After months of delays caused by environmental issues, the developers of the luxury apartment project at the Steelpointe site are now aiming to break ground on the first phase in around 50 days. As reported in early January, the Christophs had hoped construction would already have been well-underway. But things got complicated after it was determined the site, the former location of a steel works and electrical substation, had more ground pollution problems than initially anticipated. The overall goal is to build 1,500 luxury apartments in all. Phase one involves 400 and is estimated to take two years to complete, though Christoph said tenants might be able to move in in stages as the units are finished. “It’s going to be exciting,” Christoph said. “It’s going to be another great year to show off Bridgeport’s waterfront.”

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/steelpointe-luxury-apartment-project-passes-18137492.php

Connecticut taxpayers could cover up to $80 million in renovation costs for the XL Center arena in downtown Hartford under the budget deal struck by Gov. Ned Lamont and legislative leaders this week. Among the multitude of provisions in the budget compromise is the outline of a deal that would see Los Angeles-based entertainment and events company Oak View Group bear at least $20 million in XL Center renovation costs in return for a long-term agreement to manage the roughly 15,500-seat sports and entertainment venue. The CRDA – a quasi-governmental agency responsible for economic development initiatives in Hartford and East Hartford – manages the XL on behalf of the city of Hartford. The facility currently runs at a roughly $2.5 million to $4 million deficit yearly, which is covered by the state. Backers say the XL Center is needed to promote vibrancy in Hartford, and pays dividends in extra demand at restaurants, hotels and other nearby businesses. CRDA leaders believe renovations to make the building a more attractive and economical venue for performers could see it turn a profit.

Lamont budget deal pledges up to $80M for XL Center renovations

The House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved a $51.1 billion biennial budget early Tuesday morning that features a broad-based state income tax cut and dramatically boosts funding to local school districts. The package, which passed 139-12 with strong bipartisan support following a nearly three-hour debate that began late Monday, now heads to the Senate, which also is expected to approve the budget before the regular 2023 legislative session adjourns at midnight Wednesday. “We think there’s lot of good things in there,” House Speaker Matt Ritter, D-Hartford, said of the overall budget, which negotiators for the legislature and Lamont administration finished crafting this past weekend. “Look, do I wish we could spend a couple of hundred million dollars more? Yes, I do. I think that’s where our caucus was,” Ritter said. But he quickly added that would have forced a much larger effort to work around the spending cap and praised Democrats for compromising on this issue to ensure support from Lamont, other fiscally moderate Democrats and the GOP.

CT House adopts $51B budget with big middle-class tax cut

Transportation planners and contractors in Connecticut are shoring up a section of this vital roadway in Norwalk. The cost of the project is expected to be $104 million. The venture began in the summer of 2022 and is expected to be completed by the end of 2024. The goal of the job is to improve safety on this busy thoroughfare. Yonkers Contracting plans to use an innovative procedure that will save time and improve safety by executing a “bridge slide.” The contractor and its team will build the I-95 bridge over Saugatuck Avenue in Westport, then slide the enormous structure into place in late summer. In addition to the innovative construction on the I-95 bridge over Saugatuck Avenue, the construction team will carry out repairs on bridges over Franklin Street and the Saugatuck River. For this part of the project, workers will replace expansion joints and install new standpipes on the bridges.

https://www.constructionequipmentguide.com/yonkers-contracting-to-perform-bridge-slide-on-i-95-in-conn/61322

Construction employment is on an upward path and that’s both good and bad. By extension, if jobs increase, so does the need for workers. And that’s the continued challenge for the industry: contractors are beating the bushes for skilled labor to meet their labor needs. Construction employment rose from April 2022 to April 2023 in 42 states and the District of Columbia. While the numbers declined in seven states, they held their own in Hawaii. For the month of April 2023, construction employment increased in 24 states and D.C. Hiring declined in 26 states. Washington added the most jobs over the month, at 4,300; Illinois added 2,700; Wisconsin, 2,600; and California, 2,100. The construction sector shed 9,000 jobs that month, the first decrease since January 2022. This happened even as the sector’s unemployment rate fell and total number of job openings in the sector hit a near-record high, according to AGC. Average hourly earnings for production and nonsupervisory employees in construction jumped by 6.7 percent over the year to $33.94 per hour.

https://www.constructionequipmentguide.com/construction-jobs-picture-looks-bright-but-where-are-the-workers/61298

Almeida and the New Haven Fire Department rescue company he oversees faced that challenge on Friday afternoon after an apartment building under construction on Lafayette Street partially collapsed. They moved fast, but carefully, amid danger to themselves to save the life of a laborer for an Orange-based company called Seven Concrete while helping to build the sixth new apartment complex rising on a former Urban Renewal-leveled asphalt stretch of the Hill neighborhood. They didn’t know much about the call they were responding to as Rivera steered toward the partial collapse at 188 Lafayette St., in the heart of the ​“Hill-to-Downtown” redevelopment area where builder Randy Salvatore has been erecting a mini-city of medical district-marketed apartment complexes under the banner of ​“City Crossing.” This latest building is slated to rise seven-stories with 112 apartments. Seven Concrete workers directed Almeida to a portable ladder rising to an upper deck they were pouring.

https://www.newhavenindependent.org/article/step_by_step_rescuers_dodged_danger_to_save_a_life_in_partial_building_collapse

Amid strong opposition from the public, members of the city’s Planning and Zoning Commission continued a public hearing regarding a special exception request to construct an 8,100-square-foot trucking terminal with 10 loading docks in a densely populated, residential area near Interstate 91. The plan calls for eight small, and two large, overhead bays and a 42-space parking lot to accommodate tractor-trailers and employees, Land Use Director Marek Kozikowski said Thursday. It would be built on wooded land, a portion of which would need to be cleared. The project received approval at the May 3 Inland Wetlands & Watercourses Agency meeting.

https://www.middletownpress.com/news/article/middletown-homeowners-turn-droves-oppose-truck-18131832.php

Local, state and federal officials gathered in Waterbury Monday morning to celebrate $8.8 million in brownfield cleanup funds for Connecticut. Waterbury is pushing hard to cross properties off its list of brownfields. The 12-year-administration of Mayor Neil O’Leary has succeeded in pulling in tens-of-millions of dollars in state and federal cleanup grants. Speakers emphasized the need for continued investment in communities burdened by brownfields, in order to create opportunities. Several also focused on the magnitude of brownfields investment being pushed by lawmakers and President Biden. “To quote President Biden on occasion: ‘This is a big frigging deal,’” quipped U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn.

EPA announces $8.8M for CT brownfield cleanup efforts

An isolated corner of downtown Hartford that struggled for decades to be known for more than its dusty parking lots appeared finally to have something going for it: a popular minor league ballpark and brisk leasing of the first of as many as 1,000 apartments. The city and the original developer, who was fired from the project on city-owned land, must first battle in court over the termination and who has the right to develop the rest of the land around the ballpark. A trial is expected in April, 2024. Some argue the setback for North Crossing is only temporary — and should not be overblown or interpreted that all development is coming to a halt in Hartford. “It’s great when these things happen without a hiccup, but there is often a hiccup,” David Griggs, chief executive of the MetroHartford Alliance, the region’s chamber of commerce, said. “So I don’t want us to look at this as a systemic problem with either the way the city is operating or the way our development of our city and region is moving forward.”

Development near Hartford ballpark thrown major curve. Will lengthy delay hurt project’s momentum?

Built-out and pocked with abandoned buildings and tattered shopping plazas, East Hartford has long suffered from a lack of interest by developers in building anything new within its 18 square miles. With per-capita income among the state’s lowest at about $32,000, East Hartford’s residents face few choices when it comes to shopping, updated housing or amenities within town limits. But a surge of federal money from the American Rescue Plan Act, regional non-profits and the state has sped the demolition of structures that have sat derelict for decades, with the wrecking ball set to swing starting in the coming months. The state bond commission is expected to vote to authorize $11 million in funding at a scheduled meeting on June 26 that will allow for the demolition of three dilapidated buildings in and around Founders Plaza, an office park along the Connecticut River.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/business/article/east-hartford-development-rentschler-founders-18132685.php