During its Wednesday night meeting, the Planning and Zoning Commission heard public comment on the proposed expansion and voted unanimously to approve the plans. The expansion encompasses 31-35 S. Main St. and will add nearly 50 rooms to the Marriott SoNo Residence Inn and a possible conference/banquet room, along with solar panels on the rooftop, according to the application materials. Peer reviews found the building without historic merit and not worth preserving, for several reasons, Suchy said. F.D. Rich Co., which owned the hotel and adjacent property, commissioned the report from Jan Hird Pokorny Associates, a New York City firm that focuses on the preservation of historic buildings.

https://www.ctpost.com/news/article/south-norwalk-hotel-tom-rich-udelman-17789018.php

The proposed new Connecticut River Bridge will feature a longer movable span that will improve navigational clearances for boaters and will open and close more quickly than the current structure, according to a presentation from Amtrak. Construction on the new bridge, between Old Lyme and Old Saybrook, is expected to start next year, with the total project, including the demolition of the existing bridge, slated to be completed in 2029, according to the presentation. Ryan Apanovitch, senior environmental project manager for AECOM, an infrastructure consulting firm, said the nearby Ferry Landing State Park boardwalk and fishing pier will be closed during construction. Amtrak is proposing to replace the existing boardwalk with a new, improved structure at the end of construction.

https://www.theday.com/local-news/20230216/amtrak-details-connecticut-river-bridge-replacement/#

The Norwich Public Utilities wastewater treatment plant on Hollyhock Island will be replaced with a new upgraded building, with work beginning in the fall. The new plant project went to out bid at the end of January and proposals are due March 29. Once a contractor is set, it’s expected that the approvals will be given late spring, and construction is expected to start in the fall. The utility expects to spend at least $167 million on upgrading the Wastewater Treatment Plant on Hollyhock Island. Most of the existing plant will be demolished and replaced, except for the sludge building, which will be renovated instead, The Bulletin reported in Nov. 2021. As of Friday, four large general contractors have expressed interest in taking on the project, and attended a required meeting. The contractor that will be awarded the job is the one that can satisfy all the parameters at the lowest cost, can secure the bonding, and has prior experience in large-scale projects. Whichever contractor wins, they’ll be hiring local trades people to fill roles, from truck drivers to carpenters, providing more jobs to the area, Sullivan said.

https://www.norwichbulletin.com/story/news/2023/02/16/167-million-norwich-wastewater-plant-project-is-out-to-bid/69904348007/

The deteriorating 135-year-old bridge will officially close for construction Feb. 20, according to a sign posted on nearby fencing. It had been labeled hazardous by city officials last July, with pedestrians advised to walk only on specific parts of the structure. And though city officials have yet to decide on how exactly to restore the historic bridge, construction on a $1.6 million stopgap will soon begin. A contractor is prepared to begin construction on a new, pre-fabricated steel bridge just north of the existing structure in the coming weeks. The contractor, ROTHA Contracting Company, was selected through a city bidding process. They intend to complete the project by July 4, city spokesperson Lauren Meyer said in an email. The new bridge is being paid for entirely through city funds, engineer Domenic Tramontozzi said in an email. Costs include the construction contract, and design and inspection work.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/local/article/west-main-street-bridge-close-feb-20-pedestrians-17781712.php

Data center developer NE Edge LLC has asked the town to serve as a host municipality for a two-building data center on Dominion Energy’s Millstone property. In a letter to the town, NE Edge Manager George A. McLaughlin III described one of the two proposed buildings as two stories high with a 568,000-square-foot footprint. More than 1 million square feet of space would be available for cloud and data storage servers. The on-site power generation will eliminate the need for diesel generators, which often create noise, a factor in Groton residents’ opposition last spring when NE Edge proposed a data center project for that town. The Millstone plant also provides redundant energy, meaning it has multiple power sources to rely on in the event one malfunctions. Sabilia said the project would involve a three-year construction plan under a labor agreement, meaning union workers and apprentices would be hired. She called the project a “great opportunity” to build career paths while providing approximately 1,500 construction jobs and 200 permanent data-center jobs.

https://www.theday.com/local-news/20230214/waterford-asked-to-host-data-center-project-at-millstone/

Frustrations over Connecticut’s high cost of electricity and concerns over its ability to adequately regulate Eversource, the state’s largest distributor of electricity, are fueling a bipartisan effort to revise the complex rules of utility regulation for the second time in three years. On Tuesday, the legislature’s Energy and Technology Committee will hold a hearing on two measures intended to give regulators more discretion over rate setting and to shift responsibility for some costs from ratepayers to shareholders, including compensation for executives and lobbying at the state Capitol. Gillett’s recent remarks to lawmakers made clear two things: She believes Eversource, which distributes electricity to all but 20 of Connecticut’s 169 cities and towns, needs far greater oversight than it has received during the administration that employs her; that view is not shared by her two colleagues at PURA. That seemingly put her at cross-purposes with Katie Dykes, the commissioner of DEEP. Dykes, who preceded Gillett as chair of PURA and played a role in recruiting her to Connecticut as her successor, played down any conflict.

CT legislators vow harder look at utilities, and a regulator applauds

A pair of lawmakers representing Stratford in Hartford — Republican Senate Minority Leader Kevin Kelly and Democratic Representative Joe Gresko — are behind four bills that would further complicate the CAA’s already delayed purchase of Sikorsky Memorial Airport and also give their town more influence in the deal. Daniel Roach, an aide to Democratic Bridgeport Mayor Joe Ganim who has been closely involved in the negotiations with the CAA, said of the bills, “We’ll see how it works out.” The four proposals are just the latest hurdle for the Ganim administration’s effort to have the CAA either buy or lease Sikorsky Memorial and return regular passenger service there. As recently reported, an initial analysis of potential ground contamination at the airport concluded the cleanup costs could be anywhere from $4 million to $19 million, while the CAA has offered to pay $10 million maximum for the property based on what Bridgeport has invested in the site beyond the federal dollars that keep it operational.

https://www.ctpost.com/news/article/stratford-legislators-bills-target-bridgeport-s-17781637.php?src=rdctpdensecp

Contractors are completing the framework for the largest building at Meadow Commons, a mixed-use project along the Berlin Turnpike that is on track to be one of Newington’s biggest new developments in a decade. Most of the walls are up for the roughly 43,000-square-foot retail building closest to the turnpike, and a large crane is assembling the framework for the roof. Framingham, Mass.-based Grossman Development Group is also constructing several smaller retail buildings on part of a 24-acre tract previously used by Eversource. Town officials at the time estimated the combined value of the residential and commercial improvements would amount to more than $82 million, and construction inflation since then may have driven that figure up. Grossman is building the retail complex in partnership with Long Wharf Capital and Callahan Inc., with financing by Washington Trust.

https://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-news-connecticut-newington-development-20230213-t3guyovbz5astcmmfwmzil5hlq-story.html

Comcast, one of the largest telecommunications operations in America, has purchased 70 megawatts of renewable solar electricity from a town business that is in the early stages of development. Serving millions of customers across the nation, Comcast will now power 43% of its Connecticut and Massachusetts operations utilizing renewable solar electricity from the Gravel Pit Solar project in East Windsor. The solar project, between Apothecaries Hall Road and Plantation Road, is being developed by D.E. Shaw Renewable Investments and North Light Energy. Aaron Svedlow, president of North Light Energy, said the project started construction in late January and will be completed in 2024. He said the 120-megawatt clean energy facility will include over 250,000 solar panels and will begin delivering to customers in 2024, with Comcast the facility’s largest customer.

https://www.journalinquirer.com/towns/east_windsor/comcast-tapping-into-east-windsor-solar-farm/article_c9331678-a959-11ed-9b54-0bcf508ff5a8.html

With their plans to process dredged soil at a rail-connected industrial site on the Thames River on hold, Massachusetts-based Cashman Dredging and Marine Contracting is now pushing to develop the rest of the 165-acre site into a complex of industrial buildings. Cashman Vice President Allen Perrault presented a conceptual plan to the Ledyard Planning and Zoning Commission on Thursday night showing that the company intends to use the north side of the former Dow Chemical property on Route 12 for its own marine equipment business, and will clear woods and level a hill on the south side of the property to make way for several large industrial buildings that Cashman would lease to other companies. The major marine uses on the Thames River also makes it a prime location for a dredging company, and the proximity to the New London State Pier puts the company in position to supply aggregate material for offshore wind construction, or to stage equipment for offshore wind, Perrault said.

Marine Company Plans Industrial Buildings for Thames River Site, Awaits Dredging Regs