FHWA releases $60B to states, funds 3 new programs

Julie Strupp

The Federal Highway Administration on Tuesday announced that it released $59.9 billion to 12 programs to help address the nation’s crumbling infrastructure, according to an agency press release. The funding comes from the $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

The infrastructure law, signed last year by President Joe Biden, provides $550 billion over the next five years to support critical infrastructure efforts like revamping roads and bridges, carbon emission reduction and safety improvements.

The FHWA’s nearly $60 billion allocation, to be split among all 50 states plus Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico, is a $15 billion increase over 2021. The newly released funds are formula grants, which means the money flows to recipients based on formulas set by Congress.

The Biden administration has focused not only on traditional infrastructure, but also items like broadband internet and climate resilience measures. In addition to supporting long-standing programs like the Bridge Formula Program, three new ones will also be funded next year, according to Tuesday’s announcement:

The Carbon Reduction Program aims to boost projects designed to reduce transportation emissions, such as public transit, bikeways and walkways. 

The Promoting Resilient Operations for Transformative, Efficient and Cost-Saving Transportation Formula Program aims to help make surface transportation more resilient to extreme weather and other natural hazards.

The National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Formula Program aims to create a reliable national network of EV chargers.

The allocation of funding by state and program can be viewed at the FHWA’s infrastructure act funding web page, organized by fiscal year.

Declaring that the town has to stay current, West Hartford approves 172 luxury apartments near Blue Back Square

Don Stacom

Despite complaints from nearby neighbors, West Hartford’s town council on Wednesday night gave a key approval to Continental Properties’ plan for 172 luxury apartments about two blocks from Blue Back Square.

At a three-hour-long hearing, several business and community leaders along with Kingswood-Oxford School representatives praised Continental’s proposal as a source of economic development and an estimated $800,000-a-year in new taxes.

“Progress, opportunity, change — these are all words that we have to embrace as we go forward with economic development and look toward the future of our town,” former council member Lee Gold said.

Town resident Marc Shafer said Continental’s vision of a modern, amenity-rich apartment complex would help persuade young professionals to stay in town rather than moving to bigger cities.

“Whenever my kids come home, they say there’s no place to live. This is the kind of place they live now — they want a rooftop lounge, a gym, a pool,” Shafer said. “They want bike storage, they want fire pits and barbecues.”

The council agreed, with Mayor Shari Cantor saying “If we don’t do some of these big things, we will stay still. We have to keep moving our town forward. The only way we can do that is to keep reinventing ourselves.”

The council approved a zone change for Continental by a 7-2 vote, with members Mary Fay and Alberto Cortes voting no.

More than a dozen speakers argued both sides of the issue during the hearing, and another two dozen residents sent written comments.

Representing the local Firefly Studios video game development company, Megan Ouellette predicted Continental’s apartments would help Connecticut and the town stop the drain of young people.

“We want our young professionals to stay here, and this is what they’re looking for,” she said. “This will help businesses like mine and bring young people back.”

The town’s Chamber of Commerce also endorsed the proposal at the hearing.

If the project advances, Kingswood-Oxford would sell the land at 950 Trout Brook Drive to Continental. That income would be important to the school, said Mark Conrad, treasurer of the trustees board.

“We’re a nonprofit institution, we work hard each year to break even on our budget,” Conrad said. “We truly believe this deal will make K-O stronger and make West Hartford stronger.”

But the prospect of a six-story complex with more than 320 parking spaces got a cold reception from many nearby homeowners. The property is the former site of the Connecticut Children’s Museum, and many speakers decried the loss of the relatively quiet, low-key operation.

Calling Continental’s proposal “a behemoth” that will create noise and air pollution, Outlook Avenue resident Marina Creed urged the council to reject it.

“They are an outside developer. This is not a benefit to West Hartford,” Creed said. “We need family buildings that are able to serve the people who want to put down roots.”

“This will upend our neighborhood,” warned Jeanne Bonner, whose Outlook Avenue home is behind the 3.9-acre site. “This proposal doesn’t do anything for families and children. This private transaction is threatening to change a major corridor in our town.”

Dan Corjulo of Robin Road agreed, saying “I’m all for economic development — this is economic exploitation. This is not in the community’s best interest.”

Outlook Avenue resident Connor Marshall, a civil engineer and recent college graduate, said he doubts many people in his circumstances could afford the rents.

“I think I fit that ‘young professional crowd.’ If we’re talking $3,000 a month, that’s well over half my monthly income,” Marshall said. “The math doesn’t add up.”

Mary Jo Andrews, a resident of the nearby Hampshire House condominiums, said a large housing complex would worsen the already severe traffic at Trout Brook Drive and Farmington Avenue.

“The building is going to be huge,” she added. “The size is completely disproportionate to the neighborhood.”

Outlook Avenue homeowner Michael Cocca also opposed the project.

“I ask you to reject this for the sake of safety, the environment and the neighbors,” he told the council. “The elephant in the room is the parking lot — it’s huge. This is going to be 24/7 with car alarms, beeping, driving. I want a setback from that parking lot.”

Continental is planning a mix of one- to three-bedroom units, and would set aside nine as affordable housing for the next 20 years.

The company’s hired traffic consultants reported that the project would not significantly worsen traffic in the area. It is proposing that the northbound left turn lane on Trout Brook Road before Farmington Avenue be changed into a southbound turn lane serving the apartment complex.

Tim Hollister, Continental’s attorney, argued that his client wouldn’t allow significant noise from the property because if it would bother neighbors, it would also disturb his tenants.

Hollister said Continental has built more than 1,200 luxury apartments over the past 10 years in communities ranging from South Windsor, Glastonbury and Trumbull to Rocky Hill, Milford and Shelton.

After construction, the company retains and manages its apartment complexes, providing stable management, a steady contact for the town to deal with and an added incentive for quality construction, Continental said.

The company said its project would feature a golf simulation room, a fitness room, a 1,500-square-foot outdoor pool with loungers and cabanas, a rooftop patio, electric vehicle charging stations, firepits, grills and outdoor patio tables.

Ultimately, the council concluded that West Hartford is changing and needs to encourage similar projects if it wants to progress.

“This is in harmony with the area around it. We are so lucky we have people who want to develop in this town, and people who want to live here,” council member Liam Sweeney said. “I’m really excited to see what this will bring to the town.”

Fay said she’s concerned about overdevelopment in town, and added that she likes traditional New England-style housing.

“I’m having issues with the scale, the size,” Fay said. “It’s ginormous.”

But Councilor Mark Zydanowicz argued that West Hartford can’t stay the way it used to be.

“We can’t do the same old same old. We cant get stuck in the past, he said. “This is transformative.”

200-unit, mixed-use Vernon residential redevelopment gets $650K federal boost

Michael Puffer

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has given a $650,000 boost to an ongoing cleanup of a series of mill complexes in Vernon that are collectively targeted for a 200-unit apartment mixed-use redevelopment.

U.S. EPA New England Administrator David W. Cash; U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn.; U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney, D-2nd District; and other dignitaries visited the Daniels Mills site at 104 East Main St. Thursday to celebrate the award. 

“This grant from EPA to help cover cleanup costs at Daniel’s Mill is an important step toward our goal of restoring the gateway to Rockville, developing housing and commercial space and getting this historic property back on the tax rolls,” Vernon Mayor Daniel A. Champagne said.

Daniel’s Mill is one of three mill sites the along the Hockanum River involved in the redevelopment plan. 

Vernon has an agreement with Georgia-based developer Camden Management Partners to transform the defunct mills into 200 apartments with up to 20,000 square feet of commercial space, according to Shaun W. Gately, the town’s director of development services and economic development.

Under that agreement, the town must first arrange for cleanup of the past industrial pollution and hazardous building materials in the mills.

The Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development has already directed $6.5 million in brownfield cleanup assistance to the site, Gatley said. This latest infusion from the EPA is expected to carry the cleanup to the point where Camden can secure funding and begin work, Gatley said.

Gately said the town has arranged for additional environmental testing in its effort to convince the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection to sign off on its pollution mediation plans.

Cash said President Biden’s leadership and a recent bipartisan infrastructure law has led to record investment in New England industrial cleanups this year.

“Today's investment of EPA Brownfields cleanup funding will jumpstart economic redevelopment and job creation in the community as we work to turn environmental risks into economic assets, especially in those communities with a history and legacy of being overburdened by pollution," Cash said. 

Long neglected New Haven's Rice, Blake, Wilbur Cross High fields to see improvements in $4.35M plan

Chatwan Mongkol

NEW HAVEN — After years of community members saying some city sporting facilities have been neglected, some improvements finally are on the way.

Parents and student athletes were happy to hear he city plans to use $4.35 million to fund renovations at Rice, Blake and Wilbur Cross High School fields, with construction set to begin in as early as the coming weeks.

Elias Theodore, a Wilbur Cross senior, said the plans are “so awesome,” even though he probably won’t be here to use the facilities upon the renovation’s completion.

“But just knowing that my brother will have better access to this stuff and all the kids who play under me will, too, it’s just awesome,” Theodore said. “Even coming home from college on breaks and knowing we’ll have great places to play is really exciting.”

With current funding from local, state and federal sources, the city can only improve baseball and JV soccer fields at Rice, the football field and running track at Wilbur Cross, and varsity softball and soccer fields at Blake, according to City Engineer Giovanni Zinn’s community presentation this week.

At Wilbur Cross — which the community said was a top priority — there will be a new synthetic turf field that can stay cool during summer. There will be a new lighting system for night usage, the track will be rebuilt and the press box will be renovated to include speakers and a public address system.

While there’s also a plan to repair fences and gates to control access, Zinn said community members can still access it. It only aims to control cars. Nothing  however, is in place in the current phase to renovate any of the buildings in the complex including concession, storage and bathrooms.

At Rice Field, the renovation is a part of a larger project to improve East Rock Park, in which the city anticipates getting $1 million for. Similar to Wilbur Cross complex, baseball fields and JV soccer fields will be fenced to control vehicle access to reduce future damage.

Zinn said “there’s a lot of structural work that we want to do on the fields,” including addressing flooding issues by raising the fields higher. The city also aims to install multi-season turf for Rice Field, which is set to start in the coming weeks.

“For Rice Field, starting this fall with aeration, grading, drainage, leveling out, rolling it, fertilizing it, seeding it multiple times, soil amendments to to get the soil fertility to where we need it to be,” Zinn said. “To have really good grass, we can’t expect to maintain something long term that doesn’t start from a really good base.”

Blake Field has a similar plan with Rice Field to use multi-season turf that will begin this fall.

In terms of a timeline of the projects, Zinn said construction at Rice and Blake fields will begin this fall and complete in fall 2023.

Wilbur Cross’ football and track fields and installation of the Blake soccer field will take place in spring to the end of next summer, just in time for the next fall sports season.

The anticipated changes come after community members have been saying that these sports complexes have been neglected for years to the point they can’t be used for varsity competition.

Nearly 900 people signed an online petition calling for an update of Wilbur Cross Athletic Complex. The petition stated that the high school athletes have been relying on Jame Hillhouse High School’s facility for varsity play.

“In addition to the inconvenience of never actually playing at home, numerous practices and games must be rescheduled or outright canceled due to the current field conditions,” the petition stated. “The lack of usable facilities is hamstringing our youth. Our student athletes deserve better.”

Following Wednesday’s presentation, community members expressed gratitude to the city for coming up with these plans.

Mateo Festa, a soccer player at Wilbur Cross, said the plan looks “amazing” compared to one presented in June.

“I just wanted to say, first of all, thank you,” he said. “It looks a lot more finalized. It looks really good.”

Catherine Yates, a parent of a freshman JV soccer player, said the Wilbur Cross complex is “extremely important” for the neighborhoods of East Rock and Fair Haven. She said her family relied on it during the COVID-19 pandemic to stay connected.

“The U.S. is going to the World Cup in the fall and that's an internationally important sort of commitment that we're making as a country,” she said. “So I feel like having a good field, inviting parents and from all cultures to come and watch our kids play is really awesome and I'm super grateful that you guys are on board.”

With the plans already in place, some parents suggested some add-ons for consideration moving forward.

Ashley Stockton, a parent and a teacher, recommended looking at camera infrastructure at the fields to increase students' access to college-level opportunities.

“Kids who are looking to play college athletics, the way that works in 2022 is really through video. Kids need highlight reels, they need film of themselves. That is how recruitment works by and large,” she said. “Throughout the state, most fields have cameras.”
 
Caleb Kleppner, a parent of two student athletes, said female athletes should be prioritized in using the new fields at the East Rock complex to “right a small historical wrong,” which he said was an unequal access to sports facilities among boys and girls.

For Kleppner, he saw two soccer fields at the Rice Field — a bad one and a worse one — and he said boys' teams tend to get the bad one and the girls' teams tend to get the worse one.

“It's not the biggest deal in the world, but it is something we can fix and it's something that going forward we can say we want to treat our female athletes equal to our male athletes and we want to be proactive going forward about this,” Kleppner said.

East Haddam officials break ground on $2.8M high school athletic complex

Austin Mirmina

EAST HADDAM — Wielding golden shovels adorned with shiny blue ribbons, state and local officials on Wednesday broke ground on the $2.8 million track and field athletic complex at Nathan Hale-Ray High School. 

State Sen. Norm Needleman, D-Essex, was joined by Superintendent of Schools Brian Reas, Board of Education Chairman Marc Pisciotti, First Selectwoman Irene Haines, and other local officials to mark the ceremonial start of a long-awaited project that will restore home-field advantage to the track and field programs.

Located at the site of the school's lower soccer field, the complex will feature a new running track, synthetic turf soccer field, areas for jumping and throwing events, restroom facilities, and a concession stand, among other amenities.

The price tag for the project will be $2.8 million, officials said. In April, East Haddam was awarded a $1.4 million state grant, with an additional $400,000 in funding from the Purple Fund Educational Endowment to help offset the cost to taxpayers.

The construction of a running track will be an important landmark for Nathan Hale-Ray, one of only two high schools in the state without that amenity, officials said. Once built, the complex will also be available for use by the public.

Members of the school's track and field program who attended Wednesday's ceremony said that having a new track would improve the quality of their training, and allow the team to host outdoor meets for the first time in the school's history. 

In the absence of a track, student athletes instead practice in the school parking lot or run in a loop around the building, senior Andrew Kittelmann said.

The track and field teams have had success under the unorthodox training regimen, with the boys squad finishing second in the outdoor state championships. But having a track on school grounds would be a competitive boost for the program, Kittelmann added.

Dave Kraszewski, who coaches Nathan Hale-Ray's track and field and cross-country teams, said that using a track would help his runners avoid injury. 

"We’re running around a parking lot with gravel; we’re dodging cars," Kraszewski said. "So [injury prevention] is probably the most important part."

The grueling practice conditions gave sophomore runner Julie Anderson shin splints during her first year with the team. "Since we didn’t have a track in the spring, it took a toll on a lot of our bodies. A lot of us got injured," she said. "Having a track will hopefully prevent a lot of those things."

A new track will also allow athletes to more accurately measure distances and calculate running times, according to junior Izzy Fitzpatrick, a team manager for the cross-country and track and field teams. 

"You can’t properly train in the parking lot," Fitzpatrick said. "We have to guess the distances, and we can’t give accurate times and statistics when we practice. The only experience we get at a track is when we have a meet."

Many runners who want to train on a track are forced to travel 25 minutes away to the closest facility at Valley Regional High School in Deep River, Fitzpatrick added.

In its 30-year history at its current home on School Ground Road, Nathan Hale-Ray has never been able to enjoy the thrill of hosting an outdoor track meet, where hundreds of student athletes congregate and compete. A track was originally included in plans to build the school in 1992, but was subsequently cut for budget reasons.

This new athletic complex will end that lengthy drought. "Now people can actually come and watch," senior track and field member Michael Kraszewski said.

In addition to the new sport facilities, the renovation project will also address drainage and irrigation issues that regularly make the soccer field unplayable, including in 2020, when the entire soccer season was wiped out, officials said.

The town had already been faced with spending several hundred thousand dollars to repair the drainage issues, so renovating the entire site and installing a state-of-the-art athletic complex was an ideal solution, according to Capital Improvements Building Committee Chairman Joseph Spurgeon.

Construction for the project is expected to begin in spring 2023 and finish in time for the start of fall sports, Spurgeon added.

"If you were to have asked me eight years ago if we would be standing here with shovels in hand, I would probably have said that would just be a miracle," Superintendent Reas said. "And we’re here." 

3 West Haven housing development projects get green light from planners

Brian Zahn

WEST HAVEN — The city's Planning and Zoning Commission has approved a 16-unit active adult living community development that had drawn harsh criticism from some neighbors, with some contention among commission members.

The developer for a proposed residential community of eight duplex buildings on Shingle Hill Road, which will be developed as part of a federal program for adults age 55 and older, received a special permit approval from the commission in a 4-1 vote. Commission Vice Chairman John Biancur voted against the development, citing several regulations for which he believed the development was out of compliance, including water pressure regulations. 

Alternate Commissioner Michael Todd Taylor, who voted in favor of the development, argued his belief that Biancur was using the city's Plan of Conservation and Development "restrictively" to scrutinize a project that meets the city's needs.

"We’re trying to find every point in our plan of conservation to restrict this very creative project from being put together. We all know there's a need for affordable housing, we all know there's a need for a 55 and over community," Taylor said. “When are we going to say enough is enough, put it together, you have the support of the community?”

Biancur said some regulations are restrictive for a purpose.

Commission Chairwoman Kathy Hendricks voted in favor of the development, albeit after hesitation as to whether a fenced-off duplex community would be harmonious with the surrounding neighborhood of single-family homes. When Commissioner Steven Mullins mentioned that other parts of the city have such a mix of housing options, Hendricks said Shingle Hill Road is among one of the last places where that is not the case.

“Most of the neighborhoods in West Haven have a mix. This is one of the few areas that does not. The inclination is, for me, to protect that. We’ve kept it that way for years,” she said.

Hendricks ultimately voted in favor of the development despite "reservations."

When the development first appeared before regulatory boards last summer, neighbors in properties directly abutting the development expressed strong disapproval of the proposal. Neighbor Marty Northam called the proposal a "disaster" that added too much density to the 3.1-acre parcel.

“You’re kind of cramming this in where it doesn’t belong,” he told the Zoning Board of Appeals in June 2021.

The development was held up for more than a year by an appeal after the ZBA meeting. The developer settled with a couple that one of the eight planned duplexes would not be built until the couple vacated their home.

Although multiple neighbors testified to the commission about their concerns that the development is too large for the site and that the removal of the wooded area would diminish backyard views in the area, the proposal drew an even measure of support from residents enthusiastic about attractive housing options for the city's aging population.

Former City Clerk Debbie Collins said she liked the idea of a housing development for older residents looking to downsize to a unit without stairs.

“To me that would be perfect. All the towns around us are jumping on 55-and-over and I think we should, too,” she said.

Resident Michael Doyle said currently there are no viable options in the neighborhood for seniors to downsize while remaining  in their neighborhood.

Other residents noted that the parcel currently houses a vacant home that is economically unproductive for the city, whereas new housing would add to the city's tax base.