3.2M-sq.-ft. Amazon facility to start construction at Waterbury-Naugatuck site after $2.5M land sale
APennsylvania-based development group has purchased 157
acres from the city of Waterbury for $2.5 million, setting the stage for
construction of a roughly 3.2 million-square-foot logistics center.
Waterbury and Naugatuck officials, on Monday, confirmed the
sale of the site – which stretches over the city’s southern border and into
Naugatuck – to Bluewater Property Group.
“They want to start site work immediately,” Waterbury Mayor
Paul Pernerewski said. “We are looking forward to it because of the potential
it has to bring 1,000 jobs to the area that are much-needed. It will also
increase the tax base. It will be a huge boon for Waterbury and
Naugatuck.”
The sale marks a key milestone in a years-long effort to get
the massive Amazon warehouse built.
In 2021, Bluewater representatives joined Waterbury-area
officials and Gov. Ned Lamont at a news conference announcing plans for the
project.
The city has tried to lure development to the site for
decades, with prior proposals for a dog track, casino and mall failing partly
due to steep topography on much of the property. That difficulty was overcome,
in part, thanks to new cooperation between Waterbury and Naugatuck to
facilitate access through the borough.
The two municipalities have agreed to evenly split tax
revenue from the development.
“We are all thrilled to have reached this critical
milestone,” Naugatuck Mayor N. Warren “Pete” Hess said. “Naugatuck and
Waterbury remain fully engaged in a cooperative effort with Amazon and
Bluewater to bring this exciting project to life.”
“Waterbury and Naugatuck are great places to live and work,
and we’re pleased to be establishing local operations here,” said Glendowlyn
Thames, a senior manager of economic development with Amazon. “We’re excited
that construction on this state-of-the-art Amazon robotics fulfillment center
is slated to start soon.”
Christina Bernardin, vice president of Bluewater Property
Group, credited both municipalities with being “incredible partners.”
“After 3 years of collaboration, planning, engineering and
dedication, we're proud to begin construction on a project that reflects the
shared vision of both municipalities and our team,” Bernardin said.
Of the sale proceeds, $392,932 will be split between the
Waterbury Development Corp. and the borough of Naugatuck in payment for a
parcel the two bought to facilitate access to the development site.
Separately, an Amazon-affiliated limited liability company —
Amazon.com Services LLC — paid $4.8 million in 2022 for a 55,349-square-foot,
1980-vintage industrial building on 8.5 acres at 191 Sheridan Drive in
Naugatuck.
A conceptual plan Bluewater shared at that time showed
access driveways pushing through that property.
Under its purchase agreement with Waterbury for the 157-acre
site, Bluewater is required to begin site work within one year. The contract
gives the developer three years to complete the project, but also allows for
two extensions to add up to 18 months to the construction schedule.
If Bluewater fails to make adequate progress within these
timelines, the purchase agreement it signed with the city has provisions that
could force a sale, either to another developer or back to the city.
The project is expected to support more than 300
construction jobs and, once operational, could create up to 1,000 full-time
equivalent jobs with benefits.
Former Waterbury Mayor Neil O’Leary, who reached the
agreement with Hess that opened up access through Naugatuck, said he is
“incredibly proud” of his role in the effort.
“What began as a shared vision between two municipalities
has now become a regional success story,” O’Leary said. “This is a win not only
for Waterbury and Naugatuck but for the entire Naugatuck Valley.”
Mother of DOT worker killed on the job asks Connecticut motorists to slow down and pay attention
MERIDEN — Shari DiDomenico wiped away tears on Monday
morning as she recalled the tragic death last year of her 26-year-old son
Andrew, a state Department of Transportation road maintenance worker who
was struck
by an alleged drunken driver on Interstate-91 in Wallingford.
She stood on a dirt construction site before about 100
neon-vested and hard-hatted DOT workers, highlighting the theme for National
Work Zone Awareness Week as nearby traffic whizzed by on I-91. She cried a
little, recalling that morning of June 28. By 9:15 a.m., she and her husband
Sal got word that Andrew DiDomenico was dead, struck while picking up litter
for a grass-mowing detail.
"We had no idea that it would be the last time that we
would see his face or hear his voice," DiDomenico said of that morning.
"Our lives were shattered in an instant. No family should endure this kind
of loss. No parent should have to bury their child because someone made a
choice to drive recklessly or impaired through a work zone. Andrew was simply
doing his job, helping to maintain and improve the roads that we all use every
day. He deserved to be protected while doing that work. All roadside workers do.
We must do more to protect those who work on our highways and roads."
The DiDomenicos have been joining advocates pushing the
General Assembly for tougher penalties for motorists caught speeding through
work zones or ignoring warning signs. "We need stronger enforcement,
better driver education, especially for new drivers and a serious look at what
additional safety measures could be implemented to help prevent tragedies like
this from happening again, because this was a preventable tragedy," she
said. "Our son had his whole life ahead of him, yet one driver made a bad
decision."
Top state officials including Gov. Ned Lamont, U.S.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal and DOT Commissioner Garrett Eucalitto joined workers,
law enforcement officials and a federal transportation representative in
underscoring the importance of this year's theme, which is "Respect the
zone so we all get home."
During a news conference in the shadow of recently
erected elevated highway platforms in the $500 million I-91/I-691/Route
15 interchange project, Eucalitto pointed out the traffic
and the nearly around-the-clock work of DOT crews and contractors. "He
worked hard every day, taking the opportunity to learn something
new," Eucalitto said of DiDomenico. "He should still be with us
here today if not for a reckless driver through a work zone."
Eucalitto said that on average, there is one work zone crash
in Connecticut every 40 hours. "Almost every day we are seeing crashes in
our work zones," he said. "It happens, sadly because drivers don't
obey the orange," he said. The alleged operator of the vehicle that
killed DiDomenico, Denise Lucibello of East Haven, remains in jail pending
a pre-trial
hearing Friday in Meriden Superior Court on charges of manslaughter
and operating under the influence.
Eucalitto cited recent statistics that indicated since 2023,
2,000 work zone crashes and six fatalities occurred in Connecticut work zones.
This calendar year, there have been 61 such crashes. He said that the trial
program of work
zone speed cameras proved highly effective, indicating that state
motorists understand there are consequences. He expects more construction zone
cameras to be installed later this year.
Recently, state lawmakers have voiced support for speed
cameras throughout highways and a pending bill would support a study of the
issue.
"Safety isn't seasonal," said Brad Oneglia, vice
president of O&G Industries, a chief contractor for the three-part
I-91/I-691/Route 15 project, aimed at handling traffic transition among the
three highways. "It's a shared duty and it begins with a commitment to
make sure than every single worker makes it home. Work zones are more than just
orange barrels and caution signs. There where our friends, our family members
and our neighbors go to earn a living, often just feet from speeding
vehicles."
"These kinds of safety violations have to be
stopped," Blumenthal said. "We're here for a call to action and it's
an action about enforcement, about voluntary compliance with the law." He
remembered a letter that Shari DiDomenico wrote to him after Andrew's death, in
which she hoped that something greater would come from her son's death.
"With stronger enforcement we can make 'slow down, move over' more than
just a slogan or a mantra. That's what it requires: simple moral clarity."
"We've got all these amazing men and women who are
working their heart out every day to make our roads just a little bit safer for
each and every one of you," Lamont said. "They're wearing their
safety vest and they're wearing their hard hat and that's not enough. These are
all people just like us. This is a brother, a sister, a father, a daughter,
just out there doing their job. I need each and every one of you to remember
what your responsibilities are behind the wheel and make sure that Andrew and
these other deaths mean something and don't happen again."
West Haven to get an increased financial boost from UNH, documents reveal
WEST HAVEN — As the University
of New Haven plans further growth in West Haven, including expanding
the private university's campus and new construction, the city expects
to earn additional revenue from that growth.
A signed agreement between the two parties obtained by the
Register revealed that the city and university have agreed to negotiate an
increased financial contribution from the University of New Haven to the city
within the next two years.
Last month, city and university officials announced that
they'd agreed
to expand a program offering free tuition to West Haven first responders
citywide and to make a half-off tuition program applicable to all West
Haven resident high school graduates. Officials also announced that the
University of New Haven had agreed to purchase North End Field, a blighted
city-owned athletic field that the city said has been a challenge for Public
Works and police, for $500,000.
Currently, the university voluntarily contributes $100,000
to the Allingtown Fire District budget, which responds to calls made on UNH's
campus. Because the university is tax-exempt, it doesn't pay property taxes on
city real estate that it owns and uses for academic purposes. The state's
payment in lieu of taxes program offers municipalities some portion of missed
revenue, but it is common for Connecticut cities to negotiate additional
financial contributions from university to support town-gown relations; in
2021, New
Haven and Yale University announced a six-year, $135 million voluntary
contribution agreement.
According to an agreement signed by West Haven Mayor Dorinda
Borer and UNH President Jens Frederiksen, the university will contribute its
$100,000 contribution to the Allingtown Fire District through fiscal years 2026
and 2027, but has committed to negotiating an addendum to the agreement before
Dec. 31 for additional contributions. Those annual contributions will
"increase in alignment with UNH's financial growth through a formula based
process," the agreement stipulates. This is because of rising service costs
that require more funding "to ensure a fair and sustainable
partnership," the agreement said.
Last last year, UNH announced it would purchase a shopping
plaza across from its main campus on Campbell Avenue. West Haven Economic
Development Director Steve Fontana told the City Council Monday that the city
received no respondents when it put North End Field out for bid, and the
property itself is difficult to market in part because it can only be accessed
from the parking lot of the shopping plaza purchased by UNH.
"It's of significant value to the adjacent
property value owner," he said, therefore West Haven officials brought the
potential sale to the attention of UNH officials.
The sale of the field has yet to go through; at the City
Council meeting this Monday, council members referred the matter to the
Planning and Zoning Commission for its review.
In addition to the expected escalating financial
contribution, the agreement stipulates that UNH will provide a $10,000 annual
contribution to the city to promote local events and activities.