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