Motorists driving through Middletown on Wednesday and Thursday can expect road pattern changes downtown as part of the state Department of Transportation project to improve safety on routes 9 and 17. Union Street may be limited to alternating one-way traffic between Harbor Drive and deKoven Drive with some 10-minute closures for crews to remove the existing bridge steel overnight Aug. 6 to 8, the DOT said in a news release. The overall $50.4 million project includes installing a 1,000-foot, full-length acceleration lane for Route 17 northbound traffic to merge onto Route 9 north, and removing the Harbor Drive on-ramp to Route 9, it said. Retaining walls will be added on the west side of Route 9 to reduce potential impacts to wetlands and Harbor Park, according to the DOT. DOT advises drivers to be careful while in the work zone since there will be construction activity. The project was awarded to Middlesex Construction and is scheduled to be completed in 2027.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/route-9-project-bridge-middletown-ct-route-17-20797568.php

The State Bond Commission has approved $3.5 million for construction of a new indoor waiting room for the Metro-North Railroad station in the former Republican-American building in Waterbury. The funding is a part of a larger $20 million renovation of Waterbury Union Station that also will involve replacement of the existing platform and installation of a new ticket kiosk, upgraded security systems and an elevator. The $3.5 million was included in $1.6 billion in special tax obligation bonds that were approved Friday to finance various state Department of Transportation projects. The new waiting room on the south end of the former Republican-American building will be approximately 1,570 square feet and feature 21 seats, restrooms, water fountains and customer information displays, according to DOT plans.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/waterbury/article/waterbury-train-station-library-flood-funding-20798231.php

Plans for a 198-unit apartment building at 128 Broad Street were approved over two years ago by the Stamford Zoning Board, but the site has remained vacant since then. Now, the residential construction project is poised to begin construction, and a building permit is being issued for the building this summer. Several additional approvals necessary for the building permit, including a lighting plan and a landscaping plan, were granted by the Zoning Board last week. “It’s been two years,” said Michael Cacace, the attorney representing the development team, Stamford-based F.D. Rich Company. “You have have complicated site, and we spent the last two years dealing with a number of issues.” The development team has submitted a landscaping plan, a lighting plan and a design for the Gay Street underpass, which were required under the terms of the original approval. The Zoning Board had expressed an interest in making the underpass as well-lit as possible, and the design team said that goal was being met. The anticipated completion of the 13-story building is for spring 2027, according to the F.D. Rich Company.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/stamford-ct-apartments-broad-street-zoning-20796195.php

Deteriorating sections of a sprawling, World War II-era factory complex in New Britain will undergo a major renovation, thanks in part to a $2 million state brownfield grant aimed at advancing industrial redevelopment. The grant, awarded to the City of New Britain, will support an $8.5 million cleanup and renovation of roughly 123,000 square feet of long-vacant factory space in a five-building, 551,218-square-foot industrial complex that straddles the New Britain-Berlin town line. This $2 million grant helps make the next phase of cleanup financially feasible, Stuart Lichter, IRG founder and president, said Tuesday during a news conference held amid rusting beams and dry-rotted wood inside one of the buildings slated for renovation. Deputy Commissioner Matthew Pugliese of the state Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD) noted the broader impact of the state’s brownfield efforts, which have totaled $170 million in grants since the program began, resulting in the remediation of more than 2,200 acres of polluted land.

Sections of WWII-era plant in New Britain to be restored, repurposed with help of $2M state grant

After a failed attempt to convert the former MassMutual site into a sprawling sports complex fell through, new developers are detailing their early plans for the property, including a variety of new housing, and indoor and outdoor dining for both residents who would live there and the rest of the public. Developers floated their initial proposal to the Planning and Zoning Commission on July 24. The vision is to convert the property into a residential community that maintains and adds to the attributes that exist on the campus, said Eric Zuena, founding principle of ZDS Architecture and Interiors out of Washington, D.C., and Providence. He noted developers are proposing to carve out sections of the property into four separate lots to make zoning changes and financing easier to obtain.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/journalinquirer/article/ct-enfield-massmutual-mixed-use-development-20789734.php

There are 56 projects in Connecticut seeking a share in nearly $950 million. And an ambitious expansion plan for Hartford’s Real Art Ways that has been percolating for years could break ground later this year, with a key piece of financing all but assured to fall into place Friday when the commission that oversees state borrowing is expected to approve $4.5 million for the project. The State Bond Commission will convene Friday to consider funding RAW’s expansion, which is one of a half-dozen projects in Hartford backed by the Capital Region Development Authority. Once projects make it onto the bond commission agenda, they are virtually assured of approval. Will K. Wilkins, RAW’s executive director, said Wednesday the arts organization is in the final stages of raising the last $2 million for the project, which could start construction in the fall.

56 CT projects are vying for part of $950M. Major housing projects and an arts venue made the list.

The Mile Creek School renovation and addition is the major part of the Lyme/Old Lyme school district’s facilities project, a $57.5 million endeavor to improve heating, air conditioning and ventilation, handicapped accessibility, security at Center School, Mile Creek School and Lyme-Old Lyme Middle School, and to make the buildings comply with fire and building codes. Project documents state the schools haven’t been renovated in at least 20 years; they will accommodate anticipated growth in the student population from 1,300 in 2022 to almost 1,600 by 2031. The work at Mile Creek “is a different story,” according to Superintendent of Schools Ian Neviaser. He said Tuesday classrooms are being added to the rear of the building and the parking lot redone to address traffic concerns on Mile Creek Road during pick-up and drop-off. The parking lot won’t be completely done until the summer of 2026, but will be accessible when school starts Aug. 27, he added.

https://theday.com/news/771936/neighbors-grit-teeth-as-old-lyme-school-construction-hammers-on/

Before they left for their August break, Zoning Board members OK’d a general development plan for tearing down the two remaining St. John’s Towers on Tresser Boulevard and replacing them with 305 affordable apartments. Board members approved lighting, landscaping and a street extension that will allow F.D. Rich Co. to get its building permit and begin constructing a 198-unit residential tower on Broad Street downtown. Board members approved a developer’s plan to convert an old office building on Seaview Avenue in Shippan into a high-end complex of 55 “best in class” condominiums with water views. The draft, released in mid-July, recommends that the city build more housing because of continuing demand. It says the city should encourage development of “accessory dwelling units” – apartments added to single-family properties – by loosening zoning requirements. It recommends that Stamford officials “reduce regulatory barriers” so developers can build more “multiplexes, townhomes, and cluster housing to increase housing choice and affordability.”

Stamford Officials to Vote on Master Plan as Zoning Hums Along

With the state awarding $517,000 to install new trailside amenities, the long-imagined effort to connect Hartford and Windsor along the Connecticut River has taken another step toward becoming a reality. When completed, the Joe Marfuggi Riverwalk will feature a 12-foot-wide, paved multi-modal trail with six scenic overlooks at the river’s edge, connecting the main paved walkway to an existing single-track trail running along the top of the riverbank. The grant, through the state’s Open Space and Watershed Land Acquisition Grant Program and the Urban Green and Community Gardens Grant Program, will be used to add plantings, signage, and benches along the Connecticut River. Zaleski said final permitting is likely to take eight to 12 months and construction is expected to take about six months, with completion within two years.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/journalinquirer/article/riverfront-recapture-state-grant-windsor-hartford-20785836.php

The town is pursuing a proposal to renovate the athletic fields and facilities at Robert E. Fitch High School. The Town Council at its Committee of the Whole on Tuesday voted 7-1, with Councilor Juliette Parker opposed, to recommend the town bond $14.3 million for the design and construction of athletic fields to be voted on at the Aug. 5 Town Council meeting. It would then go the Representative Town Meeting on Aug. 13 and then to voters at a November referendum for final approval. The proposal would include the following Fitch High School facilities: track and field stadium renovation, including a synthetic multi-use field, eight-lane track with throwing and jumping facilities, grandstand with press box, lighting, public restrooms, concessions, ticketing, storage building, and parking and driveway, according to a town document. The $14.3 million in funding is the first of a four-phase, $60 million project to upgrade town and school fields.

https://theday.com/news/769339/groton-council-recommends-town-approve-143m-for-fitch-high-athletic-upgrades/