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Stamford Officials to Vote on Master Plan as Zoning Hums Along
Before they left for their August break, Zoning Board members OK’d a general development plan for tearing down the two remaining St. John’s Towers on Tresser Boulevard and replacing them with 305 affordable apartments. Board members approved lighting, landscaping and a street extension that will allow F.D. Rich Co. to get its building permit and begin constructing a 198-unit residential tower on Broad Street downtown. Board members approved a developer’s plan to convert an old office building on Seaview Avenue in Shippan into a high-end complex of 55 “best in class” condominiums with water views. The draft, released in mid-July, recommends that the city build more housing because of continuing demand. It says the city should encourage development of “accessory dwelling units” – apartments added to single-family properties – by loosening zoning requirements. It recommends that Stamford officials “reduce regulatory barriers” so developers can build more “multiplexes, townhomes, and cluster housing to increase housing choice and affordability.”
Stamford Officials to Vote on Master Plan as Zoning Hums Along
State grant gets riverwalk project between Windsor and Hartford closer to the finish line
With the state awarding $517,000 to install new trailside amenities, the long-imagined effort to connect Hartford and Windsor along the Connecticut River has taken another step toward becoming a reality. When completed, the Joe Marfuggi Riverwalk will feature a 12-foot-wide, paved multi-modal trail with six scenic overlooks at the river’s edge, connecting the main paved walkway to an existing single-track trail running along the top of the riverbank. The grant, through the state’s Open Space and Watershed Land Acquisition Grant Program and the Urban Green and Community Gardens Grant Program, will be used to add plantings, signage, and benches along the Connecticut River. Zaleski said final permitting is likely to take eight to 12 months and construction is expected to take about six months, with completion within two years.
https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/journalinquirer/article/riverfront-recapture-state-grant-windsor-hartford-20785836.php
Groton council recommends town approve $14.3M for Fitch High athletic upgrades
The town is pursuing a proposal to renovate the athletic fields and facilities at Robert E. Fitch High School. The Town Council at its Committee of the Whole on Tuesday voted 7-1, with Councilor Juliette Parker opposed, to recommend the town bond $14.3 million for the design and construction of athletic fields to be voted on at the Aug. 5 Town Council meeting. It would then go the Representative Town Meeting on Aug. 13 and then to voters at a November referendum for final approval. The proposal would include the following Fitch High School facilities: track and field stadium renovation, including a synthetic multi-use field, eight-lane track with throwing and jumping facilities, grandstand with press box, lighting, public restrooms, concessions, ticketing, storage building, and parking and driveway, according to a town document. The $14.3 million in funding is the first of a four-phase, $60 million project to upgrade town and school fields.
CT town’s historic factory with ‘a lot going for it’ is on the market for possible redevelopment
The Drawn Metal Tube factory at 219 Elm St. is closed and the property is for sale. According to a posting on the Crexi commercial real estate web site, the sale price for the 125-year-old brick structure is $2,250,000. Lewis Brass & Copper Co., based in Middle Village, N.Y., is the property owner and lists it as a warehouse on its website. Company President and Chief Executive Officer Luke Anderson declined to comment for this story. Economic Development Commission Chairman Lissa Jennings said the building has many advantages as it is right off the highway, is in the center town, and walkable to other destinations. In addition, construction is set to being on the town’s portion of the Naugatuck River Greenway on Elm Street. The entire 44-mile trail will extend from Derby to Torrington. Lewis Brass & Copper Co. is “responsible for site investigation and remediation” at the site, which is being conducted under the oversight of a licensed environmental professional, he said.
$2.8M property buy gives Southington construction company room to grow
A trucking company that filed for bankruptcy in 2023 has sold its Southington trucking terminal to a nearby construction company for $2.8 million. Allan R. Heinke, president of Mohawk Northeast, is also principal of a limited liability company that bought a trucking terminal property from Kansas-based New Penn Motor Express LLC through a deed recorded by the town on July 11. The trucking company filed for bankruptcy in 2023. Mohawk’s headquarters at 170 Canal St. include two warehouse buildings totaling 46,776 square feet on a 4.7-acre property. The property Heinke recently acquired includes a 19,972-square-foot, 1986-vintage truck terminal building with 14-foot wall heights on 5.3 acres.
Change in Plans For Stonington Bridge Could Threaten Local Homes And Businesses
Elissa Bass, a homeowner in Stonington, is raising the alarm over revised proposals by the Connecticut Department of Transportation to replace a major bridge into the borough. The bridge construction, which is in its early stages, proposes replacing a large portion of the bridge deemed structurally unsafe and increasing the clearance height for traffic and for trains to current height requirements. The bridge was built in 1940 and state transportation officials say it hasn’t had major work performed on it since 1991-1993. The cost of the project is estimated currently at $48 million, with 80% of that figure being funded federally, the town of Stonington covering $1.2 million and the balance covered by the state. Asked about the apparent discrepancy, Josh Morgan, a spokesperson for the department, said the changes were in response to a request by local officials. He said the project is still in the preliminary design phase with final design for the project expected in Spring 2027, saying the timeline allows for plenty of public comment and input.
Plans to cull 19 wooded acres for a solar farm in Torrington draws concerns over forest, wildlife
Speakers at a hearing on an application for a solar farm on West Hill Road say wildlife living in a core forest area may have to move for the solar, but the impact to the overall forest will be minimal. During Tuesday’s Siting Council hearing, City Council members and attorneys discussed the application by Lodestar Energy to develop a 3-megawatt ground-mounted solar photovoltaic electric generating facility on 41 acres on West Hill Road. The public was not invited to speak Tuesday. In February, the Siting Council granted approval for Lodestar to put in a 3-megawatt solar farm next door to Country Woods Condominiums on Lovers Lane. The city also objected to that application but did not become an intervener in the process. A solar farm is also going up at the former landfill and there are two other solar farms in the city, Carbone said.
New Haven riverfront project includes floating market and senior housing in Fair Haven
With the addition of a $950,000 grant for brownfields remediation, a Fair Haven redevelopment project that will be called Oyster Harbor Village closer to having its floating market along the river and more housing. The funding, awarded last month by the state Department of Economic and Community Development, will be used for demolition and remediation of several long-blighted industrial buildings and contaminated soil at 185, 212 and 213 Front Street in the Fair Haven neighborhood on the banks of the Quinnipiac River. The $35 million multi-phase project will take about three years to complete, officials said. Bekhrad was joined at the property by city and state officials to celebrate the grant that will allow the city to continue remediation and other environmental work that has been going on since 2005.
Wisconsin packaging company building large warehouse in northeast CT
A Wisconsin-based company that makes shipping, industrial and packaging materials is developing a 1.25 million square foot warehouse off of Interstate 395 in Plainfield that will create 200 jobs. The company, Uline, got approval to build the warehouse from Plainfield officials in April, said Kevin Cunningham, the town’s first selectman. Construction of the warehouse on Plainfield Pike Road started in May, Cunningham said, and the facility is expected to open in June 2026. The Uline warehouse is expected to bring in over $1.5 million in revenue to the town each year, Cunningham said. A limited liability company affiliated with Uline acquired the property at 143-151 Plainfield Pike Road in August 2023. The land had been part of an apple orchard at one time, according to Cunningham.
South Windsor High School campus plan could move forward in phases, with courts and parking first
A long-stalled plan to upgrade the campus of South Windsor High School could move forward in two phases, with the turf field centerpiece to come second. The Board of Education previously requested discussion of the project at the Town Council’s July 7 meeting, but council members postponed discussion to their next regular meeting while waiting for an updated cost estimate. Maneeley said the $2.15 million “phase one” would cover construction of tennis and pickleball courts along with their associated parking required by the Planning and Zoning Commission, and “phase two” would include the lighted multipurpose turf field and traffic improvements, as the courts must be relocated first. The $9.35 million project proposed by the town’s Public Building Commission would address accessibility and code compliance issues at the former Orchard Hill school at 350 Foster St., now the permanent home of the Parks and Recreation Department, as well as a potential roof replacement.
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