A developer envisions transforming the Webster Street parking lot into a nearly 500-unit apartment complex with a 1,100-space parking garage and retail space for stores. To that end, the community is invited to a “Webster Street Lot Listening Session” at which officials will gather input from the community. Local and community leaders will attend, along with Brian Bidolli, executive director of the Norwalk Redevelopment Agency. The meeting will be held from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 28, in the Community Room at the SoNo Library at 10 Washington St. The developer, construction firm Quarterra that was formerly known as LMC, will be in attendance to share its vision, which includes housing opportunities, retail spaces for businesses, additional parking and a new green space. Gov. Ned Lamont met with local and state leaders last month in Norwalk to promote the site’s development and cleanup plans, which carry a price tag of $250 million to $350 million.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/south-norwalk-webster-street-development-17852238.php

A Missouri-based company is proposing a 521,886-square-foot warehouse in Bloomfield on property that a construction company now uses for equipment storage and material stockpiling. NorthPoint Development LLC has applied for a special permit that would allow it construct the warehouse, with 118 loading docks, 206 trailer parking spaces and 361 car parking spaces. Northpoint, headquartered in Kansas City, submitted the application for a special permit on March 1. It previously received approval from the Inland Wetlands Commission. A public hearing is set for 7 p.m. Thursday before the town’s Planning and Zoning Commission. NorthPoint Development, a privately held real estate development firm specializing in industrial and multi-family development, is also moving forward with a nearly 750,000-square-foot distribution center inside Windsor’s Great Pond Village mixed-use development.

NorthPoint proposes 521,886-sq.-ft. warehouse in Bloomfield

A bill approved last week by the House Energy and Technology Committee charges the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection with developing a hydrogen strategic plan that encourages the use of hydrogen produced from renewable energy, and prioritizes its use in the sectors of the economy that are hardest to electrify. The department would also have to write regulations defining “clean hydrogen,” a process that will likely generate considerable debate. There is a growing consensus that clean hydrogen will have a major role to play in the shift to a clean energy economy. The U.S. Department of Energy plans to award up to $7 billion to establish six to 10 regional hydrogen hubs across the country for the production, processing, delivery, storage and end-use of clean hydrogen. Connecticut has applied to be part of a Northeast hub along with Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Maine, Rhode Island and New Hampshire.

https://energynews.us/2023/03/21/connecticut-needs-a-plan-and-a-definition-for-clean-hydrogen-stakeholders-say/

New York developer Avner Krohn said he expects to have tenants in his latest New Britain development in September. Krohn said construction on the $20 million-plus, 107-unit apartment building known as The Brit is continuing but interest in the development is high. There are, right now, 165 people on the waiting list that have yet to be vetted,” said Krohn, principal of Jasko Development. Krohn is also working simultaneously on developing The Highrailer, located at 283 Main St., adjacent to The Brit. The Highrailer was formerly home to Amato’s Toy & Hobby, a well-known toy store in the Hardware City. Krohn said the $25-million Highrailer project will be completed and ready for occupancy at the end of 2024. The Highrailer is currently under construction and will feature 114 housing units and retail space including 3,000 square feet for a to-be-determined restaurant. Both projects are being financed via private equity and bank loans.

Jasko Development moves forward with two New Britain projects

The State Historic Preservation Office, known as SHPO, is currently has oversight of the demolition and restoration of historic properties. But earlier this month, the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities lobbied for an appeals process on SHPO decisions, citing millions spent on litigation and remediation and arguing the need to balance historic preservation with economic development goals. If passed, HB 6756 would allow any municipality to appeal decisions made by the State Historic Preservation Officer regarding the renovation or rehabilitation of a historic property and force a hearing with the Department of Economic and Community Development. State and federal historic rehabilitation tax credits also help support economic development, McMahon said. Private developers earned a 25 percent tax credit for the restoration of certified historic structures through the Connecticut Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credit Program, and a 20 percent tax credit through the federal program.

Housing and Historic Preservation Advocates Clash Over Legislation Adding a Workaround for Demolitions

Crews are busy constructing a new bridge to replace the one over Saugatuck Avenue, a project that has been in the works for years. The work is part of a larger Interstate-95 improvement project between exits 16 and 17 along the Norwalk, Westport line to make it safer for drivers. The total cost for the project is about $104 million, with the Federal Highway Administration covering 90 percent and the state covering the other 10 percent, according to the project website. The work includes adding or reconstructing shoulders, replacing or rerouting drainage structures, adding better lighting and an incident management system, and installing new guide rails with wet reflective pavement markings to make it easier to see. The overall I-95 project will also repair the concrete decks of the bridges over Franklin Street and the Saugatuck River, as well as replace the expansion joints and install new standpipes, Burnham said.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/westport/article/saugatuck-bridge-i-95-repairs-westport-17843112.php

Yale University will build a new, 12,930-square-foot Chemical Safety Building near the existing one on Edwards Street, after getting approval from the City Plan Commission. The project is a part of the university’s larger plan to develop its Science Hill district and enable a construction of a new Physical Sciences and Engineering Building, which was described as “one of the largest facilities projects in university history.” Yale hopes to start the construction in fall, aiming for a spring 2025 completion, according to its application. The Physical Sciences and Engineering Building plan originally was announced in 2020. Yale signed a $365 million contract for the project with Turner Construction in 2022. The project is still in the preliminary design stage, with the first phase planned to start in about a year with a completion slated for 2029, according to Steve Brown, associate director for facilities planning administration.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/yale-chemical-safety-okd-part-of-science-hill-dev-17849535.php

The city is seeking $32.1 million in state grant funds to transform Long Wharf and enhance downtown, according to plans recently presented to New Haven alders. The city is seeking $32.1 million in state grant funds to transform Long Wharf and enhance downtown, according to plans recently presented to New Haven alders. The plans, which the city first began presenting publicly in 2021, call for the city to demolish the former Gateway building on Sargent Drive and replace it the new location of Gateway’s automotive trade school, which currently operates in North Haven. The project would redesign and raise Long Wharf Drive to make it more flood-resilient, build a community marina adjacent to the Canal Dock Boathouse and build a larger Long Wharf park that would be more pedestrian-friendly.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/city-seeks-32-1-million-state-grants-long-wharf-17850006.php

The proposed felling of more than 800 trees, the disturbance of wetlands on the Yale Golf Course and the construction of a temporary hauling road on the Yale Nature Preserve has brought objections from Westville residents as they seek a discussion with the university. Karen King, a spokesperson for Yale, said the work at the golf course is part of the annual culling of trees which had been suspended for three years because of the pandemic. The goal of the project is to restore the course to how it was almost a century ago, which includes the tees, greens, bunkers and fairways, as well as an extension of the length of the course to accommodate championship play. Work will also be done on golf cart path realignment and the driving range. A review of the work is currently before DEEP and the US Army Corps of Engineers. After that, it goes to the City Plan Commission for site plan, soil erosion and sediment control permitting. The renovation is proposed to be phased in from October 2023 to August 2025, with the administrative approvals taking place this spring.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/new-haven/article/yale-proposes-restoration-1926-golf-course-17839651.php

With the city’s affordable housing plan not yet formally approved, the Planning and Zoning Commission hopes to extend its moratorium on apartment buildings everywhere but downtown. The commission, at its meeting Wednesday, voted to hold a public hearing on March 29 to discuss extending the moratorium on new multi-family residential rental housing units throughout the city, except in the Central Business District, which encompasses downtown. “Having affordable housing options means that young people who return to Shelton after college or serving in the military can again reside in their hometown,” Harger added. “It gives older residents who want to downsize a greater ability to do so. It assists those employed in lower paying jobs a chance to live where they work.” When the moratorium was first approved, Harger said it offered the commission the opportunity to investigate the impact of these projects on traffic and parking; the city’s sewer system; potential increases in demands on police and the schools; an increase in light pollution during the evening; and whether state and local governments need to make necessary public infrastructure improvements.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/shelton-apartment-moratorium-excluding-downtown-17845472.php