Groundbreaking of new apartment complex at former Showcase Cinemas site in East Hartford is close
EAST HARTFORD — A $115 million development project to
transform the former Showcase Cinemas property nestled between
Silver Lane and Interstate 84 has been delayed by more than a year.
But the developers, along with town and state stakeholders,
are saying that hurdles that needed to be cleared have been, and motorists
heading toward Hartford and Boston should see shovels in the ground by spring.
Developer Brian Zelman, who has partnered with developer Avner Krohn on
the project, said Monday that the last hurdle was the East Hartford Town
Council's approval last month of a long-term agreement that will allow them to
close on the property.
"It wasn't so much (interest) rates," Zelman said.
"There's a million challenges to getting things done on a project like
this."
Zelman said many of those challenges are
engineering-related, such as a large Metropolitan District-operated water line
that serves other parts of town.
"They have an easement and it can't be disturbed,"
Zelman said.
The other major challenge, Zelman said, was the complicated
nature of conditions tied to the use of public funds. The town and state have
invested a combined $10 million into the development of the project so far, not
counting the $6 million the town spent to acquire the property.
"It created significant burdens. We needed to find ways
to get around those burdens," he said.
Ultimately, the conduit for addressing those burdens was
having the Connecticut Regional Development Authority oversee the expenditure
of $7 million in state grants.
Marissa Baum, spokeswoman for the town, confirmed that a
groundbreaking is on track to happen when construction season begins.
"They have secured their financing, they have begun
pulling building permits, they are working with the utilities. So all is in
motion, with closing as the next step," Baum said.
Construction will move southwest to northeast on the 25-acre
lot, Zelman said, beginning with about 300 units in several three-story
walk-ups. That will be followed by the four-story elevator building known as
the "Otto," which will include a private theater. The complex will
also feature a clubhouse and a mail building.
Zelman, who said he and Krohn have about $2 million invested
in the project so far, credited East Hartford elected officials, staff and
CRDA for getting the project to this point, which includes closing either late
this month or in February.
"We wouldn't be however many years into this if it
wasn't for the town," Zelman said, adding that CRDA's role was also
critical.
The project was originally expected to close in fall 2023,
but even with the delays, Zelman said he never lost faith.
"We always knew the project made a lot of sense,"
he said.
East Hartford Mayor Connor Martin said he was happy
with the progress.
"Of course, this is the nature of economic development,
and some projects move faster than others, but we are seeing progress and are
working our way toward a ribbon cutting," Martin said. "That
progress, and the beginning of this next phase of the project, is huge."
Subcontractors on Bridgeport's Steelpointe apartment project penalized by state for labor violations
BRIDGEPORT — A handful of subcontractors on a
high-profile, partially publicly subsidized upper-scale apartment project along
the city's harbor have been fined a total of $160,500 and given stop-work
orders for breaking state labor laws.
Juliet Manalan, spokesperson for Connecticut's labor
department, which includes the wage and workplace standards office, said the
stop work orders were recently lifted on four of the subcontractors after they
provided information they were in compliance or came into compliance, and after
being fined.
Construction is underway on The August, a 420-unit luxury
housing complex at the Steelpointe redevelopment in the lower East End between
Interstate 95 and the waterfront.
The long-awaited development is the first phase of a
proposed 1,500 units funded
in part with a 12-year municipal tax break.
State
government also provided a $20 million low interest loan in exchange
for 160 of the initial 420-units being designated as lower-cost "workforce
housing" as well as nearly
$1 million for the complicated environmental cleanup of the property.
In late November, Connecticut's Wage and Workplace Standards
Division ordered five of the companies on-site — all but one from New York or
New Jersey — to halt construction for misclassifying laborers and failing
to provide workers' compensation insurance.
According to the
U.S. Department of Labor's website, "Misclassification occurs
when an employer treats a worker who is an employee under the Fair Labor
Standards Act as an independent contractor. Misclassifying employees as
independent contractors is a serious problem because misclassified employees
may not receive the minimum wage and overtime pay to which they are entitled
... or other benefits and protections to which they are entitled under the
law."
The amount of the fine is based on the number of employees
affected by the classification and compensation issues
Structura Group of New Jersey's financial penalty was the
highest at $155,700, followed by the $3,900 levied against New York City-based
Hartland Mechanical and the $900 fined Remy Fence and Masonry of Wallingford.
LBR Mechanical of Brewster, N. Y., did not receive a monetary penalty. ADM
Concrete Pumping of New York City was not released from the stop work order but
is not returning to the construction site.
Of the five businesses, only ADM responded to requests
for comment. A spokesperson said that firm was hired by another subcontractor
to provide some equipment to build The August, rarely works in Connecticut and,
after learning of the violations here, and said it would have been too costly
to come into compliance. The spokesperson said it is still waiting to be paid
by the subcontractor that brought ADM aboard.
Miguel Fuentes, a representative with the carpenters'
union, said that organization has serious concerns about what is happening at
The August. He blamed the main contractor on the job, KBE, which has
offices in Norwalk and Farmington in Connecticut, plus New York City, Arizona
and Maryland. KBE is highlighting
the Bridgeport Steelpointe apartments on its website.
Fuentes said the job site issues that state labor officials
caught "are not harmless paperwork errors" on the part of the five
firms involved and in fact "a business model" subcontrators sometimes
use to cut costs.
Fuentes also questioned whether KBE does enough to
enforce labor laws.
"KBE is in control of their site," he said.
"If they made it clear that their subs need to meet certain standards and
follow the laws, their subs would. Why? Because they (KBE) don't only have
job-site control, they have the power of the purse."
Robert Dunn, KBE's vice president and general counsel, in a
statement responding to Fuentes wrote that KBE "hires the most qualified
and competitively priced subcontractors, regardless of union or non-union
affiliation. This position is not popular with the carpenters' union."
Dunn further explained, "Those subcontractors may hire
sub-subcontractors and so on. KBE operates in accordance with all applicable
labor laws and regulations, and it requires the same compliance from
the subcontractors hired. KBE requires those subcontractors to hold their
sub-subcontractors to the same requirements, and so on.
"KBE does not condone or encourage any illegal or
unfair work practices of our subcontractors on KBE projects" and its
subcontract agreements "clearly and thoroughly" require compliance
with workers' compensation, employment eligibility and wage laws, Dunn said.
Dunn continued that KBE "was not in violation" of
any state requirements, "not involved" in the labor department's
inquiry and added "we understand the state department of labor is
satisfied with the responses and the various sub-contractors were back to work
within a few days."
"If KBE becomes aware of chronic and intentional
violations on its projects, which is not the case here, those subcontractors
are not welcome on future KBE projects," Dunn wrote.
Meanwhile Robert Christoph Jr., who with his father, Robert,
Sr., has spent years slowly transforming Steelpointe into a mix of housing,
retail and recreational uses, in response to the carpenters' organization's
concerns insisted that unionized labor has and will continue to benefit
from the redevelopment.
"Past construction at Steelpointe has included union
labor and local minority contractors and workers form the Greater Bridgeport
community," Christoph said in a statement. "For this phase of
construction, we have worked with KBE to engage the local community,
hosting local hiring fairs and conducting direct outreach to local
contractors."
While the stop work orders involved mostly out-of-town
firms, Christoph insisted "several local residents and
contractors" are involved in the current phase of The August along with
"a number of union contractors and members of the re-entry
community."
Christoph concluded, "As Steelpointe progresses to
future phases, we will continue to encourage local, minority hiring practices,
hosting local hiring events and conducting outreach ... to ensure
that the community benefits from this economic development."
Kooris to lead Municipal Redevelopment Authority in first multifamily housing investments
Anew quasi-public state agency armed with $60 million to
spur multifamily housing in Connecticut downtowns and around mass transit hubs
will begin to fund its first projects this year.
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At the helm of the newly formed Connecticut Municipal
Redevelopment Authority (MRDA) is David Kooris, a 44-year-old
Fairfield native who has led planning and economic development initiatives for
Connecticut municipalities and state agencies over the past 17 years.
“The mission is to support municipalities in their efforts
to build more housing in their downtowns and around their trains or rapid bus
transit systems,” Kooris said. “The Governor and I believe strongly there is a
critical mass of communities that want to (add multifamily housing), but they
need some technical support, they need some resources.”
Reconciling differences
Kooris graduated from Montreal’s McGill University in 2002, with a bachelor’s degree in urban studies and anthropology. He began his college studies focused on archeology, fascinated by the way infrastructure and settlement patterns reflected the culture of ancient civilizations.
But archeology lost a bit of its luster over time as Kooris
discovered much of the work would happen in lonely laboratories and quiet
offices, rather than on dig sites.
It wasn’t exactly Indiana Jones.
During his senior year, Kooris discovered the field of urban
planning, which led to a post-graduate internship with the New York-based
Regional Plan Association, a nonprofit that consults with communities and
transit authorities around planning initiatives.
Kooris found himself out in the field, talking with
community stakeholders about potential developments. He saw a chance to
influence infrastructure and settlement patterns for public good.
After graduating from the University of Pennsylvania with a
master’s degree in city and regional planning in 2005, Kooris took a full-time
job with the Regional Plan Association. There, much of his work centered on
organizing community forums about development initiatives around rail hubs in
New York and New Jersey.
There were a lot of competing interests — affordable housing
advocates, economic development boosters, open space preservationists and
others. Kooris’ job was to reconcile these groups, which is part of his
responsibilities leading MRDA.
“What I learned from that process was bringing those folks
together, engaging in a meaningful and honest participatory process would
always result in an increased acceptance of development, of housing production,
housing types,” Kooris said.
During his time at the association, Kooris said he learned
that a big increase in housing density in specific areas can accomplish many
goals. Market rate housing can be leveraged for affordable and workforce
housing, and tamp down on urban sprawl. It also helps fuel healthy commercial
districts.
Key year ahead
MRDA was established by state lawmakers in 2019, modeled
after the Capital Region Development Authority, which has deployed state bond
funding over the last 12 years to spur hundreds of millions of dollars in
public and private multifamily development in Hartford and surrounding
communities.
MRDA will do the same for municipalities outside CRDA’s
coverage area, which also includes East Hartford, West Hartford, Newington,
Wethersfield, South Windsor, Windsor and Bloomfield.
It has taken several years for MRDA to germinate. It didn’t
have funding until 2023; Kooris was tapped by Gov. Ned Lamont in late
July to lead the organization.
Kooris has been meeting with municipal and state officials
ever since, explaining MRDA’s offerings, which will include zoning consulting
services, developer recruitment and development incentives.
Interested communities can sign up for help pushing
high-density residential and mixed-use projects around train and rail hubs, or
in downtowns.
The agency is in talks with more than a dozen potential
member municipalities, and Kooris said he’s confident that at least two dozen
cities and towns will enroll with MRDA in 2025, with funding beginning to flow
to the first handful of projects by the third quarter.
“There are a lot of folks who think we won’t get any action
without sticks,” Kooris said of spurring new residential projects. “We are a
carrot and we don’t come with sticks. I am cautiously optimistic this approach
will yield more results than people expect it to.”
MRDA can help identify suitable development zones, and
consult with officials, residents and stakeholders to map out a development
vision. If necessary, zoning changes would be crafted to support that plan.
Once development district boundaries are set and zoning is
squared away, MRDA can help recruit developers and begin taking applications
for development assistance. What form that assistance will take is not yet
defined, but it will likely include low-interest loans for developers, Kooris
said. It could also mean supporting demolition of a structure to clear a site
for redevelopment, he noted.
“Basically, anything that will help realize housing
potential within that district,” Kooris said he also hopes to work with key
state agencies to streamline permitting processes and channel the various grant
programs available through different agencies.
The $60 million in state funding can be deployed quickly
when spread around multiple big-ticket infrastructure and housing developments,
but Kooris said he’s confident lawmakers will see value in the investment and
allocate more funding in the future.
Veteran planner
Kooris is already a familiar face to Connecticut’s
development community.
He left the Regional Plan Association in 2012, after rising
to become head of its Connecticut operations. That job prompted him to move
from New York back to Connecticut, specifically Stamford. His next role was
heading Bridgeport’s planning and economic development offices.
In 2016, Kooris was hired as director of resilience for the
state Department of Housing. Two years later, he was appointed deputy
commissioner of the state Department of Economic and Community Development.
Kooris served in that capacity for about two years, and then
took a job leading Stamford’s downtown business improvement district.
He left that role to helm MRDA. Kooris also serves on the
Connecticut Port Authority board, and was its chairman from July 2019 through
this past August.
Kooris stresses the importance of developing a consensus
around redevelopment missions. That means listening to residents and
stakeholders, as well as pitching new ideas.
It was a strategy he’s deployed in the past, including in
Fairfield more than a decade ago, when town officials asked the Regional Plan
Association to help rezone an area around a planned passenger rail station.
At the time, the area was zoned for industrial use and
mostly occupied by car dealerships. Officials thought new retail and restaurant
opportunities would pair well with the passenger rail station.
Instead of leading a top-down rezoning process, in which
town officials dictated everything, Kooris said he engaged residents and
stakeholders to develop a plan.
About 18 months later, Fairfield’s Planning and Zoning
Commission unanimously adopted zoning rules that allowed for 1,200 mixed-income
housing units, with ground-floor retail and commercial spaces, Kooris recalled.
The resulting development was well received, he said.