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Fairfield approves nearly $12 million for adaptive center, 2 new turf fields
FAIRFIELD — Members of the Representative Town Meeting approved millions of dollars for several projects this week, including for an adaptive recreation center and Miracle Field for children with disabilities, as well as new artificial turf fields at two Fairfield high schools. Construction of an adaptive recreation center for people of all abilities, as well as a Miracle Field specifically designed for children with disabilities were approved by a voice vote at a cost of about $6.3 million. Both the recreation center and Miracle Field are planned for 224 Colony St., on a 5.05-acre property formerly known as the Pilot House. Miracle Fields are designed to be completely flat to make balls bounce more evenly, as well as being accessible to athletes in wheelchairs and with visual impairments. “As a parent with children with special needs, these kinds of things are incredibly important,” Representative Chris Carroll, D-8, said. However, Carroll and other RTM members raised concerns about the lack of information regarding how much taxpayers will be on the hook to operate the recreation center and Miracle Field long-term, including the cost to pay staff.
Opinion: Revitalizing Constitution Plaza can bring downtown Hartford together
Now pending auction, the 1960s-era Constitution Plaza in downtown Hartford is at once a subject of concern and a source of possibility. There’s a way to replace the risk of failing real estate with new uses that unlock the potential of surrounding assets and move Hartford forward. The Connecticut Science Center, Connecticut Convention Center and the riverfront parks attract more than 1 million people each year, while an equal number attend games and events at the renovated PeoplesBank Arena and Dunkin’ Park to our west. Yet, too few of these visitors find their way across downtown from one destination to the other, leaving our best assets isolated and downtown less competitive as a place to enjoy, convene, learn, work and live. This is a moment to think big. Constitution Plaza, where Connecticut residents once gathered for holiday festivals, has handsome buildings and plaza spaces that can be revitalized to complement their newer surroundings rather than compromise them. Repurposed for hotel rooms, one tower would help the Convention Center compete for multiday conferences and the significant economic benefits they bring, capitalizing on the recent expansion of Bradley International Airport. Apartments, in high demand downtown, could occupy other buildings within the complex.
Mega-development proposed for CT town. It’s 598 homes and 100,000 square feet of shopping
One of the tri-state region’s most powerful commercial developers is proposing an enormous residential and retail complex that would add just under 600 homes in Stonington. Breslin Realty’s plan for Liberty Crossing would create more than 110,000 square feet of stores and restaurants along with four three- and four-story multifamily buildings. The Long Island-based company, known for decades as one of the biggest mall developers in the region, wants to use a roughly 67-acre wooded site along Route 2 just off I-95 for its project. It would vastly change the look of Stonington, a wealthy shoreline community best known for its historic village with a heavy nautical theme. But Breslin maintains that Liberty Crossing would be more than an ordinary mixed-used development, and would blend smoothly with the existing community. “Each of the elements of our proposal, including the mix of residential units and commercial uses, combined with the scale, connectedness and walkability and development of a village type project, will give Liberty Crossing a strong sense of place as is present amongst the existing and varying villages in town,” according to a 607-page presentation put together by a team of Breslin’s consultants.
‘We’re Not Going to be a Target’ — Eastern Connecticut Fights New Trash Plants
PLAINFIELD — Lawmakers in eastern Connecticut say their region is shouldering too much of the state’s trash burden, and they are vowing to fight a proposed waste-to-energy plant in Plainfield should the developer bring the project back. At a press conference last Thursday, state Sen. Heather Somers, state Reps. Doug Dubinsky and Anne Dauphinais joined local leaders to oppose the proposal. SMART Technologies LLC has been looking to build a waste-to-energy plant in town, despite overwhelming public pushback. The proposed facility would cover 81.2 acres of residentially zoned land in town and accept up to 2,500 tons of garbage per day. The plant, which developers claim would be the first of its kind in the United States, would convert trash into a synthetic gas, which would then be burned and turned into energy. Although a permit was withdrawn for the project, an attorney for the developer indicated in a letter to the Siting Council that they will be refiling a “revised proposal” at an unspecified future date.
North Haven proposal for 400 apartments, shops heads to Nov. 9 public hearing
NORTH HAVEN — The Haynes Group’s proposed 400-unit mixed-use, village-style housing development blending housing, shopping, walking trails and a “village green” at 300 Elm St. will go back to the zoning panel next month after the Inland Wetlands Commission approved it Wednesday night. The Planning and Zoning Commission will open a public hearing on an application for the project, proposed for 30 acres off Elm Street and Sackett Point Road near Bruces Ice Pond, on Nov. 9, Land Use Administrator Laura Magaraci and Haynes Group attorney Bernard Pellegrino said Thursday. The hearing will be in the gymnasium of the Mildred A. Wakeley Community and Recreation Center, 7 Linsley St. in North Haven. Among other thngs, Haynes has sought a text amendment to allow residential development within an IL-80 industrial zone. The Inland Wetlands Commission unanimously approved a site plan referral and permit to conduct regulated activity for the project Wednesday night, with a number of conditions, after months of consideration and debate.
State breaks ground on $125M Enfield train station, restoring rail service lost in 1986
Construction has started on a $125.3 million Hartford Line train station in Enfield’s Thompsonville neighborhood that will bring passenger rail back to the town for the first time since 1986.
Gov. Ned Lamont and state Transportation Commissioner Garrett Eucalitto marked the start of construction Wednesday at the site, 1322 Bigelow Commons. The state Department of Transportation expects to finish the project in fall 2030. Amtrak closed the old Thompsonville stop because of low ridership. Service is far more frequent now: The Hartford Line, launched in 2018, runs 22 weekday round trips in addition to Amtrak trains. The new station will close a roughly 15-mile gap on the Hartford Line between Windsor Locks and Springfield Union Station in Massachusetts. The DOT estimates it will serve nearly 130,000 passenger trips a year by 2031. Rides will take about 23 minutes to Hartford and 13 minutes to Springfield. The state is covering about 85% of the cost. The other 15% comes from the Federal Railroad Administration, Federal Transit Administration and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
New Haven Harbor project begins. Channel will deepen to 40 feet
NEW HAVEN — Work has begun on a major U.S. Army Corps of Engineers project to deepen and widen the New Haven Harbor channel, making it easier for ships to carry petroleum products, construction aggregates, equipment and scrap metal into Long Island Sound’s largest port. Great Lakes Dock and Dredge Co., a contractor for the Army Corps’ New England District, began work last week. The project is expected to take two dredging seasons, each running from October through March, and wrap up in early 2028, the Army Corps said. The New Haven Harbor Improvement Project will remove about 4.5 million cubic yards of sand and silt to modernize the roughly 5.5-mile federal navigation channel, which serves deep-water terminals at the head of the harbor. “New Haven Harbor is being modernized to strengthen the safe, efficient movement of essential goods and energy resources throughout Connecticut and the Northeast,” Craig Martin, a senior project manager with the Army Corps’ New England District, said in a news release.
https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/new-haven-harbor-dredging-project-22499068.php
New Naugatuck apartments become ‘blueprint’ for transit-oriented developments
By next summer, downtown Naugatuck will be transformed, with dozens of new apartments and a new train station. Naugatuck’s downtown redevelopment has drawn the attention of Gov. Ned Lamont, who said it’s an example of the potential Transit Oriented Developments (TODs) hold. “I hear a lot of speeches about transit-oriented development,” Lamont said. “You sort of have to sometimes imagine what it means. You don’t have to imagine when you’re here in Naugatuck. You see what it means.” The new Water Street train station is expected to be completed in the summer. However, the first of three apartment buildings at the Platform at Naugatuck which abuts the train line has been completed and residents recently began moving in. Lamont spoke about the developments’ benefits at a ribbon cutting for the new apartments Monday. “You’ll be able to walk right over to the train station, go to Waterbury, Stamford, or beyond, or people coming in here for work as well,” Lamont said. The Platform at Naugatuck is now accepting applicants. The building was approved for families to move in less than two weeks ago, according to Karmen Cheung with Pennrose, one of the project developers.
Preston to vote on selling piece of former Norwich Hospital land to Mohegans
Preston — Residents will gather at Preston Plains Middle School on Thursday at 7 p.m. to vote on approving the sale of two parcels of land on Route 12 to the Mohegan Tribe. The parcels total approximately 30 acres and have been owned by the town since September 2023. The town acquired the land by foreclosure. According to an Oct. 19 letter from the tribe to the town, the Mohegans will pay the town $200,000 for the land. The tribe plans to use the parcels, which are a small part of the Preston Riverwalk Project. In 2009, the town acquired the abandoned 393-acre Norwich Hospital property along Route 12 and the Thames River from the state. A small portion is located in Norwich. The town then received millions in state funding to clean up the contaminated site. In 2017, the town and tribe agreed that once that was done, Preston would convey the property to the tribe. Almost all of the 56 former hospital buildings have been demolished as part of the cleanup. The transfer to the tribe is expected to occur soon. The project is envisioned by the tribe as a non-gaming destination and calls for outdoor and indoor attractions, hotel and retail space, restaurants, housing, a marina, RV park and more. The land where the Preston Riverwalk Project would be located is of historical significance to the Mohegans, as it is next to Brewster’s Neck Cemetery and land on which early American settler Jonathan Brewster established a trading post hundreds of years ago. This land was granted to Brewster by his friend and trading partner, a Mohegan sachem named Uncas.
$38 million Complete Street, roundabouts, ‘road diet’ in planning for CT town. ‘Change is necessary.’
Following the pattern of Manchester, East Hartford is looking to modernize its downtown with traffic roundabouts, a road diet and new pedestrian amenities. The $38 million overhaul is intended to reduce traffic accidents, make biking and walking safer, and revitalize the stretch of Route 44 through the central retail district. Plans are still fluid, but state officials said last week that they’re looking to nail down a firm design. With the state and federal governments picking up the cost, Mayor Connor Martin sees the project as part of a wider campaign to strengthen the town and its business base. The past year has seen Walmart preparing to operate a 1.2-million-square-foot warehouse on Connecticut Boulevard, he said last week, while the Simon Konover Corp. is pouring the foundation for a 150-unit apartment complex along the Connecticut River. Port Eastside’s partners are progressing toward a winter groundbreaking for work on the $90 million reuse of 111 Founders Plaza into a 19-story upscale apartment complex. “It’s ambitious, but they want to start in January,” Martin said. “Change is hard, but change is necessary. As local residents, we know best how busy, how fast, and how difficult Main Street can be to navigate or cross,” he said when the state Department of Transportation publicly detailed the proposal. “The proposed improvements are designed to make this major corridor safer and more accessible for everyone—whether you’re walking, riding a bike, or driving,” Martin said.
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