The state’s Special Transportation Fund spent $1.61 billion in 2019 — the last fiscal year before the coronavirus pandemic struck. After adjusting for inflation, that’s just 21% growth since 2011. The debt service on the hundreds of millions of dollars Connecticut borrows annually for highway, bridge and rail upgrades, and spending on transit programs, together […]
The transformation is nearly complete, with the developers of the 133,000-square-foot complex known as The Village announcing this month that they plan to open the hub next spring. It will become a home base not only for the conglomerate Wheelhouse and reality-TV powerhouse ITV America, but also a number of other businesses. Plans for the […]
A new bridge replacement plan has been put forth, and a public hearing will be held at 1 p.m. Dec. 3 via Zoom to hear reactions from residents. The bridge over Cider Mill Brook is near Binney Park and the Perrot Memorial Library. It was built in 1925 and rehabilitated in 1977. The replacement is […]
Warehouses are sprouting on Connecticut farmland where tobacco once grew, giving the state bragging rights to a retail economy transformed by digital technology, advanced logistics and the coronavirus pandemic. Surging online sales, fueled by a rapidly evolving retail economy where people shop at home and products are delivered from warehouses, are behind this transformation. The […]
Located at 140 Waterford Parkway South and vacant for almost four decades, the property is once again a target for development, this time by Fabcon Precast, a concrete manufacturer based in Minnesota. On Nov. 23 the Planning and Zoning Commission discussed Fabcon’s application for a special permit and site plan approval and could make a […]
With local land-use approval secured for a nearly $20 million pedestrian bridge linking downtown to the future National Coast Guard Museum, talks continue with state officials about the release of funding for the project. The city’s Planning and Zoning Commission earlier this month granted conditional approval to plans for a 400-foot, glass-walled pedestrian bridge spanning […]
State officials are facing almost $4.3 billion in red ink in the next two-year budget, due largely to the coronavirus-induced recession, according to a new report Friday from nonpartisan analysts. Those deficits, while daunting, are significantly less imposing than the massive shortfalls Connecticut faced after the last recession in 2011 — gaps that forced a […]
John Guedes, who operates the city-based Primrose Companies architecture and construction, said he has learned to take a believe-it-when-he-sees-it approach to Bridgeport’s economy: “Don’t worry about the ones (plans) that have been approved, worry about the ones that have been started.” This week, staff from the economic development department briefed members of the City Council […]
Trump himself had pressed earlier in his tenure to advance an infrastructure deal, something that had eluded Washington policy makers for years, yet the effort fell short as he and Democratic leaders including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi parted ways over how to pay for it. Under his $2 trillion Build Back Better proposal for reviving […]
The state’s unemployment insurance trust fund, which typically raises $800 million a year via employer taxes, ran out of money in August, forcing the state to borrow $402 million from the federal government to date, said Michael Lucente, the unemployment claims director of accounts within the state Department of Labor. That loan has helped pay […]
Phase II work is under way on the Connecticut Department of Transportation (CTDOT) Arrigoni Bridge project. The $46 million undertaking in Middletown/Portland is the result of a 2010 safety report, which found deficiencies in the structure’s two main arch spans. “Due to the possibility of conflicting traffic patterns and the need for constant project coordination, […]
Gov. Ned Lamont’s unsuccessful push to toll state highways was an unpopular answer to a persistent problem: Connecticut’s transportation fund is drying up. And with no political appetite to revisit tolls, hopes rest on a federal Band-Aid. The Lamont administration lobbied hard to pass some form of a tolls bill during the last two legislative […]
A new study of natural gas infrastructure in Connecticut says harmful amounts of methane are leaking from aging underground gas pipes. Methane is the main part of natural gas. Like carbon dioxide, it’s a greenhouse gas, trapping heat in the atmosphere and contributing to global warming. And one way methane can leak here in New […]
With last month’s increase, the state has now regained about two-thirds of the 291,000 positions it shed during the COVID-related shutdowns in March and April, a toll equal to more than double the number of jobs lost in the state’s 2008-10 recession. But the monthly gains are shrinking, the data shows. Amid the job gains, […]
The agreement is between North America’s Building and Construction Trades Unions (NABTU) and Ørsted, an international leader in wind technology. The deal sets a model for labor-management cooperation and workforce development in the budding offshore wind industry. Ørsted has a large footprint in the wind industry having been awarded and built offshore wind farms from […]
A cabal of senior Fairfield town officials conspired with the head of a Clinton environmental cleanup company to illegally dispose of hundreds of yards of highly-contaminated soil while assuring town residents and employees forced to work with the material that everything was safe, according to arrest warrant affidavits released Thursday. One day after former Fairfield […]
On Sept. 30, the latest amendment to the Agreement of Sale of land from Byron Brook Country Club, LLC and M&A Holdings, LLC to the Norwich Community Development Corp. (NCDC) was signed, and was made public last Friday. NCDC, along with Norwich Public Utilities, has been working on developing a second business park in Norwich. […]
A new $210 million Ground Transportation Center planned for the airport has been slated for substantial completion in February 2022, with an official opening the following May. Bradley International Airport is located north of Hartford in Windsor Locks. The 1.4 million sq. ft. transportation center will be built on a 13.4-acre site located west of […]
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has upheld Electric Boat’s request to use an eastern Long Island Sound dredging disposal site, according to a news release from U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney, D-2nd District. Citing environmental concerns, the state of New York had taken several legal actions seeking to stop use of the site, referred to […]
A spokeswoman for the proposed Gravel Pit Solar project in East Windsor says developers have a plan to implement innovative soil restoration and preservation measures throughout the facility to improve soil quality. The Connecticut Siting Council on Thursday held an evidentiary and public hearing for the proposed 120-megawatt project on 485 acres across several sites […]
The Stonington Planning and Zoning Commission voted 4-1 Tuesday night to approve a special use permit to build a six-room, three-story hotel with a rooftop pool on the site of the former Broadway Auto service station. The estimated $1.5 million to $2 million project will be developed by G Development LLC of Waterford. G Development, […]
The decision came at a joint meeting of the Town Council and the Board of Education Nov. 5. While the town does not yet have a construction plan in place, Town Manager Michael Paulhus said Monday the project is estimated to cost around $66 million. Through state funding, the town hopes to offset those costs […]
The contracting panel unveiled a draft of new report that criticizes the project on issues including unequal treatment of bidders and spending $4 million in state taxpayer money long before a contract was finally signed for work that was already underway. “The way this RFP (”request for proposals” from prospective stadium developers) was conducted, in […]
Over the next few months, the roof for developer Howard Saffan’s open-air concert amphitheater near the harbor will be completed, with the steel frame going up now and what he has touted as the project’s most distinctive feature — a massive, tent-style fabric covering manufactured in France and Mexico — being installed in “the first […]
The Connecticut Siting Council last week approved a controversial plan to install a 75-acre facility with almost 46,000 solar panels between Oil Mill and Stony brooks. While developer GRE Gacrux LLC received its long-sought approval for the property at 117 Oil Mill Road, local environmental group Save the River-Save the Hills was not as pleased. […]
It’s been more than a decade since plans for an ambitious $71-million South Windsor movie studio project were first publicly aired. Instead, a different type of industry has sprouted in town: distribution centers. In fact, since 2017, about 1.5 million square feet of distribution space has been erected in South Windsor by a single developer […]
Work on Oxoboxo Lofts, the planned 72-unit development in town, was suspended this year, but Massachusetts-based developer Dakota Partners is planning to carry on with construction in January 2021. The nagging issue for the developer has been procuring a flood management certification for the development on Pink Row and at the location of the former […]
The construction industry added 84,000 net new jobs in October, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of data released last week by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. During the last six months, the industry added 789,000 jobs, recovering 73% of the jobs lost during earlier stages of the coronavirus pandemic. The construction […]
The new $15 million police headquarters that opened on Monday was approved by Newtown residents two years before demonstrations broke out in American cities this summer over concerns about bias and brutality in law enforcement. The impetus for the new police headquarters was in early 2015 when newly appointed police Chief James Viadero met Dan […]
The Connecticut Port Authority on Thursday launched a website, www.statepiernewlondon.com, aimed at providing information on the planned $157 million transformation of State Pier. The website is managed by AECOM Technical Services Inc., the port authority’s construction administrator for the project. The project is being funded, with state support, by joint venture partners Orsted and Eversource […]
The extent of the renovations will depend when the State Bond Commission releases some or all of the $65 million approved for the $100 million project in the last session of the legislature. CRDA does have about $22 million in its coffers to get started. The focus of project — slimmed down from $250 million […]
According to the report, there were more than 44,000 clean-energy jobs in the state as of 2019, representing a gross state product of $6.5 billion. That job count was up 9.1% from 2015. While the number of jobs in the industry was estimated to surpass 46,000 this year in Connecticut, the COVID-19 pandemic led to […]
The developer of a proposed East Windsor solar farm that could be the largest in the Northeast will appear at a public hearing before the Connecticut Siting Council this week as it seeks approval for the project. Gravel Pit Solar applied to the Siting Council, which has statewide jurisdiction over energy projects 2 megawatts in […]
The Town of Plainville will hire Loureiro Engineering to evaluate both proposals for the White Oak property and plans to present their findings to the town council. There are currently two proposals for re-use of the property. D’Amato Construction Company, which is currently located in Bristol, is looking to relocate to Plainville if the town […]
Several Danbury area towns received grants for infrastructure improvement projects as part of $11 million in funding the state announced on Monday. Bethel, Bridgewater, Brookfield, New Fairfield, New Milford, Newtown, Ridgefield, Roxbury, Sherman, Southbury and Washington are among the 94 towns to earn these grants, which are being awarded for the first time since 2016 […]
In terms of infrastructure spending, contractors can look to what Biden outlined during his campaign. The presumptive president-elect said his administration will invest $2 trillion into the economy, creating millions of jobs in infrastructure, housing, building construction and other projects. Another clue as to what the Biden administration could include can also likely be found […]
Requests for quotations for architectural services were sent out Friday, Arum said. Those requests will be returned Nov. 17 before the building committee next meets Nov. 19 to determine their top four architects. Interviews will then be conducted with those four architects, with the top architect being determined Nov. 24. From January 2021 to February […]
Inside, some of Platt Tech’s 850 students are learning the fundamentals of construction and building trades. Since April, construction of a brand new 237,000 square foot, $92 million Platt Tech complex has been ongoing on the 35-acre site. Its athletic fields fields were dug up, foundations poured and steel framing erected. Currently, the steel framing […]
General Dynamics Electric Boat has secured a $9.47 billion U.S. Navy contract for two Columbia-class submarines, part of a program that Electric Boat President Kevin Graney called the Navy’s “top strategic priority.” The funding will support the “construction and test of the lead and second ships of the Columbia class, as well as associated design […]
The town’s approved developer for the former “dark side” of the Manchester Parkade is targeting a spring start for a mixed-use revival of the once blighted site. The planned $140 million commercial project calls for 480 apartments, a 120-room hotel, 98,000 square feet of office space and 63,00 square feet of retail space. Environmental monitoring […]
The Memorial Boulevard Intradistrict Arts Magnet School project is coming in at about $2 million under budget, according to Deputy Superintendent Michael Dietter, chairman of the project’s building committee. The city and the school board are collaborating on the project to transform the nearly century-old school an arts magnet school for grades six through 12. […]
A proposal to spend $35.5 million on school improvements was approved by a 7,179 to 2,589 vote at the polls, according to town clerk James Krupienski. Local taxpayers will be responsible for up to $17.5 million of the cost, with state school building grants covering the remainder of the renovate-to-new project. Brummett said construction won’t […]
Superintendent Susan Lubomski said residents’ approval of the $159.6 million Torrington Middle/High School building project in Tuesday’s referendum could be a turning point for the city’s future. Residents voted 8,761 to 5,703 in favor of the project, according to preliminary results. “Torrington is the hub of the Northwest Corner,” Lubomski said. The project will cost […]
Lamont, an early backer of Joe Biden, said the nation was hungry for clarity about who will occupy the White House in January or the precise makeup of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives. Lamont celebrated Democratic gains in Connecticut, while confessing disappointment in the uncertain presidential results. Lamont and Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewiecz […]
Former Vice President Biden has made the argument for weaning us off fossil fuels, mostly for environmental reasons. Anybody who remotely believes in science or has witnessed the cataclysmic changes in our weather knows we must do something to stop global warming. My argument is that price of the fuel we use (gasoline) doesn’t cover […]
The Coast Guard, Congress, and State of Connecticut are more committed than ever to bring the National Coast Guard Museum to New London. Nearly $60 million has been provided for the project, including $15 million appropriated by the Congress for design and fabrication of the museum exhibits, and up to $20 million provided by the […]
Prospect Street, which runs parallel with Main Street, is getting a face-lift, and the public this week had a chance to hear about the plan during a Zoom forum. Improvements include new sidewalks and bicycle lanes in wider areas of the roadway on the northern end near North Elm Street. The bumpy pavement and sidewalks […]
A $10.7 million affordable housing development in Hartford’s Asylum Hill neighborhood, which drew the ire of local residents two years ago when it first aired, recently began construction after the developer was able to piece together financing for the project. Construction began early this month after Chrysalis raised funding from myriad sources, including the Department […]
A developer is proposing a 26-unit luxury apartment complex at New Britain Avenue and Berkshire Road, the second time such a plan has been put forward. This version includes two apartments set aside for workforce housing, and should be more acceptable to neighbors — and more attractive to the town — than the one that […]
A zone change is largely a mundane task that represents the basic blocking and tackling of most planning and zoning commissions. That’s the case in East Granby, where the planning and zoning commission recently approved changes to the town’s Commerce Park Transitional Zone, opening up 264 acres of vacant land to new mixed-use development opportunities, […]
