City school system officials are proposing to build two new schools to replace a handful of aging buildings, including a $125 million pre-K-8 school and a $75 million center for special education. Jorge Garcia, the district’s chief operations officer, said the elementary school would be built at the site of the old Harding High School and serve students who currently attend Beardsley, Edison and Hall schools. Garcia said the proposals were based on recommendations included in a recent facilities study that urged the district to shutter seven school buildings, construct four new ones and perform major renovations on eight others. Garcia described the proposed elementary school as a state-of-the-art facility. He said that unlike older schools, the new one would be fully compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act and feature air conditioning and proper ventilation.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/education/article/bridgeport-new-school-buildings-20317700.php

After years of delays, state transportation officials are reviving plans to overhaul the 75-year-old Heroes Tunnel on the Wilbur Cross Parkway. The long-overdue project would bring much-needed upgrades to the busy tunnel, which carries about 74,000 vehicles per day through West Rock Ridge in New Haven, according to the state Department of Transportation. This week, DOT officials met with leaders from New Haven, Woodbridge and Hamden to update them on the project, agency spokesperson Josh Morgan said in an email. The meeting covered the tunnel’s current condition and the proposed scope of work, which the state estimates will cost about $150 million and begin in 2028, he said. According to the slideshow, the project will include structural repairs to the tunnel liners, which typically are made of steel or concrete and provide stability and support. Plans also call for improved ventilation and fire protection systems, enhanced lighting and new signage to guide both drivers and pedestrians.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/ct-heroes-tunnel-2028-upgrade-wilbur-cross-parkway-20318936.php

Pfizer plans to demolish a vacant 80,000-square foot facility, the Building 185 Complex, on its western campus at 445 Eastern Point Road. Pfizer said in a statement that the building is obsolete and serves no further useful purpose, with demolition planned for later this year. Fuss & O’Neill representatives wrote in the application that despite a year of marketing the building complex, it “has failed to attract interest due to its limited market appeal and lack of operational purpose,” and demolition is the only viable option. “Renovation is not a practical solution, as the building’s constrained size and location cannot accommodate the extensive upgrades required to meet Pfizer’s current campus needs,” they wrote. Pfizer said once the administrative filings are complete, the Groton property will be restricted to commercial or industrial use. Pfizer said that if a future owner wants to release those restrictions, the state would require additional remediation to meet the standards for residential or unrestricted use of the property.

https://theday.com/news/740160/pfizer-plans-to-demolish-obsolete-building-complex-in-groton-city/

Tilcon Connecticut has temporarily withdrawn its application for a zone change needed to expand one of its quarries. The construction company currently has about half of its 468-acre operation in the northeast part of town and is looking to expand by 83 acres, according to the April 8 Planning and Zoning Commission meeting minutes. The company’s primary material is basalt which comes out of the two quarries in town, including on the south side of New Britain Avenue, said Tom Daly of SLR Consulting, at the April 8 meeting. Tilcon sent a May 6 letter to the Planning and Zoning Commission to “formally withdraw, without prejudice, the Tilcon Connecticut application.”

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/recordjournal/article/plainville-tilcon-quarry-expansion-ct-20314920.php

Less than a year after the groundbreaking on a $5.1 million storm drainage improvements project, the state-funded work to address flooding in a Norwalk neighborhood is almost halfway to the finish line, city officials say. “We’re about close to 50% done,” said Vanessa Valadares, Norwalk’s chief of operations and public works, on the project to improve the Heather Lane and Lockwood Lane area. “We started this project last year in September, and we’re going to be finishing by December.” The project, which started on Lockwood Lane and will end on Katy Lane, involves installing 55 catch basins and 32 manholes, replacing pipes and disconnecting the neighborhood’s combined stormwater sewer system. The city received $5.1 million in state funding in October 2023 to address the flooding issues, and it broke ground for the project last July. Of $5.1 million, a total of $3.7 million is for construction work while the remaining funds were for design, inspection and contingency costs, according to Valadares.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/norwalk-heather-lane-drainage-flooding-project-20310311.php

A month after the federal government announced it is eliminating a grant program needed to fund a years-in-the-making South End anti-flooding project, state officials overseeing that massive infrastructure effort are still awaiting further details. In response to the water damage Superstorm Sandy wrought on the coastal South End over 12 years ago, the Resilient Bridgeport infrastructure initiative was launched with an initial $40 million in federal aid, and was set to receive an additional $47.5 million. That latter amount is the money currently in jeopardy. The extensive plan, which officials say is some 90 percent designed, calls for installation of a storm water pump station, flood walls and street elevations to protect lives and property, and also enable revitalization of the diverse, lower-income neighborhood. The area includes old industrial sites, electrical infrastructure, homes and apartment buildings, the University of Bridgeport’s campus and a major attraction in Seaside Park.

https://www-ctpost-com.translate.goog/news/article/bridgeport-flooding-fema-trump-federal-aid-20306627.php?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=wapp&_x_tr_hist=true

The town will hold a referendum on Tuesday to decide whether to add $8.1 million to the budget to transform the former Academy School building into a community center. That’s 50% more than the cost of the project approved in 2022, and some critics say they expect the final cost will be even higher. Arcari argued that he had followed the current International Building Code standards, on which the Connecticut state building code is based. According to Arcari’s criteria, the project was a “level 2 alteration,” meaning it did not involve a change of more than 50% of the original building’s footprint and therefore did not require upgrading the entire building to comply with energy efficiency regulations for new construction. “There’s been a little bit of a disagreement between the building official and the architect about what part of the code applies to what part of the renovation,” Lyons said. “We’ll go to the state to appeal to waive certain things.” Lyons clarified that the project had a contingency fund of 8% of the project cost, slightly more than $1.5 million.

Madison Votes on Adding 50% to Community Center Budget, Critics Say Cost Will Be Higher

The 80-acre property is seen as promising for future redevelopment — given its location on the river — and now, so are more than an estimated 1,000 acres to the south and west that all could become part of a massive, new redevelopment district in Hartford’s gritty South Meadows. The district, part of a bill in the legislature this session, would include a wide swath of land between the Connecticut River and Wethersfield Avenue, taking in not only the trash-to-energy plant but also the Connecticut Regional Market and Hartford-Brainard Airport. The proposal for the new development district was tacked onto a bill that seeks to transfer control of the trash-to-energy plant to the Capital Region Development Authority to guide its future redevelopment. Closing an airport requires the approval of the General Assembly and the backing of the Federal Aviation Administration. If approved, a closure could take years. A $1.5 million legislative study last year recommended keeping the airport open, but it did outline possible alternatives should the decision be made to close it.

Hopes are high for redevelopment of CT trash-to-energy plant. Now 1,000 acres are being looked at

In 2021, in response to concerns about underrepresentation of minority businesses and the alleged presence of “front businesses” taking advantage of the system, the legislature commissioned a study examining whether state contracts were being awarded fairly. Last December, the results of that study were published — and they largely validated the concerns minority contractors have raised for years. Office of Policy and Management Secretary Jeff Beckham said the state needed better data collection in order to comply with the bill’s requirements, and DAS Commissioner Michelle Gilman questioned what would happen if available contractors did not bid on the contracts. Gilman also noted that requiring CHRO to set goals for each project without a clear timeline could stall projects. Minority contractors say they operate within a system that favors larger, established firms over theirs. That disadvantage is present in every step of the process, from bidding to purchasing materials, they say.

Minority contractors say CT not following its own rules, proposed fix doesn’t go far enough

After three years of eager anticipation, online retail giant Amazon is on its way to delivering on a towering and massive state-of-the-art warehouse and distribution center to Waterbury and Naugatuck. With the logistics hub, Amazon is also expected to bring the equivalent of up to 1,000 full-time jobs to a part of the state with the highest regional rate of unemployment. The construction of the five-story, 3.2 million-square-foot building is additionally anticipated to create 300 construction jobs. No construction timetable has been announced yet. The project developer has three years to complete construction under its contract, but can request two extensions totaling 18 months. Waterbury and Naugatuck officials have been advised Amazon is looking to have the fulfillment center up and running in 2027.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/waterbury/article/waterbury-naugatuck-ct-amazon-fulfillment-center-20290737.php