In the latest phase of the Walk Bridge Project, the state Department of Transportation purchased a property about one mile from the bridge to act as a staging area. News of the purchase comes as construction to replace the 127-year-old bridge is expected to begin in full swing this spring, and as the state begins construction work to remove the former IMAX building to accommodate the project. Property records show the parcel was purchased by the state of Connecticut, but the “co-owner” address, located on the Berlin Turnpike, is DOT headquarters. Previously, the land was owned by Antonios and Penelope Koskerides, who purchased the land in the early 1990s, according to land records. In 2018, the property was appraised at $1.42 million. Once construction begins, it is expected to take about six years, according to DOT.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/walk-bridge-norwalk-property-construction-17816667.php

Funding from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act is finally making it to projects, according to the CEOs of several major public construction companies. Additional federal money from the Inflation Reduction Act and CHIPS Act is also boosting the civil construction outlook, they said. President Joe Biden signed the IIJA in November 2021, and despite excitement about the five-year, $1.2 trillion law, construction companies said late last year they haven’t yet seen much benefit. That’s starting to change as the money makes its way from state and local budgets down to the project level. “I am very encouraged by the tailwinds we are seeing not only in our construction segment, but also throughout the entire civil construction industry,” Kyle Larkin, CEO of Watsonville, California-based Granite Construction, said during a recent earnings call.

https://www.constructiondive.com/news/iija-infrastructure-act-money-start-to-flow-construction-projects/643721/?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Issue:%202023-03-01%20Construction%20Dive%20Newsletter%20%5Bissue:48423%5D&utm_term=Construction%20Dive

The New York developer planning to build 172 apartments on the former site of the Children’s Museum in West Hartford recently paid $10.57 million for the property, as well as a small portion of the neighboring Kingswood Oxford School site. Developer Continental Properties bought the 3.96 acres from the Kingswood Oxford School – which has owned the museum property at 950 Trout Brook Drive since 2001 — in a deal recorded by the town on Feb. 2. Continental Properties is among the largest developers of Class A rental communities in the Tri-State area, according to Colliers. In Connecticut, Continental has developed communities in Rocky Hill, Glastonbury, South Windsor, Milford, Shelton and Trumbull. The bidding process for the site in 2021 was extremely competitive, according to Cafasso and Hunt.

Developer planning 172-unit luxury apartment project in West Hartford buys former Children’s Museum property

Texas-based Anthony Properties seeks town approval for eight residential buildings, two commercial buildings and a clubhouse off West Street. The 41-acre property is in an enterprise zone, making the development eligible for a seven-year tax abatement. If the project is approved by the planning commission, Anthony Properties will get a 100 percent tax break on improvements to the land in the first two years of the program. The tax abatement program is open to developers in areas designated as enterprise zones, a state program set up in the wake of Pratt & Whitney’s departure from Southington.

https://www.myrecordjournal.com/News/Southington/Southington-News/Divided-Southington-leaders-approve-tax-breaks-for-Texas-developer.html

ThayerMahan, a Groton-based marine technology company, no longer plans to redevelop the Groton Heights School property, located in the city near the Bill Memorial Library and Fort Griswold, as its headquarters and research and development center. The growing company, which is located at 120 Leonard Drive in Groton and has more than 100 employees, was looking for additional space and had planned to redevelop the town-owned Groton Heights property. A town and city committee had selected ThayerMahan as the preferred developer for the roughly 2-acre former elementary school property, located at 244 Monument St., which has been vacant since 2007. Jon Reiner, the town’s planning and development director, said the Groton Heights School, like many older buildings, faces issues, such as lead, PCBs, asbestos and mold, and also has to be brought up to building and fire codes. As ThayerMahan was doing its due diligence on the property, the company realized the extent of the environmental remediation on the property was more than anyone originally thought.

https://www.theday.com/local-news/20230301/thayermahan-cancels-plan-to-redevelop-groton-heights-school/

The four-member BET Budget Committee is currently split on how much to spend on the new school; the question became divisive Tuesday morning after new design information was provided to the CMS Building Committee. The architect on the project said a new school would need to be about 20,000 square feet larger than first estimated to accommodate the number of students the Board of Education wants to place there. Wednesday was the second day of the Budget Committee’s “consolidation day” where the four members discussed potential adjustments to the $480.9 million budget proposal for Fiscal Year 2023-24. The committee will bring its revisions to the full BET, which will vote on April 4. The BET will also hold a public hearing on March 29 to gather input from residents.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/central-middle-school-price-questioned-budget-17813176.php

The committee voted unanimously to hire Construction Solutions Group of East Hartford for $3.68 million as the city’s owner’s representative. The firm will oversee the applications for state reimbursement for the bulk of the cost, design and construction of the three schools in the first phase of the project. The group will review the project master plan, firm up cost estimates and file for state reimbursement grants by the June 30 deadline. The project calls for building four new elementary schools to replace the current seven schools, either renovating or replacing Teachers’ Memorial Global Studies Middle School and renovating the Samuel Huntington Elementary School to become the adult education center and administrative offices. Construction Solutions Group will represent the Norwich School Building Committee, organize and coordinate the design and construction process, ensuring maximum reimbursement rates from the state, Guiliano said.

https://www.theday.com/local-news/20230228/norwich-selects-east-hartford-firm-to-oversee-first-phase-of-385-million-school-project/

he Board of Education took a major step toward consolidating the town’s two high schools this week, voting by an 8-1 margin to combine Mark T. Sheehan High School and Lyman Hall High School into one school on the current Pond Hill Road site of Lyman Hill, Superintendent of School. It would cost $216.06 million, with the town’s share of that being $122.68 million. The state would reimburse the town for its share at a rate of about 43 percent, board Board of Education Chair Tammy Raccio said Tuesday. If approved by the Town Council, “the next steps in the process will include reviewing the second-tier study and determining the feasibility to move forward with one consolidated high school,” she said. “If the decision is to continue with one consolidated high school, then a grant application would need to be submitted to the Office of School Construction Grants and Review for approval.”

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/wallingford-boe-votes-consolidate-sheehan-lyman-17811140.php

Manhattan-based GAIA Real Estate has sued South End developer Building and Land Technology, the city of Stamford and multiple other entities over their handling of the Lofts at Yale & Towne. GAIA bought the factory-turned-apartment building around October 2016 from BLT. Loft residents were forced to move out by the end of July 2021 after property owners reported numerous structural faults. The lawsuit goes in depth on what exactly the underlying deficiencies are. In doing so, GAIA’s lawyers pin the blame on BLT and its associates, primarily, for alleged negligence in how it developed, maintained and sold the complex to them. The firm alleges that BLT and its associates knew of the deteriorating subsurface conditions. Additionally, the company is suing the city of Stamford for negligence, which it says has resulted in further damages.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/local/article/stamford-blt-lofts-at-yale-towne-unsafe-17802105.php?src=sthpdesecp

A reliance on construction materials produced overseas has left U.S. contractors susceptible to long lead times and extreme price volatility, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic slowed global supply chains. About 32% of building materials come from outside the U.S., according to Marcum, a New York City-based accounting and advisory firm. The main building materials sourced outside of the United States are some of the most foundational materials used in construction. The make-it-here push raises issues for the construction industry and project owners, namely increased expenses. Many building groups have pushed back on the Biden administration’s onshoring initiative, claiming some materials simply aren’t available domestically at any price and will cause even more construction delays.

https://www.constructiondive.com/news/buy-america-provisions-can-improve-construction-lead-times-they-also-raise/643676/?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Issue:%202023-02-28%20Construction%20Dive%20Newsletter%20%5Bissue:48395%5D&utm_term=Construction%20Dive