CT Construction Digest Friday January 7, 2021
Press Release & Video: MDC Tunnel Project Hits Major Milestone CLICK TITLE FOR VIDEO
(HARTFORD, CT) – The Metropolitan District (MDC) announced that the South Hartford Conveyance and Storage Tunnel (SHCST) reached a major milestone on Tuesday, January 4 when the tunnel boring machine (TBM) “Iris” reached its destination at the MDC’s retrieval facility located on Talcott Road in West Hartford. The TBM began its’ journey in the Spring of 2019 across the street from MDC’s Hartford Water Pollution Control Facility (HWPCF) on Brainard Road in Hartford and traveled four miles, 200 feet below the surface before holing through the retrieval shaft on Talcott Road on Tuesday.
The SHCST is a four-mile long deep rock tunnel designed to temporarily store excess combined wastewater and storm water during rain events, and then convey the flows to the HWPCF for treatment. The tunnel’s capacity of 41.5 million gallons will help prevent the HWPCF from being overwhelmed during storms. The 18-foot diameter tunnel is built in bedrock approximately 200 feet below ground. The tunnel is a major component of the MDC’s Clean Water Project, an over $2 billion wastewater system improvement program required by the US EPA and State of CT DEEP.
The project is the first of its kind in Connecticut and the tunnel construction portion of the project, which cost approximately $279M, is the largest contract ever awarded by the MDC, and the largest project ever funded by the State Clean Water Fund. The Kenny Obayashi joint venture was awarded the contract to build the tunnel and in addition, the MDC also partnered with AECOM on the engineering design and Jacobs on the construction management of the project.
“The SHCST is a key element of the Clean Water Project with the goal of limiting combined sewer overflows to a one-year storm level, eliminating overflows to the Wethersfield Cove, which will continue to improve local water quality for our towns and ultimately benefitting the entire region including the Connecticut River and Long Island Sound. We are thrilled to have reached this milestone and are grateful to our Board of Commissioners as well as the federal, state and municipal officials from the MDC’s towns for their part in securing critical grant and loan funding to minimize the cost of the project and impact on ratepayers. We are also thankful to our partners at DEEP for their help executing this project and making funding available,” stated MDC CEO Scott Jellison.
State gives Steelpointe nearly $1M for environmental cleanup
BRIDGEPORT — A week that started out good for the Steelpointe developers got better Thursday.
Just a few days after the City Council Monday approved a 12-year tax break for the Christoph family’s latest proposed addition to the waterfront East Side property — as many as 1,500 high-end market rate apartments — that project received nearly $1 million from the state.
On Thursday Gov. Ned Lamont’s administration announced it was spending $17.9 million around Connecticut to help clean-up contaminated sites for re-use. Steelpointe made that list and will receive $990,000 to further remediate the land where the housing is going. A power plant formerly stood on the site.
The developers in a statement said the money will complete “the final stages” of $6 million worth of environmental work and they remain committed to the timeline they provided the council of a spring groundbreaking on the first 400 apartments.
While the majority of the road and utility infrastructure at Steelpointe is ultimately being paid through property taxes that otherwise would have gone into Bridgeport’s coffers under a decade-old arrangement with the city, the Christophs noted they are footing the $6 million remediation bill.
They added they are “extremely thankful to the governor, the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection and (Bridgeport’s legislative) delegation for all of their efforts.”
And state Rep. Antonio Felipe, whose district includes the long-delayed Steelpointe, which currently includes Bass Pro Shops, other retail, a restaurant and a marina, said, “Neighborhood by neighborhood we are reinvesting in our city by revitalizing areas neglected for decades.”
Still, the timing of Thursday’s surprise announcement from Lamont was somewhat awkward. Critics of the just-approved housing tax break had unsuccessfully sought to convince the council that the Christophs did not need any more subsidies.
When the council’s contracts and economic development committees met Dec. 28 to vote on the 12-year tax deal and forward it to the full legislative body, members were told the apartments would not be built without the financial assistance.
As outlined in city documents, Bridgeport would receive $23,900 in taxes for the initial three years the apartments are being built/leased, then $1.26 million in year four, and then, in years five through 10, the payments would increase by 2 percent, reaching $1.47 million.
“If this tax abatement is not given, does that mean they wouldn’t be able to go forward with the project?” Councilwoman Wanda Simmons had asked.
Economic Development Director Tom Gill confirmed they would not.
“They would have a gap in their financing and their financing and lending institutions would not approve the project,” Gill said.
Council members who spoke at that Dec. 28 meeting said the tax break will be worth the lost revenue because the apartments — studios, one, two and three-bedroom units costing $2,100 to $2,700 a month — will establish a higher-end housing market in Connecticut’s largest city and, hopefully, encourage future investment that will not require a local subsidy.
But Niels Heilmann of the Generation Now civic group subsequently sifted through publicly available documents related to Steelpointe and tried to argue that the Christophs were in a position to build the apartments without lower taxes.
Heilmann outlined his opinion in a detailed letter he sent to council members ahead of Monday’s vote, but none of them raised it during the meeting and Gill’s office did not respond to repeated requests for comment on it.
Only a handful of the 20 council members ultimately voted against the tax break, with City Councilwoman Maria Pereira trying unsuccessfully to require the matter be put to a referendum.
Heilmann in response to Lamont’s announcement of the $990,000 said Thursday the council clearly missed its opportunity to impose more conditions on the housing tax abatement, like requiring more affordable units be included.
City Councilman Scott Burns, who co-chairs the economic development and budget committees, had supported giving the Christophs the 12-year tax incentives. He on Thursday said the state environmental clean-up aid is a good thing for the project, but he would have liked to have known about it ahead of Monday’s council vote.
State to provide $1.8M in site cleanup funds for Meriden apartment project
Mary Ellen Godin
MERIDEN — The state Department of Economic and Community Development has granted the city’s application to receive $1.8 million in funds to clean up a brownfield site at 289 Pratt St.
The city’s award was included in $17.9 million in state grants to help with the costs of remediating 40 blighted parcels in 13 towns and cities. They are expected to leverage $427 million in private funding and will help clean up 78 acres of land.
The city, in partnership with property owner 290 Pratt St. LLC, will work to clean the 14.3 acre property that was formerly home to a New Departure plant that built automotive parts for General Motors. Preliminary plans call for a 92-unit luxury apartment building. According to architect’s drawings, the building will be four stories with commercial space on the first floor, a rooftop garden, solar panels and expanded parking at 290 Pratt St.
No plans have been submitted to the city for regulatory approval.
“The city is involved with owner,” said Economic Development Director Joseph Feest. “The application went through our office to the DECD Partnership Brownfield Grant Cleanup Fund.”
The principal behind 290 Pratt St. LLC is Steven Ancana of New York, who owns the Meriden Enterprise Center across the street. That area will be cleaned for adjacent parking. Ancana hired an environmental company to estimate the costs prior to filing the application.
“This shows the city of Meriden is a good contender for the brownfield applications,” Feest said. “They helped turn the city around. It’s cleaning up another old factory site.”
The vacant lot is included in the city’s transit-oriented district along the gateway corridor. According to Feest, properties in the transit-oriented district are allowed to have apartments, although nothing has been submitted for review.
“This is a positive thing for the city of Meriden to get another old industrial site cleaned up,” Feest said.
Mayor Kevin Scarpati agreed with Feest that the site needed cleanup and the work will help with run off and other flood control projects along Pratt Street. But he is reluctant about any additional housing downtown.
“Meriden has done its fair share,” Scarpati said. “I don’t think we can increase density in our city. Market rate (housing) is what we need, but at what level?”
Scarpati points to the city’s agreement with the developer Pennrose to build market rate housing on the Meriden Green, across from the fire station. He believes more mixed use development will cause a glut in the residential and commercial availability and strain emergency services and schools.
“There needs to be a balance,” Scarpati said. “I would like to see a creative solution. I favor cleanup of the site, but I’m hesitant to buy into another housing project in our downtown.”
The city lost 144 units of low income housing when the Mills Memorial Apartments were torn down in 2018. Developers have added 151 mixed-income units at Meriden Commons I and II, and an additional 81 units at 11 Crown St., and 60 units of primarily low-income housing at 24 Colony St.
Pennrose has an agreement with the city to build a 61-unit apartment building with commercial space on the first floor on the Green. About 80 percent of the units would be market rate.
(HARTFORD, CT) – Governor Ned Lamont today announced that his administration is awarding approximately $17.9 million in state grants to help with the costs of remediating 40 blighted parcels in 13 towns and cities across Connecticut for the purposes of putting them back into productive use.
The grants are from the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development’s Brownfield Remediation Program. They are expected to leverage $427 million in private funding and will help in the investigation and clean-up of approximately 78 acres of land.
“Cleaning up blighted properties that have been vacant for decades and putting them into productive use will ultimately generate back many more times the amount of these grants through private investments,” Governor Lamont said. “If we remediate these properties now, we can turn an eyesore into an asset, revitalize neighborhoods, and transform otherwise unusable property into new space for businesses and residents.”
“Under Governor Lamont’s leadership the Department of Economic and Community Development continues to invest in our communities and in projects that are creating jobs, spurring revitalization and improving the quality of life for residents,” Department of Economic and Community Development Deputy Commissioner Alexandra Daum said. “Our Brownfield Remediation Program provides the critical funding needed to clean up contaminated properties, attract additional private investment and catalyze redevelopment.”
“Remediating our state’s brownfields benefits residents twice over,” Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Commissioner Katie Dykes said. “In addition to having a positive economic impact by returning disused properties to productive use, it provides for the removal of contaminants from these areas that may have been negatively impacting the environment for many years. Removing pollution from these properties unlocks new and varied uses for these properties, including housing, mixed-use commercial and retail options, office and business space, and community recreation that fill needs and expand opportunities for those who live and work in and around these spaces.”
The grants announced today include:
Berlin: $193,600 for the demolition of the vacant Knights of Columbus building located at 143 Percival Avenue. The Berlin Housing Authority will construct 50 affordable senior housing units on the 4.2-acre site.
Bridgeport: $990,000 for the remediation and redevelopment at the former UI Power Plant site located at 137 East Main Street. A multi-family, mixed-use development consisting of approximately 421 units and approximately 10,000 square feet of commercial, retail, office, and restaurant space will be constructed on the 6.5-acre site.
Haddam: $1,800,000 to abate and remediate two former D&H Scoville Hoe Company Mill buildings. The buildings will be adaptively reused as shops, galleries, offices, and/or a full services restaurant to support the revitalization of Higganum’s Village Center.
Hebron: $650,490 to remediate a 1.2-acre vacant and contaminated site at 501 Church Street that housed a former gas station and auto repair facility and abuts the Connecticut Air Line Trail. A 2,000 to 2,500 square feet, two-story barn with a bike shop, a small coffee or sandwich bar, and a covered picnic gazebo area will be constructed.
Meriden: $1,800,000 to clean-up and remediate two properties located at 289 and 290 Pratt Street, totaling 14.3 acres. A new 92-unit residential complex will be constructed at 289 Pratt Street with expanded parking for adjacent businesses at 290 Pratt Street.
Montville: $999,000 for environmental remediation activities at the former Uncasville Manufacturing Company located at 42 Pink Row. This will allow for the adaptive reuse of the existing historic building and 10.6 acre-property into 72 housing units.
New Britain: $1,355,000 for environmental clean-up, abatement, and partial demolition of the former manufacturing and industrial property at 27 Columbus Boulevard and 43 High Street, popularly known as the Polar Building. A mixed-income residential development with 62 rental units will be constructed on the 1.5-acre site.
New Haven: $2,000,000 to the Science Park Development Corporation to abate and demolish the former Winchester Repeating Arms Company buildings located at 275 Winchester Avenue. This will allow for the construction of residential, office, laboratory space and/or retail buildings, and public open space on the 3.11-acre site.
New London: $1,199,673 to assess and remediate multiple properties (24 parcels) located on Walbach Street and Goshen Street, a portion of which was occupied by the former Naval Undersea Warfare Center. The city is planning to construct a community recreation center adjacent to historic Fort Trumbull State Park on the 7.19-acre site.
Stamford: $950,000 to abate and preserve the existing buildings and remediate soil and groundwater at 650 Atlantic Street. The 2.5-acre site will be used for a mixed-use, transit-oriented development.
Thompson: $2,000,000 for the abatement of the existing buildings and remediation of soil and groundwater at the former River Mill site. A mixed-use, residential redevelopment will be constructed on the 24.79-acre site.
Torrington: $2,000,000 for the abatement and partial demolition of structures at the Torrington Business Park (Standard Plant Site) located at 70 North Street, the former home of the Torrington/Excelsior Needle Company.
Torrington: $1,000,000 for environmental cleanup of the property located at 245 East Elm Street to enable Vinny’s Restaurant to expand onto the first floor with a banquet facility in the remaining space.
West Hartford: $953,646 for the clean-up the former Puritan Furniture Store property located at 1051 and 1061 New Britain Avenue. A 131-unit mixed-income, mixed-use transit-oriented development will be constructed on the 2.97-acre site.
Additional information on the Brownfield Remediation Program is available at www.ctbrownfields.gov.
Norwalk OKs $76 million for SoNo school, but officials mum on location
NORWALK — Despite the approval of more than $75 million for the acquisition of land and construction of the new South Norwalk school, city officials have yet to announce where the school will be located.
Plans for the school’s development are moving swiftly through the approval process, having already received a green light from the boards of education and estimate and taxation, as well as one of the Common Council’s committees.
On Monday, the Board of Estimate and Taxation approved the reappropriation of about $76 million to go toward the new SoNo school. The proposed school will seat 682 students from preschool through fifth grade.
The money was collected after closing out two existing projects with unspent budgets: Construction of a new Columbus School at Ely and construction of a Norwalk Global Academy, according to city documents. The two former projects had balances of $41,605,985 and $34,392,500, respectively.
BET Chair Ed Camacho inquired after the plot of land the city was looking to purchase.
“Has a location been identified?” Camacho asked. “I understand if it’s not subject to disclosure at this point, but has a location been identified?”
Norwalk Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Alexandra Estrella confirmed the city has a parcel in mind but did not identify the spot’s location.
Following Monday’s BET approval, the plans received approval from the Common Council’s Land Use and Building Management Committee during Wednesday’s meeting.
Even though the location pinpointed for the new South Norwalk school was not made public, approval of the school’s design and size is set for swift approval. The Common Council is planned to hear recommendations for the school’s approval by the end of the month, Building and Facilities Manager Alan Lo said.
“There’s many steps required, one is the financial side, the appropriation of money,” Lo said. “The project is scheduled to go to the Planning and Zoning Commission Jan, 19 and I requested through councilman (Greg) Barnett a special meeting of the Finance Committee on Jan. 20.”
Assuming the Finance Committee approves of the recommendation, the use of the $76 million and the SoNo school plans will be heard by the council at its Jan. 25 meeting, Lo said.
While $76 million was approved, only $72 million is expected to be required for the SoNo project, as cost estimates came in under budget, Lo said. The funds will cover both the acquisition of the land to be used for the new school, as well as construction of the building.
The Land Use and Building Management Committee held an executive session to discuss a land acquisition, although city officials did not confirm the acquisition discussed was for the South Norwalk school. No actions were made during Wednesday’s executive sessions.
“These are ongoing negotiations ... and will continue to be discussed during executive sessions,” city spokesperson Josh Morgan said. “We expect to be able to share more information publicly in the next couple of weeks.”
Various other locations throughout the city were previously considered as the home of the new school, including a spot near Springwood Ely Park and the former Nathaniel Ely school.
Last May, the city reached a settlement agreement with the former owners of one of two parcels on Tito Court acquired by the city through eminent domain in 2018 as part of the Springwood Ely Park plan. However, the site was deemed unsuitable for a school by the State Department of Energy and Environmental Protection in late 2019.
The city is still unsure what will become of the Tito Court property once planned for the South Norwalk school.
176-Apt Plan Wins Zoning Change OK
THOMAS BREEN
Alders unanimously approved a suite of zoning changes designed to allow for the redevelopment of a long-vacant Science Park lot into 176 apartments and 88 parking spaces.
That vote took place Monday night during the latest regular bimonthly meeting of the full Board of Alders, held in person in the Aldermanic Chamber on the second floor of City Hall.
The alders granted a final, unanimous approval to a zoning ordinance text and map amendment to modify Planned Development District (PDD) #49 to expand the boundaries of Parcel K to include the entirety of 291 and 309 Ashmun St. and 178 – 186 Canal St.; and to allow for residential use of up to 176 apartments, 88 parking spaces, and associated community/amenity space.
The vote tees up a fenced-in 1.7 acre site bounded by Henry Street, Canal Street, and Ashmun Street to be built up into a new five-story apartment building, parking spots, and open space by RJ Development & Advisors LLC, which is run by local developer Yves Joseph.
Monday’s vote came one year and two months after the alders voted in support of a separate but parallel Development and Land Disposition Agreement (DLDA) and tax break deal that would have the city sell the publicly owned site to Joseph’s company for $500,000.
That same already-approved DLDA requires the developer to set aside one-third of the studio, one-bedroom, and two-bedroom apartments in the planned new complex at below-market rates. That includes at least 25 units for renters earning no more than 80 percent of the area median income (AMI), at least 15 units at 60 AMI, and at least 10 units made available for Section 8 voucher holders.
Now that the alders have approved the DLDA, the tax break agreement, and the underlying zoning changes, the developer needs to win site plan approval from the City Plan Commission before it can begin building on the vacant site. Joseph said during a recent City Plan Commission meeting and at a recent aldermanic committee meeting that his company will solicit input on the development’s design from neighbors before going back to City Plan with a final site plan proposal.
“This would be the last piece of our puzzle in Ward 22,” Dixwell Alder Jeanette Morrison said in support of the zoning change Monday night, “to ensure not only affordable housing is in place for the City of New Haven,” but also in her Dixwell ward.
She praised the developer for promising to meet with neighbors to talk about the project’s design before moving forward with a site plan application. And she touted the 33 percent affordable-set aside as a model for building new, deed-restricted, below-market-rate housing in town.
“This is a project that’s not only going to continue to enhance the Dixwell community, but it’s also going to continue to enhance our legislative agenda in regards to affordable housing,” she said.
Click on the video below to watch a recent aldermanic committee hearing about the Ashmun street development and zoning change.
New London community center, Montville mill project receive financial boosts
New London will receive nearly $1.2 million in state support toward the $30 million regional community recreation center planned for Fort Trumbull.
The funding is part of $17.9 million being distributed to municipalities statewide in the form of grants for cleanup of blighted properties, Gov. Ned Lamont announced Thursday. The grants come from the Connecticut Department of Economic Development’s Brownfield Remediation Program and are expected to contribute toward $427 million in privately funded projects.
Also among the list of 13 grant recipients is Montville, which has secured a nearly $1 million grant to offset the developers' cost to clean up the former Faria Beede mill complex at 42 Pink Row. The complex, on 10.6 acres of property, is being converted into 72 housing units.
New London
City officials see the state investment as a first step in securing funds above the $30 million approved by the City Council for the proposed recreational complex. City officials have said outside funding and corporate sponsorship would help cover costs of “add-ons,” which include basketball courts, a bocce court or a community garden outside the building.
As it stands, preliminary plans call 62,000-square-foot facility, likely two stories, situated on 7 acres with basketball courts, an indoor track, 8-lane swimming pool, locker rooms, fitness center and weight room, multipurpose rooms and offices, among other features. The city will house its Recreation Department and programs at the facility.
The community recreation center will cover two parcels at Fort Trumbull that, before they were cleared for development by the city, were home to various properties as well as a portion of the Naval Undersea Warfare Center. The use of eminent domain by the city’s development arm led to a landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling, Kelo v. New London, in 2005 that held that a municipality could take land for economic development.
The city has struggled to secure developments on the property in subsequent years. An apartment complex is under construction on Howard Street at the site of the former Hughie's Restaurant, an area that is part of the defined Fort Trumbull Municipal Development Plan area.
In a statement, Mayor Michel Passero applauded the support to the city from the governor, DECD and state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.
The latest state grant signals the Lamont administration's "commitment to helping our City realize the dream of developing a Community Center and Recreational Facility to serve our residents,” Passero said.
The recreation center is poised to be the first structure built on the Fort Trumbull peninsula since the Supreme Court ruling. A hotel and apartment complex is in the planning stages on a different portion of the peninsula.
Felix Reyes, director of the city’s Office of Development and Planning, said in a statement, “We are grateful for the state’s partnership and we hope this creates additional opportunities to attract critical investments in this project.”
Montville
Mayor Ronald McDaniel said the funding will aid in covering some of the costs of environmental remediation for the $35.5 million Oxoboxo Lofts project. That project started in 2019 but has faced delays during construction.
Montville acted as the applicant for the grant and is working with the developer, Massachusetts-based Dakota Partners, in a public–private partnership.
“This is a very desirable project as it preserves and re-purposes a beautiful old mill and will provide much needed workforce housing for the region that will support the labor growth from all the new work at (Electric Boat),” McDaniel said.
$34M mixed-use apartment project eyed for former Puritan Furniture property in West Hartford
Adeveloper has plans to build a $34 million mixed-use apartment project in West Hartford’s Elmwood section, in the property formerly home to Puritan Furniture Store.
The transit-oriented development, which needs town approval and will be dependant on a zoning change, would represent the third major apartment project to be located in West Hartford's New Park Avenue corridor near the Elmwood and Flatbush CTfastrak bus stations. It would include 131 mixed-income apartments and ground-floor commercial space at 1051 and 1061 New Britain Ave., according to Kristen Gorski, West Hartford’s economic development coordinator.
The developer is Sami Abunasra who bought the property in 2020 for $1.1 million, after Puritan Furniture announced it was closing following more than 70 years in business. Abunasra also owns and operates the Ashley HomeStore Outlet that currently occupies some of the more than 100,000-square-foot property. The outlet store would remain a tenant once the project is completed. There would also be space for a restaurant or another retailer, Gorski said.
Abunasra said the project is in the advanced stages of design; he's already hired an engineering and architectural firm. As long as the town approves a zoning change that would accommodate transit-oriented development on the site, construction, which would take about 18 months, could begin as early as this summer.
“It’s a great area and we want to be the catalyst for the development of this area, ” Abunasra said, noting that he's targeting as apartment tenants young professionals who crave an urban environment located near public transportation and nearby amenities.
The development has gained some early momentum. On Thursday, Gov. Ned Lamont announced the project will receive a $953,646 brownfield grant, which would go toward cleaning up the 2.97-acre site. The property has several environmental issues, Gorski said, including asbestos and underground storage tanks.
As part of the remediation process, the current property will be demolished to make way for a newly-constructed, four-story building, Gorski said.
“We’re excited for the grant and remediation of this property, and equally excited to see this level of investment in Elmwood,” Gorski said.
If the project moves forward it would represent the third major apartment development in West Hartford’s New Park Avenue corridor. In 2018, 54 mixed-income apartments debuted in the property at 616 New Park Ave. Meantime, construction is underway on a $20 million project that will create 52 mixed-income apartments at 540 New Park Ave.