A planned six-mile, $65 million pedestrian and bike rail trail stretching from downtown Hartford’s Union Station to Bloomfield’s town center could be completed within five years, the project’s designer said. The hARTline comes with a cost estimate of $65 million, compared to tens-of-billions of dollars for the larger highway-capping and reconfiguration envisioned in the award-winning Hartford 400 plan, which Suisman helped develop. Hartford officials and nonprofit leaders are currently assembling $2.4 million to fund the design of the trail line. The Hartford 400 plan envisions a spur using expanded city sidewalks past Dunkin’ Park to Market Street, where a pedestrian bridge would carry cyclists and pedestrians over Interstate 91 and into Riverside Park by the municipal boathouse. The hARTline would connect with a network of trails reaching other communities and, ultimately, could serve as Hartford’s contribution to the planned 3,000-mile “East Coast Greenway” pedestrian and bicycle route stretching from Maine to Florida.

City, nonprofit development team eye $65M rail trail from downtown Hartford to Bloomfield

When complete, the project is expected to power roughly 70,000 Long Island homes. The project dovetails with New York’s plan to transition to a carbon-free electricity system by 2040. The Empire State’s plan is to install 9 gigawatts of offshore wind power by 2035. “New York’s nation-leading efforts to generate reliable, renewable clean energy have reached a major milestone,” New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said in a Wednesday statement. “South Fork Wind will power thousands of homes, create good-paying union jobs and demonstrate to all the offshore wind is a viable resource New York can harness for generations to come.” The Revolution Wind project, touted as six times as large as the South Fork Wind, is also a joint venture between Ørsted and Eversource, and is expected to bring a total of 704 megawatts of energy to Connecticut and Rhode Island. The Revolution Wind pre-installation work at New London’s State Pier will involve the assembly of 65 turbines that will be shipped to two offshore wind stations in federal waters 15 nautical miles southeast of Point Judith, R.I.

https://www.theday.com/local-news/20231209/taking-to-the-high-seas-for-an-up-close-look-at-south-fork-wind/

Residents no longer have to worry about the town potentially having solar panels installed in their neighborhood. Approximately 50 residents, most of them from the Highwood Farms section of town, attended Tuesday night’s selectmen meeting to object to having solar panels installed on town-owned land in their neighborhood. The possible site is a wooded area near the soccer field behind a dirt parking area. Selectmen tabled the matter officially but agreed to not accept a proposal that would place panels in any residential neighborhood. First Selectman Edmond V. Mone said the reason the town is looking at potential sites is because about a year ago, solar companies started approaching the town about installations in the downtown area. Because of the complexity of the matter, the town hired a consultant, Energia Solar Solutions, for $10,000 to help the board determine whether this is a technology worth pursuing.

https://www.rep-am.com/localnews/2023/12/07/solar-array-will-not-be-placed-in-any-thomaston-neighborhood/

Extension of the system was one of the conditions set in 2021 when residents approved the $8 million sale of the town’s water and sewer assets to Aquarion. Pine Meadow, which sits over the town’s aquifer, is served by septic systems. Town officials said extending the system helps ensure the town’s water does not become polluted. The extension would add 106 new customers, alleviating the high user rates. There also is the possibility of a massive 291-unit residential development just to the south that would further use the town’s oversized sewer plant. Oversight of construction was discussed, with subcommittee members suggesting they be responsible for it. Jerram said the contract provides for the town’s engineers, CDM Smith, to provide a professional for the task.

https://www.rep-am.com/localnews/2023/12/07/new-hartford-sewer-extension-panel-appointed/

In light of needed repairs that could total more than $100 million over as many as 15 years at Wilton’s public schools, the town’s newly sworn-in first selectwoman advised caution in moving forward with funding. Wilton needs all hands on deck to move forward with the logistics of the school and municipal improvements, Boucher said. The needs for the school buildings, which have an average age of 60 years, were presented in November, with different projects categorized as priority levels 1, 2 and 3 within a 10-year plan. Lynne Vanderslice, the town’s former first selectwoman, said the timeline would likely be drawn out further. Two outstanding issues regarding the proposed improvement funds are which repairs would go toward a Board of Education budget or a municipal budget, said Frank Smeriglio, Wilton’s director of public works and town engineer.

https://www.nhregister.com/news/education/article/wilton-board-selectmen-boucher-school-repairs-18537601.php

Orsted’s South Fork offshore wind farm off New York delivered its first power to the state’s power grid, according to a press release by New York Governor Kathy Hochul. South Fork, which Orsted is building with Eversource, will eventually consist of 12 Siemens Gamesa turbines with a total installed capacity of 132 MW and is situated 35 miles (56 km) east of Montauk Point in New York. Offshore wind is expected to play a major role in New York’s plan to reduce carbon emissions by getting 70% of the state’s electricity from renewable sources by 2030. It is also a pillar of US President Joe Biden’s plan to decarbonize the US power grid and combat climate change. In November, New York launched a new offshore wind solicitation to help support the development of 9,000 MW of offshore wind by 2035, enough to power up to six million homes.

https://www.offshore-mag.com/renewable-energy/article/14302396/orsted-south-fork-offshore-wind-farm-delivers-first-power-to-ny-electric-grid

Northford Road’s closure has been extended until May 30, 2024, due to the replacement of the Northford Road Bridge. Wallingford police say the closure begins 600 feet from the intersection of Tyler Mill Road and Northford Road. Traffic will continue to be detoured as Northford Road Bridge over the Muddy River is replaced. The Town Council greenlit the $2 million bridge reconstruction project in March, with an initial expected completion date of late November. Town Hall initially allocated $1 million for bridge repairs eight years ago and moved to increase funding in March by an additional $1,030,000, raising the final price tag to $2,030,000.

https://www.myrecordjournal.com/News/Wallingford/Wallingford-News/Northford-Road-to-remain-closed-through-Spring-2024.html

Hyde has said the project is more complicated because Anamet is a large brownfield site. When the city put out its first request for proposals last year, it had yet to complete the environmental study at the site, he noted. Significant unknowns about the property at the time may have deterred some developers from applying, Hyde said. Since last year, however, the city has spent $1.5 million to demolish three buildings, abate the High Bay building, map the underground utilities and conduct additional sampling of the site to fully understand the extent of the contaminants, Hyde said. The Anamet site is owned by 698 South Main St. Inc., which was set up to hold the property. To date, $9.5 million has been received for work toward its rehabilitation, most of which has been spent, Hyde said. It will cost another estimated $5 million to clean up and remediate the site.

https://www.rep-am.com/localnews/2023/12/06/waterbury-hopes-to-spur-interest-in-former-anamet-factory-site/

Community leaders, politicians and developers with New York-based real estate firm Shelbourne Global Solutions came together Tuesday morning to celebrate the pending launch of a 155-unit apartment redevelopment of the former Fuller Brush complex in Hartford’s North End. Shelbourne representatives said the first phases of redevelopment — creation of apartments and amenity spaces — will begin within days and take about 18 months to complete. Shelbourne recently finalized financing for the $42.1 million residential phase of the Fuller Brush redevelopment, which includes $22 million in private loans; $8.5 million in city and state loans; $6 million in developer equity; $4.5 million in state historic credits; and a $1.1 million federal grant, according to Michael Freimuth, executive director of the Capital Region Development Authority.

From prosperity to hardship and back again: Hartford celebrates start of 155-unit apartment redevelopment of Fuller Brush complex

Online auto-parts company FCP Euro will be moving into a new 160,000-square-foot headquarters on the land formerly occupied by Subway as part of a $20 million project to reuse the site now that the sandwich chain has moved its headquarters to Shelton. The Planning and Zoning Board cleared the way for the move with a 9-1 vote to approve a zoning change and 8-2 in favor of a special permit for the project that includes construction of a warehouse to replace the former main Subway headquarters building at 325 Sub Way. Scinto has said the project would improve the pond and wetlands water quality with the addition of runoff filtration.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/business/article/fcp-euro-subway-milford-zoning-18529031.php