Having threatened, implemented and then pulled back on tariffs involving imports from Canada and Mexico earlier this month, President Donald J. Trump has now implemented 25 % tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports. As of Tuesday evening, it was still unclear how much steel Connecticut businesses purchased from international sources in 2024. But according to American Iron and Steel Institute, Canada was the top importer of steel into the United States in 2024 with 6.56 million tons, followed by Brazil with 4.5 million tons and Mexico with 3.52 million tons. Technically speaking, importers pay for the tariffs, Stanaitis said. But he said most economists agree that much of the cost of tariffs is paid by consumers in the form of a higher price for the goods they purchase. Brian Raff, vice president of the Chicago-based trade group American Institute of Steel Construction, said the tariffs are beneficial to the domestic industry as a whole, whether it involves producers, fabricators or even end users. The trade group represents about 1,000 steel fabricators across the country, including about 17 in Connecticut.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/business/article/ct-steel-aluminum-tariffs-mixed-reviews-20160337.php

WeHa Development Group LLC is seeking a zoning change for 1800 Asylum Ave. that would allow them to convert the long-vacant property into Heritage Park, a development consisting of six duplex townhomes, 93 rental one- and two-bedroom units, 19 townhomes that will be for sale and a 90-unit assisted living facility combined with a grocery store, a spa facility and more than 42,000 square feet of other retail uses, including a restaurant. The proposal is among nearly a dozen active and in progress housing developments in town. It has been a long road to redevelopment for the former UConn campus, which has been vacant since the university moved the school to downtown Hartford around eight years ago. Residences at Heritage Park at 1700 Asylum Ave. has since been sold off by WeHa Development Group LLC to Garden Homes, who will oversee the construction and management of the site.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/westhartford/article/west-hartford-ct-uconn-campus-housing-retail-20158238.php

Crews have been hard at work demolishing the old Southington Public Library at 255 Main St. now that the new, 30,000-sqaure-foot library opened next door in December. Efforts to build a new, state-of-the-art building have been in the works for several years, including residents’ approval of $16.9 million for the project in 2021. A $5 million state grant was awarded in 2023 to increase the square footage and improve the architectural features of the building. The total cost of the project was $21.9 million. The new library has two floors. The Southington Public Library recently shared a video to its Facebook page that showed Whiting-Turner Contracting Co. in the end stages of demolishing the old building.

https://www.ctinsider.com/recordjournal/article/southington-library-demolished-20158997.php

At Holtec International’s manufacturing facility in Camden, N.J., welders work to seal stainless steel canisters that will be used by an overseas customer to ship spent nuclear fuel. To ensure the canisters don’t leak, they undergo a series of three tests, including digital radiology to essentially X-ray the welding job, a dye check to discover leaks and a helium leak test because helium will pick up minuscule holes that water or air wouldn’t. The seven-year-old manufacturing facility produces components for existing nuclear energy facilities and is the future site for manufacturing small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs). Holtec has been working on its SMR design for a decade and plans to respond to a request for proposals from Dominion Energy, owner of Millstone Power Station in Waterford, Kelly Trice, president of Holtec International, said in an interview Sept. 23.

https://theday.com/news/7342/millstone-explores-possibility-of-smaller-scale-nuclear-reactors/

The town has taken another step toward creating a blueprint for the revitalization of New Milford’s riverfront area by voting to hire an architectural firm for $449,550 to begin designing the project. The Town Council approved a motion at its Jan. 27 meeting to authorize Mayor Pete Bass to enter into a contract with WXY Architecture + Urban Design, a New York-based firm, for design, engineering and planning services. New Milford received a state Brownfield Area-Wide Revitalization Grant totaling $170,000 in 2018 to help pay for the creation of a master plan. The town received three proposals, and the Riverfront Revitalization Committee met Dec. 19 and unanimously voted to recommend awarding the contract to WXY Architecture + Design, Fuhrman said.

https://www.registercitizen.com/newmilford/article/new-milford-contract-riverfront-revitalization-20136493.php

Apartment buildings are popping up from Fairfield to Shelton. Some are mixed-use and feature commercial aspects like Trumbull Center with its planned retail on the ground floor. Others are purely residential, such as a new 100-unit building on Lordship Boulevard in Stratford. The Planning and Zoning Commission unanimously approved plans to build a 50-unit, five-story mixed-use building in April. The project was proposed by Peter Dinardo Enterprises, the owner of Trumbull Center. The first of five apartment buildings planned across from the Fairfield-Black Rock train station, formerly named Fairfield Metro, is set to open on Ash Creek Boulevard later this year.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/ct-apartments-bridgeport-trumbull-stratford-2025-20020122.php

State Rep. Mitch Bolinsky, a Newtown Republican, is no stranger to traffic on Interstate-84. And so Bolinsky has proposed a possible solution, submitting a proposed bill calling for Connecticut’s Department of Transportation to study adding an additional traffic lane along more than 30 miles of I-84, from Exit 7 in Danbury through Exit 20 in Waterbury, both eastbound and westbound. Though the bill, which has been referred to the legislature’s Transportation Committee, isn’t likely to pass, Bolinsky said his primary goal is to “start some conversation” around the issue. A spokesperson for the Department of Transportation noted the state recently completed a $223 million project to upgrade the interchange between I-84 and Route 8 in Waterbury — an area of exits and ramps known locally as the mixmaster — and is currently exploring options to reduce congestion in the Danbury area.

https://www-ctinsider-com.translate.goog/politics/article/ct-interstate-84-traffic-study-waterbury-danbury-20045151.php?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-US&_x_tr_hist=true

Neil Patel, principal engineer in the DOT’s Major Highways Unit, anticipated last summer that construction on the $175 million project could begin in 2026. Now, a 2027 start for construction is more likely as Patel said he expects the project to move from its current preliminary design phase to the final design phase this summer. Motorists for years have called for improvements to the interchange involving the Route 7 connector, Main Avenue and the Merritt Parkway, also known as Route 15. DOT will hold a public meeting in the spring to inform the public more about the interchange project, Patel said.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/norwalk-route-7-merritt-parkway-interchange-2027-20147049.php

Today, the legislature’s Labor and Public Employees Committee expressed support for a bill that intends to double the number of Wage and Workplace Management Division’s (WWMD) wage investigators at the Connecticut Department of Labor (CTDOL). Inadequate staffing has posed a significant issue for CTDOL, which has come under fire in recent years for its ever growing backlog of wage complaints. The bill received not only bipartisan support from committee members, but support via written testimony from multiple organizations, such as CT AFL-CIO, Connecticut’s Voices for Children, the Connecticut Worker Center, and various other labor unions and advocacy groups. One such group was the Foundation for Fair Contracting of Connecticut, a non-profit that advocates for labor law compliance in public works projects, headed by Kimberly Glassman. “We see firsthand just how understaffed and overworked these investigators are. We really need the legislature to give this agency some relief,” said Kimberly Glassman, Director of the FFFC, who testified in-person.

https://insideinvestigator.org/bill-to-tackle-ctdol-complaint-backlog-met-with-bipartisan-support/

Trump’s ire has long been directed at wind power in particular, even though the biggest producers are red states, per the EIA. To that end he signed a standalone executive order temporarily suspending new or renewed leases for offshore and onshore wind projects, and halted the leasing of wind power projects on the outer continental shelf, pending a review by federal agencies. Passenger and high-speed rail projects supported through the Biden administration could get reduced federal support under Trump, according to Holland and Knight. Water infrastructure continues to be an area of concern across the country, as burgeoning cities and megaprojects like data center campuses seek to slake their thirst.

https://www.constructiondive.com/news/losing-construction-sectors-under-trump/739202/