The Board of Education took a first look at a draft of the $130 million capital budget request for the next fiscal year for the Greenwich Public Schools during a meeting last week. It covers multiple large capital projects in the school district, including the new Central Middle School building, renovations at Old Greenwich and Julian Curtiss schools and other building updates. The capital budget would be for the 2024 fiscal year, from July 1, 2023, to June 30, 2024. The capital budget includes $5.211 million in Americans with Disabilities Act projects. Currently, every school has areas that are not accessible and not compliant with the ADA, according to the district’s ADA updates page online. The budget draft also includes $1.5 million for the Julian Curtiss expansion and renovation project during fiscal year 2024 and $29.7 million the following year. The district is requesting $69,187,000 in fiscal year 2024 to build a new Central Middle School building, but this amount may change.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/Five-things-to-know-about-Greenwich-school-17452525.php

In a major victory for hundreds of Willington homeowners, town planning officials unanimously rejected a Texas developer’s proposal for a 1.5-million-square-foot warehouse along I-84. After three long nights of public hearings that featured many dozens of residents speaking passionately against TradeCenter 84, the planning and zoning commission on Tuesday night unanimously rejected the proposal. Hillwood Development Co., a Dallas-based company that has built mega-warehouses around the country for Amazon and other clients, wanted to change the land’s zoning from residential to Strategic Development. Hillwood billed TradeCenter 84 as a source of hundreds of new jobs and potentially up to $3.8 million a year in fresh tax revenue to the town. Commissioners concluded the size and scale of the project wouldn’t be consistent with the town’s development plan.

https://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-news-connecticut-willington-warehouse-defeat-20220921-7zrrty4m2rcq7pmq2fp7cwyety-story.html

A new $48 million ice hockey arena at the University of Connecticut in Storrs, which has been under construction since last April, is set to open in January 2023 and will be named after Board of Trustees Chairman Dan Toscano and his family. The new arena will have a capacity of 2,600. The environmentally sustainable design makes the facility as efficient as possible in energy and water use, the university said. The Toscanos have invested toward scholarships and awards to help students across the school, and have donated money for capital projects to support the basketball, baseball, ice hockey, soccer and lacrosse teams. The new arena is next to the existing Mark Edward Freitas Ice Forum in the athletics district along Jim Calhoun Way.

UConn’s new $48M hockey arena, set for completion early next year, named after Toscano family

Yale New Haven Hospital broke ground Aug. 31 on a new $838 million neurosciences center, according to a project press release. Turner Construction will serve as the general contractor of the project, according to Mark D’Antonio, media relations coordinator at the hospital. The project will create hundreds of construction jobs as well as new positions at Yale New Haven Hospital, said Justin Elicker, mayor of New Haven, Connecticut. The Yale New Haven hospital was officially announced on April 29, 2019, but its start was delayed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Costs for prevalent materials in hospital projects, like concrete and structural steel, have “seen significant increases over what they cost over the last 24 months,” said Chris Dunn, a health care construction lawyer at Epstein Becker Green. But that has not stopped massive healthcare projects, like the Yale New Haven hospital, from moving forward.

https://www.constructiondive.com/news/838-million-neurosciences-construction-breaks-ground-yale-hospital-healthcare-connecticut/632190/?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Issue:%202022-09-20%20Construction%20Dive%20Newsletter%20%5Bissue:44646%5D&utm_term=Construction%20Dive

The project includes replacing the traffic signal at the intersection of Jefferson Avenue and Chester Street with a three-legged roundabout. The total cost for the project is $4,082,920, of which about 97% will be paid through a grant given to the city by the Connecticut Department of Transportation. The funds come from the DOT’s Local Transportation Capital Improvement Program (LOTCIP). The city hired the engineering and consulting firm Fuss & O’Neill in 2019 for $215,000 to design the project. Sear said the city spent the following two and a half years working on the design and review. He said the city received bids in June and determined the lowest qualified bid. On Monday, the City Council unanimously approved a $3.3 million contract with Colonna Concrete & Asphalt Paving of Woodbridge for the roundabout and roadway improvements. Expected to start in October and finish in October of 2023, Sear said construction will continue through the winter.

https://www.theday.com/local-news/20220920/new-london-approves-4-million-road-reconstruction-on-jefferson-avenue/

Having in 2015 obtained a 99-year lease from Bridgeport, owner of the Stratford-based airport, the local Connecticut Air and Space Center in 2018 was awarded $1 million in state aid to give a substantial boost to the slow-going refurbishment of the Curtiss hangar for its home. Having in 2015 obtained a 99-year lease from Bridgeport, owner of the Stratford-based airport, the local Connecticut Air and Space Center in 2018 was awarded $1 million in state aid to give a substantial boost to the slow-going refurbishment of the Curtiss hangar for its home. Kevin Dillon, executive director of the Windsor Locks-based authority, emphasized his organization, which aims to return regular commercial passenger service to Sikorsky, wants the museum there too. He noted the CAA-run Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks is home to the New England Air Museum. And so for now the $1 million is in limbo. The Bridgeport City Council, currently all Democrats, will ultimately have to vote on any sale of Sikorsky. Its president, Aidee Nieves, said she supports the museum and city and state officials need to include its representatives in their discussions.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/news/bridgeport-plan-to-sell-sikorsky-airport-halts-aviation-museum-s-takeoff/ar-AA121VmR?ocid=entnewsntp&cvid=14b1bc48282e4ae7ad02a5b3c2a45931

Jack Klugmann, the president and founder of Accurate in New Jersey, which purchased the property earlier this year, said his company has done many different groundbreakings, but it is rare he and his colleagues are excited to be attending one. Shovels dug into earth as town and state officials, as well as developers from Accurate, marked the beginning of work on the mixed-used project at the Fairfield Metro Station. The development aims to build 357 apartments, a 118-room hotel, 70,000 square feet of office space and 40,000 square feet of retail space. Development of the site has long been a topic of debate between Fairfield officials who say the site, the former foundry off lower Black Rock Turnpike, has been dormant for too long. Blackrock Realty contributed $5.4 million to the construction of the station in exchange for the rights to build its initial commercial and residential project connected to the station.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/fairfield/article/Fairfield-officials-break-ground-at-train-station-17454801.php

The town of Wallingford is set to receive half a million dollars from the state for sidewalk improvements, while Cheshire is in line for nearly $300,000 in state funding to further improve its West Main Street corridor. The $500,000 award for Wallingford is one of $31.3 million in state Small Town Economic Assistance Program grants Gov. Ned Lamont announced Monday. Also included in the announcement was the $290,000 grant to the town of Cheshire for the third phase of its West Main Streetscape improvement project. The purpose of STEAP is to provide grants to smaller communities that are ineligible for Urban Action bonds awarded to urban centers and economically distressed communities. The State Bond Commission approves the grants, which can only be used for capital projects rather than for items in the town budget.

https://www.myrecordjournal.com/News/Wallingford/Wallingford-News/Town-of-Wallingford-to-recieve-$500-000-in-state-aid-for-sidewalks-along-Hall-Avenue-and-downtown

As the final phase of work in the Old Greenwich sewer force main replacement project begins, it is expected to have a major impact on traffic for the next several weeks. Temporary road closures and detours are possible as the work progresses, the Department of Public Works said. Work is scheduled in Work Zone 6, which is the traffic circle where Arch Street, West End Avenue and Summit Road meet in Old Greenwich, and Work Zone 1, which is on Oval Avenue near the Riverside train station. Construction on the sewer main replacement has been underway since August 2021, when it began in Work Zone 1 near the Riverside Train Station. It has proceeded through the six work zones in Riverside and Old Greenwich over the past year. Although the construction is expected to be completed by the end of October, finishing touches on the full project will continue until 2023.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/Old-Greenwich-sewer-project-traffic-delays-17452567.php

The job, which years ago was estimated at $50 million, would alleviate some of the worst backups in the town’s Unionville section, particularly helping rush hour commuters from Canton, Burlington, New Hartford, western Bristol and parts of Litchfield County, planners said. Establishing a regional benefit is likely to be essential to securing federal aid for the project, and the Capitol Region Council of Governments wants to emphasize that point when a funding request is submitted through the state transportation department. CRCOG’S proposal is to extend Monteith Drive by almost a fifth of a mile, linking Route 4 and New Britain Avenue directly in front of the town hall, high school and library complex. That would give motorists a way to cross the river without driving all the way west to Unionville or east toward the village center. Farmington will hold a public information session in November to go over details of the proposal and field residents’ questions. CRCOG just completed a $150,000 study of the bridge idea, and will present its findings.

https://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-news-connecticut-farmington-bridge-20220917-hzc4dg4e2felbjbj4y6lxdjbpm-story.html