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

The $16 million, 40-unit Brookside Commons affordable housing development is going up on 16 acres next to the Target store on Route 85 in Waterford. The commercial strip stands in stark contrast to the neighborhood around the former Cohanzie Elementary School where, several years ago, Foley made a failed bid to construct four new apartment buildings while saving the historic school from demolition. The Georgia-based developer has leveraged 20 years of experience in multiple states to emerge as a success story in obtaining federal tax credits to help solve the affordable housing shortage in Connecticut. The federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program was established under the Tax Reform Act of 1986 to engage private interests in solving the affordable housing problem after public efforts failed. Since then, a movement has emerged to address housing segregation with tax credits. Led here by the Open Communities Alliance and Connecticut Fair Housing Center, advocates are working to direct more financing for affordable housing to suburban areas so lower income earners have options outside cities. For Foley’s Brookside Commons development in Waterford, CHFA documents show 80% of the 40 one- and two-bedroom units will be set aside as affordable.

https://www.theday.com/housing-solutions-lab/20221126/on-nimbyism-and-opportunity-private-developer-tackles-public-problem-of-housing-affordability/

Questions raised by the Sound View Sewer Coalition, and their efforts to get answers, have put them at odds with Old Lyme’s WPCA and with the surrounding municipal associations’ independent WPCAs. Now, the coalition feels they are being ignored by town officials hellbent on seeing this project through, no matter what. Until recently, Old Lyme had a sewer avoidance policy, meaning the houses in Sound View and other coastline neighborhoods in Old Lyme have septic systems. The cost of installing a sewer system in the Sound View neighborhood alone was estimated at $9.5 million and in 2019 Old Lyme held a town-wide referendum to authorize funds for the sewer project. The ballot measure put to Old Lyme passed 883 to 565, and there may be a good reason for that: only the residents of Sound View are on the hook to pay for it. The project will cost each property owner tens of thousands of dollars in up-front and long-term costs through property assessments.

https://insideinvestigator.org/everything-flows-downhill/

The warehouse proposal of UW Realty VII LLC – a company of Glastonbury developer Bradford Wainman and South Windsor broker/developer Robert A. Urso – passed site plan review and gained a special permit from Windsor’s Planning and Zoning Commission in September. UW Realty paid $1.57 million for five adjacent properties – totaling 21.5 acres – along Stone Road in transactions with three sellers. One was logged Oct. 18 and two more on Nov. 17. Windsor, earlier this year, changed its zoning to require that warehouses in excess of 200,000 square feet obtain a special permit. That process requires more public input and gives the Planning and Zoning Commission greater discretion to consider a broader array of concerns. The UW warehouse proposal was the first affected by the new special permit requirement. Wainman noted it received unanimous approval from the Planning and Zoning Commission.

Developers pay $1.57M for Windsor properties for warehouse construction

The slightly dilapidated, unusable feature at Stanley Quarter Park, the infamous pond, will officially be dredged and returned to a new, beautiful useable state. Over time the quality of the water in the pond has declined significantly. The construction company for the project is Colossale Site Works and the architect engineers are GZA Geo Environmental Inc. “Colossale has started the permitting and some of the things that they need to do to address the wildlife,” Barbieri said. “We want to get started right away and hopefully get some things done during the winter and be able to come into spring and maybe into June with just some type of turf reestablishment.” This $956,000 project, which launched Monday, will restore the pond back to its former glory with some added perks and upgrades.

http://www.newbritainherald.com/NBH-New+Britain+News/410691/new-britains-stanley-quarter-park-pond-will-be-dredged-with-hopes-of-returning-it-to-its-iconic-former-state

The buyer is Amit Lakhotia, who has garnered significant attention for redevelopment projects in New Britain. John Guedes’ Bridgeport-based Primrose Companies has partnered with Lakhotia before and was hired to design and build the apartments. Lakhotia Tuesday credited Guedes for introducing him to the site and to Giacobbe. He plans to break ground early next year and have his building occupied by mid-to-late 2024. He said he was attracted to the property because of the proximity to St. Vincent’s Medical Center, the towns of Fairfield and Trumbull, Fairfield-based Sacred Heart University and the Westfield Trumbull mall. In late 2021 Giacobbe filed preliminary paperwork with the city for an apartment or condominium complex with underground parking on the property. He and his land use attorney, Raymond Rizio, in early January dismissed rumors of a pending sale. They instead argued the paperwork had to be submitted to get around height restrictions on new developments that took effect Jan. 1 as part of revised city-wide zoning regulations.

https://www.ctpost.com/news/article/Bridgeport-s-Testo-s-sold-moving-operation-17592108.php?src=rdctpdensecp

A referendum on funding for the proposed Bergstrom Well and Water Treatment Plant is set for Dec. 1. Of the roughly $12.3 million needed for the project, nearly $10 million would be for construction, roughly $1.8 million for professional services, about $499,000 for contingency and $16,000 for legal fees. Not all Bethel taxpayers would bear the cost — only those who get town water, according to Acting First Selectman Rich Straiton, who said there are 3,500 town water users in Bethel. Straiton said their water rates will go up, but it’s not yet known how much as the town is “applying for over $3 million in grants, which will help lower the cost.” The project is part of a 30-year capital improvement plan that the town embarked on after voters rejected a proposal to sell Bethel’s water system to Aquarion in 2013. If approved, construction on the project is expected to start in spring 2023 and take about two years to complete.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/Bethel-s-12-3-million-water-treatment-project-17603766.php