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

On the last day of the legislative session, state lawmakers Wednesday approved capital projects totaling about $6.6 billion for the two-year budget that starts July 1. That bill includes long-term bonding for lowering state energy bills, financing billions in school construction projects and expanding security measures for houses of worship. The 256-page bond bill passed 144-4 in the House of Representatives and 35-1 in the Senate. Although the bill authorizes the spending, projects and agencies would still face scrutiny from the Office of Policy and Management before funding is authorized by the State Bond Commission, which is controlled by the governor. “It is vital that we prioritize, first and foremost, the safety of our residents, especially our Jewish residents who are currently facing the threat of increased anti-semitic attacks,” Fazio said. The bond act includes $10 million a year for increased school security and $5 million a year for non-profits including religious institutions.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/politics/article/ct-bond-budget-bridgeport-soccer-spending-towns-20361224.php

Yale will pause construction on 10 projects in the planning phase because of federal funding concerns, a university official revealed Tuesday to area business leaders. The good news is that the building boom in New Haven is continuing, leaders said. But investors and lenders are tightening the purse strings in the wake of mixed messages and uncertainty from the federal government, they warned. The result is that there will be some pauses in new construction. As a result, Daum said the university will continue to complete work on projects already under construction, because it’s more costly to stop work in progress than finish it. But the 10 other projects that are in the planning stages will be paused for now. “In two or three years we’ll be back investing huge amounts of money and talent into the area,” Daum said. “We’re going to be an economic driver for the next century.”

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/business/article/ct-yale-new-haven-business-construction-projects-20358517.php

St. John Urban Development Corp. has filed a proposal with the city to demolish two, 17-story cylindrical apartment towers that it built in 1971, at 109 Tresser Blvd., that have a total of 240 affordable units, and replace them with with a 10-story apartment building that will have 305 affordable units. The new building would have 101 one-bedrooms units, 100 two-bedrooms units and 104 three-bedroom units for families earning 30% to 80% of the area median income. According to the project application, the two existing, mostly vacant residential buildings — known as the St. John’s Towers — consist of 240 units and were constructed with a third tower consisting of another 120 units. That third tower was demolished in 2019 to make way for a new apartment complex known as The Smyth, which was developed by Charlotte, North Carolina-based developer Quarterra. Stamford’s Planning Board is scheduled to hold a public hearing on the major proposal on June 10.

Developer proposes 305-unit, affordable apartment building in downtown Stamford in large-scale redevelopment

The project manager for the Ponemah Mills development said Tuesday that four more locations have been identified as receiving contaminated soil excavated from the mill site. Phil Biondo told members of the Commission on the City Plan on Tuesday that in addition to the contaminated soil already found at a construction site in Franklin, the soil has also been found at sites in Preston and Jewett City and two in Norwich. He said One Key LLC, the New Jersey-based developer, is working with the state Department of Environmental Protection and the federal Environmental Protection Agency to remediate and dispose of the materials. In March, DEEP ordered One Key to stop removing soil from the site until it could determine whether the excavated material was contaminated, and where it was trucked to. Uncas Health District Director Patrick McCormack had written to the city saying he had asked a One Key representative at the site where the material was being stored on the property, where it was being taken and who removed it, but the representative didn’t know.

https://theday.com/news/745557/four-more-locations-identified-with-contaminated-soil-from-norwichs-ponemah-mills/