Area shoppers soon will have an additional supermarket option with construction set to begin on a $22 million, 52,000-square-foot Big Y World Class Market in the southernmost part of the city. The Springfield, Mass.-based chain would create about 150 new jobs (50 full-time and 100 part-time), and “substantially increase” the tax base in Middletown, according to the application. Once opened, it is expected to add $2 million to the list of taxable properties. The store will be a stop on the 9 Town Transit route. Kozikowski this week was working on the final zoning approval. Once he finishes the associated paperwork, Big Y will have the go-ahead to proceed once it obtains building permits. The application from local developer Mike Stone, who runs Stone Point Properties, was approved by the Planning and Zoning Commission in September, with a few conditions such as additional screening to block delivery truck headlights from public view, Kozikowski said.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/middletown-big-y-supermarket-bring-150-jobs-17799360.php

The parking crunch at Tweed New Haven Regional Airport will ease slightly, at least for the short term, following the City Plan Commission’s unanimous approval of Tweed operator Avports LLC’s application to increase its past parking expansion by 34 spaces. Parking has been an issue at Tweed as Avelo Airlines continues to grow. During holiday peak periods, between Thanksgiving and Christmas, existing parking came close to filling up some days. “More parking at the airport means less traffic in the neighborhood, which is a top priority for everyone,” said Michael Jones, CEO of Avports subsidiary The New HVN LLC, Thursday. “More parking also means a more predicable passenger experience as we approach spring and summer.” Wednesday’s decision followed a nearly three-hour continuation of a public hearing that began with nearly five hours of public testimony on Jan. 25. City Plan Commission members said at that time that they were moved enough by neighbors’ concerns about runoff to want to study it further.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/tweed-new-haven-airport-gets-permission-expand-17801900.php

Chips of lead paint are falling off hundreds of bridges in Connecticut at such a rate that the state Department of Transportation has put out an alert to municipalities and intends to hire contractors to clean it up. “Bridge structures statewide have been experiencing a sudden, unexpected release of lead-based paint chips, which is believed to be related to the recent extreme swings in temperature,” said the DOT alert first issued to its own employees on Feb. 17. The DOT’s bridge maintenance unit spent last weekend inspecting more than 2,100 bridges across the state and determined that lead paint was cracking and falling off hundreds of them. It wasn’t clear Thursday night how many Connecticut bridges were painted with lead paint or for how long that paint type has been used.

Lead paint chips falling off CT bridges, DOT reports

The Board of Selectmen, in a joint meeting Wednesday with the Representative Town Meeting, agreed to become the host municipality for a data center project, the first of its kind per Attorney William McCoy, who represents the developer, NE Edge, LLC. The town is set to receive more than $231 million over 30 years from the developer, including nearly $18.6 million in the first year of the deal. Payments would increase annually and would make NE Edge the second-largest taxpayer in town behind Dominion Energy, LLC. The project would generate between 1,500 and 2,000 construction jobs, which union representatives such as Keith Brothers, the general vice president of Connecticut American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations, and Chris Bachant, a council representative for the Carpenters Local 326 Labor Union, strongly supported. McCoy said the construction is expected to take five years to complete and will start with the larger of the two buildings.

https://www.theday.com/local-news/20230223/waterford-opens-the-door-to-data-centers-at-millstone/

A proposed 57-unit apartment complex on Route 25 has cleared one hurdle, and now has one more to go. The Trumbull Planning & Zoning Commission last week approved the proposal by 7182 Main Street, LLC, and 7192 Main Street, LLC, which includes a requirement to accept any requests from the town planner to adjust the project’s landscape plan. The proposed development, called Gateway Commons, is located at 7180 and 7192 Main St., and includes a three-story building with a basement. The building’s first floor would consist of retail or restaurant space, while residents would have access to a lobby and area for an exercise room and work space. The proposed development is located near a pond connecting to the Pequonnock River. On the other side of the site runs the “Rails-to-Trails” walking and biking path in Monroe.

https://www.ctpost.com/news/article/trumbull-officials-main-street-complex-no-action-17791579.php?src=rdctpdensecp

The city has placed the former Harding High School property on the market, and several officials said neighbor Bridgeport Hospital aims to submit an offer to expand in some capacity onto the site. The city’s economic development department began accepting requests for proposals from prospective developers for the site Jan. 18. The deadline is March 2. Nick Roussas runs the Mill Hill Neighborhood Revitalization Zone, one of a group of NRZs around town established to weigh in on economic developments in their respective sections of Bridgeport. He said while housing is needed, a larger Bridgeport Hospital would mean more jobs. “It’s a win-win situation, either way,” Williams said. “Let them work that out and see what happens.”

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/bridgeport-hospital-harding-high-school-proposal-17798898.php

Like Westbrook Village, its replacement, The Village at Park River, includes affordable housing. However, the project, which is wrapping up its fourth phase of residential construction, aspires to be much more. The Cloud Company is a minority-owned, family-run real estate development firm focused on projects in the Connecticut market. The CEO of the Cloud Company as well as Healis’ father used to live in the original Westbrook Village. The new project is a realization of community input and a motivation to fill various needs in Hartford and the Blue Hills neighborhood. The Cloud Company and Philadelphia-based Pennrose Management Company have a long-term lease with the Hartford Housing Authority, which owns the land.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/hartford-village-at-park-river-construction-17799172.php

After years of arduous negotiations and frequent setbacks, a Branford developer has finally gotten the go-ahead for a 55-and-older housing project at the site of a former Girl Scout camp. The Planning and Zoning Commission approved the application for a 378-unit housing complex on Sperry Lane and Foxon Boulevard, ending a seven-year saga over plans submitted by Bluffs LLC developer Mark DiLungo. In addition to accommodating older residents, the project also will increase the town’s availability of affordable housing, as the developer has agreed that 39 of the 258 non-assisted units — or 15 percent — would be deemed “affordable housing units” as defined by state law. The project has gone through several iterations since DiLungo first proposed the project in 2016. The PZC denied the application multiple times, and DiLungo eventually appealed the board’s ruling in Superior Court. A stipulated agreement from a Superior Court judge laid the groundwork for the current version of the housing project.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/sperry-lane-elderly-housing-plans-approved-17798923.php

John Lawlor, the city’s director of public works and engineering, told city councilors this week that the city would need to invest around $5.5 million into road improvements annually in order to improve the overall conditions of roads it owns and maintains. Lawlor was joined by Anthony Garro, a senior vice president of the engineering firm BETA group, Inc., in discussing the city’s road improvement program. BETA was the firm retained by the city in 2022 to inspect the condition of approximately 193 miles of roadway in Meriden. The inspection rated the city’s overall network of roads at 73.54, and categorized groups of roadways based on the level of repairs inspectors determined those roads needed. The overall cost to complete all the recommended levels of repair would be just over $53 million.

https://www.myrecordjournal.com/News/Meriden/Meriden-News/Meriden-officials-discuss-paving-program.html

Total construction starts fell 27% in January to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $865.6 billion, according to Dodge Construction Network, a dramatic reverse from December, when new project kickoffs ended 2022 on the upswing. On a year-over-year basis, total construction was 14% lower in January 2023 than in January 2022. Despite the stark contrast from a month before, Richard Branch, Dodge’s chief economist, said the numbers should be viewed in context of the unusually strong momentum seen at the end of 2022. “While some construction sectors will face stress as the year progresses, current fundamentals point to an industry that is fairly well positioned to weather the storm,” Branch said.

https://www.constructiondive.com/news/construction-starts-plummet-27-percent-in-january/643257/?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Issue:%202023-02-22%20Construction%20Dive%20Newsletter%20%5Bissue:48251%5D&utm_term=Construction%20Dive