Fewer than a dozen residents attended a public presentation Monday when architects presented plans for a $381 million proposal to build four new elementary schools and completely renovate one middle school. The plan likely will be put to voters in a referendum in November. After an estimated 67% state reimbursement, city taxpayers’ share of the $381 million project would be $149 million. Taxpayers’ portion would be substantially less than the estimated $225 million “do nothing” option for just repairs and maintenance to the seven aging elementary schools, an unrenovated Teachers’ Memorial Global Studies Middle School and central office building. DRA officials said a phasing plan would be used to build the schools, and future capital projects could be grouped together for potential savings. The proposal calls for building new elementary schools, each housing about 525 students, on the grounds of the Moriarty Environmental Sciences Magnet School, the John B. Stanton School and Uncas School and property where the Greeneville School once stood. Teachers’ Memorial would undergo a complete $99 million renovation to put it on par with the recently renovated Kelly STEAM Magnet Middle School.

https://www.theday.com/local-news/20220711/few-public-comments-on-proposed-381-millon-norwich-school-construction-project

City officials are seeking more information following a June 27 vote by the Meriden Housing Authority Board of Commissioners to allow the authority to issue up to $129 million in bonds for two construction projects. The housing authority board voted 3-2 to issue bonds on behalf of the Maynard Road Corp. to develop 100 apartment units, a black box theater and commercial space for no more than $75 million. The MHA board also approved by a 3-2 margin a resolution to issue up to $54 million in bonds for the Yale Acres Community Center project. Agency leaders have sought multiple avenues to finance the mixed-use development, including housing and historical tax credits that were not successful. The proposal was also packaged as a federal Opportunity Zone project for investors seeking to divest of capital gains taxes.

https://www.myrecordjournal.com/News/Meriden/Meriden-News/Meriden-Housing-Authority-to-issue-$129-million-in-bonds-for-construction-projects

As Evergreen Walk prepares to welcome two prominent new tenants, South Windsor planners likely will decide Tuesday on a proposal for 165 apartments at the retail hub. The idea got extensive public support and only mild criticism at a recent hearing, and Town Manager Michael Maniscalco wrote that it will bring in an estimated $400,000 in new tax revenue. The planning and zoning commission in January rejected a previous version of the apartment plan, saying it wouldn’t benefit the town. The developer filed a lawsuit and submitted a revised proposal that it says addresses commissioners’ concerns; the lawsuit is still pending but is expected to be dropped if the new plan is approved. The commission is scheduled to vote Tuesday at 7 p.m. at council chambers in town hall.

https://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-news-connecticut-south-windsor-evergreen-walk-20220709-a6ftampymrejjp7czkdoa6nuum-story.html

A $20 million grant from the Federal Aviation Administration will be used for improvements at Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks, Gov. Ned Lamont and members of Connecticut’s federal legislative delegation said Friday. Money from the FAA’s airport terminals program will be used to increase the capacity of Bradley International’s ticket counter area as well as improving baggage handling at the airport. The federal money is a small piece of the $185 million price tag for the project, most of which will come from bonding, said Kevin Dillon, executive director of the Connecticut Airport Authority, which oversees Bradley’s operations. The FAA’s terminals program is funded through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, with $5 billion in grants available to address aging infrastructure of the nation’s airports. The work at Bradley is expected to create 2,500 jobs during the construction process.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/hartford/article/More-upgrades-are-coming-to-Bradley-International-17293342.php

Cranbury is one of four school construction projects underway in Norwalk, all in various stages of development. The project managers with Construction Solutions Group also provided updates to the Common Council’s Land Use and Building Management Committee on the nearly completed Jefferson Elementary School, the new Norwalk High School, and the South Norwalk neighborhood school. Construction crews broke ground just west of the existing Cranbury building a little over a month ago, and preparations to lay the foundations are underway, according to Mike Faenza, Construction Solutions Group project manager. The project remains on schedule for the new school to open in time to welcome students in for the 2023-24 school year, he said. The Norwalk High School project is moving into the design development phase, the committee was told. The schematic designs for the new school — to be built on the existing football field — were completed last month.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/Norwalk-schools-have-four-building-projects-17293716.php

Based on prior announcements, that prime land is supposed to house a staging area for the construction/maintenance of the off-shore Park City Wind project while the ferry, located across the harbor, prepares to eventually build a new terminal on a portion of the site. But as the ferry company’s environmental cleanup of its acreage — dubbed Barnum Landing — drags on, the two sides have yet to finalize a lease agreement, even though one was announced in spring, 2021. “I’m fairly confident that we will at some point have a deal,” Fred Hall, the ferry company’s general manager, told Hearst Connecticut Media. “We continue to talk … to try to define what exactly the relationship is going to be between the two entities in terms of space utilization.” Meanwhile another harbor front neighbor of the ferry site, Bridgeport Boat Works, a shipyard operator located at 731 Seaview Ave., is looking to get into the offshore wind business with its own staging area.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/Lease-for-Bridgeport-Park-City-Wind-project-17293597.php

A master plan has been unveiled that would reconnect Middletown to the Connecticut River, transforming an underused 220-acre stretch of riverfront land into a mix of uses, including restaurants, multifamily housing, entertainment, recreational trails and a pedestrian bridge leading to downtown. The town has hired the architecture and urban design firm Cooper Robertson to develop a plan for its waterfront, following a yearlong planning process. The plan, called Return to the Riverbend, proposes four separate districts on the waterfront. The design plan was created through a planning process that included comments from more than 1,200 residents during brainstorming sessions, interviews and surveys. Two years ago, residents approved a $55 million bonding package that included $5 million to redevelop the waterfront.

Master plan calls for transformation, new development along 220 acres of Middletown’s waterfront