The town will hold a special town meeting next Tuesday regarding a $4.18 million appropriation for improvements and enhancements to Bethel High School’s heating, ventilation and air conditioning system. The system — which was not updated when the school was renovated in 2007 to 2009 — has posed problems for several years. During Bethel’s Jan. 3 special […]
Two prospective developers — both described by city officials as well-qualified — made presentations this week at a community Zoom meeting hosted by the city and Fair Haven Alder Sarah Miller, D-14. The two presentations were similar in some ways but offered a number of stylistic differences. The Glendower plan, presented by Glendower and Elm […]
For years, the ramp heading into Stamford Town Center off Atlantic Street has been a sort of no-man’s land in the heart of the city’s downtown. Kooris is the president of the Stamford Downtown Special Services District, which was just awarded $5.6 million from the Department of Economic and Community Development through the State Bond […]
Towns and cities across Connecticut are set to see a major windfall from the $1.7 trillion bill to fund the federal government, thanks to the practice formerly known as earmarking where lawmakers secure large pots of money to benefit their state and districts. More than 170 projects were approved for Connecticut and tucked into the […]
The U.S. Navy has given another $5.1 billion boost to its high-priority Columbia class submarine program and its designer and lead contractor on the new class of ballistic missile subs, the Electric Boat division of General Dynamics in Groton. EB, with shipyards in Groton and Quonset Point, R.I., has started building the first two boats […]
Over the past two years, New London has been aggressively inventorying its pipes, the first step in the replacement process. Lanzafame has pored over historical records, hired engineers to do predictive modeling, and arranged for exploratory “test pits” to be drilled throughout the city to determine how many of its public water lines are made […]
A major storm will affect the state tonight and Friday, thus the National Weather Service has a wind advisory in effect statewide for most of Friday. This means sustained south winds at 15 to 30 mph, and peak gusts up to around 55 mph, but 60 mph gusts are possible in some coastal communities. According […]
Two schools only a few yards away from each other in Stamford are slated to be torn down and rebuilt for about $387 million — and the state has agreed to put down roughly $292 million to get it done. The Westhill construction is estimated to cost about $301 million, of which the state has […]
Gov. Ned Lamont on Tuesday announced $36.5 million in grants for eight economic development projects, including $5.5 million to help build 57 apartments in Hartford and $5.3 million to help transform a blighted factory in Torrington into a marketplace and offices. “We created this grant program as a component of our efforts to spur economic […]
Despite obstacles that have complicated construction and driven up costs, work to transform State Pier in New London into an offshore wind hub is about 75% complete and on schedule to achieve “substantial completion” by February, Connecticut Port Authority Executive Director Ulysses Hammond announced on Tuesday. Hammond, addressing the authority’s board of directors at its […]
The Planning and Zoning Commission has approved the phased construction of a 22-unit townhouse style condominium project on Route 32 while tabling discussion of a proposed 16-unit apartment complex on Route 32. The commission last week unanimously approved a request by Western Group LLC, to build the 22 condominiums in four phases, with no other […]
With the Candlewood Lake Elementary School now slated to be finished in late May or early June, the plan is to move students and staff into the new 139,000-square-foot facility next fall for the new school year. The school, which will accommodate more than 1,000 students and 200 staff, was originally expected to be ready […]
After hearing six hours of back and forth about the plan last week, West Hartford’s town council is expected to decide Wednesday night whether developers can put up a six-story condo building and mixed-used complex in the town center. The decision on The Arapahoe Group’s proposal is certain to disappoint plenty of people regardless of […]
Environmentalists and river advocates received an early Christmas gift after the Naugatuck Valley Council of Governments secured $15 million in federal funding for the removal of the Kinneytown Dam. The U.S. Department of Commerce announced Wednesday the NVCOG, in collaboration with Save the Sound, has been recommended for funding for removal of the Kinneytown Dam […]
State officials recently announced a list of towns receiving grants to redevelop brownfield sites into apartments, including the $990,000 for Ansonia and $650,000 for Derby. The money comes from the state’s Department of Economic and Community Development Brownfield Remediation and Development Program. Some of the units will be set aside as affordable housing — a requirement […]
New power lines could be coming to Weston, Fairfield, Easton and Bridgeport after a no-decision discussion with Eversource at Thursday’s Board of Selectmen meeting. Abigail Bowersox, project manager for the 1714/1720 line rebuild project with Eversource, said that the project will rebuild a 9.4-mile long section of power lines between Old Town Substation in Bridgeport and […]
Starting in Spring of 2023, the city utility will begin work on an estimated five-year, $5.65 million project to replace the estimated 800 private water lines already identified. A survey of the lines to be conducted early in 2023 likely will identify several hundred more such lines that need to be replaced, NPU officials said. […]
The Hartford Planning & Zoning Commission on Tuesday gave its final approval to a $280 million expansion plan that will reshape Connecticut Children’s Washington Street campus in Hartford. Currently, Connecticut Children’s Hartford facility measures about 321,000 square feet with 187 beds. The new tower will be anchored to the existing building. A groundbreaking will take […]
Developer Randy Salvatore’s ongoing effort to build around 1,000 apartments just north of Hartford’s downtown was buffeted in 2022 by labor shortages, supply chain difficulties and interest rate hikes. A court challenge has stopped him from breaking ground on the next phase of development. The first phase of Salvatore’s broader North Crossing development around the […]
After a public hearing that lasted just over six hours, the Town Council voted Tuesday to delay its decision on a proposed housing development in West Hartford Center. A valid protest petition, which requires signatures from 20 percent of landowners in the 500-foot radius impacted by the development, would trigger a supermajority voting requirement. The […]
A dozen New York City-based developers, investors, and local city officials dug in and tossed ceremonial shovels full of dirt — as a team of hard-hatted construction workers behind them continued transforming a 13-acre former contaminated industrial site into 398 new places to live. In the next 18 months, the New York City-based construction firm Hudson Meridian plans to have […]
Quinnipiac University has received final approval to construct three buildings – a new school of business, an academic building and a residence hall – at its Hamden campus, part of the school’s controversial South Quad project. Construction is expected to begin this winter, with the new buildings opening during the 2024-25 academic year, the school […]
Between March and April 2021 and an additional phase in 2022, the Costello Dismantling Company Inc. completed the demolition of the 400,000-sq.-ft. former Anaconda American Brass Company manufacturing plant in the city of Waterbury, Conn. Due to widespread contamination and deterioration of the entire complex, more than 10,000 tons of debris was handled and disposed […]
A private real estate company has received conditional approval to build a 1 million-square-foot warehouse in Plainfield that is expected to net the town a tidy sum in permitting and tax revenue. The Planning & Zoning Commission on June 29 granted site plan approval to Scannell Properties for construction of a warehouse on the combined […]
Hard-hatted Hunter was on the construction site of the George-and-Orchard Street portion of the $838 million Yale New Haven neurosciences center rising in West River. While workers from Turner Construction worked on the first tiers of the garage, Hunter monitored their safety. Hunter said he has seen no slips, no falls, no major injuries during his […]
FFD 149, Fine Fettle’s social equity cultivator business in partnership with Hartford resident Kennard Ray, has submitted a special permit and subdivision applications with the town to construct a cannabis cultivation facility at 10 Mosey Drive. A public hearing for the proposal is set for Dec. 15. Pending public approval, Zachs said the facility will take […]
According to the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), however, 43% of the public roadways in the United States remain in poor or mediocre condition, with almost 231,000 bridges needing repair—nearly 8% of them structurally deficient. These systems need major repair, replacement, or preservation work and soon. The U.S. Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), […]
A single lane access bridge at the former Ansonia Copper and Brass site could be the city’s literal link to economic progress, according to Corporation Counsel John Marini. And the state is spending $6.5 million to make it happen. Local and state officials announced last week that the site would get state money — approved by […]
The state has allocated $24.6 million to help municipalities remediate 41 blighted properties, Gov. Ned Lamont announced, including the former Ames corporate headquarters in Rocky Hill. The funding is expected to augment $625 million in private funding that will go toward investigating and cleaning up the sites, which span about 86 acres in total. The […]
The Inland Wetlands Commission, at its meeting Thursday, approved R.D. Scinto, Inc.’s plans to construct a 43,000-square-foot addition to the already existing commercial flex space at 15 Forest Parkway. According to the plans filed with the Inland Wetlands Commission, the building addition and new parking areas will replace some existing paved and wooded areas on site. […]
The UConn Board of Trustees unanimously approved $688,480 at its Dec. 7 meeting to replace the court. The project is slated to be completed in time for the start of the 2023 fall semester, officials said. The Gampel Pavilion, also home to UConn volleyball as well as career fairs, open houses, and commencement ceremonies, opened […]
East Hartford’s 86-year-old Town Hall will be receiving a much-needed renovation to replace mechanical systems — think heating, air conditioning and more — that have “exceeded their life expectancy,” according to town officials. The goal now is to completely vacate the Town Hall facility so that the entire building can be renovated at once, versus […]
The state Department of Transportation will hold an online-only public information forum Tuesday on a $7.5 million plan to replace the Lawler Lane bridge over Interstate 395 starting in 2024. The 165-foot-long bridge was built in 1958 and rehabilitated in 1992 and 2017. DOT inspectors deemed the bridge deck and superstructure to be in poor […]
New Haven was supposed to begin construction earlier this year on the peanut — a new squooshed roundabout with a novel design at the treacherous intersection of Chapel Street and Yale Avenue near the Westville Music Bowl and Yale Bowl. A local contractor had won the bid for the project. But those high prices meant he could no longer afford […]
Voters overwhelmingly approved an additional $9.7 million for the construction of a new Farmington High School Thursday. The unusual December referendum passed 1,787 to 815 with 12.9 percent of the registered voters in Farmington showing up to the polls. This vote was the second time Farmington voters have been asked to approve money for the […]
Felipe and state Sen. Marilyn Moore, D-Bridgeport, sit on the 21-member board of legislators and other state officials set up to help distribute the CIF fund. That pot of money — $875 million total, spread out through 2030 — was established by Connecticut lawmakers in 2021 to funnel aid to projects/initiatives that will benefit underserved […]
Members of the State Contracting Standards Board announced Friday that they plan to investigate how one construction company was able to recommend itself for more than $87 million in subcontracts for the renovation of the State Pier in New London. The board, which is responsible for scrutinizing state business deals and reviewing Connecticut’s procurement laws, […]
The Board of Finance on Wednesday awarded a $338,445 bid to Suchocki & Sons, Inc. of Preston to repair the South Anguilla Road Bridge. The five bids for the work ranged from $322,334 to $396,000, with the low bid coming from Old Colony Construction of Clinton. After the bids were reviewed and reference checks were […]
The city’s expansive plan to replace or add sidewalks along the East Main Street corridor took a step forward this week when the City Council awarded a bid to Costa & Son LLC, based in South Windsor, for $768,625.80. The project will include new sidewalks along the north side of Route 202/East Main Street, from […]
The Board of Selectmen on Tuesday authorized seeking architectural and engineering firms to study the former Bantam School and determine how much it would cost to overhaul the 70-year-old building for continued municipal use. Proposals would show how much an architectural and engineering study of the building that was designed by famed modernist architect Marcel […]
In fall 2023, the city’s Water Pollution Control Authority hopes construction will finally begin to bring sewer service to the area. The Board of Finance this week approved a $1.88 million appropriation to move the project forward. Septic systems are used across North Stamford. But on streets in the Perna Lane area, which is near […]
The State Bond Commission and Gov. Ned Lamont approved $10 million Thursday for the Freight Street Corridor Redevelopment Project. The funding is part of more than $14 million that will be used for economic development, infrastructure and city schools. The city will receive $10 million signed off by the board of the Community Investment Fund […]
Dixwell Plaza’s mixed-use redevelopment, a new health center on Grand Avenue, and new affordable apartments on Shelton Avenue were some of the dozen New Haven projects to receive over $21 million in support from Hartford in an end-of-year windfall of state aid. That infusion of state cash for New Haven-based projects came Thursday from the State Bond Commission. […]
Days before next week’s 10th anniversary of the Newtown school massacre, the State Bond Commission on Thursday approved $10 million in the state’s competitive school security grant program for hardening buildings, purchasing cameras, electronic locks, ballistic glass and other measures. The commission’s last meeting of the calendar year lasted 43 minutes as members approved more than […]
Extensive renovations on the Lockwood-Mathews Mansion hit a roadblock when nine aspects of the project received no bids for the work. The city will resubmit a request for proposals for contractors to conduct work on the historic mansion after an RFP from October garnered too few bids, officials said. In May, the mansion released plans […]
A recent review of the city’s school buildings revealed an estimated $32 million needed for repairs and upgrades at Vogel Wetmore, Forbes, Torringford, Southwest and Torrington Middle School. Included are heating and air-conditioning work, plumbing repairs, roof repairs and renovations to various areas of the buildings. Much of the needs are maintenance-related, according to Petrucelli, […]
A project nearly 20 years in the making broke new ground last week as plans were presented for a revamped Webster Street parking lot that include a public park. At the Dec. 1 meeting of the Common Council’s Economic and Community Development Committee, project designers outlined plans for a 650-spot parking garage and 420-unit apartment […]
A new grant program has demonstrated widespread demand for funding to improve air quality in Connecticut schools, as experts continue to cite ventilation as a key tool in reducing the spread of COVID-19 and other airborne illnesses. According to the state’s Department of Administrative Services, Connecticut school districts submitted 130 applications for a new $150 […]
The state Bond Commission will vote Thursday on hundreds of millions of dollars in grants and funding for efforts and initiatives across the state, including $12 million for the city of Middletown’s ambitious plan to revive its industrial riverfront. The Bond Commission is scheduled to meet in a special session Thursday. Items placed on the […]
High electric bills have become a fact of life for Connecticut residents, who paid the highest bills in the country outside of Hawaii in 2021, and combined with lingering frustrations over lengthy power outages after recent damaging storms, so is outright public anger at United Illuminating and Eversource. It was no surprise then, that announcements […]
The Norwich Community Development Corp., though, is expected to vote at a special meeting at 4 p.m. Thursday to go ahead with the purchase of 384 acres of former farmland, woodland on Canterbury Turnpike, Scotland Road, Lawler Lane and Route 97 that abuts Interstate 395. NCDC has an agreement to purchase the property for $3.55 […]
A Branford developer has submitted an application to the Town Plan and Zoning Commission proposing to build more than a dozen duplexes near the Wilbur Cross Parkway. Litchfield Turnpike LLC, based in Branford, has proposed a 14-lot subdivision on Merritt Avenue for the purpose of building a residential development called the Enclave at Woodbridge. The […]
He took his wife, Annie, to the White House dinner honoring the French president, Emmanuel Macron, and his top transportation officials, Joseph J. Giulietti and Garrett Eucalitto, to meet with the secretary of transportation, Pete Buttigieg. Lamont said the trio made a pitch to Buttigieg about how Connecticut, with an aging infrastructure and a share […]
A plan to move Route 156 about 60 feet to the north as part of a bridge replacement on the East Lyme border means moving history, too. Roughly half an acre on the Old Lyme side of the river has been undergoing phased archaeological surveys since late that same year. A report documenting the first […]
Town voters will return to the polls this week to decide whether to approve the nearly $10 million more that’s needed to fund the construction of a new high school. Residents will vote Thursday whether to approve an extra $9.7 million for a new Farmington High School, just over a year after approving the original $135.6 […]
The historic Pleasure Beach Bridge located in Bridgeport which once connected the city’s East Side of Bridgeport to the small island will be getting demolished within the next few weeks, city officials said. City officials said they have contracted with Terry Contracting for the project, with the hopes of solving many safety issues. The bridge’s […]
The transformation of downtown Waterbury, Conn., is taking place with the rehabilitation of 10 bridges that connect Interstate 84 and Route 8. The Mixmaster, which was opened in 1968, features stacked bridges that the Connecticut Department of Transportation called “an engineering feat that addressed the area’s challenging topography.” While the Mixmaster has undergone multiple major […]
Built on a once vacant site in the Fort Trumbull area, a five-story, 203-unit apartment building on Howard Street is moving towards completion. After a little more than a year of construction, the approximately $30 million project is almost halfway done and leasing is expected to start soon. The developer, New Haven-based commercial real estate […]
Phase I of The Energy & Innovation Park Project kicked off Thursday morning at the former Stanley Black & Decker facility. EIP Investment is a developer involved in the redevelopment of this site; O&G Industries will be the construction company for the project; and Bloom Energy will be making the fuel cell units. The first […]
The Town Council unanimously approved a hot work ordinance — new rules prompted by a July roof fire at New Milford High School — at its meeting on Monday. Fire Marshal Kevin Reynolds requested the ordinance at the Council’s Oct. 24 meeting. He said having such an ordinance would allow for better oversight of local construction […]
A redevelopment of the deteriorating Martin Luther King Apartments near downtown has won key public funding but construction isn’t likely to get started until next summer, more than a year later than first anticipated. The cost to demolish and rebuild the low- and moderate-income rentals in the Sheldon/Charter Oak neighborhood and blend them with market-rate […]
While city leaders have again and again debated what should be done with the run-down bridge, a federal grant awarded to Stamford in 2012 to replace the structure has expired. The more than 130-year-old bridge, which is listed in the National Register of Historic Places and also called the Purple Bridge, closed to motor vehicles […]
On Nov.15, 2021, President Biden signed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) into law, a bill commonly referred to as the bipartisan infrastructure bill. This historic piece of legislation provides a once-in-a-generation investment of $1.2 trillion dollars into the nation’s infrastructure; positively impacting urban and rural communities across the country by rebuilding roads and bridges, […]
