City officials expect construction of a park that will feature a Little League baseball field and concession stand with bathrooms on Mill Street to begin in October. Dayton Construction Co. has been selected to build the facility at 313 Mill St., the site of a former factory building that burned to the ground in April 2012. The Board of Aldermen on Monday approved a $5.8 million contract with the Watertown-based firm. The park, which carries a cost of $6.3 million funded by grants, also will feature a playscape, sitting area, scoreboard, bleachers, water fountain and lighting, a project rendering shows. The project is expected to conclude by September 2023, Hyde said. That includes a four-month winter shutdown, but it could be shorter depending on weather severity and how quickly materials can be procured, he said.

https://www.rep-am.com/local/localnews/2022/07/20/6-3m-park-set-to-begin-construction-in-waterbury-in-october/

After decades of burning garbage, the Materials Innovation and Recycling Authority said Wednesday it has officially shut down its trash incinerator in Hartford. The announcement follows months of debate about the state-owned facility’s future, which came in the wake of a rejected redevelopment plan, mechanical breakdowns, and falling energy prices. MIRA saw a large share of its member towns opt-out of contracts with the agency in recent months, choosing to send their trash to private haulers. The Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) said it is working to reduce the amount of state trash that will be sent to out-of-state landfills as a result of MIRA’s closure. The agency said it is partnering with dozens of towns to explore alternative disposal options, including waste reduction and food waste recycling.

After months of debate, Hartford trash-burning plant now officially closed

Some construction activity has begun to slow in various regions around the country as commodity pricing, building permit applications and even calls for construction workers eased, according to the latest Beige Book reading, the Federal Reserve’s informal measure of economic activity. The report comes as contractors have started to note cooling material prices, and after four of the 11 subcategories for construction inputs in the Producer Price Index eased last month. The Fed has been trying to pull off a “soft landing” of the economy by tightening monetary policy without plunging it into recession.

https://www.constructiondive.com/news/beige-book-federal-reserve-inflation-slowing-construction-demand/627563/?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Issue:%202022-07-20%20Construction%20Dive%20Newsletter%20%5Bissue:43222%5D&utm_term=Construction%20Dive

After a better-than-expected experience with marketing a large apartment complex in Granby, developers Reggie Kronstadt, Bard Kligerman and Robert Kligerman are putting up 165 rental homes in Granby and Bloomfield — with another 150 or so planned. At a time when some single-family home builders are caught between high construction prices and rising interest rates, Kronstadt and his partners believe they have found a niche that’s financially solid: Rental duplexes and townhouses aimed at young families and empty-nesters. Project Manager Perry Gold is directing a team of 75 subcontractors and trades workers at the Granby site. The Bloomfield project is expected to break ground early next year, and Kronstadt said another one — in a central Connecticut community that he won’t name yet — should bring another 120 to 160 units.

https://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-news-connecticut-granby-apartments-20220720-vs6jgmwusvhxnkiff4h3dufpte-story.html

While the station has a garage for police cars, Chief of Police Wayne Williams said officers have to park their cars on the street. The police station garage has gone unused since the station first opened in the fall of 2021. According to city officials, the garage is currently unusable due to structural issues. The city’s Board of Aldermen voted on July 12 to approve a $846,333 bid to Frank Capasso and Sons Inc. to repair the garage. The garage should be ready for use by next year, according to Tener Contracting, which had been hired to oversee repairs. The aldermen voted to approve the bid which was added later to the agenda with 11 voting yes with one abstention vote recorded for Alderman Steven Adamowski. Economic Development and Community Director Sheila O’Malley said the garage bid was higher than the amount originally set aside for the repairs. The city initially estimated the repairs to be at $750,000.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/Ansonia-Police-garage-suffering-from-structural-17317645.php

The Greenwich High School vestibule project’s building committee expected construction bids to hit just above the $2.7 million budget, board of education and building committee member Christina Downey said. But when members of the committee opened two bids from what Downey described as ‘reputable’ companies Tuesday, they were surprised to see both construction companies charging around $4 million. The steep diversion from budget will cost time, for any extra expenses must pass Greenwich’s Board of Education, Board of Estimate and Taxation and Representative Town Meeting before the committee can hire a construction company. The building committee said it had hoped to complete demolition and make progress on the entryway before the beginning of the school year. The opportunity to bid opened June 27, and the building committee gave companies until July 12 to submit their bids. The deadline stretched to July 19 after a potential bidder asked for an extension because of “the short bid period and the fact that there is a holiday in the middle of it.” A short bidding period can result in inflated prices if companies don’t have adequate time to review the documents prepared by the architect, officials said.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/Greenwich-High-entryway-bids-arrive-1-3M-over-17317968.php

Roughly 250 residents, mostly from the Gales Ferry area, met face-to-face and virtually with officials who hope to build a dredging material processing facility on a portion of the former Dow Chemical plant property in town. Officials with Cashman Dredging and Marine Contracting out of Quincy, Mass., purchased the 165-acre Dow site along Route 12 in Gales Ferry in May. The proposed dredging operation would use 10 acres of the property. Perrault said the proposed Gales Ferry Intermodal Facility would be a perfect complement to Cashman facilities in Staten Island, N.Y., and Quincy, and the site is in a strategic location to support the growing offshore wind and other marine-related industries. He said the dredging facility could receive material from the expansion of the Electric Boat Shipyard in Groton, New London State Pier development of a staging site for off-shore wind components and Cross Sound Ferry operations, among other sources. No contracts have been signed.

https://www.theday.com/local-news/20220719/gales-ferry-residents-voice-concerns-on-proposed-dredging-facility/

The reconstruction of two adjoining bridges on I-84 over the Housatonic River in Newtown and Southbury, Conn., which began in June 2020 and is scheduled for completion in December 2023, has reached a milestone and is proceeding ahead of schedule. The project started in June 2020 with completion expected by December 2023. When asked why the project will take more than three years to complete, Walter said, “It is the complete reconstruction of a highway, so it takes that long to complete. There are major shifts of traffic through all project stages. However, because of the flexible access methods provided by the sectional barges, we’re ahead of schedule and it’s a lot safer for the traveling public to travel freely through the site without regular lane closures.” The budget for the job is $52.87 million and is being financed by CTDOT.

https://www.constructionequipmentguide.com/middlesex-corp-reaches-milestone-on-housatonic-river-crossing-in-connecticut/57213

The state Department of Transportation signed on with The Walsh Group on Friday for the $65 million train station project. The state expects a groundbreaking in late August, which should launch other downtown revitalization efforts, Windsor Locks First Selectman Paul Harrington said. Mixed-use residential and commercial projects would be ideal, Harrington said, creating areas where people could live, work and play, with convenient access to public transportation. The DOT is coordinating the project, but Harrington said both town and state officials are looking to attract serious developers with solid plans that will enhance the downtown area, the local economy and quality of life. The DOT has set an 18 to 24 month timeline for the project. Harrington said he hopes development projects can run concurrently.

Walsh Group signs with DOT for Windsor Locks train station project

Waterbury officials on Friday signed off on a $2.5 million contract with a demolition company to finish clearing away several dilapidated buildings on an abandoned 17.4-acre industrial site targeted for redevelopment. Anamet touted itself as the world’s largest producer of flexible metal hose before shuttering its campus off Waterbury’s South Main Street about two decades ago. Under the contract with the city, Stamford Wrecking will also abate some hazardous building materials inside the 220,000-square-foot industrial building. The contract gives the company 150 days to complete the job once the city issues a notice to proceed. The hire was approved by the Waterbury Development Corp. Executive Committee on Friday. The city, in April, advertised a “request for proposals” seeking developers interested in turning the site into a commercial or industrial use capable of generating jobs and tax revenue. Responses were due June 10.

Waterbury hires contractor for $2.5M to complete demolition at 17.4-acre industrial complex ahead of redevelopment