Meriden Housing authority replaces $192 million bond authorization with $225 million deal

Mary Ellen Godin

MERIDEN — The Meriden Housing Authority will replace a 2022 bond sale valued at $192 million with a new proposal for up to $225 million.

Executive Director Robert Cappelletti said the latest bond sale authorization replaced the $192 million authorization approved in 2022. In that instance, shortly after gaining board approval for the bond sale, Maynard Road secured a $16.2 million loan from Titan Capital for preconstruction costs, with the MHA signing as the loan guarantor. 

After several defaults for non-payment, Titan Capital filed suit against Maynard Road and the Meriden Housing Authority in late 2023 to recover the funds. In February, a New Haven Superior Court judge granted a $6 million prejudgment remedy against the agencies, bringing the total owed to $22 million. He also granted a request that both agencies disclose their assets.

This month, Maynard Road Corp. proposed the $225,000 agreement to the MHA for assistance financing the cost of developing 100 units of rental housing in two buildings and commercial retail space at 143 W. Main Street. The commercial space includes a black box music theater.

In addition, Maynard Road hopes to generate financing to build a community center and power generation plant at Yale Acres. The project descriptions are identical to the earlier bond authorization.

Maynard Road is the development arm of the Meriden Housing Authority and shares identical board members including two employees of the agencies.

According to the resolution approved this month, the bonds are special obligation payable only from the revenues and assets of the project, and are not the obligation of the city, the state or any other political subdivisions. The resolution gives Cappelletti authority to use "reasonable efforts to issue the bonds to provide the financial assistance required for the project," the resolution stated.  

Earlier this week, the Meriden Housing Authority Board of Commissions also approved a loan authorization for an undetermined amount to allow Maynard Road to begin constructing the projects.

Cappelletti said the project is eligible for carbon emissions reduction tax credits for its use of geo-thermal and passive solar technology. The tax credits are expected to shave a considerable amount off the undetermined construction loan, he said. 

After failing to disclose their assets, Titan Capital issued subpoenas in June to depose members of the board of the Meriden Housing Authority and the Groton Housing Authority. The Groton Housing Authority has a shared work agreement with the MHA including the executive director. Lawyers for Titan noted that several loan payments were made from Groton's account, according to Shelton attorney Charles Willinger.  

Titan's attorneys have said they are seeking information and documents on how the funds were spent. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is also conducting an audit on the loan.

Lawyers for both housing authorities fought the subpoenas claiming housing authority commissioners are "high-level government officials" and the action is nothing more than a "fishing expedition" into the business of both housing authorities. 

A judge has yet to rule on whether the subpoenas will be enforced or schedule a hearing on the matter.

Willinger said this week he had not heard about a new bond reauthorization or a new loan.

"We are waiting for the court to schedule (a hearing)," Willinger stated in an email. "We are in the dark regarding bond financing, hope it is real and imminent." 

As Ridgefield plans $75M station, police and fire say headquarters are outdated, 'bursting' at seams

Sandra Diamond Fox

RIDGEFIELD — On a recent weekday morning, the inside of the Ridgefield Fire Department garage at 6 Catoonah St. resembled a multi-ring circus.

On the left side, men are exercising in the fitness section; in the center, fire trucks are pulling in and out. In other corners of the station are laundry, clothing and storage areas — and in the middle of it all, firefighters are taking part in a training session.

“This is our exercise room. It should be separate from the garage,” said Assistant Fire Chief Mickey Grasso on a tour of the police and fire facilities. 

Not only are firefighters at risk for being hit by trucks pulling in and out, they are breathing in exhaust, he said. 

The cramped quarters are among the reasons local officials say Ridgefield needs a new headquarters for its fire and police departments. Like the fire department, police are running out of room and are in serious need of a new home, said Ridgefield Police Chief Jeff Kreitz said. 

The town has proposed constructing a $75 million headquarters for both departments on a town-owned property that was once home to an international oil company. The new public safety administration headquarters would be 70,000 square feet — nearly double the square footage of each of the current fire and police stations. 

Existing police and fire buildings are unable to accommodate modern technology efficiently, while their outdated utilities and building structures cause safety hazards, Grasso and Kreitz said. And the need for constant repairs and the maintenance to keep these old buildings operating can become a significant cost to the town, officials have said. 

Ridgefield’s police station, at 76 East Ridge Road, is inside a house that was built in the 1890s. Police moved in, in 1976, from the basement of Ridgefield’s Town Hall. The building was previously a residence that housed State Police Troop A, Kreitz said.

“Things have changed since 1976 — the way we police, the equipment we have, the equipment we carry. We’re bursting at the seams with storage throughout the building,” Kreitz said. 

Most rooms inside both facilities are filled to capacity. Both lack sufficient storage and training space and have frequent water damage from flooding, which has caused large and unsightly stains on the ceilings, floors and walls.

Schlumberger site

Town leaders considered expanding at the stations' current locations or building elsewhere, exploring many sites throughout town. The best location to encompass the needs of both departments, they say, is the Schlumberger-Doll Research Center site, a wooded area at 36 Old Quarry Road. The site has plenty of parking and fewer traffic impacts compared to the current fire headquarters, First Selectperson Rudy Marconi said. 

According to Ridgefield historian Jack Sanders, the Schlumberger site on Sunset Lane and Old Quarry Road operated from 1949 until it moved to Cambridge, Mass., in 2006. The center, part of a French-owned international company, did research into techniques for locating oil deposits deep under the earth’s surface. 

Residents are expected to vote on the project this year or next. The first of additional public hearings will likely be held in the fall or winter, in addition to more tours and information sessions, officials said. 

The town would bond the expense of the new facility over 20 or 25 years. Through revisions and modifications to the plans, the town has already reduced the cost of construction by $9 million. The town will apply for federal, state and private grants to offset the cost. 

Three years ago, Ridgefield’s town leaders began looking at sites and doing extensive property searches for a new facility. The town hired Kaestle Boos Associates, Inc. in New Britain, as the architects for the project and conducted a feasibility study. 

“We looked at what our needs were,” said Jake Muller, the town's director of Public Works & Facilities. 

Other sites town leaders looked at for building a new facility include 63 Copps Hill Road, Diniz Field at 101 Prospect Ridge, the Ridgefield Recreation Center and Veterans Park Elementary School. None of those sites were selected for reasons including there isn't enough land for a combined facility, the area is limited by wetlands setbacks, and it would require relocating heavily-used soccer fields, a public park and an elementary school, Marconi said.

Flooding and other deficiencies 

Ridgefield’s fire station was built in 1909 and while it has undergone several expansions, it no longer meets the needs of the community, Ridgefield Fire Chief Jerry Myers has said. 

All fire trucks have to be custom ordered, Marconi said, since they can’t exceed a certain height. “We’re restricted on the height of a vehicle that we can get into the garage,” Marconi said while at the station. When the 10-foot, 4-inch garage was built, fire trucks were smaller, he said.

Marconi said the fire department's call volume keeps increasing. “We used to be one ambulance with a backup. Then we went to two ambulances with a third backup. Now we’re looking at three full-time ambulances with a backup," he said. There are 38 career firefighters, one civilian employee, and 50 trained volunteer firefighters. 

Both fire and police stations are not compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act. “There is no elevator, no lifts — nothing,” Marconi said. 

Whenever there’s heavy rain or when snow melts, there’s flooding in both buildings. Stained walls and ceilings and peeling paint were noticeable upon touring both facilities.

Each time there’s flooding, Kreitz said the police department calls a restoration company. He said about a year and a half ago, due to heavy rain, water started leaking in through the floor and wall. “It damaged a bunch of the firearms, damaged the walls so we had to get full replacement of walls and an insurance claim on the damaged firearms,” Kreitz said.

In the police building, many officers share one office room, and there isn't an extra locker to spare. “We have the exact number of officers that there are lockers. So we’re outgrowing the building,” Kreitz said. “When moved in here, there was 19 or 20 officers. Now we have 44 sworn.” 

Research Parkway in Meriden, Wallingford isn't dead. It's just in transition, officials say.

Luther Turmelle

No one will ever mistake Connecticut's Research Parkway, which runs between Wallingford and Meriden, for the Route 128 beltway around Boston, dubbed "America's Technology Highway" in 1982 because of the number of cutting edge businesses located there.

But that's not to say that the Research Parkway corridor isn't as important to the two New Haven County communities as Route 128 is to Massachusetts. Several blue chip companies have located on the Parkway over the years or still have a presence along the three-and-half mile corridor that runs parallel to Interstate 91 between the Exit 15 in Wallingford and the Meriden interchange that includes East Main Street in the city and Interstate 691.

Pharmaceutical giant Bristol Myers Squibb operated a sprawling research facility on Research Parkway in Wallingford for decades before the facility closed in 2018 and the building torn down a year later. The property now sits dormant, though town officials approved a plan for a 440,000 square foot warehouse and 10,000 square foot office space more than 18 months ago.

Protein Sciences, which makes vaccines, had a similarly long run in the corridor first as an independent company, then as part of French-pharmaceutical giant Sanofi. But Sanofi announced in early July it had shifted the company's laboratories on Research Parkway in Meriden to a much larger facility in eastern Pennsylvania.

The company that owns clothing and shoe retailer Bob's Stores and Eastern Mountain Sports is also pulling out of the corridor, where it had a combination headquarters and distribution facility in Meriden.

But none of this indicates the Research Parkway's best days are behind it, say economic development officials in Wallingford and Meriden. Rather, the corridor is going through a transition.

What's come and what's gone

Meriden Economic Development Director Joseph Feest said while several high profile businesses have left the Research Parkway corridor, "the city doesn't have a great many unoccupied buildings there."

"We have the Bob's Stores headquarters that opened up just recently and we have the Protein Sciences buildings" that have left, Feest admitted, adding: "The rest of our buildings out there are pretty much full up."

One of the most prominent businesses that still sits along Research Parkway is Minnesota-based conglomerate 3M. The company has a facility at 400 Research Parkway in the corridor that is part of 3M's Separation and Purification Sciences division.

Further south on the Research Parkway in Wallingford, global online retailer Amazon has a pair of warehouses. There are also lesser known, but no less important technology driven companies in Wallingford's portion of the corridor, including Nel Hydrogen. That Norwegian company which makes equipment for hydrogen fueling stations is located in the corridor, as is APS Technology, makers of drilling equipment for the oil and natural gas industries.

A major boost for the Research Parkway corridor is also expected when Connecticut's two largest hospital groups, Yale New Haven Health and Hartford HealthCare, break ground this fall on a proton therapy center. Experts say the joint venture could result in more medical technology businesses moving into the corridor as a result. Construction of the $70 million facility had been scheduled to start in the spring, but is now expected to begin in the fall, Yale New Haven Health officials say.

Feest acknowledged that in recent years, the make-up of the businesses located in the corridor has shifted from office space and technology-driven businesses to distribution companies. In addition to the two Amazon warehouses, Connecticut Foodshare, the organization that supplies local food pantries, has its headquarters and warehouse at 2 Research Parkway in Wallingford.

He said the Research Parkway corridor "has always been a bright spot for economic development for" Meriden.

"We have several large companies that are doing well up there," Feest said. "And it's one of the largest tracts of developable land we have in the city."

In addition to 3M, he mentioned Mirion Technolgies, a company that produces health care diagnostic safety equipment, and instruments to measure and analyze radiation. Feest added the Research Parkway corridor is also home to Lyons Tool & Die, which makes components for a variety of industries.

Zoning is key

One challenge for both communities in terms of attracting businesses to the corridor is the presence of wetlands. Willow Brook feeds Bishops Pond, which straddles both sides of Research Parkway in Meriden. Muddy River and its watershed flow through the corridor as well in Wallingford.

Wallingford had initially zoned the area along Research Parkway with a focus on office space. But Joseph Mira, chairman of the town's economic commission, said its since been rezoned for broader commercial use that includes a separate zone to protect the Muddy River

Even with the zone changes along Research Parkway, Mira said development along the business corridor "has been pretty active."

Feest said he "remains very optimistic" the vacancies left by the departures of Bob's Stores and Protein Sciences will be filled soon.

John Boyd, whose Florida-based company evaluates locations for corporations, said business clustering along corridors is "a critical concept in economic development."

"Everybody wants a tech hub, but you have to look at what financial incentives are available and what has been done to make a community more attractive to companies," Boyd said. "It's a tricky juggling act."

Because of Connecticut's highly educated workforce and the involvement of major health care providers moving in, Boyd said the area is ripe to attract medical technology businesses, "which are high paying, even though they are less labor intensive."

Wallingford and Meriden can make the corridor more attractive to new medical tech businesses by ensuring the area has a significant "inventory of shovel ready sites available" around the soon-to-be-built Proton Therapy Center, Boyd said.

"With a little bit of support from state and local government, you could be able to leverage that into a real turnaround there," he added.

But David Cadden, professor emeritus at Quinnipiac University's School of Business, said replicating the success of business clusters seen in other parts of the country has proven elusive.

"Ever since the creation of Silicon Valley, everyone has been looking for that special sauce," Cadden said. "How do you create it and once you've created it, how do you keep it in place."

For starters, he said, any area looking to create a business cluster or corridor "needs a heavyweight research institution nearby."

Yale and the University of Connecticut can provide some of that, Cadden said. "But that may not be enough of a critical mass."

To make the Research Parkway more attractive to corporate tenants, Feest said Meriden officials have a project on Research Parkway that would widen an existing walking trail between the city and Wallingford and would include a place for food trucks to congregate.

"We are always looking at different ways to utilize our planning and zoning as well as what trends are there in the marketplace in terms of businesses coming in and what they might be looking for," Feest said of Meriden officials. "We are always looking at (zoning) areas in the city to see if they need to be adjusted."

Norwalk installs ADA ramps ahead of repaving on Fillow St. Here are other roads set for paving

Katherine Lutge

NORWALK — The Norwalk Public Works Department has installed ADA accessible ramps on Fillow Street ahead of a repaving and sidewalk project. 

“The contractor will install concrete curbing in the area of the pedestrian ramps,” said Michelle Woods Matthews, Norwalk’s director of communications. “The City’s Engineering Department will be working with the construction team to ensure the installation adheres to all applicable guidelines. Afterward, the roadway and asphalt sidewalks will be installed.”

The ramps are part of the citywide accessibility plan, which aims to provide safe connections for all Norwalkers. New crosswalks will also be installed at Betmarlea Road and Fillow Street and across Fillow Street near Little Fox Lane. 

“Mayor Rilling’s vision is to create a welcoming environment that fosters a sense of belonging, safety, and equity for all members of our community, including those with limited mobility,” Woods Matthews said. “The City is therefore committed to providing ADA ramps where necessary as they are essential to those in our community with limited mobility.”

The city is also repaving Richards Avenue from Fillow Street to West Cedar Street. 

“Every year, we put together our capital program, which includes several roadways that will be repaved,” Woods Matthews said. “The plans for this project began last fall when we put together our FY 2024-2025 capital program.”

So far, the city has paved Muriel Street, Margaret Street, Princeton Street, Yale Street, Rustic Lane, and Honeysuckle Drive as of May 17.

“Our annual paving program is also important as it creates a smooth surface for vehicles and all modes of transportation users that can make roads safer and more enjoyable to use,” Woods Matthews said.

Currently, the city is working on installing sidewalks on Spring Hill Avenue. The city also plans to enhance Grumman Avenue with sidewalks and a repaving project. 

Here’s a look at what is being paved in 2024 according to the city’s road paving program map:

Spring Hill Avenue, Coolidge Street, Loomis Street, and Leuvine Street

Cossitt Road, Chatham Drive, Shaw Avenue, Senga Road, Morton Street, Crown Avenue, Avenue A, Avenue B, Avenue C, Avenue D, Avenue E

Cliff Street and Ridge Street

Witch Lane

Richard Avenue (north of West Cedar Street), Fireside Court, Fillow Street (between West Norwalk Road and Fox Run Road), and Coventry Place

Rising Road, Jennifer Road, Ravenwood Road, and Tommys Lane

Daphne Drive, Mark Drive, Saddle Road, and Friendly Road

Grumman Avenue, Grumman Court, Jayne Way, Sherman Place, Anderson Road, Heritage Hill Road, Noah’s Lane Extension, Stonecrop Road South, Frank Street, Cranbury Road, Susan Court, Field Street

After 8-year wait, Mystic River Boathouse Park poised to become reality this fall

Carrie Czerwinski

Mystic ― After an eight year wait, residents may finally see a long-promised waterfront park come to life in the coming months.

But there are still some financial hurdles to clear.

“Hopefully we can see shovels in the ground in late fall,” said First Selectman Danielle Chesebrough late last week.

While preparing to send the $4.8 million Mystic River Boathouse Park project out for bid this summer, the town is simultaneously awaiting results of two living shoreline grant applications totaling $1.14 million dollars that could offset the town’s current project deficit of $1.18 million

The project began in 2016 after residents approved $2.2 million in bonding to purchase the 1.5-acre Greenmanville Avenue site just north of Mystic Seaport Museum. With environmental remediation grants, the town has funded $3.67 million of the newly estimated $4.85 million project.

Chesebrough noted that prices have risen substantially since 2016, and though the town has been proactive about seeking grant funding and could apply $300,000 in remaining American Rescue Plan Act funding to the project, there could still be a shortfall.

“I want to be very transparent. I just had this conversation with the Board of Finance last week, and we might be talking more about it in the fall,” she said, explaining that although the project was moving in a very positive direction, and the town was seeking all avenues to avoid it, there was still the possibility it could require additional taxpayer dollars.

Chesebrough said the bid process will start this summer and probably take until early fall to complete, at which point work like grading the site and removal of a shed on the property could be completed before work pauses for the winter.

The pause would allow Stonington Community Rowing Inc. to begin work on a two-story boathouse which will house the Jim Dietz Rowing Center.

As part of the project, SCRI will pay to relocate the historic Lovelace House and connect it, via a vestibule, to the future Hart Perry Boathouse on the property before turning it over to the town at the cost of $1.

On Friday, Secretary and Director of Rowing for SCRI, John Thornell, said that SCRI is carefully coordinating with the town to ensure the two simultaneous projects do not interfere with each other. He said the boathouse could be completed as early as spring of 2025.

“We don’t want the town to finish the park and then we go in with heavy machinery and build the boathouse, so we have to sync our schedules,” he said.

He said after the town clears and prepares the site this fall, SCRI will begin construction, and once complete, the town will be able to resume work to get the park ready to open as soon as fall of 2025.

He said the organization is focused on a goal of raising $500,000 by this fall but can start construction on the $2.5 million project regardless.

He noted that SCRI currently has $1.6 million in donations and estimates an additional $300,000 in unspecified dollar amount pledges which will cover work like pouring foundations, moving the Lovelace House, and constructing the boathouse. If necessary, parts of the project could be postponed while SCRI raises the rest of the money.

“Even if we need to phase the rowing center project, having a boathouse to store equipment and to train athletes is a major step toward having our own home and, ultimately, offering rowing programs to the community,” Thornell said.

New Sherman Street bridge in Norwich opens

Claire Bessette

Norwich ― More than two years after the busy Sherman Street bridge closed for a $10 million replacement project, it quietly reopened Friday after city crews removed the last barriers.

Replacement of the two bridge spans over the Yantic River and an adjacent narrow former mill canal closed the key Sherman Street intersection with Asylum Street, forcing long detours for residents west of the bridge to reach Backus Hospital, Norwich Free Academy and various medical offices and businesses east of the bridge.

The work also closed the Sherman Street entrance to the Upper Falls Heritage Park along the Yantic River.

The project replaced the 1955 bridge spans with new wider bridge spans. The main bridge over the river is 18 inches higher for flood prevention, and utilities are better protected beneath the bridge, rather than suspended from the bridge and exposed to rushing waters.

The higher bridge meant that a portion of Asylum Street approaching the Sherman Street intersection needed to be raised 18 inches as well to meet the new bridge height.

South Norfolk residents make their pitch for temporary bridge spanning Hall Meadow Brook

KATHRYN BOUGHTON

NORFOLK – A contingent of concerned South Norfolk citizens met with First Selectman Matt Riiska on July 19 to urge construction of a temporary bridge across Hall Meadow Brook.

The neighborhood has been cut off from Route 272 since a flash flood in July 2023 swept away bridges on Smith Hill and Old Goshen roads. Since then, the state Department of Transportation has promised to replace the bridges at a cost of $5.8 million, but the time frame for the work could extend into 2028, Riiska said.

Residents attending the meeting expressed frustration that no progress had been made in a year to provide convenient access to their homes by emergency and other services. They were adamant that their isolation is a safety issue and that moves should be made to provide a temporary bridge to their community. They suggested options that could provide temporary access in two weeks for as little as $20,000.

Riiska said he has held discussions with Guerrera Construction about how a temporary connection could be established.

“I understand how nauseatingly slow it is for the DOT to make a decision,” he said. “I pleaded with them to stop work on Mountain Road and to put their efforts into Smith Road, but it has fallen on deaf ears.”

He noted there is no clear-cut answer to the problem.

“Herein lies the problem: once you get within so many feet of the stream, everyone wants you to go by their rules and regulations,” Riiska said. “All we really need is a one-lane (span) that can handle 50,000 pounds, but you have to get back away from the river. You can’t just put a pad in, level it off and say good enough.”

He looked at temporary bridges in Scotland, Conn., and received information that the town paid $440,000 for one.

“Realistically, we are looking at $125,000 to $150,000,” Riiska said. “We have to build to specifications that satisfy the insurance company and the DOT. Those organizations, in this day and age, are not going to let you put in something they don’t approve. They will shut you down.”

Riiska said Thursday he understands residents’ frustration. He looked at options last week, but added, “It’s not as simplistic as people think it is.”

He bemoaned the bureaucracy of the DOT, saying a meeting about Smith Hill Road the day before included 38 people. During the meeting, he expressed concern about why it was taking so long to restore the area.

Meanwhile, Riiska said he is seeking quotes for a temporary bridge and will meet with the residents again Friday.