CT Construction Digest Friday May 20, 2022
Hartford — In the ongoing, years-long saga over the construction of Dunkin’ Donuts Park, the state Supreme Court on Thursday unanimously ordered a new trial concerning the city of Hartford’s termination of the original developers in 2016 for allegedly not finishing the ballpark on time.
The original developers — Centerplan Construction Co. and DoNo Hartford LLC — in July 2016 filed a $90 million lawsuit challenging the termination. In 2019, a jury in Superior Court in Hartford sided with the city, placing blame on Centerplan and DoNo for not meeting deadline. The jury also awarded the city $335,000 in damages.
On appeal, Centerplan, through its attorney Louis Pepe of McElroy, Deutch, Mulvaney & Carpenter, and DoNo argued that the trial court in 2019 did not allow them to present evidence that they could not be held liable for “countless flaws” in the ballpark designs because the architect was under the city’s control. That, according to the developers, resulted in cost overruns, delays in the ballpark’s construction and, ultimately, the termination of the developers.
The Supreme Court, in a 5-0 decision, held that who had legal control over the architect and the stadium design from January to June 2016 — from when a term sheet was executed to when the city fired Centerplan and DoNo — was ambiguous and, therefore, should be decided by the jury.
“The claim was that the trial court erroneously determined — before the trial began — that the [original developers] were responsible for all errors and omissions for the architect’s team before, during and after the construction,” Pepe said in an interview. “We argued that simply could not be the case. … [T]he architect was hired by the city before the contracts were entered with Centerplan and had started the design and in fact was well through the completion of the design before the city assigned its contract with the architect to Centerplan.”
The original developers also argued on appeal that, under the terms of the contract and common law, they were entitled to a notice of default and an opportunity to cure the default before the termination could be implemented. Evidence bolstering that argument was improperly kept from the jury during the 2019 trial, Pepe said.
“In construction, termination is the functional equivalent of capital punishment,” Pepe said. “The law is very clear that before you impose that extreme remedy, you have to be scrupulous in meeting your obligations as the owner that are conditions preceding termination. We argued the city failed to do that. … That was an issue for the jury to decide and it was improperly taken away from the jury. If we go back to that trial and that issue is raised, that becomes an issue for the jury to decide.”
With the Supreme Court ordering a new trial, the city could be liable for tens of millions of dollars of damages to Centerplan and DoNo. Further muddying the picture is the trial Judge Thomas Moukawsher, following the 2019 verdict, lifted restrictions that would allow a new developer to pursue building apartments, retail and entertainment space and parking garages.
The new developer, Stamford-based RMS Cos., has broken ground on one of the four parcels that comprise North Crossing, formerly known as DoNo. The project is a mixed-use development that includes apartments, a parking garage and a restaurant.
“When we took over the case, we gave the city notice that before it entered into a new development agreement with a new developer, it should understand that we would be contesting the termination of those development agreements,” Pepe said.
The city and the new developer essentially proceeded at their own risk, Pepe said. Centerplan raised the issue before the Supreme Court, but it did not address it as cited in a footnote in the opinion.
Mayor Luke Bronin said the decision is “disappointing” and that the city “strongly” disagrees with it.
“That said, we believe that the facts are clear and that a new trial will result, once again, in a decision in Hartford’s favor,” he said. “If the city hadn’t fired Centerplan when we did, there would be no baseball in Hartford today, no development around the ballpark, and Hartford taxpayers would have been on the hook for tens of millions of dollars wasted by Centerplan — with nothing to show for it.”
Pepe, meanwhile, said he and his client are “delighted” with the Supreme Court’s opinion.
“The city of Hartford grossly mistreated [Centerplan CEO Robert] Landino, his partners and his companies when it wrongfully terminated his construction contract for the Dunkin’ Donuts ballpark after it was substantially complete and did the same with his contracts with the development of the nearby city-owned parcels before he could even begin work on them,” he said. “Now the city will be held to account for those wrongful actions and the prodigious pain and suffering they caused. We look forward to the new trial the Supreme Court has ordered.”
The Supreme Court’s decision is yet another chapter in an ongoing battle that began with an admittedly aggressive timeline that called for construction of the 6,100-seat, minor league park in just 13 months, with the Hartford Yard Goats — the Double-A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies — hosting its home opener in May 2016.
With construction delays, the Yard Goats played their first season on the road, with a new contractor brought in to finish construction. The project was completed in 2017.
Courant reporter Ken Gosselin contributed to this story.
Wethersfield plan to modernize, enlarge elementary schools estimated at $271 million
Wethersfield’s school system wants a fall referendum on its proposed $271 million modernization of the town’s elementary schools.
After years of study, the school board this month endorsed a plan to replace two schools, renovate and expand two others and shut down the fourth.
Construction would be done in stages over a decade, and in the end about 30% of Wethersfield’s elementary grade students would be transferred to different schools than the ones they attend now, educators said.
The town council heard a presentation last week and expects to decide June 6 whether to schedule a fall referendum on the plan. It also will vote on whether the school administration can submit paperwork for state reimbursement of the first phase of the work; the deadline to be considered for 2023 funding is June 30.
The plan would “incorporate a combination of building new, renovating and contracting from five schools to four,” Superintendent Michael Emmett told the council on May 10.
Planner Patrick Gallagher of the SLAM Collaborative, a Glastonbury architectural firm advising the school board, told the council that long-term enrollment projections for Wethersfield suggest no major increase or decline in elementary-age students over the next decade.
Many other Connecticut communities saw population drops after the 2008 recession, followed by recent upticks, he said. But Wethersfield has stayed relatively consistent, and its overall public school enrollment holds steady at about 1,900, he said.
“You’re a built-out community. We’re not anticipating significant new housing development that would drive enrollment beyond what we’re planning today,” Gallagher said.
However, some sections of town have been drawing more families in recent years, so the enrollment balance between the system’s five schools has been shifting. Most of the schools were built in the 1960s, the newest dates to 1970. Wethersfield could better meet the needs of modern classes and school activities with buildings designed now, educators said.
“One of the keys to this is a move from five elementary schools to four elementary schools. Under the plan we would see new schools built at the Highcrest and Hamner sites,” he told the council.
The plan is to demolish Hamner, which was built in 1967, and Highcrest, built in 1969. Both would be replaced by larger, far more modern buildings on different locations but on the same overall property.
Wethersfield would extensively renovate the Emerson-Williams and Webb schools, and close Charles Wright Elementary School. Before Highcrest is taken offline, it would be the “swing” school accommodating the student body of each of the other schools as they undergo phased construction.
“Going from five to four means that the district will need to redraw the attendance lines. That will occur once the final building project is completed,” Gallagher said.
Peak enrollment at three schools over the next decade is projected to hit in 2028-29: 439 students at Hamner, 463 at Emerson-Williams and 461 at Webb. The peak at Highcrest would be 644 in 2023-24, he said. Highcrest would have four sections at each grade level, while the others would have three.
The Hamner and Highcrest parts of the project would be done first if voters authorize it, according to planners.
Chuck Warrington of Madison-based Colliers Project Leaders, another consultant on the project, said the current cost estimates include projections for stiff inflation in the construction market.
“We’re all seeing what’s going on with (cost) escalation. It’s probably the most volatile time in the market for going out to bid,” Warrington said.
The cost projections are estimating $400 per square foot construction cost, and reflect contractors’ bids for recent, similar projects in the state, he said.
“This reflects bid numbers, not estimates. We carried 8% escalation out to 2025 - that can certainly fluctuate,” he told the council.
For projects that will continue between 2026 and 2029, estimators worked with a 5% annual inflation cost.
Estimators calculate the state government will shoulder $107 million of the cost, leaving Wethersfield taxpayers to cover $164 million.
U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm is scheduled Friday to visit Connecticut to highlight federal and state efforts to advance nuclear and wind power alternatives to carbon-based energy and tout the federal infrastructure bill pushed by President Joe Biden.
Energy prices across the board -- at the gas pump and heating homes and businesses -- are skyrocketing, adding to the fastest pace of inflation in more than 40 years and complicating efforts by Democrats to hold or expand their slim congressional majorities in November elections. Granholm, a former Democratic governor of Michigan, will be joined by several members of Connecticut’s all-Democratic congressional delegation.
The Department of Energy said her visit will underscore collaboration among the public and private sectors to accelerate America’s clean energy initiatives and decarbonize the U.S. economy. Granholm is scheduled to tour a Department of Energy facility in Storrs, the Millstone Nuclear Power Station in Waterford and State Pier in New London.
At the Energy Department’s Southern New England Industrial Assessment Center at the University of Connecticut, she will make an announcement related to the $1.2 trillion federal infrastructure program, the agency said. She will be joined by Rep, Joe Courtney, D-Conn., and UConn President Radenka Maric.
With Courtney and U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., Granholm will visit Dominion Energy’s Millstone plant. The Department of Energy is reviewing responses to a request for information it issued to nuclear industry stakeholders late last year as a first step in another attempt to figure out how and where to store the highly-radioactive, spent uranium that is the waste product of nuclear energy production.
She will end her visit at the State Pier with Blumenthal and U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn. Ørsted, a Danish wind energy company, and Eversource Energy are partners in a wind energy program using the State Pier to assemble turbines.
Eversource said recently it’s considering selling its wind power stake to capitalize on valuable offshore leases.
Glastonbury to vote next month on 74-unit apartment building proposed near Buckingham Park
The Glastonbury Town Plan & Zoning Commission has until June 21, to finalize a developer’s proposal to build a 74-unit apartment building that could be occupied in early 2024 if it gets final approval.
Town Planner Jonathan Mullen said Thursday the commission held a public hearing on the proposal Tuesday. The meeting was continued to June 7, with the town setting a June 21 deadline for the commission to act, Mullen said.
Developer Richard Hayes Jr., principal of Manchester/Hebron Avenue LLC, is proposing 74 multifamily units for the site, which is across the street from Buckingham Park and will be known as Buckingham Corners. The complex would be located on Manchester Road and Hebron Avenue.
Several town committees and commissions still need to sign off on the plan, with the final say coming from Town Plan & Zoning.
Hinckley Allen partner Timothy Hollister and associate Andrea Gomes represent Hayes.
Hollister previously told the Hartford Business Journal that, if all goes as planned, construction could start in the fall of 2022 and would take about 18 months. Occupancy could begin in early 2024, he said.
Hollister also said that 70% of the units will go for market rate while the other 30% will be for moderate-income households. There will be 85 parking spaces, he said.
Neither Hollister nor Mullen said they knew how much the project would cost.
DeLauro Earmarks Almost $13 Million For Projects In Seymour & Ansonia
JEAN FALBO-SOSNOVICH
SEYMOUR – Seymour and Beacon Falls could benefit from $10 million in federal funds to build a road and the accompanying infrastructure that will provide access into 223 acres behind Stop & Shop on Franklin Street.
The land is owned by The Haynes Group which, in addition to operating Haynes Outdoor Living on Derby Avenue, successfully developed the $70 million Quarry Walk, a mix of businesses and hundreds of residences on Route 67 in Oxford.
Haynes has long-term plans to bring a similar development to its land in Seymour, according to Seymour First Selectwoman Annmarie Drugonis.
The Haynes Group wants to build a 300,000-square foot mixed-use project that would include retail, restaurants, medical space, and some 200-market rate apartments, Drugonis said.
The Valley Indy was unable to confirm those specifics with The Haynes Group this week, but a company spokeswoman did confirm that the company is planning to invest $100 million into the Seymour project.
But before any of that can happen: the feds have to approve $10 million to build a 2‑mile road that will connect Route 67 in Seymour to Route 42 in Beacon Falls – along with the installation of public utilities, which include water, sewer, storm water, electrical, broadband and fiber optic cable.
The path toward approval started Wednesday (May 18), when U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro announced the $10 million road project was one of 15 projects she was submitting as part of the “Community Project Funding” program for fiscal year 2023.
The “Community Project Funding” program falls under the House Appropriations Committee, the powerful committee that sets federal spending – of which DeLauro is chair.
The money could be formally approved in July, according to Lou Mangini, a member of the Congresswoman’s senior staff.
Seymour’s government, eager for a boost to its non-residential tax base, has been looking forward to the development of the Haynes property for years.
Selectwoman Drugonis sees the road project as the potential kickstart to a major economic development project in town.
“I’m so excited; this is the shot in the arm that Seymour needs to get things going,” Drugonis said. “This federal grant is the first step in what will be a transformative project for our communities and for the Valley.”
Drugonis said the road project itself is expected to create more than 400 new jobs in the Valley.
Seymour’s Economic Development Consultant Sheila O’Malley said the Haynes project has the potential to be like Quarry Walk in Oxford – but with more land.
“It’s a site that holds magnificent potential for Seymour, Beacon Falls and the entire Valley, and would be a real economic generator,” O’Malley said.
Also included on DeLauro’s list of projects is $2.9 million to be used in the City of Ansonia.
The money, if approved, would be used to remove contaminated materials within the former SHW Casting Company downtown, and demolish the remaining structure.
Local and state officials have been chipping away at Ansonia’s old, contaminated factories to bring new life to its downtown.
“The Valley can always count on Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro to deliver,” Ansonia Mayor David Cassetti said in a prepared statement released by DeLauro’s office.
“This important parcel known as the SHW site is the gateway to Ansonia Copper and Brass. This funding will clear the path towards future development of both parcels — a combined 60 acres. We are crippled in Ansonia by these contaminated and dilapidated buildings. This critical appropriation for demolition from Congresswoman DeLauro will bring us one step closer to putting this parcel back to productive reuse.”
DeLauro, as chair of the House Appropriations Committee, said she brought back Community Project Funding (earmarked funding for legislators) last year for the first time in 10 years.
The program is needed “because our communities have needs that the federal government must be responsive to,” she said in a press release.
Click here for the complete list of projects DeLauro is supporting.
Windsor officials adopt tighter controls for new warehouses/logistics centers
Windsor officials last week adopted stronger controls over construction of new warehouses and distribution centers, responding to rising resident concerns.
The change approved unanimously by the town’s Planning and Zoning Commission makes new warehouses and distribution facilities subject to a special permit approval, rather than “by right” in industrial and warehouse zoning districts.
Town Planner Eric Barz, who crafted the changes, explained to the commission at its May 11 meeting that it could presently only “rubber stamp” applications that met all the required design criteria.
“Does it meet the regulations? Yes – you must approve,” Barz said. “With a special use, you can weigh in on such factors as is it compatible with the neighborhood, does it generate too much traffic, is there sufficient utility capacity. Things of that nature come into play.”
The change also means that large warehouse proposals will be subject to public hearings, and the commission can use resident feedback to require changes to plans to address the concerns of residents and board members.
The regulation change, however, is designed to have no impact on the influx of new manufacturing facilities, with the understanding these will operate on fewer hours and result in less traffic, Barz explained.
Under the regulation, any proposal for a new warehouse or logistics center that is a) 200,000 or more square feet in size, b) has more than one loading dock per 1,500 square feet of floor area, c) has more than one trailer parking space per 7,500 square feet of floor area or d) is within 1,000 feet of a residential zone, would be required to gain a special permit.
Barz said the change doesn’t allow the commission complete discretion, but it does allow the commission to deny a proposal deemed “too intensive.” It additionally allows the commission to mandate conditions meant to lessen impacts to surrounding residents.
The push for tighter controls began with resident complaints about the approval process for the BDL Logistics Center development in 2021. Scannell Properties was approved to add two buildings with a combined 487,200 square feet at 1190 Kennedy and 451 Hayden Station roads.
Barz and commission members agreed they did not want to take the route of South Windsor and place a moratorium on new warehouse development while regulations are drafted. Barz was complimented by commission members on the speed with which he was able to craft zoning changes without the need for a moratorium.
Interest in Windsor development remains heavy and applications for two new projects were submitted ahead of the public hearing, meaning their review will be governed under the previous, more permissive process.
These include a plan by Indus Realty to build a 248,000-square-foot distribution center on 61.7 acres at 105 International Drive, and NorthPoint Development’s proposal to build a 750,000-square-foot distribution center on 93 acres in the Great Pond Village mixed-use development.
Millions slated for cleaning Connecticut's contaminated sites
The federal government said this week that it will invest nearly $7 million to clean up and redevelop contaminated properties across the state.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said the money will come from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and be used for brownfield remediation.
Brownfields are contaminated properties – often found in underserved communities – where redevelopment can be costly and complicated.
The EPA said the Naugatuck Valley Council of Governments will get nearly $4 million to help clean up these sites.
New London, New Haven, Stratford, Vernon, Waterbury and West Haven will also get money to help clean up everything from a school to an old button factory.
The EPA said in a statement that “projects can range from cleaning up buildings with asbestos or lead contamination to assessing and cleaning up abandoned properties that once managed dangerous chemicals.”
“Brownfield remediation is vital to the economic development, environmental safety and public health of our community,” said U.S. Rep. Jahana Hayes (D-5th District) in a statement.
“I am thrilled that over $4 million will go to Waterbury and surrounding communities for the assessment and redevelopment of brownfield sites,” Hayes said. “This funding will bring a cleaner, healthier environment and increased economic opportunity for areas that have faced obstacles to growth.”
Avelo growth at Tweed New Haven airport spurs off-site parking plan
NEW HAVEN — Tweed New Haven Regional Airport is “in the last stages” of negotiating a short-term, off-site solution to parking capacity issues expected to arise when Avelo Airlines goes from eight to 12 flights a day and adds flights to Chicago, Baltimore-Washington and Raleigh-Durham, N.C. later this month, an official said.
Tweed, which is owned by the city of New Haven and located in both New Haven and East Haven, still has never totally filled its three parking lots, Tweed New Haven Airport Authority Executive Director Sean Scanlon told the authority this week. But it is moving forward with a short-term solution that it’s likely to announce as soon as next week so it will be prepared when the additional flights begin May 26, Scanlon said.
Scanlon, in a subsequent interview, declined to say where the soon-to-be-announced offsite parking lot was, but said “it is close by the airport.
“That’s all I’m prepared to say about that,” said Scanlon, also a Democratic state representative for Guilford and Branford and the Democratic Party’s endorsee for the state comptroller position in the November election.
“It’s a good problem to have, to have grown faster than we expected to grow,” Scanlon said. “While we still have ample capacity,” given Avelo’s success so far and growth, “we want to make sure that we can meet the demand.”
East Haven Mayor Joe Carfora, who earlier this spring declined to support Tweed’s expansion plans “at this time,” said he was aware of the plans. The location is not in East Haven, he said.
“I realize that Sean is working hard to solve some of the on-site parking issues that are developing at Tweed due to the success of the Avelo service,” Carfora said. “As a result, I understand that he is working to solidify an off site parking location” and “that location is not in East Haven.”
Scanlon said that while the two most visible lots, located right next to the terminal on either side of the entrance as people drive in, often are posted as full, a third, less expensive remote lot located around and behind the terminal — and served by a minute-and-a-half shuttle bus ride — has never been full.
The two closer lots sometimes have vehicles parking on the grass when travelers have difficulty finding marked spaces, which has been a flashpoint with airport neighbors.
Scanlon said that as Avelo continues to expand, the additional parking “won’t be enough,” however, and said, “We’re working on other solutions. ... We need a medium-term solution.
“Part of it will be met by the off-site parking lot,” Scanlon said. “But there also will be a need for us to expand or reconfigure our parking here before we move to East Haven.”
Additional parking will be part of the plan when Tweed eventually applies to build a new 74,00-square-foot terminal and entrance off Proto Drive on the East Haven side of the airport as part of a $70 million expansion plan. That would be part of a $100 million total investment that would be paid for by Tweed’s contract operator, Goldman Sachs-owned Avports LLC, which in turn would be signed to a 43-year management contract.
The New Haven Board of Alders has approved the contract and a long-term lease with the authority but the contract is still being negotiated.
The expansion plan also includes lengthening Tweed’s runway, currently 5,600 feet, to 6,635 feet and building a new terminal where the east end of Tweed’s former crosswind runway is now.
Avelo announced March 8 that it will add service to Chicago’s Midway International Airport, Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport and Raleigh-Durham Interational Airport on May 26, bringing the total number of destinations from Tweed to 13.
It also announced it will increase the frequency of service between Tweed and Orlando, which recently was named Avelo’s third base, along with Tweed and Los Angeles’ Hollywood Burbank Airport.
Those additional destinations followed the announcement that Avelo would fly from Tweed to Nashville, Tenn.; Savannah, Ga.-Hilton Head, S.C. and Myrtle Beach, S.C., all of which began May 5. It also flies to six Florida destinations: Orlando, Tampa, Fort Myers, Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach and Sarasota-Bradenton.