A redevelopment of the deteriorating Martin Luther King Apartments near downtown has won key public funding but construction isn’t likely to get started until next summer, more than a year later than first anticipated. The cost to demolish and rebuild the low- and moderate-income rentals in the Sheldon/Charter Oak neighborhood and blend them with market-rate units in a larger, redesigned complex also has now climbed to $63 million. Higher interest rates and increased cost of construction materials that have arisen in the pandemic pushed up the project’s cost nearly 9% from an estimated $58 million earlier this year. The new price tag forced changes in the balance of market-rate and “affordable” rentals tied to income restrictions. There will now be more affordable than market-rate units, allowing the developers to tap into other sources of funding.

https://www.courant.com/business/hc-biz-hartford-mlk-apartments-demolition-20221128-us2wtf537zfmzlo5skrjuhs4qe-story.html

While city leaders have again and again debated what should be done with the run-down bridge, a federal grant awarded to Stamford in 2012 to replace the structure has expired. The more than 130-year-old bridge, which is listed in the National Register of Historic Places and also called the Purple Bridge, closed to motor vehicles in 2002. A debate has raged in the years since, including over whether the link between the city’s downtown and West Side should be open to cars once more, become a pedestrian-only bridge or a combination of the two. When the city was awarded the $850,000 federal grant in 2012, U.S. Rep. Jim Himes, D-Conn., said it was meant for a new pedestrian bridge. But he said that could change if there was a strong desire from the city to construct a span for cars as well as pedestrians.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/Stamford-West-Main-Street-Bridge-850-000-grant-17619466.php

On Nov.15, 2021, President Biden signed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) into law, a bill commonly referred to as the bipartisan infrastructure bill. This historic piece of legislation provides a once-in-a-generation investment of $1.2 trillion dollars into the nation’s infrastructure; positively impacting urban and rural communities across the country by rebuilding roads and bridges, expanding access to clean drinking water, ensuring Americans have access to high-speed internet and making long-overdue investments in seaports, airports, and rail. According to the White House, in its first year of implementation, nearly $185 billion in funding for specific projects, competitive grants and formulaic programs has been announced. The rest of the bill’s funding will be awarded over the next three years as part of competitive grants at the Department of Transportation, formulaic funding passed through state departments of transportation, and other federal agencies, such as the Department of Energy and Department of Commerce.

https://www.aem.org/news/infrastructure-investment-and-jobs-act-one-year-later

In a news release, Ørsted and Eversource, the energy companies behind Revolution Wind, said the research will be funded by a $1.25 million grant they awarded to the aquarium last year. Through the partnership, aquarium scientists will investigate marine mammal strandings before and after construction and operation of offshore wind farms; develop technology to assess the physiological response to offshore wind power systems; and tag and track seals and sea turtles. Mystic Aquarium is ideally suited to investigate the relationship between marine life and offshore wind energy infrastructure, given its ability to compare animals under its care to those in the wild that become stranded and are rehabilitated by its Animal Rescue Program, the news release said.

https://www.theday.com/local-news/20221129/orsted-eversource-to-partner-with-mystic-aquarium-to-study-offshore-winds-impact-on-marine-life/

With a small turnout and divided opinions at the town meeting Monday night, there was no clear signal of how Farmington will vote at next week’s referendum on budgeting another $9.4 million for the new high school. Either way, it became clear in October that Farmington cannot replace its high school for $135.6 million, the figure that was forecast in early 2021. Instead, building the 239,000-square-foot school will cost nearly $6 million more. The town is asking voters on Dec. 8 to appropriate another $9.7 million for the project. The new money wouldn’t come from Farmington’s budget. The state awarded an unexpected $14 million in additional aid since the 2021 referendum. Project planners said the October construction bids will lock in the price of actually building the 239,000-square-foot school. Buying furniture, equipment, and plumbing and electrical fixtures will be done later, but there’s a contingency to cover cost increases for that, they said.

https://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-news-connecticut-farmington-town-meeting-20221130-3scw7uwqebf2pkl4llci34vwxi-story.html

The first in a series of new committee assignments at the General Assembly will come Wednesday when House Speaker Matt Ritter names Rep. Maria Horn, D-Salisbury, as co-chair of the Finance, Revenue and Bonding Committee. At least seven legislative committees will get new co-chairs in the term that begins Jan. 4, including one of the more challenging assignments, co-chair of the Energy and Technology Committee. Unlike Congress, all committees of the Connecticut General Assembly are joint committees with House and Senate co-chairs and rank-and-file members. Ritter and House Majority Leader Jason Rojas, D-East Hartford, the choices of the House Democratic majority to continue as leaders, announced two returning co-chairs Tuesday: Rep. Roland Lemar of New Haven at Transportation and Rep. Steve Stafstrom of Bridgeport at Judiciary.

At least 7 CT General Assembly committees to get new leadership

The press conference formalized what has been set for months: Giulietti will step down as commissioner in December, and Lamont intends to nominate his well-regarded deputy, Eucalitto, to run ConnDOT at a crucial juncture for the rebuilding of highways and mass transit in America. Federal transportation funding is at an all-time high, available to Connecticut under formula and competitive grants. Virtually all of the state’s rail improvement priorities were included in the $24 billion in funding approved for the Northeast rail corridor. But the DOT’s engineering ranks are understaffed, the state must provide matching funds, and the construction industry long has complained that Connecticut moves too slowly on infrastructure. Historically, hiring has been slowed by the involvement of two other agencies, the Department of Administrative Services and the Office of Policy and Management. Eucalitto said the process has improved, with DAS quickly posting job openings.

CT Department of Transportation to get a new leader

The city has acquired a 24-acre hilltop on the west side, moving forward its ambitious plans to open the first career academy of its kind in Connecticut by 2024, and provide badly needed classrooms for a student enrollment that has outpaced projections. Danbury closed on the Apple Ridge Road property formerly used by Cartus Corp. on Tuesday afternoon and rezoned the light industrial campus into residential zoning on Tuesday night, clearing the way for the city to take the next step for the $164 million project. The state has agreed to reimburse Danbury for 80 percent of its classroom construction costs. The new career academy would overlook a west side that continues to lead Danbury’s economy with large-scale residential development and new business activity. To get the academy plans off the ground, the city needed to revert to the zoning that was in place 40 years ago when the biggest thing on the west side was the Danbury Fair.

https://www.newstimes.com/news/article/Danbury-moves-ahead-with-very-exciting-17606829.php

The Zoning Commission on Nov. 16 approved text changes to the land use regulations that creates a special development district for a “combined working, service, shopping, retial, restaurant/dining, entertainment, recreation, residential, hotel, medical, technology, industry, educational, energy creation, office and other compatible uses in a coordinated environment.” The text change has an effective date of Dec. 5. The commission also accepted a special permit application and set a hearing for Dec. 14 at Town Hall for the proposed mixed use residential and commercial development for Parcel B. While those two projects begin to move ahead, the borough is spending its American Rescue Plan Act money to redo the infrastructure by bringing in all new sanitary sewers and storm water systems and the complete rebuild of Maple and Church streets, Hess said. Pennrose Developer and Project Manager Karmen Cheung said the Parcel B development will be divided into three phases with 60 units for each. Developers plan for in the range of high 70s of parking spaces per 60 units. The parking lot will be located between the proposed building and the train station.

https://www.rep-am.com/local/localnews/2022/11/27/zone-change-spurs-progress/

Architect Frank Prial Jr. walked the Planning & Zoning Commission through the proposed reconstruction of Greenwich Plaza at Railroad Avenue and spelled out the new look planned for the key gateway to Greenwich. A major redesign of the exterior and interior of the Greenwich train station would be carried out, including new and improved pedestrian access, as part of the project, he said. The train station itself, Prial said, would be given a new glass facade with a large clock in the center and an extended canopy over the sidewalk, a design reminiscent of railway stations in Europe, the architect said. The Ashforth Co. owns the site and is seeking approval for the new construction at the complex in the center of downtown. A vote on whether to approve the plan could come at a later meeting after another session with the architecture committee.

https://www.greenwichtime.com/news/article/New-look-planned-for-Greenwich-Plaza-and-train-17606425.php