CT Construction Digest Monday March 17, 2025
Developer Sues Ledyard for Rejecting Mount Decatur Project
Francisco Uranga
LEDYARD — The two-year dispute between Gales Ferry residents and the developer seeking to level the north side of Mount Decatur took a new turn this week when the company sued the city’s Planning and Zoning Commission for rejecting the special permit.
Gales Ferry Intermodal, owned by Massachusetts-based Jay Cashman Inc., filed an appeal on Monday at state Superior Court in New London, asking it to overturn the commission’s rejection. The company argued that it had demonstrated regulatory compliance, stressing that there was no “substantial evidence” to support the rejection.
The lawsuit follows the commission’s unanimous rejection of the application less than a month ago, citing 13 zoning violations. Concerns included the project’s size and duration exceeding limits, increased traffic, dust and silicon emissions, noise and vibrations, intensity of use, potential property value declines, and pollution of air, water and other natural resources.
Cashman presented the project as a site-grading effort to prepare 26 acres for industrial development, involving the extraction and sale of 3.6 million cubic yards of rock over a decade.
The project was pitched as a revenue generator for the town and had Ledyard Mayor Fred Allyn III’s support, but it garnered strong opposition among many Gales Ferry residents.
GFI’s appeal argued that the commission acknowledged its lack of technical expertise by hiring outside experts, who ultimately reached similar conclusions to the company’s consultants during the public hearings.
“Peer review experts retained by the Commission agreed with GFI’s experts and consultants that the application would not cause substantial adverse impacts,” the lawsuit said. “Thereby creating an on-the-record consensus of experts that the Commission members had no expertise to rebut and therefore no authority to overrule.”
The company accused the commission of making speculative and illegal assumptions instead of considering that the developer would follow the proposed development plan.
“The decision of the commission denying the application deprived GFI of its property rights and of the reasonable use and enjoyment of the property, without due process of law,” read the appeal filed by Harry Heller, Cashman’s attorney.
Heller had been the target of criticism during the deliberations. The lawyer also denounced an alleged conspiracy involving officers and town staff to undermine his client’s application.
The appeal, which also targets the Gales Ferry Fire District and its president Lee Ann Berry, mentions some of the conspiracy allegations reported by Heller, based on documents he obtained through a public information request.
The lawsuit mentioned that Eric Treaster, a member of the Ledyard Zoning Appeals Board, testified against the application during the hearings and coordinated with members of the Gales Ferry District to oppose GFI’s proposal. It argued that this violated Connecticut’s general statutes and unfairly influenced the proceedings.
The appeal also said that during the two previous applications, which were withdrawn, former town planner Juliet Hodge coordinated ex parte meetings with opponents of the project and the-commission Chair Anthony Capon. Neither Capon nor Hodge participated in the GFI application decision.
Bruce Edwards, a Gales Ferry resident and outspoken critic of the project, told CT Examiner that community experts effectively countered GFI’s claims during the hearings and dismissed the conspiracy allegations.
“The only people that had a conspiracy here were Cashman and his crew trying to end-run our town with regard to the regulations,” he said. “If they cannot understand what they are actually doing to this community, it serves notice to the community in more acute terms that Cashman will not follow through with his so-called promises.”
Edwards said the dispute has been long and expensive for residents who have spent many hours fighting against the project.
“There should not be an allowance for a quarry at GFI. That should be off the table, period. It’s sad that a person who has such a bank account can play this game and try to force his will upon all of these residents who have spoken clearly and have spoken with education and evidence, sound evidence,”
Edwards said. “I hope that the town attorneys get an assignment to defend the town in the manner it should be defended and not by commercial influence. It’s dirty out there. It’s maybe more dirt than all of that dust that the quarry would generate.”
Adevelopment firm has closed on the acquisition of a site next to UConn’s Storrs campus where it plans to build a 738-bed student housing property.
Landmark Properties says it will begin construction on the 1.56 acre site at 134 North Eagleville Road later this year.
“UConn saw a record-breaking 2024 freshman class and, as the university moves forward with plans to expand its enrollment further over the next decade, the demand for high-quality and pedestrian-to-campus living options will continue to increase,” said Jason Doornbos, Chief Development Officer of Landmark Properties.
The site, which has previously been proposed as the location for a different student housing development, is within walking distance of UConn's academic buildings, student center and athletic complexes.
The new plans, which Landmark is calling The Mark Mansfield, will also include 7,000 square feet of retail space for the Huskies Tavern, currently located on the site.
This is Landmark Properties’ second property in the Storrs market. The Standard at Four Corners is scheduled to be completed in fall 2025.
With increasing enrollment, the university has struggled with over-subscribed student housing in and around the Storrs campus. UConn used to guarantee housing for eight semesters to incoming freshmen, but it has recently reversed that policy, leaving some upperclassmen to find off-campus private options.
Torrington seeks $6.9M in grants for environmental cleanup of Yankee Pedlar Inn and other sites
Sloan Brewster
TORRINGTON — The city is seeking $6.9 million in state grants for environmental cleanup at the historic Yankee Pedlar Inn and at former industrial sites around town.
The four grants, which city officials submitted to the State Department of Economic Development on March 6, would fund cleanup at the historic Yankee Pedlar Inn and the former Nidec Corporation, pay for the demolition of two more buildings at the former Torrington Company and one at the former Excelsior Needle Plant, Economic Development Coordinator Rich Lopez said.
Glenn Carbone, operations manager for Torrington Company site owner IRG Realty Advisors — and the mayor's brother — said taking down two more buildings at the 70 North St. property will help ready it for possible redevelopment. He said the company has had discussions about putting a fuel cell that could power the property and construct buildings for innovative manufacturing.
Preliminary sketches indicate the possibility of putting in two or three manufacturing buildings, plus a fuel cell, he said.
“It would be a completely green site, with self-supporting power,” Carbone said.
The initial intent was to revitalize the two buildings, Lopez said. But demolition on the 26 buildings at the site last year caused structural damage, which in addition to the cost of environmental cleanup, made keeping them unfeasible.
“They were not salvageable,” he said.
The $600,000 would also cover the cost of securing contaminants and facilitate ground and soil remediation to remove and cap contamination revealed after the buildings are razed, Lopez said.
Last October, the city applied for a $24 million grant to develop state-of-the-art facilities on the site and to expand Dymax at 318 Industrial Lane.
Torrington Company site demo ongoing
The Torrington Company demolition started in October 2023, with the bulk of it taking place lst spring and summer. A total of 26 buildings covering about 600,000 square feet were razed. Demolition was funded by a $2 million DECD grant.
An $800,000 grant would also be for an IRG project, Lopez and Carbone said. The company plans to use the money to take down a building at the former Excelsior Plant at 59 Field Street, across the street from the courthouse, and clean up hazardous building materials.
The building sits behind Torrington Business Park, which occupies another former Excelsior Plant building.
It will be removed so IRG can build a parking lot, Lopez and Carbone said. A scarcity in parking has rendered IRG unable to lease space at the business park, so more than 200,000 square feet remains unoccupied.
“Parking has always been a challenge on this building,” Carbone said.
The company needs four parking spots per 1,000 feet of leasable space, he said. The new parking lot would result in approximately 70 spots and allow IRG to lease 40,000 square feet.
Taking down the building will also open access to another parcel IRG owns, where it plans to add more parking in the future, Lopez said.
A $4 million grant would fund cleanup of the former Nidec Corporation site at 100 Franklin Drive, Lopez said.
The site is next to Riverfront, a 60-unit mixed-use space owned by Penrose Group on the former site of the Torrington Manufacturing Company.
Cleaning contamination at the empty site next door will allow New Colony Development Company to buy it and partner with Penrose Group to expand Riverfront, Lopez said.
The city also submitted an application for a $1.5 million grant for Torrington Development Corporation to fund remediation at the historic Yankee Pedlar Inn, Mayor Elinor C. Carbone said. Phase 1 and Phase 2 environmental assessments indicate there are contaminants on the property,
“There’s a high likelihood of hazardous building materials, asbestos, dust residue and lead,” the mayor said.
To ready the property for possible redevelopment, it must be remediated, she said.
The Torrington Development Corporation is receiver of the historic inn.
In 2021, responding to years of inaction by Jayson Hospitality following its 2015 purchase of the property, the city filed a suit to get TDC named receiver under an anti-blight law to make improvements to the deteriorating building before it's too late.
Warehouse Plans Spark Fears in Glenbrook Neighborhood
STAMFORD – First it was a noisy, smelly school-bus depot.
Then came the fitness center that blasted music at 5 a.m.
Next there was the building supply company where 18-wheelers arrive in the middle of the night, engines idling while they unload.
“I can see the lights of the trucks from my bedroom window,” Sue Iacovacci said of the industrial property that borders her backyard.
Now she’s learned that a developer wants to build a large warehouse on the Hamilton Avenue industrial site.
“Nobody knows what’s going in the warehouse,” Iacovacci said. “All we know is there will be a loading dock right behind our house.”
Such is life in Glenbrook, a small neighborhood big on diversity – in population, income, and degrees of residential, commercial and industrial uses.
V20 Group of Darien, the new owner of 6.9 acres at the industrial site, met with neighbors on March 4. On March 11 the Stamford Planning Board unanimously approved V20 Group’s application to consolidate three parcels, knock down six buildings, and put up a 112,800-square-foot, single-story warehouse.
Things are moving fast. Joe Vaccaro, who runs V20 Group with his father, John Vaccaro, told neighbors in a letter that demolition at the site is underway, set to be finished by the end of March.
Homeowners in the long-established single-family neighborhood of Sutton Drive and Sutton Place are trying to catch up, said Christina Strain, who lives there and serves the area as a member of the Stamford Board of Representatives.
“People were asking all kinds of questions during the neighborhood meeting,” Strain said. “Things are not exactly clear. They don’t have any tenants for the warehouse yet. People wanted to know if it’s going to be Amazon, but they told us no because Amazon needs much more acreage. We don’t know what we’re going to get.”
Bill Hennessey, the land use attorney who represented V20 Group before the Planning Board, said that in the Stamford area there is “high demand for flex-industrial buildings … that are adaptable to different uses,” such as light manufacturing, shipping, or fitness facilities.
He anticipates multiple tenants, similar to what V20 Group developed on West Avenue in Stamford, Hennessey told the Planning Board. That warehouse is fully leased, with two main tenants. One is window company Renewable by Anderson, which has space for light assembly, a showroom and offices, Hennessey said. The other main tenant is a sports training facility, he said.
Hennessey told the Planning Board something that Glenbrook residents said they did not hear at the neighborhood meeting. Hennessey said the plan for the Hamilton Avenue warehouse includes 17 loading docks.
They will be positioned in spots that have “the least effect on neighbors,” Hennessey told the board. The loading docks “will have wing walls, which are extensions of the structural wall that are designed to eliminate the visual impact of a neighbor looking across the property line and seeing trucks, as well as the acoustic impact of the trucks being located there.”
He conceded that “there could be some off-hour traffic,” depending on which companies lease warehouse space.
None of the Planning Board members questioned Hennessey about truck traffic.
At the neighborhood meeting, little was said about the trucks that might use the 17 loading docks – how big they may be, how many might come and go each day and at what hours, or what routes they will use to get to the warehouse, Iacovacci said.
“All that was said was that traffic would come in on the side of the warehouse that’s away from houses, and that all companies might not use loading docks, but nobody knows,” Iacovacci said. “Hamilton Avenue is too narrow for any kind of truck traffic, and Courtland Avenue isn’t much better.”
Strain said the same.
“Hamilton Avenue and Courtland Avenue can’t handle more traffic,” the city representative said. “They aren’t built for it.”
Joe Vaccaro did not respond Wednesday to emailed questions about possible truck traffic. Vaccaro did say that, besides the 17 loading docks, the warehouse plan includes three drive-in doors for delivery trucks.
Vaccaro said V20 Group answered neighbors’ questions at the meeting and “agreed to also provide fencing and additional landscaping, and many of the neighbors reviewed the plans once the meeting concluded.”
V20 Group has not signed any leases so far, Vaccaro said, noting that the property has two zoning designations, light industrial and general industrial, “which does restrict certain types of uses” such as heavy manufacturing.
“It is important to note that this property was always an industrial use,” Vaccaro said in the email.
The industrial history of the property along the Metro-North Railroad tracks dates to the 1920s. It once housed FAG Bearings Corp., the Hudson Paper Co., and most recently WWE television production studios.
Land Use Bureau Chief Ralph Blessing said Wednesday that the Zoning Board, which has final say on the V20 Group application, can add conditions – hours of operation, for example – to any approval it may grant.
Hennessey said V20 Group will update the storm drainage system; improve sidewalks on Hamilton Avenue; direct exterior lighting away from homes; and screen the development with landscaping and 65 new trees.
“These older industrial sites are hard up against residential areas,” Hennessey said. “We try to be good neighbors by being thoughtful in design and operating in a responsible way.”
It’s not true of all companies, Iacovacci said. The First Student bus depot is unresponsive to repeated complaints about loud backup beeps and safety alarms going off day and night, and diesel fumes from idling buses, she said.
People and businesses have lived side by side in Glenbrook for decades, Iacovacci said. But commercial uses are becoming more intense, and intruding more on residential streets, she said.
Since once-industrial sites on the South End have been replaced with luxury apartment high-rises, Glenbrook “has become the dumping ground,” Iacovacci said.
“Nobody cares,” she said. “It’s sad. We have no say in what happens in our neighborhood.”
Fairfield To Begin East Trunk Sewer Line Replacement In May
FAIRFIELD, CT — First Selectman Bill Gerber announced [on Thursday] that the Town of Fairfield will begin a long-planned replacement of the East Trunk sewer line in May 2025 with an expected project duration of approximately 18 months.
Aging sewer lines will be replaced to improve the reliability and efficiency of the Town’s wastewater system, reduce maintenance cost, prevent future disruptions and support development in the Town by providing necessary infrastructure for growth.
Two public informational meetings will be held to share important details about the project, primarily affecting residents who live on the following streets: Kenard Street, Kenwood Avenue, Dalewood Avenue, Ash Street and Grasmere Avenue.
There will be a staggered schedule of project work so that neighborhood impacts will be limited to shorter time periods of one to three months as work progresses. Impacts may include one way traffic and an on-street parking ban during work hours.
“This Capital project is estimated at a total cost of $30.8 million, with $13.5 million funded by the Town, $13.5 million funded by the Water Pollution Control Authority, and the final $3.8 million funded through a state grant.
This is a long-deferred but critical improvement to the Town wastewater system,” said Gerber. “Replacing aged sewer pipes will improve flow efficiency, reduce our maintenance costs and avoid disruptive repairs.
We delayed this project but the time to modernize the East Trunk line is now.”
All residents are invited to attend one of the public information sessions, scheduled for March 20 and March 25.
Milford's $15M bonding to cover esports arenas, roadwork, building projects
MILFORD — The city will bond some $15 million, with proposed projects ranging from roadwork, building maintenance, new vehicles and esports arenas in both high schools.
The Board of Aldermen, at its March 3 meeting, approved the bonding plan, which city Chief of Staff Justin Rosen says is slightly more than what was bonded last year.
In all, the aldermen approved $2.2 million for design and construction of sanitary sewers and wastewater facilities; $7.7 million for various public improvements, and $4.95 million for the school district.
The school money will cover $1.65 million for partial replacement of the Orchard Hills Elementary School roof and $2.2 million in various maintenance work at the schools.
The most contentious item was the $1.1 million for the esports arenas. Space in both Foran and Law high schools would be reconfigured to create space for gaming competitions, space for spectators, a gaming and practice area and rooms for production and coaching.
This project now goes to the permanent schools committee for next steps. According to school officials, more information will be provided as the project moves forward.
"Offering a dedicated space for students interested in the world of esports not only fosters a sense of belonging but creates an environment where they can develop valuable skills such as teamwork, strategic thinking and leadership,” said Superintendent of Schools Anna Cutaia.
Cutaia said providing a comprehensive esports program, including a competitive team, an arena and related course offerings, paves the way for innumerable future opportunities for students, from scholarships and collegiate esports programs to careers in the ever-growing gaming and technology industries.
"We are grateful for the approval of this bond request, which will allow the creation of a modest, dedicated space for our esports teams to practice and compete and for the advancement of potential programming for global applications in the esports realm,” said Board of Education Chair Sue Glennon.
Glennon said that with the help of Milford Public Schools staff and their partners at Affinity Sports, interest in esports has quickly taken off.
In all, 53 students have participated in esports in the fall and spring seasons.
Milford’s esports has grown from a club to a full-fledged CIAC-sanctioned sport, “serving a unique population of students who might not be interested in traditional high school sports but thrive in this competitive environment,” Glennon said.
The $7.7 million for city bonding will cover the purchase of four sanitation collection trucks ($1.98 million), a new fire truck ($1.98 million), $1.1 million for various building maintenance work and $1.1 million for completing the fiberoptic conversion project.
Also, $550,000 will be set aside for police security camera work. Rosen said the money would be used to upgrade and fix cameras already in place and purchase additional cameras.
Rosen said $550,000 will also be set aside for upgrades to parks, fields, and other recreational assets.
Here's why Connecticut's newest 'shed' is worth $640M. What's inside is even more costly.
The USS District of Columbia will be among the most expensive ships in U.S. history, when the nuclear submarine launches years from now into the Thames River at a projected cost of $16 billion, at last report.
As for the riverfront Groton "shed" that houses the sub under construction today? That catapulted to become one of Connecticut's most valuable buildings — with Groton taxpayers the possible beneficiaries.
The South Yard assembly building at General Dynamics Electric Boat — dubbed Building 600 — has been assigned an appraised value of nearly $640 million for the October 2023 grand list, according to the town of Groton's tax assessor. That increases the value of the 75-acre shipyard campus by roughly 60% on paper, to more than $1.6 billion.
"Electric Boat ... became our top taxpayer in 2023 for the first time since the 1980s," said Mary Gardner, Groton's town assessor. "EB ruled in the '80s and then Pfizer took over."
General Dynamics built the "shed" facility for assembly of the Columbia-class ballistic missile submarine, which the U.S. Navy plans to phase in as the replacement for its existing, Ohio-class subs nearing the end of their planned lifecycles. As construction in Groton ramped up between 2019 and 2020, the company reported a $155 million increase in capital expenditures supporting its marine systems segment, which includes Electric Boat and shipyards in Maine and California.
Under former president Joe Biden's administration, Department of Defense officials routinely cited the Columbia-class sub program as the nation's top military priority. As of November 2024, the first sub was just over half complete according to the most recent estimates the Navy provided the Congressional Research Service, with General Dynamics stating in its recent 2024 annual report it aims to complete the sub by 2028.
Columbia-class subs will be launched over 20 years as sections are barged to Groton from an Electric Boat shipyard in Rhode Island and from Newport News Shipbuilding in Virginia operated by Huntington Ingalls Industries.
Including development costs, the total program is currently projected to cost $130 billion. Once complete, the South Yard assembly building at Electric Boat would likely take on assembly work for a planned attack submarine fleet that, over time, would replace today's Virginia-class subs.
The South Yard assembly building is among a few new additions to Electric Boat's Groton campus, along with a new building for engineer offices and an emergency response center; and one to house and train the Navy sailors who will be on board.
The state Department of Economic and Community Development awarded General Dynamics property tax abatements under the Connecticut Enterprise Zones program, which resulted in the value of state investments under the program rocketing to nearly $684 million covering the grand-list year of 2023. That was about equal to the combined value of Enterprise Zone certificates over the preceding five years, with DECD spokesperson Jim Watson confirming that the Electric Boat investment drove the spike.
Groton Mayor Rachael Franco could not be immediately reached for comment on how the expanded Electric Boat campus might affect taxes for property owners in that town, once the incentives run their course.
More than 45 cities and towns in Connecticut participate in the Enterprise Zones program, which allows them to select projects for tax incentives in qualifying neighborhoods based on certain economic criteria, including employment, income trends or an older stock of existing housing.
Companies can receive an 80% abatement on local property taxes for five years, including the cost of machinery and equipment. The incentives can cover investments in existing structures, if those dollars increase the facility's value by at least half, or if it brings a dormant property back into economic activity that had gone dark.
The incentive can be applied as well to companies that lease facilities, if the lease runs five years with an option to renew or a deal otherwise to purchase the property.
General Dynamics is already looking ahead to additional facilities, stating in its recent annual report it will work with the Navy "on any additional construction needs that could develop in light of increased submarine demand." In January, it purchased land in North Stonington for a future warehouse facility, while continuing to invest as well in its auxiliary shipyard in Quonset Point, Rhode Island, and an Austal USA shipyard in Mobile, Alabama, which is building a new facility to make components for Columbia- and Virginia-class subs.