The Inland Wetlands, Watercourses and Conservation Commission is reviewing a plan by property owner Sammy Piotrkowski to create two development sites on the Norwich side of a 77-acre property Piotrkowski purchased last December that spans the border of Norwich and Franklin. Forty-six acres are off the dead-end Myrtle Drive in the Norwich business park. Norwich wetlands commission members walked the property last week and plan to discuss the proposed project at a special meeting at 7 p.m. Nov. 16 at the planning office, 23 Union St. At the Oct. 5 wetlands commission meeting, David McKay, a project engineer for Boundaries LLC, representing Piotrkowski, told the commission the project would involve clearing 18.6 acres of the Norwich property and grading it to create a 4-acre site behind St. Jude Commons senior residential facility and a 1.4-acre site behind the FedEx property. City Planner Dan Daniska said the commission will discuss the proposed development at the Nov. 16 meeting, but it’s uncertain whether the commission would be ready to vote on the application that night.

https://www.theday.com/local-news/20231030/developing-last-open-land-in-norwich-business-park-a-challenge/

The real estate investment and development firm has been one of the most active industrial developers north of Hartford since 2015, when it paid $12 million for Hallmark’s 1-million-square-foot distribution center and 324 associated acres in Enfield. In August, Winstanley paid $122.3 million for a 1-million-square-foot Windsor warehouse, at 200 Old Iron Ore Road, that hosts an Amazon fulfillment center under a long-term lease. In October, it paid $4.6 million for a 133.6-acre Enfield site, at 1679 King St., already approved for more than 600,000 square feet of logistics development. Days later, Winstanley announced it had settled a legal challenge brought by Enfield residents, which will allow it to build an 819,000-square-foot warehouse at the former Hallmark campus, on Bacon Road. Winstanley will partner with Kansas City-based NorthPoint Development on a roughly $135 million construction project at the Hallmark site, expected to launch early next year.

Winstanley’s latest buying, building spree shows faith in region’s active, but slowing industrial market

The Hartford City Council Monday swiftly approved paying nearly $10 million to end a 7-year court battle over the development of Dunkin’ Park and the land around it, clearing the way for further apartment construction, possibly beginning later this year. The backing of the city council came just days after Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin announced that the city had reached a $9.9 million settlement in which all sides in the court dispute agreed there would be no further litigation involving the city. Council members unanimously supported the settlement, with little comment because most of Monday’s meeting was held in executive session behind closed doors. The $9.9 million settlement calls for the city to pay that amount to Arch Insurance Co., the insurance company that financed the completion of the city’s minor league ballpark just north of downtown. Arch stepped in after the former developers — Centerplan and DoNo Hartford LLC — were fired by Bronin from the unfinished ballpark project in 2016, and a year later, the mixed-use development around the ballpark.

Legal battle over CT ballpark site ends with $10M settlement. Now comes the housing.

Following this week’s announced $9.9 million legal settlement related to the initial construction of Dunkin’ Park — a court case that has delayed development around the stadium — RMS Cos. CEO and President Randy Salvatore said he wants to shift more than $13 million in public funding recently diverted to a plan to buy and redevelop the nearby Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute campus in Hartford, back to development around the ballpark. Salvatore said he continues to negotiate an agreement to buy the 12.7-acre RPI campus on Windsor Street, a deal he hopes to close by the end of this year. CRDA Executive Director Michael Freimuth said shifting $13.6 million back to the next phase of the North Crossing would still leave $3 million to rebuild financing for the RPI project. Salvatore said that if and when he completes the RPI property purchase, he will immediately launch into an estimated six- to eight-month demolition of the campus.

With lawsuit settled, Salvatore wants to shift $13.6M in public assistance back to apartment development near Hartford’s Dunkin’ Park

For the next several months, machinery sounds emanating from 23 of 26 of those buildings bordering North, Prospect, North Elm and Norwood streets will be from heavy demolition equipment taking the buildings apart from the inside out. The demolition is being conducted by Manafort Brothers Inc. of Plainville. It will set the stage for “a brighter, more sustainable future that will bring fresh opportunities and prosperity to our community,” according to a press release from Rista Malanca, director of economic development for the City of Torrington. To help finance the estimated $4 million demolition project, a $2 million Brownfield Remediation Grant was allocated by the state Department of Economic and Community Development for Torrington Standard LLC, owner of the property at 70 North St.

https://www.registercitizen.com/news/article/torrington-co-standard-plant-demolition-ceremony-18453489.php#photo-24388073

Avangrid reported Thursday that in canceling its Park City Wind farm for Connecticut, it sidestepped more than $1 billion in write-offs as projected costs outstripped revenue it expected under a power purchase agreement with the state. Avangrid unilaterally pulled the plug on the Park City Wind farm several weeks ago, as the cost of construction outstripped revenue projections from a power purchase agreement with the state of Connecticut. The companies had aimed to start construction by 2026. Avangrid calculated a $181 million gain last year as a result of restructuring Park City Wind and a second project called Commonwealth Wind it tabled for Massachusetts, with the company paying termination fees for both projects this year. Avangrid’s third-quarter profits totaled $59 million.

https://www.sfgate.com/business/article/ct-avangrid-park-city-wind-energy-bridgeport-18449251.php

After months of delays and one final labor-related hold up, the newly-renovated State Pier in New London is set to begin work this weekend as a launching pad for offshore wind projects in the Atlantic Ocean. A barge laden with three gigantic blades — each weighing over 40 tons — along with tower sections and nacelle housing to complete the turbines, will set sail from the pier into the Thames River as early as Saturday, officials said, en route to the South Fork Wind site off the coast of Montauk on Long Island. Hammond said that roughly three-quarters of the site have been turned over to Gateway Terminal, which will manage activity at the pier over the next decade, including loading and unloading parts for offshore wind turbines.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/connecticut/article/ct-new-london-state-pier-offshore-wind-projects-18452698.php

Longshoremen went back to work at State Pier on Thursday, ending a three-day strike against Danish energy company Ørsted despite an unresolved dispute about work jurisdiction at the offshore wind hub. As a result, crews at State Pier on Friday were expected to continue work loading the 330-foot long wind turbine blades and accompanying wind turbine components onto an awaiting barge headed to the waters of Long Island, where Ørsted’s South Fork Wind project is located. About 30 longshoremen are performing work at State Pier side-by-side with contracted union members from the building trades. The issues that led to the strike and protests outside the gates of State Pier earlier this week, however, remain unresolved.

https://www.theday.com/local-news/20231027/longshoremen-back-at-work-at-state-pier/

With the impending start of construction of a new Norwalk High School, city building and facilities manager Alan Lo is explaining how the five-year project will unfold. Before construction begins on the project, which will start accepting bids in early November, the property line between Norwalk High School and Naramake Elementary School will be adjusted, Lo said. Moving the property line westward, cutting out some Naramake property, will allow construction of the new building for Norwalk High School on the existing Testa Field by February, when the five-year construction project is set to begin, Lo said. Lo pointed out that all residents will lose access to the property during construction, but he also said there will be no change in the elementary schoolers’ access to the Naramake ball field once the work is completed.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/education/article/norwalk-high-naramake-elementary-property-line-18437883.php

Despite some rainy weather, construction crews were able to replace the bridge carrying northbound traffic on Interstate 95 over Saugatuck Avenue some 14 hours ahead of schedule over the weekend. Josh Morgan, a spokesperson for the state Department of Transportation, said crews were able to start moving the pre-built bridge section into place more than two hours ahead of time on Saturday morning. Crews rely on heavy machinery for the demolition work, Morgan said, rather than demolition charges. The teardown “creates basically a big pile of rubble on the ground,” Morgan said. The system of rollers and hydraulic jacks will then slide the pre-built span into place on the highway. Workers are able to start sliding the new span home even as crews clean up the debris left by the old bridge, Morgan said. The technique is known as accelerated bridge construction, or ABC, which is aimed at reducing traffic impacts, delays due to weather and construction time during bridge replacements. Doing it this way does not add an additional cost, Morgan said.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/i-95-bridge-project-norwalk-westport-saugatuck-18442593.php?src=sthppromostrip