Developers hope Bridgeport’s newly named Hartford HealthCare Amphitheater on track for packed concerts

Saffan and his partner in the venture, veteran concert promoter Jim Koplik of Live Nation, were on hand at the amphitheater with other officials Tuesday to celebrate another milestone in their joint venture: The announcement that Hartford HealthCare, which in 2019 acquired Bridgeport-based St. Vincent’s Medical Center, had purchased the naming rights to the amphitheater. […]

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Carrier Construction plans for commercial, residential development of large section of Centre Square

The city’s Economic and Community Development Commission reviewed Carrier’s letter of intent earlier in the month, planning to send them on to the council for action. The letter said Carrier intended to buy Parcels 6, 7, and 8 – a total of 3.44 acres – for $172,000. Carrier’s original plan was to build at least […]

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Berlin planning to building new community, senior center, but plenty of questions remain

The town is planning to build a new community and senior center sometime in the near future, but the “when” and “how” are still uncertain. No referendum date has been set and community information sessions are not yet in the works. Public forums initially gaged interest in 2018, with residents expressing excitement about the possibility […]

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As the Electrical Grid Collapses in Texas, New England Takes Note

Dan Dolan, president of the New England Power Generators Association, the trade group representing the region’s power producers, said the widespread power outages in Texas are a product of the state’s grid not being prepared for the extreme and prolonged temperatures that the state is experiencing. In New England, power producers invest in winterization, Dolan […]

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‘Looking to develop’: Demand for homes could lead to construction spike in Connecticut

As home hunters pounce on listings nearly as fast as sellers are putting them onto the market in Connecticut, construction of single-family homes is shaping up as the state’s next boom following a decade of apartment construction. The last burst of new construction in Connecticut in 2008 ended up with many homes built “on spec” […]

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Referendum on $137 million Farmington High School plan slated for June

Municipal officials are tentatively looking for a townwide vote June 3 on whether to tear down the high school and build a three-story replacement for $137 million. If voters approve the idea, architects would start work this summer, construction could begin in early 2022 and wrap up in mid-2025, Finance Director Joseph Swetcky told the […]

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Offshore wind a good bet for CT

Currently, the United States has more than 28 gigawatts of offshore wind in development. According to the Department of Energy, offshore wind has the potential to generate more than 2,000 gigawatts of clean, renewable power per year, nearly double the nation’s current electricity use. In Connecticut, a redeveloped State Pier will be one of these […]

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Spring groundbreaking set for 111-unit upscale Bloomfield apartment development

Krohn, of New Britain’s Jasko Development, and Zelman, of West Hartford’s Zelman Real Estate, said in a recent interview that they’ve named the project The Residences at Wash Brook, after one of several nearby brooks at the 20-acre site located midway between Routes 178 and 218. Fresh project renderings show a two-story atrium with a […]

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Carrier Construction plans for commercial, residential development of large section of Centre Square

The city’s Economic and Community Development Commission reviewed Carrier’s letter of intent earlier in the month, planning to send them on to the council for action. The letter said Carrier intended to buy Parcels 6, 7, and 8 – a total of 3.44 acres – for $172,000. That means Carrier would acquire the entire remaining […]

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Biden calls union reps ‘real friends,’ seeks their infrastructure input

Among those present were several heads of construction-related unions including Richard Trumka, the president of the AFL-CIO; Sean McGarvey, president of North America’s Building Trades Unions; and Lonnie R. Stephenson, the international president of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, who served on Biden’s transition advisory board. “I said from the beginning of my campaign, […]

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Finance panel eyes cap on property tax hikes, gears up for another battle over CT’s credit card

Rep. Sean Scanlon, D-Guilford, the new House chair of finance, is spearheading the property tax cap, which he says was inspired in part by Massachusetts’ Proposition 2 1/2, a statute that has drawn national attention since Bay State voters enacted it by ballot in 1980. The poorest people in Connecticut in terms of adjusted gross […]

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Courtney: State could get more than $4 billion if Congress passes COVID-19 relief package

Connecticut could receive more than $4 billion in federal coronavirus aid if Congress passes President Joe Biden’s American Rescue Plan. An estimated $2.7 billion would be allotted to the state and $1.6 billion to cities and towns, Courtney said. Courtney said Democrats see mid-March as the deadline for Congress to pass the legislation given that’s […]

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State and local leaders support private development of Seaside property

State Sen. Paul Formica, R-East Lyme, has introduced a bill that requires the state Department of Economic and Community Development “to develop and issue a request for proposals to develop or dispose of the former Seaside Sanatorium facility in the town of Waterford and to preserve the adjacent area for a park with public access.” […]

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Bristol City Council approves contracts to begin design process for renovating City Hall

The City Council has approved contracts to begin the design process for renovating City Hall, something council members said was long overdue. The contracts are for $175,770 to D’Amato + Downs Joint Venture to be the construction manager and for $760,750 to Quisenberry Arcari Malik for architectural engineering services. It’s important to improve the appearance […]

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‘People don’t want to be poor:’ Bill touts apprenticeships as a key pathway to good-paying jobs

Across Connecticut, Vasaturo’s story is retold thousands of times in automotive garages, machine tool factories and scores of other trades where the path to good-paying jobs is not college but the “earn as you learn” apprenticeship track that was launched in 1937, when the nation was in the grips of the Great Recession. A $3.5 […]

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After waiting for decades, Hartford’s Park and Main apartment development raises hope it will bring lasting change to a city neighborhood

The first phase of the $26 million Park and Main mixed-use development — 39 mixed-income studio, one- and two-bedroom rentals — is expected to begin leasing in April. A second phase of 87 apartments on the northern side of the intersection is scheduled to break ground next month. Park and Main is far more modest […]

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Massachusetts demo firm hired for Waterbury project

City officials on Friday awarded a Massachusetts company a $1 million contract to demolish eight buildings of the former Anaconda-American Brass site on Freight Street. Costello Dismantiling Co. has six months to clear eight buildings on 10.5 acres at 130 Freight St., according to its contract with the Waterbury Development Corp. Eight companies bid on […]

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Biden hopes infrastructure can bridge partisan divide

Biden met with lawmakers from both parties at the White House to discuss infrastructure on Thursday, even as the Senate is holding impeachment proceedings against former President Donald Trump where partisan divisions are on full display. “I’ve been around long enough,” Biden said, “that infrastructure wasn’t a Republican or a Democratic issue.” “The American people […]

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Worker-hungry contractors say rules limiting apprentice hires stymies business

The state Department of Consumer Protection imposes a so-called “hiring ratio” on contracting companies in electrical, plumbing and metal-working trades. The rule is a bit technical but it essentially requires contractors to have a certain number of licensed journeymen on staff for each apprentice they hire. State Sen. Julie Kushner (D-Danbury) chairs the General Assembly’s […]

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Lamont’s budget keeps transportation program afloat through 2026 with new truck fee

The two-year state budget Lamont proposed Wednesday includes a new highway mileage fee on trucks and includes Connecticut in a regional initiative to control greenhouse gases by changing transportation policy — a program that also would boost gasoline taxes. For years Connecticut has relied chiefly on fuel tax receipts to support the Special Transportation Fund, […]

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Tolls and gas tax hike off the table so Gov. Ned Lamont will look for other ways to fund transportation improvements in his new budget

The state’s special transportation fund is facing a deficit of more than $60 million in the current fiscal year, and could face larger deficits in the future if moves are not made to shore up the fund. Connecticut has joined a regional climate initiative with nearby states, but Lamont’s chief spokesman says that does not […]

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Multimodal Planning in the I-84 Danbury Corridor

At the third Project Advisory Committee (PAC) meeting in September, committee members were asked a series of questions about needs for the I-84 corridor in greater Danbury. The exercise provided the Project team with local insights and input towards the Project’s Purpose. Primer Multimodal planning considers many types of transportation including cars, buses, trains, bicycles, […]

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Lamont uses federal dollars and reserves to boost local aid, avert tax hikes in his new budget

Gov. Ned Lamont will propose a $46 billion, two-year budget Wednesday that relies heavily on federal aid and state reserves to close a major deficit without tax hikes and bolsters funds for cities and towns. The package would channel more than $400 million in emergency federal relief to low-performing school districts, according to several sources […]

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History Revisited: Local area no stranger to transportation levies

For the past several years, a great deal of debate has taken place when the state legislature introduced bills proposing electronic tolls on various major highways in Connecticut. The new highway bridge, ultimately named the Gold Star Memorial Bridge, opened to traffic in November 1943 and the established tolls for using this bridge included: 15 […]

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How the PRO Act would change the construction industry

By redefining “employees” and “employers” in revisions to the National Labor Relations Act, the Protecting the Right to Organize Act grants benefits to workers previously classified as independent contractors. Additionally, the way in which unions and employers collectively bargain and agree could be altered in states where unions have little to no say in the […]

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‘A godsend for the neighborhood:’ New development proposed in north Stratford

The owners of Ryders Landing want to put a new coffee shop on Main Street as the first phase of a development that could ultimately include retail and office space, a restaurant and a 105-room riverfront hotel. The Sbriglios own five properties totaling roughly 5.5 acres off Main Street immediately south of the Ryders Landing […]

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New housing development along CTfastrak in West Hartford latest sign of revival along New Park Avenue

The $20 million project will bring another 52 mixed-income apartments to the mile-long stretch between the Elmwood and Flatbush CTfastrak stations. The “workforce” housing is expected to be ready for occupancy in May, 2022. Trout Brook Realty Advisors, the development arm of the West Hartford Housing Authority, planned both projects and sees a dual purpose. […]

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Big changes could be coming for transportation around greater Hartford, from buried highways to bicycles. Here’s what’s under consideration.

The state Department of Transportation has been laying the groundwork for a comprehensive study ever since it made the startling announcement at the end of 2019 that the state would put a hold on replacing the viaduct and include it in a larger regional transportation plan. A broader array of transportation options are seen as […]

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What a Marty Walsh-led Labor Department could mean for construction

Born in Boston, Walsh joined Laborers’ International Union of North America Local 223 in 1988 and worked his way up through the ranks to lead both Local 223 and the Boston Building Trades Unions before being elected mayor in 2013. Walsh also served in the Massachusetts legislature. Labor organizations hailed Walsh’s nomination as a win […]

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Buttigieg DOT confirmation boosts hope for massive infrastructure investment

Industry and elected leaders praised Pete Buttigieg’s confirmation as Transportation Secretary after his nomination passed the U.S. Senate 86-13 on Tuesday. Buttigieg’s confirmation could be a boon for investment in the nation’s infrastructure, which has been called for on a bipartisan basis for many years, according to experts. During his nomination hearing before the U.S. […]

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Eyeing Obstacles, Dykes Offers Optimism for State’s Green Energy Goals

The latest draft of Connecticut’s Integrated Resources Plan — a semi-annual assessment of the state’s electric supply needs and possible sources of energy supply — is being touted by the department as the first to identify sources of supply to meet the state’s goal of zero-carbon electric generation by 2040. Already, 65 percent of the […]

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Construction set to begin on $20M W-Hartford mixed-use project

Construction of a $20 million mixed-use retail/residential project on West Hartford’s New Park Avenue is set to begin this month, with developers projecting a completion date of May, 2022. Trout Brook Realty Advisors, the nonprofit development arm of the West Hartford Housing Authority, is set to break ground on the transit-oriented development project located on […]

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Wall Street, public construction firms eager for Biden’s infrastructure push

Major Wall Street firms and publicly traded construction companies are eagerly awaiting President Joe Biden’s Build Back Better infrastructure plan, which he said he will detail in his first State of the Union address scheduled for Feb. 23. While the plan is forthcoming, the president pegged it at as much as $2 trillion in the […]

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It has been slow to arrive, but high speed rail could be coming

For the last three years, another high-speed rail concept has been quietly germinating, one that would go inland through Connecticut instead of along the shoreline. Called North Atlantic Rail, the plan originated at University of Pennsylvania planning studios directed by highly regarded planner Robert Yaro, former president of the Regional Plan Association and advised by, […]

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Noise, dust and fumes: Ansonia neighborhood group vies with construction business

A cadre of Westwood Road residents claim the noise, dust and fumes generated by one of the city’s largest taxpayers is making their lives unlivable. And residents of the city’s Westwood Road neighborhoods also say they believe that Burns Construction is violating city zoning laws by crushing rock on the company’s Woodlot site. The association […]

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Brookfield to vote on $3.6 million fourth phase of Four Corners streetscape project

The town plans to present the design for the $3.6 million fourth phase of its downtown revitalization project for approval at an upcoming special town meeting. Brookfield has completed two of five phases of the Four Corners streetscape project, and will start construction on its third phase this summer. Now, at 7 p.m Tuesday in […]

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Work nears completion on missing Stratford exit ramps

Work to complete a $29 million reconstruction of the Interstate 95 Exit 33 interchange near the Milford border is ramping up — literally and figuratively. The new ramps will correct a quirk in the state’s highway history dating back to the days when toll plazas dotted I-95 and the Merritt Parkway. Removing the toll plazas […]

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Biden’s Executive Orders Has Construction Industry Concerned

“The EOs also show how President Biden will incorporate his priorities into future rulemakings by asking agencies to ‘identify ways the regulatory process can promote public health and safety, economic growth, social welfare, racial justice, environmental stewardship, human dignity, equity and the interests of future generations.’” For transportation projects, “this could mean an increased focus […]

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Connecticut’s building trades need the Killingly energy plant project

The 30,000 men and women of the Connecticut State Building Trades unions, were shocked and gravely disappointed by the Gov. Ned Lamont’s quotes, “I don’t want to build Killingly” and that the administration could “play some games there,” referring to slowing the permitting process at DEEP. These quotes are deeply hurtful to the hardworking members […]

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Connecticut has nearly $1B in new federal relief. Legislators and municipalities want to know how Lamont plans to divvy it up.

Not long after Congress enacted a $900 billion relief bill on Dec. 21 — which President Trump signed six days later — Connecticut learned it included nearly $750 million to support education here, and more than $230 million for affordable housing. The linchpin of this new money was $492 million for elementary and secondary schools. […]

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Danbury scrambling to build CT’s first condominium-style school before enrollment surge hits

The city’s plans to be first in Connecticut to open a school in an office park under a condominium-style agreement has put leaders in a race against an Oct. 1 grant deadline to get blueprints to the state. Missing the state deadline would make Danbury ineligible for an 80 percent reimbursement of the school’s estimated […]

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Dominion officials discuss future of Millstone Nuclear Power Station

Gov. Ned Lamont stepped in to help secure the deal — called a power purchase agreement, or PPA — between Dominion, Eversource and United Illuminating. The contract calls on the utilities to buy half the plant’s output over the next decade. Dominion had threatened to shutter the 2,100-megawatt Millstone unless the state let it compete […]

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New apartments, hotel proposed near Norwalk-Wilton border

iPark Norwalk II LLC filed a special permit application earlier this month for a 244,750-square-foot expansion to its property at 761 Main Ave. The expansion calls for two new buildings to be added to the property: A 164,750-square-foot apartment complex featuring three floors of residential housing over one story of parking, and an 80,000-square-foot, 120-bedroom […]

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Connecticut Port Authority working to bring State Pier project on budget

Kosta Diamantis, deputy secretary for the Office of Policy and Management, addressed the Connecticut Port Authority this week and fielded questions about the possibility of costs escalating for the $157 million project, which is being funded through a partnership by the state and joint venture partners Eversource and Ørsted. OPM was tasked by Lamont with […]

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146-unit apartment development proposed in Farmington’s medical district

The project, which is garnering opposition from nearby residents, is expected to be discussed during a planning and zoning meeting Jan. 25, and would convert vacant land on Farmington Avenue — across the street from Jackson Lab and behind a UConn Health building — into a 146-unit apartment development with 224 parking spaces, including garages. […]

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Lamont to business: We need ideas for transportation funding

As he plans his two-year budget proposal, the state’s rapidly-depleting fund for transportation infrastructure is a major headache, Gov. Ned Lamont told a business audience on Friday. The state’s Special Transportation Fund is slowly but steadily going broke and could be exhausted by 2024. And updated transit infrastructure remains a key to the state’s future […]

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A big infrastructure spending bill might finally be in the cards

“With the slim majority the Democrats have in the Senate, infrastructure spending is probably going to be one of the less controversial measures and could be implemented,” said Gautam Khanna, senior portfolio manager with Insight Investment. “A $1.5 trillion to $2 trillion package — somewhere in that zone — could get through.” But economists and […]

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Building trades council exec joins Biden administration

Looman is now the deputy administrator of the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division, trades council President Harry Melander said in a press release. She started her new job Wednesday. “Jessica has dedicated her life to the labor movement and has been a pivotal voice in fighting for working families in Minnesota,” Melander […]

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How much federal funding will each state DOT receive?

State departments of transportation are set to receive funds totaling $9.8 billion as a result of emergency aid from the $900 billion COVID-19 relief measure passed late last year. That number is a part of nearly $10 billion total earmarked for transportation spending, and experts say the funds are much needed. State DOTs can use […]

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CT Democrats looking to Biden’s help to fight virus, build economy

Gov. Ned Lamont, U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro, state Attorney General William Tong and Secretary of the State Denise Merrill told reporters that Biden’s inauguration puts on-track the next $1.9-trillion aid plan, including up to $400 billion for state and local governments. Connecticut is well positioned to fare well under the Biden […]

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Cuomo announces $306B infrastructure plan for New York

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has announced a $306 billion spending plan as part of his 2021 infrastructure agenda. In what Cuomo called “the largest, most ambitious plan put forward by any state in the nation,” the initiative will focus on a $51 billion transit-oriented redevelopment of Manhattan’s Midtown West area and the continued modernization […]

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OSHA raises penalty maximums, establishes new debt collection procedures

The maximum federal penalty for serious and other-than-serious violations is now $13,653 per violation, up from $13,494. The maximum penalty for willful or repeated violations is now $136,532 per violation, up from $134,937. Since 2017, OSHA has adjusted the fines according to the Cost of Living Index every year. If an establishment fails to make […]

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Eversource to start Forestville gas line installation Tuesday

Eversource Gas is scheduled to start installation of a gas line on Tuesday, Jan. 19, in the Forestville neighborhood that includes Fair Street, Grove Avenue, Buckley Avenue, Garden Street, Vernon Street and Pleasant Avenue. “The purpose of the work is to upgrade the existing gas line,” said Mayor Ellen Zoppo-Sassu. The hours of construction will […]

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With its newest building, BLT bets on a growing Stamford

BLT plans to formally open its 435-unit building on Feb. 1, but it has been leasing units for much of January. Escape is the latest puzzle piece in the ever-expanding Harbor Point development, which has steadily grown over BLT’s tenure in Stamford. The pandemic strengthened the market for single-family homes in Stamford, something that is […]

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Brookfield construction temporarily shut down following alleged misclassification

KBE Building Corporation, the general contractor in charge of the construction project at 291 Federal Road was given a stop work order on Dec. 23 when issues arose over one of its subcontractors, according to Department of Labor spokesperson Juliet Manalan. According to Manalan, subcontractor Wall to Wall Drywall — a drywall company based in […]

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Funding to fix CT’s roads and bridges is drying up, and officials don’t have a solution

Now Connecticut is left with a $2.8 billion bill, a cash-starved Special Transportation Fund headed toward insolvency, and a construction industry poised to shrink even as the state struggles with unprecedented unemployment. “Once we get out to the next several years, nothing is [fully] funded,” said Nate Brown, vice president of the Connecticut State Building […]

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Lamont talks State Pier deal, emergency powers

Gov. Ned Lamont said Tuesday — a day when the state’s COVID-19 test positivity rate hit 10.72%, the highest in a while — that he thinks he will ask the legislature to extend his emergency authority, currently set to expire Feb. 9. “If I just get another two-plus months, I think sometime in April we’ll […]

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Newington finalizing tax agreement with developer looking to build $11 million hotel in town

The town is now finalizing a tax agreement with a developer looking to build an $11.1 million hotel at 712 Cedar St. Town Councilors voted unanimously Tuesday night to offer Gold Coast Premier Properties a 40% tax abatement for 10 years, contingent on the developer’s plan to build a 122-room extended-stay hotel on the site, […]

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Report: Collective bargaining agreements create ‘robust’ middle-class jobs for union construction workers

A new report says collective bargaining agreements help create “robust” middle-class careers and make significant contributions to local economies. The report, released this week, was produced by the Illinois Economic Policy Institute and the Project for Middle Class Renewal at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The study also found that apprenticeship programs paid by […]

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Infrastructure gap reaches $5.6 trillion: Trade group

America’s infrastructure gap has reached to $5.6 trillion, according to the trade group American Society of Civil Engineers. The group said that the gap is a problem that, unaddressed, could lead to the loss of 3 million jobs over two decades. The group in its annual report card outlined how much infrastructure investment is falling […]

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Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont to offer ‘revenue-raising ideas’ for transportation in February budget

Gov. Ned Lamont said Monday that he will propose “revenue-raising ideas’’ for transportation in February to help the state’s long-troubled special transportation fund. After the high-profile failure last year of controversial highway tolls, Lamont says the state still needs to provide money to balance the Special Transportation Fund. The projected deficit for the transportation fund […]

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New $18k cost study floated to assess possible Killingly community center move

That previous cost break-down led to for bonding $16.1 million to address roof, window and other long-standing issues at the former school, while also paying for modifications to allow a portion of the building to be used for recreation programming. Calorio said to accommodate the public at the school, new security doors would need to […]

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Lawmakers considering boosting CT’s credit card limit to assist those hurt by the pandemic

The pandemic-induced recession has left Connecticut legislators with one of their tightest credit card limits in recent history — less than one-seventh their 2020 level. “I supported the ‘debt diet’ during the beginning of the Lamont administration,” said Rep. Sean Scanlon, D-Guilford, new House chairman of the Finance, Revenue and Bonding Committee. “I thought that […]

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The 13 construction sectors contractors expect to shrink in 2021

On a webinar covering the results of the survey last week, which canvassed 1,300 construction firms in November and December, contractors lamented the difficulty of finding new projects and the challenges of keeping the ones they already have on track due to COVID-19 mitigation and productivity losses. “2021 looks to be a difficult year for […]

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Torrington school building committee looks at traffic

With seventh- and eighth-graders a part of the new Torrington Middle/High School, more traffic will be coming and going on Major Besse Drive once the $159.8 million building opens for the 2024-25 school year. The project’s building committee is looking to eradicate that problem by opening Daley Drive as a permanent access road to the […]

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Hartford’s Verogy aims to soothe growing friction between solar developers, farmland advocates

Connecticut’s solar energy sector is entering its next phase, marked by ever-larger projects and greater scrutiny by regulators and farming advocates on the long-term impact ground-mounted panel arrays have on the state’s limited stock of agricultural land. One upstart solar developer working to become a player in that evolving landscape is Hartford-based Verogy, and the […]

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Bradley fights to stay in the top flight during COVID-19 crisis

As it contends with slashed levels of airline service, Bradley International Airport has cut costs in a number of areas in response to its declining revenues. The financial strain will not dissipate in 2021, but airport officials are hopeful that the adjustments will safeguard the Windsor Locks hub’s finances and persuade airlines to make long-term […]

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Torrington mayor sets ‘goals with intention’ for 2021

Businesses including restaurants were shut down in March and still are coping with Gov. Ned Lamont’s executive orders intended to prevent the spread of COVID-19. When the shutdown began, Carbone and Economic Development Director Rista Malanca developed forums for residents and businesses to ask questions, and when the orders were eased somewhat, allowing most businesses […]

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Biden chooses Boston Mayor Walsh as Labor secretary

President-elect Joe Biden has picked Boston Mayor Marty Walsh, a former top union leader, to serve as his Labor secretary, according to four sources, ending a selection process that split the labor movement and stoked diversity concerns among Democrats. Biden was widely expected to choose a Labor Department head who enjoyed the support of unions, […]

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Construction on North Harwinton Avenue a priority

Mayor David V. Merchant plans to begin the new year by kicking off a long-awaited road reconstruction project on North Harwinton Avenue. Merchant said the town was able to secure $3 million in Local Capital Improvement grant funding from the Naugatuck Valley Council of Governors for the total reconstruction of North Harwinton Avenue. Another road […]

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New Britain, Berlin, Plainville directors of economic development to talk current projects, those expected to begin

The Greater New Britain Chamber of Commerce will be hosting a webinar Friday featuring the New Britain, Berlin and Plainville directors of economic development. They will discuss current projects that are underway and expected to begin this year. The directors will also review activity that occurred in 2020. New Britain Mayor Erin Stewart will also […]

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Dems edge closer to Senate control, raising stakes for construction

With many important pieces of legislation facing lawmakers this year, the fate of the Senate will have a major impact on construction-related issues, industry advocates say. Another crucial legislative issue for contractors this year is a potential federal infrastructure package. While passing a comprehensive infrastructure spending bill has been cast as a bipartisan measure that […]

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‘Let this be the year of Connecticut’s Comeback.’ Gov. Ned Lamont delivers upbeat address as 2021 legislative session kicks off; asks lawmakers to move on legalizing marijuana, sports betting

“I don’t want our state to be defined by a COVID crisis — instead I want this year to be the year we changed the narrative of Connecticut; let this be the year of Connecticut’s Comeback,” Lamont said in a prerecorded speech that began airing just after 12:50 p.m. The traditional in-person speech in the […]

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DeLauro promises Biden will focus on infrastructure

Veteran U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro, the new, powerful House Appropriations Committee chairwoman, promised Monday that once President-elect Joe Biden takes office, he will support major investments that should help Connecticut and the region. “I think in addition to transportation, you’re looking at broadband, airports, water projects, et cetera,” she said. “It is roads and bridges […]

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From ‘black eye’ to ‘economic boost,’ Danbury’s Summit shows promise with Nuvance move

Nuvance Health’s move to the burgeoning Summit building is a sign the west side development could flourish and drive growth throughout the city, despite the struggling economy. “It’s really great for the city because it takes this black eye that’s been sitting here for so long,” he said. “To be able to bring it back […]

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Hearing on $100M XL Center renovation pushed back after Northland Investment asks for briefing

A hearing intended to outline a $100 million makeover of downtown Hartford’s aging XL Center has been pushed back, after the owner of the atrium and storefront space outside the arena asked for a meeting with the Capital Region Development Authority, which is overseeing the project. The virtual hearing had been scheduled for Tuesday, but […]

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California developer acquires Wallingford flex property for $1.1M

A California-based commercial and multifamily developer has jumped coasts with a recent $1.1 million real estate deal in Wallingford. Michael Tevis, president of Menlo Park’s Intrinsic Ventures, purchased 135 N. Plains Industrial Road — a 21,000-square-foot office and light manufacturing building that sits on 2.4 acres — on Dec. 3, according to property records. The […]

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Tourism, Traffic, Migrating Fish and Birds — All Part of Planning the Swing Bridge Overhaul

But now with a major overhaul scheduled to begin in the spring of 2022, drivers can expect delays and occasional extended closures on a much more regular basis. Instead of the typical 8-minute wait, closings will sometimes last for up to 63 hours as the span is rehabilitated and a new pedestrian walkway is installed […]

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Developer presents new draft plan for 931-unit, mixed-use development at Mystic Education Center

Following concerned and critical comments from several residents of Boulder Court and Hancock Drive at a special meeting of the Groton Planning & Zoning Commission on Tuesday night, developer Jeff Respler laid out his latest vision for Mystic River Bluffs, a luxury 931-unit, mixed-use development at the Mystic Education Center property, site of the former […]

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A Monster Wind Turbine Is Upending an Industry

G.E. has yet to install one of these machines in ocean water. As a relative newcomer to the offshore wind business, the company faces questions about how quickly and efficiently it can scale up production to build and install hundreds of the turbines. G.E. has yet to install one of these machines in ocean water. […]

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Master plan presents blueprint for the future of Ansonia Copper & Brass and the Valley

With some luck, $18 million and buy-in from new industries, the now-defunct Ansonia Copper and Brass site could spark a renaissance for the entire Valley. That’s the optimistic view that local officials have in their sights, helped out by a new 200-page plan that predicts the 116-acre complex could become a manufacturing center again with […]

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