Gary Flocco said he is a few weeks away from re-starting the next phase of his Cherry Street Lofts apartments project after a three-year-delay and a recent condemnation order from the city. Flocco said he is on the cusp of settling a lawsuit for non-payment that an architectural firm, Crosskey, filed against him in 2019. With that issue out of the way, Flocco will be able to obtain a bank loan and $2.2 million state officials awarded his project in December 2020. Located on the outskirts of downtown between the railroad tracks and Interstate 95, Cherry Street Lofts is a prominent renovation of some old abandoned factory buildings that initially earned Flocco accolades. It opened in 2018 and currently boasts 158 housing units and a charter school. In an interview at the time, Flocco insisted he believed he would soon have access to the necessary capital to restart his work, and council members decided to grant him a reprieve.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/cherry-st-lofts-developer-says-project-to-restart-19592130.php

Connecticut Attorney General William Tong has declined to press concerns raised by Republican legislative leaders about a public-private partnership looking to move forward with a $145 million renovation of Hartford’s downtown XL Center arena. That raises the likelihood the renovation plan will move forward. The CRDA has a tentative agreement with Los Angeles-based live entertainment promoter and venue manager OVG360 to contribute $20 million toward the pending renovation. Efforts to revitalize Hartford’s XL Center received a boost in May after the state legislature’s passage of a $370 million budget stabilization plan. The bill increased the maximum amount of state funding toward the renovation from $80 million to $125 million. The bond commission had earlier signed off on an $80 million contribution, contingent on OVG contributing $20 million.

CT AG Tong declines to take up GOP concerns over $145M XL Center renovation; clears way for CRDA vote

The 459-foot-long Wind Scylla wind turbine installation vessel dwarfed smaller sailing vessels as it made its way up the Thames River Tuesday. Scylla is owned by Cadeler, a Copenhagen, Denmark-based company that has a fleet of offshore wind installation vessels and inked a long-term contract with Ørsted earlier this year for future projects. Wind Scylla has a 1,500-foot crane and 344-foot legs that can install wind turbine components in water depths of more than 200 feet. Wind Scylla will be used to install turbines at Revolution Wind, a 65-turbine offshore wind farm whose first foundation was installed in May. The 704-megawatt farm, producing enough energy to power 350,000 homes, is the country’s first multistate project and will supply power to Connecticut and Rhode Island. State Pier in New London is currently the staging and assembly area for Revolution Wind farm, which would be the first wind farm to supply wind energy, 304 megawatts, to Connecticut.

https://www.theday.com/local-news/20240723/danish-vessel-dwarfs-smaller-ships-as-it-docks-in-new-london/

The Planning and Zoning Commission has approved a four-story affordable housing development, citing both the constraints of state statute 8-30g and the vital need for affordable housing stock. The July 16 vote marks a win for New York City-based developer Vessel Technologies, who now has the green light for constructing a 64-unit apartment at 25 Avonwood Road. “Suitable location, it addresses a vital need for affordable housing in Avon, its environmentally friendly, I believe it protects the public health and safety, and the applicant has taken reasonable measures to address the concerns of the commission,” said commission Chair Lisa Levin. With a typical Vessel development construction time of six to nine months, the town could potentially see this development ready next summer.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/farmingtonvalley/article/avon-vessel-affordable-housing-approved-19588752.php

Several of the major routes in Danbury center will be better than new after a recent repaving spree. Deer Hill Avenue is the latest roadway to receive a new asphalt facelift. Work on that project began on Thursday, July 18 and should last for two to three weeks, according to a city announcement. Meanwhile, a series of Department of Transportation-led repaving projects on local state roads are also ongoing. They include projects to repave Federal Road from the White Street intersection into Brookfield as well as Newtown Road’s span between White Street and Lyon Street, as well as a South Street paving project. Antonio Iadorala, the city’s public works director and city engineer, said city leaders are trying to post notices related to the roadwork, most of which are not city projects, because they “getting inundated with questions of when the paving is going to get done, when it’s going to get started, when it’s going to get finished.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/local/article/danbury-state-dot-repaving-local-city-roads-19588943.php

Officials have further paved the way for Manchester’s new “21st century” library by approving demolition of the Webster Bank building at 1041 Main St., expected to begin later this year. After voters approved $39 million in bonds for the project in November 2022, Manchester recently approved a set of agreements to acquire three parcels totaling roughly 1.6 acres, in exchange for $1.6 million to Webster Bank and the disposition of 3.12 acres at 601 Lydall St., to build a new main library branch in the downtown area to expand beyond the cramped Mary Cheney Library just up the hill. Though the projected costs have since grown to $53.6 million, largely due to increased construction costs across the board, Manchester has received federal and state funding intended to make up the difference.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/journalinquirer/article/ct-manchester-library-webster-bank-demolition-19591078.php

In August, the East Norwalk Train Station will close for another three weeks while crews begin the process of replacing the northbound platform. The replacement of the East Norwalk Train Station is a part of CDOT’s $1 billion Walk Bridge replacement project, which includes several improvements along the rail. “The Train Station upgrades include extending platforms on both sides of the station to accommodate six train cars, new platform canopies, and improved parking and access — including a dedicated drop-off lane,” the Walk Bridge website states. CDOT is starting with replacing the northbound side and will finish constructing the new platform in 2025. The process will be repeated to build the southbound side and will be complete by 2026.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/east-norwalk-train-station-close-august-platform-19584029.php

With Connecticut’s rainy day fund now projected to approach $4.1 billion — seven years after it held about 1/20th of that total — calls to reassess what many call the state’s aggressive savings programs continue to grow. The most aggressive savings program, which is supposed to bar legislators from spending only “volatile” income and business tax receipts — those that might surge one year and vanish the next — instead has been very reliable, grabbing an average of $1.4 billion annually in its first seven years and never less than $530 million in a single year. And if analysts’ latest projections are correct, the volatility adjustment will capture hundreds of millions of dollars annually — without failing once — through its first 11 years, taking in an average of $1.2 billion per year between 2018 and 2028. Legislators, who couldn’t touch those funds, assigned the last $510 million of expiring federal pandemic relief to bolster higher education, child care, mental health services for kids and other social services in the 2024-25 fiscal year. After that, though, state funds must be found to supplant those vanishing dollars, or programs face big cuts.

CT now sitting on $4.1 billion budget reserve

The gateway to the neighborhood, East Avenue is a bumpy, narrow and crowded road that connects East Norwalk under the railway to I-95. In conjunction with the $1 billion Walk Bridge replacement project, the Connecticut Department of Transportation is lowering the avenue between Fort Point Street and Winfield Street. Also with the Walk Bridge, CDOT is expanding the platforms at the East Norwalk Train Station to accommodate six cars. In addition to the new platforms, commuter parking will be expanded. “The East Norwalk Train Station will be updated as part of the Connecticut Department of Transportation’s Track Improvement Mobility Enhancement 2 Projects — a sub-component of the WALK Bridge Replacement project,” the Walk Bridge website states. Just down the road from the station, the former Wells Fargo is in the midst of being redeveloped into a 77-unit mixed-use apartment building. At 1 Cemetery St., the property borders the Mill Pond, and the owners are Mill Pond Holdings LLC, thus it is known as the Mill Pond development.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/east-norwalk-ct-projects-transform-mill-pond-train-19581666.php

The city could begin work next year to straighten out the disjointed intersection at East Main and Broad streets that will allow for safer crossings and improved traffic flow. The work moved forward a step after the City Council recently approved allowing acting City Manager Emily Holland to accept funding from the South Central Region Council of Governments to begin construction. It is estimated to cost $3.8 million with SCRCOG paying 100 percent of the construction costs and the city paying for the design work, city officials said. Because Route 5 is a state road, the work will be on both sides of East Main Street. The intersection was identified by SCRCOG as one of several along the Route 5 corridor in need of improvement to aid traffic and pedestrian safety. The Route 5 East Main Street intersection is among the top three noted for accidents, according to the study.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/recordjournal/article/meriden-broad-street-east-main-intersection-19581997.php