The plan is still in preliminary stages, but the town’s economic development council recently endorsed it for municipal tax abatements after concluding it would add value to Colchester. The Jasko Zelman LLC partnership’s plan would create three 24-apartment buildings and three 36-apartment buildings, all served by a new loop road that would connect to Norwich Avenue just east of Mill Street. Typically, the alternative is to lose development to neighboring towns while receiving little or no revenue on vacant land, they contend. The vacant Colchester property, for instance, generates less than $15,000 a year in taxes. By the fourth year after construction, Zelman said, the apartment complex would begin paying more than 10 times that, followed by steady increases in later years. Developers also argue that building desirable housing brings more prospective customers to local businesses, and generally helps build a town’s future.

https://www.theday.com/business/20221015/developers-look-to-colchester-as-apartment-market-for-commuters-to-new-london/

The project has remained in limbo, as the developers pulled the application from the Inland Wetlands Commission in October 2020, two weeks after Civil 1 — a Shelton-based engineering firm hired by the city to review all plans and perform its own analysis of the project — presented its review highlighting several areas it deemed incomplete. The commission also voted to recommend the rehiring of Civil 1 to review the updated plans. The withdrawal does not affect the P&Z approval of a Planned Development District (PDD) for the project, according to Thomas. The PDD would allow an apartment building five stories high facing Bridgeport Avenue and three stories facing Buddington Road, based on the topography. The district also would allow for more than 300,000 square feet of retail space. This ruling was the latest step in a process that began more than five years ago. After six public hearings, with hundreds of people voicing opposition, the Planning & Zoning Commission approved the PDD and zone change for the Towne Center at Shelter Ridge development at its March 7, 2017, meeting.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/Shelter-Ridge-Shelton-wetlands-17508216.php

Demand for data center construction remains strong, but growing pains around the supply chain and inflation could mute the pace of building in the sector, said Reaves. The commercial component of the momentum index increased 2.9% in September largely due to data center construction, according to Dodge. Institutional projects in planning rose 11.7%, largely due to a jump in research and development laboratory projects in the education sector, with solid contributions from health care and recreation builds entering the planning process, according to the report. Thirty-nine projects with a value of $100 million or more entered planning in September, according to the release. Year-over-year, the momentum index was 26% higher than September 2021. The commercial component and institutional component increased 25% and 28% from one year ago, respectively. The leading commercial projects included a $500 million data center campus on the Tech Park at Brambleton site in Ashburn, Virginia, and the $500 million construction of two warehouse buildings at the Matrix Global Logistics Park’s West Campus in Bloomfield, New York.

https://www.constructiondive.com/news/construction-planning-numbers-september-recession-dodge-data/634242/?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Issue:%202022-10-17%20Construction%20Dive%20Newsletter%20%5Bissue:45298%5D&utm_term=Construction%20Dive

After taking a dip in 2021, the North American crane sector is experiencing a comeback. In its first quarter report released in April, the Rider Levett Bucknall (RLB) Crane Index logged a 4.5-percent increase in cranes at work across the continent. Of the 14 cities surveyed, five experienced an increase, six stayed the same and three decreased. Historically, residential cranes make up 50 percent of the count, while mixed-use makes up 22 percent. The third most-active sector is commercial, making up 10 percent of the total count. Major U.S. cities — Chicago, Denver, New York and San Francisco — as well as Toronto, Ontario, Canada, have seen increases. In total, 60 new cranes are being added to the ALL fleet this year, and approximately half have already been delivered, said the company. The machines will be distributed across ALL’s 33 North American branches based on market demand.

https://www.constructionequipmentguide.com/construction-crane-numbers-rise-across-north-america/58300

The Hartford Planning & Zoning Commission has approved a $280 million expansion plan that will reshape Connecticut Children’s Hartford campus – but without a pedestrian bridge and garage. Connecticut Children’s had submitted a master plan that called for, among other things, the hospital to be connected to a structured parking garage across Washington Street. The master plan noted that the pedestrian bridge/walkway would be owned and operated by a third party and be part of an independent permit application process at a later date. Officials said the hope is that construction could begin in April 2023 and that the new tower could be completed by the end of 2025. Connecticut Children’s said it plans to pay for the expansion by utilizing a number of different funding opportunities including philanthropy and structured loans.

Hartford P&Z approves CT Children’s $280M master plan expansion with conditions

The developer for a proposed residential community of eight duplex buildings on Shingle Hill Road, which will be developed as part of a federal program for adults age 55 and older, received a special permit approval from the commission in a 4-1 vote. Commission Vice Chairman John Biancur voted against the development, citing several regulations for which he believed the development was out of compliance, including water pressure regulations. When the development first appeared before regulatory boards last summer, neighbors in properties directly abutting the development expressed strong disapproval of the proposal. Neighbor Marty Northam called the proposal a “disaster” that added too much density to the 3.1-acre parcel. The development was held up for more than a year by an appeal after the ZBA meeting. The developer settled with a couple that one of the eight planned duplexes would not be built until the couple vacated their home.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/3-West-Haven-housing-projects-get-green-light-17506738.php

Wielding golden shovels adorned with shiny blue ribbons, state and local officials on Wednesday broke ground on the $2.8 million track and field athletic complex at Nathan Hale-Ray High School. The price tag for the project will be $2.8 million, officials said. In April, East Haddam was awarded a $1.4 million state grant, with an additional $400,000 in funding from the Purple Fund Educational Endowment to help offset the cost to taxpayers. The construction of a running track will be an important landmark for Nathan Hale-Ray, one of only two high schools in the state without that amenity, officials said. Once built, the complex will also be available for use by the public. In addition to the new sport facilities, the renovation project will also address drainage and irrigation issues that regularly make the soccer field unplayable, including in 2020, when the entire soccer season was wiped out, officials said.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/East-Haddam-breaks-ground-on-2-8M-athletic-complex-17505824.php

Parents and student athletes were happy to hear he city plans to use $4.35 million to fund renovations at Rice, Blake and Wilbur Cross High School fields, with construction set to begin in as early as the coming weeks. With current funding from local, state and federal sources, the city can only improve baseball and JV soccer fields at Rice, the football field and running track at Wilbur Cross, and varsity softball and soccer fields at Blake, according to City Engineer Giovanni Zinn’s community presentation this week. At Rice Field, the renovation is a part of a larger project to improve East Rock Park, in which the city anticipates getting $1 million for. Similar to Wilbur Cross complex, baseball fields and JV soccer fields will be fenced to control vehicle access to reduce future damage.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/Long-neglected-New-Haven-s-Rice-Blake-Wilbur-17506789.php

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has given a $650,000 boost to an ongoing cleanup of a series of mill complexes in Vernon that are collectively targeted for a 200-unit apartment mixed-use redevelopment. U.S. EPA New England Administrator David W. Cash; U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn.; U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney, D-2nd District; and other dignitaries visited the Daniels Mills site at 104 East Main St. Thursday to celebrate the award. Vernon has an agreement with Georgia-based developer Camden Management Partners to transform the defunct mills into 200 apartments with up to 20,000 square feet of commercial space, according to Shaun W. Gately, the town’s director of development services and economic development. The Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development has already directed $6.5 million in brownfield cleanup assistance to the site, Gatley said. This latest infusion from the EPA is expected to carry the cleanup to the point where Camden can secure funding and begin work, Gatley said.

200-unit, mixed-use Vernon residential redevelopment gets $650K federal boost

Despite complaints from nearby neighbors, West Hartford’s town council on Wednesday night gave a key approval to Continental Properties’ plan for 172 luxury apartments about two blocks from Blue Back Square. At a three-hour-long hearing, several business and community leaders along with Kingswood-Oxford School representatives praised Continental’s proposal as a source of economic development and an estimated $800,000-a-year in new taxes. Town resident Marc Shafer said Continental’s vision of a modern, amenity-rich apartment complex would help persuade young professionals to stay in town rather than moving to bigger cities. If the project advances, Kingswood-Oxford would sell the land at 950 Trout Brook Drive to Continental. That income would be important to the school, said Mark Conrad, treasurer of the trustees board.

https://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-news-connecticut-west-hartford-hearing-20221013-6jgkboqnrffyfbmweaeesinfde-story.html