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30-unit housing project approved in Bristol
A proposed site plan to build 30 units of residential housing on Wolcott Street was unanimously approved Monday by the Bristol Planning Commission. The project, proposed by Crown Estates LLC, was granted a zone change last year from single family to multifamily residential. The design of the project has been modified since then to accommodate concerns raised by town staff and neighboring property owners. Originally, the site plan proposed erecting three buildings with a total of 30 units on the property, which includes four wooded lots — three that border Wolcott Street and a rear lot that in part extends in a narrow band to Old Wolcott Road. Combined, the four lots total 3.89 acres. The site is essentially opposite Bristol Central High School. A revised site plan was discussed during a public hearing that began on Sept. 22 and was continued to Monday. That site plan consolidated the 30 units into two buildings, reducing its overall impact on the property and allowing for a larger buffer zone from neighboring properties. The project is expected to begin in the spring of 2026 and be completed within 18 months.
https://hartfordbusiness.com/article/30-unit-housing-project-approved-in-bristol/
Residents say New Milford farm heritage is threatened by drive-thru eatery, market, 24/7 gas station
Opposition by the Northville association to the $1.2 million development plans at Park Lane and Chestnut Lane roads is the latest protest by residents to a plan that would convert an empty 2.7-acre lot into a high-traffic site generating a projected 5,500 car trips each day. The residents are referring to a site that has been the subject of multiple development proposals since Valley Dodge closed in 2008, where an average of 11,700 vehicles pass daily, according to the state transportation department. To deal with the site’s expected heavy traffic generation, the developer proposes widening Route 109 and Route 202 to make turning lanes. The developer, Blue Mountain LLC, has studied the rush hour patterns at the intersection of Routes 202 and 109 and projects that the traffic lights would deliver the same “B” service level as they do today once the road widening is complete. New Milford’s Zoning Commission will continue its review of the controversial development on Tuesday.
https://www.newstimes.com/news/article/new-milford-route-202-development-21122175.php
Why a CT lawmaker won’t accept that the feds ‘killed solar.’ But the state energy future is unclear
Connecticut, along with the rest of New England, has long recognized that its energy future lies in cleaning up the electricity sources in its power grid. The Trump administration has now made that a lot harder, if not impossible, to do, leaving Connecticut and the entire region with the question: Now what? Since his first day in office, Trump has set about eliminating future development of onshore and offshore wind on federal property, which effectively means all offshore wind, a form of renewable power Trump openly despises. So far, his administration has issued stop-work orders for two northeast offshore wind installations already under construction, including one for Connecticut. Each resumed construction after about a month, losing millions of dollars in the process. The state is urging residents, businesses, governmental entities and energy developers to take advantage of the tax credits before many of them disappear at the end of the year. To that end, DEEP issued an expedited request for proposals for solar and onshore wind. Proposals were due Oct. 10. Energy efficiency, especially useful to lower income and environmental justice communities, may feel the impact most acutely. Solar’s outlook is a little squishier than offshore wind’s. Yes, the coveted 30% tax credits are slated to disappear — for purchased residential systems at the end of this year and in another year for leased and commercial ones. But costs for solar have come down dramatically over time, making it one of the cheapest forms of power to purchase. It’s also the fastest to install. So it’s possible residential consumers and commercial investors will still consider it a cost effective option.
13,000+ affordable housing units got state funding in last six years. Why that raises questions.
More than half of the affordable housing units Connecticut funded over the past six years were rehabilitated properties, as opposed to new construction, a report from the state’s Office of Legislative Research found. That has raised questions about Gov. Ned Lamont’s claims that under his leadership, the state is building more housing than in past years. At a Department of Housing conference last week, the governor said, “We built more new housing … over the last three years than we have during any three-year period 10, 20 years ago. We’ve built probably 70% more housing than during that time.” Housing experts say it’s not clear what data Lamont is referring to when he makes claims like these, although he clarified after the housing conference that he was referring to state-sponsored housing. Still, the legislative research report showed that the last three years have actually seen a slight decline in the number of affordable housing units built or rehabilitated compared to the three years prior. The governor has also commended towns for making progress. But in his speech at the Department of Housing last week, he acknowledged that much of the affordable housing is concentrated in a just a handful of the state’s larger cities.
PURA sets November date for final decision on Aquarion sale amid leadership shakeup
The Public Utilities Regulatory Authority plans to issue a final decision on the proposed sale of Aquarion Water Co. to a newly created nonprofit entity in November. A proposed final decision in the $2.4 billion sale from Eversource Energy to the Aquarion Water Authority was originally expected Oct. 22. However, on that same day, PURA quietly amended its docket schedule, removing the proposed final decision from the schedule, leaving Nov. 19 as the date that the final decision will be released. The Aquarion case has become a flashpoint for state and local officials, utilities and consumer advocates. Eversource, which acquired Aquarion in 2017, announced in January that it would sell the Bridgeport-based water utility to the nonprofit, quasi-public Aquarion Water Authority. An evidentiary hearing concluded this summer, and a decision by PURA will determine whether the deal proceeds. Eversource has said it hopes to complete the deal by late 2025.
Revised New Haven Harbor plan reduces dredging disposal sites in Long Island Sound
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has scrapped plans to build a salt marsh in West Haven that would have used enough material dredged from New Haven Harbor to fill 200 Olympic-size pools. nstead, the more than 650,000 cubic yards of silt and clay originally slated for the salt marsh at West Haven’s Sandy Point will be spread among three other sites — including two underwater “borrow pits” — as part of the Corps’ $84 million effort to deepen and widen the harbor’s shipping channel for larger vessels, according to a project official. That stronger containment, he said, would have made the salt marsh more engineered and less natural, required more long-term maintenance and nearly tripled the construction cost, from $7.4 million to $20.6 million. New Haven Harbor is the largest port in Connecticut and the second largest in New England, behind Boston Harbor. But it’s not deep enough to accommodate larger cargo ships, forcing them to off-load outside the channel. The dredging project aims to deepen the main shipping channel by 5 feet and widen the waterway basin so ships can more easily maneuver in and out. More than 4.6 million cubic yards of material is slated to be dredged from the harbor.
Massive CT office complex foreclosure lends no easy answers for future redevelopment.
The court-approved foreclosure of a majority of Hartford’s Constitution Plaza is expected to open up options for the future, but just how redevelopment unfolds — or over what period of time — is the next chapter in the plaza’s long struggle to find a niche in the half century since it was built. Building a cohesive, redevelopment plan for the 7-acre property is seen as essential, but won’t be easy given the multiple owners with interests in the plaza. The foreclosure, approved Monday by Hartford Superior Court Judge Claudia A. Baio, involves six buildings of about 671,000 square feet — including the two office towers at One and 100 Constitution Plaza — parking garages with 1,743 spaces and the pedestrian surface of the plaza. The foreclosure also included part ownership of the pedestrian bridge the connects the plaza to Nassau Financial Group’s iconic “Boat Building.” Constitution Plaza also has been mentioned as a location for a $100 million practice facility for the WNBA’s Connecticut Sun, should the franchise move to Hartford from Mohegan Sun. In addition, there is the potential for a temporary location for the applied artificial intelligence center that the Arulampalam administration hopes to establish in the city. A permanent location has been identified just east of Dunkin’ Park, the city’s minor league ballpark, where a vacant, decaying data center would be demolished.
Kosta Diamantis guilty on all charges
Konstantinos Diamantis, Connecticut’s former deputy budget director, was found guilty on Wednesday of using his position overseeing the state’s school construction office to enrich himself and his family. After deliberating for about a day and a half, 12 federal jurors found Diamantis, 69, guilty of 21 counts of bribery, extortion, conspiracy and lying to federal investigators. “He is facing a catastrophic sentence of 10 to 12 years,” Pattis said, adding that he could appeal the verdict. Diamantis will remain free on bond until his sentencing hearing, which is set for Jan. 14. Federal prosecutors told the judge that remaining out of prison would allow Diamantis to meet with his defense attorney in preparation for a second federal bribery trial, which is currently expected to start in February. They also told U.S. District Judge Stefan Underhill that they recently learned, by monitoring unspecified communications, that Diamantis was attempting to obtain a Greek passport. The jury delivered its verdict after a nine-day trial, during which federal prosecutors presented a mountain of evidence that showed Diamantis negotiated payments from Acranom Masonry and a $45-per-hour job for his daughter with Construction Advocacy Professionals.
https://ctmirror.org/2025/10/22/kosta-diamantis-trial-verdict/
For CT city, fresh hope: New 142-room hotel as part of harborfront mega-development
Nearly four years after the only hotel in Connecticut’s biggest city shut down, developers broke ground on a 142-room Marriott Residence Inn as the latest phase of the ambitious Steelpointe Harbor project on Bridgeport’s waterfront. As steelworkers and carpenters worked on part of the 420-unit apartment complex under construction nearby, business leaders gathered on a vacant lot where True North Hotel Group and RCI Group plan to build the six-story hotel over the 15 months. Downtown Bridgeport was home to several once-proud hotels from its industrial heyday, but they’d mostly been abandoned, razed or turned into low-income apartments between the 1950s and 1980s. The only new initiative was a nine-story Holiday Inn that was erected in the 1980s; officials at the time portrayed it as the key to an economic turnarouned for the city. The Residence Inn groundbreaking comes 10 years after the sprawling Steelpointe project kicked off with the opening of a 150,000-square-foot Bass Pro Shops outlet. It has added a Chipotle, Starbucks and T Mobile, and Mobil plans a large gas station with car wash.
Port Authority finalizes agreement with contractor for State Pier project
The Connecticut Port Authority has settled a dispute over costs with the construction manager overseeing the reconstruction of State Pier and signed an agreement that finalizes an $11.3 million settlement, Port Authority Executive Director Michael O’Connor announced Tuesday. The negotiated final cost is more than the $7.3 million expected payment to Kiewit Corp. to complete the project but will not come at any additional cost to the state. The port authority will cover the additional costs with its own funds, O’Connor said. Kiewit Infrastructure Co. Area Manager Pete Maglicic said in a statement that Kiewit was “proud to have partnered with the Connecticut Port Authority, local labor unions, subcontractors and suppliers on this transformative project.” State Pier is being leased and used as a launching spot for wind turbine parts in the construction of offshore wind farms. The State Pier reconstruction project, managed by the port authority, has been under scrutiny for years because of costs that have spiked since the early estimates of $93 million. The state has contributed $211 million to the cost of renovations while Danish offshore wind giant Ørsted, which is leasing State Pier, picked up the remainder of the cost of the renovations, the port authority said.
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