State starts accepting RFPs for multifamily housing at Stamford train station
The state Department of Transportation on Friday opened a
request for proposals for multifamily housing development as part of an overall
plan to redevelop the Stamford train station. The deadline for submissions is
Dec. 5.
The state agency said it seeks transit-oriented,
mixed-use multifamily housing projects that incorporate spaces for
retail, commercial, office, hotel or civic use, within an 11-acre area. Plans
to overhaul the Stewart B. McKinney Stamford Transportation Center include
replacing, relocating and repurposing station facilities, including platforms,
to accommodate long-term growth, smart parking, pedestrian-friendly and
ADA-compliant signs.
The DOT, which came up with a master plan to revamp the
station in early 2024 after renovating it in the early 2000s, plans to choose
up to two development teams and execute pre-development agreements by February
27, 2026.
“Redeveloping the Stewart B. McKinney Stamford
Transportation Center is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to create a vibrant
transit hub that meets Stamford’s growth and the evolving needs of travelers,”
said DOT Commissioner Garrett Eucalitto. “By reimagining this property, we can
deliver new housing, enhanced transit amenities, and commercial and retail
spaces that will serve residents and visitors for decades to come.”
Developers interested in responding to the RFP may review
full details and submission requirements on the state Department of
Administrative Services’ CTSource Bid Board (Project Solicitation Number
STCTOD8.14.25). They may contact the DOT at DOT.TOD@ct.gov for information.
Dual campus K-8 school in Stamford's East Side delayed a year
STAMFORD — The plan to build
a dual campus for elementary and middle school students on Stamford's East
Side is still in the works, but the project has been delayed by a year.
Matthew Quinones, the city's director of operations, said
the plan to build two schools a mile apart — a K-4 facility at 83 Lockwood
Ave. and a new 5-8 school at the current site of K.T. Murphy Elementary School
on Horton Street — was moved forward a year due to delays to the
demolition and construction of a new Roxbury School.
The Roxbury plan was
temporarily in limbo at the end of 2024 after the Board of Finance
rejected a request for design work due to concerns about the budget for the
overall project ballooning. The project moved forward, however, after a legal
opinion stated that Mayor Caroline Simmons could
ignore the board's decision.
Nonetheless, slowing down that process had an impact on the
dual campus plan, Quinones said.
"We’re excited to see all these buildings moving
forward in terms of school construction," he said, in a phone interview.
"It's certainly been a long road to get firm dates to get shovels in the
ground."
The total price tag for the two new schools is $158.34
million, with 60% of eligible costs being covered by the state.
Quinones anticipated that the demolition of 83 Lockwood
Ave., which is currently occupied by nonprofit DOMUS, will take place in
the summer of 2026. It had originally been scheduled for this summer.
An architect, New York-based Gluck+, has already been
selected for the two projects and design of the new schools will take roughly
18 months to complete, Quinones said.
Construction is expected to last two years, with the K-4
facility opening for the 2029-30 school year. The K.T. Murphy building would
then be torn down, and a new school servicing students in grades 5-8 would
be constructed, with an expected opening in the fall of 2031.
Quinones said that an official new name will be chosen for
the schools and that the Board of Representatives has the authority to do so.
The dual campus school, which will serve over 1,000 students
between the two buildings, was created in an effort to serve more students in
the highly dense part of the city.
School and city officials had previously looked for a
location to build a full K-8 school in the city's southern portion, but failed
to find a suitable spot. An early idea to build a school at Cove Island
Park faced
immediate pushback and was quickly scrapped.
The work is part of a 20-year
master plan that would include improvements to all schools and would
call for building or expanding four schools, including the proposed dual campus
concept. As part of the plan, four schools would shutter: Cloonan and Dolan
middle schools, and Toquam and Murphy elementary schools.
Small CT town will get new, heated $27 million train platform on Metro-North line
Andreas Yilma
BEACON FALLS — The small town of Beacon Falls is one of a
handful of stops on the Metro-North Waterbury
Branch Line that will be getting a new upgraded train
platform.
The state Department of Transportation is expecting to begin construction on the Beacon Falls train platform on Railroad Avenue in the spring of 2026 with work expected to take a year and a half. The estimated $27 million project will be paid for with a combination of 80% federal and 20% state funds and will include a new 350-foot-long platform with a full canopy and windscreens for the entire length.
The platform deck will be heated to allow for efficient snow
melting. The new high-level platform will be fully ADA compliant to ensure
passengers of all abilities can safely board the train, DOT spokeswoman Eva
Zymaris said.
“We’re all pretty excited about the whole idea that the
state DOT is actually looking at the town of Beacon Falls and realizing that
the ridership here on the Waterbury Line has been slowly increasing,”
Selectman Mike Krenesky said.
The state Department of Transportation will be upgrading
several train stations on the Waterbury Branch Line which includes
Waterbury, Seymour, Ansonia, and Derby-Shelton. Naugatuck and state officials
broke ground on July 18 for a
new $33.2 Naugatuck Train Station in downtown on Old Firehouse
Road.
First Selectman Gerard Smith said the upgrades will go a
long way to help rail commuters with accessibility while protecting them from
rain and snow as they wait.
“The platform will be equipped with new passenger
information systems, lighting systems, security cameras, and blue light
emergency phones,” Zymaris said. “A Metro-North ticket vending machine
will also be installed on site for the purchase of train tickets.”
The train station parking lot will also be repaved and
modified slightly to improve the flow and safety of pedestrian and vehicular
traffic. Six electric vehicle charging parking spaces will be added as well,
Zymaris said.
Rail improvements part of larger program
The Beacon Falls project is part of a $140 million statewide
program to upgrade all stations on the Waterbury Line. The statewide
initiative includes expanded accessibility features, improved platform designs
and renovated passenger facilities.
Krenesky said this is just a bigger opportunity for downtown
Beacon Falls economic development and it’s going to be a large, attractive
addition to the area that they’ve called their Transit Oriented District and
their plans for Main Street.
“The new train station just plays into our longer term plan
of conservation and development,” Krenesky said. “It’s just perfect timing
for the state to be doing this.”
The Naugatuck Valley has been long overdue to have
these rail upgrades and with the new trains that the state has purchased, they
basically have to rebuild the platforms, Krenesky added.
The state DOT has spent time building rail sidings which
will help with more frequent travel for commuters, he said.
“One of the challenges that has always been with
the Waterbury Line is that it’s a single track and you can only have a
northbound or a southbound train going on that track at any time. Now they’ve
built sidings and there’s sidings in Beacon Falls just south of the existing
train station,” Krenesky said. “So trains can bypass so now you can have a
north and southbound basically on a similar schedule and they just sort of pass
each other using the sidings to come off. So that’s going to be a huge advantage
to the Waterbury line.”
Krenesky also said that because the roads today are
overcrowded with some people driving crazy, traveling on the train is a safer
environment. The small town already has several daily commuters who use the
rail.
“I think it’s just going to open up travel opportunities for
everyone, especially those people who work in New York City,” Krenesky
said. “This is going to be huge for them to be able to have a bigger variety of
trains to choose.”
Construction begins on $48.9M senior housing project in Enfield
ENFIELD — Financing has been finalized and construction has begun on a new $48.9 million housing development at Enfield Manor designed for older and disabled residents.
Tobacco Valley Development Corp., a nonprofit
affordable housing developer created by the Enfield Housing Authority, recently
announced that the project closed July 31 and construction began immediately.
The $48.9 million redevelopment will replace the 80 existing
outdated units of housing with 99 modern, energy-efficient homes across two
buildings.
Funding for the project came from a variety of sources,
including federal and state governments, the Enfield Housing Authority, and
Grow America — a corporate equity fund focused on providing capital for
affordable housing.
Construction will be in two stages, with the first new
building slated for completion by next summer, at which time residents will be
able to move in.
Demolition and construction of the second building is
expected to begin shortly after, with completion slated for 2027.
"Any investment, reinvestment in housing, particularly
this type, is a value to those residents and the community," Town Manager
Matt Coppler said. "Reinvestment always means that things are looking
better."
Redevelopment of
properties tends to improve the neighborhood in the surrounding area, he said.
"It's always a positive when you see this type of
investment happening," Coppler said.
Roughly half of the existing buildings have already been
demolished and residents have been relocated either to available units on the
property or to nearby housing authority properties.
A significant component of the project's financing strategy
includes using federal U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development rental
subsidies, along with housing vouchers from the Enfield Housing Authority.
Five of the vouchers will be designated specifically for
homeless veterans, and other units will have restricted rents under the
low-income housing credit program to ensure the property remains affordable for
years, according to developers.
"We are very excited about improving the lives of the
existing residents and creating much needed affordable housing opportunities
here in Enfield," said Scott Bertrand, chief planning and development
officer of the housing authority, and CEO and executive director of Tobacco
Valley Development Corp.
"This project has been over 10 years in the making, and
we're incredibly grateful for the support of our federal, state, and local
partners, as well as the dedicated project team who have made this
possible," he said.
The project is being led by Tobacco Valley
Development Corp. as the developer.