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

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