Developer nixes $1M state aid for Bridgeport project over wage rules, drops affordable housing plan

Brian Lockhart

BRIDGEPORT — When does a private developer refuse nearly $1 million of state financial aid? 

In Kiumarz Geula's case, when accepting those funds would have required paying contractors working on his high-profile downtown housing project at the AT&T tower Connecticut's prevailing wage. He maintains that the rule would have hiked costs and "potentially derailed" the plan, which is generally viewed as a key step in the neighborhood's ongoing revival. 

Instead, Geula significantly altered his vision. He is still moving ahead with 77 artist lofts and a pair of restaurants within the renovated tower and is aiming for a June 2026 completion. But a planned new 60-unit adjacent structure will no longer be affordably priced. 

"We are currently working on an all-market-rate housing scenario," he said in an email exchange this week.

In February 2024, Mayor Joe Ganim touted Geula's redevelopment plan as key to his administration's efforts to respond to the region's high housing costs and shortage.

"These properties will offer affordable housing options in this challenging market," the mayor said in a press release at that time. "This project is consistent with my administration’s goals of aggressively developing properties, especially in the downtown, and addressing the housing shortage. We are also excited about the opportunity for new, fun dining options.”  

Geula said his bottom line was also impacted when the City Council tabled his request for municipal tax incentives last summer and never revived it. 

The New York City-based businessman has been buying up prominent downtown landmarks, including the former home of the Connecticut Post on State Street, the Bijou Theater block on Fairfield Avenue, the Downtown Cabaret Theater building on Golden Hill Street, and the former American Telephone and Telegraph Co. tower at 430 John St. and the neighboring land at 455 Fairfield Ave.

In summer 2023, the state awarded a pair of loans totaling $1.98 million for the redevelopment of the John Street and Fairfield Avenue addresses to help cover expenses associated with environmental cleanup. Geula said at the time that he intended to renovate the tower into 77 artist lofts and two restaurants and build 60 affordable apartments in a new structure along Fairfield Avenue.

But in emailed responses this week to questions about his progress, Geula acknowledged he turned down half of that nearly $2 million in state assistance.

"This ... loan would have required the project to be constructed using prevailing wage, which would have significantly increased costs and potentially derailed the project," Geula wrote.

Jim Watson, spokesman for the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development, confirmed that Geula left $990,000 on the table. Watson said the developer would need to explain why but clarified, "State funding over $1 million triggers a determination by the Connecticut Department of Labor as to whether prevailing wage applies to a new construction project."

Miguel Fuentes, a representative with the carpenter's union, said, "The benefit of having prevailing wage means workers in the area get paid the actual market forces and the average median income." And, he said, the rule helps keep developers "honest."

"We've seen a pattern of behavior where developers knowingly avoid taking anything above $1 million," Fuentes said. 

He and other labor leaders recently protested Geula's project after the state's Wage and Workplace Standards Division issued stop-work orders there in early March over misclassification of workers — which can potentially impact pay — and failure to have workers' compensation insurance. Those orders have since been lifted, with settlement talks scheduled for an unpaid $43,800 civil penalty.

Geula insisted then, "We have worked closely with our contractors to address most of (the Workplace Standards Division's) concerns and have adjusted our site to meet their expectations. Our goal remains to collaborate with all agencies and continue developing innovative and dynamic spaces in Bridgeport."

Besides the two state loans, Geula sought municipal tax breaks to help finance 430 John St. and 455 Fairfield Ave. But, according to meeting minutes last July, the Bridgeport City Council's economic development and contracts committees tabled a vote after discussing the appropriateness of the subsidies and whether the project included enough cheaper units.

Geula, however, did receive $2 million from Bridgeport in federal housing funds through an annual grant award process that involved the council. That $2 million supplemented private financing and historic tax credits. In exchange, 10 of his artists' lofts will be affordable, according to the city.

"The strongest tool that we have as a city to encourage the construction of affordable units is through tax incentives," Thomas Gaudett, Mayor Joe Ganim's chief administrative officer, said in a statement for this article. "It is often the case that without such incentives, the math doesn't work for developers, and it makes more economic sense for them to construct market-rate units instead." 

Gaudett said the city is "still actively engaging with the developer to explore other financing options ... that might help finance the construction of at least some affordable units" at 455 Fairfield Ave. He said that could involve state programs like the Connecticut Housing Finance Authority, the Connecticut Department of Housing and the Municipal Redevelopment Authority.

Regional offshore wind study comes as Trump cancels N.Y. project

Greg Smith

An optimistic new study assessing opportunities in the region's offshore wind supply chain was released last week, highlighting current work and the potential for future jobs and collaboration in the offshore wind industry.

The study’s release came during the same week that the Trump administration ordered a permitted New York offshore wind project to halt construction, another example of the headwinds the industry continues to face in the United States.

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum ordered the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management to pause the Empire Wind project off the coast of Long Island while it reviews the approvals that led to the start of its construction in 2024. Burgum said in a social media post that BOEM is reviewing information that suggests the Biden administration “rushed through its approval without sufficient analysis." Empire Wind is owned by Norwegian company Equinor.

Whether the Trump administration’s decision on Empire Wind is a warning sign for other permitted projects remains unclear. Construction on Ørsted’s largest project in the U.S. to date, the 704-megawatt Revolution Wind, continues in earnest off the coast of Rhode Island. Construction is evident in the pace at which turbine components are moving to and from New London's State Pier, where the parts are being marshaled and assembled, Connecticut Port Authority Board of Directors Chairman Paul Whitescarver said.

Revolution Wind remains the only offshore wind farm that will provide Connecticut with power — 304MW to Connecticut and 400 MW to Rhode Island — and is the second of three planned offshore wind projects that State Pier will host. Parts for New York's 84-turbine Sunrise Wind are expected to start arriving just weeks after Revolution Wind is completed at the end of this year and keeping State Pier busy potentially through the start of 2027.

Whitescarver said at least 32 of Revolution Wind's 65 turbines have been installed or are in the process of being installed. The $310 million investment in State Pier identified in the study is credited with creating the "East Coast hub" for offshore wind in the northeast.

Revolution Wind and Sunrise Wind are progressing according to schedule, an Ørsted spokesman said in an email on Friday.

Whitescarver also acknowledged that despite a hopeful outlook outlined in the new study “Connecticut Offshore Wind Supply Chain Assessment: Opportunities Collaborative Efforts in the Northeast,” there simply isn’t a large demand right now because of the dearth of U.S. offshore wind projects. The supply chain study was initiated by the Connecticut Wind Collaborative and produced by the Xodus Group. The study's sponsors include the Southeastern Connecticut Enterprise Region (seCTer), a nonprofit economic development organization.

Whitescarver, who is also the executive director of seCTer, said the report is useful because it shows companies locally and throughout the state are well-positioned to pivot to the offshore wind industry and perhaps capture some of the business now dominated by European companies.

“One of the first things that seCTer wanted to find out was where are the gaps in the supply chain," Whitescarver said. “If we do pivot here from Europe, where would we focus our energies? For southeastern Connecticut, it's good to know that."

A lot of companies such as Electric Boat often seek ways to diversify business, Whitescarver said. The study highlights more than 50 companies already contributing to the offshore wind industry or port infrastructure development and an additional 450 companies with the potential to enter the sector. Some local companies working with the offshore industry include Groton-based ThayerMahan, Sea Services North America LLC in New London and Survival Systems USA in Groton.

The state's unique strengths, according to the study, include advanced manufacturing, workforce development and companies in the aerospace and defense industries that are positioned to meet stringent standards of offshore wind manufacturing. Gaps in the supply chain include large steel component fabrication supply “where no immediate capability was identified,” the report states.

Kristin Urbach, executive director of the Connecticut Wind Collaborative, said despite the fact the state opted not to join neighboring states in procuring new offshore wind power this year, the state maintains a goal of buying more in the future.

"This industry ebbs and flows. As a result, this is an ideal time to follow the strategic roadmap recommendations that includes collaborating with the five states noted in our study. Notably, the wind farms that have been built require operations and maintenance work for 25 to 30 years," Urbach said in an email.

The new study will be presented this week at the Oceantic Network International Partnering forum in Norfolk, Va.

"This conference attracts thousands of industry professionals. We are also spotlighting the report at a ThayerMahan business social at their office in Virginia Beach that week," Urbach said. "We continue to collaborate with our neighboring states to implement the action items as noted in the study."

New $4M traffic rotary coming to busy New London intersection

John Penney

New London — On Wednesday morning, Tracey Converse took a break from walking her three-legged dog, Remington Charles, near the busy intersection of Williams and Broad streets where a new traffic roundabout soon will be built.

“I’ve seen one accident here in the last three years,” said Converse, 62. “Yes, there’s been a lot of close calls, but mainly it’s a lot of beeping because cars aren't moving fast enough.”

Construction of a $4 million state-funded roundabout at the busy four-way intersection is expected to begin in the fall and lead to safer — and prettier — travel routes, city officials said.

The rotary and related traffic additions are planned for the intersection, which is near the Broad Street courthouse and Williams Park, an area currently served by four traffic signals, several crosswalks and pedestrian islands.

“We’ve been planning this for three or four years,” Public Works Director Brian Sear said, noting the project is awaiting final approval from the state and the Southeastern Connecticut Council of Governments, which is administering Local Transportation Capital Improvement Program funds needed to pay for the yearlong construction job.

The job will entail adding a stamped-concrete circle — complete with ground-level fountain — inside the intersection, while narrowing entrance streets and adding new sidewalks, curbing, drainage and yield signs.

Historical photos from the 1940s show a traffic circle at the intersection that has since been removed.

Mayor Michael Passero said that old circle is the reason the current configuration does not line up with traffic patterns.

“It’s a dangerous four-way intersection, and we have the data that shows roundabouts are safer options,” he said, pointing to the 2020 death of a man struck by a car at the intersection.

The city in 2023 added a more complex roundabout on a section of Jefferson Avenue not far from New London high school to address frequent traffic back-ups and safety issues. Sear said the city is in early discussions on adding a roundabout on Vauxhall Street.

The Williams-Broad streets project, the subject of a 2022 public information forum, has cleared initial approval thresholds, including by the regional council of governments and the state Department of Transportation, but must still be referred to the city’s Planning and Zoning Commission and receive right-of-way permission.

Sear said the current traffic configuration, with its dozens of possible turn options, makes for a dangerous travel route. He said school officials stopped using crossing guards in the area after it was deemed too dangerous.

Crash data compiled by the Fuss & O’Neill civil engineering firm found 16 accidents at the intersection from 2018 to 2020. Of those crashes, 13 involved only property damage, while three included injuries, including the 2020 fatality.

Wider curbs and water elements

In addition to the traffic-related components, Sear said the project will be built with an eye toward aesthetics.

“Right now, you have this beautiful park near the historic Post Hill neighborhood, but if you stand in that park and look across, all you see is traffic signal posts and wires,” he said. “When it’s done, it’ll be a much less cluttered and greener space. And we’ll be widening curbs to create ‘plazas’ where people can set up tables or for other things.”

A fountain that will shoot up streams of water will be embedded in the circle, a design Sear said was chosen to prevent damage to any vehicles that might mount curbing. The Jefferson Avenue version boasts a breakaway sail sculpture.

"What you don't want is a big, heavy statue that someone might hit," he said, adding new trees will also be planted throughout the area.

Sear said the widening work will create narrower lanes to encourage drivers to slow down, while also making exit routes more visible. He said the curb expansions will require removing about 1,020 square feet of land on one corner of Williams Park and eliminating a 1,255-square-foot street parking section on Williams Street.

Passero, who forwarded the idea for the new traffic circle to Sear after seeing a mid-century photo of the original roundabout, said state and federal data for such circular interchanges show drivers travel more slowly when approaching a roundabout.

“With Jefferson Avenue, we proved these projects work,” Passero said.

Converse, the owner of the Golden Retriever/Labrador mix who bounces around on his daily walks near the planned roundabout site, said she was initially skeptical of the project, especially the prospect of losing park land.

“But it sounds nice, with the fountain and extra curb space,” she said.

Aquarion undertaking dam work to Dean's Mill dam

Carrie Czerwinski

Stonington — Water levels in the Dean’s Mill Reservoir Dam may look lower than usual, but the Aquarion Water Co. wants to assure residents their drinking water is just fine, and there is no cause for concern.

“If customers notice that it is down low, it’s because we are purposely doing that,” said Aquarion Director of Corporate Communications Peter Fazekas.

Fazekas said the 5-foot reduction in typical water levels and equipment in the area are part of a $2 million project to complete routine maintenance on the Dean’s Mill Reservoir Dam.

“We inspect Dean’s Mill every two years, and we’ve seen an increase in seepage on portions of the Dean’s Mill Dam, which is why we are undertaking this rehab,” he said of the project, which began in early February.

The Dean’s Mill Reservoir flows into the Palmer Reservoir, which is the primary source of drinking water for Aquarion customers in Stonington and Mystic.

Fazekas explained that the dam features two types of construction — poured concrete and stone masonry. The two areas constructed with stone masonry, a 45-foot portion near the spillway and an additional 95-foot section, are the portions the company is addressing.

“Because it is masonry, it does need maintenance over time,” he said.

He explained that the rehabilitation requires a dry work area, so the water levels are being artificially lowered, and the company has installed an additional cofferdam to allow access to the base of the dam.

A cofferdam is a temporary watertight structure built to keep water out of an area during construction.

With the stone masonry portions dry, workers will repoint the stonework and then use a fairly liquid substance to grout the completed work, making the stone portions watertight, Fazekas explained.

He noted the Dean’s Mill Reservoir fills very quickly as it is located in a large watershed, so the water level is currently being maintained by a syphon system and by three pumps temporarily installed along the walkway that can handle heavy rainfall.

Additionally, Fazekas said that it is important to keep the adjacent Palmer Reservoir full, so the company will pump water from the upstream Dean’s Mill Reservoir to bolster the Palmer levels if needed.

He said the work is anticipated to be finished in June.

“We expect this to last 25-plus years once this project is complete,” Fazekas said.