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

The site of the former Nathan Hale School, which closed in 2017, is being sold to a private developer who aims to redevelop the property to include residential units, an athletic facility, and a day care facility. Members of the Town Council voted unanimously on Monday to sell the property at 5 Taylor Road to Enfield-based The Court LLC for $750,000, which would place the property back on municipal tax rolls while providing more options for homes and recreation. Demolition of the school and construction of the new sports facility is expected to take between one and two years. Following completion, residential construction is expected to take roughly three years. Over the years, the building has deteriorated and the property has remained under the ownership of the school district and then the town, meaning it was not taxed as part of the town’s grand list.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/journalinquirer/article/ct-enfield-nathan-hale-school-19931798.php

The Representative Town Meeting, at its meeting Wednesday, approved spending $5.5 million to repair the failing structure, work on which would begin next October and be finished in mid-2026. Funds to cover the cost will come from the town’s remaining American Rescue Plan Act funds, some $3.3 million, with the balance covered with bond and note authorization to the Municipal Improvement Fund Account. The ARPA funds, according to the federal government, must be under contract to projects before Dec. 31, 2024, or the funds revert back to the government. The funds must be spent in two years. For the tide gate and walkway work, Director of Public Works Pete Ratkiewich said most marine structures that involve pilings or concrete in the water last 20 to 25 years. He believes that because the town has performed maintenance on the tide gate each summer, workers were able to expand the life by 11 years.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/westport-approves-5-5m-repair-40-year-old-pond-19929445.php

The Connecticut Port Authority said Friday it is working with State Pier contractor Kiewit to remedy what appears to be substandard soil used on a portion of the newly-constructed offshore wind facility. The remedy for the problem, the cost to fix it and who might pay remains in question. The problem was discovered by routine soil testing of the 100-foot long section at the south end of the pier where fill was used to expand its size. The area was once two piers. The soil contains excessive silty material and is not in compliance with the port authority’s contract with Kiewit, said Paul Whitescarver, chairman of the board of directors of the Connecticut Port Authority. Despite the problem, Whitescarver said operations at State Pier remain unaffected. The pier is loaded with parts ― wind turbine blades, nacelles and towers ― that are bound for the waters off Rhode Island as part of Orsted’s Revolution Wind project.

https://www.theday.com/local-news/20241122/contractor-discovers-substandard-soil-at-state-pier/

As construction chugs along to replace the 128-year-old Walk Bridge in the heart of South Norwalk, officials say the $1 billion project won’t face any winter delays. A crew of 85 to 90 workers has been working at the railroad bridge, moving transmission cables under the Norwalk River and installing structural supports, according to Rory McGlasson, public involvement manager at WSP USA, the program management consultant for the project. The new railroad bridge, which carries Metro-North and Amtrak trains over the Norwalk River, is slated to for completion by 2029. All work necessary for the bridges’ northern tracks to be operational will be done by October 2025, Bird said. As winter approaches, though, Bird said that crews have no plans of slowing down construction — except in the case of a major storm that makes conditions unsafe. But a little snow won’t stop construction, he said.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/norwalk-walk-bridge-construction-winter-19929421.php

The nine bids the town has received to build a new animal control facility are all more expensive than the money the town has for the project. The bids open Tuesday ranged from $2.74 million to $3.53 million. The town though has $2.67 million after receiving a $2 million state Community Investment Fund grant in June. This is the second time the town has asked contractors to submit bids to build a new facility to replace the current one at 225 Maple Ave., which has been cited repeatedly for violations of state animal shelter guidelines. Bunnell and May said the bids have been sent to Silver Petrucelli & Associates, which will evaluate them based on the cost and contractors’ ability to perform the work. If nothing were to change, the town would need to find at least $70,000 to pay a contractor to complete the project work. May said the town now has two options, either ask the contractors to provide a cheaper price or appropriate additional town money. The low bid, courtesy of Manchester-based Orlando Annulli and Sons Inc., was $2.74 million. The highest bid came in at $3.53 million from Griswold-based D/E/F Services Group. Ltd.

https://www.theday.com/local-news/20241120/montville-animal-control-facility-bids-are-more-than-what-the-town-has-for-the-work/#

Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont announced Friday that the state has been awarded $291 million in federal grants to improve the rail network via President Joe Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Projects to be funded by the grants include track improvements on the Hartford Line and New Haven Line; the replacement of railroad bridges in Greenwich and Windsor Locks; and a study on rebuilding Hartford’s Union Station. According to the governor’s office, the state will match $210 million of the federal grant funding, and Amtrak will contribute an additional $11.7 million. “We know [trains] don’t pay for themselves on a per-rider basis, but when you get people out of their cars, and you take wear and tear on the streets and the roads, and less traffic, you get way more economic vitality, and it is worth it,” Boughton said.

CT awarded $291M for rail improvement projects

A Dutch provider of cleanroom and controlled environment facilities, SRBA Group, has acquired a majority interest in a Brookfield-based commercial construction company. The local company, Corporate Construction Inc., is headquartered at 101 Commerce Drive and has about 50 employees. It has been in business for 25 years and specializes in building cleanrooms, as well as lab, medical and industrial facilities. SRBA Group, short for Smart Reliable Building Achievements, announced in October that it would acquire a 60% stake in Corporate Construction. SRBA Group said Corporate Construction has “proven itself” as a “general contracting partner for the specialized CE (controlled environment) market,” which has seen strong growth in recent years.

Dutch company acquires majority stake in Brookfield construction firm