With CTfastrak about to enter its ninth year, The Jayden mixed-use project in West Hartford is on track to be the latest instance of transit-oriented development along its route. Hexagon New Park LLC intends to build a five-story, 70-unit apartment building on a New Park Avenue site near the busway’s Elmwood station. The Jayden would become the latest of more than a half-dozen major residential and mixed-use projects that developers attribute to CTfastrak, the bus rapid transit system that links New Britain, Newington, West Hartford and Hartford. High-frequency shuttles run between those communities and link to traditional bus routes serving most other central Connecticut communities. The Jayden would be a key victory for transit-oriented development advocates who defended the busway against heavy political opposition, with some conservatives in the General Assembly arguing that it was an expensive boondoggle.

Years after its first buses rolled, CTfastrak delivering new development in West Hartford

“It’s not partisan. It’s not even geographic, in the sense that it’s defined by only big city mayors, or any sort of specific factor — if you’re connected via a railroad, which almost every community in the United States is actually, whether they know it or not, there’s been a resurgence and focus about how rail can make a difference and be part of a community’s mobility strategy,” explained Mitch Warren, who moderated the event and serves as executive director for the quasi-public Northeast Corridor Commission. That effort, dubbed NEC Future, provides the menu of options for how roughly $16.4 billion of new federal dollars — and any other federal funding over the next three or four decades — can be spent on the corridor between Washington D.C. and Boston, except for the ninety-odd miles of unresolved corridor between New Haven to Providence. Called the New Haven to Providence Capacity Planning Study, the study will recommend a new off-corridor route that meets goals for time and capacity included in the 2017 NEC Future Record of Decision. Whether that means a return to the controversial idea of a bypass through coastal southeastern Connecticut, or a direct route between Hartford and Providence is not yet clear, though a recent interview with Congressman Joe Courtney hinted that the direct inland route may already be off the table.

Eastern Connecticut the Odd Man Out as Powerhouse Gathering in Stamford Pitches High-Speed-Rail

Town officials and developers of a proposed 245-apartment, mixed-use project on a contaminated lot said they may reject a $3 million remediation grant from the state, due to stringent conditions that could boost project costs by $25 million. Developers have long kept away from 81 Black Rock Turnpike, as any new construction would require a costly environmental cleanup of the contaminated soil below the site. Looking to transform the vacant lot into a new, five-story apartment building, Post Road Residential — a local property development company — worked with town officials to secure a $3 million grant from the State Department of Economic Community Development in June to clean up the low-level PCB contamination, which originated from aged underground storage tanks used to heat the former factory. According to Montelli, the Brownfield Remediation and Development Municipal Grant came with three conditions that developers are unwilling to meet: increased wage rates, affordable housing requirements and state control over the property.

Fairfield Developers May Reject $3M State Grant Over Costly Conditions on Housing

The state Department of Transportation is moving forward with a plan to create a roundabout at the intersection of Route 6 and Route 61, which has been the scene of numerous traffic accidents over the years. First Selectman Barbara K. Perkinson welcomed the news, saying the intersection and the town as a whole will benefit greatly from a roundabout, also known as a rotary or traffic circle, which is a type of circular intersection or junction in which road traffic is permitted to flow in one direction around a central island, and priority is typically given to traffic already in the junction. Many residents have said a traffic light should be installed as the once sleepy stretch between Woodbury and Watertown has been built up a great deal since the intersection was first engineered. But DOT officials say, based on professional engineering standards, the area simply does not necessitate a light. A roundabout appears to be the answer.

https://www.rep-am.com/localnews/2024/01/28/new-roundabout-in-the-works-for-woodbury-intersection/#login

Norwich Community Development Corporation (NCDC) President Kevin Brown said plans to develop a second business park are now more stable. The Commission on the City Plan met Tuesday, and decided on a 3-2 vote that the subdivision plan NCDC wanted approved for the Occum Industrial Center can go ahead. Throughout the process to develop these business park plans, NCDC has addressed needs brought up by the community, including setbacks and maximum building heights, even thought it is not a regulatory requirement. Brown also anticipates there will be sustained communication between NCDC and the residents near the 384 acres where the new business park will be, he said. NCDC is working on a federal RAISE (Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity) grant application for building the on and off ramp infrastructure for the new business park. While this grant was denied before, now having the subdivision plan and $11 million in state funds in place can make for a more compelling case, Brown said.

https://www.norwichbulletin.com/story/news/local/2024/01/29/ccp-approves-occum-business-park-preserving-norwich-neighborhoods-norwich-community-development-corp/72371734007/

The hulking English Station power plant has sat silent for decades in the middle of the Mill River, contaminated with PCBs, no longer providing power for United Illuminating. On Monday, Attorney General William Tong held a press conference in New Haven to announce a lawsuit accusing UI of failing to live up to its agreements to clean up the site. United Illuminating later said there were “multiple inaccuracies” shared at the press briefing but did not say what they were. UI and its then owner had agreed in 2015 to spend $30 million to clean up the polluted power plant, which they said then would take three years. Tong on Monday said UI, now owned by Avangrid, has failed to honor any of its agreements and has only removed one building on Ball Island. “The city of New Haven, just like Hartford and Bridgeport, have very few large sites available for development, relatively small, densely packed cities, and a site of this size has enormous potential if it were properly cleaned up, properly prepared for all to use,” Looney said.

CT files lawsuit to force utility to clean up long-polluted power plant in middle of river

Construction contractors are between a rock and a hard place: What the Biden administration’s IIJA has gifted with a hike in construction work, Buy America policies have taken away by making the work much pricier to perform. Construction costs rose almost 3 percent during the first quarter of 2023, and contractors have seen a 50 percent increase over the past two years. That has the transportation industry nervous for the future. The Biden administration has heavily campaigned the Buy America Act (BABA) with a goal of growing the policy into new areas. A proposed new rulemaking project with a goal of applying BABA to manufactured products is scheduled to be published in April. The Biden administration has applauded the $92 million increase in highway spending that was a major chunk of IIJA. “Unfortunately, it is increasingly likely that inflation will wipe out the entirety of that funding increase,” believes Scribner. “New Buy America requirements on manufactured products will make this problem even worse.”

https://www.constructionequipmentguide.com/inflation-has-contractors-taking-pass-on-federally-funded-transportation-projects/63699

With beach season looming and more traffic expected near the city’s shoreline, officials currently have no plans to reopen Water Street. Water Street, a road parallel to First Avenue, was closed for the expected construction of an outlet mall with water views called The Haven. The development has become a sore spot for residents, as several blocks of shoreline neighborhood — once with the promise of economic development potential to grab commuters off the highway to grow the city’s tax base — have rotted behind a chain-link fence for roughly a decade. Borer said the city has reached out to Simon for updates on those 10 permits. Those outstanding permits are currently preventing any police or public works inspections from moving forward, she said, and that using the street as “leverage” is more complicated than it seems. Simon Property Group did not respond to an emailed request for comment Friday. Although Simon Property Group still owns the property, Borer said she has had multiple discussions with them about finding a buyer in her first two months in office.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/west-haven-water-street-closed-18620940.php

Officials at the Connecticut Lottery Corp. and the Capital Region Development Authority say the under-performance of the restaurant and sports wagering operation can be blamed on the relative newness of the facility, which is currently less of a destination for gamblers than it is for people attending concerts and sporting events that might fill the restaurant and betting parlor on game nights, but do not swarm the place on others. The financial losses come at a time of difficulties for the Wallingford-based lottery’s downtown Hartford operation, as the state Department of Consumer Protection investigates lingering problems in the Connecticut Lottery Corporation’s new retail sales system, including technical malfunctions with a Las Vegas-based contractor for online gambling. Michael Freimuth, executive director of the Capital Region Development Authority, said Friday that he also expects a steady turnaround of the operation, as plans for the aging downtown landmark include as much as a $100-million renovation, with $20 million committed by new facility management at the Oak View Group, if the State Bond Commission, led by Gov. Ned Lamont, allocates about $80 million.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/politics/article/sportsbook-hartford-s-xl-center-under-performing-18628057.php

The City Council this month approved paying the Hartford-based Crosskey Architects firm $22,000 in American Rescue Plan Act funding to “reimagine and design” the Water Street walking bridge that connects the Winthrop Square housing complex on Federal Street to Fulton Park. Director of Public Works Brian Sear said the bridge, built in 1973, is not in need of any structural improvements and any proposed work would fall under the aesthetic category. Felix Reyes, the city’s director of economic development and planning, said Fulton Park is now home to refurbished basketball courts and a skate park. Brush clearing has also been conducted in the area and plans are in place to create more hard-surface walking paths to facilitate pedestrian and biker travel from Old Town Mill to the Fulton Park bridge entrance.

https://www.theday.com/local-news/20240127/pedestrian-bridge-envisioned-as-formidable-gateway-to-new-london/