Prominent developer Gary Flocco has a few months’ reprieve to get his Cherry Street Lofts project back on track before the city moves to demolish the handful of recently-condemned buildings he needs for more housing. In late April, Director Thomas Gill and Deputy Director William Coleman informed council budget committee members that four blighted buildings making up the next phase of Flocco’s Cherry Street Lofts endeavor — 62, 72 and 80 Cherry St. and 1325 Railroad Ave — had been deemed hazardous and ordered demolished. “From the council perspective, we’re not excited about issuing (borrowing) $10 million of bonds to demolish buildings that may yet be restored, rebuilt,” Burns said. “My feeling is that the developer will still be able to pull things together and end up with a result I think we all want.” Burns acknowledged that the fact that an emergency condemnation order has been issued for Flocco’s properties opens Bridgeport to legal exposure as long as the structures remain standing and in disrepair should a member of the public be injured there.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/bridgeport-cherry-street-lofts-19443900.php

Five months after withdrawing its application, WeHa Development Group LLC has submitted a new application to develop property at 1800 Asylum Ave. in West Hartford, the former site of UConn’s Greater Hartford campus. The 1800 Asylum Ave. site across Trout Brook Drive from the parking lot is approximately 33.5 acres and currently holds vacant, dilapidated buildings, including the former location of the UConn Law School. WeHa Development proposes demolishing the buildings to create a mixed-use “village” called Heritage Park that would include residential housing, an assisted living facility, retail shops, restaurants, and more. The letter states the site will “undergo significant redevelopment to accommodate the proposed mixed-use village envisioned.” The council approved the project over the objections of a majority of residents who attended a five-hour public hearing right before the vote, including one resident who threatened a lawsuit if the proposal was approved.

New application submitted to redevelop former UConn campus in West Hartford

Aquarion Water Co., a public water supply company, will be replacing approximately 12,450 feet of water main in town. The project began on Monday and is expected to be completed in October, according to town officials. The replacement will be happening on six Simsbury roadways, including Red Stone Drive, Andrew Drive, Harriet Lane, Top View Drive, Hilltop Drive, and Butternut Lane in town. The town has warned that residents should expect minor traffic delays and possible detours during the working hours of 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. due to the construction. But Aquarion representatives have indicated that they will work closely with residents and businesses to minimize any disruptions, according to the town’s announcement. Final paving will be scheduled in coordination with the town, according to the Aquarion announcement. Simsbury also recently announced the roads that will tentatively be paved in the 2024 construction season, based on the proposed budget.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/farmingtonvalley/article/simsbury-construction-water-main-replacement-19441667.php

During a news conference nestled in Norwalk’s Cedar Street Bridge overlooking I-95, Gov. Ned Lamont, U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal and Norwalk Mayor Harry Rilling commended the combined efforts of federal, state and local governments in reopening I-95 within days of the three-vehicle crash. Blumenthal called the 80-hour process that brought down the charred Fairfield Avenue bridge over I-95 a “symphony of teamwork” — a collaboration that cleared the way for rebuilding efforts that will be complete within a year and likely cost over $20 million, according to state Department of Transportation Commissioner Garrett Eucalitto. “We think the total cost will be upwards around $20 million, clean up and rebuild,” Eucalitto said. On Monday evening, Lamont’s office announced that U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg has approved $3 million in “quick release” Emergency Relief funds to help offset the costs of the reconstruction of the bridge.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/i-95-ct-reopens-norwalk-tanker-fire-19441192.php

The building was opened to a group of tourgoers Saturday. “They’re doing a lot of finishing touches,” said Board of Education Co- Chair Sue DePretis, noting that the $179.5 million project is on-time and within budget. In addition to the lighting being put in since the last tours in March, the heating ventilation and air conditioning system has been installed with five units placed on the roof, Arum said. Shortly after school closes for summer break, part of the music wing at the old high school will be knocked down so workers can work in that area of the site, he said. Over the summer they will construct a new roadway into the school. While that effort is being done -from June 15 to August 27- Major Besse Drive will be closed and only accessible for construction traffic, he said. Public can get into the property via Daley Drive behind the school near the athletic fields. Depretis lauded the Building Committee for the job they’ve done to date and gave a “shout-out” to O&G Industries for “fantastic” project management.

https://www.rep-am.com/localnews/2024/05/06/lights-are-on-at-torrington-high/

The southbound lanes of Interstate 95 are reopening on Sunday morning after crews paved the highway following last week’s tanker fire. The southbound side will reopen around 10 a.m. Sunday between exits 15 and 14 in Norwalk, where a three-vehicle crash caused a tanker fire that spread to the Fairfield Avenue overpass early Thursday morning. The bridge was demolished on Saturday and the northbound side of the highway was fully reopened later that night. Officials had originally anticipated I-95 to be fully reopened by Monday morning. “It is truly amazing that in less than 80 hours from that fiery crash Thursday that shut down traffic in both directions, the highway again is fully open,” Lamont said.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/i-95-northbound-reopens-norwalk-live-updates-19440139.php

The noisy night time construction on Greenwich Avenue is on track to finish early this summer, an official from Aquarion Water Company said last week. Aquarion and its contractors have been working nights since February to dig up the road and access about 2,000 feet of old water mains that needed to be replaced. The roadway is sealed up by the morning and the process starts over again each night. Xenelis said they were finishing the chlorination, flushing and testing of the new mains and that they will begin transferring the water service from the old mains to the new ones after that. The old mains will be abandoned in place once the work is complete. Crews are generally working from from 10 p.m. to 10 a.m., Sunday through Friday, which has disrupted some residents’ sleep. There was discussion of shifting some work to the daytime at the last board meeting, but no changes to the work schedule were discussed last week.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/greenwich-aquarion-night-work-noisy-19435209.php

The Board of Directors is scheduled to vote at its Tuesday meeting to authorize the town manager to sign a development agreement with Texas-based Anthony Properties for redevelopment of the property, roughly 10 months after the town settled a lawsuit with a previously ousted Parkade developer to the tune of $2 million. Manchester began considering the revitalization of the “dark side” of the Parkade more than 15 years ago, after tasking the Redevelopment Agency with creating a plan for the Broad Street area in 2008. Moran said the town’s Parkade plan is still mixed-use development, but the expectation is that residential components would be built before any retail. The town began negotiations with Anthony Properties in August 2022, but suspended talks after Manchester Parkade I LLC filed a temporary injunction against the town that same month. Negotiations were resumed after the lawsuit was settled in August 2023, leading to the creation of the contract that the Board of Directors will consider Tuesday night.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/journalinquirer/article/ct-manchester-broad-street-parkade-development-19411506.php

Coming off a year in which it rang up more than $1.1 billion in capital expenses in Connecticut, Eversource is now serving notice it will prune that amount by $100 million a year amid continuing rancor with state regulators and lawmakers. With major projects underway already in many parts of the state that have taken years to plan, it is anyone’s guess how that decision will cascade into the Connecticut grid and all the extra little touches that work requires — along with any accompanying impact on jobs for the external contractors that Eversource hires for some of the work. Eversource is the dominant utility company in Connecticut, providing electricity to some 1.27 million customers in all but 20 cities and towns. The company also meters water through its Aquarion subsidiary it is now looking to sell, and natural gas in portions of Connecticut.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/business/article/ct-eversource-berlin-hartford-grid-electricity-19437179.php

The intersection of Water Street and Governor Winthrop Boulevard has for weeks been a construction site with workers replacing wiring, vaulting and other components of what Director of Public Works Brian Sear called a traffic signal system that’s long overdue for improvements. The city is deep into an $891,000 signal replacement project first discussed six years ago that is designed to keep traffic leaving the city circulating smoothly. The work, being handled by Colonna Concrete & Asphalt Paving, will include the replacement of outdated intersection signal lights – which cost $250,000 each ― with modern versions that feature anti-glare technology. The signal upgrade work, expected to be complete before Memorial Day, is partially funded by a $391,000 state Community Connectivity Grant, with the remainder paid with city infrastructure funds.

https://www.theday.com/local-news/20240504/new-london-intersection-update-aimed-at-keeping-car-bus-and-ferry-traffic-flowing/