Principal Bryan Rickert said the 117,000-square-foot building is bursting at the seams and staff are forced to convert various spaces into other uses against their original design. There is referendum vote looming on Tuesday to decide if the town can build a new school. The question on the ballot says “Shall the $142,375,000 appropriation and bond authorization for the planning, design and construction of a new Hillcrest Middle School be approved?” If the majority of residents vote yes, the project can move forward and officially begin. And if not, construction can’t happen and the process would have to start all over again. According to the town charter, a referendum vote is required for projects that exceed $15 million. The Hillcrest project costs approximately $142,375,000 and the town would pay around $82.5 million.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/trumbull-hillcrest-middle-school-project-19879816.php

Organizers are confident a project that includes bringing an MLS Next Pro soccer team to Connecticut will have a transformative effect on the region. But a year after the pitch was made public, questions remain regarding just how much money the project could cost taxpayers, and whether a stadium will come to fruition in time for the team to play its first games in Bridgeport in 2026. Last week, the Bridgeport Planning & Zoning Commission tabled for the time being any consideration of the stadium and larger development while the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection assesses the project under a coastal review procedural process. Swanston has invested more than $1 million himself in the project to date. But far more than that will be required to underwrite the cost of the stadium and additional development like apartments, a hotel and other recreational draws like restaurants to have the project pay off for investors. The stadium facility alone could cost $75 million according to a budget document from earlier this year reviewed by CT Insider, not including “soft” costs like design work or any cost overruns during construction.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/business/article/ct-united-bridgeport-swanston-mls-soccer-altchek-19829047.php

The $5.4 million project intended to improve pedestrian and motorist safety in the area of Route 10 and West Main Street is expected to be completed in late spring after a couple of hurdles have caused a three-month timeline to become nearly a year. Funded through the Local Transportation Capital Improvement Program, the project includes roadway redesign at the intersection, new concrete pavement, drainage work, new sidewalks, decorative crosswalks, the installation of benches, and modified traffic lights. The Plantsville Safety & Streetscape Project also added rapid flashing beacons at the crossing at the Linear Trail. Paramount Construction began work in March on West Main Street westbound, from the firehouse to the Hyde Away Café, followed by work on South Main Street near the post office and Main Street from Grove Street to West Main Street.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/recordjournal/article/southington-plantsville-construction-safety-19844476.php

The Connecticut Siting Council has approved a contentious $3.75 million solar facility planned for Town Farm Road after months of resistance from both residents and local officials. Avon-based Lodestar Energy filed a petition in February for a 4,702-panel, 1.93-megawatt solar photovoltaic electric-generating facility on 12.1 acres of unused farmland at 141 Town Farm Road in Enfield. The proposed facility lands exclusively in the Siting Council’s jurisdiction per state statute, a sticking point among elected officials in Enfield and beyond. Members of the Siting Council voted 5-1 on Oct. 24 to accept a decision and order to issue a declaratory ruling on Lodestar Energy’s petition, allowing the project to move forward. Bill Syme, the lone dissenter, said that he still took issue with the loss of “prime farmland” from the construction and how close the facility would sit to residential properties.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/journalinquirer/article/ct-enfield-lodestar-energy-solar-town-farm-road-19879824.php

The Renaissance City Development Association (RCDA) the city’s development arm, brokered an agreement in 2023 that included selling 6.28 acres split among three parcels to RJ Development + Advisors, LLC for $500,000. RJ Development, which built The Beam, a 203-unit apartment complex on Howard Street, pitched building two 250-unit apartment complexes on Nameaug and Walbach streets, and constructing a 1,200-space parking garage at 26 East St. Wednesday’s deal was finalized less than two months after the City Council on Sept. 16 approved nearly $6.5 million in tax breaks over 20 years to RJ Development, which would cover about half the $13 million in estimated pre-construction costs. In exchange, the city will receive approximately $18 million in tax revenue over the life of the agreement. Felix Reyes, the city’s director of planning and economic development, said Friday large-scale development projects move in cycles tied to larger market and real estate forces.

https://www.theday.com/local-news/20241103/sale-of-the-last-city-owned-fort-trumbull-parcels-to-developer-finalized/

“We’re rocking and rolling … from a construction standpoint,” said XL Center General Manager Ben Weiss. “The construction is everywhere, and we’re dealing with it.” Weiss and construction manager Robert Houlihan updated the Capital Regional Development Authority on Friday with the latest in the $145 million revamp of the aging arena. Between 30 and 40 construction workers are now on the job at the XL Center, getting ready to demolish the current bowl and make way for a revamped arena with upgraded seating, locker rooms, an elite club and a new commercial kitchen. Construction hasn’t impacted attendance so far at the arena, which drew 12,300 people for pop singer Sabrina Carpenter’s sold-out concert on Oct. 2, according to CRDA Executive Director Michael Freimuth. Work is also under way for a new commercial kitchen at the XL Center, with plans to upgrade the food offerings for premium areas as well as the arena as a whole, Freimuth said. Better food has the potential to boost the arena’s per-attendee spending and overall revenue.

https://www.nhregister.com/business/article/ct-hartford-xl-center-renovations-uconn-games-19879966.php

The city wants voter input on spending $6 million, 85% of which will be reimbursed by the state, for turf fields at the new high school and middle school complex. A referendum question on the appropriation is included on the ballot for Tuesday’s election. The expense would increase the cost of the school construction project from $179.575 million to $185.575 million. Originally the high school construction project included the fields but when the COVID-19 pandemic hit and the cost of goods increased, the Building Committee decided to scale back on some things, including the fields. Building Committee Co-Chair Edward Arum said the athletic complex will consist of two baseball fields, two softball fields and a multipurpose field. If they are grass, which is the plan as of now, Arum said maintenance would be more expensive. Lining, watering and mowing would run about $90 000 a year, he said. The quote the committee got to maintain the turf is $22,000.

https://www.rep-am.com/localnews/2024/11/02/torrington-voters-face-referendum-question-on-spending-6m-for-school-turf-fields-most-of-the-funds-would-be-reimbursed-by-state/#login

The town is moving forward with its plans to reconstruct the busy commercial and residential Park Road corridor that will reduce car travel lanes, add bike lanes, and increase pedestrian safety. Construction is expected to begin next summer on the $2.25 million plan to upgrade the roadway from Quaker Lane South to Prospect Avenue, which will include roadway resurfacing, sidewalk repairs, improved street lighting, and other added amenities such as benches, landscaping, and better wayfinding signage. To do that, the town is proposing to raise all crosswalks on the roadway that aren’t controlled by signals, like the one directly in front of Playhouse and Park. Added bump outs will also help shorten the distance that pedestrians will have to cross in certain places along the roadway as well. Sidewalk ramps will also be replaced and made accessible, with improvements to crossing signals also being recommended. Part of the project will be funded by $1.5 million in state grant funding that the town received two years ago. Sommer said they hope to finish the design by the spring, with a goal of construction starting next summer and finishing in the winter.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/westhartford/article/west-hartford-ct-park-road-crosswalk-bike-lanes-19877367.php

Under a design attributed to the Stamford architectural firm Marsh + Woods Architects, one potential iteration of the building would include a residential tower rising nearly 40 stories with 484 units, with a wide base or a run of ground-level storefronts fronting Dock Street and a larger parking garage on the lower levels. That would top the Park Tower Stamford condominium building as the tallest in Stamford — but any new developer would bring their own vision to the property at 560 Atlantic St., according to Don Carbo, a commercial real estate broker with New England Properties Real Estate who is representing the property owners. Stamford is in the midst of an ongoing apartment boom that has seen the addition of thousands of units in the past several years, with as many as 4,500 units or more in the pipeline according to the most recent count by the city of Stamford’s economic development office. That number does not including the hundreds more that could be built at 560 Atlantic St.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/business/article/ct-stamford-560-atlantic-development-apartments-hq-19876818.php

For more than a year, staff at the Capital Region Development Authority and Metropolitan District (MDC) have been negotiating an agreement that would require the CRDA to help pay for the installation of a large stormwater drainage pipe, which would accept water flowing from parking lots and off buildings planned for the “Bushnell South” development area. Hartford, like many older cities in the Northeast, has a sewer system with pipes that carry both sanitary sewage — from toilets, kitchen sinks and shower drains — and stormwater. All this gets sent downstream to sewage treatment plants. That’s usually not a problem. But large rainstorms, which have increased in frequency in recent years, create sudden spikes in flow that can overwhelm sewage treatment plants, spilling millions of gallons of stormwater mixed with raw sewage into the Connecticut River. Jellison said he envisions a mile-long pipe of about 24 to 36 inches in diameter that could cost around $4 million.

Here’s how stormwater drainage is impacting a major Hartford development plan