City residents will have the opportunity to learn more about the proposed $74.6 million Torrington Middle/High School building project in a public forum Tuesday at 6 p.m. The public forum will be the first of three scheduled before the Nov. 3 referendum, in which city taxpayers will vote on the construction of the proposed $74.6 […]
Windsor Locks’ Planning and Zoning Commission members unanimously approved the All Sports Village development Wednesday during a special meeting dedicated only to the project and spanning about five hours. The commission passed the project on a 5-0 vote. Plans show that the principal developer, Andrew Borgia of JABS Sports Management, also proposed an outdoor championship […]
The state’s rainy day fund has exceeded the legal limit for the first time in 19 years, approaching $3.1 billion and forcing Gov. Ned Lamont’s administration to release some of that bounty to pay down debt. The projections, much rosier than the administration offered two months ago, sparked renewed calls Tuesday from key lawmakers for […]
A $5.8 million project to replace a deteriorating seawall on Route 146 is set to begin Sept. 8, the state Department of Transportation has announced. Continuous wave action, storms and major ones like Sandy and Irene have made various repairs to the existing seawall ineffective. In October 2012, the intensity of Sandy’s winds and wave […]
The state Department of Transportation is planning a project to repair a nearly 100-year-old stone masonry wall on Route 1 (West Main Street), right before the intersection where the Baptist church is located in downtown Mystic, according to the DOT and the Town of Groton Facebook page. DOT will hold a virtual information session at […]
The City Council has voted to discontinue a portion of Willis Street as a public road to incorporate it into the campus of the planned Memorial Boulevard Intradistrict Arts Magnet School. The portion is between South Street and Memorial Boulevard, behind the school building. The city and the Board of Education are collaborating on the […]
Visitors to Harbor Park may have seen the start of construction there, addressing brownfields, erosion and other issues as the first steps of the decades-long effort to revitalize the city’s precious riverfront begins. In 2016, Middletown won a $2.6 million Urban Act Grant from the state Department of Economic Development to begin the planning, assessment […]
Farmington’s Metro Realty Group is leading the project aiming to construct 50,400 square feet of medical office and 38,880 square feet of retail space on Buckland Road across the street from LA Fitness. It’s not clear when construction will begin on the development, or how much it will cost to build. Metro Realty declined multiple […]
The developers of the planned The Haven outdoor luxury mall await only a fire marshal’s signature before starting demolition for the project, city Corporation Counsel Lee Tiernan told the City Council Monday, but council Chairman Ron Quagliani wants more: another appearance by the developer, and another timeline. Tiernan told the council in his update Monday […]
After remaining a vacant eyesore for nearly 14 years, the town of East Hartford in early 2020 finally razed the former Showcase Cinemas building on Silver Lane in hopes of clearing the path for a potential mixed-use residential development. East Hartford Development Co. LLC — led by Domenic Carpionato, a principal at Rhode Island-based real […]
Newington taxpayers will see their taxes increase by an average of $75 annually if the planned renovation of Anna Reynolds School moves forward. The project cost has been estimated at $35.5 million, but reimbursement from the state of Connecticut through a school building grant program is expected to bring the town’s projected cost to about […]
An analysis of the e-commerce juggernaut’s presence in Connecticut shows that it currently occupies more than 3 million square feet in Windsor, North Haven, Cromwell, Stratford, Wallingford, Bristol, Orange and at Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks. It also plans to occupy another 1.1 million square feet at facilities in Windsor, Wallingford and Danbury in […]
Utility giant Eversource has been in the hot seat this past month, first for issuing unexpectedly high electric bills in July, and soon after, for its slower-than-desired response to an 800,000-customer power outage caused by Tropical Storm Isaias. Perhaps due to its sudden public relations emergency, Eversource hasn’t sought to draw much attention to an […]
It will cost an estimated $8 million to tear down the remaining structures. Another $1.1 million is needed for the U.S. Department of Transportation to design a 28-foot-wide, 1,500-foot-long road to run through a nearby wooded section behind North and South Westwood roads to empty onto Route 8 heading to Seymour. It would take another […]
A spokesman for the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, which actually has its own seat on the port authority board, said in an email Monday someone would be out this week to evaluate the new waterfront salt mountain and determine whether it complies with stormwater permits. Eastern Connecticut towns began paying considerably less […]
The recent discovery by the city’s Finance Department has forced the city to borrow the funds in order to replenish its coffers and avoid a cash crunch during future projects. The City Council approved the bonding measure with a 6-1 vote on Monday. There is no immediate impact on the current budget. The cost overruns […]
The $85 million Perkins Farm project, the most expensive development in Stonington’s history, is almost complete and developer David Lattizori acknowledges that there were many times when he didn’t think it would come to fruition. The project is composed of Harbor Heights, a 121-unit luxury apartment complex with amenities including an outdoor pool with LED […]
Total construction starts sank 7% from June to July, pulled down by a staggering 31% decline in the nonbuilding sector, which includes infrastructure projects, while the nonresidential sector gained 3% and residential starts increased 2%, according to Dodge Data & Analytics. Richard Branch, chief economist for Dodge, said the numbers weren’t all bad news. “The July […]
A public hearing into a planned 260-unit apartment complex at Westfield Trumbull mall has been pulled from the Planning & Zoning Commission’s Aug. 19 agenda. The hearing will take place at a future meeting. The issue, according to P&Z Chairman Fred Garrity, is that the information the commission requested from the developers in July was […]
Officials with Old Saybrook-based Connecticut Port Authority went out of state to find a new executive director, announcing Tuesday they had selected a Maine man for the job. John Henshaw, who was the executive director of the Maine Port Authority for more than 10 years, will start in his new job Sept. 8 at an […]
State utility regulators have fined the state’s two largest electric distribution companies $10,000 each for not making significant progress in developing pricing and billing mechanisms necessary for the implementation of shared renewable energy programs. The Public Utilities Regulatory Authority levied the fines in a ruling issued late Friday. One of the areas in which PURA […]
Jim Judge, the Eversource chairman and president who largely disappeared from public view after a massive power outage, will appear before the legislature’s Energy and Technology Committee, whose leaders outlined bipartisan regulatory review legislation. Judge was roundly condemned for his refusal to join Gov. Ned Lamont in taking questions outside Eversource offices on Aug. 5, […]
Gov. Ned Lamont’s administration has directed agencies to find ways to cut spending by 10% or more in the next two fiscal years as it anticipates a lengthy, coronavirus-induced, economic downturn. State finances are projected to run $2.5 billion in the red this fiscal year, which began July 1. But Connecticut’s emergency reserves have grown […]
Town officials have confirmed that a developer will soon break ground on an affordable housing complex near Rocky Neck State Park. The project, now known as Rocky Neck Village but which was originally proposed in 2013 by New London-based developers Jag Capital Drive LLC, now has all the permits it needs, Zoning Official Bill Mulholland […]
Adding to the frustration was the length of time the public has been waiting for plans for the premium acreage to come together. It has been a year since Spinnaker agreed to take over the development and essentially adopt the original deal signed two administrations ago under then-Mayor John DeStefano Jr. But it had lingered for five […]
Located next to the Berlin train station, this is the first phase of a three-phase, $18 million project that will bring 76 market-rate apartments and 19,000 square feet of medical, restaurant, retail and office space. “At this point, they have the go ahead on renovating the existing building at 861 [Farmington] and starting new construction […]
If the city council backs the purchase, it would solidify the city’s control of the corner of Ann Uccello and Main streets, adding to the adjoining vacant lot and the former Arrowhead Cafe building on Main Street. both already owned by the city. A public hearing on the purchase will be held Monday. The city […]
Over the past three years, Eversource customers paid on average $450 each to replace old utility poles, lines and other apparatus across Connecticut. Following the prolonged blackouts that Isaias left behind, many have called for utilities to better armor the rickety electrical grids operated by Eversource and United Illuminating. Lawmakers and regulators are left again […]
The Planning & Zoning Commission has heard both sides of the debate over a proposed over-55 adult community near the Greenbrier Estates subdivision, but likely won’t vote on it until its next meeting in September. TDF Enterprises is proposing four buildings with a total of 120 units, with 88 one-bedroom units and 32 two-bedroom units, […]
The town has begun the effort to convince a national Olympic team to put its base at the planned All Sports Village, First Selectman J. Christopher Kervick says. All Sports Village is proposed for a 76-acre site on Route 20 between Interstate 91 and Old County Road. When the project was announced, developers said it […]
The projects in various towns in the Danbury area could receive federal funding during fiscal years 2021 to 2024, the Western Connecticut Council of Governments said. Public comment on what is called the Transportation Improvement Program opens on Aug. 24 and runs until noon Oct. 9. The Housatonic Valley Metropolitan Planning Organization is developing the […]
But even before the proposed mixed-use project gets its first hearing before city planners, Mayor Ben Blake said he is opposed to the plan and that it “would be a terrible idea” if approved. Centennial, which operates and develops retail and mixed-use centers across the country, has notified city officials that it wants to build […]
The Connecticut Port Authority formalized an agreement with local road salt distributor DRVN Enterprises this week that will keep the company, and its massive pile of salt, at State Pier through the end of the year. The port authority met virtually on Tuesday to approve the agreement that will allow DRVN to remain through Dec. […]
Mark E. Ojakian, the influential behind-the-scenes operative at the State Capitol who became the high-profile president of the troubled Connecticut State Colleges & Universities system in 2015, persisting in a job that defeated two academics, is retiring at year’s end. Ojakian, who turns 66 in October, is leaving with significant work remaining on a second round […]
With an 8-0 vote Tuesday, Manchester’s board of directors approved both a development and tax assessment agreement for a $140 million project to turn the vacant Parkade lot into a commercial and residential hub. The board unanimously voted to approve the plan for the developer, Manchester Parkade 1 LLC, to revitalize the site and get […]
Hundreds of construction workers are expected to descend on the first phase of the so-called Downtown North (DoNo) development on “Parcel C” along Main Street in the next month or so, RMS Cos. founder and CEO Randy Salvatore said in a recent interview. The first phase, projected to cost $56 million, includes a 270-unit apartment […]
Having paid out billions of dollars in benefits since the coronavirus pandemic struck in mid-March, Connecticut’s unemployment trust fund is headed for insolvency later this month or in early September, according state Labor Department officials. That means Connecticut will need an emergency federal loan to maintain benefits for hundreds of thousands of unemployed here — […]
The prospect of more turbulent weather — and damage — possibly coming to Connecticut comes on top of worries about the future of the COVID-19 pandemic. The day after Isaias struck Connecticut, Colorado State University’s department of atmospheric sciences intensified its forecast for the Atlantic hurricane season, which typically runs June 1 through Nov. 30. […]
The Board of Selectmen unanimously agreed Wednesday it again would ask the Board of Finance to consider a request to bond an additional $2.17 million to complete plans to renovate the new public safety building after finance officials previously denied that request last month. The Board of Finance was tasked in July to approve or […]
On Friday, the US government is set to release its monthly jobs report, and economists are predicting another 1.6 million jobs were added in July — a sharp slowdown from the 4.8 million added in June. That would bring the monthly unemployment rate to 10.5% in July, from 11.1% in June. Oxford Economics senior US […]
Town officials are inching ever nearer to solidifying plans for additional sidewalk improvements in the Sound View neighborhood that they say will improve pedestrian safety on Hartford Avenue and Shore Road, as well as further help connect the community to its beach areas. After being awarded a state grant to help pay for those improvements […]
The chair of the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority says that Eversource Energy badly underestimated the threat of Tropical Storm Isaias by preparing for between 125,000 and 380,000 outages, while more than 800,000 of its customers lost power at the peak and nearly 600,000 still were in the dark Wednesday night. PURA is opening an investigation […]
“It’s decision time,” Lembo said. “Our state economy is showing signs of recovery from the devastating effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, but without a significant investment from the federal government, those gains may slip away, and Connecticut families and businesses will suffer.” The state has recovered more than 100,000 jobs that were lost when the […]
Infrastructure projects totaling more than $9.6 billion have been delayed or canceled in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a report released by the American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA). Sixteen states announced project delays or cancellations worth approximately $5 billion, while another 20 local governments and authorities have scratched or put […]
Despite the coronavirus pandemic halting most town government operations for several months, Ridefield’s $48 million sewage treatment proect is moving along. The renovation of the District I Wastewater Treatment Plant off South Street is making progress, according to Amy Siebert, chairwoman of the town Water Pollution Control Authority, which oversees all of Ridgefield’s sewer operations. […]
