After months of supply shortage issues, the final pieces needed to finish the new pedestrian bridge at the Merritt 7 train station are expected to arrive, according to the Connecticut Department of Transportation. CTDOT is aiming for a mid-December opening for the new train station, with two weeks budgeted for the contractors to finish the work on the pedestrian bridge, he said. The bridge structure has been up since the summer; however, large sections of the glass are missing, which could cause safety issues in inclement weather, Morgan said. “There’s a lot of glass still missing from the bridge zone,” he added. Final pieces for the bridge’s elevators are also missing. Supply chain issues have affected other projects for CTDOT, including a parking garage in Stamford, on a project-by-project basis, Morgan said.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/merritt-7-pedestrian-bridge-train-station-metro-no-18522197.php

By the time the Springside Middletown complex off Newfield Street is complete, developer Bob Dale hopes, it will contain 486 apartments, which Mayor Ben Florsheim says makes it one of the biggest construction projects of its type in the state. Construction of the complex began about eight and a half months ago, Dale said. He said he hopes to have apartments ready to occupy by about Memorial Day, with completion of the first 240-apartment phase of the construction project by mid-2025. After that, he said, he hopes to secure financing for the second 246-apartment phase of the project. The city is supporting the project through tax incentives. Among the things it is receiving in return, Florsheim said, are “a strong commitment to local hiring” and to use of minority contractors.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/middletown/article/middletown-springside-apartments-bob-dale-18532940.php

Six months into construction of phase two of his massive Perkins Farm development, local developer Dave Lattizori is preparing to begin lining up tenants. Harbor Heights II, which broke ground in June on 123 luxury apartments, including 32 fourth-floor penthouse apartments, will begin pre-leasing early next year for the planned September opening of the new four-story apartment complex. The first phase of the project, valued at $85 million, contains a 50,000-square foot Hartford Health Care medical building that opened in January 2020, as well as 121 luxury apartments known as Harbor Heights and 50 townhouses. It generates $1 million a year in tax revenue for the Town of Stonington and created 100 permanent jobs.

https://www.theday.com/local-news/20231203/second-phase-of-luxury-apartments-being-built-at-perkins-farm-in-mystic/

The city is applying for an $8 million state Department of Economic and Community Development Community Investment Fund grant that Mayor Michael Passero said would cover the remaining costs of an anticipated $25 million plan to expand and overhaul transportation options in the city. Passero said the federal Department of Transportation Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity grant awarded to the city in June will pay for the bulk of several downtown transit-related infrastructure improvements. That federal funding will help add 400 parking spaces to the five-story, 910-space Water Street garage; create a new on-site transit hub; pay for a restoration project at the Union Station and Cross Sound Ferry’s new high speed ferry terminal; and support the building of a $20 million pedestrian bridge to connect the National Coast Guard Museum to the parking garage.

https://www.theday.com/local-news/20231204/new-london-seeking-8-million-state-grant-to-complete-funding-for-downtown-transit-improvements/

Only a stone wall separates Cerveney’s property from Mount Decatur — the site of a fort built during the War of 1812 — where Quincy, Massachusetts-based Cashman Dredging is proposing a five- to 10-year “industrial regrading” project to turn much of the hill into a flat, 40-acre pad ready for industrial businesses. The proposal is the latest idea Cashman has floated for the Thames River industrial property long associated with Dow Chemical, and now home to an Americas Styrenics plant. A conceptual plan from February showed the space being filled by a 100,000-square-foot building, a 80,000-square-foot building, and twin 40,000-square-foot buildings. But what would actually be built would depend on demand. Having the pad ready for development would be key when an opportunity arises, the company said, adding that the land has limited potential for development without grading.

Fears Mount Over Industrial Project’s Impact on Ledyard Neighborhood

Connecticut’s already diminished hydropower industry is at risk of further losses due to aging infrastructure and poor economic conditions, industry leaders told a state hydropower task force on Friday. Hydroelectric power accounts for less than 1 percent of the electricity generated in Connecticut, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. State lawmakers established a task force earlier this year to study Connecticut’s existing hydropower assets, as part of a broader goal of obtaining all of the state’s energy needs from renewable sources by 2040. Connecticut is home to 32 powered dams, according to the National Hydropower Association. The highest concentration of those dams are in the eastern half of the state, as well as in the northwest corner. Thousands of other dams — ranging in use from flood control, to supplying water and powering mills — exist elsewhere in the state, according to the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. Dozens of dams that are currently undeveloped for hydropower are capable of supplying electricity to the region, according to a 2006 report by the U.S. Department of Energy.

https://www.ctpost.com/connecticut/article/ct-hydropower-task-force-dam-closures-18527317.php?src=rdctplocal

The demolition of Watrous Nursing Home this week will make room for a three-lot subdivision on the 2.96-acre parcel, with lots ranging in price from $775,000 to $795,000. The Planning & Zoning Commission had approved the plans, submitted by Mady Devel III LLC, at their meeting early spring 2023 for the development in a R-3, residential district. Mady Devel III purchased the property from Watrous Realty, LLC in September for $1.15 million. The lots can be purchased, and luxury homes built by Wesbuilt Modular, LLC or any other builder, according to Kacy Caviston, a partner with Mady Devel III and Webuilt Modular. The houses will be priced in the $2 million range, which includes the cost of the land, said Caviston. One lot will come off the market as soon as the property is cleared and ready for construction.

https://www.nhregister.com/shoreline/article/demo-madison-s-watrous-nursing-home-make-way-2-m-18524284.php?src=nhrhpdesecp

After proposed new regulations were derailed, Gov. Ned Lamont and the state legislature are now shining a spotlight on electric vehicles as they plot the future path for the state in a fast-moving industry that is already being driven by market forces. In the coming weeks and months, lawmakers will flesh out the details of a plan as they intend to take action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and smooth the transition away from gasoline-powered cars. Legislators have raised questions about costs, charging stations and infrastructure, among others. But for some legislators, a key issue is that the electric batteries sometimes catch on fire and have been difficult to extinguish. Electric car advocates, however, say that the fires are highly unusual and the batteries are less likely to catch on fire than conventional batteries. The problem, though, is extinguishing the blaze once it starts. Out of more than 3 million vehicles registered in Connecticut as of July 2023, only 36,000 were electric, according to state statistics.

CT has an electric car problem. Here’s what’s driving delays, debate and new economic inequality.

A Massachusetts-based company that manufacturers electric vehicle batteries is planning to build a factory in Bridgeport, with the help of $47.5 million in Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding from the U.S. Department of Energy. Nanoramic Laboratories plans to create 200 permanent jobs at the plant for the manufacturing of lithium iron phosphate battery electrodes for grid storage. Nanoramic Laboratories is owned by FastCap Ultracapacitors, based in Wakefield, Massachusetts. On Friday, Gov. Ned Lamont, other state officials and John Cooley, founder and chief products officer for Nanoramic Laboratories, announced the project at the University of Bridgeport’s Harrison Steans Advanced Manufacturing Center.

Mass. company to construct EV battery plant in Bridgeport, with help of $47.5M federal grant 

The University of Connecticut was one of four institutions to receive a grant from the Department of Energy to support their offshore wind power development program. According to a press release from UConn, the grant contributes $2.1 million to the project, which is expected to cost $3.7 million in total. The difference will be covered by industry partners such as Eversource, an energy company that partnered with UConn to create the Eversource Energy Center, which researches and develops technology for more reliable power. According to the press release, the main focus of the project is maximizing the grid capacity of the offshore wind farm with their current transmission lines. The project looks to accomplish their goal by utilizing dynamic line rating sensors to monitor the transmission lines of an offshore wind farm. The sensors will collect data such as wind speed and the line’s temperature. This data will ideally be used to ensure that wind farms are consistently operating at their maximum safe capacity.

UConn receives federal grant for offshore wind farm development project