CT House adopts $51B budget with big middle-class tax cut

The House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved a $51.1 billion biennial budget early Tuesday morning that features a broad-based state income tax cut and dramatically boosts funding to local school districts. The package, which passed 139-12 with strong bipartisan support following a nearly three-hour debate that began late Monday, now heads to the Senate, which also […]

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Step By Step, Rescuers Dodged Danger To Save A Life In Partial Building Collapse

Almeida and the New Haven Fire Department rescue company he oversees faced that challenge on Friday afternoon after an apartment building under construction on Lafayette Street partially collapsed. They moved fast, but carefully, amid danger to themselves to save the life of a laborer for an Orange-based company called Seven Concrete while helping to build […]

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Middletown homeowners turn up in droves to oppose truck terminal in densely populated area

Amid strong opposition from the public, members of the city’s Planning and Zoning Commission continued a public hearing regarding a special exception request to construct an 8,100-square-foot trucking terminal with 10 loading docks in a densely populated, residential area near Interstate 91. The plan calls for eight small, and two large, overhead bays and a […]

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EPA announces $8.8M for CT brownfield cleanup efforts

Local, state and federal officials gathered in Waterbury Monday morning to celebrate $8.8 million in brownfield cleanup funds for Connecticut. Waterbury is pushing hard to cross properties off its list of brownfields. The 12-year-administration of Mayor Neil O’Leary has succeeded in pulling in tens-of-millions of dollars in state and federal cleanup grants. Speakers emphasized the […]

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Development near Hartford ballpark thrown major curve. Will lengthy delay hurt project’s momentum?

An isolated corner of downtown Hartford that struggled for decades to be known for more than its dusty parking lots appeared finally to have something going for it: a popular minor league ballpark and brisk leasing of the first of as many as 1,000 apartments. The city and the original developer, who was fired from […]

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Warehouses going up in East Hartford as other buildings set for demolition

Built-out and pocked with abandoned buildings and tattered shopping plazas, East Hartford has long suffered from a lack of interest by developers in building anything new within its 18 square miles. With per-capita income among the state’s lowest at about $32,000, East Hartford’s residents face few choices when it comes to shopping, updated housing or […]

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Workers were pouring 4 million pounds of concrete when New Haven building collapsed, official says

Workers were pouring 4 million pounds of concrete when a building under construction on Lafayette Street collapsed Friday, injuring eight, an official said. As of Saturday afternoon, four of the workers who were rescued at the scene of the collapse at 188 Lafayette St. remain hospitalized, according to a spokesperson for Yale New Haven Hospital. […]

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Bridgeport’s former ‘Mt. Trashmore’ site on cusp of green transformation

Deborah Sims, like Newton, also attended the rallies at Mount Trashmore. Now she and the coalition she helped form are on the cusp of turning the municipally-owned site across from Johnsons Creek, bordered by Central Avenue, Trowel Street and Suggetts Lane, into an agricultural and wellness campus. The new name? Mount Growmore. On Monday Bridgeport’s […]

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Plowing through rough seas toward offshore wind

On May 19 the cargo ship Claude A. Desgagnes arrived from Denmark to a State Pier in New London. It carried both the first components for offshore wind turbine construction and the promising possibilities that this will become a major new industry, benefiting the region and state while combating climate change. The turbine parts are […]

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National Coast Guard Museum second phase set to go to bid

The National Coast Guard Museum Association announced last week it is ready to go to bid this week on the work to create the foundation for the more than 80,000-square-foot, six-story museum that will occupy a prominent place on the city’s waterfront. The upcoming work will include the installation of about 240 micropiles, essentially rods […]

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Behind the scenes of the Yale Peabody Museum as renovations enter final phas

The Yale Peabody Museum building renovations are nearly done. For the next year, museum curators, staff and construction personnel will put the final touches on the building and re-install exhibits for the reopening in 2024. The lobby entrance, once a narrow gothic arch congested by school groups has been widened. A new freight elevator, rated […]

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Debt ceiling deal would speed environmental permitting

President Joe Biden and Speaker Kevin McCarthy struck an agreement late Saturday to suspend the debt ceiling for two years. The result of their talks, the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023, will cut $136 billion in federal spending and avert a default, and most notably for the nation’s civil contractors, includes measures to accelerate environmental […]

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Torrington mining operation gets permit renewal, with conditions to address neighbors’ complaints

Haynes and O&G were granted another two-year mining permit by the Planning & Zoning Commission, but with conditions aimed to address complaints from neighbors about noise and idling vehicles. The Haynes materials quarry, a mining operation partnership with O&G Industries, has been running for more than 20 years, with trucks and machinery running from 7 […]

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Middletown 414-unit apartment complex could generate $1.5 billion for local economy

Springside Middletown will be one of the largest apartment complexes in Middlesex County when construction is finished, but that’s not why this project is being deemed “historic.” Following the May 16 groundbreaking on the planned 414-unit apartment complex off Newfield Street near the Cromwell line, Bob Dale, a principal of the real estate development firm […]

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Danbury’s Immaculate High to begin $3M campus repairs, replace track and turf field: ‘way overdue’

A long-awaited groundbreaking ceremony will signal the start of a facelift at Immaculate High School, with the focus on a new turf field and track along with upgrades in the building and parking lot. The groundbreaking is set for 12:30 p.m. June 6 on the field at Immaculate, which serves students from 28 communities in […]

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New Hartford site emerges as potential location for new, $335M federal courthouse

A new site for a federal courthouse in Hartford emerged Tuesday outside of downtown that would be among the three under consideration to replace the 60-year-old Abraham A. Ribicoff Federal Building and Courthouse on Main Street. A state office building on 10 acres at 61 Woodland St. in the city’s Asylum Hill neighborhood is now […]

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A look at Groton’s unused, town-owned properties

Amid significant growth in the region and a major housing shortage, the town is looking at how to decide the fate of more than 50 unused town-owned properties that have been vacant for years, while involving community members more. They have created a Property Re-Use Committee and stopped issuing requests for proposals for the properties, […]

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Officials worry delay to replace Bridgeport’s Congress Street bridge will increase price

Add another month to the nearly three decades it has taken to replace the demolished Congress Street bridge linking downtown and the East Side. Bids for the estimated $24 million infrastructure project were initially due this past Tuesday. But Mayor Joe Ganim’s administration has extended the deadline to June 20. City Engineer Jon Urquidi provided […]

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New Milford Town Council calls for closer oversight of school office project: ‘zero confidence’

A volunteer committee will take a closer look at the school district’s $750,000 plan to build an office for administrators after Town Council called for more oversight. The council has required the project to be reviewed by the Municipal Building Committee, with some members calling into question the school board’s capability to manage its own […]

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The company left NY for CT, but will it be allowed to build under restrictive zoning laws?

In a history spanning just several years, Fullstack Modular has developed a portfolio of successful and planned projects that range from a sleek, six-unit apartment building sandwiched in-between stately rowhouses, to a 32-story high rise with dozens of affordable units towering over a basketball arena and one of the nation’s busiest subway stations. In the […]

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Renovations at Hartford high school cause uproar as student body divided among campuses

While construction was projected to be completed in 2023, the new building is now not set to open until the 2025-26 school year, and in the interim, students say they are suffering. The construction is entering its seventh phase this week which involves site work, mechanical, electrical, plumbing, concrete and interior finishes, according to a […]

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Wilton’s $13.1 million bond sale will be used to finance construction of new police headquarters

The town obtained favorable rates in its recent $13.1 million bond sale that will primarily provide financing for the new police headquarters project, according to town CFO Dawn Norton. The town received 11 bids from various underwriting firms with the winning bid of 3.19 percent from Robert Baird Inc., she said. The town is preparing […]

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CT’s long, winding trip to fix a short stretch of Route 9

DOT now aims to settle on a conceptual design by June 2024, produce construction drawings by November 2025, seek bids a few months later, then start construction in June 2026 — exactly one decade after Malloy’s press conference. The complexities of redesigning a relatively short stretch of highway to the satisfaction of myriad stakeholders around […]

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Here are 7 Hartford development projects to watch this summer. ‘Downtown housing is the thing’

Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin, a strong proponent of mixed-use, mixed-income housing redevelopment, said apartment occupancy remains strong coming out of the pandemic, a good sign for the city. But to build momentum back behind revitalization and achieve a 24/7 vibrancy, more housing — perhaps much more — will be needed to offset the loss of […]

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Torrington High School students learn about apprenticeships at fair

Part of a 10-year agreement involving the city, school district, and the Hartford and New Britain trade unions that allows residents to get apprenticeships in various trades, the fair gives students the chance to explore career opportunities, said Yolanda Rivera of the CT Building Trades Institute. Trades represented at the fair included HVAC, iron workers, […]

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Panel pushes for analysis of 2 possible Meriden senior center sites

The Senior Center Building Review Committee, during its meeting Wednesday night, was scheduled to recommend a site for the combined new senior center and health department project. Instead, the committee opted not to select a site, with its members appearing to agree that more information needed to be gathered regarding the two primary locations under […]

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Clean Energy Megaprojects Face Iron Law

Developers looking to build thousands of wind turbines off the Mid-Atlantic and New England coast are coming up against a force even more relentless than the Atlantic winds: the Iron Law of Megaprojects, offering a warning of the trouble ahead for green-energy projects. The Iron Law, coined by Oxford Professor Bent Flyvbjerg, says that “megaprojects” […]

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DOT proposes $25.5 million plan to replace Stonington borough viaduct

In a move that could have significant impacts on residents and some private property owners, the Department of Transportation has expressed its intention to replace rather than repair the 83-year-old Alpha Avenue viaduct at a cost of $25.5 million. During the year-long project, slated to begin in the spring 2026, traffic would flow along one […]

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Waterford approves 216-unit housing development

The Planning and Zoning Commission unanimously approved the proposed apartment complex named “Waterford Central” at its meeting Tuesday night after a presentation from the project’s engineer Brandon Handfield, architect John Wicko and traffic engineer Joseph Balskus. The project proposal calls for a mix of 144 one-bedroom and 72 two-bedroom units, with 36 units in each […]

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Newtowners who’ve run 2 developers out of town in the last year object to a new plan for 300 rentals

Wilson and Ricciardi were referring to a request by New Jersey developer Sterling Properties to rezone 70 of the 100 acres in question on Hawleyville Road from light industrial to residential, in order to build a 14-building complex of one- and two-bedroom apartments with rents ranging from $2,300 to $2,900. Wayne Zuckerman, speaking for the […]

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Stamford gets a 13-story apartment complex on long-vacant Dress Barn site after narrow vote

The Zoning Board has narrowly approved plans for a 198-unit apartment complex on a long-vacant Broad Street parcel, the latest residential development approved for Stamford’s central business corridor. The project — proposed by prominent Stamford developer F.D. Rich Company — passed in a 3-2 vote, with the board’s two newest members, Gerald Bosak Jr. and […]

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Is state’s largest offshore wind project headed for the shoals?

Connecticut could be in danger of losing its biggest offshore wind project — the more than 800-megawatt plan known as Park City Wind. Its developer, Avangrid — parent of United Illuminating and the American arm of the massive, multi-national Spanish energy company Iberdrola — is trying to rewrite, renegotiate, rebid or otherwise alter its offshore […]

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New $61.2 M elementary school in Madison, a step closer as it heads to PZC public hearing

The new elementary school, anticipated to open in 2025, is headed to a Planning & Zoning Commission public hearing Thursday, June 15. The new $61 million, 87,000-square-foot school was approved by referendum Feb. 15, 2022 as part of an $89.2 million school renewal project. The new school would replace J. Milton Jeffrey Elementary School, Ryerson […]

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South Norwalk streets should be raised by 3 feet due flooding and climate change, experts say

Streets in South Norwalk must be raised by at least 3 feet to prepare for future storm surges in 2050, experts with the Connecticut Institute for Resilience and Climate Adaptation report. South Norwalk is one of seven coastal cities selected by CIRCA for climate mitigation planning. In major storms like Hurricane Sandy, South Norwalk can […]

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East Hartford targets $20M in public funds to spur large-scale private developments

East Hartford is planning to use $17 million in state funds and $3 million from town taxpayers to advance three private redevelopment projects, two of which would each add hundreds of new market-rate apartments. The Capital Region Development Authority board of directors, on Thursday, signed off on the use of $10 million in new state […]

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What’s next for Wall Street Corridor after POKO deal? Milligan, Norwalk say they have ‘big plans’

The city and developers say they are finally taking action to revitalize the Wall Street Corridor — a core area of Norwalk that has languished in part because of a massive project that has remained stagnant for about 20 years. On the city’s side, the Norwalk Transportation, Mobility and Parking Department is focused on upgrading […]

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Here’s what the Stamford train station redesign could look like

Since last year, the Connecticut Department of Transportation has been working on a master plan that will guide future improvements to the state-owned station. The ultimate goal is to increase access and public transit ridership by turning the station into a “best-in-class facility,” according to a news release. CTDOT will host an open house event […]

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UConn planning upgrades at Gampel Pavilion. Here’s why school likely passing on $300 million overhaul

The new court, to be installed over the coming months, opens a new era and essentially opens the next facilities initiative — adjusting game-day and student-athlete experiences in the iconic building that opened during the Dream Season of 1989-90. UConn has begun working with Populous, a Boston-based architectural firm that specializes in stadiums, toward plans […]

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New London officials celebrate speedy construction of downtown apartments

Construction has started but is not finished. Three stories of elevated steel and dark gray metal walls at the site still appeared bare and hollow. Mayor Michael Passero said it was a celebration of the construction’s halfway point. He said the developers, New-York based Vessel Technologies, started putting together what is to be a five-story […]

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Putting Spotlight On Apprenticeships

In April, a bipartisan group of House education and workforce committee members introduced the National Apprenticeship Act of 2023. Creating near one million registered, youth and pre- apprenticeship opportunities over five years, it earmarks almost $4 million for the cause. The proposed legislation authorizes $400 million in funding for fiscal year 2025, increasing by $100 […]

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Rocky Hill warehouse complex proposed

Property owner, applicant and developer Brook Street Rocky Hill LLC, headed by principal Miodrag Delmic, has submitted a site plan application to the Rocky Hill Planning and Zoning Commission for properties at 553, 565 and 595 Brook St. Delmic is proposing to build four new warehouses on the site: two will be 30,000 square feet […]

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Lawmakers vote to expand Connecticut’s paid sick day law, making it available to nearly all workers

Nearly all workers in Connecticut, regardless of industry, could soon be eligible for up to two weeks of paid sick leave each year under legislation approved by Senate lawmakers on Thursday. The bill currently before lawmakers would expand that eligibility to all private-sector workers, with the sole exception of construction workers who are covered by […]

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Eversource power line build to close parts of Shelton trail system

Eversource’s “Stevenson to Pootatuck Rebuild Project,” which entails rebuilding existing 115 kV transmission lines between Stevenson Substation in Monroe and Pootatuck Substation in Shelton, began in late February and is expected to last through the end of the year. New infrastructure improvements include the installation of new monopoles and new wires. The Eversource crews have […]

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Colonel Ledyard School apartment plans presented to Groton commission

An attorney for a developer proposing 65 apartments at the former Colonel Ledyard School property, which is within walking distance of Electric Boat, said Tuesday that creating “attainable housing” is a driving force for the project. Bill Sweeney, who represents Bellsite Development LLC of Manchester, the developer of the former school site on 120 West […]

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Ridgefield to sell sewer treatment facility to developer planning 92 townhouses and apartments

The 877 Ethan Allen Highway property will be sold for $441,000 to the Ridgefield Professional Office Complex, which aims to build 71 townhouses and 21 apartments, including 14 units that will be designated as affordable. The property, also known as the “Village at Ponds Edge,” is home to one of the town’s sewer plants. The […]

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Bridgeport may demolish long-abandoned Warnaco factory

CT Century Gardens, run by Albert Gad, has been fighting the condemnation in state Superior Court since January and also earlier this month placed the factory on the market for $6.5 million. While CT Century Gardens wants $6.5 million, the building has been appraised by the city’s tax assessor at $1.9 million. “Someone’s not going […]

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Middletown housing complex ‘breaks ground’ with offering private money for minority contractors

With an official construction kickoff Tuesday in Middletown, Springside moved closer to becoming one of the largest new apartment complexes in central Connecticut: Plans call for 414 units. Middletown negotiated two unusual provisions when it granted tax breaks to developers PB Development and Harbor Group International. The companies agreed to earmark $1 million of the […]

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Connecticut Water Co. investing $60 million in infrastructure improvements this year

The Connecticut Water Co. will invest $60 million this year on more than 100 infrastructure upgrades and improvement projects, officials with the Clinton-based utility have announced. Connecticut Water, which serves more than 350,000 people in 60 communities in the state, will be replacing components of its distribution network that are between 40-and-100-years old. One of […]

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CT Children’s new $280M patient tower a linchpin in broader financial turnaround, expansion

The $280 million new tower, adjacent to the hospital’s current Hartford premises, has been in the works for several years. It will house several ambitious new programs, including a fetal surgery center that is expected to make Hartford a national leader in the discipline, a NICU unit with 50 private rooms, and state-of-the-art facilities for […]

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70-unit housing development pitched in West Hartford’s transit-oriented district

More housing could be coming to the town’s transit-oriented district via a 70-unit housing development proposed at 579 New Park Ave. Designs and plans submitted to the town’s Design Review Advisory Committee are preliminary but do indicate that the proposed building would be five stories in height, with the street-facing side of the building having […]

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Conceptual drawings show new Norwalk Walk Bridge, with shorter towers, state-of-the-art lift design

For the nearly $1 billion project, the existing four-span Walk Bridge will be replaced with a state-of-the-art multispan bridge, including 240-foot dual lift spans with fixed east and west approach spans over the Norwalk River. The bridge appears shiny and silvery in the drawings, with a tall vertical tower on each end. The structure will […]

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A developer wants to replace a Stamford office building with the city’s second highest tower

A proposal awaiting its day before the Stamford Zoning Board would knock down an office building in downtown’s Landmark Square to construct what could be one of the city’s tallest buildings. The Cappelli Organization — a White Plains, N.Y., developer with a footprint already in Downtown Stamford — would replace the existing structure, Landmark 3, […]

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$14M Bridgeport housing project dealt another setback

A $14 million housing project needed to help Connecticut’s largest city boost its stock of affordably-priced units has again faced a funding setback. For the second year in a row, Building Neighborhoods Together did not qualify for a state-administered federal tax credit that would cover around $1 million of the building costs for 44 apartments […]

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‘State-of-the-art’ Bullard-Havens to replace 71-year-old Bridgeport vocational school

Construction on the new Bullard-Havens Technical High School, a massive state-of-the-art facility designed to replace the existing 71-year-old trade school, has officially begun. The new building, which is slated to open in 2026, will be the first net-zero school in the state’s technical education system, an achievement officials hailed as a model for future vocational […]

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Bridgeport, CT airport authority seek operating deal for Sikorsky

The city and the Connecticut Airport Authority have formally asked federal authorities to authorize an operating agreement for the latter to run Bridgeport’s Sikorsky Memorial Airport. The sides have since been talking about reaching an arrangement for the CAA to run, but not own, the airport with a particular focus on relaunching the dormant regular […]

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$6.5M CRDA loan sought for $45.35M renovation of two historic state office buildings on Trinity Street

The Capital Region Development Authority is considering a $6.5 million loan toward a $45.35 million conversion of two antique state office buildings on Hartford’s Trinity Street into 108 apartments and a restaurant. The CRDA’s Housing and Neighborhood Committee, meeting Thursday, gave its blessing to the loan request from a development team of Philadelphia-based Pennrose and […]

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Architects for 3 Darien school renovations say the work will be delayed a month. Here’s why.

Renovations on three Darien elementary schools have been delayed a month for additional work and updated costs, sparking some concern for funding and timing for the upcoming school year. Originally slated to start construction in mid-July, renovations on Hindley, Holmes and Royle elementary schools are now set to begin in mid-August, though work is still […]

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Wesleyan planning new arts lab renovation, expansion

Wesleyan University in Middletown is planning a new arts center by renovating part of an existing structure and building a new addition. The project will take up university-owned space, mainly parking areas, at 177, 181 and 185 College St. The number of parking spaces would be reduced from 58 down to three. If the plans […]

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New Hampshire utility proposes transmission line from Canada to carry energy to New England

The proposed 211-mile, $2 billion Twin State Clean Energy Link would enter the United States in Canaan, Vt. It would be buried along state highways in Vermont and New Hampshire until it linked to an existing transmission corridor in Monroe that would carry the power to a new substation in Londonderry. From there the power […]

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Southern Connecticut State University completes $52.4M first CT-owned, net zero building

Southern Connecticut State University is in the final construction stage of its $52.4 million new building, ready for the faculty to move in less than two weeks from now. The Connecticut State Colleges and Universities system is struggling with lower enrollment to the point it plans “devastating” budget cuts — including 650 faculty and staff […]

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Exterior work underway at Bridgeport’s Barnum Museum

According to the Barnum Museum museum website, the building, located at 820 Main Street, has begun a “major construction of the historic exterior.” The museum building has been closed to visitors since it sustained damage in a 2010 tornado. The Barnum Museum is on the National Register of Historic Places and is dedicated to Barnum […]

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As New Canaan builds a new police station, here’s how their temporary location is taking shape

During its Tuesday Board of Selectmen meeting, the board approved $21,735 to install fiber optic cable at the Locust Avenue location and another $51,032 to relocate the dispatch center to the building. The police department is being moved while its headquarters at 174 South Ave. gets a complete facelift that could take anywhere from 18 […]

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Submarine Supply Chain Largest Barrier to Improving Virginia Attack Sub Schedule, Says Boykin

Availability of parts, not people, is the largest barrier right now to catch up with the delays in constructing Virginia-class nuclear attack boats, company officials at submarine builder Newport News Shipbuilding told USNI News. While work stoppages and worker attrition due to the COVID-19 pandemic have been cited as reasons for the delay in submarine […]

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Greenwich developer floats 10-story hotel next to Curley’s Diner in downtown Stamford

Wellbuilt Company, a developer headquartered in Greenwich with two projects already in Stamford, has filed a pre-application with the Land Use Bureau to explore building an extended stay hotel on the property. Preliminary designs include a 10-story building with 95 rooms and ground-floor space reserved for retail or a restaurant. Parking would be off-site in […]

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The safety violations in construction’s most iconic photo

Much has changed since workers building the 66-story, 850-foot-tall Rockefeller Center in midtown Manhattan posed for “Lunch Atop a Skyscraper” in 1932, but it remains construction’s most iconic photograph. The OSH Act created OSHA in 1971, so this photo existed decades before any federal agency provided standards or cited employers for violations. Goss and Rank […]

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How DOT determined the Gold Star Bridge was safe to reopen after catching fire

Given the shock of the earlier plumes of black smoke emanating from the bridge, there was some surprise when two southbound lanes opened three hours later. Additional lanes opened the following morning, but the right-hand acceleration lane and pedestrian walkway remain closed. “The Gold Star Bridge was inspected by experts immediately following the crash, which […]

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Hydrogen company to expand facility in Wallingford

A Norwegian green hydrogen company recently announced plans for a “gigafactory” to be built in Michigan using technology that is being developed and tested at the company’s Wallingford operation. Nel Hydrogen makes devices that take water and split it into hydrogen and oxygen, known as electrolyzers, as well as making fueling stations. It recently announced […]

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East Hartford officials eye tax breaks, other incentives to secure Founders Plaza redevelopment

East Hartford officials are creating a menu of tax breaks and other incentives to secure a project demolishing chunks of the roughly 50-year-old Founders Plaza office park along the Connecticut River, and building back hundreds of new apartments, as well as retail and recreation amenities. East Hartford officials have been negotiating with an undisclosed developer. […]

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Old Greenwich’s Sound Beach Avenue bridge replacement complete took $2.5 million and a year of work

The $2.5 million project started in April 2022 and the roadway was completely closed to traffic for three months. After that, traffic was open to just a single lane. Officials from the Greenwich Department of Public Works and the Board of Selectmen gathered at Binney Park on Wednesday to celebrate the project’s completion. The bridge […]

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From a community center to roadway reconstruction, here are West Hartford’s major upcoming projects

The plan to build a new Elmwood Community Center that would include the senior center, a library branch, teen center and more began when the town purchased the former St. Brigid School at 100 Mayflower St. for $3 million in 2021. Last August, town leaders announced they would be creating a West Hartford Center master […]

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Baltimore wood-frame producer Blueprint has major CT growth plans with new Windsor facility

A Baltimore-based company that produces wood-frame construction products is planning to build a 450,000-square-foot production facility in Windsor, which it says will help ameliorate the multifamily housing shortage in Connecticut and beyond. Construction on the facility — said to be the largest North American industrial building erected entirely of mass timber — is expected to […]

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Bridgeport approves 177-unit apartment complex at shuttered Testo’s restaurant without public input

The property’s new owner is aiming to break ground in the coming weeks, and, according to City Hall, already received zoning sign-offs from municipal staff with no public hearing required. “This is major construction. Residents are not happy. They’re worried about environmental issues, the air quality, flooding, parking, the amount of people that will be […]

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How walkable is downtown Danbury? WCSU students find poor sidewalks and no ‘transit hub’

The WestConn students organized the roughly 1.5-mile walk last Wednesday afternoon to study walkability and transit-oriented development in the vicinity of the Metro-North train station on Patriot Drive. More than 40 people participated in the walk, which was organized with support from pro-home advocacy group Desegregate Connecticut. Observations made during her students’ walk audit appear […]

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Stamford Transportation Center renovations: Here’s what train riders need to know.

The Stamford Transportation Center — the second-busiest Metro-North Railroad station after Grand Central Terminal — will soon have a new $81.7 million, 928-spot garage to replace its existing one on Station Place. Looming over Interstate 95’s Exit 7, the gray structure might be the most visible, but it’s just one of multiple projects the transit […]

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Officials celebrate planned access road to new Norwich business park land

The city recently received approval of the grant from the state Community Investment Fund that will construct 2,700 feet of access road and install utilities running from Route 97 in Occum into the 384-acre Business Park North. The Norwich Community Development Corp. purchased the property in December for $3.55 million. The grant will build a […]

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Middlebury Neighbors fighting proposed distribution center at Timex Corp.

The town’s Conservation Commission has until May 23 to make its final decision on a controversial wetlands application for the construction of a large distribution center. On Monday, the commission met at the Shepardson Community Center to begin deliberations on the application after closing the hearing last month, a hearing that spanned five meetings and […]

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$36M rehab hospital on Danbury’s west side approved by CT: ‘Beds of this type are extremely limited’

Encompass Health Corporation, whose plans to build a $36 million 100,000-square-foot facility on Danbury’s west side were approved by zoning officials in May 2021, has been waiting for state approval of the Certificate of Need application it filed in August 2020. With its certificate granted last week, construction on Encompass Health’s new rehabilitation hospital near […]

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News Bridgeport’s building chief: Remington was ‘imminent danger’

If the city had not earlier this month begun tearing down parts of the blighted Remington Arms plant along Barnum Avenue, the crumbling East Side edifice, ruined by neglect, vandals, multiple fires and the elements, would have soon fallen in on its own, possibly injuring passersby. As head of the city’s building department, Kica, following […]

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This nuclear waste has been sitting in CT for 50 years. Could it finally be removed?

Earlier this week, the Department of Energy released its newest roadmap toward developing a temporary solution for storing the nation’s spent nuclear fuel — a process the agency now says will take between 10 and 15 years to complete. Without any purpose-built facilities to handle spent nuclear waste, operators of U.S. nuclear power plants have […]

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Middletowners look to High Line NYC for riverfront redevelopment ideas, Route 9 walking bridge

The High Line, a 1.5-mile elevated park full of lush greenery in New York City, could influence the city’s vision of creating a pedestrian walkway that would “float” above Route 9 in Middletown, reconnecting people to Middletown’s portion of the Connecticut riverfront. In 2021, Cooper Robertson of New York drew up the master plan that […]

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Berlin’s Steele Center taking shape, with two more buildings under construction

Tony Valenti and Mark Lovely of Southington-based Lovely Development and Newport Realty are building The Steele Center, a $17-million, 75,000-square-foot commercial and residential development, that will bring 70 market-rate apartments and several commercial storefronts to the Kensington Village area. Steele Boulevard is a new road that stretches from Farmington Avenue to the new Berlin train […]

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West Hartford’s first transit-oriented housing development is coming. Here’s what that means.

A five-story 150-unit mixed-use housing development could be coming to the former Puritan Furniture site on New Britain Avenue in Elmwood. If approved, the project — which has been called Elmwood Lofts in filing documents — would be the first to make use of the town’s new ordinance establishing a transit-oriented district in that part […]

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17 major development projects set to transform Danbury’s landscape for years to come

The city’s post-pandemic landscape is busy with development activity, from new car dealerships opening and proposals for hundreds of new apartments on the booming west side to commercial and residential projects slated for the downtown’s Main Street. “The diversity of these projects and the variety of uses is an indication of Danbury’s attractiveness as a […]

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CT’s highway system ranks 5th in national study, as per-mile spending rises

Connecticut’s highway system was recently ranked fifth in the United States in terms of its cost-effectiveness and condition, rising 26 spots from last year’s rankings, according to the 27th Annual Highway Report released by the Reason Foundation. While Connecticut’s improvement is due partly to a change in the methodology, it also rose in the rankings […]

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CHFA poised to approve $36.5M in loans for housing developments in Newington, West Hartford and New Haven

The Connecticut Housing Finance Authority’s Mortgage Committee unanimously endorsed $36.5 million in loans to affordable housing projects in Newington, West Hartford and New Haven Tuesday. The loan proposals include $3.17 million for the second phase of Massachusetts-based Dakota Partners’ “Cedar Pointe” development of a 7.7-acre former car dealership property at 550 Cedar St. in Newington. […]

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Orange-based Avangrid vows to restart hydro line construction after winning jury decision

Avangrid confirmed Wednesday it plans to restart construction of its planned New England Clean Energy Connect transmission line in Maine to tap hydropower in Canada after a jury verdict that the Orange-based company could proceed despite a 2021 voter referendum to block the project. It is a major win for renewable energy advocates in New […]

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Officials Kick Off 4-Year Construction at I-95 Exit 74, Lamont Talks Faster Rail

Infrastructure was the buzzword on Wednesday as officials pushed ceremonial shovels into the ground to kick off the I-95 Exit 74 reconstruction project that will realign interchanges, widen lanes and replace the bridge at Route 161. The $150 million project is expected to be completed in Spring 2027. Garrett Eucalitto, state commissioner of transportation, said […]

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Officials say exit project will bring ‘transformational’ improvements to East Lyme traffic

A group of local and state officials, from First Selectman Kevin Seery to Gov. Ned Lamont, stood in front of an excavator at the former site of the Starlight Inn Wednesday morning. Construction workers watched in their yellow vests and hard hats from the staging area that will become a northbound on-ramp and commuter parking […]

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