“The U.S. has become a powerhouse in energy,” he said. “Ten to 20 years ago, the U.S. was importing oil and gas, and it doesn’t have to now.” New oil and gas technology has made that possible, he added, making the U.S. more energy-independent and turning the country into a major exporter of LNG. “Another […]
The city has secured $3.67 million from the state Department of Transportation’s Local Transportation Capital Improvement Program to make necessary improvements to East Main and Myrtle streets. The contract has been awarded to Martin Laviero Contractor Inc. of Bristol. This construction is part of Phase 6 of the reconstruction project of East Main Street between […]
Gov. Ned Lamont is meeting with legislative leaders this week to get their final feedback on his 10-year, $18-billion proposal to improve Connecticut’s roads, rail, and public transit. Lawmakers were privately briefed on a proposal that reduces the number of tolls from 50 to around a dozen. Lamont said that in order to access the […]
Construction on a $200 million mixed-use development in Avon that has been held up in the permitting process for more than a year officially kicked off Wednesday. While the initial phase will only include retail space, phase II of the project will include office and residential units, the developer said. The whole project spans 97 […]
The Hospital for Special Care hosted a ground breaking ceremony for an expansion on its Autism Inpatient Unit on Tuesday. The project, designed by KaestleBoos Associates, and managed by Downes Construction, is funded in part by a $10 million bond award from the State of Connecticut and the hospital’s ongoing Superheroes for Autism $3 million […]
The final cost to finish the environmental cleanup of the former Norwich Hospital property is now projected at $9 million, and while town and Mohegan tribal leaders hope for a quick response to their request for state funding, the issue is tied up in the stalled overall state budget bond package yet to be put […]
Gov. Ned Lamont is meeting with legislative leaders this week to get their final feedback on his 10-year, $18-billion proposal to improve Connecticut’s roads, rail, and public transit. Lawmakers were privately briefed on a proposal that reduces the number of tolls from 50 to around a dozen. Sources who have been briefed on Lamont’s proposal […]
Construction is underway for the new Steers Center at Canterbury School. The new building is 22,000 square feet and will open next fall. The development of the Steers Center is part of several new construction initiatives—referred to collectively as the Hilltop Projects— taking place over the next few years. The center is named for long-time […]
Lamont has greatly scaled back his original plan, which called for a comprehensive system of electronic highway tolls on the Merritt Parkway and Interstates 84, 91 and 95 that he predicted could raise about $800 million annually. Without new revenue, Lamont said, the state’s special transportation fund is projected to run in the red in […]
The Hospital for Special Care (HFSC) in New Britain says it will break ground Tuesday on a $13 million expansion of a hospitalization program and an education and day center. Construction is expected to be completed by fall 2020. The expanded facility is being designed by architecture firm Kaestle Boos Associates Inc. and construction is […]
Residents and city representatives have long complained about poor road conditions. Martin has acknowledged the problem, saying the city needs to spend at least $6 million a year on repairs but, before he began his first term in 2013, only half that amount was being spent. For the fiscal year that started July 1, Martin […]
Those critical of the plan point out that a fossil fuel-run power plant that still emits greenhouse gases, even if it produces fewer of them than oil or coal plants, will not allow the state to meet a 2040 target of 100% zero carbon for the elector sector suggested by Gov. Ned Lamont last month. “I […]
After years of planning and deliberating, three Old Lyme beach communities are moving forward on long-held plans to bring a shared sewer system into their neighborhoods after gaining the final permission needed from East Lyme to do so. The East Lyme Inland Wetland Agency on Monday night unanimously approved, with some stipulations, the three communities […]
Local Republican lawmakers say they are open to Gov. Ned Lamont’s proposal to use low-interest federal loans to partly fund a 10-year, $18 billion transportation plan he intends to unveil soon. Lamont is revising his transportation plan from earlier in the year, which received criticism from Republicans and some Democrats due in large part to […]
The proposal to the state has been advanced by Massachusetts-based Vineyard Wind who will partner with McAllister Towing and Transportation Company, operators of the city’s ferry service, to redevelop Barnum Landing, an underutilized 18.3-acre waterfront industrial property on Seaview Avenue in the East End. A renovated Barnum Landing property will host hundreds of local workers […]
White House Economic Adviser Larry Kudlow has a message for states and business leaders planning the nation’s biggest infrastructure projects: we’ll cut red tape for you, but don’t expect a check from us. “I hate to say this, but don’t expect too much federal financial assistance. We’d like to say if we had it, we’d […]
Governors from several northeastern and mid-Atlantic states may have found a way to reduce pollution from cars and trucks and buck the Trump administration, which is trying to weaken auto emissions standards and gut efforts to curb climate change. Under a regional cap-and-trade plan that a dozen states still are developing, drivers would pay more […]
Hartford HealthCare (HHC) and Yale New Haven Health (YNHHS), the state’s two largest health systems, say they are teaming up to build a $72 million, 25,000-square-foot radiation treatment center in Wallingford. According to plans, the Wallingford facility will include treatment, control and exam rooms, and clinical space. The facility will be staffed by physicians and […]
The health insurer is planning to double the size of its training and learning center at 1350 Boulevard Rd., a little-known facility — known as “Cigna University” — that is taking on added importance following the company’s $67 billion purchase last year of pharmacy-benefits manager Express Scripts. Cigna is asking the Bloomfield planning and zoning […]
A heated meeting of the Board of Finance revealed a need to review the town’s policies on contracts and emergency purchases. Numerous Board of Finance members expressed a desire to clarify this policy and delineate which contracts do and do not require Board of Selectmen approval. At a special meeting Monday night to go over […]
The state Department of Transportation’s long-running construction project on Route 6 is in its final stages, according to City Engineer Ray Rogozinski, with road paving complete and final details wrapping up in the next few weeks. The work that still remains includes paving driveways and parking lots that were disturbed by the project and repairing […]
At issue is a proposal to exempt the construction industry from one element of the plan — creation of Industry-Recognized Apprenticeship Programs (IRAPs) that would take over much of the standard-setting done by DOL and state agencies. DOL officials working on a final version of the rule will soon decide whether to make changes to […]
Vineyard Wind has announced a partnership with Marmon Utility, a Marmon/Berkshire Hathaway company headquartered in Seymour, to create the first Tier 1 offshore wind supplier in the U.S. The agreement will go into effect if Vineyard Wind is awarded long-term contracts from Connecticut to provide 800MW or greater of offshore wind power in response to […]
It is one of several unexpected expenses associated with operation of the $44 million, 94,000-square-foot police headquarters. Burwick went before the board to request a total of $340,000 to cover costs that include services not provided by the contractor hired to manage the building. The largest single cost, $145,000, was for electricity. It has since […]
The city on Friday released details of a proposed agreement with the developers looking to build a 60-unit apartment complex on Franklin Street that calls for a 15-year tax abatement and the company paying approximately $30,000 in real estate taxes to the city the first year with increases of 3% for the remaining 14 years. […]
CRDA’s board of directors on Thursday voted unanimously to authorize the state taxpayer-backed loans for the project’s first phase, which will include construction of new apartments and retail space. The CRDA-approved financing includes a historic credit bridge loan of up to $5.5 million and a traditional construction mortgage of $6.5 million. All financing still must […]
Construction on the project has already begun. In the project’s first phase, panels will be installed on top of new parking canopies in the parking lot. A second phase includes installation of panels on the shopping center’s roof. Westfarms expects the 2.7-megawatt system to begin operating early next year. It has a projected annual output […]
Gov. Ned Lamont dropped a few more breadcrumbs Wednesday on the path he hopes lawmakers are following to his eventual presentation of CT 2030, a plan for spending about $20 billion over the next decade to speed Metro-North trains and ease highway congestion. The new talking point aimed at Fairfield County lawmakers: CT 2030 could […]
Municipalities say the stalemate between Gov. Ned Lamont and legislators over long-term transportation funding is about to create an immediate crisis: With $30 million in promised local aid months overdue, fall tree trimming and winter snow removal are at risk. Lamont is delaying action on a bond package, saying he needs to know if lawmakers […]
Lamont’s plan — part of a soon-to-be unveiled $18 billion transportation strategy — could reduce the trip from New Haven to Grand Central to about an hour and 40 minutes. At least $5 billion of the proposed funds will go toward upgrading the Metro-North Commuter Railroad, the Shore Line East railroad, and the Hartford Line […]
The developer of a $1 billion fuel-cell powered data center in New Britain, slated to begin first-phase construction this fall, has secured a state tax break worth up to $55.2 million. The quasi-public Connecticut Innovations (CI) last week approved the 10-year sales-and-use tax exemption for EIP Investment LLC’s purchase of capital equipment for its data […]
Lamont peered into the dim emptiness of an abandoned 200,000 square-foot factory, a building with good bones and high ceilings that O’Leary says will save it from the demolition crews that are slowly creating clean slates from brown fields for the next act in what once was America’s Brass City. With $3 million awarded by […]
Goodwin College has broken ground on a 25,000-square-foot, $8 million commercial building that aims to help revitalize the East Hartford school’s South Main Street campus area. The building on Main and Ensign streets will be used as a mixed-use commercial building and not for academic purposes, Goodwin spokesman Philip Moore said. https://www.hartfordbusiness.com/article/goodwin-college-breaks-ground-on-8m-commercial-building
Five acres of city-owned land abutting the Connecticut River could soon be open for redevelopment, and Middletown officials may formally seek development proposals next year, said Joseph Samolis, Middletown’s director of planning, conservation and development. The 1960s-era River Road pumping station is scheduled to be decommissioned by late winter. The new facility, part of a […]
Financially, tolling is as close to a must-do as anything I can imagine in government spending. Here’s the big picture: Connecticut already borrows more for transportation projects than any other state except Rhode Island. Even without stepped-up borrowing, debt payments are set to rise more than $300 million a year in the next five years, […]
When it comes to danger in the workplace, few jobs are more treacherous than those on a construction site. Of the 4,674 private-sector workers who died on the job in 2017, one in five were in construction, according to Occupational Safety and Health Administration statistics. To mitigate those risks, a growing number of construction firms […]
As the sector faces an aging workforce and tight labor market, big contracting firms, as well as smaller subcontractors and their suppliers, are being forced to diversify their hiring. As a result, in recent years, private design, engineering and contracting firms, construction trade groups, labor unions and nonprofit workforce-development agencies have mounted a full-court press […]
The “Park City Wind” project Pederson wants to building in the city is one of three proposals to bring wind offshore. Connecticut has a standing order for 2,000 megawatts of clean energy. The project, which involves an investment of $85 million, could generate upward of $1.6 billion in direct economic benefits and “create as many […]
A plan to bring a high speed ferry to Fairfield County, with service out of Stamford and Bridgeport to lower Manhattan, is being resurrected by Gov. Ned Lamont for his yet-to-be-released transportation plan. The idea has been studied, considered, planned and dropped multiple times since at least 2002, and as a result, much of the […]
It’s been more than a decade since Blackrock Realty LLC pitched a plan of massive construction around Fairfield’s third train station to make it a hub of commuter and shopping activity. Today, the area around the station remains nearly as bare of new construction as it did when Blackrock Realty first unveiled its plans. Blackrock […]
Gov. Ned Lamont’s chief of staff, Ryan Drajewicz, has dedicated most of his time over the last few months to coming up with a 10-year transportation plan that leverages federal dollars for transportation projects in strategic areas with the best opportunity for improved economic development. However, in order to leverage that federal funding, Connecticut will […]
Plans for the property call for a 145-unit “luxury” independent- and assisted-living campus called Waterstone on High Ridge. To start construction, National Development plans in November to begin demolishing 110,000 square feet of the existing building. The project is scheduled to be completed in the third quarter of 2021. National has developed nearly 30 senior […]
Gov. Ned Lamont is fine-tuning a 10-year, $18 billion transportation plan, narrowing it down to specific projects in a compromise proposal that he says will make a huge difference, saving as much as 20 minutes each way on various state highways and commuter trains. The much-anticipated proposal — known as CT 2030 — is expected […]
There has been “a lot of progress” in the construction of the new town hall, according to one of the project managers on the project. The new 33,400-square-foot building will serve as the home for the town hall, police headquarters, and the Board of Education. The building was becoming unstable, the well that serves Town […]
It may not seem like a lot, and Lamont certainly isn’t tallying up Republican votes just yet, but the notable change in tone publicly and privately from Republican legislators suggests his efforts to start from scratch on a new transportation plan aren’t completely for naught, even if it includes a few tolls. The plan will […]
A California company has closed its $1.1 billion acquisition of Connecticut Water, a Clinton-based utility that provides water services to more than 136,000 customers in Connecticut and Maine. The buyer, San Jose-based SJW Group, now claims 1.5 million customers across California, Connecticut, Maine and Texas. Connecticut’s Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA) approved the acquisition in […]
Bristol Hospital is preparing to embark on the next phase of a $15-million expansion and renovation that will roughly double the size of its emergency department. The design calls for the new and old square footage to be one unified space, said project manager Tom Roche. The hospital is financing the project through the Connecticut […]
Mayor Neil M. O’Leary took Gov. Ned Lamont on a tour through several multimillion-dollar redevelopment projects in the city’s South End Monday, and pledged to continue focusing on the area. Lamont on Monday said the bonding package is “tied” to whatever transportation plan is ultimately approved. More money borrowed for transportation will mean less money […]
Some new source of revenue must be established now and the dollars set aside, especially in a state that already has dumped more than $30 billion in pension debt on future taxpayers. For Lamont, that new source of revenue is a network of tolls – albeit a much smaller one than he proposed in February. […]
Everyone at Gateway is excited to be part of the team that will transform State Pier from an underutilized asset into an economic engine driving the growth of a major new industry based right here in New London. Ørsted, a world leader in clean energy and Eversource, New England’s largest energy company, have formed a […]
Voters gave the go-ahead for the town to build a new high school and expand the Meeting House Hill School at a cost of more than $113 million. The $113.4 million school building plan, proposed by the Board of Education, calls for a $84.2 million new high school and a $29.2 million addition onto Meeting […]
Lamont’s updated plan will also focus on alternative transportation financing from the federal government as he seeks to shave time off long commutes for workers and improve the state’s job outlook. Top legislators and representatives from the Lamont administration met with federal transportation officials recently to discuss low-interest loans available through the U.S. Department of […]
The Connecticut Department of Transportation is announcing that a nighttime bridge maintenance project will be performed on multiple bridges along Route 8 southbound in Bridgeport, Monday, October 7, through Friday, November 22, 2019. Motorists can expect lane closures. The regular work schedule for this project is from 8:00 pm to 5:00 am. (Monday through Thursday […]
The measure would hand over $1 billion for Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development (BUILD) grants; $46.3 billion for highway projects; $17.7 billion to the Federal Aviation Administration; $2.8 billion for rail projects funded through the Federal Railroad Administration, an amount that includes $2 billion for Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor and other projects; $13 billion for […]
The Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act is an opportunity for Congress to give working families their voice back. The PRO Act would ensure that employers could no longer dodge wage and hour standards by misclassifying workers. Employers also would not be allowed to misclassify employees as supervisors or independent contractors to prevent them […]
Twelve winning transportation projects from four U.S. regional competitions, including the I-84 widening project in Waterbury, will battle it out in this year’s America’s Transportation Awards competition, with two $10,000 cash awards for a charity or transportation-related scholarship of the winners’ choosing at stake. The broad scope of the projects in the final round include […]
The town has instructed an engineering firm to combine two of the less expensive options as a way to repair the deteriorating south pier at the Town Dock. Using a Connecticut Port Authority grant, the town hired Stantec Consulting to develop options for repairing the pier and in January 2019, the firm conducted an above- […]
Since the regular General Assembly session wrapped on June 5, lawmakers have said they’d be back this fall to tackle unfinished business. And now, with two months left before the winter holiday season brings new scheduling challenges, Lamont and legislators are struggling to solve a Rubik’s Cube of policy issues and agree on an agenda […]
A pair of medical-office buildings are proposed for the former Puritan Furniture site on Wethersfield’s Silas Deane Highway, the developer says. Developer Michael Panek, president of Southbury-based Phoenix Realty Management, said the 12-acre site — which is the former home to a Puritan showroom-warehouse at 1210 Silas Deane Highway — has been purchased and the […]
Vineyard Wind, based in New Bedford, Mass., submitted bids Monday for a 400-megawatt plan and options to develop projects that will generate 800 megawatts, 1,000 megawatts and 1,200 megawatts. The project, known as “Park City Wind,” was submitted to the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection in response to the agency’s 2019 solicitation for […]
“Work is currently progressing on the widening of the west side of the road and the Oronoque Lane intersection,” a prepared statement from Mayor Laura Hoydick’s chief of staff said. “At the same time, overhead utility wire relocation will be taking place on the east side of the road.” Meanwhile, work is also continuing on […]
The state Department of Transportation will conduct a public information meeting on Oct. 22 concerning proposed major intersection improvements on Route 6 at North Main Street and Agney Avenue. The meeting will be held at 7 p.m. at the Town Hall Community Room at 80 Main St. A design presentation will followed by question-and-answer and […]
