Construction of new Roxbury School wins key approval in Stamford
STAMFORD — After lengthy
delays, plans for a new Roxbury School building and the demolition of the
old school are moving forward.
The Stamford Planning Board reviewed and approved plans for
the new school construction, as part of the process to acquire state funding.
The Stamford school administration is going to a bid-authorization meeting with
state officials in coming weeks, and approval from the city Planning Board
is required. The board affirmed the project meets the goals of the city's
comprehensive plan.
Kelly Nelli, a senior project manager working on the
school replacement project with the Arcadis construction group, told the board
that the preliminary work would begin in July of 2026. The first phase of the
project would be the construction of geothermal wells at the site.
Nelli said portions
of the old building on West Hill Road, including some portable
structures and four classrooms in the rear of current building, would have to
be demolished before work on the new structure could commence. The demolition,
part of the preliminary phase, is required to allow access to the building
site of the planned new structure. Major construction would commence in
November of 2026, Nelli told the board, and wrap up in 2028.
"The kids will move into their new school August
2028," Nelli told the board. The work will take around 22 months,
including the preliminary work. Demolition of the old school would take place
after the new facility was operational.
Planning Board member William Levin asked why the parking at
the school was being raised from around 45 spaces to 160. "Why do we need
three times as much parking?" he asked.
Randall Luther, a designer on the project, replied,
"The existing parking is inadequate, and the school enrollment is
increasing significantly."
The current Roxbury School educates students from
kindergarten through fifth grade, and the new school will offer instruction
through eighth grade. The enrollment will go from 500 to 850 students.
The cost of the school replacement has been a
controversial topic among city leaders and budget planners, far
exceeding initial estimates of $86 million. The project is currently
expected to cost $130 million, with state funding covering $78 million of that
sum.
The Planning Board approved the construction project at the
demolition work.
The Roxbury School, built 70 years ago, is in poor condition
and in constant need of short-term repairs, according to school officials.
Work on offshore wind project off CT coast resumes after federal shutdown
The region's Revolution Wind project is moving forward and
should start supplying power to homeowners next year, following a months-long
shutdown and recent legal battle, officials said.
Construction
of the offshore wind farm was halted in August after the federal
Bureau of Ocean Energy Management issued
a stop-work order. The project, located 15 miles south of Rhode Island and
32 miles southeast of Connecticut, resumed about a month later when
a federal judge overturned the order. The bureau's
60-day deadline to appeal the ruling passed Nov. 21
As of early last month, the project was about 85 percent
complete, with 52 of 65 turbines, all 65 turbine foundations and two offshore
substations installed, according to a spokesperson for Orsted, a Danish
energy company and one of the wind farm's developers.
"Revolution Wind remains on track to reach completion
in the second half of 2026," the spokesperson said.
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management didn't respond to a
request seeking comment on its decision not to appeal the ruling.
The White House, however, defended the Trump
administration's broader opposition to renewable energy.
“President Trump has been extremely transparent: wind energy
is the scam of the century," White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers said.
"Reversing the Green New Scam was a very popular promise President Trump
made on the campaign trail to the American people, who were tired of the Left’s
radical and expensive climate agenda.
"President Trump issued very direct policy guidance on
offshore wind on day one, which the administration has been working diligently
to carry out," she added.
Revolution Wind will be the first
offshore wind farm serving Connecticut and Rhode Island, providing 704
megawatts of electricity – enough to power about 325,000 homes – as state
officials look to expand renewable energy and reduce reliance on
fossil fuels. The wind farm sits in federal waters in the Atlantic Ocean,
with staging operations based at the State Pier in New London.
The project is part of Orsted's trio of
recent offshore wind farms in the Northeast, along with South Fork
Wind, which began
operating last year, and Sunrise Wind, which is slated for the second half
of 2027, according to Reuters.
Orsted's Block Island Wind Farm was completed in 2016.
Work on Revolution Wind was 80% complete when the bureau
shut it down, claiming national security concerns. Connecticut and Rhode
Island sued
the Trump administration over the decision, while Orsted and the
project's other developer, Skyborn Renewables, sought an injunction against the
order.
Officials said the shutdown cost developers $2.3 million per
day and put 1,000 people temporarily out of work, including 100 at the State
Pier. The Associated Press previously reported that $3 billion had been
invested or committed to the project, with another $1 billion at risk if it
were abandoned.
On Sept. 22, U.S. District Court for the District of
Columbia Judge Royce Lamberth granted a preliminary injunction in the case
brought by Orsted and Skyborn Renewables. The separate lawsuit filed by
Connecticut and Rhode Island remains
pending.
Gov. Ned Lamont’s administration has said canceling
Revolution Wind would lead to higher electric bills, a less reliable power grid
and widespread job losses. The project has also been tied to a controversial
redevelopment of the State Pier in New London that cost
more than $300 million — about $200 million of it funded by the state.
Earlier this month, a federal judge struck down an executive
order signed by President Trump on Jan. 20 that halted wind energy projects
nationwide, ruling the action was "arbitrary and capricious" and
violated federal law, according to the Associated
Press.
Connecticut Races to Lock in Solar Energy Projects Before Federal Credits Expire
The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental
Protection announced the
selection of three solar projects on Thursday that will expand grid capacity,
racing to lock in federal clean energy tax credits before they expire.
The agency said the projects would secure affordable,
reliable and clean energy sources — but declined to disclose the bid prices.
“The price is kept confidential while negotiations are
ongoing,” a department spokesperson responded to queries from CT Examiner.
The selected projects will total approximately 67 megawatts
of capacity, enough to supply 12,000 homes in the state, according to DEEP. The
agency expects them to be online before the end of 2030.
In its press release, DEEP explained the selection was
launched on September 10 and conducted expeditiously to choose advanced-stage
projects that could capitalize on federal incentives while they’re still
available.
“We are pleased to announce the selection of new grid-scale
solar projects that can take advantage of federal tax credits before they
expire to help provide affordable, reliable clean energy to Connecticut
residents and businesses,” DEEP Commissioner Katie Dykes said. “By working
together with New England and state partners, and working quickly to take
advantage of competitively priced projects, we are able to secure greater
affordability and reliability benefits for Connecticut at a fraction of the cost.”
The Inflation
Reduction Act, passed under the Biden Administration, modified tax credits
for carbon-neutral technologies, with changes that took effect in January this
year. These changes introduced two types of benefits, of which developers could
choose only one—an immediate 30% tax credit on the investment value or a tax
credit of up to 2.8 cents per kilowatt-hour produced over 10 years from the
start of production.
The so-called One Big Beautiful Bill Act, passed this year,
determined that credits for solar and wind projects would be eliminated for
projects that begin construction after July 4, 2026 and projects that are not
in service before the end of 2027. However, projects that begin or are
completed before those two deadlines would not be affected.
The cost of renewable energy has been a political football
in recent years. Critics blame renewable generation in part for the state’s
high cost of electricity, among the most expensive in the country, while
renewable energy advocates point to falling costs in recent years, and the need
to decarbonize the state’s sources of energy.
Over the past 12 months, the wholesale
price of electricity in Connecticut was just above 7 cents per
kilowatt-hour. Other large-scale solar projects had costs that doubled that
figure.
Revolution
Wind, the first offshore wind project expected to start supplying power to
Connecticut homes next year, has an agreed 10 cents per kilowatt-hour price in
its purchase agreement.
State Sen. Ryan Fazio, R-Greenwich, introduced a proposal in
the past legislative session that would have prohibited power purchase
agreements at 150% above the wholesale price.
Regional collaboration
The selection of new solar projects was conducted through a
multi-state process led by DEEP. Massachusetts and Maine participated, along
with Vermont’s largest electric utility. Connecticut chose the largest
capacity, accounting for 39% of the 173 megawatts selected collectively by the
four states.
“Regional collaboration is critical to expanding and
diversifying our energy supply, especially as we work to bring down the cost of
electricity for Connecticut ratepayers,” Gov. Ned Lamont said, according to a
press release issued by DEEP. “These resources can start providing power in the
near future, sooner than any other new generation resources, and will help
ensure we have a more reliable and affordable grid.”
Connecticut’s share of the project will be funded through
contracts with utilities, subject to review by the Public Utilities Regulatory
Authority.
Husky Solar, a 50-megawatt project, is the project that
would be located in Connecticut, in the town of Plainfield. The state selected
25% of this project’s capacity, while the remainder was divided between
Massachusetts and Maine.
Connecticut also selected two solar projects in Vermont;
Viridis Solar, with 50 megawatts, and Fair Haven Solar, with 20 megawatts.
Connecticut secured about 80% of each project’s capacity.
The state has significantly expanded its solar capacity over
the past decade to nearly 1.7 gigawatts by 2024, enough to power about 245,000
homes, according to data from the Solar
Energy Industries Association.
Last year, when Connecticut decided to pass
on selecting offshore wind energy in the tri-state auction held with
Massachusetts and Rhode Island, the state announced the same day that it had
opted for solar and batteries to increase capacity.
Capacity, however, is a maximum estimate that does not
reflect energy generation variability. In the total electricity generation mix,
natural gas continues to be the most important source. In September 2025, more
than 55% of electricity was generated by gas sources, nuclear power accounted
for 39% and renewables 4%, according to data from the U.S.
Energy Information Administration.
Developer readies to build 176 mixed-income apartments at old CT office park
As a Boston-based developer prepares to start building 100
mixed-income apartments in an affluent Farmington Valley suburb, the
state is kicking in $3 million to help with the second phase that will
add another 76 affordable units.
Beacon Communities LLC, one
of the country’s biggest affordable housing builders, has been planning a
major residential development at the former Security-Connecticut Life Insurance
building in Avon since 2021.
After
years of arranging financing and securing permits, Beacon is poised to
break ground next year on 100 new apartments that it will build on the grounds
of the former office building on Security Drive in Avon. That project is called
The Homes at Avon Park, and about 85 of the units are expected to be priced at
state-designated affordable rates.
Earlier this year the Connecticut Housing Finance Authority
awarded $2.1 million in federal housing tax credits for the second phase, Avon
Village. That $39 million initiative involves remodeling the four-story office
headquarters itself. The Connecticut Bond Commission on Thursday approved a
low-interest $3 million loan to advance it.
“Avon Village is phase two of our redevelopment of the
underutilized office park on Security Drive,” Chief Executive Officer Dara
Kovel of Beacon said Thursday. “This phase involves the adaptive reuse of an
office building into 76 affordable apartment homes.
“Today’s funding award from the state Bond Commission is the
next milestone in the process. We expect to purchase the property before year
end, with construction starting in late spring or summer.”
The building is about 50 years old, and most recently was
temporary home of the Ana Grace Academy until
the school relocated to Bloomfield mid-2022.
Beacon first proposed a fresh vision for the Avon Park South
office park property during the pandemic, and drew support from town leaders.
The town had a little over 4% of its housing qualified as affordable then, and
its 2022 five-year plan for affordable housing cited the Security Drive
proposal as a factor that would help boost the percentage.
Today in History: December 19, U.S. auto industry gets emergency bailoutToday in History: December 19, U.S. auto industry gets emergency bailout
“These units will continue Avon’s progress toward the 10%
affordability threshold” desired by the state, the plan says. “But there is a
recognition that achieving that number will be a process that will extend well
past the five-year scope of this first Affordable Housing Plan.”
As of last year, the
state listed Avon at 4.15%.
“Avon is committed to increasing the availability of
affordable housing,” Town Manager Brandon Robertson said Thursday. “These
projects clearly achieve this objective and the location is ideal.
Residents will be within easy walking and biking distance to the Avon Village
Center which provides shopping services. The Avon Canal Heritage Trail can also
be easily accessed from this location. It is an excellent project conceived by
a developer with a long history of success.”
Beacon plans one- and two-bedroom apartments, along with
amenities including a community room and kitchen, fitness spaces, a playground,
walking trails, dog runs and more.
Avon will be Beacon’s 11th market in Connecticut. The
company already owns income-restricted apartment complexes in New Haven,
Stamford, Bridgeport, Branford, Windsor Locks, Wolcott, New Britain,
Southington, Waterbury and Bristol.
The company advertises that it has more than 20,000
apartments in 11 states. The trade publication Affordable Housing Finance
listed it in 2024 among
the Top 30 affordable housing owners of the year.