At last Wednesday’s meeting, the Planning and Zoning Commission approved plans for 35 condos, 110 apartments, a restaurant, a medical office building and boat storage along the Housatonic River. All of this has been in the works in some form for roughly 17 years. These latest plans were filed early last year. Ricar, LLC and Mianus Holdings, LLC, developers of the project, plan to construct three six-story residential buildings, one with 35 condos. The other two will contain 110 apartments, split evenly between the two buildings. There will be 15 affordable units. The proposed project — which is across from Murphy’s Lane and the Crescent Village housing development — calls for the restaurant and event facility to be relocated to 726 River Road and increased in size along with the new medical office space incorporated into the proposed building.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/upscale-housing-marina-plan-shelton-s-river-19375100.php

Andrew Borgia of Fast Track Realty is planning to develop the former MassMutual property at 85 and 100 Bright Meadow Boulevard for a sports complex. All Sports Village, as the project is called, would have outdoor fields, a basketball building, along with a hotel, restaurant, additional retail space, and a family entertainment center. The complex would be built on the now empty 65-acre MassMutual office park along with an adjacent 3.78-acre farmland parcel at 113 Brainard Road. The agency continued its public hearing on the project for a third time to Tuesday in order to review additional information on the proposed wetland mitigation before deciding whether to grant All Sports Village a permit. Residents who had been vocal about the sports complex’s potential impact to the environment said on Tuesday that many of their concerns have been addressed, praising the developers for their attention.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/journalinquirer/article/enfield-ct-all-sports-village-artificial-fields-18918515.php

Vineyard Offshore, an offshore wind development company, has submitted a proposal, Vineyard Wind 2, for a 1,200 MW offshore wind project to Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island responding to the New England states’ solicitation for up to 6,800 MW of offshore wind capacity. The proposed project will deliver 1,200 MW of clean, reliable energy to the New England grid, enough to power more than 650,000 homes, beginning 2031. It will also avoid 2.1 million tons of CO2 emissions per year across the region, equivalent to removing 414,000 cars from the road, as well as improve air quality and reduce pollution-related health costs and environmental impacts. Vineyard Offshore has proposed a comprehensive multi-state project to provide substantial investments in Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island, responding to the New England solicitation’s aim of creating cross-cutting regional economic impact.

https://www.tdworld.com/renewables/article/55001344/vineyard-offshore-submits-proposal-for-1200-mw-offshore-wind-project-in-new-england

Hartford HealthCare will use up to $150 million in new debt financing to fund significant upgrades at its various hospitals and a new proton therapy center it’s developing in Wallingford in partnership with Yale New Haven Health. The debt is being issued through the Connecticut Health and Educational Facilities Authority (CHEFA), a quasi-public state agency that issues tax-exempt bonds and debt on behalf of nonprofit institutions. Since nearly all Connecticut hospitals are nonprofit organizations, they have access to tax-exempt debt issuances, which makes borrowing cheaper and more affordable. Yale New Haven Health, Hartford HealthCare and Proton International announced in April 2022 that they secured final approval to build and open the $75 million Connecticut Proton Therapy Center, which will provide an advanced form of cancer radiation treatment. Their new goal is to break ground on the project in the coming months and have it completed in 2026.

Hartford HealthCare to use $150M in new debt financing for systemwide facility upgrades

Mayor Harry Rilling and Superintendent of Schools Alexandra Estrella both described the high level of reimbursement as “unheard of” as they stood amid large excavators, mounds of dirt and metal beams at the rear of Norwalk High School, next to the turf field. With that reimbursement rate, Norwalk’s taxpayers will be responsible for $47.8 million of the $239 million project’s cost. The city’s commitment to developments in its housing, transportation and education creates a desirable hub in Norwalk, Gov. Ned Lamont said at the ceremony. The new school will be constructed where the Testa Field Complex is currently located. A new athletic facility will be built on the site of the existing school, which will be demolished, according to the project website.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/education/article/new-norwalk-high-school-groundbreaking-ceremony-pt-19373937.php

Connecticut energy officials and their counterparts in Massachusetts and Rhode Island have received offshore wind project proposals from four developers: Avangrid Renewables, Orsted, SouthCoast Wind and Vineyard Offshore. The developers submitted their bids on Wednesday, and Connecticut officials say they are reviewing the proposals. Details of the plans were not immediately available. The first project developer, Avangrid Renewables, is a subsidiary of the Orange-based energy holding company Avangrid, while Orsted is a Danish energy company. SouthCoast Wind is a joint venture by EDP Renewables, a Spanish energy company and ENGIE, which is based in France. Officials in the three states announced last October they would form a consortium to evaluate wind power proposals from developers. Collectively, the three states are seeking 6,800 megawatts with Connecticut looking for up to 2,000 megawatts of that total.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/business/article/ct-new-offshore-wind-power-plans-ri-mass-19373412.php

A developer who sought to increase the size of an already approved apartment building planned for Lordship Boulevard has agreed to keep the structure at 100 units, but has been allowed to tweak the number of affordable apartments. The Stratford Zoning Commission on Wednesday voted unanimously to approve updated plans from Stamford-based Empire Residential to construct the building next to an old hotel at 225 Lordship Blvd., which the company previously converted into an apartment building. The application was filed under state statute 8-30g, which allows developers to bypass local zoning laws and regulations — including height restrictions — if at least 30 percent of the project’s units are set aside for affordable housing. The building is part of a larger redevelopment of the once-dilapidated 4.7-acre site. The structure is set to be built directly adjacent to a relatively new 69-unit apartment building that previously housed the Stratford Hotel and Conference Center.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/stratford-approves-updated-plans-100-unit-19375504.php

The federal government is expected to bail out a delayed, over-budget South End flood control initiative, but the release of the dollars, and actual construction, are still months away. The massive coastal flood risk reduction initiative was launched locally after the destruction Hurricane Sandy caused in the South End in 2012. Once installed, the infrastructure network of new pumping stations, flood walls, raised streets and other related improvements are not only intended to safeguard lives and property, but expected to significantly lower flood insurance costs, spurring more private investment in the area. But the hope that Resilient Bridgeport initially inspired for the South End’s future has over the years given way to some frustration with the slow pace of the ongoing design process and the subsequent spike in the originally estimated budget. Over a year ago state officials applied for the additional $47.5 million from FEMA. And the grant is not quite a done deal.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/more-fed-dollars-coming-for-bridgeport-flooding-19375419.php

Norwich Public Utilities officials presented a proposed $105.9 million 2024-25 budget for all four of its service divisions that calls for a decrease in spending of $3.89 million, a 3.67% drop from this year’s budget. A five-year, $200 million upgrade of the city sewage treatment plant started this year, and planned major upgrades to the city’s drinking water and natural gas systems are budgeted next year. Wholesale purchased natural gas is budgeted at $2.5 million, down from $5.6 million in the 2023-24 fiscal year, and purchased power cost is budgeted at $31.8 million, down from $35.5 million this year. The drop mainly is due to the dramatic reduction in the cost of purchased wholesale power and natural gas. Those decreases come after spikes in wholesale power costs in recent years, caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine and gas line transmission issues. The Board of Public Utilities Commissioners did not act on the proposed budget. NPU officials will present the proposed budget to the City Council during a workshop Tuesday, and the utilities commission is expected to vote on the budget either at its April 23 or May 28 meeting.

https://www.theday.com/local-news/20240327/norwich-public-utilities-proposed-budget-would-drop-by-3-89-million-next-year/

Nearly a year after some of the region’s largest offshore wind developers began making noises about pulling out of their projects because of increased costs, and six months after they actually did, a new round of bidding coordinated among three states appears to show that interest in developing offshore wind is still strong, even with larger price tags. A three-state solicitation by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island received project proposals from four different developers by the Wednesday deadline, two of which essentially rebid the projects they’d pulled out of. To Connecticut’s disadvantage, only one of the proposals designates the port of New London for construction and staging of the project. The rest plan to use ports in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. The Department of Energy and Environmental Protection declined to comment on that, providing a statement that noted it would be reviewing the proposals. The largest set of proposals came from Avangrid — parent of United Illuminating and the American arm of the Spain-based energy powerhouse Iberdrola. Avangrid’s Vineyard Wind 1 project off Massachusetts is under construction and already delivering power to that state.

Plans for offshore wind power blow back into New England