In fall 2023, the city’s Water Pollution Control Authority hopes construction will finally begin to bring sewer service to the area. The Board of Finance this week approved a $1.88 million appropriation to move the project forward. Septic systems are used across North Stamford. But on streets in the Perna Lane area, which is near the Rippowam River, some aging septic systems cannot be replaced with new, up-to-code systems because the lots are so small, said Brian Teitelbaum, who has advocated for the sewer project. The first phase of the project, which includes properties mostly east of High Ridge Road from the Merritt Parkway to Perna Lane, is estimated to cost about $8.1 million. City boards previously authorized the WPCA to spend more than $6 million on the project. The average cost per property was recently estimated at $21,700.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/North-Stamford-sewers-Perna-Lane-17641283.php

The State Bond Commission and Gov. Ned Lamont approved $10 million Thursday for the Freight Street Corridor Redevelopment Project. The funding is part of more than $14 million that will be used for economic development, infrastructure and city schools. The city will receive $10 million signed off by the board of the Community Investment Fund 2030, a five-year grant program, and has matched $5 million toward projects that include demolition and remediation of about 20 acres across 130 Freight St., 170 Freight St. and 000 West Main St. in the west end. The long-term goal is to encourage mixed-use, transit-oriented development in the blighted, underused area and complement improvements to the Waterbury Branch Line’s downtown Metro-North railroad station. “The city is matching $5 million, which we’ve already put toward the demolition of 130 Freight St. and environmental remediation there as well,” Mayor Neil M. O’Leary said.

https://www.rep-am.com/local/localnews/2022/12/08/10-million-approved-for-freight-street-redevelopment/

Dixwell Plaza’s mixed-use redevelopment, a new health center on Grand Avenue, and new affordable apartments on Shelton Avenue were some of the dozen New Haven projects to receive over $21 million in support from Hartford in an end-of-year windfall of state aid. That infusion of state cash for New Haven-based projects came Thursday from the State Bond Commission. “I am confident that these projects will have a positive and significant impact on New Haven, and I appreciate that Community Investment Fund and Governor Lamont and State Bond Commission recognize this as well,” Paolillo is quoted as saying. ​“I am happy to see New Haven with an opportunity to create greater health care access, leverage food entrepreneurship, respond and improve critical infrastructure that supports local economic development.” “The Fair Haven Community Health Center is a Federally Qualified Health Center that has been around for decades providing much-needed primary, behavioral health, and dental care to the residents of New Haven, primarily to those that reside in the Fair Haven area,” Candelaria is quoted as saying.

https://www.newhavenindependent.org/article/new_haven_bond_commission_projects

Days before next week’s 10th anniversary of the Newtown school massacre, the State Bond Commission on Thursday approved $10 million in the state’s competitive school security grant program for hardening buildings, purchasing cameras, electronic locks, ballistic glass and other measures. The commission’s last meeting of the calendar year lasted 43 minutes as members approved more than a billion dollars in new borrowing for a variety of statewide projects, about half of which are transportation-related, including $100 million for track and facility improvements at Hartford’s Union Station. The 55-item agenda was approved with no opposition to Lamont and his budget chief, Jeffrey Beckham, who review and approve items for inclusion in the monthly agenda. The Dixwell Plaza redevelopment in New Haven was allocated $10 million from the state’s Community Investment Fund for a new 150-unit, mixed use project expected to cost $200 million. Middletown was approved for $12 million to demolish and remediate a property in the first phase of the so-called Return to the Riverbend project along River Road near the Connecticut River.

https://www.ctpost.com/politics/article/CT-Bond-Commission-approves-a-billion-dollars-in-17640648.php?src=rdctpdensecp

Extensive renovations on the Lockwood-Mathews Mansion hit a roadblock when nine aspects of the project received no bids for the work. The city will resubmit a request for proposals for contractors to conduct work on the historic mansion after an RFP from October garnered too few bids, officials said. In May, the mansion released plans for a $13.5 million renovation that will include some modern technology in the historic home. The bulk of the renovation is to upgrade the mansion’s technology and utilities, according to Patsy Brescia, vice chair of the mansion’s board of trustees. Now, the renovation timeline is changing, as the RFP, released in early October and closed Oct. 28, yielded few responses, Brescia said. Several factors contributed to the lack of bids, including the length of the open bid, the expertise required for the project and other opportunities, Brescia said. Initially, the work was set to begin in January and run until about May 2024, according to the bid documents. The new RFPs, however, will go out around the start of the new year, Mansion Board of Trustees Chair Doug Hempstead said.

https://www.thehour.com/news/article/Norwalk-Lockwood-Mathews-Mansion-project-delayed-17627184.php

A recent review of the city’s school buildings revealed an estimated $32 million needed for repairs and upgrades at Vogel Wetmore, Forbes, Torringford, Southwest and Torrington Middle School. Included are heating and air-conditioning work, plumbing repairs, roof repairs and renovations to various areas of the buildings. Much of the needs are maintenance-related, according to Petrucelli, Silver and Associates. Torrington recently broke ground for construction of a new middle-high school. Voters in November 2020 approved building a new middle-high school and administrative offices for $159 million. Earlier this year, the state legislature announced that instead of 65 percent reimbursement for all eligible costs for the project, that amount would be increased to 85 percent.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/Torrington-school-facilities-need-repairs-upgrades-17633506.php

A project nearly 20 years in the making broke new ground last week as plans were presented for a revamped Webster Street parking lot that include a public park. At the Dec. 1 meeting of the Common Council’s Economic and Community Development Committee, project designers outlined plans for a 650-spot parking garage and 420-unit apartment complex on the Webster lot property. The agency settled on development firm Quarterra, Bidolli said. The firm then brought on Antunovich Associates, an architectural firm, to help create the site plans. The project is expected to include six to nine months of gathering city input, including holding several open houses, before moving to the next phase of design, Quarterra’s Stamford Vice President of Development Doug Browne said. Once the public outreach portion of the project is complete next fall, design of the project will take an additional 18 to 20 months before construction will begin, Browne said.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/South-Norwalk-Webster-Street-park-apartments-17638231.php

A new grant program has demonstrated widespread demand for funding to improve air quality in Connecticut schools, as experts continue to cite ventilation as a key tool in reducing the spread of COVID-19 and other airborne illnesses. According to the state’s Department of Administrative Services, Connecticut school districts submitted 130 applications for a new $150 million school ventilation grant program, established earlier this year to finance air quality projects. Though it’s unclear how many grants the state will ultimately distribute, it’s likely that only a fraction of the applicants will ultimately receive funding. To receive a grant, school districts must match the funds offered by the state but are not permitted to use money from the federal American Rescue Plan to do so. According to the state, the grant awards will be determined based on air quality at the school in question, the age of the equipment being replaced and other similar factors. The application process began in September, with a Dec. 1 deadline for all submissions.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/connecticut-covid-schools-construction-17637618.php

The state Bond Commission will vote Thursday on hundreds of millions of dollars in grants and funding for efforts and initiatives across the state, including $12 million for the city of Middletown’s ambitious plan to revive its industrial riverfront. The Bond Commission is scheduled to meet in a special session Thursday. Items placed on the agenda can be generally confident of passage. Aid to projects can additionally be subject to conditions required by the state Department of Economic and Community Development and other agencies. In Middletown’s case, the planned $12 million allocation was teed up by a new “Community Investment Fund” board led by state lawmakers. The funding is meant to help the city further its plans to transform 220 acres of dormant industrial land along the Connecticut River with new parks, community spaces, restaurants, retail and multifamily development.

State bond commission to consider tens of millions in economic development aid for key projects statewide

High electric bills have become a fact of life for Connecticut residents, who paid the highest bills in the country outside of Hawaii in 2021, and combined with lingering frustrations over lengthy power outages after recent damaging storms, so is outright public anger at United Illuminating and Eversource. It was no surprise then, that announcements that electric bills would rise between 40 and 50 percent in January would spark a fresh wave of outrage from Connecticut’s electric customers. But Avangrid, the parent company of United Illuminating – which serves 17 towns in the Bridgeport and New Haven areas – said that anger is misplaced, and should be directed at power generators that they say are allowed to operate with too little scrutiny. Avangrid – which has expanded into offshore wind development in recent years – reported earnings of $749 million for the first three quarters of 2022, up from $609 million for the same period in 2021, and almost as much as the $780 million profit it reported for all of 2021.

As Energy Prices Soar, Avangrid Places Blame on Companies Generating the Electricity