With closing date set for MIRA trash plant, Connecticut looks for a long-term solution

The agency that runs the regional trash-to-energy plant in Hartford has set June 30, 2022 as a target date to stop burning garbage and truck the waste instead to out-of-state landfills. Materials Innovation and Recycling Authority President Tom Kirk said Monday that he does not see costs to MIRA’s 51 member communities changing significantly after […]

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Construction on Windsor Amazon fulfillment center underway

Construction work at 1201 Kennedy Road hummed along Thursday morning, with crews hauling materials from a roadside staging area about a quarter mile to the building site. The multistory structure is now visible from vantage points along Interstate 91 and Route 20. In an email, Town Manager Peter Souza said the project’s developer expects the […]

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With businesses and housing planned, Brookfield Village moves ahead with construction on its second phase

Construction on the second phase of Brookfield Village is moving ahead at the town’s Four Corners. The project’s second phase is expected to reach completion by the end of next year, according to George Walker, a marketing representative who works for Advantage Commercial Realty. The project’s first phase buildings are “100 percent leased up,” and […]

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Tolls make more sense than higher gas tax

Since my column last week, arguing that installing electronic tolls on state highways remains the best means of paying for Connecticut’s transportation needs, an alternative proposal has been placed back on the table — raising taxes. This is what you get, anti-toll folks, because the need to address Interstate 95 congestion, shore up aging bridges […]

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Major development approved for downtown New London

The Planning and Zoning Commission on Thursday unanimously approved a site plan for two multistory buildings with 173 apartment units between Bank Street and Shaw’s Cove. The buildings are considered Phase 2 and 3 of Shaw’s Landing at 400 Bank St., a development completed in 2006 that now contains 35 condominiums. Mayor Michael Passero said […]

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Glastonbury architectural firm chosen to lead Torrington school project

SLAM Collaborative, a Glastonbury-based architectural firm, has been selected as the architect for the $159.6 million school, which residents approved last month. The building committee last week picked SLAM after interviewing three other firms that also submitted requests for quotes: JCJ of Hartford, Kaestle Boos Associates of New Britain and Perkins Eastman of Stamford. SLAM […]

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Crucial phase of Groton Utilities’ water treatment plant completed

A “crucial phase of Groton Utilities’ water treatment plant construction project” has been completed and water is now being clarified and filtered within the plant, according to an announcement. The plant is slated to be completed in spring of 2021. Cam Walden, supervising sanitary engineer from DPH, said the project “was considered the state’s number […]

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O&G takes steps toward boost in energy efficiency

At its 60-acre site on Bogue Road in Harwinton, O&G has invested more than $800,000 over the past year in equipment and system upgrades that should significantly reduce the amount of energy its asphalt and concrete plants use. Paul Balavender, O&G’s general counsel, said the upgrades are projected to reduce annual electric use by 12% […]

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Ideanomics Closes on $5.2 Million Purchase Of Former UConn Campus In West Hartford

Ideanomics, formerly Seven Stars Cloud Group, closed the deal on its $5.2 million purchase of the 58-acre former UConn campus, the company announced Wednesday. The company plans to invest $283 million to develop fintech solutions through artificial intelligence and blockchain, and create 330 jobs. Ideanomics purchased the former UConn parcel for $5.2 million. Ideanomics, when […]

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Milford school updates could top $13 million; educators look at ‘post-COVID requirements’

Over the past few months, the permanent schools facilities building committee has been interviewing architectural firms. Once hired, the architect will start designing the building. The next step is for the state to review the project and give recommendations. Then the construction can go out to bid, he said. The renovation will include a new […]

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DOT: Traffic shift planned on Arrigoni Bridge as Stage 2 work begins

As work begins on the second stage of the $46 million rehabilitation of the Arrigoni Bridge, motorists can expected a traffic shift starting the week of Dec. 14. “The construction stage shift consists of placing a temporary concrete barrier on Route 17/Route 66 to facilitate work on the center lanes of the Arrigoni Bridge approach-spans,” […]

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Coastal Wealth building nears completion in Mystic

Work is almost complete on the new home of Coastal Wealth Management, one of the largest buildings constructed here in recent years. The more than 40-foot-tall, 9,800-square-foot building sits along Route 1 just west of Masons Island Road. It’s among several projects under construction or about to start within a short distance just east of […]

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Will CT legislators raise the gas tax? With tax rates now below the national average, it’s possible

With tolls off the table in 2021, state officials could look to gasoline tax hikes to salvage Connecticut’s imperiled transportation program. And while neither Gov. Ned Lamont nor legislators have proposed an increase, one of the argument most frequently used to defeat it — Connecticut’s gas taxes are among the nation’s highest — no longer […]

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Jeff Jacobs: What’s UConn’s future at Hartford’s XL Center? David Benedict offers some ideas

In a wide-ranging podcast with Hearst Connecticut Media on Monday, UConn Athletic Director David Benedict said he thought that because of the ramifications of the pandemic, the construction costs of the school’s new hockey facility will be lower. Yet it is with the future use of the XL Center in Hartford and Gampel Pavilion in […]

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Transportation infrastructure could be key to inclusive economic recovery, but investment has languished

The state’s Special Transportation Fund spent $1.61 billion in 2019 — the last fiscal year before the coronavirus pandemic struck. After adjusting for inflation, that’s just 21% growth since 2011. The debt service on the hundreds of millions of dollars Connecticut borrows annually for highway, bridge and rail upgrades, and spending on transit programs, together […]

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‘The Village’ takes shape in Stamford’s South End

The transformation is nearly complete, with the developers of the 133,000-square-foot complex known as The Village announcing this month that they plan to open the hub next spring. It will become a home base not only for the conglomerate Wheelhouse and reality-TV powerhouse ITV America, but also a number of other businesses. Plans for the […]

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On Connecticut farmland where tobacco once grew warehouses now sprout, powering a new economy of online sales and advanced logistics

Warehouses are sprouting on Connecticut farmland where tobacco once grew, giving the state bragging rights to a retail economy transformed by digital technology, advanced logistics and the coronavirus pandemic. Surging online sales, fueled by a rapidly evolving retail economy where people shop at home and products are delivered from warehouses, are behind this transformation. The […]

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State-funded $20 million pedestrian bridge in New London gets green light

With local land-use approval secured for a nearly $20 million pedestrian bridge linking downtown to the future National Coast Guard Museum, talks continue with state officials about the release of funding for the project. The city’s Planning and Zoning Commission earlier this month granted conditional approval to plans for a 400-foot, glass-walled pedestrian bridge spanning […]

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Analysts: Lamont, lawmakers face $4.3 billion gap in next two-year Connecticut budget

State officials are facing almost $4.3 billion in red ink in the next two-year budget, due largely to the coronavirus-induced recession, according to a new report Friday from nonpartisan analysts. Those deficits, while daunting, are significantly less imposing than the massive shortfalls Connecticut faced after the last recession in 2011 — gaps that forced a […]

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Some key Bridgeport downtown projects moving slowly

John Guedes, who operates the city-based Primrose Companies architecture and construction, said he has learned to take a believe-it-when-he-sees-it approach to Bridgeport’s economy: “Don’t worry about the ones (plans) that have been approved, worry about the ones that have been started.” This week, staff from the economic development department briefed members of the City Council […]

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CT’s unemployment trust fund goes broke; employers on hook for millions in federal borrowing

The state’s unemployment insurance trust fund, which typically raises $800 million a year via employer taxes, ran out of money in August, forcing the state to borrow $402 million from the federal government to date, said Michael Lucente, the unemployment claims director of accounts within the state Department of Labor. That loan has helped pay […]

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Middletown Combines Two Projects Into One With Single Prime Contractor

Phase II work is under way on the Connecticut Department of Transportation (CTDOT) Arrigoni Bridge project. The $46 million undertaking in Middletown/Portland is the result of a 2010 safety report, which found deficiencies in the structure’s two main arch spans. “Due to the possibility of conflicting traffic patterns and the need for constant project coordination, […]

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Connecticut Leaders Hoping For Influx of Transportation Funding From Biden Administration

Gov. Ned Lamont’s unsuccessful push to toll state highways was an unpopular answer to a persistent problem: Connecticut’s transportation fund is drying up. And with no political appetite to revisit tolls, hopes rest on a federal Band-Aid. The Lamont administration lobbied hard to pass some form of a tolls bill during the last two legislative […]

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Wind Energy Will Be Built Union

The agreement is between North America’s Building and Construction Trades Unions (NABTU) and Ørsted, an international leader in wind technology. The deal sets a model for labor-management cooperation and workforce development in the budding offshore wind industry. Ørsted has a large footprint in the wind industry having been awarded and built offshore wind farms from […]

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Contaminated soil case expands with new arrests of former Fairfield officials

A cabal of senior Fairfield town officials conspired with the head of a Clinton environmental cleanup company to illegally dispose of hundreds of yards of highly-contaminated soil while assuring town residents and employees forced to work with the material that everything was safe, according to arrest warrant affidavits released Thursday. One day after former Fairfield […]

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Business park in Occum still in the works

On Sept. 30, the latest amendment to the Agreement of Sale of land from Byron Brook Country Club, LLC and M&A Holdings, LLC to the Norwich Community Development Corp. (NCDC) was signed, and was made public last Friday. NCDC, along with Norwich Public Utilities, has been working on developing a second business park in Norwich. […]

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Connecticut’s $210M Airport Transportation Center Project Ahead of Schedule

A new $210 million Ground Transportation Center planned for the airport has been slated for substantial completion in February 2022, with an official opening the following May. Bradley International Airport is located north of Hartford in Windsor Locks. The 1.4 million sq. ft. transportation center will be built on a 13.4-acre site located west of […]

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NOAA rejects objections to Electric Boat’s use of dredging disposal site

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has upheld Electric Boat’s request to use an eastern Long Island Sound dredging disposal site, according to a news release from U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney, D-2nd District. Citing environmental concerns, the state of New York had taken several legal actions seeking to stop use of the site, referred to […]

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Solar project developers say they’d preserve land for later farm use

A spokeswoman for the proposed Gravel Pit Solar project in East Windsor says developers have a plan to implement innovative soil restoration and preservation measures throughout the facility to improve soil quality. The Connecticut Siting Council on Thursday held an evidentiary and public hearing for the proposed 120-megawatt project on 485 acres across several sites […]

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Stonington commission OKs permit for Mystic hotel

The Stonington Planning and Zoning Commission voted 4-1 Tuesday night to approve a special use permit to build a six-room, three-story hotel with a rooftop pool on the site of the former Broadway Auto service station. The estimated $1.5 million to $2 million project will be developed by G Development LLC of Waterford. G Development, […]

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$14M Dillon Stadium renovation was marred by ‘charade of an RFP’ that ‘undermines public confidence,’ says watchdogs’ draft report

The contracting panel unveiled a draft of new report that criticizes the project on issues including unequal treatment of bidders and spending $4 million in state taxpayer money long before a contract was finally signed for work that was already underway. “The way this RFP (”request for proposals” from prospective stadium developers) was conducted, in […]

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‘We need an economic boom:’ downtown Bridgeport pins hopes on amphitheater

Over the next few months, the roof for developer Howard Saffan’s open-air concert amphitheater near the harbor will be completed, with the steel frame going up now and what he has touted as the project’s most distinctive feature — a massive, tent-style fabric covering manufactured in France and Mexico — being installed in “the first […]

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State approves 75-acre solar energy facility in Waterford

The Connecticut Siting Council last week approved a controversial plan to install a 75-acre facility with almost 46,000 solar panels between Oil Mill and Stony brooks. While developer GRE Gacrux LLC received its long-sought approval for the property at 117 Oil Mill Road, local environmental group Save the River-Save the Hills was not as pleased. […]

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In S. Windsor, growing distribution-center network takes center stage

It’s been more than a decade since plans for an ambitious $71-million South Windsor movie studio project were first publicly aired. Instead, a different type of industry has sprouted in town: distribution centers. In fact, since 2017, about 1.5 million square feet of distribution space has been erected in South Windsor by a single developer […]

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Construction schedule on Oxoboxo Lofts pushed back

Work on Oxoboxo Lofts, the planned 72-unit development in town, was suspended this year, but Massachusetts-based developer Dakota Partners is planning to carry on with construction in January 2021. The nagging issue for the developer has been procuring a flood management certification for the development on Pink Row and at the location of the former […]

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States with biggest drops, gains in construction employment

The construction industry added 84,000 net new jobs in October, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of data released last week by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. During the last six months, the industry added 789,000 jobs, recovering 73% of the jobs lost during earlier stages of the coronavirus pandemic. The construction […]

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Newtown’s $15M police HQ called a ‘shining commitment to public safety’

The new $15 million police headquarters that opened on Monday was approved by Newtown residents two years before demonstrations broke out in American cities this summer over concerns about bias and brutality in law enforcement. The impetus for the new police headquarters was in early 2015 when newly appointed police Chief James Viadero met Dan […]

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Connecticut Port Authority launches website on State Pier developments

The Connecticut Port Authority on Thursday launched a website, www.statepiernewlondon.com, aimed at providing information on the planned $157 million transformation of State Pier. The website is managed by AECOM Technical Services Inc., the port authority’s construction administrator for the project. The project is being funded, with state support, by joint venture partners Orsted and Eversource […]

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Coronavirus pandemic opens window of opportunity for Hartford’s XL Center arena renovations: bunker suites and a new ice maker

The extent of the renovations will depend when the State Bond Commission releases some or all of the $65 million approved for the $100 million project in the last session of the legislature. CRDA does have about $22 million in its coffers to get started. The focus of project — slimmed down from $250 million […]

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Plainville to commission study to evaluate White Oak proposals

The Town of Plainville will hire Loureiro Engineering to evaluate both proposals for the White Oak property and plans to present their findings to the town council. There are currently two proposals for re-use of the property. D’Amato Construction Company, which is currently located in Bristol, is looking to relocate to Plainville if the town […]

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Brookfield, New Fairfield town hall projects among several in Danbury area to earn state grants

Several Danbury area towns received grants for infrastructure improvement projects as part of $11 million in funding the state announced on Monday. Bethel, Bridgewater, Brookfield, New Fairfield, New Milford, Newtown, Ridgefield, Roxbury, Sherman, Southbury and Washington are among the 94 towns to earn these grants, which are being awarded for the first time since 2016 […]

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What’s in store for contractors under a Biden presidency?

In terms of infrastructure spending, contractors can look to what Biden outlined during his campaign. The presumptive president-elect said his administration will invest $2 trillion into the economy, creating millions of jobs in infrastructure, housing, building construction and other projects. Another clue as to what the Biden administration could include can also likely be found […]

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Torrington building committee to choose an architect for new school project

Requests for quotations for architectural services were sent out Friday, Arum said. Those requests will be returned Nov. 17 before the building committee next meets Nov. 19 to determine their top four architects. Interviews will then be conducted with those four architects, with the top architect being determined Nov. 24. From January 2021 to February […]

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Down with the old, up with the new as workers build a new Platt Tech HS in Milford

Inside, some of Platt Tech’s 850 students are learning the fundamentals of construction and building trades. Since April, construction of a brand new 237,000 square foot, $92 million Platt Tech complex has been ongoing on the 35-acre site. Its athletic fields fields were dug up, foundations poured and steel framing erected. Currently, the steel framing […]

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Electric Boat secures $9.47 billion Navy contract to build Columbia submarines

General Dynamics Electric Boat has secured a $9.47 billion U.S. Navy contract for two Columbia-class submarines, part of a program that Electric Boat President Kevin Graney called the Navy’s “top strategic priority.” The funding will support the “construction and test of the lead and second ships of the Columbia class, as well as associated design […]

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Ahead of Parkade revival, Manchester officials look to next area of redevelopment focus

The town’s approved developer for the former “dark side” of the Manchester Parkade is targeting a spring start for a mixed-use revival of the once blighted site. The planned $140 million commercial project calls for 480 apartments, a 120-room hotel, 98,000 square feet of office space and 63,00 square feet of retail space. Environmental monitoring […]

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Memorial Boulevard Intradistrict Arts Magnet School project coming in under budget

The Memorial Boulevard Intradistrict Arts Magnet School project is coming in at about $2 million under budget, according to Deputy Superintendent Michael Dietter, chairman of the project’s building committee. The city and the school board are collaborating on the project to transform the nearly century-old school an arts magnet school for grades six through 12. […]

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Anna Reynolds School referendum passes easily in Newington

A proposal to spend $35.5 million on school improvements was approved by a 7,179 to 2,589 vote at the polls, according to town clerk James Krupienski. Local taxpayers will be responsible for up to $17.5 million of the cost, with state school building grants covering the remainder of the renovate-to-new project. Brummett said construction won’t […]

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Voters approve $159.5M Torrington Middle/High school building project

Superintendent Susan Lubomski said residents’ approval of the $159.6 million Torrington Middle/High School building project in Tuesday’s referendum could be a turning point for the city’s future. Residents voted 8,761 to 5,703 in favor of the project, according to preliminary results. “Torrington is the hub of the Northwest Corner,” Lubomski said. The project will cost […]

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Lamont rules out tolls, waits for clarity in White House

Lamont, an early backer of Joe Biden, said the nation was hungry for clarity about who will occupy the White House in January or the precise makeup of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives. Lamont celebrated Democratic gains in Connecticut, while confessing disappointment in the uncertain presidential results. Lamont and Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewiecz […]

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Gasoline is too cheap: Getting There

Former Vice President Biden has made the argument for weaning us off fossil fuels, mostly for environmental reasons. Anybody who remotely believes in science or has witnessed the cataclysmic changes in our weather knows we must do something to stop global warming. My argument is that price of the fuel we use (gasoline) doesn’t cover […]

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Full speed ahead on museum plans for downtown New London

The Coast Guard, Congress, and State of Connecticut are more committed than ever to bring the National Coast Guard Museum to New London. Nearly $60 million has been provided for the project, including $15 million appropriated by the Congress for design and fabrication of the museum exhibits, and up to $20 million provided by the […]

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Construction begins on controversial $10.7M Hartford affordable housing project

A $10.7 million affordable housing development in Hartford’s Asylum Hill neighborhood, which drew the ire of local residents two years ago when it first aired, recently began construction after the developer was able to piece together financing for the project. Construction began early this month after Chrysalis raised funding from myriad sources, including the Department […]

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East Granby eyes apartment development

A zone change is largely a mundane task that represents the basic blocking and tackling of most planning and zoning commissions. That’s the case in East Granby, where the planning and zoning commission recently approved changes to the town’s Commerce Park Transitional Zone, opening up 264 acres of vacant land to new mixed-use development opportunities, […]

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Construction on East Liberty Street bridge begins

Passersby on East Liberty Street will have seen construction crews beginning work on a $4 million replacement of the bridge carrying the street over the Mad River. The bridge will close to pedestrians and motorists as work begins in earnest, an event expected to occur in the last week of November or the first week […]

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Windsor approves Amazon package distribution center

After a lengthy discussion Tuesday night, Windsor’s Planning and Zoning Commission unanimously approved plans to convert a vacant industrial building on Helmsford Way into an Amazon package distribution center. As an Amazon package distribution center, the building would serve as the last stop before packages are delivered to the consumer, Brad Griggs, an Amazon developer […]

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Lamont signs bill aimed at redeveloping unused, contaminated properties

Gov. Ned Lamont recently approved revising the law and instituting a “release-based” hazardous material remediation program common in other states. According to Lamont, the change will promote the revitalization of environmentally contaminated, blighted parcels and put them back into good use, while helping municipal economies and ensuring environmental protection. The Connecticut Property Transfer Act of […]

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Glastonbury office condo complex receives town approval

South Windsor developer TruNORTH Construction received the go-ahead from Glastonbury’s Planning and Zoning Commission to build an office condominium park in town. The $7-million project will create four new office condos at 219 Addison Road that will collectively hold 18 units, TruNORTH President Jeff Sawyer said. Each unit will be 1,350 square feet, and Sawyer […]

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Waterbury planning commission approves recommendation to allow ‘eCommerce’ facilities

A proposed shipping warehouse for an online retailer is a step closer to reality after the City Plan Commission approved a recommendation to the Zoning Commission Wednesday night. The City Plan Commission unanimously passed a positive recommendation for a zoning text amendment that creates “eCommerce Fulfillment and Distribution Centers” as a new type of land […]

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CT leads New England charge to overhaul electricity market structure

In a written statement Thursday morning, Gov. Ned Lamont said the current structure “has actively hindered” states’ efforts to phase out polluting power plants in favor of renewable sources like wind turbines and solar panels, while increasing costs “to fix market design failures” in his words. Lamont’s energy policy chief Katie Dykes has emerged as […]

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Bids due Oct. 30 for UConn’s former W. Hartford campus

Developers are running out of time to bid on UConn’s former satellite campus in West Hartford, which was recently put up for sale after New York-based fintech Ideanomics pulled out of a planned $400-million development for the site. A listing shows Colliers is seeking buyers for the roughly 58-acre site where Ideanomics once hoped to […]

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Dakota eyes 180 new Hartford apts. near former Bow Tie Cinemas

According to application materials submitted last month to the city’s Planning & Zoning Commission, which on Tuesday approved Dakota’s plan to subdivide 330 New Park Ave., located in the city’s Parkville neighborhood near the West Hartford border, into four lots. Dakota intends to buy the three southernmost lots — which total approximately 5 acres and […]

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John Oliver Memorial Sewer Plant brings ‘notoriety’ to Danbury and facility’s costly upgrades

HBO host John Oliver’s rant against Danbury led City Council to rename the plant in exchange for $55,000 in donations to Connecticut charities. A community fundraiser in honor of the new name could raise at least $100,000 for 10 area food banks. Donors who give at least $500 can receive a tour of the plant. It remains to be seen […]

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Mill Hill Elementary School renovations begin in Fairfield

The long-awaited renovation at Mill Hill Elementary School has finally started after more than $1.2 million of additional money was approved and months of sometimes contentious debates. The construction, which is projected to cost more than $23 million, aims to renovate and expand the school. It is expected to be completed in November 2021. Quinn, […]

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Report: Wisconsin prevailing wage repeal yielded lost construction jobs, lower wages

A new report from the Midwest Policy Economic Institute and Colorado State University Pueblo says that Wisconsin’s 2017 repeal of its prevailing wage laws has failed to produce the promised cost savings for public transportation projects, and has led to lower construction worker pay, diminished apprenticeship programs and a reduction in bid competition. The report […]

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Wilton bridge replacement focus of virtual meeting

A major project involving the bridge on Lovers Lane will be discussed during a meeting on Thursday, Oct. 15, at 7 p.m. The state Department of Transportation has prepared a preliminary design for a new bridge, which the town is now reviewing.  Construction is anticipated to begin in the spring of 2022 based on the […]

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Construction nears completion on Eversource substation in Greenwich

As the project to install a new Eversource station near downtown Greenwich nears completion, Prospect Street will be closed from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Oct. 19 between Railroad Avenue and Route 1 to accommodate work. The first part of the project was successfully completed, but Tracey Alston, Eversource’s community relations specialist, told the board […]

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With a goal to ‘de-concentrate poverty,’ Bridgeport Housing Authority slowly modernizing properties

The long-planned, $27.1 million Windward Commons development is the latest public-private effort to modernize the Bridgeport Housing Authority’s stock of archaic low-income properties. So Marina Village came down and its 782 tenants were relocated. But, Baldwin said, they received tenant protection vouchers — essentially rent subsidies that traveled with them as they were moved into […]

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Seely School proposal moves another step forward in Groton

The Town Council has approved the conceptual plan for the proposed Triton Square apartment complex at the former William Seely School property at 55 Seely School Drive. Since DonMar Development, the preferred developer, unveiled its proposal in February, the North Haven-based company made modifications — including increasing the number of apartment units from 280 to […]

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Middletown’s $1.08M Alliance Grant to support critical school projects

City and state officials Wednesday praised the approval of $1.08 million in Bond Commission funding, which they said will allow the school district help ensure energy savings, protect the environment, lower the achievement gap and upgrade lighting systems to cost-effective LEDs. In all, $30 million is slated for the state’s 33 Alliance Districts. These monies […]

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Windsor Locks moves forward on downtown marketplace development proposal

The project will temporarily be titled the Connecticut River Valley Public Market at Windsor Locks Station. After the meeting, Kervick said Zaretsky’s feasibility cost $30,000, paid for by a state grant. Kervick also said a business plan for the project was completed in August, which cost $85,000, paid for with money raised by the Tax […]

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Fairfield’s finance board approves additional $300K grant for wastewater treatment project

The Board of Finance unanimously approved a resolution to accept a Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery at a recent meeting. Town officials reached out to the state — which administers the grant for the federal government — to request more funding after contaminants were found at the plant during construction on the project, said Brian […]

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Report: Crane counts in North American cities drop for first time since 2017

For the first time since July 2017, the number of cranes in North American cities has decreased, according to Rider Levett Bucknall’s newest crane count.  Although projects across North America have resumed after being stalled by coronavirus restrictions this spring, RLB’s report said “the pandemic-induced recession is expected to have far-reaching effects.” For example, lenders are […]

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Plainville receives two proposal for redevelopment of long-abandoned White Oak property

The town has received two proposals for the redevelopment of the long-abandoned “White Oak” property and a public presentation has been set for Oct. 15 at Plainville High School for both developers to present their ideas. Town Manager Robert E. Lee announced at Monday’s Town Council meeting that the town had received one proposal from […]

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Trumbull mall apartment plan moves ahead

The Planning & Zoning Commission has cleared the way for a 260-unit apartment complex on lower Main Street, approving plans for the site by a 3-2 vote. The proposed complex, named The Residences at Main, is for a mix of one- and two-bedroom market rate apartments and will include amenities like a pool, gym and […]

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Talks about future of ailing Stamford school buildings to resume

School officials had identified five schools — Toquam Magnet Elementary School, Hart Elementary School, Roxbury Elementary School, Cloonan Middle School and Westhill High School — to be demolished and rebuilt. To do that amount of work in a timely and affordable manner, the city hatched a plan to turn ownership and maintenance of the buildings […]

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First phase of $200M redevelopment around Hartford’s Dunkin’ Donuts Park is now in construction, with official groundbreaking later this month

Construction on the long-awaited, $50 million first phase of redevelopment around Dunkin’ Donuts Park is now underway, with an official groundbreaking expected in two weeks. The first phase of “Downtown North” — located just south of the ballpark at Main and Trumbull streets — is the beginning of a four-part, $200 million redevelopment of city-owned […]

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Bradley Airport’s $210M ground transportation center faces financial roadblocks

It was just over a year ago that Bradley International Airport officials began construction on a $210-million ground transportation center that will eventually house all rental car companies at the airport — eliminating the need for shuttle service to off-site locations. As a result of COVID-19, Bradley Airport’s passenger traffic is down about 60% from […]

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Torrington residents debate $159.6 million middle/high school project

Approval of the proposed $159.6 million Torrington Middle/High School building project would help rejuvenate the city, making it a place where people would want to move, Killackey said. The project would bring seventh- and eighth-graders from Torrington Middle School to the new school. The Board of Education also would move its central offices from 355 […]

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Middletown leaders hope passage of $55M bond will pave way for big changes downtown

Approval of the city’s $55 million referendum question will set the course for myriad riverfront redevelopment projects over the next decade, aimed at creating more parking, new public spaces, and additional housing options near the Connecticut River. Key elements include the purchase of key riverfront properties, redevelopment of municipal-owned buildings and other infrastructure, as well […]

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Transit needs haven’t gone away in 2020

The effort to revive tolls on Connecticut roads to fund overdue infrastructure improvements was put on hold just a few weeks before COVID-19 steered attention elsewhere. What has not gone away is the need. It was there long before 2015, when Gov. Dannel Malloy pitched a 30-year transportation vision with a $100 billion price tag. […]

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Berlin breaks ground on Turnpike Ridge development project which will feature apartments, restaurants

The development consists of The Shoppes at Turnpike Ridge and The Apartments at Turnpike Ridge. The Shoppes at Turnpike Ridge, located at 224 and 240 Berlin Turnpike, consists of approximately 35,000 square feet of retail space. The apartments at Turnpike Ridge, located at 104 Episcopal Road, will consist of 72 modern luxury apartments. Apartments will […]

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CTDOT Outlines Plans for Nearly $4B in Capital Projects

The most important of those initiatives are outlined every four years in the Statewide Transportation Improvement Program (STIP). The CTDOT recently took public comments on the draft version of the latest STIP, to cover the years 2021 to 2024. The 223 projects listed in the new STIP would cumulatively be funded with approximately $3.9 billion, […]

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Gov. Lamont releases plan to close $2B deficit mostly with state’s rainy day fund

Gov. Ned Lamont released a plan Thursday for closing a $2 billion budget gap that relies mainly on using $1.8 billion of the state’s $3 billion budget reserves. The administration’s plan proposes $25.3 million in cuts to discretionary spending across all three branches of government, including $17.5 million from executive branch agencies. It also recommends […]

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Danbury, Brookfield, New Fairfield school construction project funds get state House approval

The state House approved early Thursday morning a bill that gives Brookfield $16.7 million for its new elementary school and New Fairfield $23.8 million for its new high school, in addition to $11.2 million to expand its elementary school. The legislation includes language that would allow Danbury to receive funds for a proposed career academy […]

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