Streetscape Building Committee Chairman Mike Gawel raised concerns about the construction choices being made and the lack of inspection by the engineering firm in the initial weeks of the project. He emailed the selectmen but the issue was not addressed by the board until a special meeting Aug. 22, after the cancellation of the board’s regular meeting on Aug. 18. Mike Doherty, the project manager from SLR Engineering, acknowledged to the Streetscape Committee on Aug. 12 that work at the beginning of the project had progressed faster than expected and that the engineers had been informed, so as of that date no inspections had been done. Since then, the inspector has been on site multiple times. Doherty explained that there were granite curbing supply issues that they became aware of during the bidding process and the bid documents were altered. In addition, Mather Corporation was unable to get suppliers in the northeast and had to get the granite from North Carolina. This was an additional $67,000 and the selectmen were aware of the change.

https://www.rep-am.com/local/localnews/2022/08/29/kent-sidewalk-construction-anything-but-smooth/

Until recently, the town hadn’t approved a multifamily development since 2013, which developers believe created pent-up demand. Now, there are at least six multifamily proposals underway. “I think the main issue is that Farmington has been underserved,” said Jacob Reiner, chief operating officer of CSRE, a real estate acquisition and management company based in Lakewood, New Jersey. “There hasn’t really been any new construction. The supply really hasn’t kept up with the demand.” CSRE is one of the first companies to take advantage of Farmington’s special innovation floating zone. Farmington Economic Development Director Rose Ponte said the new zoning laws give developers more flexibility and promote the type of housing the town needs — while leaving legislative authority to the commission.

Housing Boom: Backed by employer support, Farmington sees wave of multifamily development

The sewer project, estimated now in $55 million range, may be in jeopardy because an $11.2 million request for federal funding has been turned down. At Saturday’s public presentation of the sewer project, Sen. Richard Blumenthal announced that the Senate Appropriations Committee did not approve the request. The three beach communities and the town had requested $14 million in federal funds toward shared infrastructure costs estimated at $16.5 million. However, the project’s “interim funding obligations” to pay for project design are due January 31, 2023, the date to which the obligations have been deferred. Each beach “may hold a referendum to reauthorize projects with updated cost and funding information,” according to the presentation.

Federal Funding Rejected for Old Lyme Sewer Costs, New Meetings With Officials Raise Hope

A traffic study, drainage and landscaping plans and other documents have been filed with the land use office to support a proposed $22 million, 51,892-square-foot Big Y World Class Market to be built in the south end of the city. The request is to fill 983 square feet of wetlands and mitigate a 6,079 square-foot wetland area for the commercial development. It would be built on the former Frontier Communications and adjoining lot near the Durham line. An Inland Wetlands and Watercourses Agency public hearing on the matter is set for Sept. 7. If inland wetlands were to approve the plan, a special zoning exception would be considered by the Planning and Zoning Commission, according to Director of Land Use Marek Kozikowski.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/middletown/article/Big-Y-would-spend-22-million-on-new-Middletown-17405168.php

Just two years after a state contract to buy power from the Millstone Nuclear Power Station in Waterford led to a surge in summer electric rates, that same contract is a major factor behind a significant drop in rates slated to take effect in September. Adjusted rates that PURA approved last week are expected to save the average residential Eversource electric customer about $9.78 per month, and $7.72 a month for United Illuminating customers. That cost savings is driven by the millions of dollars the electric companies saved by buying power from Millstone and the Seabrook Nuclear Power Plant at rates that are now below the market average in New England. The see-saw in prices from 2020 to 2022 show how volatile the Millstone contract can be for Connecticut electric customer rates, but two new federal tax credits for nuclear production could offset the higher costs of buying power from Millstone in the future when market rates are low.

Controversial Millstone Guarantees Pay Dividends for Customers With Drop in Electric Rates

The Planning and Zoning Commission on Wednesday approved an addition to Keystone Place at Newbury Brook on Litchfield Street that would add 37 new apartments to the 102-unit senior living facility.
Keystone Place co-owner Joe Roche said he hopes construction can start next spring once all the details are finalized, the project goes out to bid and they secure a construction loan. Roche said Keystone Place in Torrington has one of the highest occupancy rates out of all of the Keystone Senior Living properties in the country. The company’s website lists 11 sites in eight states. The PZC approved the project in 2010 and modified it a year later to reduce the number of units from 181 to 102. The project’s footprint was reduced in 2016 before construction started. Although the building’s footprint was reduced in 2016, the site of the property’s storm-water maintenance system wasn’t changed.

https://www.rep-am.com/local/localnews/2022/08/28/torringtons-keystone-place-location-approved-for-addition/

The city is seeking state financial aid to complete a long-awaited but financially troubled East End commercial project billed as transformative for that neighborhood. Mayor Joe Ganim’s administration has applied to the new Community Investment Fund the legislature established last year for $4.4 million for developer Anthony Stewart’s Honey Locust Square. The East End-raised Stewart’s Ashlar Construction was selected in 2018 to transform the dilapidated commercial block on Stratford Avenue between Newfield and Central avenues. At a recent public meeting with the City Council, William Coleman, Bridgeport’s deputy director of economic development, revealed that Stewart does not have the money to finish. This is not the first time Stewart has faced issues with cost overruns. Ashlar was hired by the library board pre-pandemic to build a new East End branch adjacent to Honey Locust Square. That state-of-the-art building opened in the spring.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/Bridgeport-Developer-lacks-funds-to-finish-East-17401343.php

The town of East Hartford has signed a memorandum of understanding with ND Acquisitions LLC regarding the company’s development at Rentschler Field, which will ultimately result in money for a new athletic complex and construction of a portion of the East Coast Greenway. The terms of the agreement were presented at the Town Council meeting on Aug. 16. The agreement states that ND Acquisitions will pay the town $1.50 for every square foot of the development just south of Rentschler Field. The amount being paid to East Hartford is projected to be around $4 million. Both parties agree that 25% of the contribution may be allocated toward the planning, design, and construction of the East Coast Greenway project. The other 75% will go toward the construction or renovation of one or more athletic or recreational facilities.

East Hartford signs agreement with Rentschler developers

While the Norwich Public Utilities water division spent much of the summer wishing for rain to replenish the city’s reservoirs, the utility’s natural gas division took advantage of the dry weather to plow forward with a busy year of gas line expansions, replacements, maintenance and safety work. The new gas line, costing about $300,000, was funded with money remaining in the 2014 voter-approved $9.5 million bond to expand NPU’s natural gas system. NPU General Manager Chris LaRose said once the line is completed, other businesses and homes along the route of the new Yantic gas line also will be eligible to connect to the service, including the Yantic volunteer fire station across from the mill.

https://www.theday.com/local-news/20220823/norwich-public-utilities-natural-gas-crews-had-a-busy-summer/

Months after a development deal to renovate a pair of historic, 100-year-old downtown theaters collapsed, Mayor Joe Ganim’s administration has given up on the private sector spearheading the saving of the Majestic and Poli Palace, and is instead seeking nearly $100 million in state dollars to fix up the structures. The effort to secure such a substantial amount of state money is, according to some local officials, not a plan, but a desperate long shot. Coleman last week told the council’s economic development committee that City Hall has a Plan B — applying to the new Community Investment Fund the state legislature established in 2021 for nearly $100 million to save the theaters. Coleman also noted how that $100 million would not get the job finished.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/Development-deal-dead-Bridgeport-seeks-100M-for-17391746.php#photo-21647513