industry news
Stay updated with the latest developments and insights from across the industry
Meriden Green expansion plan scraps sensory garden
MERIDEN —The city has changed its plans for the northern corner of the Meriden Green and instead of building a sensory garden, officials are proposing a park on the four-acre site. The lot is now used as a staging area for construction equipment at the Center Street Bridge reconstruction, but a new federal grant could help complete the park in the next year, city officials said this week. The city’s Finance Committee voted Thursday to allow City Manager Brian Daniels to apply to the Environmental Protection Agency office of Brownfields and Revitalization for a $4 million grant by Jan. 28. The grant was announced in December and is narrowly focused on uses that turn brownfields into parks, Daniels told the panel. Design drawings are 60 percent complete, officials said, and the city has been waiting for state funding to complete the work but was rejected in several earlier rounds.
https://www.ctinsider.com/recordjournal/article/meriden-green-expansion-garden-21277611.php
Trump’s offshore wind project freeze draws lawsuits from states and developers
Offshore wind developers affected by the Trump administration’s freeze of five big projects on the East Coast are fighting back in court, with one developer saying its project will likely be terminated if they can’t resume by the end of next week. Norwegian company Equinor and the Danish energy company Orsted are the latest to sue, with the limited liability companies for their projects filing civil suits late Tuesday. Connecticut and Rhode Island filed their own request on Monday seeking a preliminary injunction for a third project. The administration announced Dec. 22 it was suspending leases for at least 90 days on the five offshore wind projects because of national security concerns. Its announcement did not reveal specifics about those concerns. President Donald Trump has been hostile to renewable energy technologies that produce electricity cleanly, particularly offshore wind, and has instead prioritized oil, coal and natural gas that emit carbon pollution when burned.
Waterbury water main repairs, sliplining project near end, mayor says
WATERBURY — The city’s mayor says two major projects involving the local water supply are nearing completion after a break caused thousands of residents to lose water. In a release on Wednesday, Waterbury Mayor Paul Pernerewski said the water main break repairs on Thomaston Avenue, and the ongoing 42-inch sliplining project related to the repairs, are almost done. Concerning the water main break on Thomaston Avenue, which caused thousands of residents to lose water in mid-December, Pernerewski said all pipe work in the ground has been successfully replaced, pressure tested and is now operationally available. “The temporary bypass has been removed from the 36-inch low service main, and full volume and pressure are currently flowing to the city,” he said. The 36-inch high pressure main has been pressure tested and disinfected, Pernerewski said, adding the results were “acceptable.” He said that line will be opened to the 42-inch main once that work is completed later this week. Repairs to the 12-inch line have also been pressure tested without issue, he said.
DEEP hearing set on Brookfield natural gas compressor station expansion near middle school
BROOKFIELD — Residents have the chance to share their thoughts on Iroquois Gas’ proposed expansion of a natural gas compressor station, located just 1,900 feet from Whisonier Middle School. The state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection is holding a virtual public hearing about expanding the Brookfield compressor station — which has drawn opposition for its potential negative health impacts from town leaders residents and the Sierra Club — at 5 p.m. on Thursday. Some residents, conservationists and town and state officials have worked for years to try to stop the expansion of Brookfield’s natural gas compressor station, which is on an 80-acre property at 78 Meadow Lane owned by Iroquois. The expansion plan would involve two steel pipelines that enter and exit the station: The Algonquin pipeline, built in 2008, comes in from the southwest, and the Iroquois pipeline, built in 2009, comes down from the north.
CT town balks at proposal for 10-acre battery energy storage farm
In a situation similar to what Granby faced this summer, New Milford residents are balking at a proposed 140 megawatt battery energy storage farm less than 2 miles from the center of their town. Homeowners have created New Milford Guardians Against Flatiron to organize opposition, with many warning that a fire at the lithium battery facility could be a serious hazard to firefighters and neighbors as well as environmentally dangerous for the town. With two important public meetings on the topic coming in January, local environmentalists two weeks ago launched an online petition drive to stop the project. “This project plans to bulldoze roughly 10 acres of our precious land to make room for what they call progress — a term that, in this context, seems to equate to environmental degradation,” the petition on change.org states.
Developer sells massive CT apartment building, promises separate mega-project on track
Prolific apartment developer Avner Krohn has sold his freshly completed 107-unit apartment building in downtown New Britain and is negotiating to sell its twin next door, saying he’s focusing more attention on the planned Concourse Park mega-project in East Hartford. “We are all in on East Hartford, we’re fully ramped up and ready to make it happen,” Krohn said Monday. “We feel very strongly that East Hartford will do very well.” Krohn confirmed that his Jasko Development recently sold The Brit, a six-story, modernistic glass-faced building in the heart of downtown, to a partnership of Reliant Partners LLC and Investment 360. Krohn did not disclose the purchase price, and Solomon Katz, listed as a key official in Reliant and Investment 360, could not be reached Monday. When it was proposed in 2021, The Brit was revolutionary for the city’s ailing downtown, and represented the first large-scale infusion of market-rate housing in decades. Then-Mayor Erin Stewart’s administration granted a 26-year tax incentive worth more than $300,000 a year to get Jasko to demolish the abandoned Burritt Bank headquarters at Main and Bank streets and replace it with an amenity-rich apartment complex.
CTDOT Delivers Major Infrastructure Upgrades, Safety Innovations Across State in 2025
The Connecticut Department of Transportation (CTDOT) is highlighting the progress made in 2025 to improve safety, accessibility and reliability across the state’s transportation networks for drivers, transit riders, cyclists and pedestrians. From upgraded bridges and repaved roadways to new bus shelter installations and advanced safety systems, CTDOT’s 2025 projects strengthened infrastructure, expanded mobility options and made travel safer and more dependable for millions of residents and visitors. “2025 was a transformative year for Connecticut’s transportation systems,” said Garrett Eucalitto, Connecticut Department of Transportation commissioner. “We completed key bridge rehabilitations, accelerated transit-oriented development and expanded the nation’s largest wrong-way driving detection program. Supported by our federal, state, and local partners, these projects are helping make travel across Connecticut safer and more reliable for everyone.”
Naugatuck wants to turn an abandoned factory site into a massive industrial park
NAUGATUCK — On the banks of the Naugatuck River, a vast parcel of land sits overgrown with trees and strewn with rubble. Little remains of what was once the beating heart of the town’s industry: the factory for the Uniroyal Chemical Company, a sprawling 86-acre complex that once prospered by producing both chemicals and rubber-based products. No evidence remains of it now, beyond heaps of old concrete and retaining walls. Yet the land may again become the heart of Naugatuck’s industry, as Mayor Warren “Pete” Hess has an ambitious plan to turn the disused property into a vast industrial park. Hess said the property was primed for large-scale development opportunities with the revitalization of the rail network, which is ongoing and would see freight moved onto the line for the first time since roughly the 1950s. He said the project could meet a growing demand in the region.
New superintendent, Westhill High construction on tap for Stamford schools in 2026
STAMFORD — The new year will bring a new school leader to the Stamford Public Schools as well as the start of construction on a brand new Westhill High School. Here’s a closer look at some of the biggest developments coming to the local school district in 2026. Shovels will be hitting the ground for the long-discussed Westhill High School project, estimated to cost $446 million. Limited construction work is expected to begin in April, including the demolition of the campus’ vocational-agriculture building. That work will result in the closure of certain student parking areas. Work on the new building is expected to begin in June immediately after graduation. The new Westhill is expected to open in 2029. Once complete, the high school campus will have 513 parking spaces, up from the current 475. Enrollment at the school, the largest in Stamford, is expected to be 2,458 students in eight years.
I-95 in East Lyme to close twice a day while construction crews blast rock, officials say
EAST LYME — Traffic on Interstate 95 will be briefly halted twice a day for several weeks starting Monday as crews working to realign the highway use explosives to blast away a rock ledge, officials said. The daily closures will take place for about five to 10 minutes between 9 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. Monday through Friday on the northbound and southbound lanes, according to the state Department of Transportation. The agency said the blasting is expected to take around six weeks to complete, but could require up to eight weeks to finish. The explosives will be used to remove a rock ledge on the northbound side. “It will take time to blast these rocks and for the safety of the traveling public, the short closures will need to take place,” officials said. “We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause to your commute.” The work is part of a $148 million effort that began in 2023 to improve the https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/i-95-east-lyme-close-twice-day-construction-blast-21269027.php“vertical geometry” of the interstate, replace the bridge over Route 161 and construct new on and off ramps at Exit 74, which currently have very tight turns.
Connect with us
Contact us
If you believe you have been the victim of wage theft on a public works construction project, please feel free to contact our office. You can also visit the Connecticut Department of Labor’s Wage & Workplace Division’s website to file a complaint here.