The more than $3.6 million grant will be used to fine-tune the existing infrastructure and to install a wide-range of new equipment, including solar power systems, heat pumps and energy-efficient lighting, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. Officials have not yet announced which two schools will receive the upgrades, but could be an example for other schools. The release said they will “serve as demonstration sites for all 39 schools in the City of Bridgeport and for thousands nationwide.” The district is one of 24 school systems around the country that have been awarded a total of $178 million for energy improvements as part of the Renew America’s Schools Program’s first round of grant funding. Energy department officials said the investment will directly impact about 74,000 students and 5,000 teachers in nearly 100 schools.

https://www.ctpost.com/news/education/article/bridgeport-schools-aim-improve-air-quality-hvac-18194320.php

Construction is about 25% complete at Linden Place, a 44-unit, mixed-income housing complex in the historic Hillside neighborhood. The $13 million project, run by nonprofit affordable housing developer NeighborWorks New Horizons, is expected to be complete by June 2024, said Tom Cruess, the organization’s CEO. Linden Place will be for individuals and families earning between 25% and 100% of area median income, and will be deed-restricted as affordable housing for 40 years. He said before construction could begin, contaminated soils had to be remediated. Workers are still in the process of pouring a foundation on the west side of the property, while framing is expected to begin Monday on the east side, Cruess said. The city has funded past projects, but it did not directly fund Linden Place.

https://www.rep-am.com/localnews/2023/07/07/construction-advances-at-waterburys-hillside-neighborhood/

The Zoning Commission on June 21 approved a special permit for International Framers to develop two steel and metal one-story buildings, a 25,600-square-foot structure and a 10,200-square-foot building at 280 Elm St. The applicant will be required to provide the borough with a sediment and erosion control landscaping bond and present a landscaping plan and final architectural drawings. The business has a location at 258 Rubber Ave., the former Parks and Recreation Department office. International Framers is a commercial framing company. International Framers President Anthony Gallagher said one building would be for office space and the other for cold storage. Construction time is about three to four months and the plan is to build the bigger building first. The estimated cost of the development is $3 million, according to the site plan application.

https://www.rep-am.com/localnews/2023/07/09/construction-company-looks-to-expand-naugatuck-industrial-parks-neighbors-concerned-with-all-day-noise-level/

Whether it’s road construction on Interstate 95, Route 9, the Haddam swing bridge over the Connecticut River or a new railroad station in Windsor Locks, the state Department of Transportation has been out working on improvement projects — and holding up road and river traffic at times. Projects are largely financed with 80% federal funds unless otherwise noted, including money from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law signed in 2021. The latest rail station to be rebuilt is in Windsor Locks, serving Amtrak and the Hartford Line, and encouraging economic development in the area. “There’s a lot of redevelopment happening in Windsor Locks,” Morgan said. “They call it transit-oriented development or TOD, turning a lot of these old mills and factories along the river … into apartments, retail on the bottom floor, apartments on the upper floors. There is a new development right near this station.” The station is among a number being rehabilitated or built along the line between New Haven and Springfield, Mass.

CT DOT is working on roads, bridges, more. What you need to know about projects and highway closures

In an effort to jump-start development in three key areas in or near downtown Hartford, city officials want to establish various tax-fixing agreements they say will make it more attractive for developers to build mixed-use projects. Mayor Luke Bronin and the city council are considering tax-fixing agreements for future developments that occur at: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute’s former Hartford campus; existing buildings and empty parking lots near the Bushnell Theater; and a vacant parking lot in the Parkville neighborhood. Tax-fixing agreements are nothing new for the city of Hartford, which has one of the highest property tax rates in the state at 68.95 mills. Tax-fixing deals essentially give developers a temporary lower property-tax rate.

Hartford’s development strategy hinges on tax-fixing agreements

During a Board of Representatives meeting this week, Democratic city Rep. Megan Cottrell laid out a view of the development that has earned Stamford the moniker “fastest-growing city in Connecticut.” “The goal, for many, is to turn Stamford into a luxury place,” Cottrell said. “We are attracting affluent people from New York and surrounding areas, and pushing people out of Stamford. It’s a massive giveaway to the real estate industry, and we have to recognize that.” Development is at the core of a controversy that began last month, when Democratic Mayor Caroline Simmons, a former state representative, quietly launched a bill in Hartford to block Stamford from changing consequential zoning regulations in the city charter. The bill has been signed into law so, from now on, Stamford and all other Connecticut towns governed by charters, about 110 of them, cannot revise significant zoning regulations in their charters. They have to ask the state legislature to do it.

Stamford Democrats Question the Public Benefit of ‘Luxury’ Development

Director of Planning and Development David Corcoran said that the Economic Development Commission hired urban economics consulting firm Strategy 5 LLC to conduct an analysis of the town to explore the economic and fiscal impacts of additional multifamily housing after two multifamily projects were approved in recent years, the 83-unit College View Village behind Merrow Road and the 240-unit Fieldstone Ridge behind Big Y. The study found that Tolland businesses could expect to see between approximately $2.5 million and $5.8 million per year in expenditures from residents in new multifamily housing, with 15% of expenditure potential in the transportation sector and 50% in the food sector. It also found that the additional housing would make more construction jobs available, with wages between $47,000 to $62,000 per worker per year, based on the average construction wages in Connecticut from current data.

https://www.ctpost.com/journalinquirer/article/tolland-multifamily-housing-18185383.php#taboola-3

A plan to build a new air-traffic control tower for Hartford-Brainard Airport is up for review under a federal environmental report posted for public comment last week. The plan, drafted by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), proposes replacing Hartford-Brainard’s 1973-vintage tower with a more modern design including all-electric building systems, recycled steel and harmful-chemical-free materials. Hartford-Brainard was named earlier this year as one of 31 small airports nationwide targeted for upgrades under a $25 billion airport package in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law passed by Congress in 2021. Hundreds of small airports across the country operate with outdated air traffic control towers that don’t meet current safety and efficiency standards, the FAA said in its report.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/capitalregion/article/hartford-brainard-airport-new-tower-plan-review-18187012.php

The Planning and Zoning Commission unanimously approved applications for a luxury apartment building on South Shore Drive and a housing project on Strong Street. The Strong Street development will include 69 detached single-family homes on about 17 acres on Strong Street, project officials said. The units will not have an age restriction or affordable component. Autumn View LLC, the project’s developer, also received approval for a five-lot subdivision on Strong Street, bringing the total number of homes to 74. Officials estimated the project would take about three years to complete, with construction on the homes expected to begin as soon as possible. Prices for the homes have not yet been determined. Much like the 55-plus housing complex approved on Sperry Lane before it, the Strong Street project has gone through several iterations and been the subject of intense scrutiny over the years.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/east-haven-housing-strong-street-apartments-18186647.php

Democrats plan to nominate a candidate for mayor later this month after Mayor Mike Walsh announced Monday that he would not run again this year. Meanwhile, Walsh insists he’s not being paid for his new gig. Walsh announced this week he will leave office in November, along with his $106,000 salary, to serve as the organizer and “champion” of Port Eastside, a plan to redevelop Founders Plaza alongside other projects in East Hartford. “It is not a paid position, it’s not a job I’m taking,” Walsh said, adding that he would “not receive a penny” from any parties involved. Moriarty said it is unclear if anyone else will step forward before the Democratic Town Committee makes its nominations on July 20. Walsh planned to run for re-election earlier in the year, having hosted campaign events as recently as June 22. Walsh will have served as mayor for a single two-year term when he steps down on Nov. 13. He succeeded former Mayor Marcia Leclerc, who took office in January 2011 after then-Mayor Melody Currey resigned to take a position with the state.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/journalinquirer/article/east-hartford-mayor-election-founders-plaza-18186952.php