The town was awarded $1.425 million to cover the design and construction costs of a storm mitigation system for the high school sports complex, Department of Public Works head Frank Smeriglio said.
Smeriglio said the town will work with Boston-based athletic vendor Stantec for the design phase, although the price has not yet been finalized. Once the design for the project is complete, the contract for construction on the high school complex will go out to bid. The total will be used strictly to address storm mitigation in and around the high school complex, according to Smeriglio. The need was first determined after Hurricane Ida severely damaged the turf football field and then-newly unveiled track worth nearly $1 million. The DPW director said Friday the project will be completed in coordination with the Parks and Recreation Department and its director, Steve Pierce.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/Wilton-High-School-field-flood-prevention-grant-17699399.php

Voters have chosen to approve borrowing an additional $2.3 million to supplement a $6.2 million project for new water mains and improved water storage tanks on Wallens Hill Road and Crystal Lake. A referendum saw 209 votes in favor of the additional borrowing versus 170 votes against. Costs to replace a water storage tank on Wallens Hill Road, and build a second tank at Crystal Lake, have increased since the projects first were proposed. The commission in March 2022 received approval from the Board of Selectmen to borrow $6.2 million for the project, which includes replacement of an aging water storage tank on Wallens Hill, construction of a second, smaller storage tank at Crystal Lake and replacing 4,000 feet of water mains on streets served by the water and sewer plant.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/Winsted-voters-approve-more-funding-for-water-17705204.php

Science Park’s redevelopers are still planning to knock down an abandoned factory building saturated in toxic oil and marked by broken glass. They’re now one small step closer to realizing that goal, as alders advanced a grant application that would cover a portion of the $10 million they need to demolish and remediate the derelict former site. That was the outcome of Thursday’s latest meeting of the Bard of Alders City Services and Environmental Policy (CSEP) Committee meeting. The state’s Brownfield Municipal Grants program requires that a municipal government itself apply for each environmental cleanup grant, even if a private developer is ultimately responsible for the remediation process. As a result, the city and partnering developers have to receive formal approval from the Board of Alders to apply for each grant.

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

An ambitious plan to revitalize and redesign the areas of Church Street and Railroad Square near Christmas Village took a step forward this month, now that the city has received a $5.2 million grant. The plan includes a platform for train passengers on nearby Railroad Square, a public park area, improved sidewalks and street surfaces, signage and landscaping. The Revitalization of Railroad Square project is now in the design phase, and construction is anticipated to start in fall 2023. On Dec. 29, Lamont announced that the state was awarding approximately $36.5 million in grants to eight cities and towns under the second round of the recently launched Connecticut Communities Challenge Grant program.

https://www.registercitizen.com/news/article/Torrington-gets-5-2-million-for-railroad-park-17696888.php

A proposed cluster housing development on land formerly belonging to Barberry Hill Farm will help save the working farm, according to the developer and farm owner Kingsley Goddard. Some 5.8 acres, the rear portion of the 17.5-acre farm, was sold last November for $2.4 million to developer Adam Greenberg, who most recently completed the upscale The General’s Residences at Fence Creek in downtown Madison. The working farm was a major selling point for Greenberg and he said he believes it will make it uniquely attractive to homebuyers. The official name of the project is Barberry 12 LLC and Greenberg is partnering with John Gianotti of Waterside Building and Development, who is the builder. The plan is set to go before the Inland Wetlands Commission in the next month or so.

https://www.nhregister.com/shoreline/article/Can-a-cluster-development-save-the-farm-Owners-17696757.php?src=nhrhpdesecp

The new $53 million Cromwell Middle School project is moving along, with the schematic design phase completed and reviewed at the building committee’s meeting Jan. 4. Next up is the detailed design phase, which is estimated to last about nine weeks. After seeking to hire a construction manager for the project, the committee offered a contract to Newfield Construction of Hartford, which is out for review by the town attorney before being signed. According to committee Chairwoman Rosanna Glynn, the project is still meeting its expected timeline with plans to break ground this October. At the recent meeting, John “Jack” Butkus of Arcadis, a Middletown-based project management company hired to oversee this project, said work is on budget. With any construction project, there are bound to be hiccups. One came to light during the meeting, when it was noted the specifications for the auditorium only had seating for 326, instead of the targeted 500.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/Cromwell-Middle-School-project-now-in-design-phase-17704627.php

A federal funding package enacted at the end of 2022 includes more than $6 million in earmarks for the city and millions of dollars more for nonprofit organizations that have offices in Stamford. The largest earmark for the city — a $3 million allocation — is for the construction of a Ferguson Library branch in the East Side neighborhood. Knapp said the library will consult with East Side residents on the plans and start working with an architect to get an idea of the total project cost, which is expected to be more than $3 million. The other earmarks include $2 million for the city to upgrade “inefficient, high-pressure sodium-based streetlights to energy-saving LEDs,” according to a release from Blumenthal and Murphy. In a statement, Mayor Caroline Simmons said all of the projects “were submitted because they will provide critical investments in key priority areas that my administration is focused on — infrastructure, public safety, sustainability and improving quality of life.”

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/Stamford-federal-omnibus-earmarks-6M-library-17686280.php?src=sthpdesecp

Any future developments with 30 or more parking spaces will have to make 10 percent of those spots electric vehicle charging capable, thanks to a newly approved change to the city’s zoning regulations. The state legislature, in Public Act 22-25, mandated towns to have regulations for accommodating electric vehicles charging on projects where there are 30 or more parking spaces. According to the Alternative Fuels Data Center, Milford has seven locations available for electric vehicle charging. Some locations include the Connecticut Post Mall, which has six public EV chargers and 14 Tesla Superchargers; Hilton Garden Inn Milford has four public EV chargers. On city-owned property, there are six — two at the public library, two at Parsons Government Center and two at the train station. Two more chargers should be coming online in the coming months, with the Woodruff Family YMCA installing them in its parking lot.

https://www.ctpost.com/news/article/Milford-EV-charging-station-17696973.php?src=rdctpdensecp

A developer is proposing 77 apartments in a four-story building on Windsor’s Poquonock Avenue just a few blocks away from an even larger new project at the Windsor Center Plaza. Town planners last spring gave initial approval to the concept for Sachdev Real Estate Development LLC’s concept plan, and will examine a detailed version of the proposal Tuesday evening. David Ziaks, president and principal engineer with F.A. Hesketh and Associates, told the planning and zoning commission in May that Windsor had previously authorized an apartment building on the property at 109-125 Poquonock. In all, the building would be about 94,000 square feet. Vaca’s plan would replace the outdated retail strip center at the intersections of Route 75 and 159 with three apartment buildings. He estimates it at as a $25 million project.

https://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-news-connecticut-windsor-apartments-20230108-oq76tdyepzg57m6t4o65o4z6em-story.html

New England’s reliance on natural gas for electricity generation is expected to cost the region dearly this winter. And in Connecticut, political leaders are suggesting that their northern neighbors are standing in the way of relief. Gov. Ned Lamont has expressed a similar sentiment, telling a reporter, “We’ve got to get access to the hydro-power coming out of Québec. It’s been shut down by New Hampshire and Maine and referendums.” The comments suggest growing frustration with an inability to access more Canadian hydropower, a plentiful form of renewable electricity, as states are working to meet emissions reduction mandates, move away from fossil fuels, and improve system reliability. The existing transmission lines between New England and Québec have a capacity limit of 2,225 megawatts. A recent study from MIT’s Center for Energy found that expanded transmission for hydropower creates one of the region’s cheapest paths to 100% carbon-free electricity. In modeling how the regional power system might look in 2050, the researchers found that greater transmission capacity would result in an efficient, two-way flow between the countries, with Canada importing renewable power from New England when prices are low, and New England buying hydropower when renewable energy is scarce. 

https://energynews.us/2023/01/06/in-connecticut-frustration-grows-over-lack-of-access-to-canadian-hydropower/