Age-targeted is for renters ages 52 to 55 and age-restricted is for tenants older than 55. The need for senior housing has been recognized for years in the community where seniors are the fastest-growing demographic. During the first in-person Board of Selectmen meeting in more than a year, First Selectman Daniel V. Jerram said Monday […]
In a 9-6 vote, the council approved Wednesday to allow the SBC to hold meetings that are earlier than 6 p.m., an exemption that is also given to the commissions on aging, persons with disabilities, youth services and board of assessment appeals. The SBC is a non-paid seven-member organization appointed by the city, according to […]
It’s back to the future for regional planners promoting a rail line that would revive the Inland Route linking New York and Boston by way of Hartford, Springfield and Worcester. The cost is estimated at between $6.4 billion and $9.4 billion over a 10-year construction period, according to a study commissioned by the Capitol Region […]
Roughly 10 big commercial wind projects — some languishing in the pipeline for years — are beginning to catch a tangible updraft. Once turning, colossal turbines rising off southern New England’s coast will bring enough power ashore to light millions of homes. In Connecticut, a major overhaul of State Pier in New London is expected […]
The Naugatuck Valley Council of Governments has granted the city of Waterbury $486,000 to help ongoing cleanups of polluted industrial properties. Thomas Hyde, interim director of the Waterbury Development Corp., anticipates the money from the council will be more easily accessible than some of the larger state grants. This will help the city pay for […]
After seven years, the foreclosure of the Beaton & Corbin site is taking place this week, clearing the way for the land to be remediated and developed by Lovley Development, Inc. into a 13,000 square foot strip mall. Southington Economic Development Director Lou Perillo said the town has been working to get the property sold […]
On a downtown street corner a block from the State Capitol complex, House Minority Leader Vincent Candelora and Senate Minority Leader Kevin Kelly charged that Lamont’s participation in the regional Transportation and Climate Initiative would steadily raise gasoline taxes on working families while providing subsidies for wealthier residents to buy electric cars. Kelly, who represents […]
The budget was $25 million more than the facility’s initial $45 million expected cost and $22 million more than anticipated in September. A total of $52.8 million has been allocated for construction. There will additionally be a $7 million set of improvements to the I-Lot parking site to relocate 360 parking spots and accommodate the […]
Mayor Pete Bass reported land use and building department officials had informed him they’ve been incredibly busy of late. The town’s building official, Bill Murphy, has been meeting with the mayor every week to update him on permitting and inspections throughout New Milford. This March, the building department issued more than 70 permits, mostly dealing […]
In the winter of 2015, three directors of a Connecticut electric company met with a potential acquirer: a determined Spanish utility executive named José Ignacio Sánchez Galán, who surprised them with a bold vision for America’s utility industry. And it looks well positioned to take advantage of what is likely to be a clean energy […]
The state Public Utilities Regulatory Authority issued a scathing final decision following an eight-month investigation of the utilities’ preparation before the storm and response following it. Regulators rebuked Eversource for numerous failures, with “inactions or deficiencies” creating a significant risk to public safety. Regulators said they’re prepared in a future proceeding to impose an indefinite […]
The second question on the referendum ballot will ask residents whether they support the Water and Sewer Commission borrowing $6.2 million from the state for three infrastructure projects. The commission would pay back the loan via user fees, not taxes. The loan would come from the state Department of Public Health’s Drinking Water State Revolving […]
The state Bond Commission awarded the town of Rocky Hill $500,000 to help revitalize the former Ames headquarters site and transform it into what town officials hope becomes a town center village with a mix of housing and shops. The property has been vacant and has had no redevelopment activity for at least 15 years, […]
Riverfront Recapture, the nonprofit organization that manages riverside parks in Hartford and East Hartford, has purchased 60 acres of riverfront land on the Hartford-Windsor town line and plans to build a new community park there. In a statement, Riverfront Recapture officials said the property will be redeveloped for recreation, with new trails, open green spaces, […]
The new convocation center, to be built on the same spot, is expected to be completed by the end of 2022. It was designed by Centerbrook Architects and is expected to cost $45 million. It increases the current footprint by about 33 percent, bringing the total square footage up to 85,000 square feet. It will […]
The Board of Finance has put off action on a $1.8 million request for a range of capital projects, including a new roof for much of Town Hall. Even as it delayed action on the other requests, however, the board approved a $130,000 allocation for a new backhoe for the Highway Department. If the capital […]
A vacant plot near Lake Whitney soon could be home to an apartment building with retail space in a deal that gives the developer a tax break while also setting workforce requirements aimed to promote diversity and ensure Hamden residents get construction jobs. A $5.3 million investment, it would offer 30 upper-level apartments and four […]
“We’re going to fight for it,” said U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn. “We’re going to be fighting first for the American Jobs Plan and second for the investment in the Northeast that is necessary for high speed rail.” DeLauro, D-3, said her staff was actively working with groups that advocate for more rail investment for […]
Maine’s largest construction contractors say they fear being shut out of work in the state’s nascent offshore wind industry because of a pending labor agreement between the lead project developer and trade unions. That arrangement, called a project labor agreement, would set terms and conditions for employing workers from trade unions on the project. But […]
The Democrat-controlled panel also endorsed a revenue package that includes a new highway use tax on large, commercial trucks and new state and municipal sales taxes on recreational marijuana. Gov. Ned Lamont, who is more fiscally conservative than many of his fellow Democrats in the legislature, wasted little time Thursday in saying he would not […]
The $2 million project to completely redo Veterans Memorial Pool into a beautifully landscaped complex including a splash pad, upgraded bathhouse and parking areas will get underway after the summer season ends. Funding will come from the $33.5 million parks bond voters passed in 2015, and in-house services will save a great deal of money, […]
After asbestos was found in the veneer of a wall at Whisconier Middle School, the town expects to pay roughly $50,000 for demolition of the wall and removal of the asbestos, in addition to reconstruction costs. Asbestos was found about a month ago by chance during construction work on the facade of an outer wall. […]
Gov. Ned Lamont wants to invest $103 million the state is receiving from the American Rescue Plan Act to retrain workers who have lost their jobs as a result of COVID-19. The demand for retraining of workers isn’t being driven solely by the rapid advancement of technology across all business, according to Jeff Flaks, president […]
The long-running legal saga pitting the city of Hartford against Centerplan Construction Co., the original developer of Dunkin’ Donuts Park, will enter a new chapter Monday when the case goes before the state Supreme Court. The city hired Middletown-based Centerplan and DoNo Hartford LLC — both controlled by developer Robert Landino — in early 2015 […]
The legislature’s Appropriations Committee approved a $46 billion, two-year state budget Wednesday evening that, at first glance, largely matches the spending level endorsed by Gov. Ned Lamont in February. But the package, which makes major new investments in higher education, social services and municipal aid, also taps about $240 million from this year’s projected surplus […]
Buttigieg cast the spending as a down payment toward the $2.25 trillion infrastructure package President Biden has outlined, calling the budget “a beginning on investments that we know we’ll need to make on a larger order to really meet the moment.” The White House is also proposing a $3.2 billion increase in the Transportation Department’s […]
The jockeying began earlier this month, after Biden announced a roughly $2 trillion blueprint to upgrade the nation’s roads, bridges, waterways and ports. Days later, he followed his infrastructure plan with a $1.5 trillion budget for fiscal 2022 that included the biggest increases in domestic spending in more than a decade. Together, the proposed investments […]
A spring survey of civil contractors found that nearly three quarters of respondents have felt the impact of fluctuations in material costs on their projects in the past six months. Even more (76 percent) of those contractors expect cost increases in the next half year, according to the survey by Dodge Data in the latest […]
An $8.4 million contract with Tilcon, a statewide asphalt contractor, will allow about 25 miles worth of city roads to be milled and repaved, improving major roadways, City Finance Director Michael LeBlanc told aldermen during a regular meeting. The project should begin next month, city Purchasing Director Kevin McCaffery said. Any work not done this […]
Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin said Monday that he will seek to spend about 40% of the estimated $117 million the Capital City could receive from the recently passed American Rescue Plan to fund economic and community development efforts. The largest single share, amounting to $47.3 million, would go toward stimulating economic development and growth in […]
Gov. Ned Lamont unveiled a plan Tuesday that would preserve Connecticut’s debt-riddled unemployment trust fund by curbing benefits for workers and asking more from the business community as a whole. Connecticut, like nearly all states, has run up hundreds of millions of dollars in debt to maintain unemployment benefits since the pandemic began in early […]
After a decrease in the number of construction cranes in use across major cities in the U.S. and Canada, Rider Levett Bucknall’s Crane Index has found an increase in cranes to start 2021. The increase in the number of cranes is a good sign, according to RLB. “The crane count appears to have rebounded from […]
Most contractors won’t pay more in taxes under President Joe Biden’s $2.3 trillion infrastructure proposal, while the infusion of cash to fund more public construction projects would provide a significant upside for their businesses, according to a certified public accountant who leads Ernst & Young’s global construction and engineering practice. According to the U.S. Census […]
The Finance, Revenue and Bonding Committee must by Thursday decide the fate of proposed tax hikes on digital media ads and health insurance carriers, along with a statewide property tax aimed at high-value homes. Lamont’s budget office warned back in February that state finances, unless adjusted, were on pace to run $2.6 billion in the […]
The State Bond Commission on Friday approved tens of millions of dollars worth of grants and loans for redevelopment projects in Greater Hartford, including office-to-apartment renovations in the Capital City and the planned demolition of the former Ames department store headquarters in Rocky Hill. The 10-member commission voted to authorize two loans totaling $13.5 million […]
In its earlier days as a profitable, private railroad, the New Haven line ran hundreds of freight trains each day. But today the railroad is too crowded with (relatively faster) passenger trains, and the bridges and catenary lines are too low for modern double-stack container trains. In other parts of Connecticut, freight still travels by […]
The road — South Frontage Road —literally will rise soon, as Downtown Crossing enters its next phase of transforming Route 34 from a highway to a cityscape of safe streets, bicycle and walking paths and space for economic development. The $14 million Phase 3 work is in preparation for a bridge that will connect Temple […]
The City Council is expected to consider a June vote on the proposed $99 million career academy during a virtual meeting on Monday. This new school serving students in middle and high school would be built within three “pods” of the Summit, a mixed-use development in the 1.2 million-square-foot former Union Carbide world headquarters on […]
The state has put a $235.5 million overall price tag on the project to redevelop State Pier into an offshore wind hub. The figure represents the actual cost of the redevelopment, with $204 million for the construction project and an additional $31 million for “soft costs,” Office of Policy and Management Deputy Secretary Konstantinos Diamantis […]
After more than two decades of debate, abandoned plans and false starts, Simsbury is on the verge of deciding whether 288 acres of former tobacco fields will be set aside as open space and athletic fields. If voters approve on May 4, Simsbury will put about $2.2 million toward a $6 million purchase of the […]
Middletown’s long-held desire to open up a significant section of its waterfront to new development has taken another step forward with the $2.6 million purchase of nine acres of underutilized industrial land along the Connecticut River. Joseph Samolis, the city’s director of planning, conservation and development, said Thursday the city intends to hold the newly […]
The city has broken ground on the nation’s first grease-to-diesel conversion facility at the John Oliver Memorial Sewer Plant — a project that promises not only a remedy for the plague of sewer grease that has terrorized Oliver’s native England with airliner-size fatbergs, but a revenue source for Danbury in the form of biodiesel sales. […]
The state is expected to approve a little more that $2.5 million for improvements at state parks, including spending more than $500,000 to replace a bridge at Sherwood Island. The bridge is currently listed in critical condition based on recent inspections from the state Department of Transportation and the state Department of Energy and Environmental […]
Bridgeport-based Aquarion Co. said it has agreed to purchase Plainville’s New England Service Co., which operates four water utilities in Connecticut, Massachusetts and New Hampshire. The all-stock deal, which still needs regulatory and shareholder approvals, would add approximately 10,000 customers to Aquarion’s customer base of 216,000, and comes about three years after New England utility […]
President Joe Biden announced last week that his nominee for assistant secretary for occupational safety and health for the Department of Labor is Douglas L. Parker, the current head of the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA). In a press release, the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health praised Parker’s nomination, with […]
Beginning April 12, a television spot will run inside the Beltway aimed at members of Congress, staff and other policymakers. The TV commercial will be supplemented by online ads that began April 10 on social media and influential digital sites popular with D.C. legislators and influencers. The central message of the “Moving Forward” campaign: investing […]
A proposed plan for reconfiguring the area around the intersection of Route 7 and Route 4 in Cornwall Bridge appears to have hit a roadblock. During a public forum Monday, First Selectman Gordon M. Ridgway said the plan, devised by consulting firm Fitzgerald & Halliday and considered a “quick build,” is now being put on […]
Using descriptions ranging from “excessive” to “a monster,” a group of Farmington residents on Monday called on the town to reject the proposal for 146 apartments near the UConn Health Center. But developer Geoffrey Sager countered that Connecticut and the town have worked for years to attract major health sciences employers to that area, and […]
Nearly $30 million in construction cost overruns on the University of Connecticut’s Hartford campus topped a list of contracting issues that sparked criticism Tuesday from the state auditors’ office. Construction and renovations combined originally were priced at $87 million, and a guaranteed maximum price eventually was set at nearly $98 million. But after the university […]
Construction has begun on a 368,000-square-foot building at 495 Lordship Blvd. where Athletic Brewing Company plans to have up to 100 new employees, company officials have told the town. Representatives of the property’s owner, Boston-based GFI Partners, have said the site could bring a total of 200 to 300 jobs when fully developed. The building […]
The Planning and Zoning Commission will consider the proposal and a request for a zone change from commercial to mixed-use development on April 13. Along with the apartments, the $30 million project includes renovation of 60,740 square feet of commercial space at the nearly deserted plaza where Geissler’s supermarket is located at 959 Sullivan Ave. […]
The funding on the commission’s Friday agenda would shepherd a $100 million Pratt Street redevelopment into its next phase, kickstart the repurposing of a former state office building fronting Bushnell Park and stake a mixed-income apartment redevelopment project near the Colt Armory. The largest Hartford economic development item the agenda is $13.5 million in loans […]
Dakota Partners, a real estate developer and builder, has been awarded $1,982,271 in tax credits for its Cedar Pointe project in Newington. The property is listed on the Connecticut Brownfields and previously contained an auto dealership, which created an environmental situation that will be mitigated before the apartments are built. All of the original buildings […]
Connecticut’s Department of Transportation has already drawn up a list of priority projects they hope will secure funding from President Joe Biden’s $2 trillion infrastructure package that he proposed two weeks ago. The American Jobs Plan — the massive infrastructure package that could fund these projects — is just starting to move its way through […]
“The work is 90% done and we expect the project to be substantially finished by May,” Dave Capacchione, director of engineering and facilities, said on Thursday. “The project is within budget and we were able to do the work without any interruption in service.” The two-year refurbishment project at the 50-year-old main facility off Wauregan […]
The change will see traffic moved to two lanes on the north side of the bridge so that work can begin on the eastbound lanes, according to Michael Bugbee, the state Department of Transportation project engineer. The two travel lanes will be separated by “temporary barriers” from Tuesday through to September, the estimated completion date […]
The Biden administration projects this undertaking will employ more than 44,000 workers in offshore wind by 2030 and nearly 33,000 additional jobs in communities supported by offshore wind activity. I’m excited that hundreds of those jobs stand to be created here in southeastern Connecticut and that the port of New London could be a major […]
A nearly $22 million mixed-use development proposed for the corner of Woodland Street and Albany Avenue in Hartford is in limbo, after the city has questioned the developer’s project financing and overall design. Development Services Interim Director I. Charles Mathews has recommended the city postpone signing a land lease with developer 7 Summits Realty LLC, […]
Ideanomics once planned a thriving technology hub for the property, touting that it had the potential to bring hundreds of high-tech jobs to Greater Hartford, but decided to sell the property after its plans for the $400 million “Fintech Village” dissolved. In a March 31 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Ideanomics said it […]
Construction work has begun on Canfield Park, two mid-rise five- and six-story apartment buildings across from the Fairfield Metro North Train Station in Bridgeport, Conn. Spinnaker Real Estate of Norwalk, Conn., and Eastpointe of Fairfield, Conn., are the real estate companies partnering on the property and they secured a $68 million loan to construct the […]
The Democratic president appears to be losing political capital with 10 Senate Republicans who have signaled an openness to working with Democrats, including Susan Collins and Mitt Romney, whose support could give him the votes to pass bipartisan legislation. Biden’s party narrowly controls the House of Representatives and Senate, meaning he can ill afford to […]
A major Pennsylvania construction contractor was charged Thursday with stealing tens of millions of dollars from its own workers by systematically violating state and federal prevailing wage laws on taxpayer-funded public infrastructure projects. Glenn O. Hawbaker Inc. of State College, a 70-year-old company that booked $1.7 billion in state transportation construction contracts between 2003 and […]
“Every square foot of asphalt, from a mayor’s perspective, is a square foot you have to pay forever to maintain, to resurface, to fill potholes on it,” Mr. Buttigieg, now the transportation secretary, said in a recent interview. “There were roads that maybe saw one car every few minutes that were paved wide enough for […]
California construction trade association United Contractors last week launched “Roll Up Your Sleeves” — an informational campaign designed to promote COVID-19 vaccination across the construction industry. The campaign began in response to reports indicating construction has one of the lowest rates of workers willing to be vaccinated in the U.S. Research published in February indicated […]
I came to understand that without a PLA, I’d be playing roulette with taxpayer money. PLAs protect the taxpayers giving them exactly what they pay for. PLAs ensure that the contractor’s payrolls are audited, and project finances are transparent and corruption free. Furthermore, I realized that the workers were earning a career, not just a […]
The latest step comes with support from the town for the schools’ idea to hire an outside firm as a capital program manager and oversee the district’s $100 million maintenance plan. A cost hasn’t been determined but previous estimates put it between $50,000 and $100,000. The town and schools also plan to partner on other […]
Amidst a small industrial park with low-rise factories, Americold this winter erected a massive structure of metal framework that towers above Plainville. Calling it “some amazing high tech construction,” Gribinas recommended readers of the Southington Talks page see the structure before workers close in the exterior later this spring. When Americold’s roughly 200,000-square-foot warehouse is […]
Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos endorsed President Joe Biden’s focus on building up the country’s infrastructure Tuesday and said the company even supports a corporate tax rate hike to help pay for it. Biden has proposed hiking the U.S. corporate tax rate to 28% from 21% to help pay for his plan, an idea […]
Pennsylvania-based A.R. Building Co., which developed the complex at the corner of Bank and Howard streets, is investing more than $150 million on housing developments in the area — three in New London and another in Groton. Passero, crediting Lamont for continued support during the pandemic, noted the list of state-supported projects in the pipeline […]
A $6 million improvement project for Winsted Water Works could begin later this year, and will be paid entirely with user fees, officials said. Winsted Finance Director Bruce Stratford said the loan for the project involves no public money. “The payments for the loan come from the users,” he said. “The finance department receives (the […]
At Hartford city hall, Murphy, Bronin and representatives of the Department of Transportation, Connecticut Airport Authority and several community groups shared what ongoing efforts they hope will get a boost from President Joe Biden’s proposed $2 trillion jobs, infrastructure and climate spending plan, which includes $115 billion for roads and bridges, $85 billion for transit […]
The 1.2-acre surface lot at the corner of Broad Street and Capitol Avenue is on a priority list of state-owned properties located in federal “Opportunity Zones” that could be sold for redevelopment, with the intent of strengthening city neighborhoods, getting the properties back on the property tax rolls and giving investors tax incentives. The parking […]
The Louisiana Avenue Bridge replacement project is entering its final phases, with completion anticipated for June 2021. Following this, the City Council approved the $3.7 million project on April 14, 2020, with the state reimbursing 80% of project costs. City Councilor Mary Fortier, who represents the district with the bridge and serves on the Public […]
As part of the $15 million expansion and renovation, the library now draws its energy from two renewable energy resources. The building, expanded from 20,000 square feet to 39,000 square feet, has a photovoltaic solar energy array on the newly added second story, as well as geothermal energy for heating and cooling. The ability to […]
The Biden administration is aiming to corral overwhelming public support for its $2.25 trillion infrastructure plan, targeting Republican voters, independents, mayors, governors and local politicians to counter opposition from GOP lawmakers, according to White House officials and Biden allies. While Biden says he’s happy to work with Republicans, listen to their ideas and make adjustments, […]
The city is seeking an advantage in the debate over which airport — Bridgeport’s Sikorsky or New Haven’s Tweed — should receive state support and, more importantly, state and federal investment to expand post-coronavirus pandemic services and flights. That is thanks to Gov. Ned Lamont. In the fall of 2019 — about six months before […]
In Connecticut, which first established its set-aside program in 1977, 25% of all state contracts must be allocated to small businesses and at least 6.25% of contracts must specifically be designated for minority-owned companies. Thirty-eight states have some form of set-aside programs, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures, but Connecticut is one of […]
The facility is in such a state of disrepair that, he said, the entire plant needed to be overhauled. If the plant is to be modernized without the regionalization plan, it would cost an estimated $70 million over a 20-year span, according to the phase 1 study results. Jack Walsh, the chair of the Water […]
President Joe Biden’s $2.3 trillion infrastructure plan — the largest in American history — is designed to fix the nation’s crumbling roads, bridges and railroads while kick-starting the economy at a time when many Americans are still out of work. “Constructed in the 1950s, the stretch of I-95 between Greenwich and New Haven experiences some […]
