A settlement reached in January between Connecticut’s Office of Consumer Counsel and Eversource Energy regarding an increase in distribution rates isn’t sitting well with some of the utility’s customers, if a regulatory hearing held Wednesday night is any indication. A decision in the rate case is scheduled for mid-April. The new rates, if approved by […]
With the fate of the school building project up in the air and the town forced to send the project vote to a referendum at a later date, the path forward is murky and residents may be faced with the possibility of having no schools at all. The $38.5 million school building project, of which […]
Less than 250 voters showed up to the polls Tuesday to decide on a $15.7 million upgrade project to the town’s water pollution control facility in order to comply with the state-mandated removal of phosphorus. Town Manager Robert Lee said 193 people voted yes while 31 voted no on the project. Bids for construction are expected to be received […]
When President Donald Trump called for a $1.5 trillion infrastructure investment in his State of the Union address, he didn’t pledge that the federal government actually would provide that much money for roads, bridges, rail and waterways. The federal government typically provides 80 percent of the funding for capital expenditures on highways, with state and […]
The long-awaited $769 million New Haven-Hartford-Springfield commuter rail line remains on track to start up in May, but the huge project still doesn’t have enough funding for completion and is facing new financing problems. Malloy said earlier this month that the legislature must take swift action to provide new revenue for Connecticut’s Special Transportation Fund, […]
Tasked with solving the Long Island Expressway bottleneck and handed $5 million to do it, a Montreal consulting firm offered its prescription last month: An underwater tunnel, a bridge, or some combination of the two, with a price tag ranging from $8.5 to $55.4 billion. The study, conducted by Montreal group WSP, proposes three crossing […]
A planned parking garage near The Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts would lay the groundwork for transforming a sea of asphalt parking lots into a neighborhood of housing, shops and restaurants connecting Bushnell Park to south Hartford. Revitalization would add to tax rolls and dramatically boost the vibrancy of an area that has morphed […]
Interested rail passengers can now get information on events, fares and schedules at the new CTrail Hartford Line website launched Thursday. The $700 million Hartford Line increases rail service from New Haven to Hartford by 11 more trains per day, bringing the total to 17. Twelve will continue north to Springfield. http://www.myrecordjournal.com/News/State/Hartford-Line-launches-commuter-website.html
Over a year and a half after the town approved a $38.5 million project to renovate the town’s schools, the project is nearing the end of its planning stage and town officials expect to break ground next month. The proposed GMP of $33,875,455 is lower than the maximum approved in the resolution the town passed […]
Amazon is in negotiations to lease up to 1 million square feet of office space in Boston, a move that might indicate the internet retailing giant has chosen the city as the location for its $5 billion second North American headquarters (HQ2), according to Fortune. Boston has already been floated as a prime candidate for […]
Carillion, which employs 43,000 people around the world, said in a statement Monday that rescue talks with stakeholders including the British government had collapsed. Carillion, which has roughly half its global workforce in Britain, has its roots in the construction business. But it also builds infrastructure for high speed rail and power distribution projects, and […]
The governor slammed the brakes on $4.3 billion worth of planned transportation projects, claiming poverty and imploring the General Assembly to finally allocate needed money. A more than $200 million plan to improve the West Rock Tunnel on Route 15 in New Haven is off the table, along with improvements to the Merritt 7 train […]
Aurora Solar LLC filed a memorandum of option on the city land records Monday, stating that the company has an option agreement to purchase the property from current owner Byron Brook Country Club LLC, the New York firm that had proposed a luxury resort for the property in the early 2000s. Any solar project additionally […]
After months of discussion, the election of several new local representatives and a slew of amendments, the Killingly Town Council this week approved two agreements with a proposed power plant developer that could net the town millions in tax revenue. The contracts are contingent on the NTE energy company building a electric generating plant — […]
The governor says Connecticut is postponing indefinitely $4.3 billion worth of transportation projects until lawmakers come up with new revenue to pay for them. Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and Department of Transportation (DOT) Commissioner James P. Redeker released the full list of projects Wednesday that are dependent on funding from DOT’s Special Transportation Fund (STF). […]
In an analysis of the U.S. Census Bureau’s November construction spending data, the Tribune-Review reported that private construction spending for the first 11 months of 2017 outpaced that of public construction. Private-sector spending from January to November increased to $878.6 billion, up 6.5% from the same period in 2016. Public construction spending fell 2.8% to $259.7 […]
Building and Land Technology has formally announced Harbor Landing, a mixed-use waterfront development that brings together the Stamford Landing office complex and the Davenport Landing boatyard and residential properties. The newly connected waterfront destination, across from Harbor Point and overlooking the Long Island Sound, will offer 200,000 square feet of waterfront office space, 218 residential […]
Simsbury officials could challenge the recent approval of a 26-megawatt solar farm planned in the town’s northern section. The Tobacco Valley Solar Farm will be built on 156 acres in north Simsbury. It is expected to produce enough energy to power 5,000 homes. Deepwater Wind will sell the energy to utility companies, not to residents. […]
Work is nearing completion on the West Center Street Extension bridge replacement project. Public Works Director Keith Hayden said work on the bridge, which spans the Eight Mile River, is “substantially complete.” It was originally scheduled to be completed in November. Hayden said the cost of the project is about $1.2 million. http://www.myrecordjournal.com/News/Southington/Southington-News/Southington-Bridge-Repairs-Still-Ongoing.html
Eleven transit-oriented development projects in Connecticut will receive $15 million in funding, including five in the Hartford region. Gov. Dannel P. Malloy said this week the funding will come through a competitive grant program that supports responsible growth, and noted it is targeted at boosting economic activity and creating jobs. http://www.hartfordbusiness.com/article/20171228/NEWS01/171229933
The agency notes that, since 2012, other states have addressed funding problems by increasing their gas taxes and diesel taxes, expanding highway tolls, creating a hotel tax and even imposing fees for electric and hybrid vehicles. “If the state fails to rise to these challenges, citizens can expect a pattern of stagnation — deteriorating highways […]
South Windsor has given the green light to a Nebraska builder-developer to erect a $30 million luxury retirement community on Buckland Road at Evergreen Walk. Bob Lewis, the developer/builder’s director of development, told the panel at public hearing that the company plans to break ground this spring and take 14 to 18 months to complete […]
The state’s budget crisis has derailed longtime plans for a train station near Yale’s West campus off Marsh Hill Road that town officials hoped would provide convenience and an economic boost to the area. The project, expected to have cost $50 million to $60 million, and around which the state already has spent at least […]
After eight wrecks on the southbound side of the Gold Star Memorial Bridge over the last two weeks, the state Department of Transportation has announced a ramp closure intended to improve traffic flow. According to DOT Project Engineer Keith Schoppe, the DOT had hoped drivers would adjust to the new Bridge Street ramp, especially after […]
The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ 2016 Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries revealed that construction worker fatalities increased by 6% from 2015 to 2016, ConstructConnect reported. The four major causes of construction deaths — dubbed the Fatal Four by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration — are falls, struck-by incidents, electrocution and caught-in/between accidents. They were responsible for […]
Downtown Hartford’s High School Inc. could relocate to the northern section of the city and be absorbed as part of a completely rebuilt Weaver High School within two years, according to the school restructuring plan unveiled Tuesday by Hartford Superintendent Leslie Torres-Rodriguez. The proposed restructuring plan, if ultimately approved, would require High School Inc. to […]
Developer John Orsini has a deal with Best Buy to construct a new 80,000-square-foot distribution center in the Northrop Industrial Park. Orsini said the company chose the site because it’s centrally located and has easy access to the highways. Construction, which recently began, will be completed by the end of July. http://www.myrecordjournal.com/News/Wallingford/Wallingford-News/Best-Buy-distribution-center-warehouse-going-in-Wallingford-industrial-park.html
Officials broke ground Tuesday at the State Veterans Cemetery on two projects totaling $8.6 million that are designed to expand and beautify the Bow Lane grounds. Construction on that portion of the project is estimated to be finished by February 2020. It is being paid for by a $3.18 million federal grant. Also, an expansion […]
Development of an aquaponics farm is off the table at Fort Trumbull but the Renaissance City Development Association, the city’s development arm, is expected to start the new year with continued negotiations for a hotel on the Fort Trumbull peninsula. The hotel plans face an obstacle, however, with the nine-month negotiating period with J-Patel Hotel […]
Centerplan Construction Cos., the original developer of Dunkin’ Donuts Park that was fired from the project by the city of Hartford after falling behind on the development schedule and going over budget, is being sued for failing to pay tens of thousands of dollars in back rent on its former Middletown headquarters and ignoring a […]
The bill slashes the corporate tax rate from 35% to 21%, and also includes massive changes to how income earned or kept offshore is treated. Every industry could see effects — including higher education. Tax reform is expected to impact several areas of interest to HR: paid leave, fringe benefits, automation and offshoring. Overall, tax reform […]
A construction worker died after he was struck in the head by an object that fell from scaffolding in Chelsea Monday morning, police said. The 34-year-old man, who was not immediately identified, was found unconscious at about 8:40 a.m. at 61 Ninth Ave. , on the corner of West 15th Street and Ninth Avenue, cops […]
If the controversial Millstone nuclear plant were to close within a few years, its many highly-skilled employees would have no trouble finding new jobs, according to a new draft report commissioned by the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection and the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority. But the report says the nuclear station is on […]
Members of the governing board of the South Central Connecticut Regional Water Authority Wednesday night unanimously approved a $15 million fix of the tunnel and pipe system that brings water from the utility’s largest reservoir to a treatment facility in North Branford. The largest portion of the project’s overall cost, which includes $1 million for […]
U.S. construction companies this year hired fewer workers than they did in 2016, and their existing employees are working longer hours, according to TSheets. TSheets analyzed payroll data from 12,000 construction companies and found that employees are working a 39.6-hour week, compared with 39.2 hours in 2016 and 38.4 hours in 2015. https://www.constructiondive.com/news/report-construction-workers-putting-in-longer-hours-industry-hiring-down/513148/
The Connecticut State Colleges and Universities Board of Regents has voted overwhelmingly to restructure CSCU, consolidating 12 community colleges into one accredited institution. The controversial move, which is projected to save nearly $28 million a year in administrative costs, but not affect faculty positions, was approved Thursday afternoon with 12 board members voting in favor […]
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy said Thursday a day of reckoning has arrived for Connecticut’s depleted special transportation fund and the services and projects it finances, outlining what is likely to be an election-year challenge for the General Assembly next year and, perhaps, the last major initiative of a lame-duck governor. With a long hit list […]
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has fined a Connecticut contractor $329,548 and issued the company two willful and six serious violations for exposing workers on a Concord, NH, project site to mercury and respirator hazards, according to an agency press release. After OSHA responded to worker complaints by visiting the site, agency investigators […]
Construction and engineering groups are sifting through the sweeping tax-code rewrite that the Senate approved on Dec. 2, but some see it as better than the House-passed version, particularly in its treatment of partnerships, sole proprietorships and other “pass-through” entities. Stephen Sandherr, Associated General Contractors of America CEO, noted that a majority of construction firms are […]
The Meriden Housing Authority and the city have filed another application to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for a Choice Neighborhood Implementation Grant. Instead of asking for $20 million as it did last year, the MHA and the city are seeking $18 million because two of the projects listed in the original […]
While Walmart has dropped plans to open a supercenter here, members of business community remain steadfast that their “mom and pop” town will stand strong as developers look to salvage something from the project. While there were mixed feelings about the development project and its impact on existing retailers, some saw the development as a […]
The city, Norwalk NAACP and General Growth Properties aim to engage women and minority-owned businesses in the construction of The SoNo Collection. GGP, a Chicago-based mall developer, broke ground in August on the 728,000-square-foot upscale regional shopping center off West Avenue and Interstate 95. The company had targeted October 2019 for completion. Under its development […]
The town council will hold a special meeting Monday to discuss restoring spending on the proposed $22.3 million human services building project. Current estimates show that the project is about $3 million over budget, but that could change once bids are received. On Tuesday the council’s finance committee voted unanimously to recommend that the council […]
The Capital Region Development Authority (CRDA) on Thursday selected the Hartford Sports Group (HSG) to renovate Hartford’s Dillon Stadium. Led by Bruce Mandell, president and owner of Newington-based Data-Mail, HSG was one of three project bidders. CRDA, which is a quasi-public state agency, will recommend HSG to the city of Hartford, which will make the […]
The State Bond Commission Wednesday backed borrowing $40 million for improvements to the Hartford’s aging XL Center arena, with the intent of seeking a private buyer for the downtown sports and entertainment venue. In a 7-2 vote, the commission approved the expenditure, with two Republicans opposing it, one of them, Rep. Christopher Davis of Ellington, […]
President Donald Trump said Monday that he will reveal his plan for a $1 trillion infrastructure package after Congress passes tax reform legislation, The Hill reported. The House passed its tax bill Thursday, but lawmakers aim to pass a Senate bill and negotiate a final deal by Christmas. Rep. Sam Graves (R-Mo.), chair of the Transportation […]
Connecticut’s economy grew more slowly from April through June than any other New England state and was 43rd among the states, according to federal statistics released Tuesday. The state’s economy, which is measured by the sale of all goods and services, amounted to $260.1 billion in the second quarter of the year and expanded by […]
Meriden Economic Development Director Juliet Burdelski says the commitment by the state will allow them to get the project started. The Record-Journal reports the hospital has been vacant since the 1990s and has continued to degrade since then, despite efforts at remediation. Democratic Gov. Dannel Malloy’s office said Monday a total of $13.6 million in […]
The XL Center arena could go on the block sooner than 2019, if the State Bond Commission approves $40 million for the aging sports and entertainment center in downtown Hartford. Michael W. Freimuth, executive director of the Capital Region Development Authority, said the agency, which oversees the arena, is considering seeking buyers sooner. The $40 […]
A dip in public works combined with a substantial decrease in utility work, weak industrial markets and slower-than-anticipated growth in residential construction all put a damper on general construction growth in 2017. The consensus among economic forecasts analyzed by ENR indicates a very modest rebound in growth in 2018. The American Road & Transportation Builders […]
A radio broadcast booth, a TV studio and four arts studios will be included in the $133 million Weaver High School when it reopens after renovation, according to architectural designs presented to the public this week. With construction underway, a chief architect for the project said the first floor will also include a WQTQ-FM radio […]
The Tweed New Haven Airport Authority unanimously approved a $2.56 million contract Wednesday for the third phase of its residential sound insulation program, which will soundproof 54 houses in East Haven and the Morris Cove section of New Haven. The authority also unanimously approved a task order for $774,274 in design and construction services for […]
The commission is scheduled hold a public hearing on the site plan for the proposed $30 million mixed-use development during a meeting beginning at 7 p.m. in the Mary Flood Room of the Portland Public Library. Brookfield-based BRT proposes to construct some 240 studio, one-, and two-bedroom rental units, as well as various retail and […]
One key issue tops the ballot in Tuesday’s election: Whether residents will end 30-plus years of dithering and approve a proposal to build a new Town Hall/police station. Heading the ballot is the proposal to spend $18.98 million to build a 33,400-square-foot building on a 5.4-acre parcel of land in the Edgewater Hills mixed-use development. […]
Dodge Data & Analytics in its 2018 Dodge Construction Outlook forecasts a 3% rise in the value of total construction starts to $765 billion next year. Robert Murray, Dodge chief economist, said the slower growth of 2016, 2017 and 2018 compared to the double-digit boom years from 2012 to 2015 signifies a “mature stage of expansion” for […]
In Connecticut, construction industry employment dropped sharply since June, according to estimates by the state Department of Labor. As of September, builders employed 56,200 people in Connecticut, DOL determined, down nearly 9 percent from last April that represented the sector’s peak employment in 2017. Since then, construction employment has dropped five months running, and is […]
Contractors that do business with the state of Connecticut no longer have to pay prevailing wages on construction projects that cost less than $1 million. Kimberly Glassman, director of the Foundation for Fair Contracting of Connecticut, said other states that have increased prevailing wage thresholds, or repealed the law altogether, have not seen significant savings. […]
Dubbed PSEG Ready2Work, funded with $500,000 from the company and managed and run by The Workplace and Building Pathways CT, the apprenticeship program unveiled Wednesday resulted from a deal the city and PSEG brokered in 2015 and early 2016. That pact — a “community environmental benefit agreement” — required PSEG’s controversial coal-fired plant to cease […]
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy signed the two-year, $41.3 billion state budget bill Tuesday, but he used his power to veto a section of the nearly 900-page document that related to the controversial hospital tax. Senate Republican leader Len Fasano said he expects legislators to return to Hartford within the next two weeks to either override […]
After blocking similar bills over two years, the House of Representatives voted 75 to 66 for final passage Thursday of a measure variously derided as a windfall for a major energy company and praised as a responsible first step toward stabilizing the finances of Connecticut’s last nuclear plant. The bill would permit, not require, state […]
Amazon received 238 proposals from cities and regions in 54 states, provinces, districts and territories across North America, the e-commerce giant said Monday. The company expects to invest over $5 billion in construction and grow its second headquarters to include as many as 50,000 high-paying jobs — a full equal to its Seattle campus, Amazon said. […]
With no documents available, the state Senate is planning to vote on a $40 billion state budget Wednesday evening. Earlier in the afternoon, the legislature’s tax-writing finance committee will vote to adopt revenue estimates for the two-year taxing and spending plan, paving the way for the Senate vote. The House is tentatively scheduled to vote […]
After a marathon session of shuttle diplomacy in Capitol meeting rooms that started Monday afternoon, Connecticut’s 116-day budget impasse finally ended at 1:30 a.m. on Tuesday, when legislative leaders agreed they have a deal that can be voted on later in the week. Between late in the afternoon Monday and right up to the agreement […]
The value of construction starts surged 14% from August to a seasonally adjusted rate of $814.8 billion in September, according to Dodge Data & Analytics. The rebound was driven by the nonresidential sector, which spiked 37% month over month. A lethargic public works sector pushed nonbuilding down 3%, while residential — both single-family and multifamily […]
Lawmakers and witnesses at a House highways and transit subcommittee hearing on Oct. 11 also said they want the plan to include a remedy for the Highway Trust Fund, which will face another shortfall in 2020 unless it gets a revenue infusion. North America’s Building Trades Unions are looking for a “big, broad, bold infrastructure […]
Republican and Democratic state legislators hope to vote next week on a budget agreement that they reached Wednesday afternoon, possibly ending a crippling dispute that began early this year. Anticipating a potential veto from Malloy, Aresimowicz said there could be 101 votes in the House and 24 in the Senate supporting the bipartisan deal. Legislative […]
Legislative leaders said they expect to know whether they will have a two-year, bipartisan budget deal by 2:30 p.m. Wednesday afternoon. After 13 days of closed-door negotiations, legislative leaders will have poured over more than 1,000 pages of budget line items and talked through their differences. The arbitrary deadline they’ve given themselves is 2:30 p.m. […]
The leak happened shortly after 8:30 a.m., when a piece of heavy equipment hit a gas main during a road project outside Addison Mill Apartments, 64 Addison Road, Fire Chief Mike Thurz said. About 60 residents had to leave their apartments, and area roads were shut down. The leak was stopped by 9:30 a.m., police […]
Amazon has approval to build an 855,000 square-foot warehouse and distribution center at 415 Washington Ave. (Route 5) that would yield 1.2 million square feet in floor space to ceiling. The investment in the land and construction is estimated to be about $129 million and the personal property, including robotics, is estimated to add $130 […]
The governor’s new plan would reduce spending by an additional $150 million over this fiscal year and next combined compared to a September budget Malloy and Democratic legislative leaders recommended. It maintains emergency relief for distressed municipalities by includes a revised formula for redistributing education aid. And while it does shift funding from wealthy communities […]
Construction has begun on a 147-unit apartment complex at Pleasant Valley Road North and Route 12, one of two multi-family building projects in Groton. Developers may be responding to this need and the growth at Electric Boat, Reiner said. Electric Boat needs to hire 15,000 to 20,000 people by 2030 as it gears up to […]
After a decade of discussions and planning, work is finally under way on the $30 million Route 44 reconstruction project in Hartford, Conn. The project, which was presented to the public, the city and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) during design development, is 80 percent federal and 20 percent state funded. CJ Fucci Construction is […]
Legislative leaders met for about six hours Monday in a continuing effort to fashion a bipartisan budget proposal that will end the budget stalemate that’s lingered for more than 100 days. They haven’t reached a deal yet, but staff on both sides said there’s been movement from both parties. What’s not clear yet is if […]
Millstone’s owner Dominion is arguing it needs help because cheap power produced from natural gas is forcing it to consider shutting Millstone down. But even if legislation does finally pass, it won’t change some basic realities: One day Millstone will close, and Connecticut doesn’t have a plan for that. With no plan for replacing Millstone, […]
A “fat cat” in a plush three-piece suit dangles and strangles a working guy in a yellow construction helmet. The blow-up figures were deployed Thursday afternoon by members and supporters of the New England Regional Council of Carpenters (NERCC) in support of Terail Slaughter, a non-union carpenter who had been employed helping to build the […]
The fourth phase of the city’s Complete Streets Master Plan is making progress. In January, the New Britain Common Council authorized a contract of nearly $3.2 million with Morais Concrete Service out of Springfield, Mass., to oversee upgrades along a section of Columbus Boulevard. The Columbus Boulevard project is expected to be completed by fall 2018. […]
The developer of the College Street Apartments hopes to sign leases by next fall with tenants who are already clamoring to secure a spot at the 93-unit six-story building a block away from downtown. The construction was delayed about 15 months, said Chuck Hajjar, president of the Milton, Massachusetts-based Hajjar Management Co. Hajjar estimates the […]
House Democrats introduced their own infrastructure plan Wednesday as lawmakers await further details on President Donald Trump’s expected $1 trillion spend, according to The Hill. The New Democrat Coalition’s “fund it, fix it and foster it” strategy would use repatriated taxes to fund infrastructure and seek long-term revenue streams for the Highway Trust Fund. The […]
The New York firms of Girona Ventures and Wonder Works Construction and Development Corp. have agreed to purchase Trumbull on the Park, built in 2005 and containing 100 rentals. The spaces in the garage were needed for the nearby conversion of 95-101 and 111 Pearl Street in 258 market-rate rentals, a $51 million project also […]
The state of Connecticut has chosen the Stamford and Hartford regions to represent it in its bid to land Amazon’s second headquarters. The cities of Bridgeport and New Haven are still jointly pursuing an application with Amazon together as a metropolitan area, the mayors of both cities said Friday. http://www.hartfordbusiness.com/article/20171006/NEWS01/171009934
Some industry groups and highway transportation advocates hope changes to U.S. tax policy will allow for increased allocations to the Highway Trust Fund, which supports state infrastructure programs and is set to run dry by 2020. Until a formal infrastructure program can be worked out, Chao said, the Department of Transportation is streamlining regulations, particularly […]
Hartford leaders on Monday fired Centerplan Construction Co. and DoNo Hartford, the original developers of Dunkin’ Donuts Park, from other projects in the city’s stalled downtown north neighborhood. Now that Centerplan and DoNo have been fired from the rest of the development, city leaders said they’re looking for developers “with the interest and capital” to […]
Connecticut transportation officials have opened 225 parking spaces in an $8.8 million downtown Meriden parking garage to improve rail access for regional commuters and travelers, authorities said. The Connecticut Department of Transportation (ConnDOT) said it made the improvements to safety, accessibility and convenience near the CTrail Hartford line Meriden station. The spaces opened last week. […]
Included among the lump sum, design-build and cost-plus contracts — to name a few — commonly used to carry out this work is another type of arrangement: indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contracting. When public agencies know they will need some type of construction service but lack certainty around the timeframe or the volume or scope […]
The stakes have been raised in the competition to build Connecticut’s first new casino in 20 years, with MGM unveiling plans for a $675 million privately financed waterfront resort in the state’s largest city that the gaming giant is touting as an economic and jobs boon. A 2021 opening date is being eyed by MGM, […]
After a compromise budget deal didn’t receive a vote late Thursday, legislators will return to the Capitol today for a second attempt to vote on a taxing and spending plan to close a two-year projected deficit of $3.5 billion. Democrats, who have long enjoyed significant margins in the legislature, hold only a 79-72 advantage in […]
Democratic leaders still must sell this two-year budget plan to rank-and-file members before Thursday’s scheduled votes in the House and Senate. Moderate Democrats have expressed concern about the tax hikes being proposed and have called for greater fiscal reforms. Though full details were not available, the new plan for this fiscal year and next would […]
The combined value of property destroyed by Hurricane Harvey in the Gulf Coast and Hurricane Irma in Florida could hit between $150 billion and $200 billion, CNBC reported, citing Moody’s data. The ongoing shortage of skilled construction labor is one of the biggest hurdles expected to impact rebuilding efforts. Even before the storms, seven in 10 […]
The report from the American Road and Transportation Builders Association found Connecticut would lose $3.2 billion in economic activity each year, including $2 billion in lost sales and 10,227 in lost jobs that an investment in transportation would have supported. Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s compromise budget does not include a bonding cap, but any bonding […]
About 75 people gathered at the Mystic branch of the Ocean Community YMCA Thursday afternoon for the groundbreaking of a $7.2 million expansion and renovation project that will take place over the next 13 months. Despite what he called “tough times” in the state, Stonington First Selectman Rob Simmons said the town has allocated $100,000 […]
To be clear, if the legislature capitulates and increases the thresholds of our prevailing wage law, it will be a symbolic gesture at best. CCM and our elected officials are under no illusions that weakening wage standards for construction workers won’t realize any significant savings for our municipalities. If CCM were actually committed to lowering […]
While plenty of smaller projects are still underway, the grand opening of the University of Connecticut’s new branch campus Wednesday means for the first time in about a decade and a half, there is a lull in major redevelopment downtown. Though it evolved over time, the bulk of it ultimately became what is now known […]
House Democrats say the sales tax would increase from the current 6.35 percent, but they said the final rate would be determined after discussions with the party’s caucus. An earlier Democratic proposal called for raising the sales tax to 6.99 percent, but it is widely believed the new proposal would be lower than that. http://www.courant.com/politics/hc-pol-democratic-revised-budget-20170822-story.html
Blindly cutting municipal aid without loosening draconian mandates and labor laws will be counterintuitive, giving municipal leaders little wiggle room to shave costs and forcing local taxpayers to shoulder the burden in the form of higher property taxes. Municipalities have long argued for curtailing the state’s prevailing wage law, which requires municipalities to pay a […]
A Connecticut city plans to convert a stadium currently housing its minor league baseball team into an outdoor venue for concerts. Bridgeport Mayor Joe Ganim says the city-owned stadium will be redeveloped into an amphitheater with a $15 million investment through a public-private partnership. Developer Howard Saffan says the amphitheater will open in 2019 and […]
The $1.4 million “Hartford Lofts” project would convert the space that was a hotel and rooming house and would be the first residential condo project in downtown in more than a decade. CRDA has committed $400,000 in loans to the project along with $850,000 from the Hartford Community Loan Fund. The balance of $150,000 is […]
Standing along the Connecticut River Tuesday, Rep. John Larson announced a $1 trillion infrastructure bill that would fund projects across the country — including his $10 billion proposal to tunnel I-91 and I-84 through Hartford — by taxing carbon emissions. The America Wins Act, as Larson is calling the bill, would create between 13 million […]
Efforts to lock up state & municipal construction projects with prevailing wage and project labor agreements will probably decline over the next four years, predicts Charles Krugel, a management-side labor and employment lawyer and HR counselor in Chicago. “We’ve already seen the chipping away of previous public sector union rights in historically unionized states like Wisconsin and […]
Though spending levels are far from final, Senate and House appropriators have generally rejected the sharp cuts President Trump proposed for important infrastructure accounts. Senate appropriators, in unanimously clearing their 2018 DOT-HUD measure, spurned Trump’s proposal to zero-out DOT’s highly popular Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grants and his plan to slash transit capital […]
In its July 2017 North American Crane Index report, construction research firm Rider Levett Bucknall (RLB) counted nearly 400 fixed cranes in use across 14 major North American cities, indicating continued, steady activity in the construction industry. Cities where crane counts have declined still have projects in the pipeline that could boost construction crane numbers […]
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy signed an executive order Tuesday aimed at resolving hotly contested questions about the economic viability of the Millstone Power Station, a nuclear-powered generator of electricity crucial to Connecticut’s goals for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. An intense lobbying campaign by Dominion Energy, the owner of Millstone, failed to convince the Malloy administration […]
The “Bethel Forward” plan, was in the works for a decade and finalized just over a year ago, and since then officials have been applying for grants to make downtown more walkable and working to change zoning regulations to promote development. Although Bethel aims to revitalize the whole downtown, the core of the plan is […]
Nearly half the 61 towns and cities that participated in a Connecticut Conference of Municipalities survey have imposed some level of spending freeze during the first quarter of the current fiscal year. The fiscal constraints, CCM officials said, are in large part because the municipalities had to begin the 2018 fiscal year without any indication […]
In a key vote on a portion of the state budget, the state House of Representatives will debate later today on whether to ratify $1.5 billion in labor concessions by state employees to help close about one-third of the budget deficit over two years. With all Republicans opposed, the vote is expected to be close […]
The crew of about 40 is expected to complete the job in late October, with time to spare before the start of the basketball season. With a crew that specializes in dome repair on site, the project began in May. The crew worked seven days last week, making up for rain days— it’s impossible to […]
House Democrats are to caucus Tuesday on the budget, but no votes are scheduled by the House. State employee unions are expected to report whether their members have ratified a tentative concession deal. Rejection means the projected current-year shortfall would jump to $3 billion. Overall, about $1.4 billion of the state’s $20 billion annual budget […]
Unionized state employees have voted overwhelmingly to ratify the concession deal negotiated by the administration of Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, shifting the focus to a closely divided General Assembly, where Republicans say they will attempt to reject an agreement worth an estimated $1.57 billion over two years. Labor and other sources who have been briefed […]
Sen. John Thune, R-SD, chairman of the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, said last week that progress on President Donald Trump’s $1 trillion infrastructure plan could be sidelined until 2018, according to The Hill. Deatils of the president’s infrastructure plan so far include leveraging $200 billion in direct federal spending to spur $1 trillion in […]
The elimination of some federal aid for transit funding means Connecticut will be spending more on highways and less on trains and buses, according to a draft of a transportation department four-year plan. On the mass transit side, no new systems are in the works, but more than $1 billion is planned for upgrading Metro-North […]
A long-awaited $205 million renovation of the State Office Building on Capitol Avenue could serve as the catalyst for an even bigger goal: bringing back a neighborhood where one hasn’t existed for decades. The overall redevelopment is likely to cost hundreds of millions of dollars. Financing, which still must be lined up, would be a […]
