Connecticut and the Northeast came up losers Friday in the high-stakes competition for regional hydrogen hubs — part of the Biden administration’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law’s focus on hydrogen as an important clean energy source to fight climate change. A seven-state consortium led by New York and including Connecticut and the rest of New England except New Hampshire, plus New Jersey, were not among seven hubs selected to share $7 billion. The Biden administration estimates the hubs will catalyze another $40 billion in private investment and create tens of thousands of jobs. The decision is especially disappointing for Connecticut. The state has a decades-long history with hydrogen, a necessary component of its well-known and regarded fuel cell industry. FuelCell Energy is headquartered in Danbury, and there are expertise hubs at the Connecticut Center for Advanced Technology (CCAT) and the University of Connecticut. Hydrogen in something like a fuel cell is part of a clean electrochemical — not combustion — process that produces electricity and leaves only water and heat behind, no greenhouse gasses. To that end, the Biden administration, governors and legislatures like those in Connecticut have viewed hydrogen not far below solar and wind for how to lower the greenhouse gas emissions.

No hydrogen hub for CT and the Northeast

Construction has resumed at 188 Lafayette St., the site of a June 2 partial collapse of a seven-story, 112-unit apartment building under construction. Involving more than 4 million pounds of concrete, the collapse injured eight workers, two critically. An investigation by the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration is continuing and no information or reports have yet been released, said Edmund Fitzgerald, a spokesman in OSHA’s Boston office. Lenny Alvarez, principal of Seven Concrete, LLC of Orange, the non-union concrete subcontractor that OSHA is investigating, declined to comment. Workers were pouring more than 4 million pounds of concrete when a building under construction on Lafayette Street collapsed Friday, injuring eight, Fontana previously said. The building is owned by RMS Companies. and is on land owned by Yale University, Mayor Justin Elicker said at the time of the collapse.

https://www.nhregister.com/news/article/new-haven-lafayette-street-construction-collapse-18410315.php?src=nhrhpdesecp

But with the most concrete proposal for the property on the table — West Hartford 1 LLC wants to turn the former college campus into a mixed-use residential and retail development featuring 620 units of housing, a grocery store, a restaurant and more — a decision on the site’s future is looming. It’s been one year since the developers first proposed their plans for the deserted site and there are hurdles yet to clear, including an upcoming Town Planning and Zoning and Inland Wetlands and Watercourse Agency meeting, future public hearings and Town Council debate, before a plan is finalized and shovels on what developers are calling Oakwood Park can go in the ground. Plans have morphed since they were first proposed in October 2022, when the developers pitched the general concept it has landed on today: a “neighborhood” type village that combines multifamily housing with retail, restaurants, and more. In the year since, developers have appeared at numerous Design Review Advisory Committee meetings, using feedback to shape designs to where they stand now — 620 units of housing split between apartments, townhouses, and assisted living, all existing alongside space for retail, a restaurant, a grocery store, a cafe, and more.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/westhartford/article/west-hartford-uconn-campus-housing-development-18416985.php

Checked luggage is now screened by large machines adjacent to the ticket counters for the airlines that fly out of Bradley. Travelers get their boarding passes, have their suitcases weighed, and then take them to the station where U.S. Transportation Security Administration officers feed the luggage into the large Computer Tomography X-ray machines for screening. Once construction of the new screening building is completed, passengers will simply hand their checked bags to the ticketing agent who will tag and place them on a conveyer belt for routing through the new facility. That will involve the use of over one mile of conveyer belt systems, airport officials say. By moving the baggage function from the front of the terminal building to the air side, Sisic said, it allows for the future construction of new gates and concession space. The relocations will result in a net increase of two new boarding gates at the airport, she said.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/business/article/ct-bradley-airport-bag-screening-facility-18407997.php

The City Council on Monday is slated to discuss and possibly award a nearly $5 million contract to a Stratford-based company to conduct the first phase of a long-awaited residential drinking water line replacement project. Councilors are being asked to approve a $4.94 million contract with the Burns Construction Company for the removal and replacement of approximately 600 lead-lined water pipes in the northern and downtown areas of the city. The lines will be simultaneously replaced with copper-lined versions, part of an overall $32 million, multi-phase plan to eventually replace 3,300 such pipes across the city. The Burns company, which submitted the lowest project bid, was selected as the preferred bidder by the city’s Water & Water Pollution Control Authority and project consultant Arcadis. In addition to the Burns application, the city received three other project bids: $5.3 million from the Wiese Construction Company; $5.8 million from Gerber Construction; and $10 million from the C.J. Fucci firm, according to an Arcadis memorandum.

https://www.theday.com/local-news/20231014/new-london-to-select-firm-for-residential-lead-pipe-replacement-project/

With a court challenge settled, Massachusetts developer Winstanley Enterprises plans to launch construction of an 819,000-square-foot warehouse in Enfield early in 2024. Winstanley plans to partner with Kansas City-based NorthPoint Development on the roughly $135 million project, at 35 Bacon Road, which will be undertaken on speculation. Area residents concerned about potential impacts to two adjacent lakes filed court challenges. Winstanley announced this week a settlement had been reached with neighbors that will allow the project to go forward in the first quarter of 2024. Winstanley said the project is likely to result in more than $1 million in annual tax revenue for the town and would support more than 400 construction jobs. The number of permanent jobs will depend on the eventual tenants, he said.

Winstanley targets early 2024 launch of $135M Enfield warehouse project

Manchester officials will be joined by Friar Architects and HMB Architects, firms selected to design the new building by a town committee in August. At the time, the project was expected to be completed in late 2025. Voters have already approved up to $39 million in bonding to construct a 75,000-square-foot library at the site of the Webster Bank branch at 1041 Main St., and to make repairs to the existing Mary Cheney Library at 586 Main St. to facilitate reuse of the building. In August 2022, the Board of Directors unanimously approved sending to a referendum vote the bonding of $39 million for the plan. Voters overwhelmingly approved the measure, 11,511 to 6,670, in a November 2022 referendum.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/journalinquirer/article/manchester-ct-library-public-talks-architect-18421964.php

The work continues on the new $50 million Fairfield County hub for Hartford HealthCare as leaders celebrated by breaking ground on the second phase of the project. Formerly a Lillian August furniture store, the health-care hub will be built on the 4.16-acre property near Route 1. Plans for the redevelopment were approved by the Planning and Zoning Commission in the fall of 2022. The new flagship location is part of Hartford HealthCare’s expansion into Fairfield County. Since 2021, it has opened more than 50 new locations and hired 250 staff members. The project is expected to be complete in the spring of 2024.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/hartford-healthcare-norwalk-hub-phase-two-18417629.php

Nearly a year after voters rejected a $17 million upgrade to sports facilities at Southington High School, the state has committed partial funding for athletic field reconstruction, allocating $500,000 that will be matched by $206,663 in town funds. The state money comes in the form of Small Town Economic Assistance Program (STEAP) grants, and is specifically designated for “infrastructure improvements, such as road safety reconstruction projects, sewer and drainage upgrades, sidewalk and pedestrian safety enhancements, recreational facility upgrades, and other kinds of capital improvement projects,” Gov. Ned Lamont said in a Sept. 29 statement announcing the funding. Southington officials had sought approval to allocate nearly $17 million toward gradual improvements to the SHS sports fields over the next three to four years, but 10,761 residents, 54% of the overall vote, opposed the proposal.

https://www.myrecordjournal.com/News/Southington/Southington-News/State-money-approved-for-projects-in-Southington-Cheshire.html

Early estimates to rebuild River Road, part of which collapsed into the Housatonic River late last month due to flooding, are between $10 million and $20 million, and possibly higher, town officials say. First Selectman Jeffrey A. Manville was forced to close the road indefinitely Oct. 5 after a 200-foot section of the southbound lane washed away, sliding down a steep cliff and into the river due to record rainfall. Engineers are now determining what steps are needed to fix the road and whether larger sections also need rebuilding. Manville said the town’s public works department has been addressing River Road for years, including drainage issues and paving.

https://www.rep-am.com/localnews/2023/10/12/river-road-repairs-costly-in-southbury/