The Shelton Planning and Zoning Commission at a hearing Wednesday heard plans from applicant F.S. Shelton LLC and principal John Abene for a five-story, multi-unit apartment complex at 745-801 Bridgeport Ave. The $25 million project, by developer Highview Commercial, would feature 170 apartments, a portion of which would be affordable. The development would feature nine studio apartments and 81 one-bedroom, eight one-bedroom with office, and 72 two-bedroom apartments, along with a pool, club house and other amenities. If approved, the apartment building would sit among several new commercial buildings, including restaurants, medical and retail sites that are a part of the multimillion-dollar Fountain Square development area that has been in the works since 2019.

170 units proposed for Shelton’s Fountain Square development 

Norwalk-based Spinnaker Real Estate Partners exercised its option on Tuesday to buy a 90,000-square-foot parking lot at Capitol Avenue and Hudson Street for $3.25 million, according to the Capital Region Development Authority. The authority voted in January to loan Spinnaker $3 million toward the purchase, which forms a crucial piece of the Bushnell South development and speeds development of the project. About 250 parking spots, billboards, and an auto shop currently occupy the newly purchased parking lot. The property will likely be developed as a parking garage for the larger Bushnell South project, which involves several developers and multiple phases. But Freimuth has said the lot Spinnaker purchased this week is often vacant due to the opening of two new parking garages in the area.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/business/article/hartford-ct-parking-lot-bushnell-south-plan-18696292.php

City Engineer Giovanni Zinn says the project to make a nine-block stretch of lower State Street more pedestrian- and bicycle-friendly won’t involve street closures and will ultimately improve traffic and safety. The $6.7 million project, partially funded through a $5.35 million state Department of Economic and Community Development grant, will redesign the streetscape along a stretch of State Street between Trumbull and Water streets. City officials have said the project will “knit back together” areas of the city that were chopped up by urban renewal. Several officials have said the project will reconnect neighborhoods such as Wooster Square, the Hill and Downtown. Work on Phase 1 of the project began about two weeks ago and will create a dedicated corridor for walkers and bikers, officials said at a news conference Wednesday.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/new-haven-state-street-project-improve-traffic-18696181.php

The state is preparing for a $30 million refurbishment of the Bissell Bridge, a key traffic link between I-84 and I-91 north of Hartford. Precise construction plans won’t be known until engineers do final designs in 2025, but the state department of transportation is letting the public know now that some potentially major weekend detours could be required in 2026 or 2027. The DOT and its consultants will do detailed traffic studies in 2025 to determine whether construction can be phased in a way that allows no more than one or two lanes to be closed at a time. Contractors will repair structural steel, replace worn bridge deck joints and make other improvements. The project is funded through 90% federal grants and 10% state money, with no town dollars involved, Pixley noted.

Major Connecticut River bridge to get $30 million work. Your commute may be affected

After a discussion of unpermitted work at a quarry that lacked proper erosion protection along Three Mile River, the Inland Wetlands and Watercourses Commission ordered the property owner to cease all work and to appear at a show cause hearing on March 7. Ron Swaney, who owns 308-1 Mile Creek Road, told the commission Tuesday night that he had been working to improve the the 43.5 acre property by building berms along the river, removing beavers that had built a dam in a culvert, adding boulders along the river’s edge, and rerouting the driveway – all without securing permits. The commission moved unanimously to issue a cease and desist order. Before the March 7 hearing, Swaney will be required to retain a soil scientist to prepare a restoration plan to address the work done in the regulated area without permits, which will also identify the types and possible origins of the fill used on the site.

Old Lyme Quarry Owner Ordered to Cease Unpermitted Work Along Three Mile River 

Work has begun on a $6.7 million State Street redesign project to transform a nine-block stretch of lower State Street and “knit back together” areas of the city that were chopped up by urban renewal, city and state officials said Tuesday. The project’s first phase will include “bump-outs” to protect pedestrians along State Street, from Trumbull Street to Grove Street, with the second phase running from Grove Street to Water Street, Elicker said. Phase 1 is to take place now through the end of the summer. Of the project’s $6.7 million cost, $5.35 million is being paid by a state grant, with the rest coming from the city, officials said. Matt Pugliese, deputy commissioner of the state Department of Economic and Community Development, said the Connecticut Communities Challenge Grant program, which is funding the state’s share, “is all about transit-oriented development, housing, stitching communities back together.”

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/new-haven-lower-state-street-redesign-18692781.php

Now that a traffic study has been approved by the town’s police commission, plans for the long-awaited Veterans and First Responders Center will go out to bid — and construction could break ground by April, officials say. “They are two separate bid packages but they’re going out at the same time,” said Ray Baldwin, chairman of the Veterans and First Responders Center Building Committee. “The reason that there’s going to be two packages is because contractors could bid on one based on their expertise, or there might be some that could do both.” Plans call for a new 5,500-square-foot building at 1 Veterans Circle at Kaatz Pond, the site of the former, now condemned, veterans building. The new center was originally proposed in 2020 with an initial estimated cost of around $2.5 million, but now has an estimated cost of about $4 million, officials said.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/trumbull-veterans-first-responders-center-traffic-18679508.php

Negotiations are moving ahead to purchase a property on deKoven Drive to make way for the proposed Village at Riverside downtown mixed-use development, which will include ample parking for residents and visitors. Among the components are affordable luxury units, condos, and as retail and public spaces. The area is considered prime real estate for its view of the Connecticut River and an essential component of the Return to the Riverbend master plan of redevelopment, which aims to reconnect Main Street to Harbor Park and the river. The master plan also includes a pedestrian bridge over Route 9.Housing units will comprise some 19 town homes, 258 apartments consisting of studios and one- and two-bedroom units, and about 56 new on-street parking spaces, Daniel Klaynberg, CEO of Wonder Works Construction of New York, said in November.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/middletown-retail-housing-parking-downtown-18667223.php

A potential warehouse project on the East Hartford and South Windsor borders could face pushback from residents if the developer moves forward with an application. New Fairfield-based TRAC Consulting submitted a “pre-application review” for a 150,800-square-foot distribution warehouse with 30 loading bays at 71 and 81 Commerce Road, located within an existing industrial park. Tom Riley, architect with TRAC Consulting, said last week that the warehouse would be a speculative construction with no occupants planned ahead of time, but could host up to three tenants. PZC Secretary Michael Stebe said last week that the site feels appropriate for the potential development, as it’s down the road from the Winstanley Logistics Property and has easy access to Interstate 291.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/journalinquirer/article/manchester-warehouse-east-hartford-south-windsor-18677191.php

The bridge project was initially expected to be completed in November 2023. But City Engineer Lou Casolo said last year that plans for water handling, bridge demolition and supporting utilities went through “multiple rounds” of review, resulting in delays. A bridge on Wire Mill Road is also slated for construction work, Casolo said, but the detour route for the project depends on the Cedar Heights Road bridge being open. Casolo has previously said that the contractor is A. Vitti Excavators, which has continued work during the winter months. A request for comment from the company wasn’t immediately answered. The bid cost of the project was about $2.8 million, Casolo has said.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/stamford-cedar-heights-road-bridge-north-18691450.php