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Groton Voters Approve $14.3 million bond referendum for Athletic Stadium Improvement
Voters overwhelmingly approved the bond referendum for a $14.3 million upgrade of the athletic stadium at Fitch High School. The measure drew 3916 yes votes and 1758 voted no, according to Groton’s registrar of voters. The stadium is part of a $56 million multiphase project that would also upgrade the town’s athletic fields at Sutton Park and the property that holds Claude Chester Elementary School, which closed in 2021. The project “Athletic Field Improvements” is touted by Groton School District and many residents as critical as existing facilities have been degrading due to age, and the need for facilities including playing fields, public bathrooms and bleachers, has grown with an increased number of athletic programs and teams over the years. Voters interviewed at the polling sites on Election Day said the project strikes a chord. Some are parents with children in the school district involved in school athletics. Others are community members who say the athletic fields are a shared space that the entire community uses.
Developer buys 164-acre Simsbury site for $6.25M, plans mixed-use ‘Olympic village’-style development
A 164-acre cluster of properties along Hopmeadow Street in Simsbury has sold for $6.25 million to a local developer planning a 120-room Holiday Inn Express as part of a broader mixed-use “Olympic village”-type development. According to deeds recorded Nov. 4, Adam Westhaver of Simsbury purchased five parcels from a limited liability company affiliated with industrial real estate firm Indus Realty. The parcels include 54.2 acres at 1503 Hopmeadow St., where Westhaver recently received town approval to build the hotel, which will be located just north of the International Skating Center of Connecticut. Westhaver also partially owns the roughly 95,000-square-foot skating complex, which hosts public skating and competitive events and serves as home ice for numerous youth and high school hockey teams. In addition to the hotel, Westhaver plans to develop the 1503 Hopmeadow St. property with athletics-oriented businesses, restaurants, retail and other uses that complement the neighboring skating center. He envisions a network of trails connecting “New England village”-style buildings.
7-building industrial project to remake former brownfield in Bristol
The developer of a former 15-acre brownfield site in Bristol has filed its first application to redevelop the property. Bristol-based Carrier Construction Inc. tentatively acquired the 894 Middle St. parcel from the city in January for $625,000. The company’s plan to build a multi-tenant industrial development was selected after the city issued a request for proposals last November. The sale will not be finalized until Carrier receives all necessary development approvals. According to documents filed with the application, Carrier plans to construct up to seven buildings totaling about 70,000 square feet. The project would be built in two phases over a maximum of four years, creating a private business park that could accommodate 26 to 46 tenants. Under the purchase agreement with Bristol, Carrier will receive a 100% real property tax abatement for two years, a 50% abatement in the third year, and then 10% abatements for years four through seven.
Kosta Diamantis sentencing delayed until after second trial of former CT official
A federal judge has agreed to postpone the sentencing of Kostantinos “Kosta” Diamantis until after a separate trial involving corruption charges early next year. United States District Court Judge Stefan Underhill originally scheduled the Diamantis sentencing for Jan. 14, after the former state school building director was found guilty last month of 21 felony charges of bribery, extortion, conspiracy and lying to federal investigators. But on Monday, Diamantis’s attorney, Norman Pattis, asked for a delay until after the next trial scheduled for early February in Underhill’s courtroom. Pattis said Diamantis wants to maintain his right to remain silent on the upcoming trial, but a presentencing review would necessitate sitting for an interview with federal officials and possibly prejudice his constitutional right. Pattis said that in the event of a conviction in the upcoming trial, the 69-year-old former state lawmaker, who led school construction operations between 2015 and October of 2021 when he was fired by Gov. Ned Lamont in October of 2021, may want the sentences consolidated.
Developer for $1.1B Bridgeport minor league soccer stadium still doesn’t own the land for it
Developer for $1.1B Bridgeport minor league soccer stadium still doesn’t own the land for it. While much of the focus these past few months has been on whether the entrepreneur will get about $127 million in state funds he maintains are necessary to make the $1.1 billion project a reality, there is another domino that must fall: Swanston and his Connecticut Sports Group have yet to acquire a key property. In prior interviews about his stadium redevelopment proposal, which also includes hundreds of housing units, a hotel and public recreational space, Swanston has declined to divulge particulars about efforts to purchase or otherwise control the Kossuth Street address. The question of who controls the land has to be answered before the state releases $16 million set aside last year to reimburse expenses associated with the cleanup of ground contamination there. The Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD) confirmed the necessary paperwork is still being finalized for those monies, which include $8 million from the Community Investment Fund and an additional $8 million from a brownfields program.
https://www.ctpost.com/news/article/bridgeport-ct-soccer-minor-league-stadium-21131121.php
Texas developer plans 232 apartments at long-abandoned ex-retail site in central CT
The Texas developer constructing a 232-unit apartment complex in Newington is proposing to put up the identical number of units on the site of the former Parkade retail complex in Manchester. Anthony Properties, which also holds approvals to build 255 apartments in Southington, wants to expand its New England portfolio by adding a third major Connecticut project. Its plan in Manchester would be a dramatic redevelopment of a long-vacant eyesore that was once home to a busy shopping center. The company has not yet submitted a zoning site plan, but the initial maps in its application for wetlands approval indicate it would build on a little under 20 acres on Broad Street. It wants to put up four 48-unit apartment buildings and four 10-unit buildings. Headquartered in Dallas, Anthony Properties is a privately owned real estate investment and development business that has been building apartment complexes for decades.
UI asks regulators to reconsider denial of Fairfield/Bridgeport monopole project
United Illuminating claims it is being left in the dark by state regulators. On Monday the company requested members of the Connecticut Siting Council reconsider last month’s denial of the utility’s overhead transmission line upgrade project in Fairfield and Bridgeport. Monday’s filing was submitted at the very end of the timeframe UI had to take such action. According to Siting Council staff, such requests can be based on three factors: An error of fact or law; new evidence “which materially affects the merits of the case and which for good reasons was not presented;” and “other good cause.” UI first submitted its plan to the Siting Council in 2023. The company has maintained that installing the wires on monopoles routed along the southern side of the Metro-North Railroad train tracks is the best and least-costly-to-ratepayers option for upgrading the aged equipment. The Bridgeport/Fairfield section is the last 8 miles of a 25-mile-long project, the rest of which has been completed or is under construction. “We are stunned by the change in the Siting Council’s decision today with no explanation,” the utility had said, calling it “arbitrary and capricious.”
Trumbull’s new Hillcrest Middle School still on track to open in 2028
At a school board meeting on Tuesday, Kevin Dion, Trumbull Public Schools’ director of operations, said the new school building would not be completed until 2029. But Semmel said Friday that Dion misspoke. Semmel said the district is still “on track” to open the new school in 2028. Trumbull residents, in a 2024 referendum vote, approved the $142.3 million Hillcrest construction project, which will cost the town $82.5 million after securing a 44% state reimbursement rate. The new school will be 145,884 square feet and will accommodate a projected enrollment of 826 students. The current Hillcrest school is slated to be demolished. The new building’s gymnasium will be able to fit upward of 300 spectators on the bleachers, which will be placed on both sides of the court for sporting competitions, pep rallies and more, Dion said. The gym is currently planned to be 7,420 square feet.
Work to begin for $18 million CT sewer rehabilitation project. Detours planned
Work is scheduled to begin this week to rehabilitate downtown sewers, a system for which the original sewer was built in the 1800s. The project is by The Metropolitan District and its contractors, VMS Construction and Insituform Technologies, and all three phases are expected to be completed by next spring. In all, the project is expected to last several months in the downtown Hartford area on Central Row, Market Street and Main Street the next several months could see detours. No sewer service interruptions are expected. The Metropolitan District coordinated with the city of Hartford, the Connecticut Department of Transportation and CT Transit for the project. The second phase of the sewer rehabilitation work will begin early next month on Market Street from Kinsley to State Street, according to the MDC.
Hamden council approves contracts for middle school demolition initially slated to begin this summer
Town officials voted to move forward with the demolition of two blighted former middle school buildings, although the site’s future remains unclear. Plans to demolish the former Michael J. Whalen Junior High School building and renovate the free-standing gymnasium, were altered from plans to develop a community campus at the site after the Legislative Council voted last year to reallocate millions of funds to addressing sinking foundations in the Newhall neighborhood, which was once a site of dumping for industrial waste. The town initially approved contracts with 7-Summits Construction to serve as construction manager at risk and with BL Companies for demolition and site planning. According to White, the current demolition plans are not tied to any future construction at this time. He said it is expected to be a flat, grassy area although some pavement restoration may be required. White said BL Companies is also committed to communication information about air quality during demolition to residents.
https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/hamden-ct-middle-school-demolition-21124669.php
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