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CT Bond Commission OKs $1.4 billion in spending
HARTFORD — The State Bond Commission faced a standing room only crowd of happy, smiling faces while approving $1.4 billion in new bond issues Thursday during its final meeting of the 2025 calendar year. Commission members unanimously approved $985.3 million in new general obligation bonds, $374.6 million in special tax obligation bonds for transportation initiatives, and $73 million in Clean Water Fund bonds. The governor chairs the 10-member panel of state officials and legislators in charge of state borrowing. The latest funding round brought approved allocations for general obligation and transportation bonds to slightly more than $1.9 billion each for the calendar year. For general obligation bonds, the new issues authorized Thursday were slightly less, $660 million under the $2.6 billion bond allocation cap for 2025. This budget control sets an inflation-adjusted amount of general bonding for the calendar year. There are also caps on the amount of bonds the state treasurer may issue and the bond requisitions the governor may authorize.
Trump administration pauses Revolution Wind again; CT leaders defend offshore energy project
Connecticut will defeat what Attorney General William Tong called “a new brazen attempt” from the administration of President Donald Trump to block construction of the Revolution Wind project on national security grounds. The U.S. Department of the Interior on Monday announced the federal government is pausing leases for Revolution Wind off the coast of southern New England and four other offshore wind projects under construction along the East Coast over Pentagon concerns they would interfere with military radar systems. The pause announced Monday comes three months after a federal judge overturned a stop-work order on the Revolution Wind project that the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management issued in August. Construction on Revolution Wind, an offshore wind farm located 15 miles south of Rhode Island and 32 miles southeast of Connecticut, resumed in October. It is nearly 85% complete. When up and running, the wind farm is expected to produce enough electricity to power about 325,000 homes.
Waterbury board OKs funds for demolition and clean up at former Anaconda American Brass site
WATERBURY — The Board of Aldermen voted last week to spend another $5.44 million on removing foundations and cleaning the former Anaconda American Brass site, and readying it for redevelopment. At its Dec. 15 meeting, the board voted 11-4 to approve hiring Manafort Brothers to get rid of the foundations and slabs that remained after demolishing the former brass complex. Manafort was the contractor for the demolition. Once the building’s remains are removed, the Waterbury Development Corporation will conduct testing under the soil to better characterize the site for future development, said James Nardozzi of the WDC. The city used millions of state and federal grant dollars to acquire and raze buildings in the complex. The latest round will come from a pool of money already available and won’t require bonding, city officials said. The envisioned Freight Street Corridor District will be anchored by transit-oriented development of residential, retail and commercial properties on the site of the former brass factory complex.
https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/waterbury/article/waterbury-aldermen-freight-street-21248255.php
Developer readies to build 176 mixed-income apartments at old CT office park
As a Boston-based developer prepares to start building 100 mixed-income apartments in an affluent Farmington Valley suburb, the state is kicking in $3 million to help with the second phase that will add another 76 affordable units. Beacon Communities LLC, one of the country’s biggest affordable housing builders, has been planning a major residential development at the former Security-Connecticut Life Insurance building in Avon since 2021. After years of arranging financing and securing permits, Beacon is poised to break ground next year on 100 new apartments that it will build on the grounds of the former office building on Security Drive in Avon. That project is called The Homes at Avon Park, and about 85 of the units are expected to be priced at state-designated affordable rates. Earlier this year the Connecticut Housing Finance Authority awarded $2.1 million in federal housing tax credits for the second phase, Avon Village. That $39 million initiative involves remodeling the four-story office headquarters itself. The Connecticut Bond Commission on Thursday approved a low-interest $3 million loan to advance it.
Connecticut Races to Lock in Solar Energy Projects Before Federal Credits Expire
The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection announced the selection of three solar projects on Thursday that will expand grid capacity, racing to lock in federal clean energy tax credits before they expire. The agency said the projects would secure affordable, reliable and clean energy sources — but declined to disclose the bid prices. “The price is kept confidential while negotiations are ongoing,” a department spokesperson responded to queries from CT Examiner. The selected projects will total approximately 67 megawatts of capacity, enough to supply 12,000 homes in the state, according to DEEP. The agency expects them to be online before the end of 2030. In its press release, DEEP explained the selection was launched on September 10 and conducted expeditiously to choose advanced-stage projects that could capitalize on federal incentives while they’re still available.
Work on offshore wind project off CT coast resumes after federal shutdown
The region’s Revolution Wind project is moving forward and should start supplying power to homeowners next year, following a months-long shutdown and recent legal battle, officials said. Construction of the offshore wind farm was halted in August after the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management issued a stop-work order. The project, located 15 miles south of Rhode Island and 32 miles southeast of Connecticut, resumed about a month later when a federal judge overturned the order. The bureau’s 60-day deadline to appeal the ruling passed Nov. 21. As of early last month, the project was about 85 percent complete, with 52 of 65 turbines, all 65 turbine foundations and two offshore substations installed, according to a spokesperson for Orsted, a Danish energy company and one of the wind farm’s developers. “Revolution Wind remains on track to reach completion in the second half of 2026,” the spokesperson said.
Construction of new Roxbury School wins key approval in Stamford
STAMFORD — After lengthy delays, plans for a new Roxbury School building and the demolition of the old school are moving forward. The Stamford Planning Board reviewed and approved plans for the new school construction, as part of the process to acquire state funding. The Stamford school administration is going to a bid-authorization meeting with state officials in coming weeks, and approval from the city Planning Board is required. The board affirmed the project meets the goals of the city’s comprehensive plan. Kelly Nelli, a senior project manager working on the school replacement project with the Arcadis construction group, told the board that the preliminary work would begin in July of 2026. The first phase of the project would be the construction of geothermal wells at the site. Nelli said portions of the old building on West Hill Road, including some portable structures and four classrooms in the rear of current building, would have to be demolished before work on the new structure could commence. The demolition, part of the preliminary phase, is required to allow access to the building site of the planned new structure. Major construction would commence in November of 2026, Nelli told the board, and wrap up in 2028.
https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/ct-stamford-roxbury-school-construction-21250262.php
North Haven could have four new elementary school buildings by 2033, experts say
NORTH HAVEN — With four public elementary schools in North Haven due for an upgrade, building planning experts and engineers have recommended a scenario that would include rebuilding them all. At the Board of Education’s recent meeting, officials from MP Planning Group and Colliers Project Leaders, a construction project firm, said the best way to modernize all four elementary schools would be by rebuilding them, starting with Ridge Road Elementary and Montowese Elementary. Then, Green Acres Elementary and Clintonville Elementary would follow. “I just think it’s important for everyone to know that the new construction is necessary at this point. … These schools are falling apart, and they really need to be addressed,” Mike Zuba from MP Planning Group said at the Dec. 11 meeting. School board Chair Ronald Bathrick brought up the idea of upgrading the town’s elementary schools in October, saying that financially, rebuilding would make more sense than renovating due to the state’s reimbursement rate. According the Connecticut Department of Administrative Service’s updated reimbursement rates, North Haven’s new construction reimbursement rate went up from 27.5% in 2025 to 31.3% in 2026.
Waterbury water main break prompts city officials to fast-track system upgrades
WATERBURY — As work to fully restore water service in Waterbury continued Tuesday, city officials outlined plans to step up a capital project that they said could prevent a repeat of widespread disruptions following any future water main breaks. During a news conference on the ongoing restoration efforts, Mayor Paul K. Pernerewski Jr. and Water Superintendent Bradley Malay said city officials had been preparing to include a project to install additional bypass valves in the water system in the city’s capital improvement plan for the next fiscal year, but will now expedite the schedule. Large parts of the state’s fifth largest city and sections of surrounding towns receiving water service from Waterbury lost water following a water main break on Thomaston Avenue last Wednesday afternoon. At the outage’s peak, nearly 100,000 customers lost water, and city officials said 100% of Waterbury lost water at some point Friday night.
A year in, Kooris’ CMDA sets stage for wave of transit-oriented projects
When 2025 began, David Kooris was expected to play a major role in reshaping how some Connecticut communities approve and finance dense housing. A year later, he has built a new state agency from the ground up, secured buy-in from dozens of municipalities, and begun laying the groundwork for major transit-oriented development projects across the state — efforts backed by $90 million in bonding approved by lawmakers to boost high-density housing in downtowns and near rapid bus and rail stations. Kooris was tapped by Gov. Ned Lamont in July 2024 to launch and lead the Connecticut Municipal Development Authority (CMDA), a new quasi-public agency tasked with helping cities and towns advance large-scale redevelopment. He brings extensive experience in economic development, including nearly two years as a deputy commissioner with the state Department of Economic and Community Development. As of late November, 32 communities had agreed to join CMDA, with 11 completing all steps to establish development districts eligible for funding. Kooris said he eventually expects about 50 municipalities to participate.
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