New $100M state grant program aiming to jump-start economic development gets strong response

The town of Windsor recently signed off on a $2.5 million state grant request, seeking support for a private redevelopment of a downtown strip mall into 100 apartments and ground-floor retail. It is one of 52 applications submitted to the state’s new Connecticut Communities Challenge Grant program ahead of the Jan. 14 deadline. Announced in […]

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Next phase of Ponemah Mill redevelopment approved in Norwich

The commission voted unanimously to approve the $40 million plan by New Jersey developer OneKey Inc. to create 146 apartments and a 3,879-square-foot restaurant or café following an online public hearing on the project Thursday. The vacant complex at 555 and 575 Norwich Ave. and Route 97 formerly housed Central Sports and Amazing Furniture. OneKey […]

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Infrastructure programs on hold until Congress passes budget to fund them

Nearly three months after President Joe Biden signed a roughly $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill into law, federal transportation officials say much of their work is on hold – stuck in limbo as a result of an unresolved congressional fight over federal spending. Some states, meanwhile, are putting off projects until Congress approves $9 billion in […]

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Apartment developers, homebuilders feel global supply chain pains, but ‘good’ projects still move forward

COVID-related production slowdowns and snarls in the global supply chain have delayed building projects, added costs and increased risk. There is disagreement among some Connecticut residential developers — both apartment and single-family homebuilders — as to the impact on project volume. Santini said developers who have launched projects are finishing them. But he expects some […]

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Contractors Strategize How Best to Fill Job Openings

In its latest construction hiring survey, the AGC found that 74 percent of more than 1,000 member firms plan to add to their payroll in 2022. And three quarters of the civil contractors and engineers who responded to a recent quarterly survey by a Dodge Construction Network partnership are upbeat about their workload this year […]

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‘There’s no perfect option’: Norwalk presented with two designs for new high school

Architects from Kaestle Boos Associates presented two concept designs on Wednesday to members of the Norwalk BOE Facilities committee and the Common Council’s Land Use and Building Management committee, breaking down the cost, time and challenges presented by each scenario. The first design, Option A, would use a phased approach. The estimated cost for Option […]

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Danbury approves Summit’s ‘dynamic and vibrant’ redevelopment plan that includes new westside schools

A novel plan for a $99 million high school and middle school in a sprawling westside office complex was unanimously approved by the Zoning Commission, clearing the way for City Hall to finalize a reimbursement commitment with the state. The career academy, which would be the first condominium-style public school in Connecticut, is expected to […]

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Bank Street modular apartments developer was once named one of New York’s ‘10 worst landlords’

It turns out, according to numerous national news stories published in 2018, including in The Washington Post and Newsweek, Rubler is friends with Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, who once intervened to keep some negative stories about Rubler’s company out of Kushner’s newspaper, The New York Observer. One of them was about Rubler being named […]

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Manchester nixes partnership with Parkade developers on mixed-use project

More than two years after picking the developer to revitalize a section of Broad Street, Manchester officials announced this week they have ceased its partnership with Manchester Parkade 1. The massive project on the former parkade site was expected to break ground on initial construction this spring, but town officials will now go back to […]

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Connecticut’s ‘most dangerous’ on-ramp to get $42.5M overhaul in Middletown

State and local officials gathered at Harbor Park Wednesday to announce a more than $40 million project to improve the city’s Route 17 on-ramp to Route 9 that will likely be federally funded through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. DOT officials confirmed that the Route 17 stop-controlled on-ramp to Route 9 is among the top 10 […]

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In dreaming of a new Union Station, other cities have ideas to offer

Representing the city that is most like New Haven, Christopher Gomez, White Plains’ commissioner of planning, said it was up to the residents how much they were willing to dream. Jeanet Owens, senior executive officer for project management and regional rail at the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, said the goal for Los Angeles […]

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West Hartford Town Council Gives Unanimous Approval to Farmington Avenue Mixed Use Project

The West Hartford Town Council gave a unanimous vote of approval to a project that will transform a key corner at the gateway to West Hartford Center, replacing two outdated and functionally obsolete office buildings with a mixed-use residential and commercial building that will will include 48 apartments and support the concept of “new urbanism.” […]

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Change of heart: Lamont now supports helping schools cover costs for air ventilation upgrades during pandemic

The governor’s change of heart when it comes to who will fund air quality upgrades in schools comes a day after our Accountability Project revealed that nearly a third of Connecticut school districts report not having enough money to upgrade the air quality in their schools. One out of every 5 schools also does not […]

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A Manhattan investor wants to build an 8-acre warehouse in a Newtown forest. Here’s what we know.

Wharton Industrial’s plans for 112 acres just south of I-84 at Exit 9 call for a warehouse building that would be the size of eight acres, along with 75 truck docks, 50 trailer spaces, and 360 parking spaces. The commission will consider only Wharton’s request to build a driveway over a wetland, and other aspects […]

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Planned Amazon distribution center in Naugatuck Valley could bring 1,000 jobs, officials say

The Bluewater Property Group was selected from a request for proposal process launched last July, said Thomas Hyde, chief executive officer of Naugatuck Valley Regional Development Corp., which is representing the two communities in the process. The selection of Bluewater Property Group and its involvement with Amazon was announced Tuesday morning at Waterbury City Hall […]

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$258M Westhill, $52M Lockwood projects partially funded by state; Stamford schools want more

Funding for the construction of a new Westhill High School and a building to house an expanded pre-kindergarten program made it through another step Tuesday morning after a state subcommittee voted to approve them. Both Stamford projects would be reimbursed 20 percent of the overall cost of the work, but Stamford officials have said that’s […]

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$20M expansion approved for Torrington school project after vote

Torrington Middle/High School will be built the way city residents want after they approved a $20 million expansion in a second referendum Tuesday at City Hall, the lone polling place. The expansion, which raises the project’s total cost to $179.5 million, passed 828-301. Residents initially approved the grade 7-12 school project at $159.5 million in […]

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Torrington voters to decide on school project funding Tuesday

The Torrington School Building Committee is hoping voters on Tuesday will approve borrowing an additional $20 million for the middle-high school building project, which was approved for $159 million in 2021. The referendum question reads: “Shall the City of Torrington appropriate an additional $20,000,000 (thereby increasing the appropriation and bond authorization approved by the voters […]

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Developers are building thousands of new housing units across Greater Hartford as apartment and condo projects surge. Here are 8 of them

Developer Tony Valenti of Newport Realty, who is building apartments in Berlin and age-restricted condos in Plainville this year, said demand for new residential projects is intense. Developer Avner Krohn, who has more than 700 new apartments across the region in planning or under construction, suggested that people who are spending more time at home […]

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$220M+ In Harbor-Boosting Fed Funds Celebrated

The reason for celebration was two new large allocations of federal money towards boosting business at New Haven’s ports, and towards protecting the city’s waterfront Long Wharf neighborhood from sea level rise, flooding, and storm surges, all of which are likely to take place more frequently and intensely in the coming decades thanks to manmade […]

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CRDA grants $8.5 million to three Hartford projects, including Parkville redevelopments

The Capital Region Development Authority Board of Directors approved $8.5 million in loans to three Hartford redevelopments Thursday, with the bulk of the money going to projects in the city’s Parkville neighborhood. Developer Carlos Mouta is at the head of two projects receiving $7.5 million in financing. The board approved a $4 million loan toward […]

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DOT presents its Route 69, 72 intersection improvement plan

The Connecticut Department of Transportation presented its State Routes 69 and 72 intersection improvement plan before the Bristol Board of Public Works Thursday, a project slated to cost around $7,700,000. Project Designer Jared Hendrickson introduced concerns with the current intersection’s layout by saying the intersection of Landry, Park and Divinity streets were in close proximity […]

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From school construction to new apartments, here are Danbury-area projects to watch out for in 2022

An upgraded library, school construction and additional residential housing are coming to the Danbury area in 2022. Several communities are working on renovating or building schools due to enrollment increases or outdated facilities. There could even be an Amazon grocery store coming to one town. Danbury is planning for its $99 million career academy, which […]

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One-year moratorium on warehouse applications sought by South Windsor resident

A South Windsor resident filed an application with the town’s Planning and Zoning Commission on Jan. 11 asking for a one-year moratorium on any warehouse or distribution center proposals. Kathryn Kerrigan of Main Street said she filed the application because the town needs time to update its zoning regulations and Plan of Conservation and Development […]

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Report: Construction workers receive $28B a year in public assistance

Thirty-nine percent of families of construction workers in the U.S. are enrolled in at least one public safety net program such as Medicaid, according to a new report by the UC Berkeley Labor Center released this month. By comparison, 31% of workers across all industries have a family member enrolled in public assistance, Berkeley found. […]

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Offshore wind leadership is Connecticut’s to lose

Despite having a deepwater port uniquely suited to shipping assembled wind turbine components to sites off the East Coast and a manufacturing and technology capacity known worldwide, Connecticut is not yet poised to become a wind power hub in a $170 billion industry. If successfully launched, Connecticut’s wind power manufacturing industry will be a source […]

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Gold Star Bridge in New London in need of rehabilitation

“It is beyond time to address the structural deficiencies, for sure,” said Priti Bhardwaj, the lead supervising engineer for a project with the Connecticut Department of Transportation. According to the Federal Highway Administration, the bridge’s condition-rating is a 4 out of 9. The rating is mainly for the northbound portion, which has outlived its design […]

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Completion of trail work waiting on Yardedeal

The rails-to-trails line is complete from the southern end of town to Lazy Lane. The State Department of Transportation is ready to finish the trail from there to the Plainville town line, town officials said, but have been held up in talks with Yarde Metals over an easement across company property. Paul Chaplinsky, a Town […]

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PURA launches statewide electric power storage program

The Public Utilities Regulatory Authority formally launched the “Energy Storage Solutions” initiative on the first of the year, in partnership with the Connecticut Green Bank, which will administer the program, Eversource and UI. End users will be eligible to receive incentives for setting up power storage devices, which can help make the broader power grid […]

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Future of Hartford’s ‘Bushnell South’ takes shape with master plan for key property

Spinnaker Real Estate Partners of Norwalk expects to begin a $63 million conversion of the historic, 1926 building at 55 Elm St. — once offices for the state attorney general and other Constitutional officers — by the end of March. Plans call for 160 apartments, co-working space and a restaurant for the structure that faces […]

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Will climate change have something to say about the Tweed Airport expansion? Experts think so

The problematic climate future Tweed faces actually is possible along just about all of New Haven’s shoreline. Parts of that shoreline – including the Long Wharf area — were once under water and may be destined for it again as the entire area faces increased battering from ever more-intense and frequent storms and the highest […]

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Residents raise concerns about environmental impact of data centers in Wallingford

Gotspace Data Partners LLC, a Boston-based company, is working to build two data center campuses in Wallingford. Each campus would have multiple buildings — with a payment-in-lieu-of-taxes that would generate upwards of $1.5 million per building annually for the town. All of the properties Gotspace is looking at are in the IX zone, which allows […]

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6 development projects to watch in East Haven in 2022

The town has been working on multiple projects over the past few years with the goal of bringing more people into the area, improving the local economy and quality of life. Efforts range from improving the Shoreline Greenway Trail, which saw a 400-foot expansion in 2021, to working out how to create more open space […]

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From mixed-use projects to car dealers, Milford development continues

Planned developments range from car dealerships to restaurants to mixed-use projects, containing either live-work units — as approved for Oxford Street — or multi-floor structures with commercial space and apartments. These, along with the more than 450 new businesses that entered the city over the last year, will ease the tax burden on residents, she […]

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South Windsor PZC rejects zone change for Evergreen Walk apartment expansion

The South Windsor Planning and Zoning Commission in a 4-3 vote Tuesday night rejected a zoning regulation change that would have allowed adding 165 units to the Tempo apartment complex at Evergreen Walk. Some commission members were concerned that approving the regulation change could set a precedent for other developers. Smith said a time window […]

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Fort Trumbull development plan gets green light to start construction

A key vote Thursday has cleared the path for construction of a major hotel and residential development on the Fort Trumbull peninsula. The Planning and Zoning Commission approved a site development plan and a special permit for Optimus Construction Management to build two four-story buildings — a 100-unit apartment complex and 100-unit extended stay hotel. […]

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Fairfield considers affordable housing project for Castle Ave

Berwick Associates LLC, who is developing the project, is seeking a zoning compliance from the Town Plan and Zoning Commission. Berwick is looking to construct a four-story, 45-foot structure with 13 studios, 18 one-bedroom and 12 two-bedrooms units. The developer is planning to set 30 percent of the units aside as affordable. The application has […]

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New Haven’s Grand Avenue Bridge reopening early, under budget

“This bridge connects neighborhoods,” said Fair Haven Heights resident Ed Ozyck. “I think people have missed that tremendously. I’m really looking forward to the opening of it.” The bridge, which connects residents in Fair Haven to their neighbors in Fair Haven Heights, even got a makeover in the process, trading in its longtime basic black […]

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Contractor optimism high entering 2022, per AGC report

Indicative of that optimistic outlook, AGC found 74% of firms intend to hire in 2022, despite supply chain challenges that are slowing project starts and previous labor shortages. The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) has played a large part in this confidence boost. Respondents were most optimistic about highway and bridge construction, with 63% […]

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Bridgeport scrambles to salvage state funding for Bassick High

City officials are counting on state lawmakers to reauthorize tens of millions of dollars in reimbursement for the now more expensive project during the the Connecticut General Assembly’s upcoming session. But the simplest route to those funds — getting Bassick on the priority list of school construction projects issued in December — may be out […]

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Bethel approves last piece of funding for $1.5M expansion of Clarke Business Park

If all goes well, town officials say the long-awaited Clarke Business Park expansion project could be completed as early as next fall. Six months after securing state funding, Bethel’s Board of Finance voted Tuesday to approve the use of general fund money for the town’s contribution to the project — the cost of which is […]

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Middletown bridge project aims to reduce Route 9 on-ramp crashes

State Department of Transportation crews will be widening the bridge that carries Route 9 North over Union Street to provide enough room for an adequate acceleration lane to replace the “stop-controlled” intersection approaching the highway, DOT Project Manager Salvatore Aresco said. That area has experienced a high number of motor vehicle crashes over the years. […]

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Hamden grants third contract extension to developer of abandoned property

As the town weighs whether to move forward with the project or seek a new developer, the Legislative Council has granted another contract extension to the Mutual Housing Association of South Central Connecticut, the local nonprofit slated to build 87 units on the site of Hamden’s abandoned middle school. But the contract’s expiration in July […]

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Spinnaker outlines plans to add three buildings, 166 additional apartments to downtown Hartford development plan

Spinnaker Real Estate Partners’ plans for a dense redevelopment of a former state office property at 55 Elm Street in Hartford is advancing with praise from city staff. A master plan heading before the city’s Planning & Zoning Commission Tuesday details the size of residential buildings Spinnaker plans to add to the 3.2-acre property. This […]

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New Haven apartment project to boost affordable housing

An empty lot on 1.78 acres that is part of Science Park straddling the city’s Dixwell and Newhallville neighborhoods is slated to become a five-story apartment building with 176 apartments — 58 classified as “affordable” — and 88 parking spaces. The project along the Farmington Canal Heritage Trail has been bouncing around City Hall for […]

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$15M project will turn blighted N. Britain property into mixed-income apartment development

The plan calls for the environmental clean-up, abatement, and redevelopment of New Britain’s Polar Building at 27 Columbus Blvd. and 43 High St., in order to make way for a mixed-income residential development with 62 rental units. The mayor’s office said all remediation work will be completed this year and demolition has already started on […]

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CT DOT plans Route 8 new exit signs and numbers from Bridgeport to Valley

The State Department of Transportation announced plans are being developed for traffic sign replacement and renumbering along Route 8 corridor. Plans are also being prepared to replace signs and complex sign supports along Route 8 in Bridgeport, Shelton, Derby and Naugatuck. Additionally, to be in conformance with federal standards, state transportation officials say mileage-based exit […]

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7 development projects to watch in West Haven

Since the city began raising sections of Beach Street with the help of state bonding to prevent shoreline businesses from flooding, vacant storefronts in the area began to sell in a seeming chain reaction throughout the spring and summer of 2021. Other areas of the city have seen interest from developers, with at least one […]

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Mattern Construction submits lone proposal to rehab former YMCA in Norwich

Mattern Construction, based in Baltic, submitted the lone proposal to the city by last week’s deadline to rehabilitate the decaying, mold-infested former YMCA into a new headquarters for the general contracting and management company. The proposal includes a plan to lease space the company does not need to a possible brew pub or some residential […]

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Development booming at Fort Trumbull in New London

A 200-unit residential complex is under construction by RJ Development + Advisors on Howard Street where Hughie’s restaurant was once located, and the city has plans to build a $30 million community recreation center at Fort Trumbull. The plans by Massachusetts-based Optimus Senior Living Group are scheduled to come before the city’s Planning & Zoning […]

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Bethel’s police station opened three years ago. With leaking fixed, the project is nearing completion

It’s been three years since the opening of the new police headquarters on Judd Avenue, and the town is finally moving onto the final phase of its police station project. A water leak issue in the new station’s firing range had been stalling the project’s completion, but First Selectman Matt Knickerbocker said this week that […]

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MDC Tunnel Project Hits Major Milestone

The Metropolitan District (MDC) announced that the South Hartford Conveyance and Storage Tunnel (SHCST) reached a major milestone on Tuesday, January 4 when the tunnel boring machine (TBM) “Iris” reached its destination at the MDC’s retrieval facility located on Talcott Road in West Hartford. The SHCST is a four-mile long deep rock tunnel designed to […]

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Norwalk OKs $76 million for SoNo school, but officials mum on location

Plans for the school’s development are moving swiftly through the approval process, having already received a green light from the boards of education and estimate and taxation, as well as one of the Common Council’s committees. On Monday, the Board of Estimate and Taxation approved the reappropriation of about $76 million to go toward the […]

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New London community center, Montville mill project receive financial boosts

New London will receive nearly $1.2 million in state support toward the $30 million regional community recreation center planned for Fort Trumbull. The funding is part of $17.9 million being distributed to municipalities statewide in the form of grants for cleanup of blighted properties, Gov. Ned Lamont announced Thursday. The grants come from the Connecticut […]

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$34M mixed-use apartment project eyed for former Puritan Furniture property in West Hartford

The transit-oriented development, which needs town approval and will be dependent on a zoning change, would represent the third major apartment project to be located in West Hartford’s New Park Avenue corridor near the Elmwood and Flatbush CTfastrak bus stations. The developer is Sami Abunasra who bought the property in 2020 for $1.1 million, after […]

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Panel proposes $13.8M senior center for Windsor Locks

A town committee formed to work a plan for the new senior center Monday issued its final report, which proposes a 17,550-square-foot building on Spring Street at an estimated cost of $13.8 million. The site subcommittee began by looking at more than 36 properties for the new senior center, he said, narrowing them down to […]

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Do bridges on your commute need repair? What New London County inspection data tells us.

The Sherman Street Bridge is one of 23 bridges in New London County rated in poor condition, according to U.S. Department of Transportation National Bridge Inspection data. Forty-five, including many of the 23, are rated on a separate scale as being in need of repair or corrective action. Another one of the local state-owned bridges […]

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Fairfield’s Holland Hill school project comes in under budget

Town bodies approved $18.5 million for the project in 2017 and broke ground in 2018. “I’m proud to announce the Holland Hill project is completed,” Jason Li, the building committee chairman, told the selectmen in his final report on Monday. The committee was established in early 2016 to oversee the elementary school expansion project, which […]

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Federal agency ruling deals Killingly power plant a serious blow this week

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on Monday accepted a November termination filing by ISO-NE citing the likely failure of NTE Energy to achieve certain “critical path schedule milestones,” including commercial operations of the Killingly plant, by June 1, 2024, as laid out in a 2019 capacity supply obligation tariff. NTE, developers of the planned 650-megawatt, […]

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Will Lamont’s State Pier and budget office scandals collide?

Thanks to excellent reporting by Hartford Courant columnist Kevin Rennie, we now know that Konstantinos Diamantis, deputy budget director, was associated with his daughter getting a plum $99,000-a-year executive assistant job, personally hired by the state’s top prosecutor, Richard Colangelo, who met her at a party also attended by her father. We know from reporting […]

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CT approves $4 million for ‘next level’ I-95 study in Bridgeport area

Last month, the state Bond Commission approved a planning and environmental study of I-95 between exits 19 in Fairfield and 27A in Bridgeport. The study is expected to identify potential safety improvements along that section of the highway, especially northbound. The I-95 west corridor includes the stretch of highway from New York to New Haven. […]

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Ridgefield has multiple projects breaking ground in 2022. Here’s what residents should expect.

The second phase of the town’s long-awaited sewer project is expected to break ground this spring. The state pushed the town to undertake the projects to meet new regulations and environmental standards under the federal Clean Water Act. Voters approved an estimated $48 million for the projects in 2018, but the actual costs came in […]

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Danbury’s largest proposal for apartments, shops and offices will undergo its first review in 2022

Plans by Danbury-based developer Albert Salame to build 200 apartments, a 90-bed continuing care facility, and a handful of low-rise buildings for offices, retail and entertainment near the west side campus of Western Connecticut State University will be reviewed by the city’s Planning Commission during a public hearing on Jan. 19. The plan, known as […]

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Rochambeau Bridge to open new westbound span between Newtown and Southbury

Engineers will open the rebuilt westbound span of the Rochambeau Bridge at the Southbury border on Monday and begin work on the second half of the $53 million reconstruction project. Now that construction of the westbound span that carries Interstate 84 over the Housatonic River is complete, work will focus on rebuilding the eastbound span, […]

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