The developer of the most anticipated residential development in downtown Danbury blames the “unprecedented circumstances” of the coronavirus for missing two completion deadlines and promises not to miss a third deadline at the end of this year. Developer Dan Bertram of BRT says the 149-apartment complex on Main Street that was supposed to be completed in 2021 and missed a second completion deadline in August should be finally finished by the end of this year. The new apartment complex at the former headquarters of The News-Times is across the street from the 374-unit Kennedy Flats complex. Bertram and the city negotiated a completion timeline under a tax break agreement that had to be renewed once already when BRT missed the 2021 deadline. On Thursday, the City Council will vote whether to renew that tax break agreement for a second time, until Dec. 31, 2022.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/Developer-of-Danbury-apartment-complex-who-missed-17483875.php

The town has received the final approval to obtain state funds for the reconstruction of Burton Road. The town on Dec. 24, 2020, closed the section of Burton Road from Wolfe Avenue to North Main Street to traffic due to structural issues and fears the road could fail. The state Department of Transportation has committed to give the town $2.9 million to fix the road through the Local Transportation Capital Improvement Program. The funds are administered by the Naugatuck Valley Council of Governments. Smith said the funds are available as needed for the project and the town is opening up the bid. The town is looking for bids from qualified respondents for the street restoration which includes the removal and installation of a concrete retaining wall, full-depth reconstruction, paving, installation of new concrete curbing, driveway aprons, monolithic concrete sidewalks, storm drainage modifications, new signs and pavement markings, according to a post on the town website. Bid respondents must have experience in completing similar work. The bid submission deadline is Oct. 12 at 10 a.m., the post states.

https://www.rep-am.com/local/localnews/2022/10/03/beacon-falls-road-project-receives-green-light-to-seek-funds/

The City Council last week unanimously passed a resolution calling on MIRA to “present an exit plan to the council” regarding the plant, which was closed this summer. MIRA President Tom Kirk said he was aware of the resolution, but had already submitted an exit plan to the relevant authority, the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. Paul Copleman, a DEEP spokesperson, said the state agency is reviewing the proposal. For decades, MIRA and its predecessor the Connecticut Resources Recovery Authority, operated the trash-to-energy plant, gathering garbage from Hartford and neighboring towns. Kirk said MIRA is in a “holding pattern” with the plant since the state declined to give MIRA more money to operate the facility. The plant shut down in July, but is still being staffed by MIRA as the company waits for the next steps of the decommissioning process to unfold.

https://12ft.io/proxy?q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ctinsider.com%2Fnews%2Farticle%2FHartford-MIRA-trash-plant-17473686.php

The Norwich Community Development Corp. has a purchase agreement for $3.55 million for the 17 parcels that include the former Tarryk and Dolittle farms on land that abuts Interstate 395, Canterbury Turnpike, Lawler Lane, Scotland Road, and Route 97 in Occum. Norwich officials had included $17 million in a larger regional federal grant application that would have been used to purchase the land and develop the park, but the region learned in early September it did not receive the federal grant. The plan, called Business Park North, will be presented to the City Council, which serves as the city zoning board, on Oct. 17. The council will refer it to the Commission on the City Plan at its Oct. 25 meeting before the council-zoning board schedules a public hearing. The Business Park North plan has been in the works for several years, with Norwich Public Utilities funding $575,000 in early development costs, including purchase option fees. The Business Master Plan District was created by the City Council in 2021 in anticipation of the new proposed business park. The district serves as a floating zone that could be applied to large areas in the city proposed for major development. The city Inland Wetlands and Watercourses Commission has approved the plan.

https://www.theday.com/local-news/20221002/proposed-second-norwich-business-park-plan-submitted/

The city’s effort to repurpose the former Meriden-Wallingford Hospital inched forward this past week, with the City Council’s Finance Committee signing off on a request to pursue state grant funds to partially demolish the site. The Finance Committee on Tuesday approved a request by city officials to apply for state funding through the Connecticut Communities Challenge Grant program, which is administered by the state Department of Economic and Community Development. The request must still be adopted by the whole City Council, which meets Monday. The application deadline is Oct. 7. City officials have proposed a roughly $6 million project to demolish the main hospital building, while potentially leaving the former nurses hospital building and parking garage intact. The city could pursue a scaled down demolition should officials with the State Historic Preservation Office decide the nurses portion must be preserved.

https://www.myrecordjournal.com/News/Meriden/Meriden-News/Finance-committee-discusses-grant-application-to-demolish-former-Meriden-Wallingford-Hospital-buildi

Area economic, healthcare and city leaders broke ground Thursday on the new Wheeler Health administrative headquarters and health center at One Hope Street, slated to open in 2023. Wheeler Health CEO and President Dr. Sabrina Trocchi said the organization was focused on attracting “hope” to the Greater Bristol community as well as others with the aim of bringing a more developed downtown with professionals, increased access to integrated behavioral and physical healthcare and more. David Patrick, president of the Downes Construction company slated to help in the future structure’s creation, said a project like the Wheeler Health facility was meaningful for the business as it meant being part of an effort to improve community wellbeing. After a new City Council was voted into administration in November 2021, Wheeler Health headquarter plans stalled as new members voted down previous construction plans in December 2021 before renegotiating. Council members accepted a modified plan in February this year with increased emphasis on a smaller Wheeler property footprint and shared parking for potential downtown attractions and the hope for a reborn retail and restaurant scene in the area.

http://www.bristolpress.com/BP-Bristol+News/409329/area-economic-healthcare-city-leaders-break-ground-on-new-wheeler-health-building

The town has been awarded $6.4 million in state funding for the second phase of a years-long effort to upgrade the streetscapes that run through downtown. Much of the planned improvements are aimed at promoting pedestrian and cyclist safety, but Attota said they are also intended to better connect the central part of town with its surrounding neighborhoods. The town received the funding through the state Department of Transportation’s Local Capital Improvement Program, which was created to help towns and cities across Connecticut fund transportation-related infrastructure projects. Attota said the project is now in the design stage. Like the first phase of improvements to Main Street, the town is working with the engineering firm BSC Group to redesign the streetscape. The funding approval comes as the town seeks bids from construction companies for the first round of upgrades to Main Street. Attota said the town is aiming to begin work on the $2 million project next spring.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/Stratford-awarded-6-million-Main-Street-17476262.php

A state juvenile residential treatment center that has been shuttered for over a decade on a property eyed by town officials as a potential source of tax revenue could finally be repurposed as Hamden seeks a developer for the 50-acre site. Officials have floated ideas such as constructing senior housing or a biomedical campus at High Meadows, but its future has been up in the air for years. The town now hopes to have a plan in place by the spring. To help identify interested parties, the town has issued a request for proposals for a consultant to market the site to potential developers. The position is known as an owners representative, according to a copy of the RFP available online. Hamden aims to start an engagement process in October, issue an RFP to developers that would be due at the start of 2023 and bring a proposal to the Legislative Council in the spring “with an anticipation that we’re going to close on the property with a developer and the state by June 30 of 2023,” Johnson said.

https://www.nhregister.com/news/article/Hamden-eyes-spring-deadline-for-High-Meadows-17478330.php?src=nhrhpdesecp

The Connecticut Department of Transportation said a long-awaited $54 million reconfiguration of the notorious intersection will center around a new bridge to carry Route 9 over Union Street, complete with an additional northbound acceleration lane that will allow Route 17 traffic to merge onto the highway without having to stop first at a stop sign. The project has not been bid yet, with an advertisement planned for next month – but construction is projected to begin in the spring of 2023 with the reconfiguration of the Route 17-Main Street Extension interchange, and wrap up in fall 2026 with the construction of the new bridge on Route 9, Connecticut DOT engineer Stephen Hall said during a virtual informational meeting Thursday night. Construction on the Route 9 bridge isn’t actually expected to start until the winter of 2023 – Hall said construction will be year-round to allow it to be completed sooner. In the spring, construction would begin at the interchange of Route 17 and Main Street Extension.

Plans Announced to Fix Accident-Prone Route 17 Interchange Onto Route 9 at Middletown

The fenced-off site of The Haven mall project has sat mostly dormant for years, with multiple buildings deteriorating across the street from neighborhood residences. Although members of the city’s delegation to the General Assembly have said it is apparent to them that the development will not happen, city officials like Mayor Nancy Rossi have said they are taking it one step at a time. This week, West Haven Corporation Counsel Lee Tiernan told the City Council Monday that Simon Group had paid for demolition to begin with the former site of Nick’s Luncheonette at 423 First Ave. “and work its way up.” However, he said that remediation concerns have stalled the demolition with the city’s building department. Tiernan said a $5 million state Department of Economic and Community Development grant intended to support that development may need to be “repurposed.”

https://www.nhregister.com/news/article/West-Haven-says-more-The-Haven-site-buildings-to-17475770.php?src=nhrhplocal