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CIF board approves $62.9M for 38 community development projects statewide
Nearly $63 million in state funding has been approved for 38 community development projects across Connecticut, supporting initiatives ranging from affordable housing and workforce training to park upgrades and health care facilities. The funding was approved Tuesday by the board that oversees the state’s Community Investment Fund 2030 program. Approved by state lawmakers in 2021, the Community Investment Fund 2030 Board has a mandate to distribute up to $875 million in grants over a five-year period for community-building and economic development efforts in distressed municipalities. Tuesday’s vote marked the program’s eighth round of funding. Among the largest grants approved was $7 million for Children’s Learning Centers of Fairfield County to build a new Head Start facility in Stamford that will consolidate programs and expand early childhood education services. Two projects will receive $6 million each: demolition of the St. John Towers property in Stamford to prepare the site for affordable housing redevelopment, and the conversion of the 111 Founders Plaza office tower in East Hartford into residential apartments, which is part of the broader Port Eastside redevelopment. Higher education projects also received significant funding. The University of New Haven was awarded $5 million to renovate a former Railroad Salvage property in West Haven into a Center for Innovation and Applied Technology focused on workforce training and industry partnerships. The University of Bridgeport will receive $3.2 million to renovate Cortright Hall.
Waterford approves Electric Boat plan for Crystal Mall
Waterford — The Planning and Zoning Commission on Tuesday unanimously approved General Dynamics Electric Boat’s plans for its remake of the Crystal Mall property, which the company purchased last year. Devin Xenelis, director of facilities and real estate at Electric Boat, said Tuesday night the company purchased the mall property after an “immense amount of pressure from our customer” the U.S. Navy to deliver submarines. Xenelis alluded to the global events that are putting pressure on the Navy, making the military branch a more demanding customer. “The volumes requested don’t fit in our current shipyard,” Xenelis told the Planning and Zoning Commission as it held a public hearing on a special permit requested by Electric Boat to transform the aging mall into more space for the submarine manufacturer. Xenelis said moving certain workers to Waterford would free up space in the Groton shipyard, which Xenelis said can’t expand because it has the Thames River on one side and neighborhoods on the other. The Groton shipyard could then focus more on building submarines, its “core function,” Xenelis said. Xenelis said Electric Boat explored other sites before deciding the mall was best for its needs. Planning Director Mark Wujtewicz in his report on the project said EB is looking to convert the building from a shopping center to a “business/professional office with a private educational use” and “ancillary uses” like medical, food and financial services. Project plans also include removing about an acre of parking lot pavement.
https://theday.com/news/856812/waterford-approves-electric-boat-plan-for-crystal-mall/
CT must act now if it wants new nuclear power by 2035, state official says
HARTFORD — Connecticut’s goal of having new nuclear power generation by 2035 will be hampered by the costs of construction, the speed of emerging technology and the willingness of residents to support new facilities of any size in their hometowns. Whether it’s small modular reactors or new large-scale generators such as the Millstone nuclear power station in Waterford, the state must start looking at its energy future now, if more generation is to be available by the middle of the next decade, Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Commissioner Katie Dykes told state lawmakers last week. There’s $5 million in state grants for towns and cities to consider hosting small nuclear reactors that could generate up to 300 megawatts, keeping the lights on in up to 300,000 homes. Larger Millstone-size facilities that can generate 2 gigawatts of electricity, which can power 2 million houses, would require a major multistate regional commitment, Dykes said. “There is so much that has evolved and changed in the nuclear industry since the last time that Connecticut was in dialogue with communities about siting and hosting nuclear, which was decades ago,” Dykes told the legislative Energy and Technology Committee. DEEP has already held two of six planned informational workshops for the public to learn about new nuclear capacity in Connecticut. She stressed the need for municipal buy-in when considering the benefits of hosting a small modular reactor, including future tax benefits.
Wastewater project in Norwich gets major federal investment
Norwich Public Utilities is set to receive $960,000 in federal funding to continue upgrading its wastewater infrastructure in the Greeneville section of the city, according to a community announcement. The funding is part of the recently passed fiscal year 2026 federal spending bill that was signed into law. It will be used to clean existing wastewater mains and install a cured-in-place pipe, re-lining approximately 2,000 feet of old infrastructure to make it more durable and reliable. The project will also include manhole lining for the 27- to 36-inch brick main along Central Avenue and North Main Street, which is the main artery that takes all flows from the Greeneville section of Norwich, according to the announcement. Norwich Public Utilities has identified more than 27,000 linear feet of piping that needs to be replaced, with nearly 8,000 feet completed in the past four years. Most of these pipes were installed between 1885 and 1950, according to NPU records. “These investments will make an enormous impact on water quality in Norwich and our region for generations to come,” Jeff Brining, general manager of NPU, said. Blumenthal said the funding is a critical investment not only in essential infrastructure, but in the long-term health of the Shetucket River by preventing millions of gallons of untreated sewage from being dumped into its waters.
CT overhauls environmental cleanup rules to spur redevelopment
Situated just minutes from Waterbury’s downtown is an old, abandoned former factory complex. It dates back to the city’s manufacturing heyday. Companies churned out metal hoses there and other goods. The site has languished for decades. What remains is concrete, a brick warehouse, a smaller structure beside it and environmental contamination. In 2017, a redevelopment entity created by the city and the Waterbury Development Corporation (WDC) bought the property. It has invested nearly $3 million so far on cleanup. “They’re expensive to do, and things often move at a glacial pace,” Jim Nardozzi, the executive director of WDC, said of remediating sites like these, which are known as brownfields. Many investors don’t want to deal with environmental cleanup. But Nardozzi believes the site is well worth the cost. “It really is in the heart of the city, like in the heart of downtown,” Nardozzi said, peering out at the site behind a chain-link fence. “So to clean this up will really go far. We would love to get the site back on the tax rolls and not have it be such an eyesore.”
https://ctmirror.org/2026/03/09/ct-overhauls-environmental-cleanup-rules/
PURA lifts fines against United Illuminating to remediate old English Station plant
Cleanup of the long-abandoned English Station power plant in New Haven may take longer after the state’s Public Utilities Regulatory Authority removed financial penalties previously imposed on United Illuminating. The decision comes as the city is gathering community input on plans that could eventually transform the waterfront property into a public park and recreational space. English Station, a massive former power plant along the Mill River in the Fair Haven neighborhood, has sat vacant for decades and requires environmental remediation before redevelopment can move forward. New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker said PURA’s decision removes a key pressure point that had pushed United Illuminating to address contamination at the site. “The reality is, PURA by removing this fine, takes a lot of pressure off of UI because it’s a significant fine that UI was going to receive for many years,” Elicker said. A judge in 2023 ordered United Illuminating to pay a $2 million annual penalty for every year the company failed to clean up English Station. PURA has now withdrawn that penalty, saying it will instead reassess the company’s compliance during its next rate case. In its written decision, the authority said it wanted to ensure the costs associated with the penalties were not ultimately passed on to utility customers. The move drew criticism from Connecticut Attorney General William Tong, who said the decision undermines accountability. “PURA is now turning its back entirely on accountability for UI’s repeated failures to remediate dangerous contamination at English Station in New Haven,” Tong said in a statement.
Danbury I-84 rush hour shoulder lane plan aims to put ‘time back in the hands’ of drivers
DANBURY — Transportation experts will update residents Thursday about the state’s latest thinking to “quickly” address Interstate 84’s design flaws by building rush hour travel lanes on the inside shoulders of the highway between Danbury Fair mall and Exit 7. “The flex lane is designed to be constructed quickly and efficiently on the existing roadway, which means fewer disruptions and faster improvements to traffic flow,” the state Department of Transportation says about the first-of-its-kind project in Connecticut, expected to cost $250 million. The word “quickly” is a relative term for the DOT, at least when it comes to fixing a 10-mile stretch of I-84 in Danbury that the DOT says “has historically been one of the most congested roadway segments in the region.” By “quickly,” the DOT means the construction of the state’s first rush hour shoulder lane could be complete by the “early 2030’s,” the DOT says. “The shoulder on the median side would be repurposed into a temporary travel lane during the busiest times to maintain traffic flow and keep travelers moving. The project also includes the addition of a travel lane on Route 7 in the southbound direction approaching the I-84 westbound merge at Exit 7,” the DOT says in a news release about Thursday’s public information meeting. “By making better use of the existing I-84 footprint, the flex lane would create a more reliable and efficient experience for everyone.”
https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/i-84-danbury-flex-lane-ct-dot-21954891.php
State Regulators Approve Gravel Pit Solar Expansion In East Windsor
EAST WINDSOR, CT — State regulators voted Thursday to approve a modification that clears the way for an expansion of Gravel Pit Solar in East Windsor, advancing a plan that would add up to 30 megawatts of additional capacity to the existing facility. The Connecticut Siting Council voted 6–0 to approve the draft findings of fact, draft opinion, and draft decision and order for Docket 492A during its March 5 meeting, with council member Michael Lynch recusing himself from the vote. The action approves the written decision documents and authorizes issuance of a modified certificate for the project, which was originally approved as a 120-megawatt solar facility on multiple parcels in East Windsor. Council members reviewed the documents, which were dated Feb. 27, before taking the final vote. During the discussion, council member Michael Carter asked for an update on the status of an ISO New England large generator interconnection agreement referenced in the findings, but staff said they did not have an update. During the council’s review of the draft opinion, council member Patricia Hall requested language clarifying that any final landscaping plan required to reduce visual impacts would include ongoing maintenance. Staff indicated the change would be incorporated into the final documents.
New Haven’s Union Square redevelopment plan to be showcased in public hearing
New Haven residents will have a chance to comment on the first phase of a massive plan to revitalize the Union Square area at a City Plan Commission meeting Thursday. The plan includes renovating the Robert T. Wolfe Apartments, the former Church Street South Housing Project, and surrounding community into high-quality mixed income housing. The plan also includes 40,000 to 50,000 square feet of retail and commercial space. Construction includes a new multi-level, mixed-use development on the site of the former residential development, in the section located across from Union Station. Phase One will include approximately 541 residential units and approximately 31,000 square feet of retail and commercial space, consisting of three buildings and two parking lots. The entire plan envisages around 2,500 residential units. The city says current Robert T. Wolfe residents and former Church Street South residents will be offered the option to return to the area as the project comes online. Around 40% of the units in the redevelopment will be offered at below market rents. The latest version of the plan is the result of more than two years of community meetings, task forces and survey input from the neighborhood. The total cost for the multi-year revitalization project has been estimated at more than $2 billion. The city has said it intends to apply for a federal Department of Housing and Urban Development Choice Neighborhood Implementation Grant worth up to $26 million to help it complete phase one.
UConn plans $581M bond sale to fund capital projects, refinance debt
The University of Connecticut is preparing to bring nearly $581 million in bonds and notes to market next week to fund campus construction projects and refinance older debt under its long-running UConn 2000 capital program. In a preliminary official statement dated March 2, the university outlined plans to issue $432.3 million of general obligation bonds and $148.5 million of taxable bond anticipation notes. The bonds are expected to be offered by negotiated sale the week of March 9. Most of the borrowing will finance capital improvements to various university facilities under the UConn 2000 Infrastructure Improvement Program, a multidecade initiative to modernize, rehabilitate and expand campuses statewide, including UConn Health. Proceeds from the new-money portion of the bonds and the notes will be deposited into the program’s construction account to fund Phase III projects. Part of the borrowing will be used to refinance some of UConn’s 2015 and 2016 general obligation bonds.
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