CT Construction Digest Monday March 21, 2022
Stamford expands its scrutiny of BLT properties, asking for data on high-rises built like Allure
STAMFORD — City officials are expanding their investigation into South End developer Building and Land Technology after a terrace at one of its high-rises collapsed because of structural problems, according to a letter sent by Mayor Caroline Simmons to BLT Co-President Ted Ferrarone.
After weeks of only examining the conditions at Allure — the Harbor Point high-rise at the heart of Stamford's inquiry — Simmons wrote to Ferrarone Friday requesting "BLT's full cooperation with the city" as it examines the conditions at properties that share structural similarities to Allure.
"While I am grateful for the cooperation and information provided to date in response to city inquiries related to the Allure building itself, it is critically important that the city and the public be assured that other buildings are safe," Simmons wrote Friday in her letter to Ferrarone.
A 20-foot-by-15-foot section of the fifth-floor outdoor terrace at Allure collapsed on Feb. 1, temporarily leaving parts of the parking garage and building amenity spaces underneath the terrace unusable. No one was injured, and there was no damage to personal property.
The situation ignited debate among residents and the Stamford Board of Representatives almost immediately; board members called for a broader look into the company's construction practices, especially given the lion's share of property that BLT owns in the South End and throughout the city.
Twin investigations into Allure conducted by firms hired by the city and BLT respectively linked the fallen concrete at Allure to anomalies within a concrete slab inside its parking garage. Engineering consultants from WJE — hired by the city — and Henderson Rodgers Structural Engineers — hired by BLT — identified "missing tendons" in a concrete slab at Allure.
Henderson Rodgers, which also worked with BLT to engineer the building during its early days, designed the slab to include the missing supports, according to documents BLT provided to the city. However, a visual review conducted by WJE showed that the tendons were missing from the final structure.
To that end, Simmons and her administration have requested documents from BLT, including a list of any buildings that contain "post-tension" concrete slabs designed by Henderson Rodgers, built by Baker Concrete or otherwise reviewed by the same sub-contractors or firms that worked on Allure. For those properties, the city demanded that BLT provide design plans, shop drawings, inspection reports and building maintenance records.
More straightforwardly, Simmons asked that BLT allow city engineers to access and review "all the exposed concrete slabs for these structures or other areas as determined by the city's independent engineer" and furnish any necessary tests of the slabs in question.
When asked for comment, BLT spokesperson Rob Blanchard said, "We're currently in receipt of and reviewing the mayor's letter. The safety, health, and wellbeing of our residents remains our top priority and we look forward to continuing to work with (the) mayor's administration throughout this process."
When the curving stone pavilion at the newly commissioned Rocky Neck State Park was constructed in the 1930s, it was one of thousands of federally backed relief projects that heralded a new era of parks in America.
As a symbol of the building’s place among Connecticut’s growing park system, workers gathered timbers from each of the state’s existing parks for the wooden columns that line its rustic interior, according to East Lyme Town Historian Liz Kuchta.
Nearly a century later, however, those columns support an aging roof that needs to be replaced, part of nearly $30 million in repairs that park officials say are needed at Rocky Neck State Park — the most for any one park in the state.
“It’s like anything else, you look at the amount of money that has to be spent and you go, ‘Well, I can’t see them wasting the time’,” Kuchta said. “But we need to preserve our past — and this building, it’s an absolutely gorgeous building.”
Across Connecticut’s system of 139 state parks and forests, delays in needed maintenance and repairs have piled up for decades, officials say, impacting everything from roads, toilets and campgrounds to historic mansions, museum halls and New Deal-era public works projects.
At a February appearance at Sherwood Island State Park in Westport, Gov. Ned Lamont pledged $55 million through his annual budget request to reduce the backlog of needed repairs by funding some of the park system’s most “basic” needs.
That commitment, if approved by lawmakers, would cover just a fraction of the estimated costs of repairing Connecticut’s park infrastructure, according to a review of budget requests and other records by Hearst Connecticut Media.
Over the last three years, park officials have identified nearly $130 million in necessary maintenance, repairs and other infrastructure projects at parks, according to those records. Some of the state’s oldest and most popular parks along the shoreline — such as Rocky Neck, Sherwood Island and Hammonasset Beach — are most in need of upgrades, the records show.
Huge footprint
Katie Dykes, commissioner of the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, said during the governor’s event that the issue of delayed maintenance is pervasive across the parks system, which covers roughly 7 percent of the state’s land area and includes nearly 1,000 buildings.
“It’s a huge footprint in terms of real estate,” Dykes said. “Unfortunately, for many decades we have suffered from some underinvestment in maintaining and refurbishing those facilities to bring them up to the standards that the public enjoys.”
In addition to individual projects, DEEP officials anticipated that by 2026 the agency would have to spend $1 million to repair park bridges, $1.5 million to replace shower buildings and $2 million in upgrades to make facilities accessible for people with disabilities.
Nearly $1 for every $10 in infrastructure needs identified by park officials would be to build or replace park bathrooms. The agency also planned to spend $575,000 on waterless toilets across the park system.
“As the mother of small children, I know what it’s like with a toilet-training child to be in a port-a-potty, it’s not that fun.” Dykes said. “We know how important having shiny new bathrooms are for our campgrounds and Hammonasset and Rocky Neck.”
Adding to the strain on Connecticut was the surge in visitors during the pandemic, which prompted Dykes to remark in February that some state parks “are being loved to death.”
Passport to Parks
Eric Hammerling, executive director of the Connecticut Forest and Park Association, said that before Lamont’s commitment of new funds to the parks, the state’s investment in the system had not kept pace with the growing number of annual visitors.
When cuts were made in the park system to fill budget shortfalls during former Gov. Dannel Malloy’s administration, Hammerling noted that DEEP reduced maintenance staff and closed campgrounds and visitor centers. Overall, he said full-time park staffing levels remain at about half of what they were during the 1980s.
In part to provide a steady source of funding for parks, lawmakers enacted a Passport to Parks program in 2017 that removed park entrance fees for Connecticut residents, and replaced them with additional fees on motor vehicle registrations.
While the program brings in about $21 million a year, a spokesman for the agency said the funds are primarily dedicated to park staff and operational expenses, not capital projects.
To tally the full list of projects on the park system’s maintenance backlog, Hearst reviewed DEEP’s capital budget requests submitted as part of Lamont’s budget, as well as a “working document” developed by the agency along with the Division of Construction Services and the Office of Policy and Management to track infrastructure projects.
The agency has not determined which of those projects would be first in line for funding through Lamont’s $55 million commitment, if approved, according to DEEP spokesman Will Healey.
“We are in the process of scoring and prioritizing projects, which we expect to complete before the fiscal year starts in July,” Healey said in an email Thursday. “Pending approval of the governor’s budget, we will finish our prioritization and prepare to begin work on these projects in FY 23.”
Along with DEEP’s routine maintenance needs such as building bathrooms and repaving roads, the park system also faces millions of dollars in needed repairs of historic structures.
One of the oldest structures in the park’s system, the Eolia Mansion at Harkness Memorial State Park, dates to 1906 and needs over $1 million in electrical work and other upgrades.
Nearby, DEEP has planned $1 million in historic improvements at Seaside State Park in Waterford, although that is just a fraction of the total estimated cost of rehabilitating the former sanatorium located on the property.
Other historic park structures in need of renovations include the Chase Cottage at Topsmead State Forest in Litchfield and the Heublein Tower at Talcott Mountain State Park in Simsbury.
At Rocky Neck, however, Kutcha said the long backlog of repairs — including the roof over the Ellie Mitchell Pavilion — carries added significance in a park that was built largely by workers in the Works Progress Administration and other federal programs that provided the first large-scale investments in public recreation.
“You hate to see something like that lost, and once a roof goes, then the rest of the house follows,” Kuchta said. “It’s something that needs to be preserved for the future.”
Shelton mayor: City eyes condemnation as Constitution Blvd. work looms
SHELTON — Work should begin on extending Constitution Boulevard West — the key to developing land known as the Mas property — on or around April 15, according to Mayor Mark Lauretti. Lauretti said this date remains in place even as city officials plan to use condemnation to acquire 55 Blacks Hill Road, a property which sits right in the middle of the proposed work area.
“We are going to condemn the land. Let a judge decide,” Lauretti said after admitting that negotiations with the property owners have stalled.
Lauretti said he first contacted the owners of 55 Blacks Hill Road — which the mayor says has been vacant for several years — before onset of the pandemic. He said the city made an offer to the owners, which was rejected. The mayor said he could not state the amount offered by the city at this point.
“They said it was not enough,” said Lauretti, adding that the owners never returned with a counteroffer. “(The resolution of this condemnation) should be very quick.”
The Board of Aldermen, at a meeting last month, approved the city’s purchase of 56 Blacks Hill Road for $590,000, with the cost being covered through use of American Rescue Plan funds.
Construction of the road — which has been discussed for decades — is key to the planned development of the city-owned Mas property into what Lauretti says will become a manufacturing hub. Over the past month, Lauretti said the city has sold more than 30 of the nearly 70-acre site to two separate businesses that plan to relocate there.
Lauretti said the road work will cost around $5 million, with much if not all covered by the state.
Shelton state representatives Jason Perillo and Ben McGorty and state Sen. Kevin Kelly worked alongside Lauretti to help secure $5 million in funding for the road extension in the state’s 2021 bond package. The funding will be available once approved by the state Bond Commission, according to Perillo.
Extending the roadway and use of the Mas property has been on the table for years, but Lauretti began the most recent push last April when he presented preliminary plans for creating the road leading into the city-owned land, which would be developed into a manufacturing corporate park.
Major construction improvements proposed for Route 85
The Connecticut Department of Transportation has proposed changes to Route 85 in Salem and Montville that include widening the roads, a new roundabout and replacing two existing bridges.
The state department conducted a virtual informational meeting this past week to show the public the preliminary designs and answer any questions. Members of DOT and Benesch, the project's prime engineering consultant, spoke throughout various portions of the presentation.
Kevin Flemming, a DOT transportation planner, said the meeting was a way to gather public input as required by the Connecticut Environmental Policy Act.
The $38 million proposed project is split into four separate sections and begins in Salem just south of the intersection of routes 82 and 85 and extends to just south of the intersection of routes 85 and 161 in Montville.
Steven Drechsler, the project manager for Benesch, said the main purpose of the project is to improve traffic along all four project sections by increasing the road's shoulder width to a minimum of 5 feet and a maximum of 8 feet to allow drivers to bypass vehicles making turns. He said areas within the project limits that are not being improved have been improved through past projects.
Drechsler said 80% of the money to pay for the $38 million project will come from federal funds and 20% will come from the state.
The first project section begins just south of the roundabout at routes 82 and 85 in Salem and extends a mile to Horse Pond Road. Jefferey Koerner, Benesch's lead highway engineer, said this section averaged 21 crashes from July 2018 through June 2021, with most occurring at the intersection between Woodland Drive and Forsyth Drive. Koerner said widening the road in this area would allow cars going south to bypass another car making a left turn.
Other improvements to this section include improving sight lines and replacing the bridge over Fraser Brook so that it has enough room beneath for better flow of waters associated with major storms.
The second section is located on Route 85 near the picnic area in Salem and ends just south of Valley Drive. Little will be done to this area apart from widening it to provide consistent lane and shoulder widths.
Koerner said the third section runs from Fox Hollow Drive to Beckwith Road in Montville. In this area, the state is proposing to realign the two roadways at the intersection of Route 85, Salem Turnpike and Day Road.
Showing pictures of the section's existing conditions, Koerner showed one image where a stream runs adjacent to the roadway. To widen the road at the location with Latimer Brook running parallel to the route, a segment of the channel is proposed to be realigned. Koerner said this will minimize impacts on the wetlands on both sides of the road.
The bridge over Latimer Brook in the third section also is proposed to be replaced for the same reasons as the bridge over Fraser Brook. In order to maintain traffic during construction of these two bridges, Drechsler said the plan is to utilize a temporary bridge constructed east of the existing bridges and construct a temporary bypass road to access it. Koerner said the bridges, however, will not be constructed at the same time.
Drechsler said the total project wetland impact covered 0.43 acre.
Located north of Chesterfield Road and extending to the intersection of routes 85 and 161 in Montville, the fourth project section is the busiest. Koerner said it averaged a traffic count of 16,000 vehicles per day in 2019 and had 25 recorded crashes between July 2018 and June 2021.
As a result, the project proposes to improve two intersections in this section. The first is where Chesterfield Road and Grassy Hill Road meet opposite each other at Route 85. As it is, Route 85 has a single lane north and a single lane south, with no turn lanes at this intersection. The proposed project will incorporate a left-turn lane on the southbound side of Route 85 onto Chesterfield Road, a left turn lane to go onto Grassy Hill Road, and an additional right lane on the northbound side of Route 85 to turn onto Chesterfield Road.
The project also is relocating the Route 161 intersection from its present location to approximately 1,200 feet south to align opposite Deer Run, turning it into a single-lane roundabout. Koerner said there were 39 crashes in the corridor south of Route 161 between July 2018 and June 2021 with most around the intersection of routes 161 and 85.
Koerner said Route 161 had to be relocated because a pond and historic site surround the present location, making it difficult to add turning lanes. He said the advantage of a roundabout is the drivers experience a short stop versus the more pronounced stop they would make at a traffic signal, improving traffic operations.
Right of way impacts associated with the project include partial strip acquisitions for the widening of Route 85 and the realignment of Route 161; easements to slope; and temporary construction easements for the bridge replacements.
Dennis MacDonald of DOT said impacted property owners would receive a letter of intent to acquire their land along with a property acquisition map. Negotiations then would take place until an agreement is reached. MacDonald said if an agreement cannot be reached, the state could use the power of eminent domain to get the property rights to keep construction plans on schedule. But if that were the case, he said the property owners would still get to negotiate the offer in court.
Drechsler said construction is anticipated to begin in the summer of 2024 and is expected to be completed in the summer of 2026.
The project arrives as others in the region have yet to finish. During a question-and-answer session after the presentation, someone asked if the Route 85 project shuts down any hope for the completion of construction on Route 11. Drechsler said improvements needed to Route 85 are independent of whether Route 11 is ever completed. He said the project on Route 85 would not preclude the completion of Route 11, should it be pursued in the future.
To comment on any environmental concerns or ask questions about Project 85-146, the public has until March 30 to email the state Department of Transportation at DOTProject85-146@ct.gov or call (860) 944-1111.
Connecticut among host of East Coast states vying for piece of offshore wind investment
In parts of downtown New London, you can hear the echo of the machinery being used to drive piles around State Pier as work progresses on a $235 million investment to ready the facility's two piers for the arrival of offshore wind components and the vessels that carry them.
The Quonset Business Park in North Kingstown, R.I., is similarly in the midst of a planned $234 million upgrade project, a portion of which involves the rehabilitation and extension of a pier that can accommodate the needs of the offshore wind industry.
With a $40 million investment from Danish wind company Ørsted and its partner Eversource, the Port of Providence is creating a new facility to be used for the fabrication and assembly of foundation components for offshore wind projects.
Examples of large investments in ports can be found up the Northeast coastline in anticipation of work for the burgeoning offshore wind industry. States are turning more and more to wind power and repurposing or building new ports to be used for staging and assembly of turbine parts or repair and maintenance facilities.
“All of the ports that can be utilized will be utilized,” said Steven King, managing director for the Quonset Development Corporation, or QDC, a quasi-state agency that serves as Rhode Island's de facto port authority.
The QDC oversees the 3,200-acre Quonset Business Park, which already has more than 210 companies, nearly 13,000 workers and is one of the top automobile importers in North America.
The QDC is also the terminal operator for the Port of Davisville — the state's only public port — in the business park. Plans are in the works for a major investment to upgrade its entire facility, which includes two piers. King said there are plans to build a third pier to add more berthing capabilities and space to accommodate offshore wind businesses.
The Port of Davisville is strategically located near offshore wind lease areas where there are 2,510 megawatts worth of projects in the pipeline. It was also the key port for development of Block Island Wind, the five-turbine, 30-megawatt farm developed by Deepwater Wind that became the United States' first operational offshore wind farm when it came online in 2016.
Quonset, already bustling with 200 ships a year, has signed an agreement with Ørsted and Eversource to homeport five crew transport vessels.
King said there will be competition among the states along the Northeast coast.
“We’re really focused on Port of Davisville being a logistics hub,” King said. “We’re trying to position ourselves to be operations and maintenance in the long term. That’s where we see the jobs 25 years into the future.”
Opportunities for ports
The offshore industry was jump started by the Biden administration with a plan to have offshore wind farms producing 30 gigawatts of energy — enough to power 10 million homes — by 2030.
The power generated by wind turbines is measured in megawatts and the size of the turbines determines how much power is produced. The planned 62-turbine Vineyard Wind I project off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard, for example, is using new General Electric Haliade-X turbines with a diameter of 722 feet that will generate 800 megawatts of electricity annually, enough to power 400,000 homes. Block Island Wind Farm’s five turbines generate 30 megawatts, enough to power 17,000 homes.
States have established nearly 45,000 megawatts of offshore wind procurement to date, according to the American Clean Power Association. Developers plan to bring about 10,300 megawatts of power online by 2026 with a dozen different offshore wind projects, most in federal waters off the East Coast.
John Henshaw, executive director of the Connecticut Port Authority, agreed that the offshore wind industry is changing the face of ports up and down the coast. The state commitments for procurement of offshore wind as a green energy source, paired with significant state and federal funding to support infrastructure projects, “is making ports think about what role they might play in this evolving industry,” he said.
The Connecticut Port Authority is overseeing the upgrade project at State Pier in New London that is funded jointly by the state and partners Ørsted and Eversource. It is to be used as a staging and assembly facility and one of the few ports that will be able to accommodate the massive 472-foot, $500 million wind turbine installation vessel known as Charybdis, which is under construction in Texas.
The State Pier project is expected to be completed in 2023 and in time to provide service to Ørsted and Eversource’s Southfork Wind project, a 130-megawatt, 12-turbine wind farm off Long Island. That project broke ground in East Hampton, N.Y., in February and will feed power into the Long Island Power Authority grid.
New York has a goal of 9,000 megawatts of offshore wind power by 2035 and New York Gov. Kathy Hochul recently announced a proposal to invest $500 million in offshore wind.
Southfork will be dwarfed by other projects in the pipeline.
The 800-megawatt, 62-turbine Vineyard Wind 1, a joint venture of Avangrid Renewables and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, has broken ground on what is expected to be the nation’s first commercial scale offshore wind farm. The farm is expected to deliver power to Massachusetts next year. Avangrid Renewables is also developing Park City Wind, a 804-megawatt project named after the city of Bridgeport. Avangrid is leasing space in Bridgeport’s Barnum Landing for a construction and staging location. That project is projected to produce about 14% of Connecticut’s electricity.
Ørsted and Eversource also have in the works the 704-megawatt Revolution Wind that is expected to provide 304 megawatts of power to Connecticut and 400 megawatts to Rhode Island by 2025. Sunrise Wind, a 924-megawatt project also developed by Ørsted and Eversource, will provide power to New York.
State Pier in New London will provide service to all three of Ørsted and Eversource’s projects. Delivery ships will arrive with the various parts of the wind turbines — the towers and blades — where they will be assembled and transported to the offshore wind farms and placed on foundations.
Advantages in New London
Connecticut is not alone in development of its ports with the aid of offshore wind investments. The Marine Commerce Terminal in New Bedford, Mass., lays claim to being the first port facility in the country designed to support construction, assembly and deployment of offshore wind projects.
Ørsted and Eversource signed a $86 million supply chain contract to construct foundation components for wind turbines at the Port of Coeymans, south of Albany.
At Port Jefferson in Suffolk County, N.Y., Ørsted and Eversource are creating a regional operations and maintenance hub and will host the ECO Edison, the first American-flagged service operation vessel. The port will include warehouse space and a 60,000-square-foot facility to house staff from South Fork and Sunrise Wind projects
“These are big developments happening. If you include the New England, the Northeast and mid-Atlantic states, those states are targeting about 26 gigawatts of energy. It’s a lot of energy that will built over the next decade or so,” said Michael Ausere, vice president of business development for Eversource.
Ausere joined David Ortiz, Ørsted’s head of market affairs for New England, for a recent interview with The Day to discuss ongoing projects by the joint venture partners.
Ausere and Ortiz both reiterated that the lack of any obstacles, such as bridges, gives New London a clear advantage over other deepwater ports.
“State Pier has strategic significance not only to Ørsted and Eversource but to this industry regionally. It doesn’t mean there aren’t other port facilities we will be utilizing in other functions that complement what we’re doing at State Pier,” Ortiz said.
Henshaw, of the Connecticut Port Authority, said he sees the developments as a good thing so long as ports have additional capacity to take on those roles or are positioned to pivot to accommodate a new business.
“Ports are also seeking to build additional capacity. Many states are making significant investments in new or existing port facilities — with some even committing to purpose-built offshore wind port projects,” Henshaw said.
“The one caveat is they should keep their eyes on the long game," he said. "Investments should be made not only for the wind industry but for what comes after."
If momentum for offshore wind slows, Henshaw said port improvements such as the project at State Pier will have greatly increased capabilities relative to general and heavy-lift cargo, resulting in expanded future business opportunities.
“New London will be well positioned for decades to come,” he said.
Paul Whitescarver, executive director of the Southeastern Connecticut Enterprise Region, or seCTer, said there are unused commercial waterfront properties along the Thames River that could be utilized for different elements of the offshore wind industry.
SeCTer’s efforts to develop an Offshore Wind Industry Cluster was one of the finalists for the U.S. Economic Development Administration’s $1 billion Build Back Better Regional Challenge. SeCTer received $500,000 to fine-tune its proposal to be eligible for the second phase of federal awards of between $20 million and $100 million. Whitescarver said at some point the European offshore wind companies will want to bring their developers and suppliers to the U.S. and the region should be in a position to “roll out the red carpet.”
“Our goal is to bring economic development to the entire region and to diversify industry,” he said.
Special tax district unlocks large, mixed-use development in Cheshire
Headline-grabbing proposals for a mall and outlets on an undeveloped, 107-acre piece of Cheshire’s north end came and went in recent decades.
This month, bulldozers, excavators and other equipment are pushing into the wooded area, preparing utilities that will unlock the land for a large development of housing, retail and commercial uses.
The key to the project finally getting off the ground is a series of agreements by the town to repay the developers of “Stone Bridge Crossing” up to $7 million in costs for sewer, water and other infrastructure investment.
The Stone Bridge Crossing property is part of a slice of Cheshire cut off from the bulk of town by Interstate 691. There was no direct access for water and sewer, making utilities installation a major impediment. A consultant working for the current property owners estimated $8.5 million in infrastructure costs.
A series of agreements secured in the past two years allow the town to reimburse developers for the infrastructure investment from new taxes generated by the project. It’s what’s known as a tax increment financing (TIF) deal.
That money comes with strings.
The development needs to add at least $50 million in value to the property before reimbursement can begin, and at least $15 million of that needs to come from commercial construction.
The property owners – Tri-Star Development and Miller Napolitano Wolff – have an approved master plan allowing development in three phases, including:
• Up to 140 homes
• 300 apartments or condos and a 5,500-square-foot gas station/convenience store
• 90 age-restricted multifamily units, 19,500 square feet of medical office, a 150-room hotel and three free-standing restaurants.
Cheshire Economic Development Director Andrew Martelli said these phases don’t need to come in any order. Tri-star and Miller Napolitano Wolff are close to securing a residential developer interested in building out the first phase, Martelli said. He has yet to hear of confirmed builders for other phases.
Attempts to reach representatives of the landowners were unsuccessful.
Matthew S. Gilchrist, co-owner of Southbury-based EG Homes, said he expects to shortly finalize the purchase of a 27-acre portion on the Stone Bridge Crossing property, then in April begin preparations for high-end duplexes and four-unit townhomes.
Gilchrist said dwellings will be built to order, likely 24 to 30 per year. He expects to begin selling sites in June or July. The homes would be ready for occupancy in early 2023.
“We are a conservative builder and don’t build a lot on spec,” Gilchrist said. “We build to customers’ wants and needs as they come through the door.”
With infrastructure work underway, Martelli said he is confident of the development’s prospects, despite the long history of failed proposals that stretch back to the 1980s, including for a mall and shopping outlets.
“It’s almost been a reality so many times, I’m almost holding my breath,” Martelli said.
Goman+York Property Advisors, which produced a feasibility study for the landowners, estimated the final proposal will add $167.8 million in market value, yielding about $3.9 million in annual property taxes.
Even after factoring in education costs for children of new residents, as well as other municipal services, the town will still gain $1.6 million in annual new taxes, as well as $251,972 from new motor vehicle taxes, Goman+York estimated.
New businesses on-site would create 468 jobs, according to the consultant.
Cheshire Town Council member Tim Slocum said the town needs new housing stock and development to remain vibrant.
“A place with growth is a positive place and Cheshire is a positive place in general,” Slocum said. “The bottom line is nothing would have happened without the infrastructure development.”
A special tax district enabling Cheshire to reimburse up to $7 million of infrastructure costs for the mixed-use Stone Bridge Crossing development covers a lot more than that project’s 107 acres.
In 2019, the Cheshire Town Council adopted a 329-acre Interchange Zone Tax Increment Financing (TIF) District, which has its center at the intersection of Interstate 691 and Route 10.
Now, Cheshire is negotiating with the state of Connecticut to acquire 58 acres of state-owned land in the TIF district.
Cheshire Economic Development Director Andrew Martelli said the details of the agreement are largely settled. Cheshire would pay $1,000 to cover legal costs of the transfer and would be required to develop the property within five years.
The state would get the proceeds of any sale, minus town expenses toward securing development.
The state would also get to sign off on development plans, Martelli said. The town benefits from newly-generated tax revenue.
If Cheshire’s Town Council agrees, the town would use a request-for-proposal process to identify a developer.
The addition of sewer and water connections to the neighboring Stone Bridge Crossing project will greatly ease the addition of water and sewer to the 58-acre parcel, Martelli noted.
HARTFORD — The redevelopment of a long-blighted corner northwest of Dunkin’ Donuts Park — seen as part of a critical but broken link between downtown Hartford and the city’s North End — is expanding in scope to include two neighboring historic buildings.
The apartments and storefront space planned for city-owned land at the corner of Main and Ann Uccello streets — where the Arrowhead Cafe building stands — is now expected to take in the vacant “Flat Iron” building. The redevelopment also would encompass another historic building just to the west of the city’s property where there is a housing cooperative.
Fernando Betancourt, executive director of the Hartford-based nonprofit San Juan Center Inc. and a partner in the redevelopment, said purchase options are in place for the two buildings. He declined to disclose negotiated prices. Adding the two buildings would nearly double the number of apartments to 43 and push the project’s cost from $6 million to $17.5 million. Betancourt said bringing the two buildings into the project made sense. Plans call for closing off a portion of Ann Uccello Street, already dead-ended where it meets Main, for a pedestrian plaza. The plaza would be tree-lined with outdoor seating with space for vendors or trucks and, perhaps, a fountain.
An application has been made for $6.5 million through the state’s Connecticut Communities Challenge Grant program. The grant is seen as essential to closing the loop on the project’s financing. The Capital Region Development Authority, which has helped finance housing projects in and around downtown, also has said it could potentially provide funding.
Construction could begin later this year, Betancourt said, although further city approvals would first be needed.
The “Flat Iron” building, so named because its shape resembles a similar, more famous structure in New York City, is owned by Shelbourne Global Solutions LLC, downtown’s largest commercial landlord. Shelbourne paid $300,000 for the building in 2020.
Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin said the addition of the two historic buildings only strengthens the city’s aspirations for the area.
Last summer, the city chose the San Juan Center and a partner, Meriden-based builder Carabetta Cos. as the preferred developer for the city-owned property, a project encompassing renovation of the Arrowhead Cafe building and new construction on land next door.
“The city acquired the Arrowhead Cafe building because it was a vacant, blighted structure that we wanted to bring back to life,” Bronin said. “The opportunity to do that with the renovation and revitalization of the Flat Iron building would be even more powerful.”
The project also pushes northward from redevelopment of apartments, storefronts and parking garage space bustling around Dunkin’ Donuts Park, the city’s minor league ballpark.
The project at Main and Ann Uccello is at the northwestern end of a block diagonally across from the ballpark, which reflects the architectural style and scale of the city in the late 1800s. The San Juan Center and Carabetta are tackling a redevelopment seen as a key step in stitching back together downtown and the city’s northern neighborhoods, torn apart by the construction of I-84 in the early 1970s. But the redevelopment also is a cog in a much broader strategy to push revitalization deeper into the city’s northern neighborhoods.
The city has its eye on the wider area around the three-way intersection of Main and Ann Uccello streets and Albany Avenue where it has acquired wide swaths of mostly abandoned property.
And this summer, a study of the area, starting at the three-way intersection and running north up Albany and Main is expected to recommend the best options for further redevelopment.
Betancourt said the project is critical for the San Juan Center because the Latino nonprofit that serves low- and moderate-income people in Greater Hartford was founded in the same area six decades ago.
Betancourt also said the area gradually lost population after the highway was built, and the area fell into disrepair.
“Now there is a possibility of reconnecting and increasing the density,” Betancourt said, building up the number of both residents and business owners, again making the area attractive and walkable. Betancourt said the project at Main and Ann Uccello will be a mix of affordable and market-rate rents, crucial to ensuring the new development will provide another housing option to people already living in neighborhoods to the north. “All the pieces start coming together,” Betancourt said. “Our priority is to create this as brown and Black opportunities that start developing like everyone else.”
Betancourt said he also believes the demand for the apartment rentals and storefront leases will be there.
Last year, the San Juan Center, headquartered in the same historic block opposite the ballpark, completed a $1.35 million renovation of its building. The project created 10 rentals and 2,500 square feet of storefront space.
Betancourt said all 10 apartments leased without advertising and there hasn’t been any turnover. One of the two storefronts is Semilla Cafe + Studio and the other is near to being leased, Betancourt said, declining to identify the tenant.
Contracting Standards Chair Fights Back
The chair of the state Contracting Standards Board pushed back Friday against a proposal by Gov. Ned Lamont, which he called an “Orwellian” attempt to functionally end the contracting watchdog agency.
Since at least last year, the Lamont administration has been at odds with the board, which has authority to halt state purchasing if they’re deemed illegal. A budget implementer bill passed late in the session effectively reduced the agency’s operating funds by $400,000 and Lamont preserved that cut in his budget proposal this year.
However, it was a separate proposal by the governor, which board chair Lawrence Fox told lawmakers on the Appropriations Committee he viewed as Orwellian. The language would add staff to the state Auditors of Public Accounts and transfer the board’s enforcement authority there.
“Separate and apart from our funding, they actually end the board– the contracting standards board. It’s a very — ‘Orwellian,’ is the word that comes to my mind because it’s not straight up,” Fox said during a public hearing.
Fox told lawmakers it bordered on irony that the proposal was put together just days before stories about a federal investigation into contracting projects overseen by a former administration official, Kosta Diamantis, began to dominate the news cycle.
The board dates back to the contracting scandal that led to the resignation and eventual conviction of former Gov. John Rowland on corruption charges. Fox said the small watchdog agency has been a target for governors of both parties.
He described a state government that does not take competitive bidding rules seriously.
“Seventy four percent of the time, we’re issuing personal service agreements in this state worth billions of dollars without competitive contracting,” Fox said.
“There’s a problem,” he added later, “and we need to get on top of it and we need the staff to do it. But the answer in this governor’s bill is, ‘You know what? Let’s not have them do it all.’ So the impact, if this goes through the way it is, is that the board is basically dead. It’ll exist in name only.”
Sen. Cathy Osten, a Sprague Democrat who co-chairs the committee, said lawmakers were considering moving the board under legislative control.
“We’re trying to put the same guardrails around the state Contracting Standards Board that are in theory around the ethics and the freedom of information and some other organizations,” Osten said. “We’re just trying to figure out that sweet spot that gives you autonomy to do what we expect you to do and still allow us to protect you so you don’t get cut.”
Max Reiss, the governor’s chief spokesman, said the administration looked forward to further discussions with the chair of the contracting standards board and disputed the notion that Lamont’s proposal weakened the oversight agency.
“Gov. Lamont’s proposal strengthens the mission and role of the board with additional audit support, exactly the kind of measure which has been supported by both Democrats and Republicans,” Reiss said. “Any characterization the contrary is mistaken.”