An applicant’s plan to build a 171,600-square-foot industrial warehouse on a parcel at 1535 Straits Turnpike has taken a step forward after being given the green light to connect the property to the town’s existing sewer line. Middlebury Land Development, a subsidiary of parcel owner Timex, received the approval Nov. 19 from the town’s Water Pollution Control Authority. Middlebury land use officials noted the town’s sewer capacity, through the Naugatuck line, can accommodate 338,000 gallons per day, more than enough to accommodate the plan. MLD’s application now heads to the Planning and Zoning Commission tonight. Middlebury attorneys have said the regulation was not intended to restrict storage of new products, even if they are not actually produced on the premises. That appeared to be the basis of the PZC’s approval in January of construction of a 750,000-square-foot distribution center at the former Timex world headquarters property off Christian Road. That project remains on hold, tied up in court on appeal by residents who have fought a two-year battle to keep that facility from being built. The final oral arguments are scheduled for Monday at 2 p.m. at Waterbury Superior Court.

https://www.rep-am.com/localnews/2024/12/04/middlebury-warehouse-project-moving-along/

Norwich Public Utilities received approval for three water projects at the Norwich City Council Meeting Monday. The projects will cost a total of $13.6 million, and will be paid for by water revenues, and grants and loans from the state’s Clean Water Fund program. The completed projects are expected to have a 30-year life span, the agenda stated. An 8.5% increase to water bills is expected over a three-year period, but this project won’t impact it, NPU General Manager Chris LaRose said. The West Town Street Water Main rehabilitation includes the installation of cured-in-place pipe lining from the intersection of Yantic Road and West Town Street to the property located at 58 Yantic Flats Road, insertion pit excavation, installation of water main, and valves and fittings to modify existing connections. The PFAS system for the Norwichtown Well could either be an addition to the existing building, or a separate facility nearby. The Route 2 project includes the replacement of all galvanized or copper pipes along Route 2, the agenda states.

https://www.norwichbulletin.com/story/news/local/2024/12/04/norwich-public-utilities-water-mains-west-town-street-norwichtown-well-route-2/76732172007/

Gov. Ned Lamont announced Tuesday that he had approved a $4 million state grant to the town of Stonington to clean up contamination in the vacant half of the William Clark Company Threadmill at 21 Pawcatuck Ave. The cleanup of the 5.2-acre site is part of a plan to reuse the building as a 51-unit apartment building with limited commercial space. In addition, a $1,857,370 grant was awarded to the Norwich Community Development Corp. to remediate and stabilize the historic Mason House located at 68 Thermos Ave. The Integrated Day Charter School plans to use the space to expand and provide community mental health services and host events. The funds were among $20 million in grants awarded to support the remediation and redevelopment of 21 blighted and contaminated properties across the state. The money is aimed at cleaning up the sites so they can be redeveloped and “put back into productive use to support economic growth and housing needs.”

https://www.theday.com/local-news/20241204/state-awards-multi-million-dollar-grants-to-stonington-norwich-to-help-rehab-mills/

Gov. Ned Lamont on Wednesday announced $20 million in grants to support cleanup and redevelopment of blighted properties throughout the state. The funds will support remediation and redevelopment of 21 properties, consisting of 150 acres of contaminated land in 18 municipalities, according to Lamont’s office. The grants are being released through the state Department of Economic and Community Development’s brownfields program. The funds are expected to leverage approximately $530 million in private investments, creating 1,392 new housing units and prompting business growth, according to Lamont’s office. “All of these blighted properties have been vacant for years when we should be using them to grow new businesses and support the development of badly needed housing,” Lamont said.

$20M in state funding to advance redevelopment of ‘zombie properties’ across 18 CT cities and towns

The city and a renewable energy developer are proposing to construct a 991-kilowatt solar panel array on a 4.25-acre section of capped landfill surrounded by the sprawling Bates Woods property. The plan, which will be discussed at a Planning and Zoning Commission public hearing on Thursday, calls for building a series of ground-mounted racking systems holding 3,032 solar panels. The panels would be positioned on a portion of former ash and bulky waste landfill land used for about 30 years before it closed in 1991. The city will work with North Haven-based Greenskies Clean Energy LLC, a developer and operator of renewable energy projects, to build the system with a gravel access road constructed by city public works crews. “This was a dump, a landfill that was capped – we are not carving out any part of Bates Woods for this project,” he said. “This is a project that is in line with (state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection) policies and will contribute to the state’s effort to de-carbonize our economy.” Public Works Director Brian Sear said Greenskies would be responsible for installing and maintaining the panels. He said the city expects to see a roughly $110,000 annual drop in its electric bills through a power purchase agreement involving the electricity generated by the proposed solar system.

https://www.theday.com/local-news/20241204/solar-farm-with-more-than-3000-panels-proposed-for-capped-landfill-near-new-london-park/

Stroke experts are designing the center — now under construction at the hospital’s Saint Raphael’s campus in New Haven — to allow for a speedy response to strokes, which cause more damage the longer treatment is delayed. Gunel spoke Wednesday at the “topping off” ceremony for the $838 million Adams Neurosciences Center, marking a construction milestone on a building said to be the largest single health care project of its kind in Connecticut’s history. When it opens its doors in 2027, the 184-bed neuroscience hospital will feature an expanded emergency room and two new patient towers housing neurological intensive care units, treatment areas and rehabilitation services. A new parking garage is also planned for across the street. Cardiac and vascular care will also be bolstered at facilities surrounding the new center, part of the nearly $1 billion Yale New Haven Health has invested in the Saint Raphael’s campus since it purchased the formerly Catholic hospital in 2012.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/business/article/ct-yale-health-neuroscience-new-haven-adams-center-19958974.php

Heavily traveled Transylvania Road could reopen as early as Friday after having been closed since a section of it collapsed 15 weeks ago during the historic flooding Aug. 18. Woodbury public works Director Rich Lamothe said repairing Transylvania Road took longer than expected due to a lengthy permitting process that included both the state Department of Environmental and Engery Protection and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Lamothe also noted the project required more engineering and design work because the damaged section acts as a dam between a wetlands area and nearby Raney Pond, which lies at the foot of Woodlake condominium complex. Woodbury sustained an estimated $1.1 million in flooding damage, though Perkinson said she’s not expecting to receive the full 75% from FEMA.

https://www.rep-am.com/localnews/2024/12/03/woodburys-transylvania-road-set-to-reopen-after-flooding-collapse/

Featuring a 245-foot-tall clock tower adorned with gargoyles, the roughly 70,000-square-foot brick headquarters of the Republican-American newspaper in the center of Waterbury is among the most recognizable buildings in Connecticut. Now, the family-run company that owns the Meadow Street property and newspaper is proposing to transform the iconic, century-old building into a mix of 38 luxury apartments, office space and retail, potentially including a high-end restaurant. The American Republican Inc. has teamed up with Parker Benjamin Real Estate Services LLC, a Farmington-based investment and real estate services firm with expertise in renovation of historic properties. Now, the Waterbury Development Corp. is asking the city’s Board of Aldermen to endorse an application for $250,000 in state grant funds to pay for detailed architectural and site planning. The request is scheduled to go before the board on Dec. 9.

Mixed-use redevelopment proposed for iconic Republican-American newspaper HQ in Waterbury

The City Council voted 6-1 Monday night to purchase the Chelsea Groton Bank building on Main Street for $800,000 with a plan to seek voter support in November 2025 to renovate and expand the building for a new police station. After the hearing, Police Chief Patrick Daley said the architectural firm Hughes & Cronin of Old Saybrook has estimated the cost at $49 million to renovate and expand the building, the least expensive of three potential sites reviewed for the project. The design is expected to meet the department’s needs for the next 50 years, Daley said. Daley pledged to hold regular public meetings over the next 11 months to explain the project and receive public input on the plan before the planned referendum next November. He said the city also will pursue state and federal grants to offset the local taxpayers’ cost for the project.

https://www.theday.com/local-news/20241203/norwich-to-buy-bank-building-seek-voter-support-for-49-million-police-station/

A prominent city-based architectural firm has agreed to pay nearly $600,000 to cover cost overruns ― ranging from site work to crew toilets ― at the new community center after its subcontractor failed to secure crucial state permits in the early stages of the project. The City Council on Monday approved a settlement that calls for Silver Petrucelli + Associates to pay $585,000 for “work not done by its subcontractor, Stadia Engineering Associates, Inc.” The permitting issues delayed the start of the project by six months, with crews finally breaking ground in July of 2023. Stadia Engineering, which operates from a Vauxhall Street office in New London, bills itself as a full-service survey and engineering consultant firm whose portfolio includes work at Mohegan Sun and Mystic Seaport. Change order documents from the Downes Construction Company, which is overseeing the entire construction project on the Fort Trumbull peninsula, list several instances of unplanned spending due to the failure of a Stadia engineer to obtain a state flood management certificate along with storm water and wastewater discharge permits.

https://www.theday.com/local-news/20241203/architectural-firm-to-pay-back-600k-in-new-london-community-center-overages/