CT Construction Digest Monday April 3, 2023
Sophia Muce
EAST HAVEN – Numerous East Haven officials, first responders and residents denounced a recent FAA study at a hearing on Saturday that projected minimal harm from the proposed Tweed New Haven Airport expansion. The environmental assessment was co-signed by New Haven city staff who embraced the economic benefits of the plan.
More than 70 people signed up to speak at the public hearing hosted by the Tweed Airport Authority to comment on the 205-page environmental assessment, including East Haven Mayor Joseph Carfora, State Rep. Joe Zullo, R-East Haven, as well as East Haven police and fire chiefs.
Officials from FAA and Tweed listened as residents from New Haven, Branford and East Haven cheered and waved signs.
“Traffic
Water pollution
Ecocide
Ear splitting noise
Disease,” one sign read.
For the first time since the March 3 release of the study, Carfora named specific deficiencies he found in the environmental assessment, including what he said were inconsistent cost estimates, a failure to address the impacts of expansion on flooding and a disregard for the increased burden to East Haven.
“We believe that the EA is legally deficient and that it lacks essential substance,” Carfora said. “So much so that the FAA should remedy deficiencies by either requiring a new EA or beginning the much more rigorous environmental impact statement.”
Residents cheered as Carfora called for an environmental impact statement which, under the National Environmental Policy Act, would provide a more detailed study of the expansion’s impact on the nearby environment and residents.
Carfora said the estimated 61,300 cubic yards of fill required for the expansion construction would only worsen flooding in the flood-prone airport and surrounding neighborhoods, explained that the increase of 21.62 acres in impervious surface would mean large volumes of polluted stormwater runoff and pointed to impacts from heavy airport traffic on the local town green and beach.
“Many citizens are here, giving up their Saturday in order to urge the FAA to do the right thing and simply follow applicable federal laws and regulations,” Carfora said.
But New Haven Economic Development Administrator Michael Piscitelli said the environmental assessment was a significant step toward the expansion, which would create jobs and support expanded air service.
“Our city, our entire region is home to an airport. We are home to a rail yard, we are home to a port, we are home to a major highway interchange. These are all significant drivers of the quality of life in our region,” Piscitelli said. “…we encourage your support of the [expansion].”
Piscitelli said that in accordance with the New Haven-Tweed lease, the airport officials agreed to numerous environmental initiatives, including a new stormwater management plan, coastal habitat restoration upgrades to tide gates at a nearby salt marsh and an upcoming “sustainable airport development plan.”
“These steps are being taken to ensure that Tweed is a responsible neighbor, going beyond any minimum standards that may be included in the [environmental assessment],” Piscitelli added.
But Roger Reynolds, senior legal counsel for the environmental nonprofit Save the Sound, said the study was not consistent with statements made by Tweed and Avelo Airlines – which began servicing Tweed in 2021. Reynolds said that the recent statements contradicted the study’s assertion that an expansion would reduce aircraft operation by supporting larger planes.
“The projection of decreased flights due to improvements is frankly incredible, defies basic common sense and is inconsistent with Tweed and Avelo’s own statements,” Reynolds said. “The Avelo CEO has stated in the press recently that the expansion will lead to increased and larger flights.”
Reynolds said the environmental assessment also ignored increased health risks to environmental justice communities, substantial flood impacts, and mitigation for nearby wetlands.
Numerous officials and residents also criticized the study’s finding that there would be no significant impact to traffic in the surrounding neighborhoods. According to East Haven Chief of Police Edward Lennon, increased traffic to the airport would require additional police and fire resources, impacting response times to criminal activity and emergencies.
Lennon said that after a careful evaluation of the study, the department calculated that they would need at least one additional patrol officer for each shift to respond to increased accidents generated by airport traffic.
“To achieve this, the department will have to hire six additional police officers,” said Lennon.
East Haven’s Assistant Fire Chief Chris Rosa added that additional airport traffic could block emergency vehicle travel to and from the area.
“Increased response times may result in decreased survivability, larger fires and delayed transport and treatment in critical medical emergencies,” Rosa explained.
Residents from East Haven, New Haven and Branford spoke about their own experiences living next to the airport, also calling for an environmental impact statement.
Lori Foster, a New Haven resident, said she lived about 200 feet from the planned runway extension and said she had trouble sleeping and hearing others when planes took off.
“Prior to Avelo, I never had a problem sleeping. But the planes landing after 11 p.m. every hour on the hour is unacceptable,” Foster said. “Airplane noise causes high blood pressure, increased risk for stroke and heart attack, sleep deprivation, …high stress level as well as hearing loss.”
Amanda Sullivan, an East Haven resident, said she was unable to open her windows or sit outside without smelling jet fuel.
“Many times, I stepped outside and a gush of air carrying fumes stinged my eyes, my nose and my throat,” Sullivan said “It lingers and I have to rush back indoors.”
Sullivan said that she had written comments to airport officials and had a 30-minute phone call with former Tweed Executive Director Sean Scanlon about her concerns. She said Scanon told her about the airport’s community assistance programs, which offered residents new windows and central air.
“But I have new windows. I don’t want central air,” Sullivan said. “I want fresh air. Central air does not help me when I want to go outside.”
The FAA recently extended the 45-day public comment period for the study to 60 days. After May 1, the agency will either confirm the results of the study, and issue a finding of no significant impact – approving the expansion – or require a further environmental impact statement.
In a press release following the environmental assessment release, the Tweed’s new Executive Director Thomas Rafter said that he looked forward to working with the community to make the expansion a reality and ensured that Tweed and Avports – an airport management and operations company investing in Tweed – were considering environmental impacts.
“We remain committed to ensuring that this expansion is executed in an environmentally sustainable manner,” Rafter said. “Avports has been an excellent partner throughout, going above and beyond to fulfill the promise of a more sustainable [Tweed].”
Region 4 School District OKs $10M for New Athletic fields, But Concerns Linger
Emilia Otte
DEEP RIVER — After three hours of debate Wednesday night, the Region 4 Board of Education voted 7-1 to approve borrowing nearly $10 million to revamp athletic fields at the middle school and high school.
The $9.6 million bond would cover a complete renovation of Valley Regional High School’s practice field and upper field, the partial renovation of its baseball and softball fields, and a renovation of the football field along with the construction of a six-lane running track. It also includes constructing two new soccer fields and a cross country course on a controversial piece of property the district purchased in 2017, known as the “Mislick property.”
The bond also includes funds to reconstruct two soccer fields at John Winthrop Middle School.
Superintendent of Schools Brian White explained that the district, which includes Chester, Deep River and Essex, had been working toward revamping the athletic facilities for three years. In 2020, the district contracted with the civil engineering firm BSC to evaluate its existing fields.
“We have potholes in the field. We have potholes in the track surface. These are the conditions that, when we talk about safety considerations and concerns, really give us cause for alarm,” White said.
White presented quotes from the BSC report that underscored poor drainage on the fields and problems with compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. White said he knew of family members who had been unable to attend games because they were physically unable to get to the fields.
The bond would be paid back over 20 years, with an expected interest rate of 4.25 percent — meaning a total of about $14 million.
Comments at the public hearing veered back and forth between residents protesting the size of the bond and the use of the Mislick property, and student athletes and coaches lamenting the state of the fields and underscoring the urgent need for repairs.
Students described fields that were uneven, with divots and bumps that posed a risk of injury. One member of the softball team said a teammate injured her knee on the softball field, which could potentially keep her out of games for the rest of the season.
“Our team refers to the field as the ‘dirt patch,’” said Mimi Siegel, a junior who will be captain of the girl’s field hockey team next year. Siegel described the field condition as “deplorable” and said she and her teammates last year found themselves picking glass off the field from bottles that were thrown during a football game.
“As someone who is hoping to play in college, it is impossible for coaches to get a sense of my level of play during games on this field, as the conditions prevent me and my team from playing at a top level,” she said.
Jack Finnegan, a member of the baseball team, said his team had coined the term “Valley Hop” to describe the strange directions the ball goes when it bumps against the uneven ground on the field.
“The only advice coaches can give is to get in front of the ball and stick with it,” Finnegan said. “But in reality, conditions like these create uncertainty, reluctance and fear, which are detrimental in baseball.”
Parents and coaches also spoke in support of the project. But members of the public pushed back on several points, including the proposal to build two new grass fields on the 13-acre Mislick property. In 2017, the district purchased the property without having the necessary funds budgeted, and without getting an independent appraisal on the property.
Sue Evans, a Deep River resident, said the board’s history with the Mislick property purchase made it difficult for her to trust a bond request for the athletic fields.
“I have trouble giving any credibility to monetary requests from this board,” Evans said.
Evans and other residents also protested the board’s decision to request the bonding money for the fields as a single package rather than breaking it up into smaller requests.
“Providing the schools with a slush fund to fix the athletic fields is not fair to taxpayers,” she said.
White said the district was requesting the bonds this year was because it was on the verge of paying off a long-term bond from previous renovations on the middle and high schools, and that bonding this year would prevent the district from having to face spikes or dips in its debt service, which could affect the town’s tax rate.
Others questioned the district’s ability to maintain the fields over time.
Cheryl Service, of Deep River, said she felt disturbed while walking around the fields and seeing expensive equipment “sitting outside to rot and rust.”
“I cannot trust that you’re going to be good stewards of our money. The fields haven’t been maintained,” Service said. “Where’s the money for maintenance? Was there not funds set aside the last time that the fields were done? How can we be sure that (if) we’re going to give you $10 million to redo all these fields, they’re not going to be in the same condition 10 or 15 years from now because you haven’t addressed the issue of maintenance?”
Others pushed back against the idea of having an artificial turf field, citing potential health risks to students. White said while it wasn’t yet determined whether the field reconstructions would be synthetic or grass, it was possible that one of the fields might be artificial.
People also expressed concern about the cost of the bond, and how it would affect taxpayers living in town.
“If we keep just throwing more money … at the situation, it may fix it, but what we need to look forward to is 20 years from now,” said Carl Ericson, of Deep River. “My kids have graduated and it seems like more kids are moving out of the community, out of the state because they can’t afford to live here.”
Several people said they would support the bonding package if the $2 million for the new fields on the Mislick property were removed. Board member Rick Daniels, the lone vote against the bond, said he believed the funds for the Mislick property shouldn’t be included. He added that he was concerned about the prospect of future bonds the district would need to take out and how those could pile up over time.
“I don’t dispute the fact that our fields are a mess … but I’m all about not asking for any more fields until we learn and are able to care for the ones that we’ve got,” Daniels said. “In previous administrations, money for maintenance disappeared quickly, and it just was not put back into it. Had we done that, we wouldn’t have been in this situation.”
But several board members and local residents said that, without the use of the Mislick property, there would be no place to put the cross country course, leaving students to take long runs along Route I-80.
Coaches and board members also pointed out that the additional fields would allow the already existing fields to rest between seasons.
“If you do not get those extra fields, that extra cycle time over the lifetime value of those fields will incur higher costs,” BOE member John Stack said in a school board meeting convened immediately after the public hearing.
At the board meeting, Daniels said he was concerned that having the Mislick property included in the bond referendum could cause voters to reject it entirely.
Meanwhile, board Chair Kate Sandmann said she was very “moved” by what the students shared at the public hearing.
“It really matters whether or not you’re on your home field. It matters a lot,” she said. “If we don’t do the whole thing, I think we might as well not do it at all.”
The district has scheduled a referendum on the project for May 7.
Norwalk P&Z Commission approves sale of land to DOT for Walk Bridge project; 'makes the site safer'
Jonah Dylan
NORWALK — As part of the Walk Bridge replacement, the Planning & Zoning Commission voted to move forward with the sale of a piece of city-owned land to the Connecticut Department of Transportation that will be used for the $772 million project.
The project — which has been in the planning stages since 2017 — is scheduled to begin later this spring, DOT spokesperson Josh Morgan said. The new parcel of land will give DOT access to the surrounding area as it works on the project, Morgan said.
"The property in question is along the railroad right-of-way at 60 South Smith Street," Morgan said in an email. "This parcel provides Metro-North Railroad and CTDOT personnel access to the storage area and parking lot near the Walk Bridge. Having this access separation makes the site safer and more secure."
Tyisha Thoms, assistant corporation counsel for Norwalk, said during the Planning and Zoning Commission meeting last week that the parcel totals about 25,000 square feet, or about a half-acre, and will cost the DOT about $378,000. The vote in favor of the sale was unanimous.
The 127-year-old bridge has far exceeded its 100-year life span. In recent years, the swing bridge has failed on many occasions, interrupting train traffic.
The first construction phase of the project will start this spring, Morgan said, once the department gets a permit from the U.S. Coast Guard.
"This phase is for staging and foundation work ahead of the bridge’s major railroad track level, tower and superstructure work," he said. "On receipt of the USCG permit, work will occur east and west of the bridge in the Norwalk River, where commercial and recreational marine traffic will be maintained. Road closures or detours are not planned."
The project — which is expected to take about six years to complete once construction starts — will be a sweeping revitalization of the Walk Bridge. The structure, which is not a pedestrian bridge, is called the Walk Bridge after the city of Norwalk.
The project will also include relocating high-voltage transmission lines, working on embankments and upgrading signal systems, according to the project's website.
Last month, workers began deconstructing the Maritime Aquarium's former IMAX theater building located at 2 N. Water St.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the 564-foot-long bridge, which is part of Metro-North Railroad’s New Haven Line, transported about 175 trains and 125,000 riders daily, according to the program website.
The state DOT last fall also purchased a 1.11-acre property about a mile from the bridge to act as a staging area for $3.85 million.
The empty lot is adjacent to the Donald F. Reid Memorial Bridge, the home of the Exit 16 interchange, according to city land records. The 180 East Ave. property will hold equipment and supplies for the East Avenue portion of the Walk Bridge reconstruction, Morgan said.
“That East Avenue work includes updating drainage and installing new sidewalks in the area, extending the platforms and adding more parking at the East Norwalk Train Station, and replacing the 100-year-old East Avenue Railroad Bridge,” Morgan said. “The property will be used to stage construction trailers, contractor parking and other necessary equipment.”
"The project also offers cultural and educational enrichment opportunities to the community," the project website says.
"These initiatives include the addition of permanent informational panels along the Norwalk River, two permanent education exhibits in Norwalk, and the coordination of education programs and field trips for area students," it says.
200 roads in 4 years? Stamford mayor sets paving goal for 1st term
Brianna Gurciullo
STAMFORD — After more than doubling the number of roads paved in the city during her first year in office, Mayor Caroline Simmons has announced a new target: paving a total of more than 200 roads before her first term ends.
About 75 municipal roads were paved across Stamford last year, up from about 35 the year before as the city looked to meet Simmons’ goal of doubling paving through an effort called “Pave Stamford,” said Matthew Quinones, the city’s director of operations.
The city paved about half of those roads in coordination with utility companies. Excluding such projects, the city paved 16.2 miles of roadway — up from 9.74 miles the previous year, Quinones said.
Stamford’s traffic and road maintenance supervisor, Thomas Turk, has said that supply chain and manpower issues affected paving in 2021. He has also said that several wide roads were paved during former Mayor David Martin’s administration. With those roads done, Turk said the city could turn to smaller streets, which take less time to pave.
Quinones said the city is looking to pave another 70 or so roads during the 2023 paving season, which is set to start in April and run into November. Officials posted an initial list of 36 roads to be paved on the city’s website this week.
“We want to continue that momentum this year so that we can give our residents quality, safe roads in our city,” Simmons told The Stamford Advocate.
Quinones said more roads will be added to the list based on a “citywide road assessment” that is nearly complete. And the Simmons administration will deviate from the way roads were prioritized under Martin, he said.
“Differing from the prior administration’s approach, we decided to not have traffic considerations as part of the calculation for establishing priorities and felt that doing so would kind of disproportionately affect residential areas,” Quinones said. “So basically if the road’s bad, whether it’s a dead end or a busy street, we wanted to have a priority list based off of the conditions.”
Last year, the city paved roads using two lists, called “Tier 1” and “Tier 2.” The first list consisted of roughly 40 roads identified as in line for paving under Martin. About half of those roads were paved last season, and the rest are scheduled for this year.
For the “Tier 2” list, Quinones said the city considered requests from citizens and did a “more informal evaluation” to determine additional roads to pave.
“So it may have been a side street that wasn’t necessarily on the Tier 1 list but could also use paving, and we’re in the neighborhood and we have the money, so we paved it,” he said.
Contributing to the increase in paved roads last year was better coordination with utility companies, Quinones said.
Utility companies are “obligated to go from curb to middle any time they rip up a road,” he said, but such paving creates an uneven street, with one side raised above the other.
“So we improved on our coordination for utility projects,” Quinones said. “In some cases, we may take a check from a utility company and then pave the whole road, or if they’re paving, we may actually add on to a project to make sure that it goes from curb to curb and not curb to middle.”
Simmons included a $5 million request for street patch and resurfacing — the city’s main account for road paving — in her capital budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1, which is about midway through the paving season. She requested $500,000 for a separate account, which Quinones said the city will use to match funding from utility companies to ensure roads are paved curb to curb. Bonding would fund both requests.
Last year, Simmons asked for $3 million for the main paving account, which already had a sizable balance at the time, and later allocated $5 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act funding to it.
“Our goal is $10 million worth of paving every year and finishing with (about a) $5 million fund balance,” Quinones said.
Officials have also been studying “unaccepted roads” that the city doesn’t currently pave.
“What we’re trying to do is first establish the conditions of the roads and, for lack of a better term, put them in buckets,” Quinones said. “Then we need to make some policy decisions alongside our legal department on exactly what we as a city can do to help get this done.”
I-95 northbound project in Groton, Stonington, and North Stonington
Crews will be on Interstate 95 northbound in Groton, Stonington, and North Stonington, starting Monday, as part of a $38 million project to make the highway safer, improve the bridge, and replace some lighting, said state Rep. Aundré Bumgardner, D-Groton.
Bumgardner said in the news release that construction crews at first will work during the day, with the right shoulder closed sporadically.
“Night work will begin in May. The Connecticut Department of Transportation does not anticipate any ramp closures until late summer or early fall,” according to the release. ”Mainline roadwork will start in August.“
The project, slated to be completed by November of 2024, is intended to improve “traffic and roadside safety while installing safety fencing on the bridge.”
“Crews will also be adding new fences and sidewalks to the scenic overlook along I-95 northbound, east of interchange 89,” according to the release.
Crews were already on the stretch of that road working this week.
Groton preparing for growth at Electric Boat
Kimberly Drelich
Editor’s note: This is the first in an occasional series about how the region is prepared for a tremendous period of growth at Electric Boat.
Groton ― As Electric Boat ramps up hiring, Groton is looking at its plans to handle traffic and parking and is making sure its schools are ready.
The town known as the Submarine Capital of the World is also attracting interest from developers.
Groton has been working to increase its housing supply, and with the news of the increased hiring, is receiving more inquiries from developers looking for opportunities to match Electric Boat’s housing needs, said Paige Bronk, economic and community development manager for the Town of Groton.
Development officials have spent years trying to attract investors to Groton, and the news of Electric Boat’s plans to boost hiring has increased the attention and focus, he said.
Currently, about 8,900 people work at the Groton plant and Electric Boat is looking to add 1,500 new employees at the shipyard over the next two to three years, according to Electric Boat Spokesperson Daniel McFadden.
Electric Boat announced last month that it is expecting the number of employees in Rhode Island and Connecticut to reach its peak at 22,000 in 2033, The Day reported.
The new employees will be primarily in the skilled trades involved in building submarines, such as welders, pipe fitters, carpenters, and machinists, as well as some employees working in engineering.
Bronk said that years ago when he was outside the area, he’d have to explain to people where Groton is, even sometimes when he was within the state of Connecticut.
“These days I’m being contacted by developers far from Connecticut, and Groton is being discussed because of the growth story,” he said.
Housing and development
McFadden said Electric Boat is not looking to build housing, but is happy to provide developers with information about EB’s hiring trends and expectations ― and what kind of housing would be most attractive to future employees ― to help them make decisions on whether to invest in Groton.
The City of Groton, where Electric Boat is located, is a subdivision of the Town of Groton. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 38,456 people live in the Town of Groton, of that number 9,326 live within the city.
McFadden said he expects future employees will be interested in a mix of all housing types in Groton and throughout the region.
Town Manager John Burt said there is not enough housing in New London County to accommodate the growth.
“The Town has also been working towards an increase in its own housing stock over the last few years,” he said. “We hope to see some of those efforts come to fruition soon.”
Jon Reiner, the town’s director of planning and development services, said there is a need for more housing in Groton across all price points.
Groton’s affordable housing study pointed to the need for more low to moderate income housing, he said.
A town-wide market study looking at housing needs cited that Groton will need 3,000 to 5,000 new housing units overall by 2030 to meet its current demand. That does not take into account the town’s goal of trying to get more people who work in Groton to live in Groton, he said.
Currently, about 82% of the people who work in Groton are commuters, according to Bronk and Reiner.
Bronk said that while Electric Boat is a major variable, the study also pointed to a demand from an older population, such as “empty nesters” who want to downsize and have less maintenance.
With the ability to work remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic, more people also moved to areas along the coast like Groton, Reiner said.
Bronk said that most of Groton’s housing stock is quite old, and units have not been added to keep up with the demand.
Reiner said there has been some housing built ― such as Pleasant Valley Apartments, with more than 140 units, and some smaller developments ― but nothing major since the 2010 time frame.
Bellsite Development LLC. of Manchester is proposing 65 apartments at the town-owned former Colonel Ledyard School, within walking distance of Electric Boat.
Overall, the town is getting inquiries from developers about town-owned properties, such as the former Groton Heights School, said Reiner. A town committee currently is working on recommendations for how the town decides on the use of its vacant properties.
Traffic, parking
The city is looking at the impact of parking and traffic.
City of Groton Mayor Keith Hedrick said Electric Boat employees trickle into work in the morning, but during the afternoon shift change, the roads are congested for a half hour to an hour.
Hedrick said the news about Electric Boat’s growth is positive, but as soon as he heard about the number of additional employees, he started thinking about how to get them in and out of the city and where they will park.
Electric Boat is actively looking at ways to address parking and is working with Groton on those efforts, said McFadden.
In the interim, the company is managing the existing parking by making sure the people who report to work at the Groton shipyard are the employees that need to be there in person, McFadden said.
If people are able to work at another site, work from home, or have a hybrid arrangement, that should be considered, and he added that a “silver lining” of the pandemic was that it showed that working from home is viable in the shipbuilding process.
“That’s offered us some flexibility in how much parking we need and where we need it, but we recognize it’s an ongoing pressure and it won’t stop as we continue to grow the Groton plant over the next decade or so,” McFadden said.
McFadden said Electric Boat offers a van ride-sharing program, which it encourages employees to take advantage of. The program also helps employees save money.
The city and the Southeastern Connecticut Council of Governments worked on a parking management plan for the city that projected a parking deficit from the uptick in employees and offered potential solutions, according to a June 2022 presentation.
Hedrick said he’ll be looking to ensure that within a half mile radius of Electric Boat there isn’t more parking taken up in residential neighborhoods. The city will be stepping up enforcement and probably making areas for residential parking only.
“I have had the police department evaluate residential parking, and the expansion of residential parking, and we are prepared to increase enforcement as needed,” he said.
Another challenge is increased traffic and concerns about people speeding in the afternoon as they leave the city, he said, so the city is going to need to increase the monitoring and enforcement of speeding.
The Joint Land Use Study Implementation Committee, a working group that advances projects related to the naval base and municipal concerns, including parking in the city, is starting up again, according to Amanda Kennedy, executive director of the Council of Governments.
Schools
Electric Boat offers informational programs for high schools, middle schools and elementary schools across the region.
Electric Boat’s goal is to deliver two Virginia-class submarines a year, in partnership with Newport News Shipbuilding, and one Columbia-class submarine, McFadden said.
Given the longevity of the work EB is going to be doing, between the Virginia-class and Columbia-class submarines, it makes sense to get out to schools and introduce young people to manufacturing as a future career, McFadden said.
“A kid in second grade could be delivering the final Columbia-class submarine,” he pointed out.
Fitch High School students are being offered a program called Boat for Next Gen, which exposes seniors and juniors to six different trades, said McFadden. The trades include electrical, sheet metal, pipefitting, machining, ship fitting, and welding, said Chelsey Courtright, Pathways Program Coordinator at Fitch High School.
The middle school has a Boat for Explorers program to train teachers to incorporate exposure to the trades into their curriculum and have EB and Navy guest speakers come into the classroom.
At elementary schools Catherine Kolnaski STEAM Magnet School and Thames River Magnet School, there is a program called Boats for Kids with six different lessons that showcase trades.
EB also is offering programs to interest women and veterans in the trades.
Burt said EB’s expansion was a regular topic during construction of the new schools in Groton to ensure they could accommodate an increase in children.
Groton Superintendent Susan Austin said that while the potential impacts on future enrollment are not yet known, the school district needs to be ready to take on the additional number of students.
She said if Groton wants families of Electric Boat workers to come to Groton Public Schools, there needs to be affordable housing in Groton.
A ‘generational opportunity’
Electric Boat’s South Yard Assembly Building and support buildings will add to Groton’s grand list and are expected to impact budgets starting for Fiscal Year 2025, Hedrick said.
In his budget proposal, Burt mentioned that “the Town does have a lot of potential construction likely to occur over the next few years with a prime example being Electric Boat but the resulting tax revenues will be stifled for several years due to the State granting them an Enterprise Zone designation." Enterprise Zones offer companies incentives, such as local property tax abatements for five years, according to the state.
Electric Boat will be attracting new people to the region and Groton and hopes to help manage that process with Groton and the surrounding communities, McFadden said.
He described it as a “generational opportunity” for Groton and the area.
“This should be a good opportunity for Groton to attract and absorb residents to increase its tax base and shape growth in a very positive direction,” he added.
Angela Carella
Landmark Tower was more than a building when it was completed in 1973, curving 21 stories into the sky.
Its architect, Victor Bisharat, said then that he hated straight lines, and designed the swooping form so that someone standing at the foot and looking up would think of wings.
The office tower was a symbol of Stamford taking flight – from its manufacturing past and downtown blight toward urban renewal.
It was the city’s first skyscraper, and the tallest building between New York and Boston. It had a large ice skating rink, a penthouse restaurant, and a branch of the Whitney Museum of Art.
In the decade after the tower was built, five smaller structures were added to form a 646,000-square-foot office complex called Landmark Square, with shops, restaurants, a movie theater and a 1,025-space garage on 5 acres in the heart of downtown.
But demand now is not for office space – it’s for housing. So the owner of Landmark Square and a partnering developer went before the Stamford Planning Board recently with a proposal.
The developers will keep the iconic tower, but they want to knock down a six-story Landmark Square building, known as No. 3, and replace it with a luxury apartment high-rise. If the project is approved, the new building will stand 31 stories – 10 stories taller than Landmark Tower – with 400 rental units facing Atlantic Street.
Members of the Planning Board unanimously approved the proposal.
It once again places Landmark Square at the center of the story of Stamford. Fifty years ago, the plot was how to attract corporations. Now it’s how to provide housing people can afford.
During the Planning Board meeting, members had lots of questions about affordable housing.
Member Stephen Perry wanted to know what rents will cost in the proposed high-rise. Land-use consultants Rick Redniss and Bill Hennessey, who represent the owner, Reckson/SL Green, and the developer, the Cappelli Organization, said they didn’t know.
“Whatever the market will bear at the time,” Redniss said.
“It’s a high-end building,” said Hennessey.
Board member Bill Levin asked about a city mandate that at least 10 percent of units in a new development be offered at below market rate rents.
“Will you consider building (below market rate) units on site, or is that not consistent with luxury buildings?” Levin said.
Redniss and Hennessey said their clients are requesting a special exception that would allow them, instead, to pay the value of the below market rate units into the city’s Affordable Housing Trust Fund.
The value is about $10.7 million, Hennessey said.
“What seems to be needed by our community is larger units – two- and three-bedrooms – and deeply affordable. That can’t be achieved on a project like this,” Hennessey said.
In lieu of that, the project can produce “significant dollars” for Stamford’s Affordable Housing Trust Fund, he said. Affordable housing developers, including the housing authority, could leverage the funding to create what the city needs, Hennessey said.
“It can be used to finance many more than the 40” affordable units the developer would be required to create under the mandate, he said.
Lindsey Cohen, an associate planner for the city, told the Planning Board that the Affordable Housing Trust Fund “is severely underfunded right now” and the $10.7 million could kickstart affordable housing projects.
Planning Board Chair Theresa Dell said she would like to see some of the $10.7 million used to fund the renovation of St. John’s Towers, built about the same time as Landmark Square.
St. John’s originally had three buildings at Washington and Tresser boulevards, each with 120 apartments, all serving low-income residents.
But a developer was allowed to knock down one of the St. John’s towers about three years ago to make way for The Smyth, a 17-story luxury building with 414 apartments where rents range from $2,310 to $4,680 a month.
The developer of The Smyth, Lennar Corp., built no affordable units on site, opting instead to put money into the Affordable Housing Trust Fund.
But, Dell said, renovations have yet to begin at the remaining two St. John’s Towers.
Levin said that when the Planning Board approved the Smyth project he thought the money for St. John’s Towers would be available quickly, and that the amount would mostly cover the renovations.
“Now we’re hearing it needs a lot more money and it could be years before we see any progress,” Levin said. “We have the need now. I would rather have these units downtown where the jobs are than some possible things that could take 20 years. I’m thinking it could be many years before we see these units.”
Cohen said the special exception allows for flexibility, so Reckson and Cappelli could still build some below market rate units on site.
It’s a possibility, Redniss said.
The developers “are not opposed” to it, Redniss said, and “we’re happy to have that discussion.”
According to information the land use consultants gave the Planning Board, Landmark Square is part of a 30-acre “superblock” bound by Atlantic Street, Broad Street, Greyrock Place and Tresser Boulevard. The area has about 2 million square feet of commercial space but very little housing, Redniss wrote in a Feb. 13 letter to the board.
The proposal is to demolish Landmark Square’s building No. 3, which has 134,000 square feet of office space, and replace it with 400 apartments, accompanying amenities, 420 parking spaces, and 5,200 square feet of retail and restaurant space on the ground floor.
Commercial tenants of building No. 3 will move to other space in Landmark Square with a goal to raise the overall occupancy rate to 85 percent, according to the consultants.
Occupancy in the complex now is 75 percent “which is reflective of Stamford’s decades-long struggle with office vacancy,” Redniss wrote. Building No. 3 is only 38 percent occupied, he wrote.
The developers are proposing 20 studio apartments, 180 one-bedroom units, 180 two-bedroom units and 20 three-bedroom units. The average unit size is 930 square feet but that “may change slightly depending on market conditions” that may arise, Redniss wrote.
A renovated Landmark 3 would connect the ground-level retail and restaurant space to the newly renovated Veterans Memorial Park on Atlantic Street. It would have a sixth-floor, indoor-outdoor amenity deck with a gym, gaming area, grills, lounges and pool.
If the Zoning Board approves the plans, the developers hope to begin construction by the end of the year and complete it by 2026.
Redniss said the project meets goals that zoning officials have set for the city, including converting vacant office space into housing and building housing close to public transit.
Vessel eyes 70-unit apartment building in Cheshire
Hanna Snyder Gambini
Vessel Technologies, which is proposing multiple apartment buildings throughout Connecticut with “attainable” units, is pitching another project in Cheshire.
Vessel RE Holdings, an affiliate of the New York-based development company, is looking to build a five-story building with 66 one-bedroom units and four two-bedroom apartments on property at 146 Realty Drive off Route 10.
Developers are also applying to the Cheshire Planning and Zoning Commission for a zoning text amendment for a “housing opportunity district,” HOD designation, and to build the complex within that zone.
The area is currently zoned industrial, with companies like Barker Animation and SLR architectural firm nearby.
The HOD designation would allow residential construction in that area as well as the proposed density.
Vessel has a 30-unit building currently under construction in New London.
Proposals for a 30-unit building in Rocky Hill and a 48-unit building in Glastonbury have recently been denied by those towns’ land use boards. Company founder and CEO Neil Rubler said he intends to adjust those plans and reapply.
Vessel follows a set formula when designing its buildings, using similar architecture and engineering to quickly and efficiently build “attainable” units geared toward middle-income residents who don’t qualify for subsidized housing but for whom luxury or even market-rate rents are out of reach.
A public hearing on the applications is scheduled for April 24.