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/

A section of Route 106 will be closed on weekdays as Aquarion Water Co. installs a critical new utility pipe. The closure between Old Boston Road and Old Kings Highway in Wilton began Monday and is expected to last for three to four weeks, according to the town’s Department of Public Works. Road work will occur from 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Mondays through Fridays, the department said. One lane of alternating traffic is permitted through the intersection during the closure, according to Public Works. “Given the pipe age, material and limited availability of 18-inch diameter pipe and fittings, failure of these pipes during or after construction of Aquarion’s project presents an unacceptable risk,” Aquarion said in an October statement.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/aquarion-route-106-wilton-closure-water-main-19945704.php

Connecticut will not offer a third round of school air quality grants due to “funding constraints,” the state says, despite $138.5 million remaining in a fund intended for that purpose. Created in 2022 after years of advocacy to improve school air quality amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Connecticut’s HVAC grant program has so far distributed $178 million to local school systems for new ventilation systems and other improvements, allowing districts to update infrastructure that was, in some cases, decades old. Still, the money spent through the program represents less than half of what state lawmakers have allocated for it over recent years. Asked this week about the decision not to distribute more grants, a Department of Administrative Services spokesperson repeated Gilman’s assertion about funding constraints. A spokesperson for Connecticut’s Office of Policy and Management said “additional allocations must be balanced with other capital needs” and said the state is constrained somewhat by a cap on bonding.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/education/article/school-air-quality-grants-connecticut-19953292.php

More than two years after breaking ground for the project, Yale New Haven Hospital will celebrate a milestone for the construction of its new Adams Neurosciences Center. The hospital broke ground in August 2022 on the $838 million, 505,000-square-foot center on its St. Raphael campus at 659 George St.. in New Haven, that will consist of two towers with 184 new inpatient beds. The new facility, the largest of its kind in state history, will offer the full spectrum of neuroscience treatment — from early diagnosis of neurological diseases such as Parkinson’s Disease, ALS and stroke to advanced brain interventions and restorative care.

Yale New Haven Hospital to mark construction milestone for Adams Neurosciences Center

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