With development continuing to boom in New Haven, 166 new market-rate housing units will be coming just a block off the Green, with CA Ventures LLC’s two new mixed-use residential buildings at 808 and 848 Chapel St. The buildings, which the developers have dubbed “The Archive,” are on the long-vacant former site of the Kresge store that once served the city on the south side of Chapel Street between Church and Orange streets. “Our team has worked tirelessly for more than two years” to get the project moving, said Sarah Maxson, an Atlanta-based new development specialist for CA Ventures, which is based in Chicago. The project was designed by Ken Boroson Architects of New Haven.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/two-new-buildings-bring-160-apartments-downtown-17908926.php

The project, known as The Legacy on Main has already been through the land use wringer once, gaining permission last week from the city’s wetlands commission. Blueprints call for the conversion of the existing five-story office building into studio and one-bedroom units, and the construction of a 70-foot apartment building in the parking lot with more studios and one-bedroom apartments. A small percentage of two-bedroom apartments would be distributed between the two buildings. The trouble started when Balskus presented data showing a net reduction in peak traffic counts for the new apartments, compared to the office use today. Beecher concluded his presentation by suggesting projects such as The Legacy were downtown Danbury’s future.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/danbury-legacy-apartments-main-street-traffic-17908220.php

The legislative Appropriations Committee on Tuesday approved $2.1 million for the school as part of the state budget proposal that will be reviewed by legislators and the governor. This would be Norwalk’s second charter school. “The city of Norwalk is going to be undergoing a comprehensive school construction process for all of our public schools,” Duff said. “The city is in the midst of building a new South Norwalk school. But there is certainly always room for more educational opportunities for our students in Norwalk.” Norwalk Excellence proposed a prekindergarten through fifth grade school, “with a potential request for expansion to include a middle school model upon renewal,” according to its application.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/education/article/norwalk-charter-school-funding-17906952.php

A Minnesota-based company is working with a Connecticut developer to create a sprawling biotech and life sciences park in Branford on a 120-acre site off the Exit 56 interchange, town and company officials announced Thursday. Plans for the project were jointly announced by town officials and developers Minnesota-based Ryan Companies and Henrich Partners LLC of Stamford. The project is being developed on land that includes the former Bittersweet Farm and is owned by Hamden-based Belfonti Companies LLC and A. Secondino & Son of Branford. Branford is one of the communities that has benefited from the New Haven area’s emergence as a biotech hub over the past three decades because of its proximity to the Elm City and the fact the town has hosted biotech companies for much of that time.

https://www.ctinsider.com/business/article/plans-announced-for-branford-biotech-park-17907693.php

Work started recently to transform the former 3M office building at 100 Barnes Road into the town’s new police station. The town paid $1.8 million for the almost 10-acre property in July 2021. As an office building, it included a gym, a conference facility and a cafeteria. The total bonded for the purchase was $3.3 million, which included architectural and engineering design studies on the renovation. When completed, the department will move into the new space, vacating its current home in the old Armory building at 135 North Main St. In January, the Town Council approved $34 million in bonding, which included the initial $3.3 million for the building, for the project. Initially, before the pandemic, that cost was estimated to be about $24 million, but over the last several years prices have skyrocketed due to supply chain issues, as well as gas price increases due to domestic supply issues and the Ukraine war.

https://www.myrecordjournal.com/News/Wallingford/Wallingford-News/Work-starts-on-new-Wallingford-Police-station.html

Yonkers Contracting Company Inc. started work on the Connecticut Department of Transportation’s (CTDOT) $77.2 million, design-build Stamford Station Parking Garage project in September 2021 to provide additional parking via a new facility and to improve services at the train station. The project is expected to be delivered this August. Development of the design-build project, via Walker Consultants, began in June 2021. With six months to go to completion, the location of the work site remains a challenge. Peak days have approximately 50 people on site, with major subcontractors being McPhee Electric for all the electrical work, MJ Daly for the plumbing and HVAC work and Blakeslee for precasting and erecting the garage structure.

https://www.constructionequipmentguide.com/yonkers-contracting-leads-77m-project-to-replace-stamford-parking-garage/60887

A planned $14-million redevelopment spearheaded by Hartford-based Lexington Partners will transform the building into a 20-room boutique hotel. Under the plan, the main second-floor courtroom will be converted into an upscale restaurant, accentuated by a rooftop lounge overlooking a portion of the town center and wooded hills beyond. With all needed approvals in hand, Lexington anticipates finalizing the purchase this month and beginning a 15-month renovation in May. The project is relying on $3 million worth of state and federal historic tax credits, in addition to $2 million in Connecticut Green Bank C-PACE financing for energy efficient building technology. Massachusetts-based PeoplesBank is loaning $7.5 million.

Hartford developer takes on transformation of antique Litchfield courthouse into boutique hotel

The property has been owned since 2018 under a limited liability company controlled by Senior Living Development, whose principal Mark De Pecol is CEO of KindCare Assisted Living based in Fairfield. Senior Living Development acquired the property for just under $3.3 million, with the city’s most recent appraisal calculating a value of $3.9 million. Trumbull’s head of economic development said the conversion remains an “outstanding” option for Trumbull, of the mix of possible options to redevelop the property. Trumbull has added several senior living communities in recent years as part of a larger apartment boom, with facilities including Bridges by Epoch at Trumbull, Middlebrook Farms at Trumbull, River Valley Retirement Community and Spring Meadows by Monarch. In January, the town renewed a moratorium on new apartments to analyze any impact by the Residences on Main nearing completion next to the Westfield Trumbull mall.

https://www.ctpost.com/business/article/ct-trumbull-dinardo-senior-living-48-monroe-17903472.php?src=rdctpbusiness

Danbury brothers Scott and David Benincasa’s site plan application to construct a four-story, $2.3 million apartment building on the property at 25 Church St. was approved at the Zoning Commission’s April 11 meeting. The proposed apartment building will have 18 units — six of which will be designated as affordable housing units, according to the site plan application. The Benincasas applied through the state statute 8-30g, which allows developers to bypass local zoning laws — with certain exceptions — if they promise to build a certain percentage of affordable housing. The demolition’s estimated cost is $10,000 while the estimated cost of the apartment building’s construction is $2.3 million.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/new-milford-apartments-danbury-brothers-17901714.php

City officials are prepared to initiate work on the long-awaited project to raise Beach Street 11 feet above sea level — a project expected to make way for more development along that stretch of the city’s beach — following the approval of a $4.8 million construction contract by a state oversight board. The raising of the road initially was projected to be finished in fall 2022, but lagging response times between the city and the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection delayed the start of the project. During the permitting process, DEEP officials found a protected species of grass in the area that required a protection and relocation plan, further pushing back the road raising start date.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/west-haven-prepares-long-awaited-approved-beach-17901391.php