Last September, attorney Bill Sweeney stood in front of the city’s Planning and Zoning Commission to praise a development deal that would transform three long-vacant Fort Trumbull parcels into two apartment complexes and a six-story parking garage. RCDA notes on its website that its overarching mission, to work with developers on projects that will “complement and support the ongoing redevelopment and revitalization of the Fort Trumbull” area ― as well as nearby downtown ― is “nearly completed.” Talks with developers interested in Fort Trumbull land have moved in fits and starts in the years after the ruling but only gained real momentum in 2022 with the purchase of 4 acres by the Optimus Construction Management company, which plans to build 104 apartments and a hotel with extended-stay suites on the site. That project has not yet broken ground, though. Davis said the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent supply-chain issues interrupted the construction schedule.

https://www.theday.com/local-news/20240316/with-fort-trumbull-development-planned-out-what-happens-to-the-rcda/

Reconstruction of the Sherman Street bridge is expected to be completed by August, and Norwich Public Works has its eye on replacing another key local bridge over the Yantic River on New London Turnpike. U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D- Conn, recently announced that the Senate passed a funding bill with $106 million for projects across the state including $800,000 for the state Department of Transportation to fund design work for the bridge replacement. The grant requires a 20% local match, and Norwich has placed $200,000 in its current budget for the match. Norwich Public Works Director Patrick McLaughlin said the design work will take about two years, and it is too early to say whether the bridge would have to be closed to traffic during the reconstruction, as has been the case on Sherman Street. Both locations are key connector routes between the Norwichtown area and the East Great Plain area. McLaughlin said the Sherman Street bridge project is on schedule and should be completed by late July or early August of this year, in time for the new school year in late August.

https://www.theday.com/local-news/20240316/with-new-sherman-st-bridge-nearly-complete-norwich-plans-nl-turnpike-bridge-replacement/

A new piece of state funding in the form of a $1.6 million Community Investment Fund award announced this month, which requires final approval by the state Bond Commission, will enable the museum to fully realize Allyn’s wishes by transforming 12 acres of grounds into an “urban art park,” Quigley said. The park will feature a pedestrian path, pollinator meadow, eco-friendly waterfall and filtration pond, along with a restored entrance lawn and new parking area. Quigley said upgrade work is slated to begin in May or June and be finished by next summer. The museum will remain open during construction. Other master plan improvements, including the construction of 250-seat open-air amphitheater, and a refurbished 9/11 memorial garden, will be tackled later.

https://www.theday.com/local-news/20240317/lyman-allyn-museum-grounds-ready-for-4-5m-facelift/

The Old Greenwich School renovation project did not get construction funding last year, so the building committee is trying again — with a more expensive project estimated to cost $44.3 million to build. Originally, the OGS renovation project’s construction cost was estimated to be around $42.7 million, but the delay in approvals has resulted in a nearly $1.5 million increase in the project’s construction because materials now cost more. The new recommended estimate is around $44.3 million, which does not include the $2.086 million in architectural and engineering funding the Board of Estimate and Taxation has approved in past years for the project. If the project gets approved by the BET and RTM, construction is scheduled to begin the summer of 2025. If the project does not get approval from the BET and RTM, Waters said “the project will be delayed another year.”

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/education/article/old-greenwich-school-renovation-cost-increase-18967074.php

Plans for the north end school, which has not yet been officially named, got the go-ahead from local zoning officials this week, marking another step forward for the $90 million project. It will be built on 42 acres at the corner of Jarvis Street and Marion Road, replacing Chapman Elementary and Darcey School. Some PZC members had raised concerns over the lack of sidewalks included in the north end school’s original plans, saying their omission would endanger students forced to walk to the building on a busy street. In response, project officials added sidewalks connecting the school to the surrounding community, Gusenburg said. As part of the project’s approval, officials also agreed that the school district would bus those students who live nearby if sidewalks were not installed, the chair said. Meanwhile, the new, roughly $77 million Norton School, which will replace the existing school of the same name at 414 North Brooksvale Road, still needs to be approved by the Planning and Zoning and Inland Wetlands and Watercourses commissions. But Gusenburg said Wednesday he expected those approvals to come soon. The two school projects still are on track to begin construction in December, officials said. The bidding process for both will occur in the fall, according to Gusenburg.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/cheshire-schools-north-end-norton-approval-18971752.php

Excavators made methodical work knocking down the former Subway headquarters on Thursday, a job expected to take about three weeks. The company moved to nearby Shelton last October. As of Thursday, about 10 percent of the main building was down and a maintenance building was gone, said Andy Howard, a project manager from Scinto’s construction company, which began the site work on March 9. The work was going well, said Howard. Like Shimko, he said he was hopeful about the change. “I can see why some people don’t like us coming in here,” Howard said, “But the building is about 50 years old. It needs replacement or a lot of renovation.”

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/demolition-subway-hq-milford-18979455.php

A project to connect the city’s West Side to the Stamford train station through a pedestrian corridor just got a $17 million federal boost. The plan, known as the “West Side Neighborhood Connector Project,” would create a 12-foot-wide path to fill a 3,000-foot missing gap in the city’s Mill River Greenway network, among other improvements. The project funding was announced this week, along with another $4.8 million in federal dollars for transportation projects in Norwalk, Bridgeport, Hartford, Naugatuck and Western Connecticut. Gov. Ned Lamont said the federal funding would help increase safety and mobility throughout the state.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/local/article/stamford-17m-greenway-mill-river-19020059.php

Danish wind energy developer Ørsted and the utility Eversource built a 12-turbine wind farm called South Fork Wind 35 miles (56 kilometers) east of Montauk Point, New York. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul went to Long Island Thursday to announce that the turbines are delivering clean power to the local electric grid, flipping a massive light switch to “turn on the future.” Interior Secretary Deb Haaland was also on hand. Offshore wind is central to both national and state plans to transition to a carbon-free electricity system. With South Fork finished, Ørsted and Eversource are turning their attention to the work they will do offshore beginning this spring for a wind farm more than five times its size. Revolution Wind will be Rhode Island and Connecticut’s first commercial-scale offshore wind farm, capable of powering more than 350,000 homes next year. The site where the cable will connect in Rhode Island is already under construction.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/business/article/the-united-states-has-its-first-large-offshore-19013687.php

Most of the federal money to Connecticut, $17 million, has been awarded to Stamford, where it will be used to connect the struggling West Side to the prosperous downtown and growing South End. The aim is to ease travel from the West Side to downtown jobs, bus transit, shopping, services, and recreation. The city will use the construction grant to expand the Mill River Greenway from Tresser Boulevard to the Metro-North Commuter Railroad tracks, and to create a safer trip for pedestrians crossing Tresser Boulevard, Greenwich Avenue, and Richmond Hill Avenue on their way to the train station and South End. The next-highest of the six grant awards went to the Connecticut Department of Transportation, which received $2 million to begin engineering and environmental review for the Greater Hartford Mobility Study. The project will expand the Mill River Greenway between Tresser Boulevard and Metro-North rail tracks, building a 12-foot-wide path with lighting. It will enhance pedestrian safety by upgrading sidewalks, raising crosswalks, building bump-outs to slow traffic, and improving traffic signals and signs, they wrote.

Stamford Awarded $17M as State Wins $21.8M to Reconnect Communities Split by Legacy Infrastructure

Developer Building and Land Technology wants to convert a four-story office building on a 25-acre site into a 354-unit residential complex at 800 Long Ridge Road. The development would include 618 total parking spaces, spread out over existing surface lots and an underground garage. The project also includes about 9,400 square feet of commercial space. The project to demolish and replace the current building at 800 Long Ridge Road — a four-story, 300,000-square-foot structure that was built in 1978 and served as the corporate headquarters for the Xerox Corporation from 1996 until 2006 — has rankled some nearby neighbors as well. Lisa L. Feinberg, partner for law firm Carmody Torrance Sandak & Hennessey, representing BLT, said the 800 Long Ridge project conforms to the zoning requirements for the area. A public hearing with the city’s Zoning Board will be scheduled at a future date.

https://www.nhregister.com/local/article/stamford-long-ridge-road-apartment-planning-18969690.php