The latest stop on the city’s journey to build a $164 million upper school of the future on a hilltop overlooking Kenosia Avenue is to go back to the way zoning was 40 years ago when the biggest thing on the west side was the Danbury Fair. Before the city can retrofit a 270,000-square-foot office complex on Apple Ridge Road into a middle school and high school academy for 1,400 students, the industrial-zoned property needs to revert to its 1979 status, when the 24 acres in question were residential, like the surrounding neighborhood. With the support of voters in June who approved $208 million in borrowing for the west side academy and other emergency classroom construction, the city has proposed what would be Connecticut’s first “wall-to-wall” academy to provide career and college training for every high school student. The next step is to get permission from the Zoning Commission to change the hilltop property’s use from light industrial to residential. A public hearing for all sides to be heard has been scheduled for 7:30 p.m. on Election Night, Nov. 8.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/Danbury-career-academy-rezone-property-17542298.php

Once used as open sewers for manufacturing spoils and human waste, Connecticut’s long-abused rivers have recovered much of their past allure following stricter environmental laws passed in the 1960s and 1970s, accompanied by the retreat of large-scale manufacturing from riverbanks. Last year Riverfront Recapture announced plans to transform 60 acres along the Hartford-Windsor line into parkland, with docks and kayak launches, along with 10 acres for complimentary commercial development. Connecticut cities and towns have advanced efforts to rebuild riverside properties for decades. Despite the expense, there is no shortage of riverside redevelopment projects being pursued. Boosters often pitch these as a means to reinvigorate economies damaged by industrial decline while clearing away polluted eyesores.

CT’s riverfronts increasingly seen as major economic development opportunities

CRDA Executive Director Michael Freimuth recently told his board — which oversees the XL Center on behalf of the city of Hartford — that Oak View Group (OVG) is interested in a deal that could see the company putting much of its own funding into the XL Center. OVG already manages the XL Center on behalf of the CRDA. OVG took over management following its November 2021 acquisition of Spectra, a venue management and hospitality company. Freimuth said he believes OVG might provide $20 million to $30 million for upgrades directly impacting customer experience. That would offset part of a $100 million program of repairs and upgrades currently envisioned for the roughly 15,500-seat venue.

CRDA in serious talks with global sports, entertainment company on multimillion-dollar XL Center investment

A plan to renovate the shopping plaza, which now has multiple vacant storefronts, including one previously occupied by Starbucks, and another that formerly housed Porricelli’s Food Mart, has received support from many of the businesses that currently occupy Trumbull Center. But a majority of residents at last week’s Planning and Zoning Commission public hearing spoke out against a proposed zone change that would allow mixed use property, including about 50 apartments, at the site. The hearing, which lasted roughly two hours, was on an amendment to a zoning regulation that would permit mixed-use developments on properties greater than five acres with road frontage and direct traffic access to both White Plains Road and Daniels Farm Road. If approved, the change, which first came before the commission in August, could pave the way for a long-discussed project to mix retail and apartments at Trumbull Center.

https://www.ctpost.com/news/article/Residents-officials-debate-zoning-change-that-17525491.php?src=rdctpdensecp

Back on July 21, the Board of Mayor and Burgesses chose Pennrose, a real estate development company with its headquarters in Philadelphia, and the Cloud Company, a Hartford-based firm, to develop 7.75 acres at the corner of Maple Street and Old Firehouse Road, also known as Parcel B. Pennrose’s regional office in Boston would be working with the borough for the project. The state DOT has allotted funding for the relocation of the Naugatuck train station from Water Street near The Station Restaurant to Parcel B. This also comes after improvements and expansion of service to the Waterbury branch line of the Metro-North Railroad have taken place. Plans and designs for Parcel B are still being worked out as the Land Use department hasn’t received any formal site plan applications for Parcel B.

https://www.rep-am.com/local/localnews/2022/10/23/redesign-of-downtown-naugatuck-excites-developers/

The state Department of Transportation will pull back a widely criticized plan to reconstruct a 1.3-mile stretch of Route 82-West Main Street with six roundabouts, a median divider and single traffic lanes in each direction. The $45 million, two-phase project received broad criticism locally, with “No 6 Roundabouts” signs joining election campaign signs in front of city homes and businesses. The $20 million first phase from Asylum to Dunham streets, with three planned roundabouts and the acquisition of five commercial properties, was slated to start construction in 2025. The project became political in September, when the DOT project team required a city resolution agreeing to accept maintenance control of the future sidewalks, roundabout centers and striping of the proposed 5-foot-wide proposed bicycle lanes.

https://www.theday.com/local-news/20221021/state-dot-to-reassess-controversial-route-82-roundabouts/

Officials announced the postponement this past week, saying they will not know for weeks when the new Candlewood Lake Elementary School will be ready. In August, Superintendent John Barille had laid out a plan for students at Huckleberry and Center elementary schools to move into the new 139,000 square-foot facility, built to accommodate more than 1,000 students and 200 staff at a cost of $78.1 million. The driving factor behind the material delays come as a result of Armstrong Flooring, a major U.S. flooring manufacturer based in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection earlier this year. It is not the first time that supply issues have delayed the school project. In November of last year, officials announced three-to-four-month delays in the delivery of essential roofing materials.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/Brookfield-delays-elementary-school-opening-17524882.php

The library building committee is moving forward with a smaller 24,000-square-foot plan and discussed further cuts to the design for the new building during a meeting the architects. The revised schematic of the building was first presented to committee members during a special meeting late last month by the architects at Whiting-Turner Co. The final cost estimate was $18.67 million, higher than the $17 million in spending voters approved for the project last November. With several major features put up as alternates, the implementation of certain parts of the current plan remain in flux. Designers and members of the committee are looking to come to a more solid determination of the project’s scope by their next meeting, which will be held on Nov. 2 at 6 p.m. at the Southington Library.

https://www.myrecordjournal.com/News/Southington/Southington-News/Building-committee-proceeds-with-24k-square-foot-plan-makes-cuts

Plans to build a warehouse on the former Bristol-Myers Squibb site on Research Parkway are once again before the town for approval after two previous attempts to build warehouse facilities on the site were rejected in the face of public opposition. The Inland Wetlands Commission on Oct. 5 approved the new application, which Calare officials described as “significantly smaller” with “significantly less impact.” The Planning and Zoning Commission cannot take up an application until it has won Inland Wetlands approval. There won’t be a public hearing on the application, he said, but residents will have the opportunity to speak on the proposal.

https://www.myrecordjournal.com/News/Wallingford/Wallingford-News/Controversial-warehouse-plan-back-before-Wallingford-P-Z

Town officials are hoping to secure a small portion of the state’s $150 million funding package for heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) upgrades in schools. The Berlin Town Council is hosting a public hearing Nov. 2 at 7 p.m. on an ordinance that would authorize $4.9 million in bonds for this project. Over the summer elected officials earmarked $4.9 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds the town received toward upgrades to HVAC systems in the Willard, Hubbard and Griswold School communities. The town’s Public Building Commission will take lead on the project along with Berlin Public Works and Facilities Departments. A construction manager is expected to be hired to plan the scope of work and oversee construction.

http://www.newbritainherald.com/NBH-Berlin+News/409781/berlin-officials-hoping-to-secure-funding-for-hvac-upgrades-in-schools