Danbury seeks state grant as part of $17 million project to improve downtown streetscapes
DANBURY — City leaders are hopeful that the potential
addition of $5 million in state grant money will help them fully fund and
realize the $17 million Streetscape
Renaissance Project in downtown Danbury.
The project seeks to greatly improve the walkability,
appearance and economic vitality of the city’s center. Leaders
envision a downtown with new sidewalks, stamped crosswalks, solar parking
kiosks, new landscaping and numerous other improvements along key areas,
including the intersection of Main, West and Liberty streets.
The $5 million grant, if awarded, would come from Connecticut’s
Community Investment Fund. The project was among the projects recommended
for funding recently by the Community Investment Fund 2030 Board.
The State
Bond Commission will vote on the funding at its April 11
meeting.
State Rep. Farley Santos, a Democrat who also serves
as economic
and community development adviser to Mayor
Roberto Alves, said the CIF board is “looking for some transformational
projects that would promote economic development but also make sense for the
growth of the community.”
The city presented “a real vision for downtown" in
persuading the CIF board to recommend the project, Santos said. It is just one
of the ingredients Danbury needs to “make a good recipe for a flourishing
downtown," he said.
“Better sidewalks, a more walkable downtown. As we’re
bringing developers in, as we’re looking at business growth there, these are
all the sorts of things people are looking for to ensure that their businesses
will thrive, that they will grow. This is something that Mayor Alves and I
strongly advocate with the state for,” Santos said.
The CIF grant would come on the heels of a separate recently
awarded $4 million in state Local Transportation Capital Improvement Program
funds.
The goal of streetscape project is to “transform the
center of Danbury into a high-spirited, pedestrian-friendly, and economically
efficient community,” city officials said in a recent statement.
“This is a transformative moment for the city of Danbury,”
Alves said in the statement. “With these funds, we can continue with our best
foot forward to transform our streetscapes, creating and maintaining a vibrant,
walkable downtown area. In doing so, we will improve the quality of day-to-day
life by making our city more accessible to residents and visitors alike,
building a strong, connected foundation for our city.”
Construction is slated to start later in the year.
The project was originally
conceived under former Mayor Mark Boughton’s administration, however,
it was delayed by state permitting. Due to that delay, a project whose second
phase was previously expected to cost $13.2 million ballooned to more than $17
million.
Meanwhile, the city had a gap in the funding it needed to
see the project to completion. Danbury previously had $9.78 million leftover
from the first phase of the project to put toward Phase II, meaning city
leaders had to raise at least $7.22 million. The previous funding came from a
state Office of Policy Management grant and a SNAPP bond.
West Hartford begins work on major $10 million plans to reconstruct its town center
WEST HARTFORD — Work has begun on the
town's $10 million plans to reconstruct West Hartford Center, its bustling
dining and shopping district.
LaSalle Road, home to various stores and restaurants, looked
a little different after
the town took down 36 trees that lined the roadway, the first step in the
planned overhaul of the corridor that will culminate in new and wider
sidewalks, improved crosswalks, more street furniture and amenities, a mobility
hub and new trees. Farmington Avenue will get that same treatment next
year.
During construction, all businesses will remain open, with
work being done in phases. Representatives for M&J Engineering, which
is doing the work, said pedestrian access will be maintained and vehicular
traffic will continue to flow. One disruption might be felt in parking, as the
company is using the parking lot at the corner of LaSalle Road and
Arapahoe Road to stage its equipment and machinery during construction. The
town has reminded visitors to the area that the nearby town center garage,
which is accessible from Memorial Road, is available for parking.
Currently, part of the sidewalk is closed off between the
corner of Farmington Avenue and LaSalle, outside of Music & Arts, as
crews work to remove the existing sidewalk.
West
Hartford first announced plans to reconstruct its town center in 2022,
dubbing it the "West Hartford Center Infrastructure Master Plan." In
August of that year, the town said it would use $400,000 of its American Rescue
Plan Act funds to hire Stantec, a consultant they planned to work with to
develop the plans that would shape the future of the popular area of town that
draws diners and shoppers from well beyond the area.
The idea was that the area, having been the subject of
various utility-related construction projects, was ready for an all-in-one
rehabilitation, rather than piecemeal repairs. LaSalle Road, in particular, was
the subject of temporary experimentation during the COVID-19 pandemic. The town
tried it as a one-way street, tested out back-in angled parking and expanded
outdoor dining into the street. It was time, the town said, to make things
permanent.
In February 2023, the
town and its consultant revealed initial plans for the area's
reconstruction. Those plans included a deeper focus on pedestrian and cyclist
safety after three pedestrians were killed in car crashes in 2022, with
two of them happening in November and December. At the time, the
consultants pointed to the intersection at Farmington Avenue and Main Street,
noting how dangerous it is for pedestrians and pitching plans for roundabouts
or other enhancement. Currently, the town has no plans to overhaul the intersection,
though it could be part of future roadway work.
But perhaps the biggest proposed change at the time, and one
that would become part of an ongoing debate, were plans to shift all angled
parking on LaSalle Road and Farmington Avenue to parallel parking. Because
angled parking takes up 43 feet while parallel parking would take up 16 feet,
the change would decrease the amount of on-street parking but provide more
opportunity for the town to widen sidewalks for pedestrian use and expanded
outdoor dining.
Those plans were met with cheers from pedestrian and bike
safety advocates, like Bike West Hartford, who said it made the area safer and
more pedestrian-friendly but gave
some concern to local business owners who felt that losing parking
spaces would negatively impact their businesses. Consultants at the time did
point out that West
Hartford Center and Blue Back Square have around 5,000 parking spaces between
street parking, lots and garages. At the same time, the town had been reducing
the number of on-street parking every year during the spring and summer as it
expanded outdoor dining into the streets, swapping out dozens of parking spaces
for restaurant tables instead.
Some business owners expressed their frustration about the
decreased parking at a November 2023 meeting, where they also worried how
construction might interfere with their daily business. The town responded,
saying construction would be done in phases, meaning it would move along the
roadway, rather than shut down the entire area.
In April 2024, the
town revealed what it intended to be its final plan. Notably, though,
angled parking was included and a previously proposed elevated bike lane on
Farmington Avenue was removed. This disappointed pedestrian and bike safety
advocates, who
criticized the plan as being "auto-centric" and going
against the town's
own Vision Zero action plan it had spent a year developing in an
attempt to eliminate all fatal and serious car crashes in town.
That reaction sent the town and its consultant back to the
drawing board. It wasn't until last September that the
town revealed its current plans for West Hartford Center, which still
retains the angled parking but also includes some narrower vehicle travel
lanes and more pedestrian safety features like raised crosswalks and curb
bumpouts.
The Farmington Avenue bike lane was still not included, but
the town said it would look to install a bike lane from the Trout Brook Trail
that would head up Farmington Avenue and into the Center. The town also
introduced the concept of mobility hubs in these plans, which are two areas
geared toward multi-modal transportation that would include covered bike
parking, chargers for e-bikes and e-scooters, improved bus transit hubs and the
potential for bike-sharing opportunities.
The entirely of the plan is being funded with federal
COVID-19 pandemic relief funds. Work on LaSalle Road will continue
throughout this year's construction season. Next year, attention will shift to
Farmington Avenue on a similar timeline. The town said it expects all
construction to be done by November 2026.
In downtown Stamford, demolition ongoing for former Burlington Coat Factory space
STAMFORD — Demolition of what used
to be the Burlington Coat Factory in downtown Stamford was ongoing as of
Friday.
The building is being destroyed to make
way for a 280-unit apartment building that will take its place at 74
Broad St. Randy
Salvatore, the developer behind the project, said demolition could be
expected to be completed by early 2025 in previous stories in The Stamford
Advocate.
Salvatore didn't respond to requests for comment.
As of Dec. 2, when the city’s Zoning Board approved the
project, the apartment building was set to include 51 studios, 110
one-bedroom and 119 two-bedroom apartments and range from 540 to 1,250 square
feet in size.
The mix and size of the apartments could change as the
project moves forward, the documents say. Ten percent of the apartments would
be "affordable" for middle-income earners.
The building itself would be seven stories and include
around 5,700 square feet of retail space and indoor and outdoor amenities,
according to Planning Board documents.
The project will
also include 310 parking spaces spread between three levels and spaces will be
available for library patrons, residents and if needed the retail tenants of
the project.
The Burlington Coat Factory in downtown Stamford closed in
June 2024 and opened its new location in the Ridgeway Shopping Center in July
2024.
Steelpointe developers want Bridgeport tax deal extended to 2072
BRIDGEPORT — By the time a proposed extension to the 2012
Steelpointe redevelopment contract and tax deal expires 47 years from
now, most involved will be old and grey, if not dead.
That sobering reality aside, the new, very far off 2072 end
date — a 20 year difference requested by Mayor Joe Ganim's administration and
developers the Christophs — is still likely to soon be approved by the
all-Democrat City Council.
"I don't believe in 2072," said Council President
Aidee Nieves in an interview. "I would have liked for it to be cut
back."
But Nieves acknowledged she probably will vote for the
change when it comes before the full legislative body.
And members of a pair of council committees — budget and
economic development — backed the amendment Thursday after meeting with
Robert Christoph Jr., John Stafstrom, a local attorney working with the
Christophs, and Bridgeport Redevelopment Director Thomas Gill.
Father and son team Robert Christoph Sr. and Jr.'s RCI
Group has made slow but substantial progress at the Steelpointe site over the
past decade-plus but wants more time to respond to future market conditions
with construction just starting on a couple thousand units of proposed housing.
The prime acreage is located on the lower East Side, near
downtown between Interstate 95 and the harbor.
In 2012, council members approved the existing contract
with RCI while Ganim predecessor and fellow Democrat Mayor Bill Finch was
in office. Under that agreement, which ends in 2052, the developer is allowed
to use a chunk of the real estate taxes due Bridgeport to instead pay off the
borrowing funding Steelpointe's infrastructure, like roads and
utilities.
That subsidy is known as tax incremental financing.
Bridgeport, according to city officials, currently receives $650,000 in annual
property tax payments from Steelpointe, with the remaining balance of around $1
million reinvested in the infrastructure. Bridgeport's tax share will grow as
the years pass and more gets built out.
Also, between late 2021 and early 2022, Steelpointe was
awarded nearly
$1 million in state aid for environmental cleanup and a
12-year municipal tax break on the mix of planned luxury and workforce
apartments.
"It's fair to say the project is now on a real 'go'
mode," Stafstrom assured members of the budget and economic
development committees Thursday.
But, he continued, when the Christophs seek to borrow to
help finance the infrastructure improvements, those preferred terms are often
30 to 40 years long. And since a hotel and about 2,000 housing units are still
in the future, RCI wants to push out that 2012 agreement by a couple of
decades to 2072.
"We need the flexibility to fund the infrastructure
when he needs the infrastructure," Stafstrom explained.
On the downside, that means Bridgeport may not realize the
full property tax benefits of the site for 47 years if it takes that long to
pay off the infrastructure debt.
It had already taken several decades for Steelpointe to get
to where anchor
retailer Bass Pro outdoor shops opened in 2015. The neighborhood is
also now home to a Starbucks coffee shop, a Chipotle Mexican restaurant, a
new upscale marina, and Boca seafood restaurant, with a gas station/car
wash on the way.
In the meantime other aspects of the plan, including a
luxury movie theater, a Dave & Buster’s restaurant and a Hampton Inn hotel,
never materialized, though the Christophs are now bringing
a Marriott Residence Inn to town.
Christoph admitted to council members Thursday that progress
has been slow. Some of that has been due to the
challenges of convincing investors to take a chance on
Bridgeport and
to unforeseen environmental issues and poor soil conditions.
But RCI has also moved cautiously. With 420 apartments
out of a possible 2,000 currently being erected, Christoph said his plan
is to take a year to see how those do, then tackle the next phase, then take
another year to monitor the market, and so on.
If all the housing gets built, "there's no more land
left," and Steelpointe is basically complete, Christoph said.
Most members of the councils' budget and economic
development groups were supportive of the requested extension to 2072, voting
to forward the new expiration date to the full legislative body for final
approval.
Councilman Scott Burns, the lone "no" vote at
Thursday's meeting, said the Christophs already have from 2012 until 2052 to
get all of the necessary infrastructure work completed and paid off.
"Now we're being asked to add 20 years to that,"
he told his colleagues. "My concern, this has been a slow project. ... If
we open up another 20 years, maybe it just gets stretched out further."
Burns suggested that, at the least, the council end the
extended contract a decade sooner, in 2062.
"That's still a long run," Burns said.
"Everyone thinks developers have magic wands,"
Councilwoman AmyMarie Vizzo-Paniccia said of the desire that things move more
quickly. "You can't predict what the economy's going to be."
"Sometimes it takes a while," agreed Councilwoman
Michelle Lyons, adding of the far-off 2072 expiration, "It would be nice
if we could all be here, but ..."
Councilman Ernie Newton praised the Christophs for
sticking with Steelpointe and getting things done. Referring to how other large
economic projects have over the years been proposed for Bridgeport but never
moved forward, Newton told Christoph, "I want to thank you for being
a man of your word. ... I could go down the list of people who sold 'pipe
dreams' to this city."
Manchester gets $6.7 million in federal, state funding for Tolland Turnpike reconstruction
MANCHESTER —
Town officials are in the early stages of a plan to reconstruct part
of Tolland Turnpike, backed by $6.7 million in state and federal funding.
At a meeting April 1, the Board of Directors allocated a
$6.7 million grant from the state Department of Transportation for the purpose
of reconstructing Tolland Turnpike between Chapel Road and Buckland Street,
consisting of $4 million of federal funds and $500,000 of state funds through
the Surface Transportation Program Hartford, alongside $2.2 million in state
funds through the Local Transportation Capital Improvement Program.
The project is anticipated to cost $7.2 million, with the
remaining $500,000 to be covered by a local match allocated through a Public
Works bond referendum approved by Manchester voters in November 2023.
Town Engineer Jeff LaMalva said the project involves
reconstructing the pavement surface of a roughly one-mile stretch of Tolland
Turnpike, including the two railroad crossings, as well as construction of a
"shared-use path" on the south side of the road.
As for why the work is necessary, LaMalva said the targeted
stretch of roadway is in poor condition with Pavement Conditions Index ratings
between 28 and 46, where 100 is the best condition possible and zero is the
worst.
LaMalva said the project is currently conceptual in nature,
but the town will begin the design and permitting phase this summer, with work
0anticipated to begin in late 2026 or early 2027. A public engagement meeting
will be held as part of that work, he said.
"We are very grateful for the federal and state funding
for this project, as this would likely need to be completed in phases if
entirely funded locally," he said.
Meriden officials propose new Pulaski Elementary School for former hospital site
MERIDEN –– The former Meriden-Wallingford Hospital may
become the new site for Casimir
Pulaski Elementary School, following a recommendation from the Meriden
Board of Education.
As part of its capital improvement projects, the Board of
Education is considering renovating Thomas
Hooker Elementary School and building a new Pulaski at 1
King Place, the former hospital, Assistant Superintendent Michael Grove
said during a recent meeting.
Renovations for Thomas Hooker include expanding the
cafeteria, playground, auditorium and gymnasium. Plans also include adding air
conditioning to all classrooms, upgrading the heating system, improving
handicap accessibility with an elevator and installing new energy-efficient
windows.
Since 2021, the board and city have been assessing the needs
of Pulaski and Hooker. A report was done which indicated renovating Pulaski
would be challenging due to the building's location on a hillside residential
area, a lack of an outdoor area for children and concerns about traffic and
student safety.
“We’ve had numerous calls from the neighborhood about
parking issues,” Grove said.
The board plans to conduct another assessment to better
understand the renovation costs and expects to have an estimate by summer. If
approved, the new building is expected to be completed within four to five
years, Grove said.
Mayor
Kevin Scarpati said 1 King Place, which has been closed since 1998, is
a potential site for the new school, as it would not only provide a modern
elementary school but also repurpose an existing building, making productive
use of space within the city.
He said that demolition funding would be available if it was
tied to a municipal project.
“We’ve done right by accomplishing our high schools, and
it’s hard to believe we’re already coming upon 10 years since we’ve cut those
ribbons,” Scarpati said. “We have talked about fleet replacement and we’re
looking at funding firetrucks. We need to be doing the same for our facilities
and our schools' buildings.”
Superintendent
Mark Benigni said the school board has been talking with the city on
how to partner to use the space to offer services and programming.
“I think the facility offers some unique opportunities for
alternative or special education programs,” Benigni said.
Deputy
Majority Leader Larue Graham asked the board if the building could be
utilized for special education students outside the district.
Benigni said staffing the program would be a challenge as
the district struggles to have enough staff for its own
in-district programs.
“There are a lot of possibilities for the space,” Benigni
said. “We are open to ideas.”