In a Tuesday newsletter, First Selectmen Bill Gerber urged residents to share their concerns about project impacts like clear cutting, habitat removal, disturbances to private property and “unsightly” transmission poles with the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection as the agency prepares a study of the Connecticut Siting Council. The call to action comes as Fairfield continues its legal battle against the council following a controversial project by United Illuminating to relocate aging transmission equipment along the Metro-North rail line in Fairfield and Bridgeport. Surrounding residents, business owners, preservationists and officials vehemently opposed the company’s proposed clearing of about six acres of trees and about 19 acres of proposed easements on nearby properties. UI spokesperson Sarah Wall Fliotsos previously told CT Examiner that the company does not expect to have a completed design for the alternative until summer 2027. Fairfield, which has asked UI to instead bury its lines underground, also claimed that the council violated due process rights in its approval.

Fairfield First Selectman Urges Public Opposition to ‘Unsightly’ Utility Projects

The commission, at its meeting Wednesday, approved Highview Commercial’s request to remove the already approved office building and hotel, replacing it with a 13,500 square foot building to house an as yet unnamed grocery store. But the decision denied the developer’s third request for apartments — this one calling for 100 units — on the site, which is now home to Chick fil-A, Panera, Jersey Mike’s, Crumbl Cookies, Sugar Llamas, among others, with future openings planned for Cava, Playa Bowls and Mercato Italian Kitchen & Bar. Highview Commercial had sought to amend the present Planned Development District designation on the site to construct a four-story, 100-unit apartment building toward the rear of 801 Bridgeport Ave. as well as the building for the grocery store. The commission had already denied separate apartment plans, one calling for 145 units and another for 170 that was filed under the state’s affordable housing statute 8-30g. The developer appealed both denials, and those appeals are still pending.

https://www.ctpost.com/news/article/shelton-p-z-approves-specialty-grocer-denies-19776923.php

Michael Freimuth, a champion of redevelopment efforts in Hartford and East Hartford, announced Thursday his will step down as executive director of the Capital Region Development Authority next June. The agency’s role has expanded to include work on housing developments across Hartford — not just in its center — as well as in East Hartford and, to a smaller degree, in Newington and Wethersfield, Freimuth noted. It manages the XL Center arena and Connecticut Convention Center in Hartford; the stadium at Rentschler Field in East Hartford; and 17,000 parking spaces. The CRDA Board of Directors, on Thursday, approved a nine-month extension of Freimuth’s contract, which was to expire Oct. 1. That is meant to allow enough time to find a successor and to bring them up to speed before Freimuth departs, said CRDA Board Chairman David Robinson, who is also executive vice president and general counsel for insurer The Hartford.

CRDA head Freimuth, key player in Hartford-area redevelopment, announces plans to step down

Lewis Brown and Gregory Vaca of HGRE Ventures, a partnership between Avon-based Honeycomb Real Estate Partners and GRAVA Properties of West Hartford, presented preliminary plans to the Enfield Town Council this week for the Enfield Station development – a $100 million, two-phase project that would bring more than 300 residential units to the riverfront section of Thompsonville. Key to the development, which is planned for a 3.24-acre brownfield site at 33 North River St., is its proximity to Enfield’s new multimodal transit hub where work on the future Amtrak Hartford Line station is expected to begin next year. While Vaca and Brown have not yet submitted a formal site plan application for the project, they have been meeting with town officials on the development.

$100M mixed-use development eyed for Enfield’s riverfront

It will take until the end of October – and about $1.2 million dollars – for the state Department of Transportation and its emergency contractors to build a temporary bridge to replace the 100-year-old span that was destroyed in the fatal Aug. 18 storms and flooding, and finally get traffic moving again along one of Connecticut’s major traffic corridors. “In my 30 year career I have never seen devastation this bad from a storm event,” said John Lee, the DOT’s district engineer. There is currently no time estimate for the eventual construction of a permanent span with steel beams setting on the new concrete abutments. Designs are being handled by agency workers in the DOT’s Newington headquarters. Lee said the DOT was lucky that Manafort Brothers is a big enough company to come in on short notice. Over the last month or so, the company has worked seven-day weeks under the state’s emergency contract.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/connecticut/article/route-34-bridge-flooding-oxford-reopen-end-october-19771793.php

Bridgeport’s Congress Street power substation can now remain operational during heavy storms thanks to a new flood protection system completed this week. United Illuminating, which operates the facility, invested $55 million to build a wall to protect the substation from flooding from the nearby Pequonnock River, a gate system to seal the perimeter and two high-power pumps. The concrete wall is 10 feet high and drives 40 feet underground, according to the utility company. “These substations are designed with lifespans of 50 to 60 years, so we need to figure in sea level rise,” he said. “By 2050, we will not only have the normal high tide, but it will be 20 inches higher.” Berman explained that the site’s geology — being a salt marsh — complicated the construction of the foundations. Additionally, building the heavy gates and calculating the wall’s tolerance to bending under the pressure of rising water contributed to the challenge. Berman also highlighted the pumping system, which can clear rainwater collected inside the walls during a storm in just minutes.

UI Completes $55M Flood Protection Project in Bridgeport

New Haven developer Choni “Johnny” Grunblatt wants to build 69 apartment units as part of a $10 million remake of Colony Street. Grunblatt is seeking to build studio apartments in five buildings alongside Railroad Avenue in what officials hope will spark more investment for the city’s transit-oriented district. The construction value of the project is $10 million. The project was discussed at Tuesday’s meeting of the City Council’s Economic Development Housing and Zoning Committee. Partner Jonathan Perlich and Grunblatt also purchased the 19th-century, mostly vacant, four-story commercial and residential building near the corner of East Main and Pratt streets for $1.75 million in November. The partnership is doing business as Seventies on Main LLC on that project. Grunblatt is the founder of Upside Construction LLC, Clarity Management LLC, Malbec Enterprises LLC and owner of Fin and Scale —Sushi and Bar.

https://www.ctinsider.com/recordjournal/article/meriden-grunblatt-colony-street-permits-19773831.php

Starved for space as annual visitors increase, the New England Air Museum plans a $25 million expansion meant to widen exhibits, boost educational offerings and add immersive experience in a digital dome, museum officials said Wednesday. The expansion depends on approval of $15 million from the state Bond Commission, which is pending. Plans call for construction of a 40,000-square-foot hangar, with aircraft and other exhibits telling the story of aviation from balloon flights through modern times and into the future, museum President and CEO Stephanie Abrams said. Once state bond money is approved, the nonprofit museum will pursue fundraising from corporations and individuals for the remaining $10 million, Abrams said. The plan is to break ground for the new hangar next year and open in 2026.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/connecticut/article/new-england-air-museum-expansion-windsor-locks-19773442.php

Construction is underway at Calf Pasture Beach Road to provide easements to a family-owned property on the northern and western portions of the peninsula. When complete, the road will be realigned with new entrances to Cove Marina and the businesses along a property owned by the Gardella family. A sidewalk will also be installed around the new skate park, along with a seat wall for skaters to enjoy. The project broke ground after Labor Day and is expected to be completed by mid-December. Altogether, the cost of the project is about $1 million for the contractors to realign the road and add the sidewalks and seat walls by the skate park.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/construction-begins-calf-pasture-beach-road-19773595.php

Residents of the Coachlight Circle neighborhood will be getting relief for long-standing water supply issues with nearly $1 million in federal funds. U.S. Rep. Rosa L. DeLauro, D-3rd District, visited Prospect Town Hall on Friday where she presented Mayor Robert J. Chatfield with $959,757 in Community Project Funding for a water main installation. The newly allocated funds for the town marks the fourth time DeLauro was able to secure funding for this section of town which includes Putting Green Lane, Straitsville Road and Cambridge Drive. This grant is the biggest one yet for the town.

https://www.rep-am.com/localnews/2024/09/16/delauro-delivers-fed-funds-for-prospect-water-mains/#google_vignette