The Board of Aldermen has approved an agreement between the city, Waterbury Development Corp. and environmental engineering firm Tighe & Bond, kicking off the investigation process for the city-owned 170 Freight St. property, part of a broader plan by the city to revitalize the downtown area. With the agreement, Tighe & Bond now have 180 […]
New England may not have enough power if a severe cold spell hits this winter, the President and Chief Executive Officer of Eversource Energy warned in a letter to President Joe Biden. “I write to you today to ask for your Administration’s leadership again to swiftly address the growing concerns about winter electric reliability in […]
Complaining of decades of decay at the Silver Lane Plaza, a series of East Hartford residents on Friday praised town government’s progress toward acquiring the property through eminent domain. A town panel voted unanimously Thursday night to pursue seizing the half-empty shopping center, and the reaction on social media was overwhelmingly positive the next day. […]
Fifteen years after the city imploded the New Haven Veterans Memorial Coliseum, construction of the first of three buildings in Phase 1 of the site’s redevelopment — to be known as “Square 10” — is about to begin, Mayor Justin Elicker and the developer announced Friday. The first building will consist of 200 apartments. “The […]
The latest stop on the city’s journey to build a $164 million upper school of the future on a hilltop overlooking Kenosia Avenue is to go back to the way zoning was 40 years ago when the biggest thing on the west side was the Danbury Fair. Before the city can retrofit a 270,000-square-foot office […]
Once used as open sewers for manufacturing spoils and human waste, Connecticut’s long-abused rivers have recovered much of their past allure following stricter environmental laws passed in the 1960s and 1970s, accompanied by the retreat of large-scale manufacturing from riverbanks. Last year Riverfront Recapture announced plans to transform 60 acres along the Hartford-Windsor line into […]
CRDA Executive Director Michael Freimuth recently told his board — which oversees the XL Center on behalf of the city of Hartford — that Oak View Group (OVG) is interested in a deal that could see the company putting much of its own funding into the XL Center. OVG already manages the XL Center on […]
A plan to renovate the shopping plaza, which now has multiple vacant storefronts, including one previously occupied by Starbucks, and another that formerly housed Porricelli’s Food Mart, has received support from many of the businesses that currently occupy Trumbull Center. But a majority of residents at last week’s Planning and Zoning Commission public hearing spoke […]
Back on July 21, the Board of Mayor and Burgesses chose Pennrose, a real estate development company with its headquarters in Philadelphia, and the Cloud Company, a Hartford-based firm, to develop 7.75 acres at the corner of Maple Street and Old Firehouse Road, also known as Parcel B. Pennrose’s regional office in Boston would be […]
The state Department of Transportation will pull back a widely criticized plan to reconstruct a 1.3-mile stretch of Route 82-West Main Street with six roundabouts, a median divider and single traffic lanes in each direction. The $45 million, two-phase project received broad criticism locally, with “No 6 Roundabouts” signs joining election campaign signs in front […]
Officials announced the postponement this past week, saying they will not know for weeks when the new Candlewood Lake Elementary School will be ready. In August, Superintendent John Barille had laid out a plan for students at Huckleberry and Center elementary schools to move into the new 139,000 square-foot facility, built to accommodate more than […]
The library building committee is moving forward with a smaller 24,000-square-foot plan and discussed further cuts to the design for the new building during a meeting the architects. The revised schematic of the building was first presented to committee members during a special meeting late last month by the architects at Whiting-Turner Co. The final […]
Plans to build a warehouse on the former Bristol-Myers Squibb site on Research Parkway are once again before the town for approval after two previous attempts to build warehouse facilities on the site were rejected in the face of public opposition. The Inland Wetlands Commission on Oct. 5 approved the new application, which Calare officials […]
Town officials are hoping to secure a small portion of the state’s $150 million funding package for heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) upgrades in schools. The Berlin Town Council is hosting a public hearing Nov. 2 at 7 p.m. on an ordinance that would authorize $4.9 million in bonds for this project. Over the […]
Make way for 194 new apartments on Congress and Davenport Avenues, now that a California-based developer has won a key — and hotly contested — city approval. Thanks to the city’s inclusionary zoning ordinance, 5 percent of those apartments — or 10 units in total — will be set aside at below-market rents. The remaining units will rent out at market rates, with […]
Two city leaders who opposed a 2019 plan by a Danbury company for a “sizeable” building to store concrete trucks on a one-time country lane said they object even more to the resurfaced plan because it’s downhill from the proposed west side academy. Rotello was referring to plans by Hat City Concrete Pumping to build […]
Six state DOT heads signed a pledge last week to leverage funding from the $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to reduce the racial wealth gap. California, Illinois, Kansas, Louisiana and Michigan, plus Washington, D.C., aim to do so by creating more opportunities for historically disadvantaged construction businesses — with an emphasis on prime […]
With Constitution Boulevard extension work nearly underway, the city has secured deals with companies to buy land on the Mas property and adjacent city lots to which the new road will connect. The price for the land ranges from $85,000 to $125,000 per acre to various groups for use in industrial and retail capacities. Lauretti […]
On Nov. 8, voters here will find a referendum question at the lower right of the ballot on a proposed $385 million bond that would restructure city schools for decades. Although the bond question asks for $385 million, the city’s total cost would range from $97 million to $153 million, depending on state reimbursement levels. […]
The board, which wants to delve deeper into all state agency contracting procedures — particularly those involving the Connecticut Port Authority and an offshore wind farm near New London — expects to ramp up activities this winter, Fox insisted. The contracting board will receive lists of candidates for all five positions in its investigative team […]
The Inland Wetlands and Watercourses Commission voted 4-0 earlier this month to approve Phase I of the Harbor Brook project that stretches from the Amtrak bridge to the Cooper Street bridge. The project entails creating wetlands, changing watercourses, two bridge replacements, associated channel work and excavation, and some utility work for displaced water and sewer […]
The slog to replace the demolished Congress Street Bridge that used to link downtown and the East Side got a significant boost last week with the issuance of a key permit from the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP). Still, if the current project timeline remains unchanged, the span will not be completed […]
East Haven Mayor Joe Carfora has asked the Federal Aviation Administration to do a full-blown environmental impact statement on the proposed expansion of Tweed New Haven Regional Airport rather than the more limited environmental assessment already underway. “Our concerns center on the significant and unavoidable negative impacts the project will have on public health and […]
On Tuesday, the Connecticut Port Authority Board approved spending an additional $7,471,779. That brings the total cost of the project to $255.5 million – roughly equal to the total funding now available for the project, which includes state and private dollars. The redevelopment includes a contribution by the partnership of Eversource and Ørsted, which will […]
The plan is still in preliminary stages, but the town’s economic development council recently endorsed it for municipal tax abatements after concluding it would add value to Colchester. The Jasko Zelman LLC partnership’s plan would create three 24-apartment buildings and three 36-apartment buildings, all served by a new loop road that would connect to Norwich […]
The project has remained in limbo, as the developers pulled the application from the Inland Wetlands Commission in October 2020, two weeks after Civil 1 — a Shelton-based engineering firm hired by the city to review all plans and perform its own analysis of the project — presented its review highlighting several areas it deemed […]
Demand for data center construction remains strong, but growing pains around the supply chain and inflation could mute the pace of building in the sector, said Reaves. The commercial component of the momentum index increased 2.9% in September largely due to data center construction, according to Dodge. Institutional projects in planning rose 11.7%, largely due […]
After taking a dip in 2021, the North American crane sector is experiencing a comeback. In its first quarter report released in April, the Rider Levett Bucknall (RLB) Crane Index logged a 4.5-percent increase in cranes at work across the continent. Of the 14 cities surveyed, five experienced an increase, six stayed the same and […]
The Hartford Planning & Zoning Commission has approved a $280 million expansion plan that will reshape Connecticut Children’s Hartford campus – but without a pedestrian bridge and garage. Connecticut Children’s had submitted a master plan that called for, among other things, the hospital to be connected to a structured parking garage across Washington Street. The […]
The developer for a proposed residential community of eight duplex buildings on Shingle Hill Road, which will be developed as part of a federal program for adults age 55 and older, received a special permit approval from the commission in a 4-1 vote. Commission Vice Chairman John Biancur voted against the development, citing several regulations […]
Wielding golden shovels adorned with shiny blue ribbons, state and local officials on Wednesday broke ground on the $2.8 million track and field athletic complex at Nathan Hale-Ray High School. The price tag for the project will be $2.8 million, officials said. In April, East Haddam was awarded a $1.4 million state grant, with an […]
Parents and student athletes were happy to hear he city plans to use $4.35 million to fund renovations at Rice, Blake and Wilbur Cross High School fields, with construction set to begin in as early as the coming weeks. With current funding from local, state and federal sources, the city can only improve baseball and […]
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has given a $650,000 boost to an ongoing cleanup of a series of mill complexes in Vernon that are collectively targeted for a 200-unit apartment mixed-use redevelopment. U.S. EPA New England Administrator David W. Cash; U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn.; U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney, D-2nd District; and other dignitaries visited […]
Despite complaints from nearby neighbors, West Hartford’s town council on Wednesday night gave a key approval to Continental Properties’ plan for 172 luxury apartments about two blocks from Blue Back Square. At a three-hour-long hearing, several business and community leaders along with Kingswood-Oxford School representatives praised Continental’s proposal as a source of economic development and […]
The Federal Highway Administration on Tuesday announced that it released $59.9 billion to 12 programs to help address the nation’s crumbling infrastructure, according to an agency press release. The funding comes from the $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. The infrastructure law, signed last year by President Joe Biden, provides $550 billion over the […]
FirstLight Power gathered company and local officials at its power generation station along the Quinebaug River Wednesday to announce it is retiring the last remaining fossil-fueled plant in its system in May 2023 to be replaced with renewable battery facility. The new system still needs state permits and a connection agreement with ISO-New England, which […]
The sheer number of infrastructure projects the DOT will have to manage is mind-boggling. Over the next year, states, territories, tribes and local governments will begin work to improve 65,000 miles of road and 1,500 bridges; invest in 600 airport infrastructure projects; purchase 15,000 new buses, ferries and subway cars; and buy 75 new locomotives […]
President Joe Biden signed the $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act in November 2021, marking the single biggest sum for roads, bridges and other surface routes in a generation. Money from the infrastructure act is starting to trickle to federal agencies and states, and these entities have lists of upcoming projects to bid on, […]
The White House hosted a summit Thursday to help speed up construction projects tied to the roughly $1 trillion infrastructure law — an effort to improve coordination with the mayors and governors who directly account for 90% of the spending. The summit began Thursday morning and comes at a critical moment for the nearly year-old […]
A more established timeline has been released for Norwalk Hospital’s $220 million expansion, including plans for a massive demolition. In a legal notice alerting the public of its plans, Nuvance Health, which owns and operates Norwalk Hospital, said the eastern portion of Tracey Pavilion and the entire Community Pavilion will be demolished on the hospital’s […]
The bid packages now approved include: $6.669 million for Marguerite Concrete of Hopedale, Mass.; $11.101 million to Berlin Steel Construction Co. in Kensington; $1.314 million for Giliberto & Sons of Hartford for waterproofing, air barrier and sealants; $1.595 million to Blackwater Services Group of Waterbury for fire protection; $29,330 million to MJ Daly of Waterbury […]
The U.S. General Services Administration, which oversees the development of federal buildings, announced the potential sites for the $335 million project Tuesday after a search that was launched nearly a year ago. The announcement drew immediate concern from local officials. All three sites have been targeted for years for mixed-use redevelopment, with an emphasis on […]
Construction added a total of 19,000 jobs in September, with the bulk of those gains coming on the nonresidential side, signaling that the Federal Reserve’s aggressive interest rate hikes have yet to quell demand for hard-to-find workers in the sector. Overall construction unemployment dropped to 3.4%, below the national rate of 3.5% for all industries, […]
With 200 housing units completed and more under construction, Philadelphia-based Pennrose is asking Hartford officials for permission to modify plans for its “Village at Park River” development in the city’s North End. The development is rising on nearly 40 acres at 1550 Albany Avenue that had housed the Westbrook Village public housing complex. The Hartford […]
The Board of Aldermen, at its meeting Thursday, voted to allow the city to apply for two Connecticut Community Challenge grants — the first for $2.2 million for Canal Street reconstruction projects, the second, $2.4 million for extension of Constitution Boulevard. As part of the grant, the city must put up 50 percent of the […]
The city is seeking approval of a $25 million bond authorization request to fund five projects crucial to improving its water supply and distribution infrastructure. The projects would be completed over the next three years, Rob Langenauer, superintendent of water, wrote in an email last month to Mayor Neil M. O’Leary. The $25 million bonding […]
A firm hired to provide oversight of the $179.5 million Torrington Middle/High School project is out of a job after the City Council and Board of Education voted to terminate its contract. The move follows a series of votes by the boards in recent weeks over a nearly $1 million contract with Construction Solutions Group, […]
The city of Waterbury, Conn., once known as America’s “Brass City” due to the many brass manufacturing plants located within it, is now, via its Waterbury Development Corporation (WDC), demolishing many of the factories and taking steps to clean up the contaminated sites to allow for future development. The WDC has hired Stamford Wrecking Company […]
Instructions for integrating President Joe Biden’s Buy Clean Initiative are on the way, compliments of an interagency task force overseeing the procurement program. Agencies will receive the instructions, which prioritize the purchase of steel, concrete, asphalt and flat glass that feature lower emission levels in their manufacturing, transportation, installation, maintenance and disposal. The group pointed […]
The Enfield Planning and Zoning Commission is expected to vote next month on a proposed zone change that would allow the Felician Sisters group to partner with developers on a 250-unit multi-generational housing complex. The Felician Sisters would continue to own the 26-acre property, while partnering with The Community Builders on the project, which calls […]
Economic Development Director Rista Malanaca has developed a robust list of projects and is hoping the city will receive more than $9 million for those endeavors from the Communities Challenge Grant program, overseen by the state Department of Economic and Community Development. The program is intended to potentially create approximately 3,000 new jobs; the DECD […]
The firm chosen to develop a three-parcel plot behind Main Street has laid out a preliminary concept for a multi-level housing and retail complex on three-and-a-half acres of downtown land that eventually would connect to the riverfront. The Spectra Construction & Development Corp. concept calls for 277 market-rate apartments and townhomes, with 45 studio, 156 […]
The state has terminated its contract to sell the Mystic Oral School to Respler Homes LLC, a deal that a number of residents have opposed since its inception in 2019. John Burt, manager of the Town of Groton, confirmed that the state had terminated the purchase agreement, which would have sold the 37 acres at […]
Mayor Caroline Simmons has pulled a proposal to have the closed Glenbrook Community Center redeveloped into affordable housing, saying the plan doesn’t have enough support to pass the Board of Representatives. The board was set to vote on the proposed sale of the building Monday night. For months, elected officials, members of Simmons’ administration and […]
The developer of the most anticipated residential development in downtown Danbury blames the “unprecedented circumstances” of the coronavirus for missing two completion deadlines and promises not to miss a third deadline at the end of this year. Developer Dan Bertram of BRT says the 149-apartment complex on Main Street that was supposed to be completed […]
The town has received the final approval to obtain state funds for the reconstruction of Burton Road. The town on Dec. 24, 2020, closed the section of Burton Road from Wolfe Avenue to North Main Street to traffic due to structural issues and fears the road could fail. The state Department of Transportation has committed […]
The City Council last week unanimously passed a resolution calling on MIRA to “present an exit plan to the council” regarding the plant, which was closed this summer. MIRA President Tom Kirk said he was aware of the resolution, but had already submitted an exit plan to the relevant authority, the state Department of Energy […]
The Norwich Community Development Corp. has a purchase agreement for $3.55 million for the 17 parcels that include the former Tarryk and Dolittle farms on land that abuts Interstate 395, Canterbury Turnpike, Lawler Lane, Scotland Road, and Route 97 in Occum. Norwich officials had included $17 million in a larger regional federal grant application that […]
The city’s effort to repurpose the former Meriden-Wallingford Hospital inched forward this past week, with the City Council’s Finance Committee signing off on a request to pursue state grant funds to partially demolish the site. The Finance Committee on Tuesday approved a request by city officials to apply for state funding through the Connecticut Communities […]
Area economic, healthcare and city leaders broke ground Thursday on the new Wheeler Health administrative headquarters and health center at One Hope Street, slated to open in 2023. Wheeler Health CEO and President Dr. Sabrina Trocchi said the organization was focused on attracting “hope” to the Greater Bristol community as well as others with the […]
The town has been awarded $6.4 million in state funding for the second phase of a years-long effort to upgrade the streetscapes that run through downtown. Much of the planned improvements are aimed at promoting pedestrian and cyclist safety, but Attota said they are also intended to better connect the central part of town with […]
A state juvenile residential treatment center that has been shuttered for over a decade on a property eyed by town officials as a potential source of tax revenue could finally be repurposed as Hamden seeks a developer for the 50-acre site. Officials have floated ideas such as constructing senior housing or a biomedical campus at […]
The Connecticut Department of Transportation said a long-awaited $54 million reconfiguration of the notorious intersection will center around a new bridge to carry Route 9 over Union Street, complete with an additional northbound acceleration lane that will allow Route 17 traffic to merge onto the highway without having to stop first at a stop sign. […]
