Elected officials plan to discuss government incentives for Port Eastside LLC, a company looking to revitalize an area bordering the Connecticut River with mixed-use development. Mayor Mike Walsh announced earlier this month that he will leave his position in November to help organize the plan, named Port Eastside, without payment from any parties involved. Nicholas Michnevitz III, president of West Hartford-based MBH Architecture and a principal of Port Eastside LLC, said Tuesday night that he expects the project will see “hundreds of millions of dollars” of investments put into the area from a number of partners over five to eight years of work. Walsh said the Town Council has a number of potential incentives it could provide to Port Eastside LLC, but the best option would likely be an “improvement district” that would fund amenities using a portion of tax revenue generated by the new development.

https://www.ctpost.com/journalinquirer/article/east-hartford-riverside-founders-plaza-development-18193219.php?src=rdctprealestate

The future of Hartford-Brainard Airport was the subject of intense debate Thursday night — with Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin speaking up to make the case for transforming the site into something more valuable to the city. Experts hired by consultant BJF Planning outlined the economic and environmental factors affecting the marketability of the airport property, perched on dozens of feet of sand, gravy and silt deposited by the river and glaciers over the years and bordered by a water-treatment plant and a shuttered trash-burning plant. Presented were three scenarios: Keeping the airport open, closing one runway and redeveloping part of the site, or closing the airport down for a complete revamp of the property. The study under discussion Thursday night was commissioned by the Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD) after the state legislature passed a measure last year seeking “to assess the benefits and opportunity costs to Hartford and the state of the current and alternative uses of the Hartford Brainard Airport property.” DECD plans to submit the study’s findings by Oct. 15, 2023, to the legislature’s finance, revenue and bonding committee.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/business/article/hartford-brainard-airport-alternatives-debated-18196942.php

The Offshore Marine Service Association says it strongly supports the offshore wind industry. Many of its member companies are already working in it. Smith said this effort is about securing their future — decades of jobs and investments. The U.S. could need roughly 2,000 of the most powerful turbines to meet its goals to ramp up offshore wind to dramatically cut its use of fossil fuels to protect the atmosphere and reduce climate change. The Enforcer made several trips to where Danish energy company Ørsted is developing the South Fork Wind project with the utility Eversource. This will likely be the first U.S. commercial-scale wind farm to open. Ørsted responded that 75% of the vessels supporting South Fork Wind’s offshore construction are U.S.-flagged, including barges, tugs, crew transport vessels and fishing vessels that monitor for safety and marine mammals. But the larger U.S.-flagged offshore wind vessels aren’t built yet.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/american-boat-patrols-waters-around-new-offshore-18202239.php

Mayor Laura Hoydick’s proposed replacement for the old American Shakespeare Theater would feature about 500 to 550 seats, according to the architect who helped design the venue. The yet-to-be-approved concept for a black box theater, which Hoydick unveiled last month alongside a larger $11.5 million redevelopment of the riverside site off Elm Street, would be a much smaller venue than the historic 1,500-seat playhouse arsonists destroyed four years ago. In addition to the small theater, Hoydick is proposing to construct an open-air food court with food trucks and a music pavilion on the site. In a letter to council members, she said the project would be built in three stages, beginning with about $3 million in infrastructure improvements. The state has already set aside funds to help redevelop the property. The State Bond Commission voted last spring to award the town $3 million in grant money to kickstart the effort.

https://www.ctpost.com/news/article/stratford-details-plans-500-seat-theater-old-18196617.php?src=rdctpdensecp

The blighted property may soon see residential redevelopment after receiving a $200,000 grant from the state Department of Economic and Community Development. The town, in collaboration with the developer, Lee Properties of Haverhill, Mass., applied for the grant this spring to conduct environmental assessments on the property. The grant, one of 15 Municipal Brownfield Grants awarded by the state, will pay to determine the extent of remediation necessary to redevelop the 5.5-acre property into the The Mill at the Marina, a 58-unit apartment complex in the vacant half of the building. Conceptual designs for the property submitted to the planning department show a drastic transformation of the property, to include a pool, a potential bocce court and putting green, two outdoor kitchens with dining areas and a dog park.

https://www.theday.com/local-news/20230712/grant-may-lead-to-redevelopment-of-pawcatuck-mill-into-58-apartments/

A $2.85 million project to rehabilitate the Union Pond Dam is scheduled to begin on Monday and last until November 2024. When construction begins, the parking lot at the west end of the pond off Union Street will be closed, but the road itself will remain open. LaMalva said the work to be done includes structural concrete repairs and clearing of trees near its northern end. The pond will be lowered in September to allow the contractor’s equipment to access the side of the dam bordering the pond. The town received five responses after opening the project to bids in April, ultimately selecting the lowest bidder, Massachusetts-based New England Infrastructure Inc.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/journalinquirer/article/manchester-union-dam-repairs-18196504.php

Members of the Central Middle School building committee are waiting for a revised cost estimate from the architects and construction manager team. The project’s start date has also been delayed by several months. Tony Turner, chairperson, said these are preliminary and may change once SLAM Collaborative, the project architects, and Turner Construction, the project construction manager, present revised cost estimates by July 31. Turner was one of those presenting at Wednesday’s meeting, with others including members of SLAM; a representative from Construction Solutions Group and someone from Turner Construction. Turner said that the project is entering the municipal improvement process, with the first step being that the project will be on the Planning and Zoning committee’s agenda on Tuesday and that this process “will go on for several months.”

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/education/article/greenwich-central-middle-school-18197001.php

Construction of a new boutique hotel has begun on the grounds of Mystic Seaport Museum on the site of the former Latitude 41 restaurant. Work began on the site of the future Delamar Mystic Hotel in March with the demolition of Latitude 41 and the Shipyard Tavern by Mystic Seaport, and construction began last month, after the site was handed over to Greenwich Hospitality Group. Delamar Hotels are owned and operated by the Greenwich Hospitality Group, and the project, being completed in conjunction with Clearview Investment Management, was approved by the Stonington Planning and Zoning Commission in 2020, however work was delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

https://www.theday.com/local-news/20230713/construction-begins-on-mystic-seaport-boutique-hotel/

The city’s Inland Wetlands & Watercourses Commission voted unanimously to issue a permit for the river crossing needed for a gas line and fuel cell project near Weaver High School. The Connecticut Natural Gas Co. project is intended to serve a University of Hartford fuel cell. While the plan had called for a gas line to run under the school, CNG officials said that they would tie into the pre-existing gas line on Weaver High School’s property, but would not run it underneath the building. According to information presented about the project, the Hartford City Council in September 2022 approved an easement to allow CNG to extend an existing pipeline on the Weaver High School property. The line also provides gas service to the school building. The existing pipeline also runs through the adjacent neighborhood to provide service to homes, according to the presentation. The pipe would convey gas to power a 1.84 MW fuel cell for electricity generation at the university, according to the presentation.

Hartford commission OKs river crossing permit for controversial fuel cell project

As the Carrier Companies kicked off construction of a 104-unit apartment complex downtown, contractors were erecting structural steel for Wheeler Health’s new headquarters across Hope Street and other crews were working on the $33 million city hall renovation on the other side of North Main Street. The family-owned Carrier Companies’ groundbreaking for Centre Square Village marks the third and final major redevelopment job at the long-blighted mall property. Caggiano said Centre Square Village, which will include more than 15,000 square feet of restaurant and retail space, completes the goal of making Bristol a “work, live and play” city. Howard Schmelder, vice chair of the city’s economic development commission, said he wasn’t sure he’d live long enough to see the property become vibrant again.

Bristol mayor proclaims ‘hottest construction season ever in downtown’ with Wheeler Health, Carrier buildings under way