Gold Star Bridge path to be renovated

Kimberly Drelich

The state Department of Transportation plans to widen the sidewalk across the southbound Gold Star Memorial Bridge between Groton and New London so it is safer and easier to access for pedestrians and bicyclists.

Tracey Brais, project manager with the DOT, told a room of more than 30 people in New London City Hall’s Council Chambers Monday evening that the DOT is excited about the $55 million project and thinks it’s going to create many improvements for bicyclists and pedestrians across the Thames River.

Brais and project representatives unveiled the plan at a public information meeting held Monday evening at City Hall and by Zoom.

Some attendees, while appreciating the proposed project, had suggestions such as creating more safety improvements in the areas near the bridge and adding signs for those who use the path. They also had concerns about the impacts of construction and the reduction of a lane on the southbound bridge.

Brais, who outlined the project to The Day, said the existing sidewalk, on the approximately 1-mile-long southbound span, is about five-feet wide, though it narrows down to about three feet in some areas due to lights and overhead sign structures. She said the existing path is very narrow for pedestrians and bicyclists to travel in both directions.

The project calls for widening the path to about 14-feet for most of the length, and about 11 feet in some areas to accommodate bicycle and pedestrian traffic in both directions, she said.

The project also calls for widening the sidewalks approaching the bridge to 10 feet and adding deterrents to prevent mopeds and ATVs, which use the path even though they are prohibited from doing so, from accessing it.

On the New London side, the path currently terminates in Bailey Circle. The DOT plans to construct a new side path ending at Williams Street, she said.

On the Groton side, the DOT is proposing to install a roundabout at the intersection at the Interstate 95 on-and-off ramps and Bridge Street, she said.

One car lane to be eliminated

The sidewalk expansion project will result in the reduction of one lane on the southbound bridge, she said.

Brais said the southbound span currently has six lanes at the east end of the bridge and then it narrows down to five lanes. Once completed, the bridge will be mostly four lanes instead of five lanes as it is now.

Brais said the DOT did a traffic analysis and found the proposed change won’t really affect the level of service. She said the bridge’s original design has extra capacity built-in because there are two lanes from the Bridge Street on-ramp to I-95 southbound, and the DOT found one lane would be sufficient, based on current and projected traffic volumes.

The DOT anticipates construction will start in the spring 2028 and be completed in the fall of 2029, she said.

The northbound span of the bridge will be under rehabilitation at the same time, but the planned rerouting of two northbound lanes to the southbound span, anticipated to begin in 2026, is expected to be completed by the spring of 2028.

The DOT also will strengthen steel on the southbound bridge, with an anticipated project timeline from June 2025 through July 2026, Brais said.

The sidewalk project is estimated to cost $55 million, to be paid for with 90% federal funds and 10% state funds, Brais said.

Brais said the DOT has been working with the cities of New London and Groton to understand their revitalization plans and their plans to improve bike and pedestrian travel. She said the project will help create better bicycle and pedestrian connections on both sides of the bridge.

Overall, an estimated 6,500 Groton and New London residents typically walk or bike to work. She said there’s a lot of opportunity for more people to start using the path for commuting and recreational purposes if the state makes it a safer and a better experience.

State Rep. Christine Conley, D-Groton, said she’s very excited to see improvements to the bridge, but asked for more information about the construction impacts. She said she and the delegation also would like to take a look at the traffic study and the impacts of reducing a lane on the southbound bridge.

Brais said the DOT will post construction schedules on its website.

Brian Sheffer, a Groton City resident, said in an interview before the meeting that he primarily commutes by bike to work at Electric Boat in New London. He said when new pieces of concrete for signs were installed a few years ago, it made the path narrower in spots. He said if a scooter is traveling the other way while he is cycling, it can be dangerous.

Sheffer said he typically gets on the bridge on the Groton side around Bliven Street and Riverview Avenue and avoids the Bridge Street intersection because of the traffic. He said the roundabout would not entice him to use that area, and he will continue to access the bridge from where he does now.

Matt Thomas, a Groton resident, said in an interview before the meeting that he crosses the bridge on bike multiple times a week, both to commute to his job in Old Lyme and for recreation. He said the existing path is “barely adequate” because it’s too narrow.

He said he thinks the improvement project “makes a lot of sense” and will certainly address the path being too narrow and hopefully also will make the on and off ramps safer for bicyclists.

According to the presentation, the path will remain closed for up to 1.5 years during construction but a shuttle to New London will be provided.

The DOT said people can comment on the sidewalk improvement project, known as Project No. 0094-0267, and ask questions by July 8 by emailing DOT.GoldStarBridgeProjects@ct.gov or calling (860) 594-2020.

More information on the projects being planned for the bridge is available at https://portal.ct.gov/dot/bridges/project-pages/gold-star-memorial-bridge

Norwich, New London, Preston seek state funding for major local projects

Claire Bessette

Norwich, New London and Preston are hoping state leaders will pay attention to southeastern Connecticut in the latest round of grant requests submitted Friday to the state Community Investment Fund.

Gov. Ned Lamont created the $875 million fund for eligible distressed municipalities to fund major capital improvements projects and grants for small-business capital projects, as well as planning grants for future projects.

In grant requests submitted Friday, Norwich is seeking a total of $23.3 million in three requests, topped by the $17 million request to complete the demolition and cleanup of the partially collapsed and abandoned former Capehart Mill in Greeneville. Norwich last week received approval for a $4 million state brownfields grant to begin the massive cleanup project to create a riverfront park.

Norwich also requested $5 million to convert Fontaine Field on Mahan Drive into an artificial turf multi-use field with a running track and handicapped access to the Rose City Senior Center next door.

The third Norwich request is for a $250,000 planning grant for an environmental assessment of the 49-acre former Norwich Hospital property in Norwich, owned by Thames River Place LLC. Unlike neighboring Preston, which has nearly completed cleanup of its 393-acre former Norwich Hospital property, Norwich never took ownership of its portion of the campus. It remains dominated by decaying buildings and overgrown vegetation.

New London seeks $4.8 million

New London submitted requests for three projects totaling $4.8 million. The city seeks $3.6 million to expand and renovate the Water Street parking garage. The project will add 250 more parking spaces on the structure's east side.

The city is also applying for $950,000 to transform properties at 157 Green St. ― the former Apostolic Cathedral of Hope ― and 6 Union St. into 29 residential units.

New London is applying for a $250,000 planning grant for a project to raze and rebuild the senior housing units at Gordon Court, owned and managed by the city's Housing Authority. The plan calls for demolition of 38 existing units and replacing them with a single 74-unit building.

Preston eyes Poquetanuck Village transformation

Preston town officials hope to use a requested $3 million CIF grant to continue to transform the Route 2A into a village street, with measures to slow traffic, improve pedestrian and bicycle access and an off-street trail connecting the village to the Route 12 former Norwich Hospital property.

The new request would fund engineering and design planning for a multi-use trail paralleling Route 2A from Poquetanuck Village to the Preston Riverwalk on the former Norwich Hospital property. The request includes design funding for improvements to the Route 2A-12 junction for better pedestrian access in anticipation of future development.

Town planner Kathy Warzecha said the town was unsuccessful in its previous CIF request for the trail funding but received state feedback to improve the application.

Preston is trying to piece together various grants for the overall Poquetanuck Village project. The town received an initial boost with a $3 million state Local Transportation Capital Improvements Program grant for the traffic calming project, and a complementary $400,000 CIF grant for design and engineering for the project. Another $70,000 grant will pay for a parking area and kayak launch at Poquetanuck Cove, Warzecha said.

Separate from the new CIF request, Preston has submitted a grant application for a $4 million Transportation Alternatives grant to construct the off-road trail that eventually would connect the town senior housing on Lincoln Park, Preston Community Park, the Tri-Town Trail, Poquetanuck Cove and Preston Riverwalk.

“Putting all of this together is like a jigsaw puzzle,” Warzecha said.

Groton sitting out this round

Jon Reiner, director of planning and development services, said Groton is not applying for a CIF grant this round. The town had previously applied for a CIF grant for the Pleasant Valley School property and did not get the grant.

Thames Valley Council for Community Action did receive a $2 million CIF grant for its proposal to expand its childcare center in Groton.

“We are very excited that our project has been selected by the state as a priority to address childcare needs in the greater Groton area,” TVCCA Chief Executive Officer Joshua Steele Kelly said, “and we look forward to continued partnership with the state to obtain additional funding and bring this new construction to life.”

The town of Groton has received other grants, such as a Department of Economic and Community Development Community Challenge Grant for over $6 million. In addition, Groton has received numerous grants through the National Fish and Wildlife Fund and DEEP focusing on sustainability, resiliency and preparedness for climate change and extreme storm events.

Anti-data center signs stolen from Waterford lawns, residents say

Daniel Drainville

Waterford ― Several residents who live in the Millstone Point and Great Neck Road neighborhoods say signs opposing the construction of a data center have been stolen from their yards.

Resident Liz Pezzi of Race Rock Road in Millstone Point said her sign and others in at least five other neighborhood yards had their signs taken. Meanwhile, residents reported graduation signs were untouched.

The data center signs, which state “No data center” imposed over a red circle with a line through it, are symbolic of some residents’ opposition to a plan by NE Edge to build a 1.2-million-square-foot data center on the Millstone Power Station site.

The Concerned Citizens of Waterford and East Lyme, a group that formed last summer to oppose the data center, have distributed the signs since April. The signs are prevalent in the neighborhood, where residents are concerned the data project would increase noise, decrease property values and damage the environment.

Police Lt. David Ferland said Monday the department is “unaware of any reports of stolen signs.”

But at Millstone Point, one of the neighborhoods nearest to the power station property, Pezzi and four other residents on Monday said that their signs were stolen around 11:30 p.m. on June 15, the night after a neighborhood-wide tag sale.

“When the people who stole the signs came, they would shine a bright flashlight into the Ring cameras,” she said. “So nobody who had the Ring camera on the houses they were stolen from could see who it was.”

Dennis and Laurie Sexton, of Millstone Road East, another road in Millstone Point, said that’s what they saw on their Ring camera, when they checked the footage the morning after.

They had two signs. One was stolen from heir yard but another was in their garage. The backup was staked in their yard Monday.

Kathy Pavlick, also of Race Rock Road, said her sign was stolen, too, as was one in her daughter’s yard on the same street.

Pezzi added that it’s sad that someone would steal the signs “for no reason,” adding they are free speech.

Meanwhile resident Wendall Turpin, of Great Neck Road, said signs were taken on his road as well on June 16 or 17.

“They took mine, my neighbors, the guy that lives maybe, seven houses down,” he said.

Residents whose signs were stolen said they didn’t file any police reports.

Pezzi, the Sextons and Pavlick said it wasn’t worth the effort over a sign. Pezzi added she felt like she didn’t have enough information to file a report.

Resident Bryan Sayles, a member of the concerned citizens group, said Monday the group will continue tracking the number of stolen signs and urged whoever is responsible to “stop it immediately.”

Pavlick said she is hoping the thefts “would make people more galvanized.”

Cleanup underway in Meriden so a 120-year old piano factory can become apartments

Mary Ellen Godin

MERIDEN — Environmental workers recently began clean up on the former Aeolian Organ and Music Co. factory as the first step in a $56 million housing development for 82 low and moderate-income families. 

The adaptive reuse project will convert a historic player piano factory at 85 Tremont St. into an apartment community and is expected to revitalize an under-utilized complex in the city's north end. Boston-based Trinity Financial is the project developer who secured local approvals and state housing and environmental grants to do a gut renovation of the 120-year-old factory. 

“Trinity Financial is excited to break ground on this mixed-income, adaptive reuse apartment project, showcasing the city of Meriden's commitment to affordable housing and community revitalization while putting a contaminated brownfield site back into productive use,” Trinity's vice president of development Don Drazen stated in a press release.

Drazen first identified the building as a potentially transformational project, and approached city officials in 2021. Trinity secured City Council approval in 2022 to move ahead with the redevelopment under the city's adaptive reuse overlay zone program that identified old and underutilized buildings for new development. 

Approximately 65 percent of the project's funding will come from low-income housing tax credit equity and federal and state historic tax equity. Last month, Trinity closed on $24.5 million from KeyBank, $13.4 million from the Connecticut Housing Finance Authority, $9.5 million from the state Department of Housing and $4 million from the state Department of Economic and Community Development, including $1.5 million in brownfield funding, officials said. 

The building is anticipated to have lead and asbestos contamination. The soil on the property is contaminated with volatile chlorinated organic solvents which were used to clean the machinery in the factory, then dumped on the property, according to Trinity representatives.

Among the neighborhood projects linked to this redevelopment is nearly a $2.5 million upgrade to the North End Field Little League complex on Britannia Street, which included the construction of two new turf ball fields, parking and enhancements for drainage and stormwater that were completed in 2023 and paid for through funds from the American Rescue Plan Act.

The other project, northwest of the existing fields, will convert two adjacent, overgrown city-owned lots into a small park which will include a playscape and space for a basketball court.

 “We are excited to see the revitalization of 85 Tremont moving forward," said Steven Cardillo, president of the North End Meriden Neighborhood Association. "This redeveloped building will serve as an anchor for North Meriden and complement the city’s investments in our neighborhood athletic fields, sports courts and playgrounds."

KeyBank Community Development Lending and Investment made a $27 million equity investment and nearly $25 million construction loan to Trinity’s 85 Tremont project, said Anna Belanger, KeyBank CDLI relationship manager.  

“Together, these initiatives represent a $58.5 million public-private investment poised to revitalize nearly an entire city block in North Meriden, fostering a more active, vibrant community,” said Meriden Economic Development Director Joe Feest. “We have had a great working relationship with Trinity and look forward to seeing this project completed.”

The 82 units are designed to meet a range of income levels. Fourteen units will be part of the federal Section 811 program with supportive services for households earning at or below 25 percent of the area median income, three units are for households at or below 30 percent AMI, 28 units are at or below 50 percent AMI, 12 units are at or below 60 percent of AMI, 14 units are at or below 80 percent AMI, and 11 are market-rate apartments.

The units will consist of a mix of one and two bedrooms. Earlier plans for three bedroom units were shelved by the Planning Department several months ago.

Amenities will include a community room, children's playroom, fitness center, and indoor bike storage, all within walking distance of local amenities and public transportation.

“Investment in affordable housing and community revitalization allows our Connecticut residents to live in high-quality housing with affordable rents,” Connecticut Housing Commissioner Seila Mosquera-Bruno said in prepared remarks. “Public-private partnerships that create more housing are also a smart approach to leverage finite public dollars and build key relationships for long-term sustainable collaborations to solve challenges affecting those that call Connecticut home.”

The building’s exterior will remain intact, while interior renovations will highlight original features, such as ceiling beams and sliding metal doors, developers said. Trinity Financial aims to secure Enterprise Green Communities certification for the project, focusing on sustainability through energy-efficient upgrades, including a new window system, high-efficiency HVAC, Energy Star appliances, LED lighting and solar panels on the roof.

City officials said upon the completion of the field project last year, it was a necessary revitalization of the local neighborhood which would be the first stepping stone for additional development.

"I'm excited to see all the games that are going to be played here," Scarpati said when the fields opened last year. "I'm excited to see the wins that our students are going to bring home to Meriden. I'm excited to see these stands filled with parents cheering on their students and their kids." 

The Aeolian Organ and Piano Co. factory was purpose-built in 1887 to manufacture player pianos and organs. After many decades of mergers and acquisitions, Aeolian was once the largest manufacturer of pianos and organs in America. The 1910s saw the company move into records and phonographs with the rise in music recording technology.

Player pianos became increasingly sophisticated during the years of their popularity. Meriden's Wilcox & White Co. had years of prosperity from the late 1870s to the First World War.

"After the war, the company lured many famous piano artists to studios at the piano factory on Cambridge and Griswold streets to make paper roll recordings," according to a piece by opinion page editor Jeffery Kurz in 2000.

"The process was intricate and aggressively patented to protect the company's products from imitators," Kurz wrote.

Among the innovations was the Angelus, a cabinet rolled up to a piano that contained 88 mechanical fingers that corresponded to the keys on a piano.

The city rates higher in its percentage of affordable housing than many other towns in the state, at 16 percent. While the city has sought to slow or halt the number of affordable housing projects in its downtown, there is still a need for affordable housing in other parts of the city. The Tremont Street project is well outside the downtown area and on several bus lines, officials said.

But the number of two-bedroom or more units now in the city's development pipeline led to concerns over added stress on the schools and public services. School officials last year asked city zoning officials to reconsider variances and zone changes that would lead to more apartments. 

Those efforts were thwarted by attorneys and housing advocates who said any type of housing moratorium would be illegal.  

"If they were building 3,000-square-foot homes, nobody would be calling for a moratorium" land use attorney Dennis Ceneviva said at the time. 

Trinity Financial has developed projects in Massachusetts, New York and Norwalk. They manage the Rowe Apartment Complex in New Haven through their subsidiary, Trinity Management.