The preliminary design for a project to replace the Groton Long Point Road Bridge and make the structure safer and more resilient in the face of rising sea levels is under review. Consulting engineer AECOM presented a preliminary design for the bridge and causeway Tuesday to the Town Council at its Committee of the Whole meeting. The bridge is a critical piece of infrastructure, as the only vehicular bridge that connects Groton Long Point and Mumford Cove with the rest of Groton, Project Manager Andre St. Germain said. One option for funding is to apply to a program in which the federal government covers 80% of the cost and the town covers 20%, but the town also could apply to a new program, available due to the new infrastructure law, in which the federal government would cover the full cost. St. Germain presented a proposed timeline to start final design next year, complete it in 2024, and then start construction in 2025, with the goal of finishing construction in 2026.

https://www.theday.com/local-news/20220714/groton-long-point-road-bridge-preliminary-design-under-discussion/

Centerplan is asking the court for permission to cite RMS DoNo I LLC – controlled by Randy Salvatore, founder and CEO of RMS Companies – as a defendant. RMS has built 270 apartment units on property next to the stadium that it leases from the city. RMS is also planning to build 550 apartments and a 530-space garage built on a vacant 5-acre lot at 1139 Main St. In the amended complaint, filed Wednesday, Centerplan seeks a declaratory judgment stating that its termination was wrongful and unjustified, and that it retains the right to develop the parcels. Also, Centerplan is seeking a court order prohibiting the city from permitting any further development by RMS or another entity. After Centerplan’s termination, the city issued an RFP for a new developer to build the stadium and to develop four surrounding parcels. It ultimately selected RMS as the developer.

Fired Dunkin’ Donuts Park developer says it has legal right to develop around stadium

Lynn Ward, president and CEO of Waterbury Regional Chamber, and Joseph Violette, chamber director of public policy and economic development, walked past several vacant storefronts on Grand Street Wednesday, hoping a proposed program will soon rejuvenate the area. The program would administer grants of $50 per square foot, with a maximum grant of $100,000 to eligible property owners who are looking to develop or restore new or existing ground-floor retail space. The Board of Aldermen on Monday will consider approving the program. If approved, the program would receive $1.5 million from the city’s federal $74 million American Rescue Plan allocation. If approved next week, the program would be up and running in August, Ward said. Throughout the duration of the program, chamber officials would highlight vacant properties through open houses, social media campaigns and business development workshops for new businesses. Applications are expected to close June 30, 2023. The program would be a partnership between the Waterbury Regional Chamber of Commerce Foundation and city officials. A nine-member oversight and approval committee would be set up and be responsible for processing and vetting applications and disbursing funds.

https://www.rep-am.com/local/localnews/2022/07/13/waterbury-encourages-redevelopment-of-grand-street-with-grant-money/

Bronin, Gov. Ned Lamont and other dignitaries gathered in the rear lot of a long-shuttered brick building off the northern tip of Ann Uccello Street to celebrate the grant. It will help pay for a $17.5 million project adding 43 apartments and near 8,000 square feet of retail space in three buildings, helping to reforge a connection of the downtown to the Clay Arsenal Neighborhood, North Main Street and Albany Avenue. The $6.5 million state grant was first announced earlier this year, part of a $45 million in allocation to projects in various communities through the new CT Communities Grant. State officials expect to spend up to $100 million over five years through the program, helping realize projects that increase the vibrancy of neighborhoods, especially in urban centers. The next application round opens in August.

https://www.hartfordbusiness.com/article/43-unit-mixed-use-apartment-development-to-help-stitch-a-void-north-of-hartfords-downtown

South Windsor planners have approved a proposal to build 165 more apartments at Evergreen Walk after the developer slightly increased the number of units to be set aside for affordable housing. Town officials and business owners at the shopping hub have argued that the new development is essential for nearby retailers and useful for generating more tax revenue. Only 6.8% of South Windsor’s housing qualifies as “affordable” by the state’s definition; towns are under pressure to maintain at least a 10% level. After initially proposing that 10% of its new housing would qualify, Evergreen Walk LLC recently told the commission that it would increase that to 12.5% by pricing four additional apartments at that level. By a 6-1 vote, the planning and zoning commission amended the zoning rules for the Buckland Gateway zone and also modified the general development plan for Evergreen Walk.

https://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-news-connecticut-south-windsor-evergreen-walk-20220713-wmpl2cwzlbdwzovwguk7knrlwi-story.html

Fairfield University wants to build a 165-bed student dormitory on its campus, but some residents are pushing back. The new sophomore residence hall is planned to be called “Regis West” and would be on the school’s campus at 1073 North Benson Road near Round Hill Road. The university is seeking site plan approval and a special exception permit for the dorm, John Fallon, Fairfield University’s attorney for the application, said at the recent Town Plan and Zoning Commission meeting. He said the project is part of the school’s master plan, which calls for $225 million in upgrades and renovations. Many of the commission’s questions for the applicant revolved around the plan’s impact on neighbors and the proposed measures to block their view of the dorm and light from it.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/fairfield/article/Fairfield-University-plans-to-build-new-sophomore-17303145.php

Jay Pendergrass, director of supply chain management and equipment at top 11 contractor Gilbane, issued some upbeat notes in his latest Market Conditions Report looking ahead to the second half of 2022. While not universally positive, Pendergrass’s outlook for 2H 2022 pointed to key areas displaying better conditions for contractors. Pendergrass’s outlook comes as the Federal Reserve has promised to raise interest rates even more, on top of the total 1.5 percentage point increase it’s already instituted this year. It’s set to announce its next rate decision July 27. The war in Ukraine has also intensified shortages of oil, natural gas, fertilizer, aluminum, palladium and titanium. And the impacts of COVID-19 lockdowns in Asia during the first half of 2022 will still play out during the last six months of the year. Meanwhile, surging demand in the U.S. has led to contractors having to pay workers more.

https://www.constructiondive.com/news/gilbane-sees-slivers-of-hope-for-material-supply-chain-woes/627014/?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Issue:%202022-07-12%20Construction%20Dive%20Newsletter%20%5Bissue:43029%5D&utm_term=Construction%20Dive

Two of the four developers submitting visions for a major redevelopment near the Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts in Hartford on the largest of a jumble of parking lots have built a total of hundreds of apartments in the downtown area in the last decade. The two developers are Spinnaker Real Estate Partners LLC of Norwalk and Spectra Construction and Development of New York, associated with Wonder Works Construction Corp., the Capital Region Development Authority said Tuesday. Michael W. Freimuth, CRDA’s executive director, said the plans submitted by the four developers for the 3-acre lot just east of the renovated State Office Building at 165 Capitol Ave, would cost an average of $110 million to build. CRDA hopes to have a preferred developer selected this fall, Freimuth said.

https://www.courant.com/community/hartford/hc-biz-four-proposals-bushnell-south-20220712-s7nkvqktcnffnob3nzjbe76bdm-story.html

The Planning and Zoning Commission unanimously approved a proposed road salt storage and distribution facility at a special meeting Tuesday night. The commission voted 7-0 in favor of the plan at Town Hall; Commissioners Bruce Duchesneau and Anthony Siragusa were absent. The decision, with few members of the public in the audience, comes seven weeks after the commission first heard the preliminary plan for the Gateway Project proposed on May 24. The developer is required to get an approved zoning permit before starting any work and must pay soil erosion and sediment control fees.
After construction has started, any major changes would have to be reviewed and approved by the planning director or commission. Burdick added that all comments from the town officials — including the town engineer and Water Pollution Control Authority — were addressed prior to Tuesday’s meeting.

https://www.theday.com/local-news/20220712/montville-commission-approves-gateway-project-salt-facility-plan

Nonresidential construction added 16,500 jobs in June, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, a surge that offset 4,100 jobs lost in the residential sector. The June gains helped push the industry’s overall unemployment rate even lower, to 3.7%. AGC’s Simonson said the report gave contractors other reasons for worry. Namely, with more workers already added to payrolls, there are even fewer people looking for work in the sector than before. In June 2021, for instance, the unemployment rate for job seekers with construction employment was 7.5%, more than double the current rate. In the 12 months since then, the number of construction workers looking for jobs fell by 345,000, or 47%. That suggests there are few experienced job seekers left in the field for companies to fill the 466,000 construction jobs that were still open at the end of May. That’s the largest number of unfilled jobs in the sector for May since 2000, when the data series first appeared.

https://www.constructiondive.com/news/upbeat-june-jobs-report-not-good-for-construction/626881/?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Issue:%202022-07-11%20Construction%20Dive%20Newsletter%20%5Bissue:42997%5D&utm_term=Construction%20Dive