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New Haven startup raises $6M for AI-driven construction planning
Planning a building — projecting timelines, manpower needs and costs — is among the most complex and uncertain tasks in the construction industry. A major development such as a skyscraper can take months to estimate and cost millions of dollars to design and engineer. Even at the bidding stage, engineering firms invest significant time and money, knowing they’re likely to win the work less than 10% of the time. A New Haven technology startup says it can shrink that painstaking process from months to about seven minutes using artificial intelligence. “LeanCon is building the first pre-construction engineering team created by artificial intelligence,” is the way that co-founder Ziv Levi pitches his product. Investors have taken interest. The company recently announced a $6 million seed funding round, double its initial target. Levi and his co-founder Sapir Tubul are both construction engineers by trade. They grew up in Israel and began working on construction sites with their engineer fathers. They later met as civil engineering undergraduates at Technion, the Israeli Institute of Technology. After graduation, the two took different paths. Levi earned a master’s degree in civil engineering and later completed an MBA at Yale. Tubul earned a master’s degree in computer science, specializing in machine learning and artificial intelligence. Levi said the idea for LeanCon grew out of his experience working as a construction engineer, where he dealt firsthand with the complexities of planning large projects.
Forum on Tweed New Haven Regional Airport expansion rescheduled for Feb. 25
NEW HAVEN — A public information forum on Tweed New Haven Regional Airport’s proposed expansion, postponed by bad weather in January, will take place Feb. 25 at East Haven High School, airport officials said this week. The meeting, scheduled to take place at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 25, will focus on the environmental aspects of Tweed’s proposed new terminal, parking, entrance and runway extension on the East Haven side of the airport. It will provide an overview of the airport’s proposed expansion project and the environmental review process administered by the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. or DEEP. East Haven High is located at 35 Wheelbarrow Lane, off Foxon Road. The forum is intended to help members of the community understand what to expect during the application process and how the public can take part as it moves forward, officials said in a written release. Representatives of DEEP will attend along with officials from Tweed and its development team.
https://www.nhregister.com/news/article/ct-tweed-new-haven-airport-expansion-21347847.php
Here are the most expensive projects coming up for Connecticut’s roads and railways
From a $50,000 project to install electric vehicle charging stations at town facilities in Canton to a more than $3 billion effort to replace a railroad bridge between Stratford and Milford, a five-year capital plan released this month by the Connecticut Department of Transportation assigns $15.7 billion in funding to hundreds of projects across the state. Some projects, such as the EV charging stations in Canton, are funded by a mix of federal and local dollars. But most involve state funding, often in combination with federal money.
CT secures about $190 million in earmarks from federal bills
Connecticut will receive tens of millions of dollars in federal funding for local projects, marking the first time in two years that states will benefit from earmarked funding for infrastructure initiatives, affordable housing development and education. The state’s congressional delegation secured a combined total of more than $190 million to support over 175 projects in their districts and statewide. Dozens of towns and cities will see a windfall in federal funding whether for fire house renovations, police training, boosts for museums or transportation projects. The funding — formerly known as earmarks — was tucked into spending packages that Congress passed in both November and February to fund most of the government through September. Several of Connecticut’s earmark requests, worth more than $10 million, however, are still tied up in the embattled bill to fund the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Those seem unlikely to materialize amid ongoing negotiations. During each annual appropriations cycle, lawmakers can make requests to steer money to their states and districts. But those dollars don’t become a reality if Congress can’t pass full-year spending bills and instead rely on short-term continuing resolutions, which have become the norm in recent years.
https://ctmirror.org/2026/02/11/ct-secures-about-190-million-in-earmarks-from-federal-bills/
Plainfield commission postpones action on Costco zone change, again
Plainfield — A decisive vote that could make or break Costco’s proposal for a massive, 1.1 million-square-foot distribution center on the Plainfield-Canterbury town line has been pushed back for at least another month. In a split-decision vote on Tuesday, the Planning and Zoning Commission gave Costco a win by approving amendments to the town’s zoning regulations that provide commissioners discretion to accommodate certain lighting, setback and building-design needs of the project. However, the commission stopped short of granting Costco’s request for a zone change that would transform more than 200 acres of land into an I-2 Industrial District that permits the construction of any warehousing and distribution facility that passes a site plan review. Commissioners voted 4-1 to continue deliberations regarding the zone change to their next meeting on March 10. June Gagne, who cast the sole dissenting vote against Costco’s text amendment request, also voted no on the continuance. Costco’s applications have been on the commission’s agenda since Jan. 13. Zone changes and text amendments for the Canterbury portion of the project were approved by the Canterbury Planning and Zoning Commission on Jan. 8. Costco’s plan to use Route 12 as the distribution center’s sole access point for tractor-trailers hinges on the requested zone change, which would convert nearly 150 acres of residentially zoned RA-30 land and 60 acres of I-1 Industrial land into an I-2 Industrial classification.
https://theday.com/news/849882/plainfield-commission-postpones-action-on-costco-zone-change-again/
Middletown begins environmental testing at Return to the Riverbend sites
MIDDLETOWN — Environmental testing along the shoreline is expected to continue through the spring as part of Middletown’s plan to clean and stabilize the riverfront, officials said. The city is using part of a $12 million Community Investment Fund grant it received in 2022 to begin the geotechnical and design work needed to clean up a trio of River Road properties. The funding covers site work and demolition of the area and kicks off the Return to the Riverbend project along the Connecticut River. This phase of the project “is in order to finalize a Remediation Act Plan and design two concepts for shore stabilization,” said Middletown Economic and Community Director Christine Marques. “These activities have commenced and will continue through the spring.” The 10-year Return to the Riverbend vision includes the sweeping redevelopment of 220 acres of land in Downtown Middletown — from Harbor Park to where Silver Street meets River Road, along approximately two miles of waterfront. Highlights include new parks and walking trails; a pedestrian bridge that crosses Route 9; multi-family housing, and events and commercial space. Multi-phase construction is expected to span 10 years and cost hundreds of millions of dollars.
https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/middletown-ct-return-to-riverbend-project-21344887.php
190-unit apartment building planned for parking lot on New Haven’s Orange St.
A developer is proposing a new, seven-story apartment building on New Haven’s Orange Street, providing 190 units and retail space. The downtown site at 7 Orange St., on the corner of George Street, is currently a surface parking lot owned by the city. The applicant, Max Ritchie of L&M Development Partners in Larchmont, New York, has outlined plans for a 152,920-square-foot building that would provide a mix of affordable and market rate housing. Fifty-seven of the units would be rented to residents making less than 50% of the area median income. The design includes more than 100 studio apartments, 40 one-bedroom units, 26 two-bedroom and 10 three-bedroom apartments. A retail or commercial space of 3,433 square feet would anchor the corner of the property with frontage on both Orange and George streets. The developer proposes to start work at the site in early 2027, and projects that the building would take two years to complete. The City Plan Commission will hear more details at its next meeting on Feb. 25.
Massive 200-acre solar farm in Plainfield and Sterling faces local resistance
Plainfield — A Lamont-administration-endorsed proposal for a massive, 202-acre solar farm on the Plainfield-Sterling town line is facing pushback from some residents. Representatives from the renewable energy development firm Verogy met with the Board of Selectmen on Monday to share new details on the proposed 50-megawatt Husky Solar project, which would generate enough electricity to power 6,690 homes a year. Once complete, Husky Solar would occupy 125 acres in Plainfield and 75 acres in Sterling across 517 acres of land near the intersection of Sterling Road and Sterling Hill Road. In December, Gov. Ned Lamont and the State Department of Energy and Environmental Protection announced that Husky Solar had been selected for a multi-state clean energy sharing program that leverages federal tax credits to carry out power purchase agreements between Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine and Vermont. Lamont and DEEP Commissioner Katie Dykes said the project would create a cleaner, more reliable and affordable energy grid for Connecticut ratepayers. While the project essentially received the Lamont administration’s blessing, it still requires final approval from the Connecticut Siting Council and other regulatory agencies. Civil Engineering Project Manager Ian Gottheim said Verogy will submit an application to the Siting Council next week. If all permits are approved, Verogy said, construction could start in November and wrap up by December 2028.
‘Dangerous precedent’: CT lawmakers urged to undo law that exempts major project from safety review
Lawmakers passed a bill past year that they hoped would lead to the creation of a vibrant area in East Hartford. It was a key move to push forward an $840 million mixed-use overhaul of struggling office buildings. In an effort to fast track the development, language was included in the law that would exempt it from a safety review process that applies to major projects expected to generate significant traffic. State Department of Transportation officials, however, are requesting that exemption language be repealed. As a potential “major traffic generator,” Port Eastside should go through a review and approval process by DOT’s Office of the State Traffic Administration, the state agency said. The large mixed-used development, located near an on-ramp and an off-ramp for Route 2, “contains significant potential to generate traffic that can back up the state limited access highways,” DOT said. “This situation increases the risk of a high-speed collision.” But last year’s bill, which Gov. Ned Lamont signed into law in June, “takes the extreme step of removing jurisdiction over this development away from the agency of cognizance, at a time when road safety is a core focus of CTDOT and the Lamont administration,” the agency said. “This would set a dangerous precedent that every future developer will seek to duplicate.”
$250M improvements at CT airport aimed at future growth. See what it means for passengers.
In anticipation of future air travel growth, Bradley International Airport is embarking on two major projects that will cost nearly $230 million aimed at transforming the airport’s terminal and making room for more airlines, passengers and amenities. The state’s largest commercial airport will construct a system that will transport checked baggage along a mile-long network of conveyor belts to a new building near the Sheraton hotel for security screening. The $185 million project will remove baggage screening from the terminal lobby, freeing up space for at least 16 new airline ticket counters. Bradley checks about 2 million bags a year, not counting carry-ons. A companion, $42 million project will include additions to the east and west sides of the terminal. New sets of escalators and elevators will connect the concourse and baggage claim, also creating new lounge areas for people waiting for travelers arriving at the airport. The idea is to relieve the congestion on the one central stairwell that now serves all passengers. The central stairwell will eventually be eliminated, opening up more space for travelers standing in line at the nearby passenger screening checkpoint. At heavy travel periods, the line often spills out into the lobby.
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