Still not recovered from Great Recession, CT’s construction industry fears another slowdown

Construction jobs peaked in Connecticut at 69,100 in June 2007 before bottoming out at 47,900 in March 2010, at the end of the recession, according to state Department of Labor statistics. As of March 31, there were 60,700 construction jobs in the state. The data show the decline in construction jobs was swift starting in […]

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Trio of Killingly bridges to be rebuilt next year

The state Bonding Commission this month approved $635,963 in grants to help cover the cost of work on two bridges on Valley Road – over the Whetstone and Mashentuck brooks – and a span on Bear Hill Road. Residents in 2017 approved spending up to $1.8 million in bonding money to cover the remainder of […]

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Deal or no deal: PLAs in the construction industry

“We know that our members are going to make a good, middle-class wage, [enjoy] a great medical plan and then a pension plan for when they are too old to do this really physically demanding work. [PLAs] fund apprenticeship programs that train the future of our industry. We see it as good for both sides […]

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Veteran housing project in Meriden clears funding hurdle, construction to begin

Construction of a new veterans housing project on Hanover Street is expected to begin next month. Work on the nine-unit development, named Hanover Place, is expected to last nine months, Robert Cappelletti, executive director of the Meriden Housing Authority, told the authority’s board of directors this week. The $3.3 million project stalled for more than […]

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L’Ambiance Plaza memorial honors 28 who died

Roughly 100 people joined city and state officials to remember the 28 workers killed in the L’Ambiance Plaza Collapse more than three decades ago. L’Ambiance Plaza was a $17.5 million, 16-story luxury apartment complex under construction on Washington Avenue in 1987. The incident is regarded as one of the worst construction accidents in the U.S. […]

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Construction near SoNo station steaming ahead

The upscale, four-story, 40-unit apartment building, at 1 Bates Court near the South Norwalk train station, is now “right on schedule,” according to DiScala, the president of M. F DiScala & Co. The project broke ground in fall 2018 and will feature a mix of one and two bedroom units with amenities, parking and walking […]

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Builders, trades, launch new ad to push for tolls on CT highways

First established last spring to support tolls, the Move CT Forward coalition is renewing its efforts as legislators near a conclusion on this year’s transportation financing debate. Move CT Forward includes the Connecticut Construction Industries Association, the New England Regional Council of Carpenters, the Connecticut Laborers’ District Council, and the Connecticut Ready-Mixed Concrete Association. “Failure […]

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Berlin’s $18M town center is latest project spurred by Hartford Rail Line

Just across the station’s parking lot, several hundred yards away, is a four-acre parcel the duo plans to redevelop into an $18 million mixed-use village, with 76 apartments and 19,000 square feet of medical office and commercial space they envision will include a restaurant and bar, coffee shop and other amenities to draw hungry and […]

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Costco, day care facility will receive up to 60% each in tax breaks to build in South Windsor

Costco, which plans to build a 160,000-square-foot warehouse along Buckland Road, north of Evergreen Walk, will receive an annual tax reduction of 60%, or $270,319, for its first 10 years of business. Educational Playcare, a day care facility, will see a 50% tax break, or $37,769, on its planned $2.8 million building at 742 Ellington […]

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CHFA to issue $200+M in bonds

Connecticut’s housing-finance agency says it’s issuing more than $200 million in bonds to fund first-time homebuyers and spur development of affordable housing. In addition, CHFA said Monday it will issue $100 million of Series C bonds that TD Securities will buy. Proceeds will finance the development of affordable multifamily housing in addition to first-time homebuyer […]

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Norwich bridge project will close Scotland Road there this summer

The state Department of Transportation is beginning work this month on a $5.4 million project to restore the bridge’s condition. The two-lane overpass was built in 1958. Work will include replacing the concrete deck, parapets, steel bearings and deteriorated steel components. The steel girders under the deck will stay and will be repainted. The project […]

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A new vision to replace the I-84 viaduct could drastically change the look and feel of downtown Hartford

Funding must still be secured for design and construction of the I-84 viaduct project, which is expected to cost up to $5.3 billion. The state Department of Transportation is not expected to make a formal recommendation on the viaduct’s future until next year, although it is clearly moving in the direction of lowering the highway, […]

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Potential Downtown North developer hopes to break ground this year, even as Hartford’s legal battle over project continues

Randy Salvatore, of Stamford-based RMS Cos., asked the city council to give his company the green light to develop the first phase of Downtown North, a $46 million building with 200 mixed-income apartments, 11,000 square feet of retail and community space and a 250-space parking garage. He now says he could start construction by the […]

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At Capitol rally, tolls fuel talk shows

Capitol police estimated attendance at 125. The Hartford rally was sponsored by the Libertarian Party with organizational help from Joe Visconti, a Quixotic figure in Republican politics, and promoted by radio hosts on several stations, including WITC, WATR, WRDC and WJJF-FM. The Federal Highway Administration will allow tolls on interstates here as an anti-congestion initiative. […]

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Lamont, GOP make clear — tolls are a fault line

The GOP solution is to increase borrowing for transportation projects by about $700 million per year. But to avoid overtaxing the STF, Republicans would pay off that extra debt from the state’s General Fund. The problem with that, said Rep. Roland Lemar, D-New Haven, a Transportation Committee co-chair, is the General Fund can’t spare the […]

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Downtown Waterbury roadway project gets more funding

The Board of Aldermen agreed Monday to pump $1.2 million into a contract with an engineering firm overseeing downtown roadway improvements. A federal grant is covering $14.4 million of costs. The city is responsible for $4.7 million. Aldermen will review a construction contract later this month, the final approval needed. The board’s unanimous vote Monday […]

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State Pier, New London’s ‘ocean terminal,’ never lived up to expectations

The optimism over Ørsted’s plan for an installation site is real. But New London and State Pier have been down this road before. That could be about to change. A group representing shipbuilding and railroad interests announced plans for the Blue Ribbon Line, whose vessels, faster than anything afloat, would cross the Atlantic in four […]

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Records show potential conflict with $3M Bridgeport contract

The record appears to contradict Mayor Joe Ganim’s claim that Joe Tiago recused himself from involvement with the multimillion dollar garage construction project, and nearly $700,000 in associated paving work, while he was deputy public facilities director. Vaz Quality Works of Bridgeport submitted the low bid to build the garage in 2016 and was selected […]

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West Haven officials want timeline for The Haven before vote on abandoning streets

State and city lawmakers say they understand the developer is waiting on a certificate from the Office of State Traffic Administration — or OSTA — but want to know how soon after that certificate comes through the developer will start demolition. Residents have questions about The Haven at just about every municipal meeting, many expressing […]

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Majority Leader Ritter Clashes with GOP leader Klarides over highway tolls

Republicans have been traveling around the state in a “road show’’ of public forums that have focused on sharp opposition to tolls. “The House Republicans have no counter proposal whatsoever. They’ve done nothing,’’ Ritter told Capitol reporters in stronger-than-usual language. “They just say, ‘No, no, no, no’. I give the Senate Republicans credit. Len did […]

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