-story buildings along Folly Brook and a three-story building closer to Jordan Lane. In all, there would be 98 two-bedroom apartments with either 1,128 or 1,138 square feet; 48 one-bedroom units of 743 square feet, and 14 studios with either 619 or 683 square feet.

The company said it would reserve about half of the property as open space, and would have walking trails and other amenities.

Calafiore’s company would set aside eight apartments — or 5% of the total — as “affordable” for the next 40 years.

In an analysis, Town Planner David Elder noted the project reuses property that’s already been cleared for dense multi-family development, and that it is near transit routes. But he wrote that the company should provide more details about how it concluded the project would be a net financial gain for Wethersfield.

Elder also emphasized that a 5% set aside for affordable housing is short of what Connecticut wants each community to achieve townwide.

“The town has made great strides and spent considerable effort to comply with the state’s 10% affordable housing requirement,” Elder wrote. “The application’s proposal for less than 10% of the units being affordable means the town will need to compensate for these additional units elsewhere, and puts the town in greater jeopardy for an 8-30g application.”

CT Construction Digest Monday June 16, 2025

PLA mandate to stay, with exemptions: OMB

Zachary Phillips

The Trump administration has indicated it will not rescind a Biden-era rule mandating the use of project labor agreements on large publicly funded jobs.

After months of court cases and federal agencies announcing deviations from Federal Acquisition Regulation rules regarding PLA use, a Thursday Office of Management and Budget memo to federal agencies and department heads sought to unmuddy the waters.

“For clarity, the Trump Administration supports the use of PLAs when those agreements are practicable and cost effective, and blanket deviations prohibiting the use of PLAs are precluded,” read the memo signed by Russell Vought, OMB director.

The memo acknowledged concerns from federal agencies that award large-scale construction projects regarding the ability to create competition for fair and reasonable pricing on contracts. 

As such, the OMB memo said it has added an amended rule that allows agencies to evaluate the anticipated impact of a PLA on its ability to conduct a competitive search for a contractor. The exception indicates “two qualified offers should generally be sufficient to provide adequate price competition for negotiated contracts (FAR 15.403-l(c)(l)) and three or more qualified bids is sufficient to provide adequate price competition for sealed bids.”

In other words, two offers may be enough for the exception not to apply. If two or more offerers express interest in a contract but prices are expected to be higher than the federal government’s budget by over 10% due to the PLA mandate, the agency can also seek exemption.  

“Agencies should use PLAs when practicable and cost-effective,” the memo reads. “Agencies should rescind any deviations related to PLAs that were issued prior to the date of this guidance. Independent agency interpretation for PLA use should no longer occur.”

The memo indicates a continuation of policy from previous administrations, which opponents have decried as anti-competitive.

“It is hard to see how this is not a return to the conditions that were in place prior to President Biden’s unlawful executive order,” Brian Turmail, vice president of public affairs and strategic initiatives at Associated General Contractors of America, told Construction Dive.

Confusion and clarity

The memo provides some clarity after confusion over whether the rule would remain and if all agencies had to follow it.

In January, a judge ruled against PLA use on seven federal contracts, saying it would be anti-competitive and relied on “arbitrary and capricious” policy. That decision, however, applied only to those contracts, laying the groundwork for other challenges.

Then, in March, President Donald Trump issued an executive order directing rulemaking that rescinded Biden-era guidance promoting the use of project labor agreements, but did not remove former President Joe Biden’s executive order, implemented in January 2024.

In May, after the Department of Defense had signaled it would no longer follow the PLA mandate, a federal judge issued a preliminary injunction, forcing the agency to resume the mandate.

Looking ahead

Associated Builders and Contractors has long fought the Biden PLA rule and called on the president to rescind the order in the name of fairness and competition.

“[Thursday’s] decision cannot be reconciled with the president’s philosophies of merit, fairness and nondiscrimination because it inhibits fair and open competition and prioritizes special interests over taxpayers and workers,” said Michael Bellaman, president and CEO of ABC.

Bellaman noted that the government can still use PLAs without the executive order and said the use of PLAs effectively excludes non-union builders and workers.

Turmail said the change isn’t what AGC had hoped for — which was for Trump to remove the executive order — but it would still be better than “what was in place with the Biden administration.”

There is still a path to challenge PLA use and potentially receive exceptions, he said.

“In addition, given the recent court decisions, it is hard to see how the administration will be able to impose a mandated PLA without facing a successful bid protest,” Turmail said.

Redevelopment of former Showcase Cinemas site in E. Hartford ready to move forward after land purchase

Michael Puffer

After four years of negotiation, developers planning to build an amenity-rich, 402-unit apartment complex off Silver Lane in East Hartford have taken possession of a roughly 25-acre property from the town.

East Hartford purchased the former Showcase Cinemas site in 2016, and then spent millions tearing down the cineplex to make a development site. In 2021, developers Avner Krohn and Brian Zelman filed a joint response to the town’s request for development proposals.

On Friday, the developers completed their purchase of the property from the town for $1 — a strong signal the development, dubbed as Concourse Park, will finally move forward.

“This has been a long time coming,” said Krohn. “This has been a real journey. I’m just super excited for what we are going to build for the town of East Hartford. This is the first market-rate development built in the town in like 40 years.”

Krohn and Zelman say they have spent millions of dollars on planning, design, legal fees and other soft costs so far.

The town incentivized the project with a tax abatement and a sales price of $1. Officials also worked with the Capital Region Development Authority to secure $10 million in public financing for power, water and roadway infrastructure into the site. 

The CRDA will oversee the infrastructure work.

Friday’s closing on the property further cemented the commitment of local officials and the developers to the project.

Krohn and Zelman were able to close on the property by demonstrating they have access to $70 million in financing needed to complete 300 apartment units, the minimum amount required under their development agreement with the town. They said they plan to build more than the minimum requirement.

East Hartford Mayor Connor Martin said the town provided incentives to ensure the development was economically viable. Over the long run, any concessions will be outweighed by the benefit of new taxes and elevated economic vitality, he noted.

“We have to show that East Hartford is open for business,” Martin said. “And we have to exhaust all efforts to try and bring development to East Hartford.”

Zelman estimated total project costs at $120 million.

Krohn said he expects CRDA’s infrastructure work to begin within four months. The first eight, three-story buildings will host a combined 309 units. Krohn said he expects the first units to begin opening for tenants in about two years. 

A four-story, 93-unit building will launch sometime after the first phase is underway, he said.

The development will also include a clubhouse, mail and package building, dog washing station, pool, party room for rent and coworking space. One apartment will be set aside as a hospitality suite that can be rented for short stays by guests of a tenant, Krohn said.

Krohn and Zelman both praised the level of cooperation demonstrated by town and CRDA officials.

“It’s been a very long time in the making,” Zelman said. “We are very excited for this step and the next steps.”

$90M AI center in CT could project new hub of technology, bring jobs and economic development

Kenneth R. Gosselin 

The design of an estimated $90 million applied artificial intelligence center is everything the rundown building that it would replace is not: a structure that conveys an image of a city and state as a hub of emerging technology.

An LED billboard atop the structure would cycle through graphic depictions of the work taking place inside the Connecticut Center of Applied AI sending that visual message to the hundreds of thousands of motorists that travel though the city weekly on Interstate 84 and Interstate 91.

The applied AI center could rise in the North Crossing redevelopment where a long-abandoned, bank data processing center — just east of Dunkin’ Park — now dominates the landscape and projects a much different image today: decay.

The bunker-like, contaminated structure — with enough space to fill a Super Walmart — is expected to be torn down, beginning this summer, to lay the groundwork for the proposed AI center.

“The symbolism of an old vacant data center that had been a source of blight for a number of years, highly visible off the highway and also visible to those folks coming into town for Yard Goats games — and everything else — turning into a center for applied AI, it’s really a symbol of the resurgence of Hartford,” Arunan Arulampalam, the city’s mayor, said. “Our goal is to create one of five best AI centers in the country. ”

The development of the nearly 3-acre site at 150 Windsor St. would be paired with the separately-financed construction of a $30 million, 120-room, boutique hotel and a 200-space parking garage. In addition to the hotel, with a possible rooftop lounge overlooking the ballpark, and the AI center, the garage could provide parking for Dunkin’ Park.

The video player is currently playing an ad

But the construction of the AI center isn’t yet a lock.

The city is seeking about $52 million to finance the project from the state’s $100 million “Innovation Clusters” program, which seeks to promote the expansion of next-generation technology such as AI and quantum computing that are expected to drive future economic development and job growth.

Hartford also is competing with New Haven and Stamford as finalists for funding from the state’s program. A decision on how the funding will be carved up is now expected in late summer.

If it were successful, the city said it is confident it would have lined up the balance for the AI Center not covered by the Innovation Clusters grant. The city declined to identify those sources of funding.

Jeff Auker, Hartford’s director of development services and a former executive at information technology giant Infosys in Hartford, said  the AI center would be separate from what the corporations are spending on AI — estimated to be in the hundreds of millions of dollars. But collaborations with them — especially in insurance and health care — are absolutely foreseen, Auker said.

The city also isn’t focusing on the incubator space for start-ups that could too easily relocate, Auker said.

Auker said Hartford’s sweet spot is the area between the large companies and the start-ups. This is where new ideas — some developed at colleges and universities — are tested and worked on in a lab using digital tools that are commercially available.

But a key part of the vision also targets training to prepare a workforce for using AI, which many believe will be the most consequential technology in the future, its impact even deeper than the development of the internet.

“In the urban centers, we certainly have not provided on-ramps, points of access for our residents and some of our small businesses who don’t have the capital to invest in some of these technologies,” Auker said. “So, the essence of this is really to create a center and then make the declaration that Hartford is here to unlock the value of AI.”

That means also collaborating with institutions of higher learning and nonprofits focused on technology “to really funnel that into ways that our residents and our small businesses can get access to those skills and capabilities that AI is transforming all around us,” Auker said.

Alignment of missions

Worries over how AI will impact the existing workforce, especially in lower-paying jobs vulnerable to automation, have been highlighted in several high-profile studies. One, from consulting firm McKinsey & Co., pointed to a deepening of the racial economic divide because a disproportionate number of low-wage jobs are held by people of color.

But the 2023 study also noted that AI could “unlock” the path to more high-paying jobs based on experience rather than solely the college degree.

The city has had early discussions with MakerspaceCT, a skills development center now located at 960 Main St. in Hartford, about becoming a tenant in the AI Center. A previous plan to partner with East Hartford-based Connecticut Center for Advanced Technology on the AI center project did not work out because of the timeframes involved in the project, Auker said.

Devra Sisitsky, MakerspaceCT’s founder and executive director, said the non-profit already had been planning an AI and robotics center. And the proposed AI center’s purpose to fill in gaps in skills fit well with Makerspace, Sisitsky said.

“I’m absolutely delighted to be at the table,” Sisitsky said. “There is such an obvious alignment between our missions to support Connecticut, to be an open welcoming place for people to come in. We’re a destination also.”

The city won’t own the AI Center building or operate it. A non-profit, which still needs to be created, would likely take ownership and in turn, space would be leased to a tenant such as MakerspaceCT. The center would be run by the Cambridge Innovation Center, an “ecosystem catalyst”  that applied to the state to be part of the Innovation Clusters program.

CIC has designed, built and managed over 1.5 million square feet of innovation space in nine cities: Cambridge, Boston, Providence, Philadelphia, St. Louis, Tokyo, Berlin, Warsaw and Rotterdam. Pending projects are upcoming in Seoul and Fukuoka, Japan.

The new, 133,500-square-foot Al center wouldn’t begin construction for at least a year and would take another two years to build. But Auker said the city hopes later this year to identify temporary space in downtown Hartford where the AI center could start to be formed, with sources of funding still being determined. One location under consideration is space within the Trinity College’s Liberal Arts Action Lab on Constitution Plaza, Auker said.

‘A nucleus for a lot more’

Up until now, Hartford’s North Crossing’s development around Dunkin’ Park has focused squarely on apartments and storefront space.

The AI Center and the accompanying hotel are departures, but North Crossing’s developer, RMS Cos. of Stamford, welcomes the diversification.

“To be on the cutting edge of some of these technologies right now and to have a center to allow that to happen in the center of Hartford and to be able to interact with all the corporations and insurance companies, with Al, with how fast it’s going is such a great thing,” Randy Salvatore, the founder and chief executive of RMS, said,

The parcel of land planned for the AI Center, hotel and garage are part of North Crossing and all three structures are expected to be developed by RMS.

In Hartford, Salvatore renovated and reopened the historic, Goodwin Hotel. Local development officials say there is now a need for more hotel rooms in Hartford.

The AI center could spawn other commercial uses on land nearby including the former, 12-acre campus of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Salvatore bought the former campus  — now demolished —  in 2023 and has said it could be redeveloped as a mix of housing and business uses.

“What it will lead to is offshoots,” Salvatore said, of the AI center. “It will be an incubator for so many things. And then it starts to spread beyond just this one building. That’s the goal: that this thing becomes a nucleus for a lot more.”

The city is cobbling together funding for the $9.4 million demolition of the old data center. Last week, it received a $4 million state grant from a program aimed at cleaning up contaminated properties. Another $4 million is expected soon — half in another brownfields cleanup grant from the state — to give the city enough funding to pay for the demolition.

Tearing down the building could be completed in a year, with a groundbreaking of the AI center coming soon after that. But Salvatore said he hopes to start construction on the hotel and parking garage even sooner.

Arulampalam, the Hartford mayor, said he believes the approach of the center rather than promoting AI-related start-ups is the best path for Hartford to follow.

“This is a really transformative project that could guide the way for job growth for the future,” Arulampalam said. “It really builds out a pipeline for what the economy of the future could look like in Hartford.”

Westport RTM OKs $103M for construction of new Long Lots Elementary School

Brian Gioiele

WESTPORT — The Representative Town Meeting approved construction of a new Long Lots School with a $103 million price tag, the largest such expenditure in the history of the town of Westport. 

The RTM’s vote was unanimous for the new school, which at long last will replace one that is well loved by families and staff but has deteriorated to the point where some classrooms are off limits due to mold issues. 

This process has been in the works for several years, and $6 million has already been allocated to the project, bringing the overall total budgeted to some $109 million.

“I’m gushing with excitement,” Superintendent Thomas Scarice told RTM members during the meeting Thursday, June 12. “A school is not about bricks and mortar; it’s the people in the building. We now can make the brick and mortar match the incredible people and programs in the school.” 

The current building has some classrooms that are one-third the size of comparable classrooms in other elementary schools in the district, Scarice said. With several classrooms closed due to mold issues, the district has used portable classrooms to meet the space demands, which has come with an annual rental cost.

Plans for a new 128,000 square foot Long Lots Elementary School — which also houses Stepping Stones Preschool — will be built next to the existing one on Hyde Lane. The new building is expected to be ready by the fall of 2027. 

“We are thrilled and grateful for the approval of the new Long Lots and Stepping Stones Schools,” Board of Education Chair Lee Goldstein said. 

“This beautiful, safe, inclusive — dry — school will serve our community for generations,” Goldstein added. “Thank you to the numerous boards, commissions, committees and individuals who worked tirelessly to make this happen.” 

Once complete, plans call for razing the existing building and completing the work on the athletic fields and parking areas. 

“We have long known that the Long Lots facility has reached the end of its useful life,” Scarice said in an email to staff and families Friday, “and that the miraculous work in Stepping Stones Preschool has been performed in subpar settings. 

“This decision marks a transformative moment for our students, our educators and the entire Westport community,” he added. 

Scarice praised the Long Lots School custodial staff for keeping the facility “spotless in spite of worsening conditions” as well as the staff for delivering quality education “through disruption, facility failures and emotional distress.” 

He also praised parents, who he said, "Spoke up, showed up and never gave up, even knowing your own children might not benefit directly. 

“You stood up not just for your own families, but for future generations of Westport students. Your selfless advocacy is a powerful reminder of what it means to believe in something bigger than ourselves,” Scarice added.

Waterbury scales back Roberto Clemente school expansion project to $37 million from $81 million

Paul Hughes

WATERBURY — School officials have scaled back a project to expand the Roberto Clemente International Dual Language School to accommodate plans to bring enrollment up to grade 8, lowering the proposed cost from $81.4 million to $37 million.

The Board of Aldermen will conduct a hearing on a $37 million bond request June 23 at 5:45 p.m. in the Aldermanic Chambers of City Hall and a vote is expected to follow that night.

The timetable is tight for obtaining state funding and remaining on schedule for gradually adding grade levels in the magnet school that offers a language immersion program, teaching students English and Spanish simultaneously up to the eighth grade. There is little room for delays whatever the cause.

"It is going to be tight," Mayor Paul K. Pernerewski Jr. said.

The Board of Education is facing a June 30 application deadline to apply for state funding for the expansion project. The Clemente project must make the annual school construction priority list that will be forwarded to the state legislature in late December for consideration in the 2026 legislative session.

The Roberto Clemente International Dual Language School opened in the former Saints Peter and Paul parochial school on Beecher Avenue in 2021 to an evenly divided mix of 112 native English- and Spanish-speaking students in prekindergarten, kindergarten and first grade. The academic plan called for adding a new grade level each year until the school reaches the eighth grade in the 2028-29 school year. 

The ability to maintain this schedule and fulfill the commitment to Clemente families and students to provide a bilingual education up to high school depends on the timely approval of a school construction grant and completion of the expansion project.

Superintendent Darren Schwartz told the Board of Aldermen last Monday the current 39,500-square-foot school building will be able to accommodate the fifth and sixth grades over the next two school years, but there will not be enough space available for a seventh-grade class in 2026-27. 

"We'll fit the sixth grade into the current building. It might require a year of 'art on the cart' and a few things like that. Nothing that I don't think parents would be willing to do for a full gamut to the eighth grade," Schwartz said. "But this would the year we would have to make the decision to put it up to eighth because after that we couldn't fit the seventh grade in the school."

Pernerewski said in a subsequent interview he is confident accommodations could be made to permit the enrollment rollout to continue if the expansion project gets held up, including the use of temporary classrooms for the first anticipated seventh-grade class.

"I think if we needed a year to transition, we’d be able to find a solution if we have to," he said. "We'll find a way."

The biggest constraint facing the expansion of the magnet school and its language immersion program is the size and condition of the school building.

The revised $37 million project plan comes a year after the first proposal to construct 87,000 square feet of building additions was withdrawn because the $81.4 million cost was too high for Pernerewski and the Board of Aldermen. The city's share after state reimbursements was estimated to be $31.4 million. At that time, it was decided to explore other options even though that meant pushing the timetable back one year.

The scaled-back plan proposes to renovate a vacant convent building abutting the rear of the school building and connect the two buildings. School officials reported inspections determined the two-story, brick building is structurally sound and suitable for its planned school uses. School officials plan to locate the seventh and eighth grade classes in the renovated convent building. 

The redesign reduced the original $81.4 million project cost by 54%. School officials said state reimbursements could cover up to 80% of the revised $37 million project cost based on initial consultations with state officials.

The projected reimbursement rate is 78.9%. That would represent $29.2 million of the cost. School officials reported the project could be eligible for up to an additional 5 percentage points because Clemente offers full-day kindergarten classes. 

After the Saints Peter and Paul school closed in 2019, the city acquired the property for $1.75 million in 2020 and the Clemente International Dual Language School opened a year later. The three-story main school building was built in 1926 and a two-story addition in 1962. The convent building was erected in 1970.

The project plan calls for constructing a new cafeteria, a full-size gymnasium, dedicated art and music rooms, a media center, and the new seventh- and eighth-grade classrooms in the former convent building. There would be elevators in both buildings. The roofs on both buildings would be replaced, with new heating and air conditioning systems for each. There also would be added security protections.

Enrollment is expected to increase to nearly 320 students when Clemente adds its fifth-grade classes next year, and its projected to range between 460 and 480 students after the eighth-grade classes are added, according to enrollment projects.

The school was renamed in 2024 after Roberto Clemente, a Major League Baseball Hall of Famer from Puerto Rico who played for the Pittsburgh Pirates and a humanitarian who died at age 38 in 1972 when his chartered plane crashed as he was on his way to help earthquake victims in Nicaragua.

"The goal is to get this going and get moving on it," Pernerewski said.

CT Construction Digest Friday June 13, 2025

Gov. Lamont commits $18.8M for pollution cleanup, advancing redevelopment across CT

Michael Puffer

Adrive to demolish a monolithic data center on a property behind Hartford’s Dunkin’ Park stadium got a $4 million boost Thursday, as Gov. Ned Lamont announced environmental cleanup grants for 23 properties across the state.

The administration will release $18.8 million in state grants from assessment or remediation of 227 acres of contaminated land across Connecticut, in projects aimed to unlock their redevelopment potential.

In Hartford, the funding will be pooled with other sources for a $9 million demolition of the long-empty concrete bunker of a data center occupying 3 acres next to the stadium. That’s a necessary first step for the city’s aspiration to replace it with a new artificial intelligence hub, hotel and parking garage.

The administration estimates these grants will spark $218 million in private investment, and create 450 housing units.

“Old, polluted, blighted properties that have sat vacant for decades do nothing to stimulate our economy, grow jobs and support housing growth,” Lamont said, according to a release. “With these grants, we are partnering with towns and developers to take unused, lifeless properties and bring them back from the dead, rejuvenating land that can be used for so much more and can bring value back to these neighborhoods.”

Other grants include:

Ansonia: $200,000 for assessment of the 4.2-acre former Farrel Ansonia facility at 35 and 65 Main St. The site has been vacant since 2018.

Bridgeport: $200,000 planning grant to the Connecticut Metropolitan Council of Governments for planning activities on the western bank of the Yellow Mill Channel along Waterview Avenue. The project will help advance a plan for a waterfront pathway.

Danbury: $200,000 for environmental assessment of the former Fairfield County Courthouse, enabling its future uses as municipal office space.

Danbury: $200,000 for assessment activities for a former hat manufacturing site at 13 Barnum Court.

Derby: $200,000 for additional assessment of O’Sullivan’s Island, a 17.25-acre peninsula of land south of downtown, at the confluence of the Housatonic and Naugatuck Rivers. The assessment will advance plans for additional recreational activities.

East Lyme: $200,000 for assessment at 278 Main St. to identify contamination and evaluate the cost of remediation.

Monroe: $100,000 to complete assessment of the 7.74-acre site of the former Saint Jude School located at 709 Monroe Turnpike, which is being considered for use as a community center and town offices.

Naugatuck: $200,000 for assessment of the 36.2-acre former Hershey & Peter Paul Cadbury manufacturing site. The borough hopes to return the site to productive use following 18 years of inactivity.

New Britain: $2 million for abatement and clean-up activities at the 54.91-acre New Britain Business Park at 221 South St., once home to the New Britain Machine Co. Cleanup will support reuse of 123,000 square feet of existing building space, promote new manufacturing, research and development, logistics and office spaces.

New Haven: $880,000 for remediation of a 1.13-acre parking lot at 275 South Orange St. that was formerly attached to the New Haven Coliseum. This work will allow construction of 7,159 square feet of amenity and retail space and 120 residential units, part of a multiphase redevelopment effort.

New Haven: $947,500 for demolition of blighted buildings and excavation of petroleum-impacted soil at 185, 212 and 213 Front St., a 1.34-acre stretch along the Quinnipiac River with a history of industrial uses. This will pave the way for the construction of 70 residential units, retail spaces and a 29,000 square foot green space and boardwalk to improve pedestrian access.

New Milford: $150,000 grant to the New Milford Economic Development Corp. for assessment of the Former East Street School, a 4.63-acre site located at 50 East St. The building is slated to become a cultural center for arts and community hub. That may involve affordable apartments for creative professionals.

Norwich: $100,000 to the Norwich Community Development Corp. for assessment of the former Norwich State Hospital. The funding will further remediation planning for the development corp., which aims to redevelop the property in concert with a neighboring riverwalk development.

Redding: $200,000 for assessment of 19 North Main St., the former wastewater treatment facility of the Gilbert and Bennett Wire Mill.

Shelton: $2.97 million to the Naugatuck Valley Council of Governments for cleanup at 113 and 125 Canal St., sites formerly used for electroplating and other manufacturing operations. This supports plans for construction of two, mixed-use complexes mingling more than 120 apartments with retail space and a parking garage. The project also will extend a walkway along the Housatonic River to Veterans Memorial Park.

Stonington: $177,000 grant for assessment of the former Campbell Grain Facility, a 1.86-acre project site located at 27 West Broad St. and 15 Cogswell St.

Torrington: $600,000 for abatement and demolition of two buildings at a 9.4-acre site at 70 North Main St., clearing room for new commercial and industrial development.

Torrington: $200,000 to the New Colony Development Corp. for the completion of assessment and planning activities at 100 Franklin Drive. City officials expect this funding to allow them to identify a developer to repurpose the former manufacturing site.

West Hartford: $200,000 for assessment of the 1-acre former AC Petersen Ice Cream plant site at 240 Park Road. This will allow expansion of existing businesses on the site, including performing arts theater Playhouse on Park.

West Hartford: $688,000 for demolition and remediation of a 1.21-acre site located at 579 New Park Ave., enabling construction of mixed-use, 70-unit apartment building.

Winchester: $200,000 to the Northwest Hills Council of Governments to study blighted industrial properties along the Mad River.

Windsor Locks: $4M for cleanup and demolition at 255 Main St., a site next to a proposed passenger rail station. This will facilitate construction of a 120-unit, mixed-use development.

Steelpointe Harbor hotel project gets $850K tax break; summer construction start date

Michael Juliano

Plans to bring a hotel to Bridgeport – the state’s largest city – has received $850,000 in potential tax relief on building materials through Connecticut Innovations, the state’s quasi-public venture capital arm.

Bridgeport-based RCI Group and True North Hotel Group, based in Overland Park, Kansas, plan to start construction in late July or early August on a 141-room, six-story Residence Inn by Marriott at Steelpointe Harbor, on a 2.5-acre parcel at 108 E. Main St.

The tax break from CI comes from the state’s Sales & Use Tax Relief Program, which exempts companies from Connecticut’s 6.35% sales tax, up to a certain amount, for capital equipment and/or construction materials purchases.

CI’s loan committee approved the deal on Tuesday. 

“Connecticut has been a great partner for the project,” Robert Christoph, RCI Group’s founder and president, told the Hartford Business Journal. “We’re very excited to work with the city and the state, and we’re very excited that the state has programs like Connecticut Innovations to spur new development.”

RCI Group last year brought in True North Hotel Group to develop the hotel at SteelPointe Harbor, a 2.8 million-square-foot mixed-use urban waterfront development that is being built in phases over a period of years, according to the company’s website. 

When completed, Steelpointe Harbor will have about 800,000 square feet of retail space, 200,000 square feet of commercial/office space and 300,000 square feet of hotel/meeting space that will also contain 1,000 to 1,500 residential units. 

It is currently home to retailers Bass Pro Shops, T-Mobile, Chipotle and Starbucks. It also has a 200-slip marina and other amenities. 

Gilbane Celebrates Groundbreaking of Fairfield College Preparatory School’s New Barron Center for Arts & Recreation

FAIRFIELD, CT — Gilbane Building Company announces the groundbreaking of the Fairfield College Preparatory School’s new Barron Center for Arts & Recreation project. Over 100 guests attended the ceremony, including officials from Fairfield College Preparatory School, Fairfield University, Newman Architects, Gilbane, and Fairfield Prep students.

Gilbane recently demolished the existing Brissette Gymnasium to make way for the new Barron Center for Arts & Recreation building. In addition to constructing the Barron Center, Gilbane will renovate Arrupe Hall to enhance visual and performing arts facilities and upgrade the school entrances to increase accessibility and connectivity at all building levels.

“What do we do as educators? We accompany our youth on a hope-filled future," said Dr. Mark Nemec, President, Fairfield University. "The Barron Center is about amplifying that and making sure all of us in this community support our young men as they go forward and change the world and set it on fire."

Spanning over 47,000 square feet, the Barron Center for Arts & Recreation is designed to cater to a wide range of athletic and artistic needs. Located on Fairfield University’s campus, the facility includes a gymnasium dedicated to Fairfield Prep Athletics, featuring a strength and conditioning center and locker rooms capable of accommodating all the athletic teams. For the arts, Fairfield Prep will now have a black box theater with 200-plus seats and dedicated band rooms, among other arts-oriented spaces. The facility is scheduled to open in the fall of 2026.

“We are pleased to continue our 25-plus year partnership and work on the school’s campus," said Eric Cushman, Vice President at Gilbane. "This project represents a significant milestone in our ongoing commitment to enhancing educational facilities and supporting the school and university community.”

The Barron Center for Arts & Recreation will serve as Fairfield Prep’s anchor for arts, athletics, school Masses, and special events. Fairfield University and community partners will also utilize the space for programs aligned with the school’s shared missions. For the first time in Fairfield Prep’s history, students will have their own dedicated theater performance space, gymnasium, and a venue capable of holding the entire student body.

OSHA’s proposed cuts won’t affect enforcement: DOL chief

Zachary Phillips

Secretary of Labor Lori Chavez-DeRemer told congressional leaders last week that a slimmed-down OSHA would be just as effective as the current version in keeping the country’s workers safe.

Chavez-DeRemer underlined President Donald Trump’ s goal of eliminating what she called waste and abuse in federal government spending and answered questions June 5 from the House Education and Workforce Committee on topics vital to construction, such as OSHA’s budget and heat safety standard.

“My department is hard at work collaborating with the Departments of Commerce and Education to unlock the potential of the American worker. We are looking to strengthen registered apprenticeships, modernize workforce development programs and invest in opportunities that upskill workers to meet current labor market demands,” Chavez-DeRemer said in her opening statement.

Budget and staff impacts

The Labor Department’s proposed FY 2026 budget allocates $582.4 million for OSHA, down from $632.3 million the year prior. It also would slash the number of full-time employees from 1,810 to 1,587.

When asked about proposed staff cuts by U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., who quoted the oft-used statistic that it would take OSHA staff nearly 200 years to visit every U.S. workplace, Chavez-DeRemer emphasized that members of OSHA and the DOL’s Wage and Hour Division are essential workers. As a result, they are not permitted to take the Department of Government Efficiency’s deferred resignation program offer, Chavez-DeRemer said.

“American workers can expect that the Department of Labor will protect the American worker as that is a core mission of the Department of Labor,” she said.

When U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath, D-Ga., asked how the department could crack down on issues like wage theft with a smaller budget and fewer workers, Chavez-DeRemer said she believed the budget would “modernize and streamline” the department. 

“If we equate that to the budget and say, that again, more money will always solve the problem? I would probably have to disagree there,” she said.

Proposed heat rule still alive

When Trump won the 2024 election, it appeared that the proposed OSHA heat safety rule would likely never come to pass, at least not in the form developed during the Biden administration.

Critics of the standard have said it is too detailed and prescriptive, which can make it onerous and problematic for compliance. Safety advocates say too often workers are denied water and rest breaks in the absence of a standard.

The standard is still in the rulemaking process, and OSHA will host hearings on it beginning June 16. 

Despite being asked multiple times, Chavez-DeRemer did not give much insight into her opinion on the specifics of the rule, such as how often workers should get breaks during times of extreme heat.

“I will not give my personal opinion because as a Secretary of Labor I cannot put my thumb on the scale,” she said.

She did, however, agree with U.S. Rep. Mark Messmer, R-Ind., who took issue with the broadness of the rule.

“One size fits all usually is a pretty standard practice that doesn’t always work for everybody geographically,” she said.

CT Construction Digest Thursday June 12, 2025

Underground transmission line project could cost CT residents $500M

Andrew Larson

Electric utility United Illuminating said Wednesday that the cost of designing and building a proposed underground transmission system from Bridgeport to Fairfield would cost about $838 million.

That’s about a half-billion dollars more than the estimated cost of rebuilding the overhead transmission system at $306 million.

UI says the aging transmission infrastructure, which runs along Metro-North railroad, needs to be upgraded to maintain current levels of railroad service.

UI has completed three of the five phases of work. Construction on the fourth phase, which runs from New Haven to Milford, is ongoing. 

The fifth phase, known as the Fairfield to Congress project, was delayed by a legal challenge by local groups that oppose the overhead transmission lines.

Based on the newly released cost estimate of the underground project, calculated by Dashiell Corporation and HBK Engineering, UI doubled down on its support of the less expensive option.

“At UI, our responsibility – to our 345,000 customers and all our stakeholders across Connecticut – is to design and implement the least-cost solution that best achieves our primary obligation: providing safe, reliable and resilient electricity to our customers,” said Frank Reynolds, president and CEO of UI. 

There have been times when UI supported underground projects, he said; however, in this case UI prefers the lower-cost overhead option because the cost differential of the underground alternative would be borne entirely by Connecticut ratepayers.

“We know there has been strong community advocacy for an underground design plan, but because we can achieve our reliability and resiliency objectives with a more affordable overhead route, we have always stood by our preferred alternative for the benefit of the customers we serve,” Reynolds said.

In 2023, UI submitted an application to the state Siting Council for the Fairfield to Congress transmission line project, which is part of the Metro-North Railroad corridor.

The state Siting Council found that “the cost of any underground configuration would result in an unreasonable economic burden on the ratepayers of the state.”

However, local businesses, residents and organizations appealed the Siting Council’s decision.

In an April 23 decision, Judge Matthew J. Budzik in New Britain Superior Court remanded the matter back to the Siting Council for further consideration of the design plan.

The Siting Council will meet at 1 p.m. via Zoom on Thursday. Although the meeting will not include public comment, the Fairfield to Congress project is scheduled for discussion.

UI said it tentatively believes a decision will be made at a follow-up meeting on June 26.

UI said it is required to “select the most prudent design: the design that achieves the necessary objectives at the least cost for the company’s customers.”

Based on agreements with Independent System Operator of New England (ISO-NE), the regional grid operator, costs of regional transmission projects are normally spread across the 14 million ISO-NE customers.

If the Siting Council approved the overhead solution proposed by UI, the roughly $300 million cost would be spread across those 14 million customers. However, if the Siting Council approved the underground option, Connecticut ratepayers would be responsible for the additional $500 million, according to UI.

“With Connecticut’s high electricity rates continually in the news, it is frankly surprising to see so many elected officials and their constituents continue to push for a project design that would add half a billion dollars to Connecticut electric rates,” said Jim Cole, vice president of projects at Avangrid. 

UI, a subsidiary of Avangrid, provides electricity to customers in the greater New Haven and Bridgeport areas of the state.

Roundabouts proposed for Exit 89 interchange of I-95 in Groton

Kimberly Drelich

Groton — The state Department of Transportation is proposing to build $12.5 million of roundabouts at the Exit 89 interchange of Interstate 95 which it says will make for a smoother traffic flow at the Allyn Street exit, decrease backups, reduce speed and help prevent wrong-way driving.

The Town Council on Tuesday unanimously supported the DOT developing preliminary design plans that will eventually be presented to the council and public for their feedback. If the DOT decides to proceed with the project, construction could begin in about two and a half years and take about two years to complete.

The DOT is proposing single-lane roundabouts at three intersections: the I-95 southbound on and off ramps; the I-95 northbound on and off ramps; and the Allyn Street and Sandy Hollow Road intersection.

DOT representatives said they originally had recommended intersections with stoplights but began looking at roundabouts at the suggestion of a resident.

According to the DOT, the benefits of roundabouts include improving the interchange's geometry, improving vehicle queuing as cars flow better through the area, and having shorter delays during peak traffic times. The design of roundabouts bring safety benefits, including that cars drive through them at lower speeds resulting in fewer severe crashes and wrong-way drivers.

Scott Bushee, principal engineer of the state highway design unit and chairman of the DOT's roundabout committee, said the traffic circles have fewer "conflict points" in which vehicles could collide. A conventional intersection has 32 conflict points, compared to eight with a roundabout.

He said the roundabouts would not have any left turns, so no one would cross directly in front of anyone, avoiding severe T-bone-type crashes that typically create injuries.

Bushee said a study of five roundabouts on state roads in Connecticut found an 81% reduction in severe crashes and a 44% reduction in overall crashes. Federal data shows a 78% reduction in several crashes and a 48% reduction in overall crashes with roundabouts. They are also safer for pedestrians because cars drive at lower speeds.

He added that roundabouts are more efficient because vehicles aren't idling at a light or stop sign.

Over the three-year period between Jan. 1, 2020, and Jan. 1, 2023, there were 13 crashes, including seven injury crashes, at the intersection where the I-95 southbound on and off ramps are located, according to DOT data.

The intersection where the I-95 northbound on and off ramps are located, had 29 crashes, including seven injury crashes, over that period.

Groton Town Police Chief Louis J. Fusaro Jr. said the roundabouts would reduce accidents and potentially reduce speeding on Allyn Street.

Slowing down fire trucks?

Old Mystic Fire Chief Kenneth Richards Jr. said he thinks the roundabout is a great concept but asked whether there have been any studies about an increase in emergency response time.

He said currently when fire trucks exit the Cow Hill headquarters, just north of the southbound interchange, they take a right turn, hit the first traffic light and then it's clear sailing all the way down to the I-95 northbound ramps to head to Stonington, where the fire department responds to 800 calls a year. He said with slower speeds due to the design of roundabouts, he's thinks it would take significantly more time to drive to the ramp.

Bushee said he hasn't heard of any complaints about a delay in response because of a roundabout. He said across the country, crashes within roundabout areas have decreased significantly, lowering response needs and costs to communities.

Bushee said the roundabouts have accommodations, such as a truck apron and curbing, for trucks if they need to pass by other vehicles.

Richards say he is comfortable with that solution. He said he is familiar with the Route 85 roundabout in Salem and has had conversations with the fire department there. He said it is true that the roundabout has an accommodation for trucks, though fire officials said it takes longer for a fire truck to go through the roundabout than on a straight road.

The roundabout project would cost $12.5 million, while an alternative for signalized intersections would cost $6.4 million, according to the DOT. The project is slated to be paid for with 80% federal funds and 20% state funds.

Councilors asked questions and offered mostly supportive comments, including that the roundabouts would not be affected by a power outage and that they felt they were safer and would cut down on wrong-way driving.

Eva Zymaris, DOT spokesperson, said Wednesday that sidewalks are proposed along Allyn Street from Cow Hill Road to Stony Hill Drive.

Work set to begin on $15 million, 100,000-square-foot Middletown pickleball facility

Cassandra Day

MIDDLETOWN — Construction is beginning on a $15 million, 100,000-square-foot-plus indoor pickleball facility, the largest by far in Connecticut and beyond, according to Pickleball Park President and General Manager Rob Keefrider.  

The business, at 100 Centerpoint Drive, will be open 24 hours a day, 365 days year, he said. It is expected to open in July 2026.

The facility will be outfitted with 21 courts: 18 indoor, two indoor paddle courts, both of which will be climate-controlled; and one outdoor, illuminated court on a patio, he said. A stadium court mezzanine and bleacher viewing area are also planned.

There will also be five outdoor courts designated for seasonal play, and eight, open air-equipped courts with overhead doors to bring in fresh air.

America’s fastest growing sport, a racquet sport played on courts smaller than tennis with paddles and hollow plastic balls with holes, is popular in Connecticut parks. It's grown so popular that the demand for indoor courts open year-round has generated a new pickleball economy.

Keefrider expects to mainly draw players from within a 25-mile radius due to its location at the junction of Route 9 and I-91 and proximity to Cromwell, Berlin, Rocky Hill among other towns.

There will also be a children's club, yet-unnamed restaurant serving fast, casual food; basketball courts, a fitness center, weight room, group classes, athletic field space, yard and arcade games, and office, meeting, party and event rooms for members and visitors. 

Rounding out offerings are a yard, and arcade games, and office, meeting, party and event rooms.

“Our training programs are going to be top-notch for pickleball,” he added. It’ll be a place to “meet, work, train, play and connect.”

Earlier this week, the Economic Development Committee approved a eight-year, tax agreement.

The company will pay taxes on the land while the facility is under construction, he said. A deferred assessment was approved for two years, then taxes will increase in years three to six.

Pickleball Park will make an incremental investment of about $11.4 million in real and personal property, he added.

The company surveyed the local and regional landscape and reviewed many business models, Keefrider said. “We are not copying any of them.” 

There were an estimated 19.8 million pickleball players in 2024 in the United States, according to Pickleheads.com, which cited figures from the 2025 SFIA Topline Participation Report. This represents a 45.8% increase from 2023, it said. 

It’s popularity has grown 311% over the last three years, according to the SFIA, and the average player age is lowering. The 25 to 34 age group now has the most pickleball players (2.3 million), and 1 million more children started playing the sport.

The average pickleball player is 35 years old.

The size and scale of the club enables better open play, he explained. “We will have more courts and can better match people based on pace of play, skill level and temperament."

"Face it, it isn’t as much fun when you play against someone at a totally different skill level and crush them,” Keefrider said. “Worse yet, is holding back. We want to ensure maximum enjoyment at our club."