State Pier contractor finds temporary use for Thames River Apartments site

Greg Smith

New London ― The city has found a temporary use for the Crystal Avenue property where the demolished Thames River Apartments once stood.

Kiewit Infrastructure Co., the construction manager for the nearby State Pier project, has signed an agreement to pay the city $10,000 a month through December for use of the 15-acre parcel.

The agreement, which runs from March 1 through Dec. 31, comes as Gateway New London LLC, prepares to start its work as the port operator on April 21. Offshore wind turbines, which are to be assembled and shipped from the pier, are expected to arrive shortly after.

Omaha, Nebraska-based Kiewit has already moved rows of trailers beds loaded with material to the 40 Crystal Ave. property.

“Kiewit intends to use the space for our material storage and lay down needs as we work toward project completion,” Kiewit spokesperson Teresa Shada said.

The company is expected to be working in some capacity at State Pier, which is a short distance from the site, for much of the year.

The terms of the agreement between Kiewit and New London call for Kiewit to establish temporary office space and “lay down area for equipment and materials,” on the Crystal Avenue property. Kiewit is responsible for items such as trash removal and upkeep of the property.

Felix Reyes, director of New London’s Office of Development and Planning, said the city was approached by Kiewit about using the Crystal Avenue property. The agreement made sense, Reyes said, since the city is still gearing up to market the property and ask for requests for proposals for the future use of the site.

“The hope is we build something that increases our grand list and increases jobs,” Reyes said. “The intermediate use of that space doesn’t prevent us from doing that.”

The city is waiting for the results of an environmental survey of the property that will detail the extent of any contamination. The need for some amount of remediation, at least on some portions of the property, is expected, Reyes said. The costs of any cleanup would be incorporated into negotiations for use of the property.

Reyes expects the property will attract a use like a small manufacturing firm. He said the city would prefer not to see proposals like self-storage facilities or warehouses.

“We’re going to be patient and ensure we have the right development. We owe it to our residents and to the state,” Reyes said.

The demolition of the buildings cost about $4 million. All but $700,000 was funded by the state, which Reyes said remains a partner in development of the site.

The city bought the property while the buildings were still standing for $185,000 from the New London Housing Authority following a joint effort to move the residents out of the federally-subsidized complex because of the deteriorating conditions.

One of the first entities to show interest in its future use was Connecticut Waste Processing Materials LLC and Manafort Brothers who pitched a proposal to demolish the buildings and use the property for a bulk shipping and storage facility in support of its own operations and possible for the storage of road salt.

Reyes said it is possible that there is use of the site from something related to the offshore wind industry.

CTDOT: Opening of new train station at Norwalk's Merritt 7 stop delayed until summer

Jonah Dylan

NORWALK — Due to construction delays, commuters won't be able to enjoy the benefits of the new Merritt 7 train station until this summer, according to the Connecticut Department of Transportation.  

The opening of the new train station, which officials have said will improve accessibility for riders and create a "village effect" in the area, was originally planned for fall of 2022, CTDOT said.

"CTDOT remains committed to getting projects done in a timely manner while continuing to ensure quality and safety in the final product," CTDOT director of communications Kafi Rouse said in an email last week.

Merritt 7 is a stop on the Danbury branch of Metro-North Railroad, the last one before the branch line merges onto the New Haven Line near the South Norwalk train station. 

"The completion of the Merritt 7 station project was delayed due to supply chain and resource issues over the last few years," Rouse said. "There were also some unexpected conflicts with underground utilities and drainage systems, which meant continued coordination with utility companies and redesigning parts of the project. We anticipate opening the new station and boarding platform this summer."

Work on the new train station for the Merritt 7, which is located next to the original platform for commuters, began in September 2020. 

The new station will be equipped with a 500-foot-long platform and heated platforms to prevent snow and ice accumulation. Additionally, the new Merritt 7 will be handicap accessible.

The stop serves 28 trains on weekdays, eight of which are direct to New York’s Grand Central. Parking availability will increase from 88 to 105 spots, some of which will be in a newly constructed and paved lot across the street from the station.

The new station will also include a walkway bridge to the Merritt 7 offices.

Merritt 7 is home to IBM, Xerox, MassMutual and Frontier Communications, among other companies. Hearst Connecticut Media Group, including the Norwalk Hour, also has office space in the complex.

“They want to give it a village effect and you can get everything you need,” Mayor Harry Rilling said at a 2021 event to tout the project. “There are all kinds of things that can be done here to get things running smoothly and traffic flowing.”

Connecticut first authorized funding for the project in 2017, when $21 million was approved to borrow for the upgrades to the Merritt 7 stop and design work for a proposed station servicing Orange.

Funding from the Connecticut State Bond Commission put in motion the two projects that had been on the books for several years. 

Westport plans Cross Highway upgrades to make it safer for cars, pedestrians

Kayla Mutchler

WESTPORT — Cross Highway is about to get a bit safer as officials work to improve that area from North Avenue to Bayberry Lane.

Officials have found the area is unsafe for cars because people drive fast, poor stop signs and traffic congestion. It also presents safety concerns for pedestrians because of incomplete sidewalks and a lack of marked crosswalks.

The new plan, which was discussed this week, hopes to fix that. The project is in its early stages and is part of the town's plan to address traffic and pedestrian safety issues. 

"This corridor between North Avenue and Bayberry Lane has been on the radar for some time," Town Engineer Keith Wilberg said. 

The intersection at Bayberry Lane has a high accident rate, Wilberg said, adding there have been 22 accidents reported there from 2017 through 2022. He said town engineers are not sure why that is, considering it is a typical, 90-degree intersection.

One crash on Dec. 5, 2022 sent one person to the hospital, according to a presentation at the public information meeting. 

"In the long run, we're looking to make this corridor better — both safer for vehicles and pedestrians and more efficient in terms of moving traffic," he said. 

Wilberg said it's a geometry issue with a four-way stop at the North Avenue intersection, where drivers do not know who has the right of way. There are also conflicting turns and it's hard to see the stop signs and for drivers there to see other vehicles. The traffic study also found congestion from school and commuter traffic.

Bayberry Lane also has visibility issues at the stop signs, according to the presentation.

Both areas have problems with drivers going 35 to 40 miles per hour though the speed limit is 25 to 30 miles per hour there, officials said. 

The pedestrian issues for the area include incomplete sidewalks, a lack of marked crosswalks, limited accessible ramps and no sidewalks on the bridge over Deadman's Brook, which forces pedestrians to enter the roadway.

Wilberg said the town has hired a design engineer who developed multiple potential improvement plans for the area.

Town officials have already collected data and surveyed the area. They're now working on the traffic study and schematic design phase. They are in the process of receiving feedback from residents, and reviewing that feedback to decide which approach to choose. 

Wilberg said they will enter the preliminary design phase in the next few weeks. A design engineer will come up with what they call "30 percent construction plans," which outline the project in detail, though leaves room for changes.

Though the town is unsure which plan they are going to use, Wilberg said they presented options from no improvements whatsoever to a major intersection reconstruction with a roundabout. Most likely, he said, they will find an option somewhere in the middle of that spectrum, such as enhanced stop signs with LED lights or adding traffic signals, like a flashing red light, rather than a traditional traffic light.  

"Each of the proposed solutions for these problems carry with it benefits, and they carry drawbacks," Wilberg said, such as property impacts and increased cost. 

Wilberg said the public varied in feedback. Some were thrilled to hear about getting sidewalks. Others were opposed to stop lights, as they did not want to see flashing lights in their windows at night. He also said many liked the idea of a roundabout, but were opposed upon learning about the severity of construction. 

There could be some changes to the neighborhood, such as removing a few utility poles and trimming some trees, he said. 

"The best thing I can say is we encourage residents to come out," Wilberg said. "The public meeting is a time for them to voice their concerns, and I like to see when the public does show up and say that." 

There will be another meeting for residents, most likely in the summer or early fall, to voice their opinions on a more concrete project. 

Depending on what project is determined, construction could happen in 2024 or 2025. 

Shelton plans pause on apartment construction, except downtown

Brian Gioiele

SHELTON — With the city’s affordable housing plan not yet formally approved, the Planning and Zoning Commission hopes to extend its moratorium on apartment buildings everywhere but downtown. 

The commission, at its meeting Wednesday, voted to hold a public hearing on March 29 to discuss extending the moratorium on new multi-family residential rental housing units throughout the city, except in the Central Business District, which encompasses downtown. 

The moratorium extension would run for a maximum of six additional months, ending no later than Sept. 30, unless the commission decides it would be appropriate to end it sooner. The original moratorium took effect June 10, 2022, and several applications filed prior to that date are still awaiting the commission’s decision. 

“We definitely want this (moratorium) to be shorter,” said Commissioner Ruth Parkins, who sat on the subcommittee on this topic with fellow commissioners Elaine Matto and Charles Kelly. “We do not want this to be longer than six months.” 

“We decided we needed a little more time. We are not unduly delaying the process,” Parkins added. “We don’t want to accept new applications in these areas until we know what the final affordable housing guidance will be.” 

Shelton’s plan was a joint effort of the commission and the Planning & Zoning department staff and includes a guide on the percentage of affordable units the commission would require of high-density residential rental projects. 

“Section 8-30g of the Connecticut General Statutes gives the land use board of a municipality the responsibility of developing a plan to provide affordable housing in its community,” said Commission Chair Virginia Harger.

“Having affordable housing options means that young people who return to Shelton after college or serving in the military can again reside in their hometown," Harger added. "It gives older residents who want to downsize a greater ability to do so. It assists those employed in lower paying jobs a chance to live where they work.” 

The commission is in the process of putting the affordable housing plan on the city’s website for residents to read and comment if they choose by March 28, one day before the commission’s next meeting, at which the intent is for the commission to approve the plan and forward it to the Board of Aldermen. The aldermen will then hold a public hearing and finally vote to adopt the plan. 

When the moratorium was first approved, Harger said it offered the commission the opportunity to investigate the impact of these projects on traffic and parking; the city’s sewer system; potential increases in demands on police and the schools; an increase in light pollution during the evening; and whether state and local governments need to make necessary public infrastructure improvements. 

In its original resolution, the commission stated that the city has seen “exceptional growth” in the number of such developments in recent years through the use of the Planned Development District zoning protocol. 

“As a result, there has been concern on behalf of the Commission members as to whether the continued approval of such multifamily residential rental unit projects is changing the nature of those neighborhoods," the resolution stated.

The commission‘s resolution also stated that the increased density from the developments place additional demand on municipal services, in particular, the sanitary sewer system. 

Yale proposes restoration of 1926 golf course, residents concerned

Mary O'Leary

NEW HAVEN - The proposed felling of more than 800 trees, the disturbance of wetlands on the Yale Golf Course and the construction of a temporary hauling road on the Yale Nature Preserve has brought objections from Westville residents as they seek a discussion with the university.

Yale, in its August 1,000-plus page water quality permit application to the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, proposes restoring the 1926 golf course as close as possible to the original design created by Charles Blair Macdonald and Seth Raynor.

In addition to the clearing and thinning of trees, the proposal will permanently impact 253,240 square feet (5.6 acres) of wetlands and temporarily affect 138,600 square feet (2 acres) of wetlands, according to the application. 

Amy Marx, who represented Alder Darryl Brackeen Jr., D-26, and other neighbors at the most recent New Haven Environmental Advisory Council meeting, said the residents are looking for "an open conversation about the pros and cons of these decisions by Yale."Karen King, a spokesperson for Yale, said the work at the golf course is part of the annual culling of trees which had been suspended for three years because of the pandemic.

"Most of the trees have been identified by an arborist as diseased and dying.  The trees are located near public access areas and pose a potential risk of overhead limb failure to community members, golfers and staff," King wrote in an email.

The report states that tree clearing is proposed to provide a line of sight for the players, fairway expansion, and aid in airflow to reduce moisture on the course. 

Marx said what she and others found on the course were "big majestic, beautiful trees being cut that look entirely healthy."

The goal of the project is to restore the course to how it was almost a century ago, which includes the tees, greens, bunkers and fairways, as well as an extension of the length of the course to accommodate championship play. Work will also be done on golf cart path realignment and the driving range.

Much of the application also covers extensive engineering tied to water conservation, including dredging ponds for improved water storage capacity and a new computer-controlled irrigation system.

Photos of the course show dozens of cut trees stacked like kindling at various locations with wood chips covering areas where stumps have been removed. 
 
"As time passes, we are in an interconnected world of global warming, and the question becomes, at what cost are we cutting down trees?  The Nature Preserve and the golf course are not only a gorgeous natural preserve but also a massive carbon filtration and sink for global warming," Marx said.

At the EAC meeting, Rob Schonberg asked what Peter Palacious Jr., the course's general manager, meant when he commented on his plans for the course in the September 2020 issue of Golf Digest.

"Using old prints as a guide," Palacious talked about his vision of restoration to the original design in the article.

"Raynor intended no trees to be in the confines of the course.  Not only does clearing (those trees) out restore how Raynor wanted the course to play, it will improve the turf and conditioning practices, two complaints I know Yale has dealt with in the past," Palacios was quoted as saying.

King did not answer a question on what the general manager meant.

Schonberger said he heard from Yale that it is not its intention to cull all the trees.

"They have not told me whether they are going to leave one  ... or whether they are going to leave hundreds," Schonberger said. 

Laura Cahn, chairwoman of the New Haven Environmental Advisory Council, has asked New Haven Aldermanic President Tyisha Walker-Myers for a public meeting on Yale's plans.

A review of the work is currently before DEEP and the US Army Corps of Engineers.  After that, it goes to the City Plan Commission for site plan, soil erosion and sediment control permitting.

King reiterated that schedule, saying the university will begin discussions locally and seek the necessary approvals once the other two agencies have issued their findings.

 The renovation is proposed to be phased in from October 2023 to August 2025, with the administrative approvals taking place this spring.

The golf course is on a 287-acre parcel along the city's western municipal boundary.  It is densely surrounded to the north and east by residential properties and to the north and northwest by the Yale Nature Preserve and Route 15.

The southern end is bound by the South Central Connecticut Regional Water Authority's Maltby Lakes facility.  A small area extends into West Haven.

The restoration plan calls for the creation of a temporary hauling road off Fountain Street, north of the course, connecting to the 7th hole and then to the driving range.

After selectively clearing trees, this access road through the adjacent Yale Nature Preserve was described as crushed stone that would be 24 feet wide with filter fabric under 16-foot-wide timber mats within the wetland area.  It will also feature sediment and erosion controls, according to the report.

Creation of a hauling road is planned so the university can "avoid residential neighborhoods and tight turns on narrow municipal roadways to the maximum extent possible," the report reads.

The hauling road will run behind some 20 homes on Longhill Terrace, according to a map in the report. 

King also addressed the creation of the road and its purpose to direct construction work away from local neighborhoods.  She wrote, "once the project is complete, the haul route would be removed, and the area restored — with an eye toward enhancing community access from Fountain Street."

In her letter to Walker-Myers, Cahn worried about increased water problems for the neighborhood.

"Among many potential consequences, we are concerned about the environmental impact on the neighborhood, which is already plagued by excess water eroding soil, flooding basements, opening sinkholes, creating new streams and running down streets during rainstorms," she wrote.

She said the city has 1.7 million trees, 118 per person.

"We need all the shade, particulate matter filtering, oxygen yield, noise dampening, carbon storage and protection from erosion and storm-water runoff provided by each of these trees," she said.

Cahn said mature trees sequester more carbon than new trees, so additional planting would not solve the problem.

According to the report, there will be a second hauling route from the 11th hole to Stevenson Road, temporarily disturbing 11,100 square feet within four wetland locations.

Of the 35 wetlands detailed in the report, only nine will not be disturbed.

The report does address flooding problems on Stevenson Road, noting that existing drainage issues have been identified where the golf course property discharges toward Stevenson Road, particularly "at a drainage swale between 271 and 285 Stevenson Road properties."

It found that the city's drainage network within the road is undersized, causing flooding issues on neighboring properties. The Tighe & Bond engineers propose installing a series of catch basins to discharge the water through a headwall, improving the capacity of the municipal storm sewer system.