CT Construction Digest Monday January 24, 2022
From school construction to new apartments, here are Danbury-area projects to watch out for in 2022
An upgraded library, school construction and additional residential housing are coming to the Danbury area in 2022.
Several communities are working on renovating or building schools due to enrollment increases or outdated facilities. There could even be an Amazon grocery store coming to one town. A few towns are improving their downtown areas.
Here are some of the Danbury area’s 10 biggest projects to watch out for in 2022.
School projects
Danbury, Brookfield and New Fairfield are working on school projects this year.
The addition to Ellsworth Avenue Elementary School in Danbury should open this fall. The seven additional classrooms were needed due to rising school enrollment, but the district may consider other projects this year.
Danbury is planning for its $99 million career academy, which will serve 1,400 middle and high school students and is slated to open in fall 2024. Alongside the academy, the school district looks to revise its curriculum to emphasize personalized and experiential learning.
Brookfield and New Fairfield are constructing new schools, too.
New Fairfield’s $113 million school projects remain on time and on budget.
The $29.2 million expansion to an elementary school — creating the Consolidated Early Learning Academy — is expected to be finished by the start of the 2022-23 school year. The $84.2 million, 143,000 square-foot new high school is slated to open the following year.
In Brookfield, the new, $78.1 million Candlewood Lake Elementary School has faced construction delays, pushing the opening date from mid-way through next academic year to the start of 2023-24. The school will serve pre-kindergarten through fifth grade, allowing the outdated Center Elementary School to close and Huckleberry Hill Elementary School to be demolished. Fifth-graders at Whisconier Middle School will move into the new building.
Downtown improvements
Brookfield, Danbury and Ridgefield in the midst of projects to improve their downtowns.
Danbury finished the first phase of its roughly $12 million streetscape project at the end of 2021 and is preparing for phase two this year. Officials hope construction could start on the second phase and/or a river walk in 2022, but further approvals and work is needed.
The city hopes to spark downtown development and make the area more pedestrian friendly.
Ridgefield is working on a $4 million project to improve traffic flow on Main Street. The second phase should bring ground in the spring, following the completion of the first phase at the end of 2021. Work includes milling, paving and re-striping Main Street between Governor and Prospect. Landscaping is slated to begin September 2022.
Brookfield’s streetscape project in its town center includes at least six phases. Construction could start this year on phase three, which would bring pedestrian sidewalks along a 700 to 800 foot stretch between Federal Road and Old Route 7. Planning for other phases continues this year, too.
An Amazon grocery store?
A few miles from Brookfield’s streetscape project, a “new concept” grocery store is expected to open this year.
The store at the Candlewood Plaza Shopping Center is rumored to be an Amazon Fresh grocery store, although the officials and company haven’t confirmed.
However, the architectural renderings from the Zoning Commission bear a resemblance to existing Amazon Fresh stores. The leasing director for the Candlewood Plaza Shopping Center has said at a Zoning Commission meeting that the store is owned by a technology company.
Construction costs are projected at $1.2 million. The store was originally supposed to open in December, but was delayed.
A second grocery store, a Food Emporium, is being built, too. Brookfield has only one grocery store, a ShopRite on Federal Road.
Danbury bank
One project seen as key to Danbury’s downtown development is the $20 million, four-story bank office proposed for the corner of Main and West Streets.
The 35,000-square-foot building would provide offices for Savings Bank of Danbury and has been called the “centerpiece” of downtown.
Danbury City Council is reviewing plans for the bank to purchase the former Tuxedo Junction club, which the city bought in 2017. The infamous nightclub would be demolished so the bank office could have access to an upgraded power source.
The council could decide as early as February to sell the building. Construction could start in the spring and be completed by the end of 2023.
New apartments in downtown Danbury
Construction is continuing on another development that officials hope will breathe life into downtown.
Developers are constructing 149 apartments at the former News-Times office building on Main Street. These will be the first new apartments in downtown Danbury since the since the 2016 completion of the 374-unit Kennedy Flats complex across the street.
The building will be connected by a bridge to the 115-apartment Brookfield Commons on Crosby Street. The apartments are owned by the same developer.
It’s unclear when the apartments will be completed, but at one point they had been slated to open at the end of 2021 holiday season.
‘Lifestyle center’ development
Danbury will review plans this year to transform a vacant 32-acre property on the west side into an 11-building development with apartments, offices, shops and continuing care beds.
It’s part of the construction boom on Danbury’s west side and is the largest development of its kind in the city.
Westconn Park LLC Development calls the complex a “lifestyle center” and says it will offer 200 apartments, entertainment and retail on Mill Plain Road.
The proposal includes 200,000 square feet of housing units, 80,000 square feet for an assisted living facility, and 50,000 square feet for a corporate building, three pad sites and mixed-use retail. Medical offices, corporate training facilities and retail would fill the 100,000-plus additional square footage, along with a 3.4 acre recreational area, clubhouse, pool and tennis courts.
Griffin Living would operate the 90-bed continuing care facility.
The Summit
Perhaps the most ambitious project in Danbury is the revitalization of the former Matrix Corporation Center, a 1.2 million- square- foot building that sat mostly vacant on the west side for decades.
Developers of the Summit @ Danbury are creating a “city within a city” with commercial space, housing and amenities like a restaurant, barber shop, gym and putting green. They’ve teased they will announce early in 2022 that a couple national companies will follow Nuvance Health by moving into the building.
Clancy Moving Systems plans to build a 190,000-square-foot warehouse and associated buildings on 29 acres next to the Summit.
But the plans to build a $99 million middle and high school within the Summit could be the most critical for the growing city and school district. Danbury and developers are negotiating for the city to purchase three pods needed for the career academy.
Developers will start construction on a minimum of 180 apartments, pending approval from the Zoning Commission and the negotiations with the city.
Health care facilities in Danbury
Two health care facilities are coming to Danbury’s west side.
The state is reviewing plans for what could be Connecticut’s first proton therapy center on Wooster Heights Road. Danbury approved the $80 million Danbury Proton project last year. The center could treat 338 patients a year with a non-invasive radiation technique.
The state’s decision has been delayed due to combination of staffing, workload and coronavirus issues, according to Danbury Proton’s mid-January newsletter.
Meanwhile, a $36 million rehabilitation hospital will be built on a 13-acre site within the residential development known as The Reserve.
Encompass Health, an Alabama-based company with about 140 rehabilitation hospitals across the country, would run the facility.
The state closed the hearing on Encompass Health’s application and is drafting a decision.
New Milford library project
The $8.5 million renovations to New Milford Public Library were meant to wrap up in the third week of January, but construction delays have pushed the opening to the end of June.
The library hasn’t fully reopened since March 2020 due to COVID-19 and the construction. Instead, lobby service and online or off-site programs are available.
The library was last renovated with an expansion in 1979, and the town rejected two prior plans to upgrade the building before approving $6.5 million for this project in 2018. The Board of Trustees is paying $1 million, and the State of Connecticut Library is paying $1 million.
Once the renovation is complete, the library will have a new second floor and updated amenities, such as a makerspace, designated teen space, and meeting, reading, study and children’s story rooms.
The project adds 6,500 square feet to the existing library, bringing the new total to 22,000 square feet. Construction started in June 2020.
Sandy Hook memorial
This December will mark 10 years since 20 first graders and six educators were killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School.
Over the 10 years, Newtown has grappled with how to honor the 26 victims, parsing through 16 sites and 190 designs before agreeing last year to approve funding for a memorial in a 5-acre forest. The memorial includes a walk through nature to a reflection pool, with a “sacred sycamore” growing in the center.
The state is covering 70 percent of the $3.7 million cost.
The memorial should be completed by the 10th anniversary of the tragedy on Dec. 14.
Mary E. O’Leary
NEW HAVEN — An adaptive reuse and a proposed high-rise could bring nearly 200 more apartments downtown, while a small complex has been approved in the Hill section by the city’s land use boards.
A total of 5 ground-floor apartments, topped by 5 duplexes, on city land have been approved for Columbus Avenue and Salem Street.
A total of 5 ground-floor apartments, topped by 5 duplexes, on city land have been approved for Columbus Avenue and Salem Street.
The complex is fully covered by sprinklers, but City Plan Commission members still questioned having only one exit for nine of the apartments.
The larger projects have received some necessary ancillary approvals, but still need fleshed-out plans and a site plan review.
PMC, owner of the Strouse Adler apartments at 78 Olive St., received approval this week from the City Plan Commission for a zone change from BA general business to BD-1, central business/residential, for the 2.5-acre property.
The BD-1 zone generally allows for greater height and density and favors a transit-oriented development.
Attorney Christopher McKeon said PMC, a Philadelphia firm with several developments in New Haven, said preliminary plans call for a new building on the site with 136 apartments fronting on Chapel Street.
He said they are talking about 12 units on floors 2-12 and four apartments on the 13th floor, where there also would be a fitness center. McKeon said they would all be one-bedroom apartments.
Strouse Adler’s Smoothie building, a longtime occupant already on the site and one of the first industrial conversions to housing in the city, has 142 apartments and 148 parking spaces.
PMC for years had a contentious relationship with its neighbors, filing multiple legal challenges to the proposed apartments along Olive Street that now are nearing completion and pose competition to the Smoothie units.
In a separate project, the owners of the Olympia Building at 142 Temple St. propose topping the office building with four floors of 15 apartments each for a total of 60 apartments, from studios to one- and two-bedroom units.
They would maintain the first floor for administrative uses, and the second and third floors for office space. The L-shaped building spans Temple Street to Crown Street, but does not include the corner parcel.
City Plan recommended that the Board of Zoning Appeals grant special exceptions to allow zero off-street parking where 27 spaces are required and zero off-street loading spaces where 2 are needed for the Temple Street plan.
Attorney Ben Trachten said the building owners have an agreement with the New Haven Parking Authority to satisfy the parking requirement.
The large PMC parcel is bound by Chapel, Olive and Court streets, as well as the railroad tracks behind the State Street Train Station.
Of the three recently considered developments by City Plan, the PMC site is generating the most scrutiny.
Westville Alder Adam Marchand, who is also a commissioner, pointed out that the BD-1 zone allows for much taller buildings and a Floor Area Ratio (FAR) of 6.0 for a denser project.
That is limited however to a FAR of 3.0 and a height of 70 feet when the property is immediately adjacent to a residential zone. The property across from the site on Olive Street is zoned residential (RM-2).
FAR 6.0 means that the floor area may be up to six times as large as the lot area.
Marchand supported the zone change as he currently understands it if the height and FAR limits are applicable to a development.
He wants to know how far into the zone the height limits extend for potential projects, such as the portion of the parcel immediately adjacent to the tracks, some 200 yards from Olive Street.
The question is whether the property, as currently configured, would allow a 13-story building, unless it was subdivided.
“What does this map change make possible? It is not 100 percent clear in my mind,” Marchand said. He said he reserved the right to reconsider his support in the zone vote by the alders, which is needed for final approval.
McKeon said if they don’t get it, they can’t build on the lot.
The zone change has to stand on its own merits without consideration for a particular plan. The 13-story structure may be submitted to the city for review by the end of January. McKeon said he is in discussions with the city on an affordable housing component.
At the recent Downtown Wooster Square Community Management team meeting, McKeon first discussed the zone change and the proposed building.
Tony Kosloski, a neighbor in attendance at the meeting on Zoom, questioned the height, pointing out it was almost twice as high as the developments along Olive Street.
“This is a significant change for our side of the railroad tracks and it seems to be pushing things a bit. Just want to make that point. There is a large spatial issue here,” Kosloski said.
“The new buildings being put up on Olive Street have turned everything into a canyon,” he said. “Anything that is twice as tall as any of those buildings, will make it even more so.”
The zone change is not unique as the city in 2014 approved the same change for 630 Chapel St., the former Comcast site, 673 Chapel St. and 87 Union St, where hundreds of apartments are under construction along Olive Street in Wooster Square in seven-story buildings.
The city eight years ago recommended that this PMC property be rezoned to join the other parcels connecting the Chapel Street corridor to Wooster Square. When the city had not yet done that, McKeon said PMC took the lead and applied for the change.
In the current vote, City Plan staff have joined in that recommendation as has the city’s economic development office.
Deputy Economic Development Director Steve Fontana said the zone is “broadly consistent with the planning and evolution of this neighborhood and ... enables the kind of positive development we wish to seek.”
He said it follows a 2016 study of Wooster Square that recommended focusing on denser, walkable and transit-oriented development there.
McKeon said the purpose of the change is to create a corridor from downtown through the Chapel Street section and make connectivity with Wooster Square.
McKeon said PMC is actively engaged in discussions with city staff and will meet with the development committee of the Downtown Wooster Square Community Management Team for input. Alder Eli Sabin, D-7, is arranging for a community meeting on the plan.
City attorney Michael Pinto said there are some four orphan parcels in the area that also need to be rezoned to BD-1 from BA, but that would have to be done in a separate meeting after proper notice is given.
As for the 232-235 Columbus Ave. housing, Commissioner Ed Mattison asked why they shouldn’t hold a public hearing on it as requested by some residents.
Commission President Leslie Radcliffe said there had been a hearing before the Board of Zoning Appeals on the density and it was deemed reasonable. There also is a land disposition agreement with the city on the plan and a community management team review.
Pinto said site plan review goes through a checklist of technical measures and is not a forum for testimony on whether a resident likes a project. The board ultimately decided not to have a public hearing.
Pinto, in answer to questions, said the city solicited proposals for housing on the parcel and Ralph Mauro was chosen for the work. James Pretti of Criscuolo Engineering made the presentation.
The longer discussion was on the limited egress and the inconvenient walk for tenants to the outside trash receptacle.
There are two exits for the one handicapped ground-floor apartment, although the other four could also have a second exit, if needed.
For the two-level townhouses on top, which feature two bedrooms, the only exit is a front staircase, which necessitated a sprinkler system in the building.
Pretti said originally the builder proposed six to eight apartments for the site, but the city wanted 10, which restricted some construction. The ground-floor units are approximately 800 square feet; the townhouses are about 1,500 square feet.
Commissioner Ernest Pagan said it was a long walk to the dumpster for people in the townhouses in particular. “They have to walk a block to empty the trash. Can we work on that?” he asked Pretti.
The engineer said he did not know how they could add another staircase given the size and shape of the property and the number of units. They already needed a variance for the lot size per unit.
“Architecturally you would probably have to redesign the whole building,” Pretti said.
Pretti said the plans have gone through the fire marshal’s office and the building department and is the reason for the sprinklers.
Marchand said he agreed with the quality-of-life questions by Pagan, but he was not sure that was within their purview. Pinto said “the imperfections of the design are not grounds to either table it or request additional information.”
The vote was 3 to 2 in favor with Pagan and Mattison voting against the proposal.
DOT presents its Route 69, 72 intersection improvement plan
BRISTOL – The Connecticut Department of Transportation presented its State Routes 69 and 72 intersection improvement plan before the Bristol Board of Public Works Thursday, a project slated to cost around $7,700,000.
This project, that will demolish five buildings in the area, will begin in late October. During the meeting no end date was listed.
Project leaders said the road realignment and streetscape endeavor is meant to improve operation, reduce vehicle congestion, increase safety and better accommodate both bicyclist and pedestrian travel.
“About 15,300 is the average number of vehicles traveling through there in a day,” Project Manager Joseph Arsenault said previously. “So we do see congestion in that area pretty much along all the legs, especially in the morning rush hour or evening rush hour.”
Project Designer Jared Hendrickson introduced concerns with the current intersection’s layout by saying the intersection of Landry, Park and Divinity streets were in close proximity to the intersection of Divinity, West and School streets, thus causing traffic congestion and delays.
According to Hendrickson, there are no left turn lanes on Route 72 leading to Route 69, which is causing the buildup of traffic. The overlapping left turn lanes on Route 69 leading to Route 72 are causing conflicting turning movements and crashes within the intersection. Hendrickson said “poor geometry” at the intersection of Landry, Divinity and Park streets further contributes to intersection operational issues. Narrow shoulders on roadway edges also discourage bicyclists from traveling in the area.
“It’s really functioning as one big six-leg intersection versus two intersections,” Arsenault said.
Hendrickson also pointed out that vehicles continually bypass backups on Route 72 by taking Divinity Street, which is considered a low speed road not meant to carry high volumes of traffic. Trucks have a hard time turning due to sharp curves and come into oncoming traffic. Sight lines are obscure due to approaching road curvature as well.
Proposed changes mean to address these issues by creating a more conventional four-way intersection meeting pedestrian and traffic needs, Americans with Disabilities Act accessibility issues and 4-foot wide shoulders for bicyclist travel.
The alignment on Route 72 East with the intersection will be shifted northward, leading into the intersection and providing more sightline to drivers. The intersection of Divinity, Landry and Park streets will be removed so traffic will no longer be able to bypass Route 72 by using Divinity Street. Curvature will be softened on Route 72 east and west of the intersection to make it more standard with other intersection models. Left turn lanes will be added on Route 72 to move traffic more effectively onto Route 69. Turns at the intersection will be softened to allow for better truck turns. Two new parking lots will also be added for surrounding businesses and patrons. The overlapping left turns lanes on Route 69 and Route 72 will be eliminated.
As a result of roadway realignment, four buildings will be demolished northwest of the intersection to allow the roadway curvature to be softened and alignment shifted. Another will be demolished as an extension is created to Pratt Street from Route 72 West with a left turn lane added. A four-way stop will be implemented where the extension, Divinity and Pratt streets meet.
Traffic lights, posts and pedestrian push lights will be installed and painted black and then maintained by the city in the future. Decorative lighting will be added to the area as requested by the city also. Streetscape plans will include urban trees and low maintenance plantings, said Landscape Designer Sue Fiedler. New roadside areas are intended to be created at all four corners of the intersection and be used as community spaces. Parts of these will include colored, stamped concrete as well as permeable paving. Streetscaping attempts intend to accentuate already existing historic architecture in the area.
Final plan designs are slated for completion April 6. The design will be completed May 18 and the project awarded to a construction firm in September. Around 80% of the project’s funding comes from federal dollars while 20% comes from the state.
"There are several projects that will be going on over the next probably four to five years in the downtown and Route 72 corridor," said Bristol Mayor Jeff Caggiano.
Cleanup of former Norwich Hospital property in Preston to resume soon
Preston — Cleanup work at the former Norwich Hospital property is expected to resume the first week of February, with several “quick hits” projects before the final push starts in March, Preston Redevelopment Agency Chairman Sean Nugent said.
The cleanup effort, which must be completed before the town turns over the 393-acre property to Mohegan Gaming & Entertainment for major redevelopment, halted after environmental assessment crews discovered extensive coal ash contamination beneath roadways and parking areas in 2019. The cost exceeded the previous $10 million state grant, so work essentially stopped as that money dried up.
The state legislature and Bond Commission approved a new $7 million state grant in July 2020, and the town still has a $2 million loan to add to the total. More delays ensued, however, as town leaders negotiated with the state Department of Economic and Community Development over how the final cleanup should be conducted.
Nugent told the Board of Selectmen recently that work will begin with “quick hits” projects that include abatement and demolition of the Pathway building and cleanup of a small 7-acre area at the junction of routes 12 and 2A. Because a portion of the Pathway building stands within 100 feet of a wetland, the PRA needed approval from the town Inland Wetlands and Watercourse Commission before beginning that work. Approval was granted unanimously Tuesday.
The larger plan calls for creating a consolidation area in one spot to place and cap contaminated soil. Clean fill from the excavated consolidation area will be used to fill in the roadways and former parking areas where the contaminated ash was removed, Nugent said.
Before the major work can restart in March, an archaeologist will examine the consolidation area and flag boundaries to avoid any sensitive underground potential archaeological resources, Nugent said. Town officials and the town’s environmental contractor, Manafort Bros. Inc., will meet with Mohegan officials on the property to review plans, he said.
MGE has an agreement with the town to create a $200 million to $600 million development with recreational, entertainment, sports and residential projects on the property, which sits across the Thames River from Mohegan Sun casino and near the Mohegan-Pequot Bridge.
Separate from the final environmental cleanup, passersby might see other work progressing on the portion of former hospital property near the commuter parking lot on Route 12. Eversource plans to upgrade utility poles and wiring throughout Preston and the region and has requested to rent the property from the town to use as a staging area for the work.
Nugent told the Board of Selectmen the utility will pay $7,500 per month for the first six months, and $6,000 per month after that, with an eight-month estimated timeframe. The agreement will include a provision to vacate the property if the town’s cleanup work moves faster than expected, he said. Another issue independent of the cleanup also will need to be addressed. One area was damaged by a “significant” washout caused by the remnants of Hurricane Ida on Sept. 1 and 2, Nugent said. Cleanup cost was estimated at $290,000, with the Federal Emergency Management Agency slated to cover 75% of the expense.
If state officials say the town cannot use the cleanup grant to cover the town’s share of the cost, Nugent said the PRA would seek to use the Eversource payments to cover the cost. Any leftover money would be turned over to the town, he said.
The part of the former hospital property that is in Norwich, about 60 acres, is in private hands and no development plans have been proposed there.
Developer wins approval for new 5-story Bank Street building
New London — A New York-based housing developer has won unanimous approval to construct a five-story, 20-unit modular apartment building at the site of an empty spot on Bank Street.
The 174 Bank St. property where it would be built is what the developer's attorney William Sweeney said is not only blighted property but a “gaping hole in the middle of downtown.”
Sweeney represents Vessel Technologies Inc., which has a contract to purchase the site and plans to use a proprietary modular system to construct the building at a quicker speed than traditional construction. No proposed construction timeline has been set.
The plan describes state-of-the-art, energy-efficient building systems and materials and includes a solar array on the roof.
The site is adjacent the Salvation Army building and has remains of a concrete foundation from a failed project that is fenced off from Bank Street. It’s been empty since a fire burned the previous building in the 1980s.
The cost to develop the site, because of its small size and location in a flood plain, has led to little interest from developers.
"It's an exciting project. We hope it can serve as a model for other communities," Sweeney said during Thursday night's Planning and Zoning Commission meeting.
While it will be five stories tall, it will look like six stories from the back on South Water Street because of parking underneath the building. There will be 20 spaces on the lower level. The commission approved the plans with five fewer spaces than required by regulations. The city’s Parking Authority had recommended approval of the project based on availability of spaces in the nearby municipal parking lot.
The building would house 10 one-bedroom and 10 two-bedroom units that will be marketed as luxury units. Sweeney said he expects rents to start at $1,400, which is below the market rate for similar new units being built in the city.
It would be the first fully residential building on Bank Street, thanks to modifications to zoning regulations tailored to this project and previously approved by the commission. Existing regulations still require retail space at street level for existing buildings. The proposed building has residential units facing Bank Street.
The modern look and gray color of the building have been the subject of debate, with mixed reactions from the Historic District Commission and some members of the public.
Don Presley, a member of the Historic District Commission, said “going up five stories at that particular location, will mean (it'll) be the tallest building basically on the street.” He said the design doesn’t especially fit the criteria of the city’s design review guidelines that recommend buildings complement the existing streetscape.
"I love modern architecture," said Susan Tamulevich, executive director of the Custom House Maritime Museum two buildings away from the proposed project. But, she said, "I don’t find anything commendable in this design."
CRDA grants $8.5 million to three Hartford projects, including Parkville redevelopments
The Capital Region Development Authority Board of Directors approved $8.5 million in loans to three Hartford redevelopments Thursday, with the bulk of the money going to projects in the city’s Parkville neighborhood.
Developer Carlos Mouta is at the head of two projects receiving $7.5 million in financing.
The board approved a $4 million loan toward a $4.6 million expansion of Parkville Market, $500,000 of which will convert to a grant once construction is completed.
The market is an indoor bazaar of interesting food vendors in a bright, walkable space with indoor and outdoor seating. Mouta opened the market in 2020 following a $5 million conversion of a former lumber yard.
Now, Mouta also plans to convert a neighboring 34,475-square-foot industrial building. The first floor will feature a bar, distillery and event space. The second will host event space, as well as stalls for five to 10 food vendors.
There will also be a rooftop entertainment area.
The loan comes at 3% interest.
“As everybody knows Parkville Market has been tremendously successful and this represents the next phase in that expansion,” Mayor Luke Bronin told board members Thursday. “We think this is an important part of continuing that momentum, building that nerve center of cuisine and culture and activity down there at the base of Bartholomew (Avenue).”
The CRDA approved a second, $3.5 million loan – also at 3% interest – for Mouta’s planned $72.8 million conversion of the former Whitney Manufacturing site at 237 Hamilton St., into a mix of apartments and commercial space.
Mouta plans 189 apartments, a mix of “micro” units, studios, open lofts, one-bedrooms and two-bedrooms. There will also be 86,000 square feet of commercial space.
“It is a linchpin project for the broader Parkville development efforts,” Bronin said.
The mixed-use development will create a unique mixed-income neighborhood connecting to amenities like the Parkville Market, the coming brewery, Real Art Ways and other cultural and social offerings, all within walking distance to job opportunities and industry incubation space, Bronin said.
The CRDA loan will be used to tackle pollution on the site and hazardous building materials in the existing structure. Other sources of funding include: $28.9 million of conventional financing, $24.6 million in historic tax credits, $10 million in opportunity zone equity and $9.3 million in developer equity.
Mouta described the CRDA funds as essential to launching the projects, especially given the financial blows and uncertainty caused by COVID-19.
“COVID has not been kind to us, that’s for sure,” Mouta said. “I would not be able to do it without it.”
Mouta said plans are drafted for the market expansion and he expects to begin bidding construction work shortly. He plans to have most, if not all, of that project completed this year.
Mouta said he is still arranging financing for the larger project at 237 Hamilton St., and that he hopes to begin environmental remediation in March.
The CRDA also approved a $1 million loan to help Paul Khakshouri with a renovation of the façade and elevators at 338 Asylum Street, a former Hilton Homewood Suites that Khakshouri has converted into 116 apartments and first-floor retail space. Historically, the property had been the Bond Hotel, and is commonly known by the Bond name.
Barry Equipment opens first CT location in South Windsor
Barry Equipment is expanding into a new, 5,000-square-foot facility in South Windsor, its first location in the state.
Barry Equipment, a Massachusetts-based Doosan brand dealer that sells construction machines such as dump trucks, excavators and material handlers, has opened the new site at 1608 John Fitch Blvd.
Over the next year, the company plans to add another 5,000 square feet of space to the existing facility.
Barry Equipment Operations Manager Joe Barry said that adding another brick-and-mortar location to serve the Northeast made sense for the company. He said the location will be a full-service dealership with over-the-counter part sales.
“There’ll be a service center, new inventory on display and a full sales team,” Barry said. “Anything and everything that you could need at a dealership will be offered there.”
Barry Equipment sells Doosan dump trucks, crawler excavators, wheel excavators and mini excavators, wheel loaders, log loaders and material handlers. It also offers machine rentals and parts. In 2020, the company expanded its maintenance offering with new field service vehicles like a mobile lubrication truck for in-field machine fluid changes.
Tom Barry started Barry Equipment in 1985 and the company has been a Doosan dealer since 2004. This is the businesses’ third location, with the other two located in Webster, Mass.
Workers scamble to finish Hinsdale School before the first bell
KURT MOFFETT
WINSTED — Despite supply-chain issues caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the $15.3 million renovation of Hinsdale School should be completed by the time students return for the start of the school year at the end of August.
For example, materials needed to build the roof arrived just two weeks ago. Joseph Gargon, construction supervisor for Montagno Construction of Waterbury, the contractor hired by the elementary school system to do the project, said the roof was supposed to be installed in July 2021.
If Montagno had not found another roofing company with the materials needed, Gargon said the roof would not have arrived until the end of next year, most likely delaying the opening of school.
“If I wanted to call in a lumber order at 8 o’clock in the morning, I would get it that day or the next day,” he said of pre-pandemic times. “Now? Three weeks.”
Otherwise, the school renovation project is on time and within its budget, Superintendent Melony Brady-Shanley said.
The target to finish is mid to late July, giving staff and hired movers roughly a month to get all of the equipment and furniture installed by the time students return Aug. 31.
School had been scheduled to open a week earlier for the 2022-23 school year, but that was pushed back to accommodate the move.
Gargon said he likely will need to increase his crew from 30 to 50 workers to meet the timeline.
On Friday, Brady-Shanley, Gargon, Batcheller School Principal Rosanne Field and School Building Committee Vice Chairman David Carter led a brief tour of the construction progress. The school is clearly not ready for students and staff yet. Equipment and materials litter the dirty floors, and missing ceiling tiles expose wires and light fixtures.
But walls are being painted, concrete has been poured in the kitchen area, and fire-suppression sprinklers, lighting fixtures, bathroom tiles, pipes and electrical wiring are being installed.
Brady-Shanley noted spaces carved into one of the walls where large windows will be installed to let students see inside the school library and media center.
“I’ve been waiting for this,” she said. “I think it’s going to be so nice for the kids to be able to look in there and see the activity going on.”
On the other side of the library, a new wall has been built to separate it from the cafeteria-gymnasium, Brady-Shanley said.
There also is a brand new wing that will consist of classrooms for students in pre-kindergarten and kindergarten. The roof just went up last week, and the floor was still full of puddles and ice. Gargon said the puddles and ice will be gone next week, once the roof is tightened up.
“This’ll all be out of here,” he said. “This’ll be all dry.”
Brady-Shanley pointed out the 1948 section of the building that was torn down, where a brook once flowed below the school and likely caused mold problems. Instead, there will be a raised patio with picnic tables, where students and staff can have lunch and do lessons.
Hinsdale has been closed since 2016. When the school district was under state oversight because of problems with special education and finances, a state-appointed administrator closed the school because of ongoing problems with mold and a declining enrollment.
But when Brady-Shanley was hired in 2017, her assessment of the schools was that Hinsdale was the better fit for students academically in the long run. Batcheller School will close when Hinsdale reopens.