New Haven is poised to have a record number of new apartments come online in 2024 from several high-profile projects. More than 1,000 new units will be available for rent in 2024, marking one of the city’s largest single-year residential expansions in the past two-plus decades, according to economic development officials. Since 2014, the city of New Haven has added at least 3,500 new affordable and market rate apartments. There’s another 3,500 units in the works for the next few years, not including the 1,000 apartments expected to debut in 2024. Developers working in the city say new builds are seeing lease-up times cut in half, down to around three or six months now as opposed to roughly nine months to a year about a decade ago, Fontana said. New Haven is seeing strong demand for all kinds of units, including smaller studios and one-bedroom apartments, as well as two- to three-bedroom units for families, Fontana said.

New Haven remains bullish on apartments as record year — with 1,000+ units coming online — projected

A draft of a new study by the Capitol Region Council of Governments, a regional planning agency, is breaking new ground in the decades-old debate over the long-term future of the state-owned Griffin Line. The study concludes that a trail system could safely and logistically run along one side of the active, single-track rail line, from Hartford’s Asylum Hill neighborhood to the University of Hartford and the Bloomfield town line. The estimated construction cost could be between $30 million and $39 million. CRCOG said the project would likely have to be heavily financed by federal transportation grants. The Griffin Line is seen as a key component to the $65 million Hartline pedestrian and bicycling path that would run from Hartford’s Riverside Park on the Connecticut River to Bloomfield. And it also is seen as a viable option for filling a crucial gap in Hartford in the East Coast Greenway, which runs from Florida to Maine.

There’s new hope for a significant CT greenway. It comes after decades of complex debate. 

Concerns about the future of Norwalk Harbor have arisen since O&G Industries proposed expanding its use of barges to transport construction supplies in the area. But the rowing community along with environmental activists have protested the pending change, which, if allowed, would mean more barges in Norwalk Harbor. Several rowing clubs also protested the proposed increase in barges on the river, which they all share when taking part in the sport. The application from O&G Industries, which has facilities across the state, was already approved by the Harbor Management Commission, which is considering the rowing and environmental concerns again. In all, O&G hopes to bring 10 to 12 barges a year up the Norwalk Harbor. The change in the use of the property is still up to the Planning and Zoning Commission.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/norwalk-harbor-barge-debate-proposed-increase-19429089.php

Train schedules for the Hartford Line will be disrupted from May 28 to Nov. 1 due to several planned construction projects. According to the state Department of Transportation, construction is set to take place weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., with further details on schedule changes expected to be released next month on its website. The DOT says that due to the construction, select weekday trains will be replaced by bus service. In November, the DOT announced it had received $105 million in federal funding, with $41.9 million in matching funds, that would bring additional tracks to the Hartford Line, as well as improve signals and grade crossings. There are also plans to start construction on an Enfield station next year. A groundbreaking was held at the Windsor Locks station in 2022, and the project is expected to be complete next summer.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/journalinquirer/article/ct-windsor-locks-hartford-line-construction-dot-19424505.php

The state Department of Transportation is encouraging people to share their feedback during a meeting on the rehabilitation of the northbound span of the Gold Star Memorial Bridge, scheduled for Tuesday at 7 p.m. The meeting will be held at the Groton Municipal Building at 295 Meridian St. and on Zoom. The meeting will be livestreamed on the Groton Municipal Television YouTube channel. The project will replace bridge components, including the deck, barriers, fencing, expansion joints, drainage system and overhead sign supports; strengthen steel; repair and replace bearings; repair and clean concrete; and construct and reconstruct approach slabs, among other steps. The DOT said construction on the estimated $591.9 million project is anticipated to begin in the summer of 2025.

https://www.theday.com/local-news/20240426/gold-star-bridge-meeting-to-be-held-tuesday/

Town officials have approved the school district’s plans for major field upgrades at South Windsor High School. The $7.5 million needed for the project must now be approved in a town-wide referendum for it go forward, though the Town Council declined to set a date for that public vote when the matter arose at a January meeting. The project also includes a new driveway from the Wapping Annex parking lot to the student parking lot as a way to provide more traffic flexibility throughout the high school campus. The Board of Education originally asked the Town Council for a March 12 referendum date to allow for construction to begin in the spring. Officials expect to discuss the referendum again in June, with the vote most likely to be included on the ballot for the November election if approved.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/journalinquirer/article/ct-south-windsor-high-school-fields-approved-19422638.php

The Board of Representatives committee in charge of reviewing the budgets for the city and public schools has recommended that the full board approve them without any more cuts. However, the recommendation comes with an understanding that the Board of Finance will reduce the amount of money that will be raised through taxes for Stamford’s school construction reserve to $10 million. The Board of Representatives and Board of Finance agreed to raise $20 million for the fund in 2022 and another $15 million last year. The Board of Finance also allocated $5 million in surplus money to the fund. The Board of Finance took up the proposed operating and capital budgets earlier this month. It reduced the Board of Education’s side of the combined operating budget by $3 million, the city government’s side by about $2.15 million and the capital budget by about $5.4 million.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/stamford-2024-25-budget-finance-budget-fund-57-19424626.php

UConn expects word out of the State Capitol by May 8, the day the General Assembly adjourns, on whether the state will fund a proposed Gampel Pavilion renovation of about $100 million. Already, $10 million in state bonding has been allocated toward more immediate improvements (scoreboard, court-level digital infrastructure, lower-bowl seating) to the Huskies’ on-campus home for men’s and women’s basketball. Speaker of the House Matt Ritter last week confirmed discussions with Benedict over $100 million for Gampel. UConn 2000 is a sweeping categorization for a state-funded initiative of improvements to the Storrs campus’ infrastructure that was initiated in the 1990s and continues to this day. The costs-money-to-make-money, revolving-doors relationship between Connecticut, UConn and the UConn athletic department is unique, one entity simultaneously paying and charging the next to create a tornado of money unlike anything in college sports.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/sports/uconn-mens-basketball/article/uconn-gampel-pavilion-renovations-100-million-19422007.php

The town is preparing to replace four deteriorating bridges in the coming years. Town officials said construction crews will rebuild a Commerce Drive bridge over Ash Creek this summer, two more over Sasco Brook next year and a fourth over Pine Creek on Oldfield Road from 2027 to 2028. The bridges running over Ash and Pine creeks date back to the 1920s and 1930s, respectively, pushing the end of their service life, and the Sasco Brook bridges don’t meet required standards for height and width — all factors that have warranted the upcoming upgrades, worth a total of over $15 million. He said Westport will take the lead on construction at the two Sasco Brook bridges, while Fairfield shares costs and offers input. Fairfield and Westport only need to cover 10 percent of the project each due to state funding through the state DOT’s Local Bridge Program. Fairfield will spend a combined $865,200 for the work on the two bridges, which together will cost $7.8 million, according to town records.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/fairfield/article/fairfield-bridge-oldfield-kings-commerce-pine-ash-19415621.php

UConn’s 10-year, $1.5 billion Next Generation Connecticut (NextGenCT) initiative, which targeted investments in facilities, faculty and enrollment, was touted as “one of the most ambitious state investments in economic development, higher education and research in the nation.” However, some shortfalls in initial funding expectations have hindered UConn’s ability to achieve some NextGenCT goals, particularly around faculty hires. UConn has requested $420 million in additional capital funding from lawmakers for current and future STEM projects, which the school says would help address Connecticut’s current and future workforce shortages. NextGenCT was an extension of the UConn 2000 program that was launched in the 1990s and provided the school with billions of dollars in capital spending for campus renovation and expansion projects and other uses.

As UConn’s 10-year, $1.5B NextGenCT initiative wraps up, school eyes additional investment in STEM facilities