After voters rejected an $85.6 million plan to build a new public safety complex in Ridgefield by 71 votes in February, town officials went back to the drawing board and lowered the proposal’s cost by $8.2 million. The new price tag is $77.4 million for the proposed police and fire facility, which would be built on a town-owned wooded area at 36 Old Quarry Road. The town cut 3,500 square feet of space from the planned 70,000-square-foot building, reducing it to 66,500 square feet. The new plan eliminates a previously planned parking garage and no longer relocates the town’s emergency response center to the new building. Ridgefield’s police station is located at 76 East Ridge Road inside a house built in the late 1800s, while the fire station is over 120 years old. The facilities have issues with flooding, heating and cooling, noncompliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act and inadequate parking.

https://www.newstimes.com/news/article/ridgefield-public-safety-complex-police-fire-cuts-20823695.php

After meeting Tuesday with the state Department of Transportation, town and borough officials said the most recent plan for the Alpha Avenue viaduct is off the table, though future property impacts are yet to be determined. The $48 million plan, which called for shifting the location of the 85-year-old bridge 12 feet to the west of its current location, blindsided town leaders and residents last month when potentially impacted property owners received notice that the DOT’s plans had changed and their properties were now at risk of being taken through eminent domain. Those properties include a parking lot owned by Dodson’s Boatyard and historically used for boat storage; JM Electric and Castle Hill Audio Visual, both of which are housed at the former Zack’s Bar and Grille at 201 N. Main St.; the Stonington Community Center (the COMO) Thrift Store, which would be demolished; and a piece of residential property at 203 N. Main St., including a garage. In a related issue, Shefers said U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney, D-2nd District, had helped set up a September meeting between, municipal leaders and representatives, the DOT and Amtrak to begin discussions about gaining emergency access to an at-grade crossing on North Water Street.

https://theday.com/news/779092/controversial-stonington-viaduct-plan-off-the-table/

The Miami Beach Association opened bids on Tuesday for a sewer system, but higher-than-expected costs have cast doubts on the project’s future. The minimum bid for internal work was $13.6 million — 62% more expensive than the $8.4 million estimated by the consulting firm Fuss & O’Neill, according to data shared by Steve Cinami, chair of the Old Lyme Water and Pollution Control Authority. These bids do not include alternatives like a helical pile support system and different paving options. According to Fuss & O’Neill’s calculations shared by Cinami, the cost per equivalent dwelling unit in Miami Beach was about $51,580, about $20,000 higher than the estimated cost for Sound View and Area B residents. With this week’s bids, these costs would be even higher. Balzac Contractors submitted the lowest bid, followed by Colonna Concrete and Asphalt Paving, Genovese Construction and C.J. Fucci Construction.

Old Lyme Sewer Projects Faces Uncertainty as Miami Beach Bids Come in Higher Than Expected

The Simon Konover Co., a West Hartford-based developer, intends to donate to East Hartford about 19.7 acres of its 35.3-acre property at 341 East River Drive, before starting construction on an apartment complex next to Great River Park. The Town Council is scheduled to review the donation at its Aug. 19 meeting. Konover acquired the site more than 40 years ago with plans to build an office building that never materialized. The company is now moving forward with a residential project that will market proximity to the park and riverfront trails as key amenities. The donation is part of a plan to subdivide the property, which is structured as a condominium. Under the proposal, 6.9 acres — currently occupied by a middle school — would be deeded to the Capital Region Education Council (CREC); 10 acres retained for the apartment development; and the remainder transferred to the town. In terms of the apartment project, Konover aims to complete local land-use reviews before October and begin a roughly 18-month construction by year’s end.

Developer to donate 20 acres to East Hartford ahead of 150-unit housing project

After a dozen homeowners spoke out against a proposed sewer extension over cost concerns, the Town Council decided not to move forward with the project on Tuesday. The council voted unanimously to notify the Water and Pollution Control Authority it was not in favor of the project. Town public utilities administrator Anthony DeSimone clarified to CT Examiner on Thursday that the council’s decision meant they would not approve bonding for the project. Although sewer construction falls under the WPCA, the town would need to issue bonds to finance it. Rand, the biggest developer in town, planned to pay for its sewers. But the WPCA staff proposed an alternative to extend the sewers to a larger area which included nine streets that were also scheduled for paving. Building sewers at the same time as paving would result in cost savings. Last June, DeSimone presented a memorandum at a Town Council meeting recommending that the town pay for the work and then charge the homeowners for the cost.

East Hampton Kills Sewer Expansion Project After Homeowner Opposition

The city plans to invest $9 million to create three traffic circles with the goal of improving traffic safety and flow, according to Norwalk traffic officials. The first traffic circle, also called a roundabout or a rotary, will be built at the intersection of South Main Street, Wilson Avenue, Meadow Street and Meadow Street Extension, said Benjamin Yeung, a senior traffic engineer with the city of Norwalk. The city is also building a roundabout at the intersection of Richards Avenue and West Cedar Street, and another at Gregory Boulevard and Fifth Street. Jim Travers, director of transportation, parking and mobility in Norwalk, said the city’s traffic department is constantly looking at ways to make improvements. The city secured $2.5 million to build the South Main Street roundabout from a community investment fund grant, administered by the state Department of Economic and Community Development, with assistance from state Sen. Bob Duff, Yeung said.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/norwalk-traffic-circles-roundabouts-traffic-school-20815512.php

Those details and far more are outlined in the 6,711-page environmental analysis, prepared by Shelton-based engineers Tighe & Bond. Commissioned by the area’s Metropolitan Council of Governments (MetroCOG), a regional planning organization, the massive document lays out what Connecticut Sports Group must to do to clean up and/or contain pollutants. The recommendations are not unusual for such contaminated locations, commonly known as brownfields, and include “limited”” excavation of “hot spots” of pollution for off-site disposal and “capping” the remaining soil “beneath proposed buildings and structures, asphalt-pavement, clean fill material of sufficient thickness, and/or brightly colored demarcation barriers/liners.” Swanston already has some state financial help for site preparation. Last year, a total of $16 million was awarded for the ground remediation effort, with state officials emphasizing that even if the soccer stadium does not move forward, the money will be well-spent readying the prime acreage for another future redevelopment.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/bridgeport-soccer-stadium-cleanup-20819050.php

Financing has been finalized and construction has begun on a new $48.9 million housing development at Enfield Manor designed for older and disabled residents. Tobacco Valley Development Corp., a nonprofit affordable housing developer created by the Enfield Housing Authority, recently announced that the project closed July 31 and construction began immediately. The $48.9 million redevelopment will replace the 80 existing outdated units of housing with 99 modern, energy-efficient homes across two buildings. Funding for the project came from a variety of sources, including federal and state governments, the Enfield Housing Authority, and Grow America — a corporate equity fund focused on providing capital for affordable housing. Construction will be in two stages, with the first new building slated for completion by next summer, at which time residents will be able to move in. Demolition and construction of the second building is expected to begin shortly after, with completion slated for 2027.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/journalinquirer/article/ct-enfield-manor-senior-disabled-housing-20811741.php

The small town of Beacon Falls is one of a handful of stops on the Metro-North Waterbury Branch Line that will be getting a new upgraded train platform. The state Department of Transportation is expecting to begin construction on the Beacon Falls train platform on Railroad Avenue in the spring of 2026 with work expected to take a year and a half. The estimated $27 million project will be paid for with a combination of 80% federal and 20% state funds and will include a new 350-foot-long platform with a full canopy and windscreens for the entire length. The platform deck will be heated to allow for efficient snow melting. The new high-level platform will be fully ADA compliant to ensure passengers of all abilities can safely board the train, DOT spokeswoman Eva Zymaris said. The state Department of Transportation will be upgrading several train stations on the Waterbury Branch Line which includes Waterbury, Seymour, Ansonia, and Derby-Shelton. Naugatuck and state officials broke ground on July 18 for a new $33.2 Naugatuck Train Station in downtown on Old Firehouse Road.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/waterbury/article/beacon-falls-train-station-upgrades-waterbury-line-20812356.php

The plan to build a dual campus for elementary and middle school students on Stamford’s East Side is still in the works, but the project has been delayed by a year. Matthew Quinones, the city’s director of operations, said the plan to build two schools a mile apart — a K-4 facility at 83 Lockwood Ave. and a new 5-8 school at the current site of K.T. Murphy Elementary School on Horton Street — was moved forward a year due to delays to the demolition and construction of a new Roxbury School. The total price tag for the two new schools is $158.34 million, with 60% of eligible costs being covered by the state. An architect, New York-based Gluck+, has already been selected for the two projects and design of the new schools will take roughly 18 months to complete, Quinones said. Construction is expected to last two years, with the K-4 facility opening for the 2029-30 school year. The K.T. Murphy building would then be torn down, and a new school servicing students in grades 5-8 would be constructed, with an expected opening in the fall of 2031.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/stamford-ct-schools-east-side-20817909.php