With a major renovation at Hartford’s XL Center arena now launched, attention is now turning to Rentschler Field stadium across the river in East Hartford — home of the University of Connecticut football program — and the $63 million in state-taxpayer funded repairs a study recommended two years ago. The state legislature has approved the first $24 million for upgrades that would kick-off a five-year plan — $12 million a year — for major renovations at the stadium. The goal is for the stadium to keep up with evolving NCAA Division I standards. Rentschler is so dated, proponents of the renovations contend, that there are pay phones still mounted in the sports venue. The argument also is that upgrades would make the stadium more efficient to run and less costly eliminating temporary, stop-gap repairs. So far, the state has released $5 million for the renovation project. The Capital Region Development Authority, the quasi-public agency that oversees the stadium operations, intends to seek another $4 million in the near future, as renovations ramp up early in the new year.

CT’s marquee stadium needs $63M in repairs. Why increased attendance is making a difference.

The City Council formally approved $1.2 million in American Rescue Plan Act projects, including an 11th-hour plan to replace the Senior Center roof and conduct a needs assessment to renovate the 80-year-old building. The latest round brings the city closer to drawing down all $36.3 million in federal emergency dollars intended to help with the public health and economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. ARPA provisions include a Dec. 31 deadline to commit to funding. Allocations must be made a month later. With just over a month before deadline, the remaining balance in the city’s account remains fluid, said City Manager Brian Daniels. ARPA funding has helped the city with infrastructure upgrades, including an $8 million heating and cooling systems in City Hall, bolster a rental assistance bank for more than 250 struggling families, police department locker room upgrades and support for the Meriden Puerto Rican festival.

https://www.ctinsider.com/recordjournal/article/arpa-deadline-senior-center-roof-19946098.php?utm_content=cta&sid=5af4ad4b24c17c5fa420329b&ss=A&st_rid=a0f9da8c-0e61-4c3b-b465-15287c8fc7db&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=ctin%20%7C%20rj%20alert

Yale University is looking to construct a new seven-story, 188,300-square-foot dramatic arts building on school-owned property at the corner of York and Crown streets in downtown New Haven. The new building will be home to the David Geffen School of Drama at Yale graduate school program and Yale Repertory Theater, as well as the university’s undergraduate program in theater, dance and performance studies, according to the application that was submitted to the City Plan Commission. The project will take place in four phases beginning in summer 2025, and be completed by summer 2029. Yale University’s drama school got a big boost in 2021 from a $150 million gift from entertainment industry magnate David Geffen. Yale has used the money to make its drama school tuition-free.

Yale plans new dramatic arts building in downtown New Haven

The hearing on the Carpionato Group’s plans for a 40,000-square-foot Whole Foods in Old Saybrook begins at 7 p.m. on Monday. The application for the high-end supermarket includes a larger makeover of the Oyster River Shopping Center, which is at the intersection of Spencer Plains Road and Route 1. The plans for the shopping center makeover include space for a 3,600-square-foot medical office and four retail spaces that are between 4,100 and 8,100 square feet. Because homes and businesses in Old Saybrook use septic systems to dispose of sewage, the supermarket and all of the other businesses that are part of the Oyster River shopping center will be served by an on-site leaching field. The store, if approved, would be Whole Foods’ first among the well-heeled communities that are part of Connecticut’s shoreline east of New Haven.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/business/article/whole-foods-old-saybrook-ct-19945732.php

The Planning and Zoning Commission is considering a proposal to build a 96-room hotel and 100 units of housing at an existing narrow five-story office building at 24 Belden Avenue. The 44,000-square-foot office tower would remain as is, as well as the 30,000-square-foot ground level commercial space. The project is being proposed by local developer Jason Milligan of Milligan Realty. On the housing side, Milligan said, the apartments would be smaller with fewer amenities to make them more affordable for students and young professionals. Cost savings could be in the form of smaller cooking surfaces and Murphy beds, he said. Milligan said that the cost of the project is expected to be in the $30 million to $50 million range for both towers and that it could be two years before either project is open. Approvals, he said, are probably three months away.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/norwalk-hotel-apartments-office-tower-19937025.php

Local officials are weighing spending $16.7 million to build a large floodwall encircling the town’s sewage treatment plant, an effort aimed at protecting the riverside facility from destructive storms. On Monday, the Water Pollution Control Authority voted to authorize the project and the town council unanimously approved the first reading of an ordinance issuing $16.7 million in bonds to fund the construction work. The project is expected to start as soon as this spring and take about two years to complete. The yet-to-be-built structure would be about five feet taller than the highest point on the existing dikes, ensuring the treatment plant would be protected from flooding brought by a 500-year storm, Barstow said. According to data from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the sea level of the Long Island Sound at Stratford is on the rise and is projected to increase between 0.4 feet and 2.2 feet by 2065. Barstow said his team is aiming to get authorization to move forward with the project from the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection by March and start construction in May. He noted the work is expected to take two years to complete.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/education/article/stratford-weighs-16-7m-floodwall-protect-sewage-19944557.php

The bridge on Fairfield Avenue over Interstate 95 will open Monday, seven months after its predecesor was critically damaged in a fiery crash, officials said. The bridge was demolished following a fiery crash involving an oil tanker May 2, which compromised the structural integrity of the overpass. The crash happened after a sedan cut off the tractor trailer on I-95 south, forcing the driver of the truck to swerve to avoid a collision. In doing so, the back of the tanker was ripped open, spilling gasoline and causing the fire. Even though the old bridge was demolished and cleared within 80 hours of the crash, the incident caused massive traffic, delays and detours throughout the Northeast. By June 1, engineers completed a design for the bridge, and work had started by mid-summer.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/norwalk-fairfield-avenue-bridge-over-i-95-opens-19952801.php

The Eastern Connecticut Housing Opportunities (ECHO) group has submitted plans for a four-story, mixed-use complex with 46 apartments to be built at 66 Union St., the former location of the demolished First Congregational Church. Plans for the estimated $30 million project, set to be discussed by the Planning and Zoning Commission on Dec. 5, show commercial space at ground level with apartments on the upper floors. The building’s total area includes 3,487 square feet of office/commercial space with a State Street entrance. Another 52,025 square feet of residential space on the building’s upper floors will be filled with a mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments ranging in sizes from 946 square feet to 1,465 square feet, plans show. A coastal site plan document states the wood-frame complex will be built over an 18-to-24-month period with construction anticipated to begin in the fall of 2025.

https://www.theday.com/local-news/20241125/30m-apartment-complex-proposed-for-new-london-church-collapse-site/

U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney stood at the edge of a neatly cut 4-foot-deep trench on Asylum Street Monday morning and watched as Norwich Public Utilities and contractors maneuvered a segment of new 8-inch-diameter natural-gas main into place. The Asylum Street replacement project runs from the area in front of the Norwich dog park to the West Main Street intersection. Work is being done during the day, with the road closed to all but emergency vehicles and school buses, each 200-foot section backfilled and covered with temporary pavement upon completion, Barry Ellison, NPU gas division integrity manager, said. Throughout construction, natural-gas service is not interrupted, Ellison said. The existing gas line runs parallel and undisturbed about 2 feet from the new trench. Courtney said the funding, through the $1.2 trillion 2021 federal infrastructure law, was meant to improve public safety by upgrading aging structures such as Norwich’s.

https://www.theday.com/local-news/20241125/courtney-views-20-million-gas-line-replacement-work-in-norwich/

Town officials set aside $43 million to rebuild Old Greenwich School earlier this year but were told that was never going to be enough to cover the expected cost to rebuild the 122-year old school. The building committee, an all-volunteer group coordinating the pre-construction tasks, is now seeking $1.96 million, a roughly $700,000 increase from the request made in March, to fund the “owner’s contingency” — money held in reserve to pay for unforeseen issues or cost overruns. The building committee is working with Downes Construction Company and others to rebuild the school. Owners contingencies on projects like this typically range from a minimum of 5 percent to 10 percent, officials said. The $1.96 million request would put the Old Greenwich School project contingency at 7 percent, if approved. The building committee plans to take the project out to bid in February and start construction in the summer. That timeline, however, is contingent on BET and RTM approving the funding at their next meetings in December and January, respectively.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/old-greenwich-school-contingency-fund-19934873.php