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The Trump administration favors natural gas. What does that mean for CT?
Doug Burgum, the U.S. Department of Interior secretary, said the quiet part out loud. It was a few days before Christmas, an hour or two after he had announced that five offshore wind projects under construction — including Connecticut’s Revolution Wind — was being halted “due to national security risks identified by the Department of War in recently completed classified reports.” Burgum told Fox News another story: “We have a solution in New England right there, which is natural gas from Pennsylvania, which would generate power five to 10 times more than all these … five projects put together.” Natural gas. In some circles it’s viewed as the holy grail of power supply. In others it is one of the worst climate change nightmares imaginable. And then there’s pretty much everything in between. The U.S. produces more natural gas than any other nation. It also exports more. The Trump administration has clearly said it wants to do more of both. That was a pillar of President Donald Trump’s day one executive order, Unleashing American Energy, which put renewables like wind and solar on notice while creating a glide path for extracting and marketing more fossil fuels.
CT plans $90 million project to improve a busy highway ramp. What to know.
The Connecticut Department of Transportation plans a big change in a highway ramp and the project is intended to improve safety, according to the agency. The planned changes are for improvements at Exit 46 on Route 15, according to the agency. The exit is close to the Hero’s Tunnel that takes traffic under West Rock between New Haven and Hamden. The estimated construction cost for the project is $90 million, according to the agency. The project is anticipated to be done with 80% federal funds and 20% state funds. “The installation of acceleration and deceleration lanes on Exit 46 will improve safety, mobility, and connectivity on Route 15, and the immediate connections with Route 69 and Route 63,” Connecticut Department of Transportation Project Manager Jeffrey Pfaffinger said, in a statement. “The project also proposes to relocate the existing Route 15 northbound on-ramp to a new loop ramp,” he said. “We encourage the public to attend this (Feb. 3) meeting to share their feedback with the CTDOT project team to incorporate into the design.”
Spinnaker pivots from office space to hotel in Norwalk waterfront mixed-use project
A prominent developer is seeking to revise plans for an approved waterfront mixed-use project in Norwalk, proposing to replace one of two planned office buildings with a 130-room hotel. Norwalk-based Spinnaker Real Estate Partners received city approval in early September for a development on a 2.72-acre property that includes a 59-unit, five-story apartment building, two 4.5-story office buildings totaling 83,000 square feet, boat slips, a boardwalk and a ground-floor restaurant. In an updated application filed Thursday, Spinnaker is asking for permission to build a four-story, 130-room hotel with a ground-floor restaurant in place of the planned roughly 54,000-square-foot office building on the south side of the site. A smaller, 28,800-square-foot office building on the north side would remain. Spinnaker said it changed course because it is unlikely it can lease 83,000 square feet of office space “in a commercially reasonable period,” and lenders are hesitant to provide financing due to vacancy risks.
Meriden highway construction progresses into second phase. Here’s what’s next
MERIDEN — Officials announced a recent update where the project stands for Meriden’s congested interchange, where state Route 15 and Interstates 91 and 691 meet. “We’re continuing to make progress on this important safety improvement project in Meriden,” said Eva Zymaris, spokesperson for the state Department of Transportation. The on-ramps for northbound Route 15 and Interstate-91 and eastbound I-691 from East Main Street will be closed as part of the ongoing construction in phase two, which began last year with some components starting in 2024. Paddock Avenue will have one-way alternating traffic controlled by a temporary signal, and be closed entirely during nighttime hours between Barr and Overlook Roads, though those hours were not posted. Roadwork will take place 6 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, with lane and shoulder closures on all three roadways during these times. The $500 million project is designed, when completed, to reduce congestion along one of the state’s busiest corridors, seeing around 260,000 vehicles pass through the interchange daily.
Developers proposes more than 430 apartments in upscale CT suburb town center
The developer building Heritage Park at the former UConn campus in West Hartford is proposing a project in another town. It’s 266 apartments just off Glastonbury’s Main Street, with nearly a third of them to be priced at state-designated “affordable” rents. Domenic Carpionato of Rhode Island wants to put up a series of three- to four-story buildings near Main Street at Griswold Street in what would become one of the largest residential complexes in town. It’s one of two major developments envisioned for Glastonbury’s Main Street: The Greenwich-based HB Nitkin Group is proposing about 170 apartments in a mixed-use project that would entail demolishing a pair of existing commercial buildings. The projects aren’t linked, but if both are built, they’d significantly change the appearance of the town center. Both developers are going before town environmental boards on Thursday to discuss their plans.
New Orleans developer buys Trumbull office building once approved for self-storage redevelopment
A New Orleans-based commercial real estate development firm plans to demolish a three-story office building in Trumbull that it purchased for $2 million, according to property records. Trumbull CT Development Company LLC, controlled by Gordon H. Kolb Jr. of New Orleans, purchased the 62,464-square-foot building, at 6 Cambridge Drive, in late December. Kolb is president of GHK Developments, a commercial real estate development firm that focuses on acquiring and developing commercial properties. GHK is working with the town on getting permits to redevelop the 4.54-acre property, but would not disclose what it plans to build there. “This is something that will be helpful to the community,” said William Henderson, co-founder of Texas-based commercial real estate firm AIE Partners who is partnering with GHK on the redevelopment. “Getting rid of this blighted property is very beneficial for the area.”
Middletown Details First Projects Under $42.5M Infrastructure Bond
MIDDLETOWN — The mayor and members of city staff announced initial plans to improve local infrastructure as a part of a $42.5 million bond referendum approved by voters in November. Mayor Gene Nocera, joined by city public works officials and the city water and sewer director, held a press conference on Tuesday to provide updates on plans to address upcoming improvements to city buildings, roads and sewers. Back in November, residents overwhelmingly voted in favor of a $42.5 million bond referendum, where $33 million will go toward improvements to city-owned buildings and roads and a separate $9.5 million toward improving the city water and sewer system. On Tuesday, Acting Deputy Public Works Director Brian Gartner said about $15 million will be spent on repairs for nine city buildings. Nocera identified the parks department building, the city yard and the tradesman building as projects the city will prioritize. While these are the initial plans for spending the bond money, all projects will need to be approved by a newly formed building committee that will oversee the process by establishing budgets and timelines. Members of this building committee are still being sworn in, and have yet to schedule a meeting, Gartner said. He emphasized that this will be a “very public process.”
https://ctexaminer.com/2026/01/14/middletown-details-first-projects-under-42-5m-infrastructure-bond/
Demolition of vacant and decaying CT building to start. It puts future development in spotlight.
An 8-foot high construction fence is starting to encircle the former data processing center. It’s near Hartford’s minor league ballpark, the first step toward a demolition that would make space for new development — including a potential, $90 million center for applied artificial intelligence. But passersby won’t notice walls tumbling down right away. Over the next two months or so, work will focus inside the 190,000-square-foot, bunker-like structure — vacant for nearly two decades and long the target of vandals and the object of thieves who stripped the concrete structure of anything of value. “What people will be able to see probably won’t start until April or May,” William Diaz, a project manager for the city’s department of development services, said. “Everything has to go down to the studs before they start taking the building down.” Diaz said metal structural beams, for instance, are sprayed with asbestos, which must be removed, and the lowest two underground floors are flooded. Leveling the now, city-owned data center is expected to cost $9.4 million, a combination of state and city funds, including a $6 million brownfields clean-up grant. The demolition is expected to wrap up by June 1, according to the city’s latest predictions.
Large-scale CT solar project looks to drill under popular trail. Residents concerned with its impact
Broadleaf Solar, a renewable energy supplier, is seeking to drill transmission lines under the Farmington Canal Heritage Trail in East Granby as part of a large-scale solar project on a former agriculture field. The New York based solar company paid nearly $10.2 million for the 600-acre Monrovia Nursery property in Granby and East Granby in 2021, officials said. Its plan includes building a 100-megawatt solar facility on 322 acres of the former agricultural property. As part of the plan, Broadleaf would use horizontal drilling to install transmission lines to connect 100 megawatts of electrical power to an Eversource 345 kilovolt transmission line near Route 20, according to the company’s project proposal. The project site is at 35 Floydville Road and 90 Salmon Brook St. The proposal calls for drilling under Salmon Brook River, Route 20 and under the popular “Rails to Trails” bike and walkway.
Offshore wind project to restart again off CT coast after Trump overruled in court
A federal judge on Monday restarted the Revolution Wind offshore energy project, handing the Trump administration another setback in its efforts to halt the wind farm under construction in waters off Rhode Island. “A federal judge has once again blocked Trump’s efforts to tank Revolution Wind, finding yet again that his actions are likely arbitrary and capricious and that our challenge is likely to succeed,” said Connecticut Attorney General William Tong in a statement. “This project is on the finish line to begin delivering clean, affordable energy to Connecticut families,” Tong said. “With yet another clear defeat, it is my hope that Donald Trump will drop his lawless and erratic attacks for good. We’re prepared to keep fighting — and winning — for as long as it takes to protect Connecticut ratepayers, workers and our environment.” The Trump Administration first issued a stop work order on Aug. 22 and Connecticut and Rhode Island sued in response. The project developer, Ørsted, sued separately and a federal district court issued an injunction, allowing work on Revolution Wind to proceed. But on Dec. 22, the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management suspended work for at least 90 days, citing undisclosed national security concerns. Ørsted sought a preliminary injunction to block the latest stop work order.
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