The State Bond Commission is poised to approve $5.3 million to support two ongoing redevelopment projects in Waterbury that figure prominently in the city’s revitalization plans. The agenda for the upcoming meeting Friday includes $4 million that the Community Investment Fund Board approved March 12 for funding the third phase on an ongoing project to transform the streetscape along West Main Street. In all, the CIF board approved $77 million for development projects across the state. The bond commission is also slated to reallocate $1.3 million remaining from previously approved funding for the expansion of electric and water capacity at Captain Neville Industrial Park to instead support the continued cleanup of the former Anamet brass manufacturing complex abutting the Naugatuck River on South Main Street.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/waterbury/article/waterbury-ct-redevelopment-west-main-street-funds-20264839.php

The state Bond Commission, on Friday, will consider borrowing $680.7 million for a laundry list of economic development and other initiatives. Housing is a leading theme, with officials set to borrow $192 million for various development and maintenance programs. The state Department of Housing is up for $135 million for its “flexible housing program,” a key initiative to partner with developers, municipalities and nonprofits for the creation of affordable housing. Friday’s agenda includes funding for a host of economic development efforts. Hartford, for instance, is up for $5.4 million for a cleanup of a roughly 33-acre abandoned junkyard along Bartholemew and Flatbush avenues. There’s also $1.36 million in revenue guarantees for Aer Lingus to ensure the airline continues its direct flight out of Bradley International Airport to Dublin, Ireland through 2026.

CT eyes borrowing hundreds of millions for housing, marina upgrades, trans-Atlantic flight and other economic development efforts

New standards from the Trump administration have led the state Department of Transportation to take down large signs around Connecticut sites that were funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law of 2021, removing references to former President Joe Biden, who signed the $1.2 trillion act. While allowing green signs without Biden’s name to remain in place at dozens of project sites, white signs, about six-feet by four-feet, containing Biden’s name have been ordered removed. Josh Morgan, communications director for the DOT, said Monday that at the time of the law called the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which Biden signed in November of 2021, signage requirements under the U.S. Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices called for large green signs to be placed along highways and roadways without Biden’s name. Morgan estimated that “a handful” of signs with Biden’s name have been removed from project areas, while the green signs are being left in place, for the time being.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/some-signs-with-biden-s-name-being-removed-from-ct-highways-under-trump-orders/ar-AA1Ctf3l?ocid=BingNewsVerp&cvid=dcd2b9521bef437187c610aa2faf6f47&ei=21

The state Bond Commission will meet on Friday to vote on a series of allocations for projects in northeastern and north-central Connecticut, including a $10 million allocation to begin the revitalization of Enfield Square. The funding would jump start the ambitious $250 million proposal to redevelop the Enfield Square mall into a mixed-use property complete with a variety of retail, recreational, and residential units. Last month, CIF board members praised the proposed project, dubbed Enfield Marketplace, saying it could be transformative for the region and the state as the outdated indoor mall model is dying. Other CIF funding to be considered is more than $1.2 million for renovations to River Street School in Windsor, and $250,000 for Park Hill in East Windsor. A total of $19 million for grants and improvements to various magnet schools will also be considered, funding that would help pay for roof repairs, boiler replacements, and HVAC upgrades, among other projects.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/journalinquirer/article/ct-bond-commission-enfield-square-mall-20262650.php

Renovations on the Darien Metro-North Railroad train station will not be completed until next year after multiple setbacks, according to First Selectman Jon Zagrodzky. Construction has been ongoing on extensive renovations on the downtown station, with upgrades including platform replacements on both sides, new hydraulic elevators and the state’s first electrically heated train platform, which would help the town avoid salting for ice in the winter. The eastern platform’s replacement is now slated to finish by the end of August and the entire project, barring any unforeseen delays, would likely wrap by March 2026 according to Zagrodzky. The estimated cost of the project, which is state funded, is now closer to $40 million, Zagrodzky said. The cost was originally estimated at $34 million, with the delays adding about $6 million the cost. Construction also reportedly ran into unexpected infrastructure when digging trenches for the electrical supply that would power the heated platform. Workers also found the demolished remains of a 19th century building that had been paved over, Zagrodzky said, which they then had to excavate to install the electrical infrastructure.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/darien/article/darien-metro-north-railroad-station-construction-20252621.php

With state investment uncertain, Andre Swanston and his Connecticut Sports Group, the developers behind the proposed new soccer stadium, are working with city officials on an additional funding mechanism to help get the venue built. More specifically they would obtain permission from the Connecticut General Assembly to employ tax increment financing (TIF), using a portion of any new real estate taxes generated by the lower East Side redevelopment to pay off some of the construction debt, rather than those revenues going straight into Bridgeport’s coffers. First stop is the state legislature, which must allow Bridgeport to establish a special taxing district encompassing where Swanston wants to erect the stadium — as well as housing, a hotel, retail and restaurant space — in a project that he unveiled in late 2023. While the developers have so far repeatedly declined to talk actual numbers, documents from early 2024 showed the soccer facility’s budget to be $96.2 million. State officials last year awarded a total of $16 million toward helping cover the clean-up of environmental contamination, specifying that should the stadium not move forward those targeted properties will be shovel-ready for other redevelopment.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/taxing-district-soccer-mls-bridgeport-stadium-20262928.php

The former Meriden-Wallingford Hospital may become the new site for Casimir Pulaski Elementary School, following a recommendation from the Meriden Board of Education. As part of its capital improvement projects, the Board of Education is considering renovating Thomas Hooker Elementary School and building a new Pulaski at 1 King Place, the former hospital, Assistant Superintendent Michael Grove said during a recent meeting. Renovations for Thomas Hooker include expanding the cafeteria, playground, auditorium and gymnasium. Plans also include adding air conditioning to all classrooms, upgrading the heating system, improving handicap accessibility with an elevator and installing new energy-efficient windows. Deputy Majority Leader Larue Graham asked the board if the building could be utilized for special education students outside the district.

https://www.ctinsider.com/recordjournal/article/new-pulaski-school-meriden-wallingford-hospital-20255330.php

Town officials are in the early stages of a plan to reconstruct part of Tolland Turnpike, backed by $6.7 million in state and federal funding. The project is anticipated to cost $7.2 million, with the remaining $500,000 to be covered by a local match allocated through a Public Works bond referendum approved by Manchester voters in November 2023. Town Engineer Jeff LaMalva said the project involves reconstructing the pavement surface of a roughly one-mile stretch of Tolland Turnpike, including the two railroad crossings, as well as construction of a “shared-use path” on the south side of the road. LaMalva said the project is currently conceptual in nature, but the town will begin the design and permitting phase this summer, with work anticipated to begin in late 2026 or early 2027. A public engagement meeting will be held as part of that work, he said. “We are very grateful for the federal and state funding for this project, as this would likely need to be completed in phases if entirely funded locally,” he said.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/journalinquirer/article/ct-manchester-tolland-turnpike-road-work-20255044.php

Father and son team Robert Christoph Sr. and Jr.’s RCI Group has made slow but substantial progress at the Steelpointe site over the past decade-plus but wants more time to respond to future market conditions with construction just starting on a couple thousand units of proposed housing. The prime acreage is located on the lower East Side, near downtown between Interstate 95 and the harbor. Under that agreement, which ends in 2052, the developer is allowed to use a chunk of the real estate taxes due Bridgeport to instead pay off the borrowing funding Steelpointe’s infrastructure, like roads and utilities. That subsidy is known as tax incremental financing. Bridgeport, according to city officials, currently receives $650,000 in annual property tax payments from Steelpointe, with the remaining balance of around $1 million reinvested in the infrastructure. Bridgeport’s tax share will grow as the years pass and more gets built out. But, he continued, when the Christophs seek to borrow to help finance the infrastructure improvements, those preferred terms are often 30 to 40 years long. And since a hotel and about 2,000 housing units are still in the future, RCI wants to push out that 2012 agreement by a couple of decades to 2072.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/bridgeport-steelpointe-tax-deal-extension-20258569.php

Demolition of what used to be the Burlington Coat Factory in downtown Stamford was ongoing as of Friday. The building is being destroyed to make way for a 280-unit apartment building that will take its place at 74 Broad St. Randy Salvatore, the developer behind the project, said demolition could be expected to be completed by early 2025 in previous stories in The Stamford Advocate. The building itself would be seven stories and include around 5,700 square feet of retail space and indoor and outdoor amenities, according to Planning Board documents. The project will also include 310 parking spaces spread between three levels and spaces will be available for library patrons, residents and if needed the retail tenants of the project. The Burlington Coat Factory in downtown Stamford closed in June 2024 and opened its new location in the Ridgeway Shopping Center in July 2024.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/burlington-coat-factory-stamford-20258817.php