Connecticut approves funding for 800 housing units, Enfield mall project and more

Ken Dixon

HARTFORD — In its final meeting before the end of Connecticut's fiscal year June 30, the State Bond Commission on Friday approved about $790 million in long-term borrowing for dozens of projects, from more than $32 million for planning and renovations to the Agricultural Experiment Stations laboratory in Windsor, to $171 million for statewide school construction.

In a fast, 15-minute meeting in the Legislative Office Building, the committee dominated by Democrats, with no debate, approved $222 million for a variety of dwelling initiatives, including workforce housing and the Time to Own program, which offers forgivable loans to first-time home buyers. The additional $40 million approved for Time to Own brings the total pool to $155 million that has assisted 5,800 people with loans of up to $25,000 for down payments, which can be forgivable if the owners keep up with their mortgage payments.

Seila Mosquera-Bruno, state housing commissioner, told reporters after the commission meeting that the programs approved Friday will help create about 800 units.

The Agricultural Experiment Station's Windsor laboratory dates to about 1940 and staff there have had to deal with many issues in recent years, from leaks in the slate roof, to mold in a lab ceiling, as well as failing plumbing and a septic tank, which have been addressed since about 2020.

The 10-member commission also approved $80 million for the state Department of Economic and Community Development's local investment fund for 35 projects. The awards include $2 million for the Barnum Museum revitalization program in Bridgeport; $3 million for the second phase of an industrial park project in Naugatuck; $5 million for Danbury's downtown revitalization program; $4 million for downtown Waterbury's streetscape and utility improvements; $1.5 million for the completion of the Norwalk section of the Norwalk River trail; $10 million for the town of Enfield's Marketplace mixed-use development at the site of its current mall; and $2 million for the United Way of Greater New Haven's mixed-use and mixed-income State and Chapel program downtown.

Other awards included:

$99.4 million for the Department of Public Health's loan program for public drinking water systems

$50 million for the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection's clean water projects, offering towns and cities grants of up to 20 percent and loans of up to 80 percent of the costs of upgrading local sewage treatment projects.

$11 million for improvements to academic, security and other building improvements at Western, Central, Eastern and Southern Connecticut state universities.

$10.3 million spread around 16 small harbor improvement projects, including $3.5 million for the Veterans Park Marina in Norwalk; $1.4 million for the Middletown Marina; $800,000 for the Stony Creek Wharf in Branford; and $170,000 for the Compo Marina in Westport. 

Improvements and renovations to the Manson Youth Institution in Cheshire, including a new shower room, totaling $5 million.

$4 million to help finance the remediation and redevelopment of the former Anamet Manufacturing property in Waterbury.

A one million dollar state grant for the Easton Public Library to expand its children's department. 

$900,000 to inspect and monitor state dams during extreme weather events, including a $100,000 contract with a wildlife service under the the U.S. Department of Agriculture's on-call beaver-control program.

West Haven to build floodwall around wastewater treatment plant to protect the system

Brian Zahn

WEST HAVEN — The city received a $10.4 million grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency for the design and construction of a floodwall around its wastewater treatment plant, Mayor Dorinda Borer recently announced.

Borer uploaded a short video to Facebook to announce the award, which the city has sought since at least last summer.

West Haven's Assistant Grant Writer Olivia Bissanti shared in Borer's video that roughly 20 people from FEMA, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection visited the city's plant last summer to evaluate the needs.

"When the plant, located on the ocean, gets flooded it compromises the system, the infrastructure breaks down and it's costing us millions of dollars to repair and we’re millions of dollars behind on repairs," Borer said.

The impacts of damage to the plant would be felt throughout the city, Borer said.

Plant Administrator Mark Magri said simply that if that were to happen then residents wouldn't be able to flush their toilets. Borer said it also has environmental implications for the entirety of the Long Island Sound.

"We have a responsibility in West Haven to protect anything and everything that can flow out to the ocean," Borer said.

Thursday's announcement came less than a week after Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem issued a memorandum canceling the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities program that initially allocated $47.5 million in additional funding for a coastline resiliency program in Bridgeport. The city had been ravaged by Superstorm Sandy and sought infrastructure upgrades.

FEMA said in a statement that the BRIC program was "more concerned with political agendas than helping Americans affected by natural disasters." 

West Haven's funding is through FEMA's Hazard Mitigation Assistance Grant Program, the city said.

West Haven said it will plan public input sessions this summer to discuss the design and construction, similar to what it did prior to the project to raise Beach Street. Construction is expected to begin in 2026.

“FEMA’s $10.39 million grant award to the city is a game changer,” Councilwoman Ruby Melton, D-2, said in a statement. “It will fund a vitally needed project to protect the city’s wastewater treatment infrastructure against 500-year floods, which will benefit the city for years to come.”

The planned floodwall is part of the city's approach to coastal resiliency, including the raising of Beach Street, which concluded last year, and the installation of new tidal gates.

Bridgeport begins $19M police headquarters planning, design process with search for consultant

Brian Lockhart

BRIDGEPORT — The officers who make up the local police force may be "Bridgeport's Finest," but the building they occupy could likely be categorized as one of the city government's worst. 

The nearly 60-year-old structure at 300 Congress St. is considered a cramped, outdated money pit that not only makes it more challenging for those within to do their law enforcement jobs but dampens the enthusiasm of those uniformed men and women.

"We talk about officer morale; they deserve a state-of-the-art professional police headquarters, as do our citizens," said Chief Roderick Porter.

Finally, after a few years of talking about the need, city officials are prioritizing providing a new home for the department. Mayor Joe Ganim's administration is on the hunt for a consultant to kick off the planning and design process.

Thomas Gaudett, the mayor's chief operating officer, said the selected hire would perform a needs assessment of the force and rate potential new locations for a police headquarters, taking into account response times to emergency calls.

The total price tag is not cheap. Ganim's proposed five-year infrastructure spending plan pending before the City Council estimates borrowing $19 million by 2028 for construction.

In the meantime, the administration hopes to receive some federal dollars to help with the design. U.S. Rep. Jim Himes, D-Bridgeport, tried to get an $850,000 earmark included in the current federal budget, but all such "community project funding" was rejected by the Republican majority in Congress. 

However, Himes' office this week encouraged Bridgeport to reapply by April 18 with the understanding earmarks will be back on the table. 

Porter, whom Ganim made top cop in late 2022, is hardly the first chief to lobby for a new building to replace the department's Congress Street address, erected in 1966. Three years ago, Porter's predecessor, Rebeca Garcia, listed her priorities for a new structure that ranged from an updated booking facility and interview rooms to increased storage to a training area to a section for officers and the community to grieve following traumatic incidents.

"Our members feel real strong about having a new building," the police union's president, Michael Salemme III, said recently. "It's not set up properly. We don't have proper parking. The windows leak. The bathrooms are a disaster. ... We need more space."

And there seems to be a willingness on the part of the City Council to fund the expense.

"We absolutely need it," said Councilman Scott Burns, a co-chairman of the council's budget committee. "There's flooding. It's dark and dingy."

Porter recognizes it will likely take years for a new headquarters to be completed and would be satisfied if he ends up just playing a part.

"If I can just get an architectural rendition, see a picture and some land someplace with what the building would look like," Porter said. "If I can accomplish that in my remaining time here, I'd be really happy."

New Waterbury development at former industrial site 'moving in the right direction,' mayor says

Paul Hughes

WATERBURY — Mayor Paul K. Pernerkewski said Friday the city's long search for a redevelopment partner for the former Anamet factory complex on South Main Street could be nearing a successful conclusion.

"It looks like this is going to come to fruition," he said.

Pernerewski said the city's recruitment efforts were boosted by by the State Bond Commission's approval Friday of an additional $5.3 million to support the continued environmental cleanup of the former industrial property abutting the Naugatuck River on South Main Street.

"We are continuing to have conversations with a potential investor. There are still some things to go through, but this will help us a long way in getting there because there is still cleanup that needs to be done there, and this money becomes available for that," the mayor said.

The city issued its third request for proposals for redeveloping the former the campus of the Anamet network of factory buildings late last year.

The former industrial complex at 698 S. Main St. was used for manufacturing from 1812 to 1977 by, in turn, Benedict & Burnham Manufacturing Co., American Brass Co., Anaconda American Brass Co., and ARCO.

The two previous attempts came up short, but Pernerewski said a promising and qualified candidate submitted a proposal this time to the city selection committee, and the negotiations are going well.

"It looks like it is moving in the right direction. I think we are close to being able to come to terms with it," he said. "But some of it has to do with just how we do get this bit of cleanup done that makes it viable for them to be able to use it."

The city initially entered negotiations with an aquaculture company that raises ocean-going fish, but terminated the talks with Ideal Fish in September 2023 citing a lack of progress. The city next considered two redevelopment proposals from Los Angeles-based developer Cornerstone Realty and Industrial Realty Group, but rejected them last year.

"We put it out a third time, and this time there seems to be a viable project that is in there," Pernerewski said.

He declined to identify the developer, but he said generally that the proposal on the table involves light industrial and warehouse uses.

One of the property's selling points is a surviving high-bay warehouse building that is suitable for a distribution center.

"That is going to be useful because you can bring trucks in and out of there," Pernerewski said. "That is the direction we are going in now."

The mayor said the $5.3 million bond allocation approved Friday will help negotiations because the cleanup cost is such a major consideration.

"I'm hoping that within weeks, a month, a month and a half or so I will be able to know where we're going definitively. I won't say for that sure that it is going to happen," Pernerewski said.

State Rep. Geraldo C. Reyes, D-Waterbury, said the $5.3 million represents another installment in a long overdue investment in the South End neighborhoods that he represents.

"Preparing the site for redevelopment opens the door to new economic opportunities, safer neighborhoods, and a renewed sense of purpose for an area that has sat idle for far too long," he said. "I’m excited to see the space live up to its potential.”

The bond commission was initially set to vote to reallocate $1.3 million remaining from previously approved funding for the expansion of electric and water service to the Captain Neville Industrial Park to the Anamet redevelopment project. The commission added an additional $4 million on Friday that had been approved last August to finance the demolition and remediation of the former Bristol Babcock industrial site.

Downtown streetscape work 

The bond commission also approved $4 million Friday for funding the third phase on an ongoing project to redesign and rebuild West Main Street to create a revitalized corridor that connects downtown Waterbury with parts of the city that are on the west side of the Naugatuck River.

State Sen. Joan V. Hartley, D-Middlebury, said this latest infusion of state funding is pivotal to the revitalization of West Main Street.

In addition creating an inviting streetscape, the West Main Street project is intended to make the thoroughfare safer for motorists, pedestrians, cyclists and transit users, according to planning documents.

The planned work involves reducing the number of travel lanes on West Main Street to one through lane of traffic in each direction and making the road a uniform width, creating a bus stop pull-off, adding a bicycle shared lane from Riverside Street to the railroad bridge and a green strip on the south side of West Main Street between Thomaston Avenue and the railroad bridge.

The additional state funding approved Friday will pay for upgrading approximately 4,440 linear feet on the street and underground, including water, sanitary, sewer, and storm drainage. 

"The investment addresses long-overdue upgrades to infrastructure dating back over a century, laying the groundwork for long-term economic growth,” said state Rep. Ron Napoli Jr., D-Waterbury, chairman of the General Obligation Bonding Subcommittee of the Finance, Revenue and Bonding Committee.