The projects to rebuild both Westhill High School and Roxbury Elementary School cleared a major obstacle last week after the state General Assembly reauthorized both with larger budgets. The authorization, which was included in the state bond act that passed on Wednesday, sets the the maximum state grant reimbursement at $356.8 million for Westhill and $78 million for Roxbury, according to a press release from the office of Stamford Mayor Caroline Simmons. The most recent estimate for the work — which would tear down the 1971 building and construct a brand new building — is $446 million. The budget was decreased by $15 million due to the size of the project being reduced by roughly 10,000 gross square feet, among other adjustments. If Westhill’s budget is approved, it would go out to bid — likely between November and January of 2026 — at which point the city will receive a “guaranteed maximum price,” which will need to be approved by both the Board of Finance and Board of Representatives. Matt Quinones, Stamford’s director of operations, said the two projects are slated to begin in 2026.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/stamford-ct-westhill-roxbury-school-projects-20364749.php

And appearances to the contrary, that timeline is correct, Wes Pulver, president of the museum association overseeing the $150 million project, said Tuesday as he walked the site of the future 89,000-square-foot, six-story building. “We’ve had some delays, but I’m not stressed about it,” Pulver said walking past an excavator that minutes before was scraping mounds of stone from property between Union Station and the Thames River. “It’s our obligation to not cut corners.” That anticipated framing, expected to last for several months, was delayed after prep work that began earlier this year found a host of underground issues that didn’t show up on easement maps and other survey documents. Those issues included utility pipes, sewage lines and electrical components that needed shifting, and the decision to install underground “vaults” at various locations to allow for safer cable and pipe access. Pulver said project construction manager, the North Stonington-based AZ Corp, worked with city officials and representatives of Eversource, Amtrak, Cross Sound Ferry and other stakeholders to identify work-arounds.

https://theday.com/news/750329/construction-of-150m-coast-guard-museum-set-to-begin-next-month-as-donations-rise/

The remaining St. John’s Towers buildings could be torn down to make way for a residential development that would bring 305 apartments to downtown Stamford. The owner of the roughly 1.6 acre property at 109 Tresser Blvd., Saint John Urban Development Corporation, submitted a project application to the city May 2 and said the plan was to redevelop “the aging, mostly vacant residential towers to be more in line with the residential setting of the surrounding neighborhood,” according to the application for the project. The three towers were built, according to the application, as part of a government program that “maintained the units as affordable” for those making 80% or less of the AMI for 40 years. Those restrictions expired in 2010, though, and no affordability requirement applies to the remaining buildings.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/stamford-ct-st-johns-towers-20359538.php

The state legislature has approved an additional $100 million to repair homes with crumbling foundations, which is expected to end the decade-long crisis in the state, according to Connecticut Foundations Solutions Indemnity Co. Superintendent Michael Maglaras. The state’s bond package, voted on during the last day of the legislative session on Wednesday, includes $25 million for crumbling foundations in each of the next four fiscal years. The continued funding is “everything we’ve asked for,” Maglaras said. “We’re going to fulfill our mission.” CFSIC is expected to surpass 1,100 homes fixed by Labor Day, restoring equity for homeowners, and tax assessments for municipalities, which benefits taxpayers in affected towns. The work spearheaded by the captive insurance company has also created more than 225 construction jobs, and contributed to sales tax revenue due to the purchase and lease of large construction equipment, Maglaras said.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/journalinquirer/article/ct-crumbling-foundations-bonding-general-assembly-20362769.php

A new technical magnet school is preparing for liftoff next year, offering students a chance to touch down on Mars as part of the curriculum. Goodwin University Magnet School System has begun construction on RiverTech, a new 288-student high school with a new four-story building next to the existing four-story Pathways Academy on Pent Road in East Hartford. Though the school has plans to offer opportunities to students interested in a wide variety of STEM subjects and careers, its flashiest feature is the “astronaut training center” that aims to simulate space missions to the surface of Mars. Goodwin Superintendent Salvatore Menzo said Wednesday that the $85 million school, funded with full reimbursement through the state, expects to open “mid- to late fall” next year, in time for the 2026-27 school year. East Hartford officials and future students joined the district at a groundbreaking event Tuesday, marking the beginning of the new building’s construction.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/journalinquirer/article/ct-east-hartford-magnet-school-mars-simulation-20357734.php

The borough is developing a public-private partnership to bring a freight rail project to the former Uniroyal site. The partnership would include Darien-based Genesee & Wyoming Railroad Services Inc., which owns or leases more than 100 railroads across North America, to develop a Naugatuck Industrial Rail Park off Elm Street. Hunter said some of the advantages of the site for businesses include direct rail access, being in a strategic location, lower transportation costs and access to labor and incentives. Some of the potential uses include warehousing, lumber distribution, bulk propane and recycling and trans-loading, a shipping term referring to the transfer of goods from one mode of transportation to another. Genesee & Wyoming Railroad employs roughly 90 people in Connecticut and has operations in 42 states, a company spokesman said in 2023.

https://www.ctinsider.com/waterbury/article/naugatuck-freight-rail-park-genesee-wyoming-20356732.php

The city expects a $6 million state grant to largely cover the estimated $9.4 million cost of demolishing the former bank processing center on Windsor Street. The city already has $1.4 million set aside for the tearing down of the bunker-like structure — now in advanced decay, hastened in recent years by vandalism and looting. The city’s request to CRDA would unwind financing approvals totaling $8.2 million for the housing and parking garage projects at 17 and 35 Bartholomew Ave., a combination of city and CRDA funds. After taking out the $2 million to tear down the Windsor Street structure, the balance would be used for future projects, according to a proposal that will be considered Friday by CRDA’s housing and neighborhood development committee.The full CRDA board also must back the plan.

Tearing down massive CT eyesore could begin soon, with AI in city’s sights

New York-based developer Ernest Tollja, the owner of the blighted Fairhaven building at 26-28 Broadway, said Tuesday part of the side of the building has now fallen apart. Tollja and his brother Albert Tollja, under TT Investments LLC, purchased the Fairhaven and two other lower Broadway buildings for a combined price of $810,000 last January. They could soon receive some help with the cost of restoring the Fairhaven into 21 apartments. The City Council on Monday authorized the Norwich Community Development Corp. to apply for an $8.8 million Community Investment Fund grant that would help fund a major project that would revitalize several properties on lower Broadway. The total project cost would be $11.9 million, Brown said. TT Investments would contribute most of the rest of the funds, not covered by the grant.

https://theday.com/news/749802/norwich-seeks-88-million-state-grant-to-revitalize-lower-broadway/

The owner of a 27-acre forest on the New York border where a residential building boom is underway at the nearby Reserve on Danbury’s west side wants to change the property’s industrial zone to allow construction of 225 apartments. “There has not been significant interest in developing this property with (light industrial) uses,” writes Thomas Beecher, an attorney representing Blasius Enterprises of Waterbury, which bought the land for $2.3 million in 2022. “It is a large 27-acre parcel. Despite some slopes and wetlands, the site is still appropriate for a residential apartment development.” The process will begin with a public hearing before the nine elected members of the city’s Zoning Commission on July 8. Should the commission agree to rezone the property to allow for multifamily residential development, it would be up to Blasius or another developer to propose a site plan, which would require a new round of land use review and a public hearing.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/danbury-west-side-waterbury-builder-225-apartments-20359096.php

Residents approved all five referendum questions for public works projects totaling more than $12 million on Tuesday, including road work, a new pump station and a new public works building. The school improvements at Plainville High School include replacing the emergency generator, upkeep to the pool and replacing the pool room heater, replacing the rooftop units over the technology education classrooms, and rehabbing the press box at Tinty Field. The school funds will also go towards repointing brick at Toffolon and Linden Schools. The $1 million for town improvements include replacing the HVAC systems at the Plainville Public Library, Plainville Senior Center and Plainville Fire House – as well as replacing the library roof. The pump station replacement is expected to be paid by a $3.18 million state loan, to be repaid over a 20-year term at an interest rate of 2% for this project. Wazorko said work will begin “sooner than later.” The road improvements will likely come next year after this year’s roadwork wraps up. He said there may need to be a few more logistics discussed for the new public works building, but that project will also move forward now.

https://www.bristolpress.com/news/plainville-approves-12-mil-worth-of-projects-in-referendum/article_29f49ebe-9a47-49cb-9a31-bd3154a07892.html