The Planning and Zoning Commission has approved a four-story affordable housing development, citing both the constraints of state statute 8-30g and the vital need for affordable housing stock. The July 16 vote marks a win for New York City-based developer Vessel Technologies, who now has the green light for constructing a 64-unit apartment at 25 Avonwood Road. “Suitable location, it addresses a vital need for affordable housing in Avon, its environmentally friendly, I believe it protects the public health and safety, and the applicant has taken reasonable measures to address the concerns of the commission,” said commission Chair Lisa Levin. With a typical Vessel development construction time of six to nine months, the town could potentially see this development ready next summer.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/farmingtonvalley/article/avon-vessel-affordable-housing-approved-19588752.php

Several of the major routes in Danbury center will be better than new after a recent repaving spree. Deer Hill Avenue is the latest roadway to receive a new asphalt facelift. Work on that project began on Thursday, July 18 and should last for two to three weeks, according to a city announcement. Meanwhile, a series of Department of Transportation-led repaving projects on local state roads are also ongoing. They include projects to repave Federal Road from the White Street intersection into Brookfield as well as Newtown Road’s span between White Street and Lyon Street, as well as a South Street paving project. Antonio Iadorala, the city’s public works director and city engineer, said city leaders are trying to post notices related to the roadwork, most of which are not city projects, because they “getting inundated with questions of when the paving is going to get done, when it’s going to get started, when it’s going to get finished.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/local/article/danbury-state-dot-repaving-local-city-roads-19588943.php

Officials have further paved the way for Manchester’s new “21st century” library by approving demolition of the Webster Bank building at 1041 Main St., expected to begin later this year. After voters approved $39 million in bonds for the project in November 2022, Manchester recently approved a set of agreements to acquire three parcels totaling roughly 1.6 acres, in exchange for $1.6 million to Webster Bank and the disposition of 3.12 acres at 601 Lydall St., to build a new main library branch in the downtown area to expand beyond the cramped Mary Cheney Library just up the hill. Though the projected costs have since grown to $53.6 million, largely due to increased construction costs across the board, Manchester has received federal and state funding intended to make up the difference.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/journalinquirer/article/ct-manchester-library-webster-bank-demolition-19591078.php

In August, the East Norwalk Train Station will close for another three weeks while crews begin the process of replacing the northbound platform. The replacement of the East Norwalk Train Station is a part of CDOT’s $1 billion Walk Bridge replacement project, which includes several improvements along the rail. “The Train Station upgrades include extending platforms on both sides of the station to accommodate six train cars, new platform canopies, and improved parking and access — including a dedicated drop-off lane,” the Walk Bridge website states. CDOT is starting with replacing the northbound side and will finish constructing the new platform in 2025. The process will be repeated to build the southbound side and will be complete by 2026.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/east-norwalk-train-station-close-august-platform-19584029.php

With Connecticut’s rainy day fund now projected to approach $4.1 billion — seven years after it held about 1/20th of that total — calls to reassess what many call the state’s aggressive savings programs continue to grow. The most aggressive savings program, which is supposed to bar legislators from spending only “volatile” income and business tax receipts — those that might surge one year and vanish the next — instead has been very reliable, grabbing an average of $1.4 billion annually in its first seven years and never less than $530 million in a single year. And if analysts’ latest projections are correct, the volatility adjustment will capture hundreds of millions of dollars annually — without failing once — through its first 11 years, taking in an average of $1.2 billion per year between 2018 and 2028. Legislators, who couldn’t touch those funds, assigned the last $510 million of expiring federal pandemic relief to bolster higher education, child care, mental health services for kids and other social services in the 2024-25 fiscal year. After that, though, state funds must be found to supplant those vanishing dollars, or programs face big cuts.

CT now sitting on $4.1 billion budget reserve

The gateway to the neighborhood, East Avenue is a bumpy, narrow and crowded road that connects East Norwalk under the railway to I-95. In conjunction with the $1 billion Walk Bridge replacement project, the Connecticut Department of Transportation is lowering the avenue between Fort Point Street and Winfield Street. Also with the Walk Bridge, CDOT is expanding the platforms at the East Norwalk Train Station to accommodate six cars. In addition to the new platforms, commuter parking will be expanded. “The East Norwalk Train Station will be updated as part of the Connecticut Department of Transportation’s Track Improvement Mobility Enhancement 2 Projects — a sub-component of the WALK Bridge Replacement project,” the Walk Bridge website states. Just down the road from the station, the former Wells Fargo is in the midst of being redeveloped into a 77-unit mixed-use apartment building. At 1 Cemetery St., the property borders the Mill Pond, and the owners are Mill Pond Holdings LLC, thus it is known as the Mill Pond development.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/east-norwalk-ct-projects-transform-mill-pond-train-19581666.php

The city could begin work next year to straighten out the disjointed intersection at East Main and Broad streets that will allow for safer crossings and improved traffic flow. The work moved forward a step after the City Council recently approved allowing acting City Manager Emily Holland to accept funding from the South Central Region Council of Governments to begin construction. It is estimated to cost $3.8 million with SCRCOG paying 100 percent of the construction costs and the city paying for the design work, city officials said. Because Route 5 is a state road, the work will be on both sides of East Main Street. The intersection was identified by SCRCOG as one of several along the Route 5 corridor in need of improvement to aid traffic and pedestrian safety. The Route 5 East Main Street intersection is among the top three noted for accidents, according to the study.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/recordjournal/article/meriden-broad-street-east-main-intersection-19581997.php

Donald Poland pitched Westbrook residents on the benefits of a project to convert the ailing local outlet mall into a complex of 695 apartments and townhouses, retail space and a 100-room hotel. Poland is a consultant for the project developers Lexington Partners and Inovalis, the owner of Westbrook Outlets. According to Poland, Westbrook saw a 30 percent decline in the population under 18 between 2010 and 2020, a rate three times the statewide average — a decline, he said, caused by young families fleeing the town in recent years in part due to a lack of multifamily and rental housing. The project, if approved in its current form, would be built in two phases and would include 596 apartments — 30 studios, 209 one-bedrooms, 306 two-bedrooms and 50 three-bedrooms — 100 townhouses, 76,000 square feet of restaurants and entertainment retail and a 100-room hotel. A public hearing will be held on July 22 with Zoning.

Westbrook Mall Developers Pitch Benefits to Skeptics

River Road is set to reopen to traffic Monday after having been closed since this past fall after a 200-foot section collapsed into the Housatonic River below. Beginning Monday, the town plans to close Purchase Brook Road for a major culvert replacement project, making the reopening of River Road even more pressing. Voters approved the appropriation of $600,000 for the emergency repair work along River Road in June. Southbury First Selectman Jeffrey A. Manville said early estimates to rebuild River Road are between $10 and $20 million, or even higher. The hope, he said, is that Southbury will receive assistance from, for example, the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Leonard said the town is working closely with the Southbury Inland Wetlands Commission, as well as First Light Power, the Connecticut Department of Environmental and Energy Protection and the Army Corps of Engineers.

https://www.rep-am.com/localnews/2024/07/10/southburys-river-road-set-to-reopen-monday-after-last-falls-collapse/#login

Norwich Public Utilities hopes to stop millions of gallons of rainwater-created sewage discharges from flowing into the Shetucket River after receiving a $4.4 million grant and loan. The state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection announced the funding Tuesday, listing Norwich’s ongoing $200 million sewage treatment plant upgrade among the top priorities for its $500 million allocation from the federal Clean Water Fund. When the city is inundated with rain, millions of gallons of combined rainwater and untreated wastewater dump into the Shetucket River, which flows into the Thames River and eventually to Long Island Sound. About 99% of the discharge is rainwater and 1% untreated sewage, according to information provided by NPU. NPU General Manager Chris LaRose said NPU hopes the $4.4 millon will be enough to line the remaining 28,000 linear feet of aging pipes in Greeneville. The project is expected to be put out to bid in late 2025, with construction starting in early 2026.

https://www.theday.com/local-news/20240710/npu-receives-4-4-million-to-keep-untreated-sewage-from-flowing-into-rivers/