CT Construction Digest Wednesday August 19, 2026

Demolition of Sports Haven & its 100-foot horse mural begins, with the artist looking on

Mark Zaretsky

NEW HAVEN — Of the estimated 140,000 vehicles that whizzed by the giant horses and jockeys painted on the former Sports Haven video off-track-betting facility in the city’s Long Wharf section Tuesday, few if any stopped to witness the start of its demolition.

But Tony Falcone was there, joined by Robert Greenberg. 

They didn’t come to mourn the demise of Sports Haven (originally called Teletrack) and its 100-foot-tall very public art mural installation, but to celebrate the fact that it was there as long as it was, as well as to document it and hopefully preserve some small part of it for posterity. 

But you can understand if they might get a little misty-eyed.

Falcone is the guy that painted those giant horses on the building at 600 Long Wharf Drive beginning in 1995 and finishing in 1996. Since then, they’ve been seen by millions and millions of people passing by on one of Connecticut’s busiest stretches of highway.

Greenberg is the guy who a few years ago founded the Lost in New Haven Museum at 80 Hamilton St., which works to preserve classic, lost icons of New Haven just like this. 

They came out of their visit with a promise from Johnny Carabetta, a member of the family that owns demolition contractor J & J Demolition — and the one operating the excavator that was working around the edges of the building Tuesday before things ratchet up further on Wednesday — to try to keep some good-sized chunks intact to go in the museum.

“Even a fragment will tell a massive story,” said Greenberg.

“I’ve run every emotion,” said Falcone, who lives these days in Cheshire and has a studio in Prospect. He said he has been thinking about the demolition “since it first got announced” and was cheered because “I started to hear how much this means to so many people,' he said.

“Now I’m feeling kind of elated” after talking to Johnny Carabetta and hearing that he didn’t think it would be too much trouble to preserve some large pieces of the mural.

Carabetta said the work on Tuesday was just some “cleanup” to get ready for bigger-scale demolition on Wednesday and beyond. 

Falcone also has done many other pieces of public art in New Haven — including whimsical murals of the Greater New Haven shoreline that used to decorate the cafeteria walls of the old New Haven Register building at 40 Sargent Drive, where Jordan’s Furniture now does business.

He painted the east wall of Sports Haven in 1995 and the north wall in 1996, he said. It took him about 3 ½ weeks on location, with about the same length of time in preparation before he got there, he said.

“We’re celebrating the mural. We’re not not mourning,” said Greenberg. “We’ll celebrate the fact that the mural has existed — and now the fragments will live on in the museum. ‘I’m here to salvage some of the fragments of the mural,’ he said.

City officials, including Robert Dillon, New Haven’s building official, have been very understanding and accommodating, Greenberg said.

“We’re very excited to be here,” Greenberg said. “We’re here to tell their story… We’re hoping to get a piece of the eye, a piece of the head.”

In fact, they’re already telling the story of the Sports Haven mural in a new exhibit that opened last week in the museum, which features a number of Falcone’s sketches and studies for the murals — their actually are two of them, although they originally were meant to link up and stretch all the way around the museum.

The exhibit also has a table-sized 3-D model of Sports Haven depicting the murals as they originally were conceived. 

“The goal in my mind was to make an exhibit,” Greenberg said, pointing out that the site that Sports Haven and Teletrack before it have long stood on once was Sargent Manufacturing — and before that it was underwater.

As he spoke just after noon, a big Carabetta excavator started up and rolled over to a spot just beneath the Sports Haven sign, with Johnny Carabetta at the controls. 

His brother Joe Carabetta also was on hand — and at one point their mother, Anna Carabetta, stopped by with some cold water and fresh-baked peach muffins to help them along.

The muffins, or at least fresh-baked sweets, aren’t entirely a sidelight to the story.

Ever the artist, Falcone looks at the oil tanks just across the road in the 85 East Street Tank Farm and sees an opportunity. 

“The next thing I want to paint are those tanks,” Falcone said. “I want to paint them to look like cupcakes and birthday cakes.”

Demolition began Tuesday after city Building Official Dillon signed off on the permit. Demolition is coming about a month later than the previous estimate by city officials. 

Earlier this summer, the building underwent an environmental assessment, Dillon has said. Part of that assessment was to determine whether the building had any asbestos-laden tiles, he said. 

The process leading up to demolition began in February when a limited liability company affiliated with Queens, N.Y.-based Criterion Development submitted an application to the city.  Demolition plans were approved, with demolition to begin after a cooling-off period that ended on May 27.

Criterion hasn’t specified what it plans to do with the property. Sports Haven closed at the end of November 2025 after being purchased by Criterion in March 2021. 

The Long Wharf Responsible Growth Plan for the Long Wharf section calls for a mixed use of residential and large format commercial uses, city Economic Development Administrator Michael Piscitelli has said.

One example of large format commercial use might be a grocery store or other large format retail store, Piscitelli has said.

But as recently as 2019, environmental studies identified Long Wharf as facing a significant flooding threat over the next several decades as result of climate change and storm surges from New Haven Harbor.

Piscitelli said Criterion officials have not indicated to city officials what their plans for the property are. But Piscitelli said a responsible growth plan released in 2019 for the city’s Long Wharf section calls for a mixed of residential and large commercial uses.

An example of large format commercial use, according to Piscitelli, could include a grocery store or other type of large retail store.

Proposed Killingly warehouses continue to roll through review

Sara Bedigian

Killingly — The traffic engineer for a proposed development at 90 Putnam Pike told the Planning and Zoning Commission Monday night that the project is not a mega warehouse that would generate large amounts of truck traffic.

The comments by Kevin Solli came as the commission continued its public hearing Monday night on a proposal By Killingly 1 LLC for warehouses of 178,750 square feet and 297,500 square feet, respectively.

He said a traffic study calculated the warehouses will generate 87 trips — 14 of those being trucks, during the peak hour in the morning, and 91 trips — 14 of those being trucks, during the peak hour in the evening.

“That is one vehicle a minute, this is not a mega warehouse as people have been alluding to, this does not represent a large trip generation, and our analysis is that, as we have indicated, will not have adverse impacts on the traffic operating conditions of the area,” Solli said.

It is still unknown what businesses would occupy the warehouses. Because of this, residents have expressed concern the traffic numbers could increase from the numbers cited by Solli.

Solli said if there are additional trips, a new traffic study and addition approval from the commission along with the state Department of Transportation and Office of State Traffic Administration would be needed.

Solli also explained changes made to the traffic plan that included truck turning, parking, and signage. He said trucks would not be allowed to turn right out of the facility's driveway to avoid crossing the center line. A left turn will allow trucks to easily access Interstate 395.

He said the plan also added additional driveway safety measures and lighting that reduces glare.

The changes were in response to a review by engineering firm Tighe and Bond, which was hired by the town. Solli said while Killingly 1 replied to most of the Tighe and Bond comments, his team is still waiting to complete a noise study and refine its stormwater analysis. He said Killingly 1 will have that information in time for the commission's next meeting on Sept. 21.

“We honestly believe that projects improve with this level of review and comment as we make changes and tweaks to our plan and design,” Solli said.

He also said the project would have no adverse impacts on water quality and would meet all stormwater requirements. The town’s Inland Wetlands and Watercourses Commission has approved the plan.

“We feel that ultimately the project today is better than it was when it was initially first submitted,” Solli said. “We are confident we are going to be able to address every one of their concerns and at the end of this process we will have the best project for the town of Killingly.”

This development has been in discussion for months at Planning and Zoning Commission meetings since the initial application was received at the end of last year but then withdrawn. A new application was filed this spring, and the commission has held several nights of public hearings since then.

While Solli said the facility “will not have an adverse impact on the community,” several residents continued to voice their concerns about traffic, stormwater management and water quality during Monday’s public hearing.

Opponents said they don’t believe truck drivers will follow the signs to not take a right turn out of the facility.

“They are on a timeline, they aren't going to take the extra time to go the routes you want them to go,” said Lina Wagner of Putnam, who is the Democratic candidate for state representative from the 51st District.

Others were concern about not knowing what businesses will come to the facility before the project is approved.

Resident Russ Daniels said it “raises a red flag. ... If they aren’t willing to identify themselves, let's throw them out of Killingly.”

The commission voted to extend the public hearing to its next meeting on Sept. 21.

The commission also voted to receive the new application for the nearly 1.3 million-square-foot Amazon distribution center “Project Husky” on Westcott Road and hold a public hearing for the commission’s Sept. 21 meeting. This comes after the developer Ryan Companies withdrew and resubmitted its application last month.

The commission also decided to have Tighe and Bond review the project.

Developer seeks approval for 420,000 cubic yards of fill to redevelop former Berlin brickyard

Andrew Larson

A Utah developer is seeking approval to bring 420,000 cubic yards of fill to a long-abandoned Berlin brickyard as part of a plan to redevelop the 57-acre property.

The project, slated for 303 New Britain Road, would create a pad site for two commercial buildings totaling 44,000 square feet on about 16.7 acres, along with 90 parking spaces, stormwater basins and a new permanent railroad crossing.

Berlin Industrial Redevelopment LLC, an affiliate of Farr West, Utah-based Industrial Development Advantage LLC, is seeking site plan approval for the project, which would be located on a 56.9-acre property owned by Connecticut Sand & Stone Corp.

Braxton Buckway, the company’s chief financial officer, is listed as the applicant.

The property has been vacant since the early 1980s. From about 1900 into the 1960s, it operated as the Donnelly Brick Co., which mined clay to depths exceeding 30 feet. The resulting pits were filled during the 1970s, including with material generated during construction of Route 9, but the fill was never engineered or compacted.

That uncontrolled fill left the site geotechnically unstable and environmentally contaminated. The developer says the site cannot be redeveloped without massive amounts of fill to stabilize the ground and raise the grade.

Berlin Industrial Redevelopment, or BIR, proposes using up to 420,000 cubic yards of fill to do that.

The project depends on Connecticut’s Large-Scale Beneficial Filling Pilot Program, created under Public Act 21-88. The program allows the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection to authorize up to four sites for large-scale placement of qualifying lightly contaminated fill material when needed for redevelopment. Sites must require at least 100,000 cubic yards.

The program was created to provide a lower-cost alternative to purchasing conventional clean fill for projects where large quantities are needed.

BIR says conventional clean fill would make redevelopment at this scale financially impractical. Its principals have worked on the property since 2017 and have spent more than $1 million on environmental investigations, engineering, taxes and interest, according to the project summary.

Under the plan, buildings, pavement and clean cover would form an engineered cap over the property, while groundwater monitoring would continue for up to 30 years.

The volume of truck traffic has emerged as a major concern in the town’s review.

Public Works Director and Town Engineer Michael S. Ahern wrote in a May 28 memo that importing the fill would require about 26,250 truckloads over roughly 250 days, or about 105 trucks entering and exiting the property each day. Peak-hour traffic could reach 17 trucks, he wrote.

The applicant’s traffic study found no significant operational impact on local roads, but Ahern said activity at the site entrance would be significant and noticeable to nearby property owners.

Acting Sgt. Thomas Bobok of the Berlin Police Department’s traffic bureau estimated in a June 14 memo that a truck could arrive every 3.5 to 4 minutes through an unsignalized driveway shared with Prentiss Place, a residential complex of about 90 units. He recommended an engineering review of turning radii and said the volume could frustrate residents and other drivers.

The Conservation Commission has separately raised concerns about fill placement and groundwater protection. Ahern also asked the applicant to show that its stormwater system can handle a 25-year design storm.

The Planning and Zoning Commission opened a public hearing July 23. The applicant has since sought additional time under state extension provisions, and no decision date has been set.

Town approval is required before BIR can apply to DEEP. The developer is targeting state approval by mid-2027, with construction extending into 2030.

CT Construction Digest Tuesday August 18, 2026

Manchester senior center estimate jumps from $19 million to nearly $28 million

Michael Walsh

MANCHESTER — The estimated cost to convert a former church into a new senior center has come in higher than officials expected.

The town’s Board of Directors thought turning the Concordia Lutheran Church on Pitkin Street, which it bought for $1.5 million, into a new town facility would be close to $19 million. Now, the town is looking at a $27.7 million project.

Mayor Jay Moran, when first hearing the price, said he felt there was a sense of “sticker shock” around the table after listening to a presentation from an architectural firm that went over three different options, with the one suggested by the town’s 21st Century Senior Center Task Force being the most costly.

That plan, though, would fully convert the church into a facility with adequate space for all of the desired programming needs the town has as it works to replace its senior center, which is currently located in a former school building that is over 100 years old.

Chris Wente, a principal with edmSTUDIO, noted some challenges with the building that have driven the price up.

“One of the biggest challenges for this piece of property are the multiple levels this building has,” Wente said. “For a senior center it’s not ideal to have multiple levels you’re dealing with. There’s multiple entry points. For a senior center, it’s important to control the different points of entry to know who’s coming and going.”

Because of that, the firm’s design includes the construction of a second floor addition over the sanctuary space to “get this building to function as a 21st-century senior center and not just fit the program into the building.”

“We’re proposing a two-story addition to connect all the different levels of the building,” Wente said. “What this area does is it creates a connection to all the levels and it creates a sense of arrival. We’re going to have two points of entry … to land in the same spot.”

Outside the building, expanded parking would be installed, with 176 total parking spaces proposed. There would be planters, gardens, bocce courts and an extensive network of pedestrian sidewalks.

Dennis Schain, a board member who also sat on the senior center task force, said he was in favor of putting that nearly $28 million number on this November’s referendum vote, which residents would need to approve.

“This is such a priority and such a great opportunity that we need to step out and do this,” Schain said. “We’ll have to deal with the fiscal realities we face as a result. You can’t compare $28 million to zero, because creating a new senior center was going to cost something no matter what you do.”

Town Manager Steve Stephanou said once the board approves a number, they can’t raise that amount, but they could lower it at their September meeting.

Moran, as the board talked it over, said he was over the initial sticker shock and noted that if they went with a cheaper option and needed to add space to the senior center down the line, that construction would cost more.

“We have to look at what we’re losing when we start cutting back,” Moran said, noting that saving $3 million might not be worth it if the end project suffers because of it. “One of the main reasons we’re moving out is program space.”

Board member Ed Boland, who also sits on the senior center task force, said he was “definitely” shocked at the price tag. He even tried to get it lowered to $25 million at the task force meeting. But last week, he said, he changed his mind, saying he thinks he’d be alright with $28 million.

“It’s definitely needed,” Boland said. “Today’s price, it’s a lot of money, but tomorrow’s price, it’s a bargain.”

Board members suggested looking at state or federal funds to help aid the project, which they intend to do.

“We seem to be operating under the assumption that Manchester is going to be footing the full bill for this,” said Jerald Lentini. “We’re also talking about a regional draw. This will be used by members of surrounding communities. This is something that everyone east of the river is going to be able to use.”

Ultimately, the board settled on the high end with a $30 million spending package, which would include some extra sustainability efforts. That number can be reduced at the board’s September meeting before being finalized for the November vote.

After repeated water main breaks, Waterbury confronts '100 years of neglect'

Michael Walsh

WATERBURY — Since December, Waterbury has suffered multiple water main breaks, leaving residents and businesses without water for days.

And officials know that isn’t the last of it.

“Breaks are going to continue to occur in the system,” Mayor Paul Pernerewski Jr. said. “We haven’t done enough maintenance over the years. That’s a problem the city has had throughout its history.”

Pernerewksi said the city’s water pipes — some installed in the 1940s, others in the 1970s and 1980s — are in varying condition. The same goes for valves that have failed. But he said it’s the lack of direct work done on those pipes over the last 70 years that is coming back to hurt residents now.

“Prior administrations in the '50s, '60s, '70s, '80s and '90s — in order to keep taxes and costs down — didn’t do enough maintenance,” he said. “100 years of neglect. You can’t fix it in 10 years.”

In December, a Thomaston Avenue pipe installed in 1904 failed, creating a sequence of events that left thousands of residents without water for days. At the end of July, thousands more were without water when multiple water main breaks occurred on Tompkins Street.

“We have over 300 miles of underground pipes. Some of it is old and some of it is newer,” Pernerewski said. “In the case of the '70s pipes, they’re relatively thin and they’re subject to corrosion. That’s when you have the catastrophic breaks. We’re hoping to … analyze the pipes and hopefully identify spots that are weaker and repair them, which is better than waiting for a catastrophic break.”

Ramon Esponda is the city’s new water superintendent and has been in the position for just six weeks. He replaced Bradley Malay, the former water superintendent who was arrested and charged with forgery after police said he intentionally lied on his application. Malay has pleaded not guilty.

“The big issue here is delayed maintenance,” Esponda said, describing it as “mining the asset."

"You’re living off the asset until it fails and that’s really a horrible thing to do," he said.

Esponda, who previously worked for the city of New Britain, said Waterbury’s system is “extremely high pressure” because of the hills and valleys water needs to travel through. 

“I’ve never seen anything like this,” Esponda said. “You need a lot of valves, you need high pressure piping and connections. Those things are expensive.”

Esponda and the mayor both know more water main breaks will happen. The hope, Esponda said, is to stock the city with enough parts — and in all the right sizes — to be ready for quicker fixes. Esponda said water service would have been returned faster during the event a few weeks ago if they didn’t need to wait for the delivery of parts.

“In order to be prepared for the next main break, we need to build up our inventory of parts,” Esponda said. “If we had these parts in place, we would have been up and running in 24 hours. But we had to wait three days for the parts to get here.”

Pernerewski said the city had already been working at upgrades before December’s water main break with around $32 million worth of targeted repairs, including upgrading the high service pumps and mixers at the water treatment plant, installing new lining on Thomaston Avenue pipes and installing new pumps in parts of the city.

The mayor had included a suggested water rate hike in his proposed budget this year to help pay for future work. The Board of Aldermen approved raising the water usage rate from $2.65 to $3.50 per centum cubic feet, but rejected increasing the quarterly basic service charge for residents to $24, keeping it at $12. The Board did raise that service charge rate for large commercial uses, increasing it from $12 to $120.

“Part of it will be funded through the rates,” Pernerewski said. “We do have the lowest water rates … even with the increase. Those we’ll probably need to keep looking at. We tried to raise all the fees for the meters. We have to be more realistic about the costs to fix this.”

The mayor said the city will be talking with federal and state partners to find funding for more upgrades.

In the meantime, though, he said the city remains ready for any future water main breaks that might again leave residents and businesses without water — particularly in the winter when the ground freezing and thawing can stress infrastructure.

“We’re going to minimize it as much as we can,” Pernerewski said. “It’s going to remain a very old system. Even a brand new system is going to have these problems.”

In December, the city said they spent $230,000 on bottled water to distribute to residents. A few weeks ago the city was able to bring potable water to residents and provide water for residents to simply flush their toilets.

But had the system been working the right way and the right parts were on standby, the mayor said, the city would have been able to keep more residents with water during those breaks.

“We’re going to look to stockpiling some parts in the city,” Pernerewski said. “If we had this valve … that would allow us to maintain water on the west side of town. We would have been able to keep them with water. We have lots of quantity of water. The system is designed, if everything is working, we can shut off an area and there’ll be a small area without water. But we’d be able to keep large areas flowing with water.”

Esponda said that preparedness is what will keep more people with water the next time the city suffers a break.

“If we make proactive decisions, we can minimize the effect on people,” Esponda said. “We have to stop being reactive. We have to be proactive.”

New Haven landmark Sports Haven, visible to 140k drivers each day, could come down this week

Mark Zaretsky

NEW HAVEN — Sports Haven, the vacant landmark former video off-track-betting parlor in the Long Wharf section known for its highly visible giant murals of racing horses, is expected to come down this week and demolition could begin as soon as Tuesday morning, officials said Monday.

The property owner and its demolition contractor, J & J Demolition, could have a demolition permit in hand as soon as Tuesday, city Building Official Robert Dillon said Monday. It will be up to them when they begin taking the building down, Dillon said. 

Demolition of the building at 600 Long Wharf Drive — which is seen by about 140,000 vehicles per day passing by on Interstate 95 — is coming about a month later than the previous estimate by city officials. 

Several employees of a hazardous materials abatement company were still on the property Monday morning, working to get the property ready for demolition. A supervisor and an employee of the demolition company both said demolition could begin sometime this week.

this summer, the building underwent an environmental assessment, Dillon has said. Part of that assessment was to determine whether the building had any asbestos-laden tiles, he said. 

The process leading up to demolition began in February when a liability company affiliated with Queens, N.Y.-based Criterion Development submitted an application to the city.  Demolition plans were approved, with demolition to begin after a cooling-off period that ended on May 27.

Criterion hasn't specified what it plans to do with the property. Sports Haven closed at the end of November 2025 after being purchased by Criterion in March 2021. 

Criterion development manager Brian Alcorn did not immediately respond to a request for information about the company's plans for the property.

Mayor Justin Elicker said he's also waiting to find out.

"We don't know, either," Elicker said. "In general, I don't think a sports betting operation is the best use for New Haven."

"We're here to support" any future use that is compatible with the city's goals, Elicker said. 

The Long Wharf Responsible Growth Plan for the Long Wharf section calls for a mixed use of residential and large format commercial uses, city Economic Development Administrator Michael Piscitelli has said.

One example of large format commercial use might be a grocery store or other large format retail store, Piscitelli has said.

But as recently as 2019, environmental studies identified Long Wharf as facing a significant flooding threat over the next several decades as result of climate change and storm surges from New Haven Harbor.

Norwich to put $55M police station to Nov. 3 vote

Daniel Drainville

Norwich — Members of the City Council on Monday night voted to add a question to the Nov. 3 ballot asking residents to approve $55 million to renovate the former Chelsea Groton Bank building at 300 Main St. into a new police station.

Last year, the police department offered public tours of the current 47-year-old police station at 70 Thames St. The tours showcased the building's insufficient storage and interview space, lack of changing rooms for female officers and numerous other problems, including mold and water from a leaky roof that threatens computer equipment.

Police officials have repeatedly boasted how the former bank building at 300 Main St. would provide much more space, including more interview rooms, and locker rooms for the department's female officers. The department currently has 73 officers — while the current station was built to accommodate only 51.

Over the years, the city has made several attempts to build a new police station, but those proposals were rejected at referendum or earlier.

The only council member to speak prior to the vote Monday was Mayor Swarnjit Singh.

“This need is not new. It existed for decades. And prices keep going up. From $33 million to $44 million to $55 million. And they’re not coming down. I do construction for a living so I do know," Singh said. "And I feel like it fits the overall vision of creating better public safety for our people. And as we are growing downtown, this has become a need as well.”

Singh pointed out numerous housing projects that have been added downtown, and the potential for more in the future, as evidence that the need for the police station there is growing.

"We as a council can only make the decision of whether to put it forward to referendum or not," he said. "But I think this is the time to bring the downtown back to the light, make it safer, make it more inviting, and move our city forward."

Alderman Peter Mystrom made a motion to push the referendum to the 2027 election, but that effort was defeated 5-2. The motion to set the referendum for Nov. 3 was approved 6-1 with Nystrom in opposition.

Nystrom said he did not think residents would approve the project.

"I don’t think the city has done enough public relations to promote this bond," he said.

The council's vote was preceded by a public hearing that lasted about an hour, during which residents spoke for and against putting the question to referendum.

Opponents' concerns centered mainly on the cost for the project.

Speaker Rob Dempsky was among several speakers questioning why there were not more options being presented to the public. He said the options on the table are either approve the police station for $55 million or nothing at all, and asked why the city couldn't save money by putting a substation in the downtown bank building.

"We're being given a false choice," he said, encouraging the council to slow down and take some time to discuss options.

Speaker Jason Guidone, a Hebron resident and candidate for the 19th state Senate District seat, said that perhaps it would be better to build a substation downtown, or explore multiple substations in strategic locations around the city.

One of the people to speak in favor of the resolution was Chuck Tyree, a police chaplain for the Norwich and Waterford police departments. He urged council members and the public to "vigorously support" the police station project as a vital need for public safety in the city.

"Norwich police department needs your immediate support," he said. "Imagine moving all of our sitting government in city hall here. All of our divisions, offices and officers, and flags, to the first floor basement of this meeting. I would love to see us try this. And then try and efficiently administer and govern our citizens crammed in half the space you need to do your work. That's the current situation in the Norwich police headquarters."

Tyree echoed much of what was said in an informational presentation by Lt. Nicholas Rankin that had preceded the meeting.

Tyree pointed out that the building is "falling apart," with constant failures in heat, air conditioning and plumbing, and a leaking roof. The dispatch center is in a room with a water-damaged ceiling, and equipment is cooled with "Walmart fans," Tyree said.

All of that makes attracting quality police officers difficult, he added.

"We have an opportunity now to take a first step to meaningfully address that need by actually supporting our officers," he said. "So, I recommend to you that you please put a new police station on the ballot in November."

Susan Topping said she thought it was "brilliant" to have the police station building downtown, a sentiment shared by a few other speakers.

Other speakers referenced the good work of the police, that the cost to build a station in the future would likely increase, and that the former bank building was a good location.

CT Construction Digest Monday August 17, 2026

Revolution Wind project on track for completion this year, developer says

John Moritz, CT Mirror

The offshore Revolution Wind project is nearing completion after nearly three years of work based out of the State Pier in New London, officials with Danish wind energy developer Ørsted said Thursday.

In a presentation on the company’s quarterly financial results, Ørsted Chief Executive Rasmus Errboe said the project is more than 95% complete, with 61 out of 65 turbines fully installed. The four remaining turbines are on track to be installed over the coming months, Errboe added, allowing the project to reach full commercial operation by the end of 2026.

Revolution Wind is the first offshore wind project contracted to supply electricity to customers in Connecticut. The installation, which is located off the coast of Rhode Island, began sending some power to the electric grid in March, when it was about 90% complete.

Once finished, the project will have a peak capacity of 704 megawatts, enough electricity to power roughly 350,000 homes. (While the project is supported financially through power-purchase agreements with utilities in Connecticut and Rhode Island, the electricity it generates is distributed throughout the New England electrical grid.)

Assembly work on Revolution Wind is based at the State Pier in New London, where gigantic sections of turbine shafts and blades as long as a football field are loaded onto specially-built installation vessels for transport to the offshore work area. One of those vessels, the Wind Scylla, was positioned in the vicinity of Revolution Wind project on Thursday, according to marine traffic data.

The pier is also the staging area for two other Ørsted projects, Sunrise Wind and South Fork Wind, both of which are contracted to supply power to Long Island.

Errboe also announced on Thursday that work on Sunrise Wind — the largest of the three projects at 924 megawatts — had passed the halfway point during the most recent quarter, and is on track for completion in 2027.

Workers have installed 77 of the 84 turbine foundations, and have fully completed 20 turbines along with the all the project’s export cables and offshore converter station, Errboe said.

South Fork Wind — the first and smallest of the three projects at 124 megawatts — finished construction in 2024.

Both Revolution Wind and Sunrise Wind faced repeated setbacks over the last year, as President Donald Trump’s administration twice ordered a halts to offshore wind projects under development along the Atlantic coast. The administration claimed the projects had the potential to interfere with military radar, despite having undergone extensive reviews by defense officials and the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management.

Both times, developers successfully sued to lift the orders and work was allowed to resume.

Revolution Wind is part of a joint partnership between Ørsted and Skyborn Renewables, a German offshore wind developer which purchased a 50% stake in the project from Eversource in 2024

In its earnings report on Thursday, Ørsted reported profits of 5.4 billion Danish krone (equivalent to roughly $832 million), slightly beating expectations, according to Reuters. Overall, the company said its offshore wind installations generated 11.2 terawatt hours of electricity around the world in the first half of 2026.

However, Ørsted also reported a non-cash impairment loss of 1.2 billion krone ($126 million) on its U.S. projects due to rising interest rates.

“It continues to be a key priority for us to deliver on our construction portfolio, and we’re very pleased with the milestones we’ve reached this past quarter,” Errboe said in a statement. “We continue to progress according to schedule and within planned costs across all projects.”

Amazon looks to build second mega-center in eastern CT, promising 500 jobs

Don Stacom 

Already proposing a 1.3 million-square-foot warehouse in Connecticut’s Quiet Corner, Amazon is now looking to build a 1.1 million-square-foot distribution center less than a half hour to the south.

The world’s largest online retailer wants to use part of a 170-acre tract in the Occum section of Norwich for an operation that would have 58 loading docks and 422 trailer-parking slots along with 729 employee parking spaces.

In its pitch to the city, Amazon held out the lure of new jobs and tax revenue.

The company estimated its Norwich fulfillment center would create the equivalent of 500 full-time jobs, and said its average hourly wage around the country is $23. Amazon also emphasized that its similar facilities nationally are assessed at more than $150 million, which could generate several million dollars a year in new tax revenue for the city.

The company said construction would generate another 200 temporary jobs.

The location is in the 185-acre Occum Industrial Park, a property Norwich has designated as a center for jobs growth. That could reduce community opposition, which often is triggered by proximity to homes. Amazon is planning a much smaller facility in Goreham, Maine, for instance, but this summer hit local resistance because the site is alongside a neighborhood.

When Mayor Swarnjit Singh posted news of Amazon’s plan on social media, there was little community pushback — but numerous responses urging the city not to grant tax abatements or provide other incentives for the $2.9 trillion company. Several posters suggested the city negotiate with Amazon to set a minimum number of jobs that would be reserved for Norwich residents.

Amazon proposes a separate trailer-parking lot, a series of truck staging areas and internal access drives, truck courts and more. The hub would receive bulk deliveries of products. It would then select, package and ship orders to local delivery centers, with all operations going on around the clock.

“The proposed development would result in approximately 60.9 acres of impervious area,” Bluewater Property Group, Amazon’s developer for the project, told Norwich’s inland wetlands commission in a memo.

Amazon acknowledged its plan would destroy 3 acres of wetlands, but proposes to create and maintain about 9 acres of wetlands elsewhere in the area. The wetlands board will take up the application on Oct. 1.

The plan reflect a wave of logistics operations moving into eastern Connecticut, where easily developable land is plentiful and cheap compared to the heavily developed communities west of the Connecticut River.

Another key attraction is I-395, eastern Connecticut’s primary north-south route that provides easy access to I-95 and the Mass Pike as well as smaller connections to Providence.

Costco, Lowe’s, Uline and others have been constructing mega-warehouses in the region.

Until this year, most of Amazon’s development in Connecticut focused on the western side of the state, with a heavy emphasis on towns near Bradley International Airport. But with much of its infrastructure there already in place, it has shifted new expansion plans eastward.

The retail behemoth already operates one of the most enormous commercial buildings in the state and is planning more.

Its five-story fulfillment center near Bradley International Airport measures 3.8 million square feet, and the company is just completing a 3.2 million-square-foot sister building on the Waterbury/Naugatuck border.

The Bradley facility is among Amazon’s largest in the country, largely identical to its Johnson, R.I. center and several other 3.8-million-square-foot operations. The company’s six-story Ontario, Calif. distribution center is substantially larger than any of them, measuring 4.5 million square feet.

Stamford, state to split cost of $7.46 million West Broad Street Bridge's yearlong rehab

Shaniece Harper, Robert Marchant

STAMFORD — A Stamford official said it will take at least a year to rehabilitate the deteriorated West Broad Street Bridge.

City Engineer Lou Casolo said the $7.46 million project will address deteriorating portions of the bridge while allowing traffic and pedestrians to continue using the busy downtown crossing.

"The bearing pads of the steel beams are at the end of their life and require replacement," Casolo told the city's Board of Finance at a Wednesday night meeting. "There's a lot of sidewalk deficiencies, and this is more deterioration along the supports for the railing."

The project will be funded evenly by the city and a grant through the state Department of Transportation's State Local Bridge Program. On Wednesday night, the Board of Finance signed off on the project, including the allocation of roughly $3.7 million for the city's share.

Casolo said the board needed to authorize the project before Mayor Caroline Simmons could sign a commitment letter for Stamford's portion of the cost.

Once the funding is in place, design work will begin, Casolo said.

"It's not a full bridge replacement; it's a rehab project," he said.

The bridge was built in 1954, and carries traffic over the Rippowam River, also known as the Mill River. It underwent a reconstruction in 1990, and Casolo said he did an interim deck repair just a couple of years ago to keep traffic moving because the section of the bridge “was so far deteriorated.”

Simmons welcomed the state grant.

"Located along one of our busiest downtown corridors, this bridge is a vital connection for our community, and this funding will help us continue making critical infrastructure investments that improve roadway safety and keep Stamford moving," Simmons said.

Before approving the project Wednesday night, board members asked how the rehabilitation would affect traffic and the surrounding area.

“This is a really busy, high traffic bridge. How long is this going to take?,” said Vice Chair Laura Burwick.

Casolo said construction could take between a year and a year and a half and would be completed in stages so the bridge could remain open.

“It would be done under stages to keep traffic flowing,” he said. “That's probably the best way to do it. We wouldn't be able to really close this down. It's just too much traffic to do it that way.”

Casolo said the work also would be staged to keep pedestrian traffic moving, with barricades and fencing installed to protect people during construction.

Chair Mary Lou Rinaldi asked how the project would affect a nearby park, where unhoused people go for shelter.

“Is the rehab going to make it more difficult for people to live under there?,” she said.

“That's definitely something that we can talk about during design,” Casolo said.

“I mean, (it’s) something to think about,” Rinaldi said. “You know, it affects the park. It affects just the overall quality of life.”

Amtrak Hosts High-Speed Rail Pop-Up in East Lyme

Luke Feeney

EAST LYME — Amtrak kicked off the Connecticut portion of its public outreach on high-speed rail planning with a pop-up informational event. The event on Saturday at Rocky Neck State Park is an early step toward finalizing a route linking New Haven and Providence.

“What we really want to do is to make sure, as the project team, to understand the technical and the rail service needs,” said Paul Nelson, the project manager for HNTB. “But we want to get a better understanding of where the communities are on what’s important to them and all of that.”

HNTB consultants have been tasked by Amtrak with hosting informational sessions in Rhode Island and Connecticut to gather public feedback and outline the next steps for the two-year New Haven to Providence Capacity Planning Study.

The event was held just a handful of miles from the heart of grassroots opposition a decade ago to plans to route a high-speed rail bypass through shoreline towns, including the historic district in neighboring Old Lyme.

The study has been described by rail officials as a “fresh approach” that will extend the study area — and possible routes — as far north as Storrs and Hartford.

The Federal Rail Administration, which led the prior effort, eventually dropped plans in 2017 for a Kenyon to Old Saybrook Bypass and for quad-tracking through Guilford and Branford that would have supplemented the existing Northeast Corridor along the shoreline.

Nelson said Amtrak’s “fresh approach” would take into account hundreds of public comments submitted prior to the 2017 Record of Decision, which finalized a master plan for rail travel between Washington, D.C. and Boston, but failed to include a route between New Haven and Providence.

“It’s not a clean slate in that we’ve wiped that clean and completely forgotten about what occurred during that and the feedback that was received. It’s more so that it’s a clean slate from like how do we solve the problem,” Nelson told CT Examiner.

Saturday’s pop-up included a map providing residents an opportunity to say how they use the train, where they travel by train, and their priorities for rail travel, including frequency of service and environmental protection and historic preservation.

Several people stopped by the pop-up and shared their opinions with CT Examiner. Most prioritized faster trains and preserving the surrounding environment.

“It’s a great idea, but you know, just at the beginning stages, and I think you’re going to have a lot of challenges,” said Janice Orsini, a Niantic resident.

Betsy and Walt Zalaski, of Niantic, said they were interested in the study and project, but needed more information before they could throw their support behind the plans.

“I think we’d need more information,” Betsy said. Walt added that he appreciated the pop-up outreach to make “us aware of it, so we can think about it.”

Caroline Grist, an Essex resident, said she supported the project overall.

“I hope it really encourages more investment in a proper transportation infrastructure. Unless people are going to produce evidence about the lack of a transportation infrastructure, nothing will ever get done. Otherwise, it’s just vague opinions,” Grist said.

Saturday’s event in East Lyme was first in Connecticut. Earlier on Aug. 6, Amtrak hosted a similar event at Ninigret Park in Charlestown, Rhode Island. Ten years ago, town officials and residents in Charlestown also came out strongly against the proposed high-speed-rail bypass.

Nelson said several people who had taken part in the process then, turned out last week to ask: How would this time around be different?

He said the biggest change would be better engagement with the public.

“But that aside, I think what we’re also looking at is some flexibility to the engineering solutions, and I would say the alignment options are actually a little bit wider than they were last time too,” said Nelson.

Existing rail service along the roughly 170-year-old route linking New Haven to Providence has been hamstrung by tight curves, dense development, a century-old lift bridge and several at-grade crossings between New London and Stonington.

The next pop-up event will be held Sunday at Scarborough North State Beach in Rhode Island.

Nelson said after the pop-ups, Amtrak would be hosting open house meetings in the fall, where he anticipates there would be “actual materials that people can learn about and digest and provide feedback on.” 

CT Construction Digest Friday August 14, 2026

Amazon eyes second eastern Connecticut warehouse in Norwich as fight over Killingly denial continues

Alexander Soule

Even as a developer appeals Killingly's initial rejection of a huge new Amazon warehouse, Amazon is considering a second location in eastern Connecticut — this project led by another development firm that successfully won approval for a similar facility on the Waterbury-Naugatuck line now under construction.

Bluewater Property Group has filed plans with the Norwich Inland Wetlands, Water Courses & Conservation Commission for a warehouse in the Occum Industrial Center on Canterbury Turnpike alongside Interstate 395. An Amazon spokesperson confirmed the Norwich plans Thursday in response to a CT Insider query.

"Warehouses like the one proposed for Norwich are typically assessed at more than $150 million," wrote Norwich Mayor Swarnjit Singh in a Facebook post. "Bluewater estimates that the project would bring about 500 permanent jobs, 200 construction jobs and additional indirect economic benefits to Norwich."

The  "Project Wildcat" proposal anticipates building on more than 170 acres, with the preferred size at nearly 1.1 million square feet but a slightly larger center contemplated as well as a possible alternative. In addition to Bluewater, the project team includes All-Points Technology, Bohler Engineering, CDM Smith, LandTech Consultants, Langan Engineering and Environmental Services, and Ostergaard Acoustical Associates.

Under "Project Husky" on behalf of Amazon, a separate developer called Ryan Cos. filed plans this year for warehouse in Killingly totaling 1.3 million square feet, which the town's own wetlands commission rejected in early July by a 3-2 vote.

Ryan Cos. filed new applications on Aug. 3 and a lawsuit in state Superior Court the following day, on the heels of Killingly creating a one-year moratorium on any construction of large warehouses to study their impact.

An Amazon spokesperson told CT Insider on Thursday that the company intends to proceed with both projects, with precedent for the company having warehouses in close proximity including in Windsor.

Both the Killingly and Norwich proposals eye 500 employees, a smaller count than Amazon has added for earlier fulfillment centers in Connecticut due to the company's adoption of robotic arms and other automated systems for some tasks. The site would include spaces for more than 420 trailers, and for more than 730 vehicles of employees and visitors.

In addition to the Norwich site, a LandTech planning document filed on behalf of Bluewater lists the Killingly site as a potential alternative. The document lists other sites Bluewater vetted that were ultimately eliminated from current consideration, including:

Consumers Avenue in Norwich;

Dominican Drive in Norwich;

Connecticut Avenue in Norwich;

Hazelnut Hill Road in Groton;

Route 12 in the Gales Ferry section of Ledyard;

Moosup Pond Road in Plainfield;

Unity Drive in Plainfield; and

Waterford Parkway South in Waterford.

"The proposed project responds to the need for a modern regional fulfillment and distribution facility in eastern Connecticut capable of supporting the integrated receipt, storage, processing, sorting, and shipment of goods to regional and interstate markets," LandTech consultants wrote in a filing with the city of Norwich. "The facility requires reliable access to the regional highway and freight-transportation network, including Interstate 395, and sufficient operating capacity to support inventory handling, order processing, loading and unloading, truck and trailer movements, employee access, and related logistics activities."

ULine is readying to open next month a major warehouse in Plainfield, with Costco having sought approval for one on the Canterbury-Plainfield line.

Proposed $55M police station plan takes step forward in Norwich

Norwich — The Commission on the City Plan voted unanimously Thursday to ask the City Council to approve an ordinance that would appropriate $55 million to renovate the former Chelsea Groton Bank building on Main Street into a new police station. 

The $55 million would be bonded by the city. 

The City Council is slated to hold a public hearing Monday on the ordinance, after which councilors are expected to vote on it. If the ordinance is approved, the project would need to be approved by voters at a referendum. That date could also be set Monday night. 

Before the 7 p.m. meeting in Council Chambers, there will be a 6:30 p.m. informational session on the project. City Manager John Salomone on Thursday said city officials will discuss the project's appearance and cost and present renderings of the building.

Last year, the police department offered public tours of the current, 47-year-old police station at 70 Thames St. The tours showcased the building's insufficient storage and interview space, lack of changing rooms for female officers and numerous other problems, including mold and water from a leaky roof that threatens computer equipment.

Police officials have repeatedly boasted how the former bank building at 300 Main St. would provide much more space, including more interview rooms, and locker rooms for the department's female officers. The department currently has 73 officers — while the current station was built to accommodate only 51.

Over the years, the city has made several attempts to build a new police department, but those proposals were rejected at referendum or earlier. 

"I think most people understand the need," Salomone said. "It's always been the cost or location."

In 2023, referendum voters turned down a $44.75 million plan to construct a new police station, with no specific location identified. Most city officials have agreed that the current bank building proposal is the best one yet, as it would place the department downtown. They have also pointed out the need for a new station is not going to disappear and will become more costly in the future. 

The city bought the former bank building at 300 Main St. for $800,000 in December 2024.

Plans for the building presented by the police department have shown a renovated two-story bank building with a public entrance off Main Street, where the columns are, and another on the northern side of the building, where a 22-car public parking lot would be built for cars to enter off Cliff Street. The department will also have control of three parking lots along Acadia Street.

The ground floor would have a training classroom and community room, and evidence would be processed and stored in bank vaults for extra security.

On the mezzanine, there would be a conference room, public outreach area and civilian outreach offices, along with the main desk, public permitting, records and an interview room. The second floor would feature administrative offices and space for outside agencies that work with police and more conference rooms.

The first floor of the new wing would feature a physical training room, more administrative offices and locker rooms. On the same level, police cruisers would be able to bring suspects into a covered garage off Cliff Street. The garage connects directly to the processing area, where there would be 16 holding cells for any gender, compared with six for men and two for women now. The second floor of the new wing would house the narcotics unit, dis-patch center and juvenile division.

Below the first floor, there would be a large covered parking area for the police fleet, with an entrance and exit off Main Street.

Several residents at a meeting last month complained about the cost of the proposed police station project. 

Larry Rice, a retired police officer, said he sees the need for the police station but said the cost is too expensive. 

"You don't even know if you're going to get it on the referendum first. And then if we do, I'm doubtful that the public's going to vote on it with this kind of money. So, three, four more years, we're going to do it again, now it's going to be up to $90 million? This can't keep going on like this. We've either got to put this police station in there, or we've got to do something. But we can't keep going on like this. It's ridiculous, these costs," he said.

Resident Joanne Philbrick called the station a "backroom" project and called for better transparency.

"I support the police department 100%. What I do not support, and I have made it clear on many occasions, is your convoluted, backroom, special interest projects. You bought that building under the cover of darkness..." she said. "What is your plan of action? You don't communicate with us."

City Council President Pro Tempore Joe DeLucia, chair of the council's Public Safety Subcommittee, said the police station project is a response to multiple failed referendums in which voters said police headquarters belong downtown. He said this project does exactly that. 

"This project is the best of all possible solutions, and it is only going to get more expensive the longer we wait," he said.