YMCA Camp Sloper secured $500,000 in additional funding this past legislative session, giving the East Street outdoor center the remaining money needed to dredge Sloper Pond. Sloper Pond has been naturally filling up with silt, and eventually would have turned into a shallow marsh — making it unusable for swimmers at Camp Sloper. The $500,000 gives the YMCA, which owns the pond, the final push it needs to complete the project. Dredging is expected to be completed sometime in the summer of 2024. Eventually the Y secured a contract with a company that would dredge the pond for $3.6 million. That led Southington-Cheshire Community YMCA CEO Mark Pooler to reach out to Poulos, bringing him out to the camp to discuss the possibility of securing the last $500,000 needed for the project. By the end of the project, over 125,000 yards of silt will have been removed from the bottom of the pond, not only deepening it but improving its overall health.

https://www.myrecordjournal.com/News/Southington/Southington-News/Sloper-Pond-secures-funding-to-finish-dredging-project.html

In coming weeks, the tops of enormous tower sections for offshore windmills — 300 feet tall and 20 feet around — will rise above the bridge from the harborside, the most visible component of an ambitious, $300 million commitment by the state not only to renewable energy but to Connecticut’s long-ignored maritime economy. After a rocky start, the Connecticut Port Authority is about to complete a redesign and rebuild that has transformed the decrepit Admiral Harold E. Shear State Pier and established it — and by extension New London Harbor — as a principal staging point for construction over the next decade of offshore wind farms on hundreds of thousands of acres of the continental shelf. More importantly, the rebuilt State Pier Terminal, with state-of-the-art infrastructure, heavy lift capacity and access to freight rail, will allow New London — Connecticut’s only natural deep water harbor — to compete into the next century against other East Coast ports for heavy cargo.

With a $300M pier overhaul nearly complete, Connecticut looks to put New London at center of New England’s offshore wind industry

A local development team is seeking land use permits for a vacant parcel in Southington that they will sell for a future industrial warehouse project. Mark Lovley and Jason Manafort, principals of Technology Industrial Park LLC, bought a 53-acre vacant parcel at 53 Spring St., for $550,000 in 2021. They are seeking wetlands and planning and zoning board approval for a 283,000-square-foot industrial warehouse that will be built by Pennsylvania-based Johnson Development Associates Inc. The $20 million to $25 million industrial facility will be built on spec, or without a tenant secured, and can be subdivided for up to four tenants, Lovley said. He anticipates a spring 2024 construction start, with occupancy roughly nine to 12 months later.

$25M industrial building development planned for Southington site

An official Cranbury School Farewell Event on Saturday will run from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. At the event, attendees can enjoy Cranbury memorabilia, look at pictures and spirit wear, and take home a daffodil or iris bulb for planting. As the community says goodbye to the old Cranbury school, it says hello to the new building — where construction is slated to complete in July. The new two-story building is part of the $45 million project for a new Cranbury. New sports fields will eventually be built where the existing school is located, but that building will not be demolished until the new school is operational in the fall. According to the district’s website for the project, when the construction is completed, “the existing elementary school will be demolished and a new parent driveway loop and parking area, as well as athletic fields and two age-appropriate playgrounds, will be constructed.”

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/education/article/cranbury-elementary-school-farewell-18144383.php

Bulkeley High School at 300 Wethersfield Ave. was quiet Friday morning. Surrounded by tall fences and appearing abandoned, you’d never guess it was in the midst of a complete remodel. School officials say the project is running behind schedule and over budget. Construction on Bulkeley High School is set to cost $61 million more and take a year longer than anticipated due to COVID-19, supply change issues and inflation. The project, which began in 2020 and was expected to cost $149 million and re-open in fall of 2024, will now cost over $210 million and re-open in 2025. The construction on the central office building also cost more than expected, according to Drummey. The estimate for the construction was $29,750,000, but now is projected to cost almost $35 million. Drummey said he is remaining confident the project will not be delayed again and that central office and Bulkeley will be occupied in 2025.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/capitalregion/article/hartford-s-bulkeley-high-school-reopen-year-later-18132391.php

Architect Michael Weissbrod, representing Wall Street Recap Associates, presented the “refinements” to the plan during the commission’s meeting last Wednesday. The commission previously approved the project in December 2020. Parking was also one of the issues that stalled the project. The 2020-approved plan included covered parking in the middle of the Wall Street building and a parking garage across the street at 18 Isaacs, the former site of the Garden Cinema. The site will be transformed into a parking garage with 50 additional units on top. When Schulman inquired about the project’s timeline, Weissbrod expressed hope to begin construction within a couple of months. The Planning & Zoning Commission approved the changes to the plans unanimously.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/stalled-wall-street-project-resume-following-poko-18144046.php

The city has been in conversations with the owner of the former Citizens Bank corporate offices at 225-243 Main St., on the corner of College Street. It is being considered as a “potentially workable site” for a new municipal complex, Mayor Ben Florsheim said at the June 5 Common Council meeting. The Russell Library/City Hall Feasibility Study Committee also is exploring options for the library’s aging 123 Broad St. location, one block up from Main Street. The library is comprised of a number of old structures dating back some 150 years and has far outgrown its space. In addition, there have been a great deal of structural and mechanical issues plaguing the facility. An assessment conducted a few years ago determined the current structure “isn’t functioning well as a 21st century library for us now — and it won’t be going forward,: Burkey said. “It’s time to make those plans and have the conversations and see what resources are out there.”

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/middletown-s-city-hall-library-razed-rebuilt-18142806.php

A far-reaching plan for solving Greater Hartford’s transportation troubles is now taking final shape, including a half-dozen options under consideration for easing congestion at the I-91/1-84 interchange in Hartford, a notorious bottleneck. The interchange is at the center of the Greater Hartford Mobility Study, launched in 2020. The DOT declined to discuss details of the options now being considered for the interchange. But it is likely some are similar to those outlined in 2019 after an earlier study of the interchange. The I-84/I91 interchange is the busiest in Connecticut, serving 275,000 vehicles a day. A plan to bury the I-84 viaduct between Park and High streets in Hartford and I-91 along the Connecticut river in Hartford also were on the table. Both plans have been advocated for years by U.S. Rep. John B. Larson, D-East Harford.

https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:4On0nRDS82gJ:https://www.courant.com/2023/06/11/plan-to-ease-hartford-area-transportation-troubles-including-i-91-1-84-interchange-taking-shape/&cd=11&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us

Town officials plan to raze all of Silver Lane Plaza, after approving the demolition of two more buildings Tuesday night. Mayor Mike Walsh said demolition of the largest building to be finished by Labor Day, but the timeline on the two smaller structures is less clear. Town Council Vice Chairman Don Bell said he felt renovating the two structures would have been a hard sell at roughly $8.8 million, and clearing the property would open up more potential for development. East Hartford acquired the plaza by eminent domain on March 1, using $4.5 million from the State Bond Commission. The entire project, including demolition and relocation costs, is budgeted at $10 million. “These are nine different and unique businesses, each with different demands and different time frames to find a suitable location to relocate,” Walsh said.

https://www.ctinsider.com/journalinquirer/article/east-hartford-silver-lane-18140065.php

Hartford’s aging XL Center arena is now closer to a major renovation than it has been in a decade, after state lawmakers backed a plan that would allow at least $20 million in private investment for the $107 million project. The legislation, approved as part of the $51.1 billion state budget for the next two fiscal years, also includes another $15 million in public funding for a total of $80 million. The state approved $65 million in funds three years ago that would come from the proceeds of the sale of state bonds. Gov. Ned Lamont is expected to sign the legislation, passed by both the House and Senate this week. If all components fall into place, it will be essential to begin the renovations by the end of year to meet future revenue projections expected by OVG, Freimuth said. The makeover is expected to stretch out over two years to work around the hockey and basketball seasons.

Hartford’s XL Center closer to major renovation than in last decade. Here’s why.