Joined by Gov. Ned Lamont, Mashantucket tribal leaders, Foxwoods officials and local dignitaries, Great Wolf Resorts executives officially broke ground Wednesday for the $300 million indoor water park resort that’s about to rise adjacent to Foxwoods on 13 acres of Mashantucket-owned land off Foxwoods Boulevard. Lamont thanked Chicago-based Great Wolf for showing “confidence in the state of Connecticut,” citing the 450 construction jobs tied to the project as well as the 500 permanent part- and full-time positions the water park resort will provide when it opens. The new jobs will range from senior management, engineering staff and IT professionals to lifeguards, guest service agents and housekeepers. The main features of the resort will be a 91,000-square-foot indoor water park heated to 84 degrees, with a variety of body slides, tube slides, raft rides, activity pools and splash areas, and a 61,000-square-foot family entertainment center known as the Great Wolf Adventure Park, which will include MagiQuest, a live-action game.

https://www.theday.com/local-news/20230201/groundbreaking-held-for-great-wolf-lodge-at-foxwoods/

If all goes well, city officials are hoping to break ground on a sorely needed, multilevel municipal parking garage downtown sometime this spring. The delay in announcing the developer selected for the garage project mostly is due to staffing challenges in the office of Economic and Community Development, as well as behind-the-scenes activity, including negotiations, design plans and paperwork, he added. “We are very engaged with the developer. We are very pleased with the way these conversations have been going for the past couple months,” Florsheim explained. The hope is to create 600 more spaces, a number of which will be reserved for tenants of several new apartment projects, the mayor explained. Adequate spaces for new residents to leave their cars overnight downtown will become all the more important when other Main Street housing projects are completed over the next few years.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/middletown-garage-project-add-600-spaces-downtown-17753547.php

Bloomfield’s planning and zoning commission unanimously approved a nearly 46,000-square-foot cultivation center Thursday night, with members mostly complimenting Fine Fettle for planning to build it.
Fine Fettle Chief Operating Officer Benjamin Zachs quickly did away with two common objections to indoor marijuana farms: The risk of offensive odors to neighbors, and the possibility of future conversion to retail sales instead of commercial production. A marijuana-growing center proposed in New Britain has drawn fire from some residents who fear odors as well as traffic from retail sales. The proposal goes to a hearing Tuesday night by the city’s zoning appeals board. Fine Fettle runs medical dispensaries as well as recreational marijuana outlets, but at the Bloomfield site will only grow, process, package and ship commercial quantities of marijuana to sell elsewhere, the company said.

https://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-news-connecticut-bloomfield-cannabis-20230131-crfupjrojrfphje4bonxeo3uqu-story.html

Two separate projects to improve sports fields and outdoor recreation facilities in the city’s north end are now moving forward. One of those projects is a roughly $2 million upgrade to the North End Field Little League complex at 234 Britannia St. That facility currently includes fields used by the Jack Barry and Ed Walsh leagues, which combined to form Meriden Little League. The other project, northwest of the existing fields, will convert a neighboring full-size basketball court into a half-court with the addition of a new playground next to it. In October 2021, Meriden Public Schools officials announced the complex would be among a group of athletic fields in the city that would be upgraded with new turf surfaces, through the school district’s American Rescue Plan Act monies. It is being funded through $1.8 million of the school district’s ARPA funds, along with another $400,000 from the city, Grove explained. Officials expect contractors to begin the field reconstruction work in April.

https://www.myrecordjournal.com/News/Meriden/Meriden-News/Meriden-officials-provide-update-on-North-End-Field-project

The city’s Zoning Commission, meeting Jan. 25, approved a petition by 84 Vistas LLC to change the zoning of 40.2 acres from residential to arterial commercial. It is a victory for the partners behind 84 Vistas, whose plans for the property had been thwarted for years by legal challenges coming from a nearby residential neighborhood. This approval, if it stands unchallenged in court, will allow for commercial development, following staff review of as-of-yet unsubmitted plans to ensure they conform to the new zoning. As it sought a zone change, 84 Vistas submitted a conceptual design showing a campus of four buildings ranging in size from 26,400 square feet to 100,000 square feet. This isn’t the first time 84 Vistas has won a zone change for this property, however. The Zoning Commission first approved a change to commercial use in 2016, at a time when 84 Vistas shared its intention to pursue a large-scale retail complex.

Plans for 216,000-sq.-ft. Waterbury medical office complex move forward

Michelle Gilman, who was nominated for a full term as commissioner of the state Department of Administrative Services, was grilled Tuesday by lawmakers who are unsatisfied with a recent audit of the state’s controversial school construction program. On Tuesday, she was questioned by lawmakers on the Executive and Legislative Nominations Committee during her nomination hearing about how she and the agency have responded in the wake of the federal investigation to address concerns from municipalities that rely on the program to refurbish or build schools. Local officials from several towns alleged in the wake of the federal investigation that Konstantinos Diamantis, the former director of the school construction office, pressured them to hire specific contractors for their school projects. Those allegations included contracts for construction administrators, general contractors and demolition and remediation companies.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/school-construction-connecticut-michelle-gillman-17755404.php

The state Department of Transportation is once again seeking the public’s input on The New Mix Program, which will address the long-term needs of Waterbury’s Interstate 84/Route 8 interchange. There will be two virtual meetings today: one at noon and the other at 6 p.m. Those interested in participating and listening to the meetings can go to newmixwaterbury.com. Waterbury’s I-84/Route 8 interchange, which is commonly known as the Mixmaster, will approach the end of its serviceable life in 25 years, according to the DOT. Morgan said one of the long-term goals of the project is to reduce the number of crashes in the area and alleviate some of the traffic congestion that builds up during rush hour. Morgan said some options the DOT could pursue for the interchange include reconstruction and rehabilitation which would involve no major changes; looking at ways to shift the interchange and align it with I-84 and Route 8; relocating on-ramps and off-ramps; and looking at alternate travel options.

https://www.rep-am.com/local/localnews/2023/01/30/2-virtual-meetings-will-discuss-mixmasters-future/#login

Alexandra Daum, Gov. Ned Lamont’s nominee to lead the Department of Economic and Community Development, told lawmakers at her confirmation hearing last Thursday that growth will be her top priority — a now-familiar refrain from the governor’s office. The threat of a recession looms this year, as the Federal Reserve continues to raise interest rates in an effort to tamp down on inflation, and companies have begun downsizing. Lawmakers asked the incoming economic development commissioner how she plans to respond to the trend in corporate retrenchment. The state government has thousands of open jobs to fill, and Connecticut’s school districts and health care providers are facing staff shortages. New federally funded infrastructure and broadband projects will have thousands of openings in the coming years. And new investment in the semiconductor industry is driving demand for specialized technology workers. The committee unanimously approved Daum’s nomination, which now heads to the state Senate for final consideration.

New Connecticut economic development chief faces headwinds

A major residential and commercial development underway in Cheshire has Southington business and town leaders hopeful about economic growth for the entire area. In November, Cheshire planners approved special permits for Stone Bridge Crossing, a 107-acre development bounded by Dickerman Road to the west, Highland Avenue to the east, Interstate 691 to the south and the town line to the north. During the November hearing, representatives of one of the companies involved, Eastpointe LLC, told Cheshire planners that apartments rents will run from $1,700 for a studio to $3,000 for a three bedroom. Cheshire planning officials said they take land conservation seriously and that a perfect place for development is near the highway.

https://www.myrecordjournal.com/News/Southington/Southington-News/Southington-leaders-hopeful-about-Cheshire-development.html

Rocky Hill-based developer CCC Construction wants to convert the old Webster Bank training facility into a cannabis warehouse, a move that some residents have condemned due to risk of smell and proximity to schools. The ZBA’s public hearing will consider the warehouse for special exception and variance approval. The timeline of construction depends on the approval, according to a spokesperson for Stewart. If approved, the facility will be 0.7 miles from the CREC Academy of Science and Innovation and 0.6 miles from Gaffney Elementary School. It would also be 0.8 miles from E.C. Goodwin Technical Magnet School. Salerno served on city council from 2013 to 2021 when members created zoning regulations in anticipation of cannabis legalization and businesses like the proposed warehouse.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/new-britain-cannabis-warehouse-webster-bank-17751462.php