The state would lend $3 million to a developer to purchase a parking lot on a prominent corner in Hartford’s Bushnell South redevelopment area, a proposal that also would remove the property from among the options for a new federal courthouse. The loan would come from the quasi-public Capital Region Development Authority, which along with the city and The Bushnell, have been key forces working for years to reshape a bleak swath of parking lots just east of The Bushnell and a short walk from the State Capitol. At the proposal’s center, is the $3 million loan that South Norwalk-based Spinnaker Real Estate Partners would use to purchase the parking lot for future, mixed-use development. Spinnaker is emerging as a major developer in Bushnell South and is now nearing completion of the conversion of the former state offices at 55 Elm St. into apartments. The $67 million project includes a second phase of new construction on parking lots around the historic building. The second phase is now in the planning stages and is across Capitol Avenue from the parking lot Spinnaker would purchase.

There’s a massive new neighborhood planned near CT Capitol. It could get millions in state loans.

Dominion took an initial step toward filing for another operating extension on its Millstone Power Station nuclear plant in Waterford. If approved by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, any extension would give Dominion the option of stretching the shelflife of the Millstone 2 reactor to 2055, and the Millstone 3 reactor to 2065. The NRC last approved a license renewal for Millstone’s two reactors in November 2005. NRC spokesperson Neil Sheehan told CT Insider that the commission expects a number of nuclear plant operators to seek similar authorizations for existing nuclear plants in the coming years. Millstone is one of two nuclear energy power plants in New England, along with NextEra Energy’s Seabrook Nuclear Power Station on the New Hampshire coast. Combined, the plants supplied about 23 percent of New England’s electricity through the first 11 months of last year, according to ISO New England, which oversees the region’s power markets.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/business/article/ct-nuclear-dominion-millstone-waterford-energy-18604641.php

After much discussion and public comment, the Town Council voted 5-4 to delay setting a date for a long-stalled plan to upgrade the high school’s athletic facilities. Voters would have chosen in March whether to have the town borrow $7,555,000 in bonds for campus improvements and new athletic facilities at South Windsor High School or other town property, in accordance with a plan recommended by the Board of Education. The Board of Education requested that the Town Council set a referendum date for March 12, allowing for construction to begin in the spring if approved. At a meeting Tuesday night, the Town Council’s three Democrats voted against postponing the referendum decision, alongside Republican Deputy Mayor Matt Siracusa.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/journalinquirer/article/ct-south-windsor-high-school-upgrades-facility-18610289.php

West Hartford-based Verogy‘s proposal for a solar farm in Glastonbury drew a mix of praise and complaints at a recent municipal hearing, with town officials encouraging both sides to write to the state regulators who will determine if the project gets built. Putting solar panels over former farmland along Wickham Road would generate enough electricity to power nearly 780 houses, the company said. At a council meeting last week, Town Manager Jonathan Luiz emphasized that neither the council nor local land-use boards have jurisdiction over the proposal, which instead hinges on approval by the Connecticut Siting Council. If the state approves the plan, Verogy would start construction later this year and begin operations before 2025. The Siting Council is expected to decide on its application in late spring.

From corn to sun: This CT farm proposal has some cheering, others disapproving. Find out why

The tunnel, which has an 18-foot diameter, is meant to catch overflowing water across the southwest portion of Hartford. Once the water enters the tunnel, it will be treated and then deposited into the Connecticut River. Even though the tunnel portion itself is complete, the project is not set to be functional until 2026 because the pump station isn’t finished. IRIS, the name given to the tunnel boring system, ends at the MDC’s retrieval facility on Talcott Road in West Hartford. The project is the first of its kind in Connecticut and is a major component of MDC’s Clean Water Project, required by U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The MDC — which provides services to Bloomfield, East Hartford, Hartford, Newington, Rocky Hill, West Hartford, Wethersfield and Windsor — decided to build the historic tunnel after an attempt in 2006 to separate sewer and water operations in sections of Hartford.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/capitalregion/article/ct-hartford-underground-tunnel-mdc-iris-18612681.php

New York-based real estate developers Ernest and Alfred Tollja learned about Norwich in 2018 from a persistent Norwich comedian who drove to their comedy theater nearly every night and pressured them to buy a building in his hometown. Six years later, the two brothers, originally from Albania, own more than a dozen apartment buildings in Norwich, with a total of 117 apartments. On Thursday, they completed the purchase of three prominent lower Broadway buildings that are part of a larger revitalization plan that includes a park and event space and street improvements, along with building renovations. The Tolljas, under the ownership name, TT Investments LLC, purchased the vacant and decaying Fairhaven building at 26-28 Broadway and the vacant buildings at 51-53 Broadway and 59-61 Broadway ― the building with the colorful Metamorphosis mural facing City Hall ― for a combined price of $810,000. They obtained a $950,000 mortgage from GCCG Lending LLC.

https://www.theday.com/local-news/20240116/ny-developers-add-three-broadway-buildings-to-their-norwich-investments/#

Architect and developer Marc Andre said he hopes to build a four-story, mixed-use building that would incorporate affordable housing, first-floor businesses and a public plaza on a series of properties surrounding Fairfield Cigars near the corner of Post Road and Fairfield Place. Fairfield’s Plan of Conservation and Development, which the zoning commission is reviewing, recommends unlocking more potential housing options by furthering the western boundary of the Center Designed Business District, a zoning district that allows taller buildings, more floor area and less distance from the street than other parts of Post Road.

https://www.ctpost.com/fairfield/article/post-road-fairfield-mixed-use-development-18599145.php?src=rdctpdensecp

Connecticut will only attract new business and residents if the state has the workforce housing it “desperately” needs, Gov. Ned Lamont said Tuesday while in the city to help break ground on the on the long promised — and long delayed — 420 apartments at Steelpointe. Ground was finally broken there by the Christophs under Mayor Joe Ganim’s predecessor, Bill Finch, who was in attendance Tuesday, with the Bass Pro Shops retailer being the first building to open in 2015 shortly after Ganim ousted Finch in that year’s Democratic mayoral primary. The nearly $200 million development was partially financed through the Connecticut Housing Finance Authority via a program designed to support housing for middle income residents who wouldn’t qualify for affordable housing as defined by law.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/bridgeport-steelpointe-apartments-groundbreaking-18609333.php

The natural gas pipeline that runs a street down from Wazer’s family home in Mansfield is part of a proposed 1,131-mile expansion of the Algonquin Gas Transmission line. The proposal, known as Project Maple, would raise the natural gas-carrying capacity of the pipeline, which bisects Connecticut and extends into New York, New Jersey, Rhode Island and Massachusetts. Enbridge, the Canadian-based energy company behind the project, said in documents that the expansion will increase the reliability of the Northeast’s power grid, stabilize gas prices, and support “New England’s continued journey to Net Zero.” According to documents from Enbridge, the company anticipates that Project Maple, which could process an extra 249 to 499 million cubic feet of natural gas per day in some locations, could go online “as early as November 2029.” Currently, Connecticut consumes more natural gas than any other energy source. In 2023 natural gas-fired power plants accounted for 60% of all electricity generated in the state, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

A proposal for a massive expansion to a gas pipeline that goes through CT is drawing opposition

After years of debate, delays, and changes in plans, the much-beloved Prosser Library is finally coming down to make way for a new, modern facility. Demolition began the first week of January, after delays caused by permitting issues. It was originally approved for $29.3 million in bonded funds by voters at a November 2021 referendum. But when the construction bids came in to Downs Construction in summer 2023, they were $8 million over budget, which resulted in plans for the Wintonbury-McMahon branch being scaled back and value engineering being implemented. The current total budget is now is now $35.28 million, which Haynes said will not be exceeded. “The project is now a renovation project consisting of an interior refresh and improvements,” she said. “There is a total project budget of $2.7 million for McMahon, which will be funded through the referendum and state CIF budgets.”

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/capitalregion/article/prosser-library-bloomfield-demolition-18602214.php