CT Construction Digest Monday May 20, 2024
Behind Kosta Diamantis’ arrest: Money woes, unfettered power
Andrew Brown and Dave Altimari
The federal criminal case leveled against Konstantinos Diamantis, a former Connecticut lawmaker and state deputy budget director, paints a portrait of a man who was desperate for cash, had unfettered control over billions of dollars in government money and wasn’t afraid to use that power to ease his own financial troubles.
The 35-page criminal indictment filed last week provides a look at the hidden parts of Diamantis’ six-year tenure running Connecticut’s school construction office, which is responsible for overseeing state grants for local school projects.
In that position, Diamantis was able to influence the budgets, schedules and bids for every school project in the state, and he interacted with a small army of school construction companies, including project administrators, construction managers, plumbing and electrical contractors and demolition and abatement specialists.
But the indictment focuses on two companies that dealt with Diamantis, making the case that he routinely offered favorable treatment in exchange for cash, favors and checks, which they referred to as “presents” and “donations.”
Diamantis was charged with multiple counts of extortion, bribery and lying to investigators.
Federal prosecutors have already secured guilty pleas from three construction officials — Antonietta Roy of Construction Advocacy Professionals, and John Duffy and Salvatore Monarca of Acranom Masonry. Roy and Monarca have agreed to cooperate with the ongoing investigation.
Several state lawmakers told The Connecticut Mirror, after the indictment was released, that the charges against Diamantis, if true, are likely the result of one person accumulating too much power over a taxpayer-funded program.
Connecticut House Speaker Matthew Ritter, D-Hartford, said that while he’d heard of complaints about Diamantis over the past two years, he never expected to read some of the text messages and other evidence that federal prosecutors unveiled last week.
“There’s no checks and balances, right, and that can be a recipe for trouble,” Ritter said.
“Any time you have one person who can make decisions, it’s a problem.”
Add to that Diamantis’ apparent need for money, and you have a recipe for disaster, lawmakers said.
“It’s disconcerting at best that he was allowed to get away with this with no supervision,” said Rep. Tammy Nuccio, R-Tolland. “How does that happen that no one is watching what one person is doing with billions of dollars of taxpayers’ money?”
Nuccio butted heads with Diamantis over a Tolland elementary school project, particularly over the idea that the town was going to hire whomever Diamantis wanted them to hire.
“We were told this is who you are going to hire, and if you don’t, then you won’t get any state money, and there was no one else to go to because Kosta answered to no one,” Nuccio said. “Let’s face it — this is embarrassing for the administration, because this is the guy who they put in this position with no one to watch him.”
[The Kosta Diamantis Timeline]
‘No beggar’
Private messages shared between Diamantis and the construction contractors highlight numerous instances in which Diamantis bemoaned his financial troubles and begged for the promised bribery payments from those companies, all while insisting repeatedly that he was “no beggar.”
In February 2019, after trying unsuccessfully to schedule a meeting with Monarca, the president of Acranom Masonry, and Duffy, its vice president, Diamantis wrote: “I got no call back two days ago now I’m late waited for The courtesy of an answer. I always lived in two way street I always keep my word and do what I say. And I’m no beggar.”
“I have negative in my account. 30 in my pocket,” Diamantis wrote to Duffy in May 2019. The indictment states that Diamantis’ checking account balance at the time was -$276.68.
“I need 5k desperately tomorrow from him or anyone. I don’t care who,” Diamantis added in another message a month later.
In August 2019, Diamantis wrote to Duffy about the money he said Monarca still owed him: “Well I sure need it johnny I am in tough place and should not be … I won’t do a thing til he does rt thing for tolland … I need that coin Johnny like last month.”
At another point, Diamantis pressured Acranom’s executives to attend an event at a restaurant in Southington, where Diamantis was hosting a “fundraiser” to pay for his 14-year-old daughter’s $28,000 tuition at the private Renbrook School in West Hartford.
“The school is not giving out scholarships so we are trying to raise what we can,” Diamantis wrote to the executives. “Every check counts. I would like you to come. The checks can be made out to Renbrook School or to me or my daughter. I sure hope I see you and Johnny there.”
It’s unclear why Diamantis was so short on cash while he was earning more than $167,000 per year in 2019 while he was serving in Gov. Ned Lamont’s administration. His salary later increased to about $180,000 as deputy budget director.
Despite his claimed financial woes, though, Diamantis made significant upgrades to his home in Farmington while he was the head of the school construction office.
Construction permits show those upgrades included a new HVAC system, a renovation of his garage and the construction of a new in-ground swimming pool. Those improvements, which the permits indicate were worth about $40,000, occurred in 2018.
The scope of influence
The indictment describes episodes between 2017 and 2021 that reveal the immense power Diamantis had over every aspect of school construction.
Over the past two years, Diamantis repeatedly told the CT Mirror — and federal investigators — that he played no role in deciding which companies were paid to demolish or construct schools.
Federal prosecutors, however, laid out records that showcase the influence he wielded on the local building projects.
One example the indictment cited was from the Weaver High School project in Hartford.
In early 2019, Hartford officials were preparing to hire a masonry company to perform work on the fourth phase of that $133 million project.
The project manager for the high school told Hartford officials they did not want to hire Acranom because of an ongoing billing dispute over the masonry company’s previous work on the project.
But Diamantis allegedly manipulated that hiring decision by refusing to chip in the state funds that were necessary to pay a different masonry contractor that offered to perform the work for $200,000 more than Acranom’s bid.
The project manager at Weaver told Hartford officials that Acranom’s involvement on the project could affect the overall schedule, and they complained that the attempts to sway Diamantis on the hiring decision had been “rebuffed.”
Messages from Acranom’s executives show the company asked Diamantis to force Hartford to hire their company for that $3 million subcontract.
“Please make sure the vote tonight goes to us for Phase 4. Talk to your guy,” Duffy wrote.
“I did already,” Diamantis replied.
It came down to whether you were on Kosta’s good side.
NEW BRITAIN MAYOR ERIN STEWART
Diamantis also allegedly squeezed Hartford officials on another contract for the city’s $170 million Bulkeley High School project.
In that case, he convinced Hartford’s school building committee to select Construction Advocacy Professionals, the company that hired his daughter, to oversee the project even though other contractors offered to perform that work for less money, the indictment claims.
During several meetings, including one at the Capital Grille restaurant in Hartford, Diamantis allegedly pressured Hartford employees to allow Construction Advocacy Professionals to revise its bid so it could win the contract.
The records show city officials eventually went along with that plan and argued the company’s hiring was justified because Construction Advocacy Professionals was a “woman-owned firm.”
Diamantis seemed to relish in his ability to dictate aspects of school construction projects, the messages show. In several instances, Diamantis openly referred to the local schools as “my projects.”
But nowhere was Diamantis’ control more evident than in Tolland, where Birch Grove Elementary was torn down and rebuilt through an emergency contract after cracks were found in the existing school foundation.
The indictment says Diamantis threatened to have Acranom removed as a subcontractor on the Birch Grove Elementary project if the company didn’t pay him tens of thousands of dollars in bribes.
“Bottom line, have him give you 40 for Monday or he is out,” Diamantis wrote to Duffy in August 2019, adding that if Monarca didn’t deliver the “present” then he would cut the company out the following week.
New Britain Mayor Erin Stewart told the CT Mirror that she met with Diamantis once to discuss why New Britain hadn’t received final payments from the state school construction office for some school projects that had been completed 10 years earlier.
“I went to his office with my staff, and he walked in and was completely condescending and rude,” Stewart said. “All I wanted to know was how we could close out some of these projects and get our money, and instead I got lectured by this guy with a Napoleon complex.”
Eventually, Stewart said, the school board hired Construction Advocacy Professionals — without going to bid — to help close the old projects and help finish an update at the high school. Stewart said she was opposed to hiring Construction Advocacy Professionals without a formal bidding process.
“Little did I know the school officials were getting pressured to hire [Construction Advocacy Professionals] by Kosta,” Stewart said.
The FBI eventually contacted her about Construction Advocacy Professionals and Diamantis, but she wasn’t surprised.
“The whole process of how they determined who got school construction money was completely riddled with question marks. You never knew who to talk to or how to get answers,” Stewart said. “It came down to whether you were on Kosta’s good side or whether he deemed your project was worthy.”
Diamantis’ alleged influence extended beyond school construction projects.
In February 2022, the state released a report of an investigation — launched shortly after Diamantis’ state employment ended — into how Chief State’s Attorney Richard Colangelo Jr. came to hire Diamantis’ daughter Anastasia, who had previously been employed at Construction Advocacy Professionals.
The report, authored by former U.S. Attorney Stanley A. Twardy Jr., found that Colangelo hired Anastasia Diamantis at the same time that he was pushing her father, the state’s deputy budget director, to pay salary increases within the Division of Criminal Justice.
Anastasia Diamantis was placed on leave, and Colangelo retired under pressure.
Hearings and audits
The examples cited in the indictment could lend credence to the mountain of accusations that were leveled against Diamantis over the past two years since he was fired from one state job and quit the other.
When the federal investigation of Diamantis burst into public view in early 2022, municipal officials from across Connecticut came forward with stories of Diamantis pressuring them to hire specific contractors.
Republican lawmakers responded, at that time, by calling for hearings and audits into Diamantis’ alleged pressure tactics.
But Lamont’s administration declined to review Diamantis’ interactions with local elected leaders and the local school building committees.
Instead, the Department of Administrative Services spent $240,000 for an auditing firm to analyze 111 school construction projects to make sure the state paperwork for those projects was filled out properly.
The auditors noted that they were instructed not to speak with local officials who oversaw those school construction projects.
“The scope of work for this engagement did not include outreach to the school district, nor did we perform any work on site at the school districts,” the auditors wrote.
Ritter, who has served as House Speaker for three years, said there was clearly a power imbalance between Diamantis and the local school building committees who were relying on the state for a significant portion of their funding.
Ritter said the federal investigation into the school construction office could result in the legislature enacting more administrative and cost controls over that program.
Diamantis’ trial is scheduled to commence on July 23 in Bridgeport.
Dan Haar: Arrest of Kosta Diamantis in CT school construction work raises questions about reforms
On Jan. 26, 2022, exactly a week before a federal investigation into Connecticut school construction financing under the ousted Konstantinos "Kosta" Diamantis was made public, the state official who had taken over that office sent an email to an employee of the city of Hartford overseeing the $149 million renovation of Bulkeley High School.
The message from Noel Petra, deputy commissioner of the state Department of Administrative Services: The Office of School Construction Grants and Review will not reimburse Hartford for more than one project oversight consultant.
Hartford officials immediately fired Construction Advocacy Professionals LLC, the project oversight firm that had a nearly $2 million contract with the city even though another company was also doing the work. Diamantis had strongly advised cities and towns to use CAP, as the Plainfield-based firm was known. CAP had hired his daughter.
A bevy of reforms by the state took root in the first half of 2022, once the federal investigation was public, led by Petra and others. The state auditors issued an 83-page report with recommendations. Lawmakers adopted changes.
Now that Diamantis has been arrested on 22 counts in the inquiry, including extortion related to his urging cities and towns to hire CAP, those reforms come into focus. Could checks and balances have halted wrongdoing that federal prosecutors allege Diamantis committed?
Did missteps in the administration of Gov. Ned Lamont enable Diamantis? Or, if the federal allegations are true, would the former state legislator from Bristol have done what he did in any system?
Second-guessing state controls
A shackled Diamantis entered pleas of not guilty on all counts Thursday before he was released on a $500,000 bond by U.S. Magistrate Judge Thomas O. Farrish. Diamantis had declared in highly unusual conversations with me and other reporters including my colleague John Moritz in 2022 that all of his actions were done to save the state money and help school projects move more efficiently.
We do not presume his guilt. Neither do we wait to look back at the systems that were in place at the time, and the reforms, even if it is Monday morning quarterbacking. Looking back leads to better government, better management, better controls over taxpayer money.
I reported that email from Petra three weeks after it happened. Separately I reported New Britain Mayor Erin Stewart saying Diamantis had pressured her city to hire CAP at $115 an hour to help with state reimbursements — help Stewart said New Britain didn't need. Moritz as well as journalists at the CT Mirror and the Courant unfurled similar stories, all pointing to apparent lapses in the system.
But would any system catch the sort of fraud Diamantis is accused of committing?
On Thursday, the federal indictment charged Diamantis with extortion and accepting bribes in his role as head of the school construction finance office; and lying to federal officials in the investigation. CAP and its owner, Antonietta Roy, who was indicted separately, stand accused of conspiring with Diamantis, paying him and his daughter thousands of dollars in bribes and overpaying his daughter as an employee, in exchange for Diamantis steering cities and towns to the firm.
It's easy to say after the allegations come out that the state should have taken this or that measure beforehand. The state auditors, for example, advised that internal audits in the school construction office be performed by people independent of the head of that office. And that construction change orders larger than 5 percent of a project's overall cost should have sent up red flags, which didn't happen.
The government can erect one check and balance after another. Maybe some of it will stop fraud. Absolutely it will slow down public projects and it might make them more expensive.
It's a constant balancing act. Just last week, Andrew Brown at The CT Mirror reported that a reform enacted after the Diamantis investigation began, banning project managers from bidding as subcontractors on jobs they oversee, was undone by the General Assembly this month in a single sentence within a 254-page bond bill that Gov. Ned Lamont is set to sign. The reform had added cost.
A close friendship
One issue around Diamantis is where he worked and who his boss was. He headed the Office of School Construction Grants and Review within the Department of Administrative Services starting well before Lamont's 2018 election.
Then in the fall of 2019, according to multiple sources, Lamont's budget chief, Melissa McCaw, insisted Diamantis come under her department, the state Office of Policy and Management. She argued it would be more efficient because OPM manages grants to towns generally.
After an internal debate, Lamont's office agreed to that move and Diamantis took the school finance office to OPM in November, 2019, where he also became McCaw's deputy.
McCaw has not been accused of any wrongdoing in the school construction finance investigation or in any other aspect of her tenure at OPM. She resigned Feb. 25, 2022 and became finance director for the town of East Hartford.
We have reason to believe that McCaw and Diamantis had a close personal friendship. A report for Lamont on the hiring of Diamantis's daughter by the chief state's attorney, prepared by by Stanley A. Twardy Jr., a Stamford lawyer and former U.S. Attorney for Connecticut, revealed instances of the two at non-work-related events including a pumpkin-carving the month before Diamantis became her deputy at OPM.
In an interview with Mark Pazniokas of the CT Mirror on Oct. 28, 2021, the night he was fired, Diamantis attacked three top aides in Lamont’s office, saying they mistreated McCaw. In a later grievance obtained by the CT Mirror, Diamantis said he was punished for defending McCaw.
I spoke with a source in early 2022 who reported seeing McCaw and Diamantis having dinner together at the Farmington Country Club on Saturday, Dec. 18, 2021 — while McCaw was still the OPM secretary, after Diamantis had been fired by Lamont as McCaw's deputy, and after the federal investigation was underway.
The question many people are asking is whether the friendship between McCaw and Diamantis, or his move to OPM, impeded the ability of McCaw and others to supervise his work. And more broadly, whether moving the office to the more political OPM from Administrative Services led to lapses in oversight.
The state auditors report issued in April, 2022 said, "This reorganization resulted in a structural threat to audit independence." But the federal indictment accuses Diamantis of committing improper acts before he worked under McCaw. And in an interview with Pazniokas at the CT Mirror a few days before she resigned, McCaw said no municipal official had ever brought the issue of contract steering to her attention.
Clearly some of the reforms made good sense including the return of the school construction office to the Department of Administrative Services the day after Diamantis exited. Also clearly, the public trust in government operations requires a balance of authority among elected, appointed and nonpartisan career officials.
Lamont has said repeatedly he acted swiftly and with zero tolerance for corruption. If Diamantis did commit criminal acts, the question becomes, could any reasonable reforms have halted them sooner?
In the end, we all depend on people's integrity. As one person familiar with the case said to me Thursday night, after the indictment accused Diamantis of demanding money from a masonry contractor, "What structure is in place for seeing him sending a text message saying he needs $40,000?"
A CT city is booming with massive redevelopment, apartments, biotech. See projects in the works.
A forlorn parking lot in downtown New Haven — once described as the “gap in the smile of State Street” — will soon be transformed into a new apartment building, rising in the shadow of the high-rise, residential rental tower at 360 State Street that marked a wave of new apartment construction nearly two decades ago.
“No parking lot is safe in New Haven,” Michael Piscitelli, the city’s economic development administrator, declared during a recent tour of New Haven development projects.
Piscitelli isn’t kidding. He is backed up by a city teeming with redevelopment — a mix of housing, laboratory and research space and storefronts — that is erasing asphalt and vacant lots. Perhaps the most prominent is the site of the former Veterans Memorial Coliseum in the heart of downtown, demolished in 2007 and used as a parking lot for more than a decade.
A new apartment building has taken shape on the Coliseum site and is now starting to lease, one of two dozen projects in and around downtown that are changing the landscape of the city and its skyline. Those development projects — with more on the drawing boards — represent more than $2.5 billion in public and private investment. They also are reconnecting gaps in a city that aims to be more walkable and less dependent on cars.
Since 2020, the city has added 1,900 residential rentals in and around downtown, and has another 3,500 units queued up in the pipeline in the next five years.
The housing is necessary, in large part, to support the biotech and life sciences industries that are soaring in prominence in the city, sparked largely by Yale University, Yale New Haven Hospital and their researchers.
“New Haven is on fire and Connecticut is really doing well,” Josh Parker, Ancora’s chief executive, said. “Seeing this alignment really gives me a good feeling, obviously, but confidence in our ability to have a successful investment and see continued growth in that part of the state.”’
‘Grow fast and well’
In this city of 139,000, there is hope of reaching a population of more than 150,000 in the next decade, about the same time as New Haven marks 250 years as an incorporated city. New Haven’s population peaked at 162,000 in the 1940s and fell to a low of 126,000 in 1980.
New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker said the city has learned from cities that have grown too rapidly, pushing out residents whose families may have lived in those cities for generations. But they can’t now because they can no longer afford to live in those cities.
“Don’t get me wrong, I want to grow fast,” Elicker said. “But I want to grow fast and well.”
Elicker said the focus on developing parking lots and vacant land minimizes residents being forced to move from their homes. The city was scarred from the forced relocation of nearly 8,000 families, about 23,000 people, during 1960s urban renewal, according to the 2008 book, “Model City Blues” by Mandi Isaacs Jackson. New Haven had been held up as a model of urban renewal.
Elicker, now in his third term, said he is keeping a close watch on affordability, as rents continue to rise with unabated strong demand for new apartments.
At downtown’s City Crossing, which has, so far, turned four city-owned parking lots and a former school building into more than 500 residential units, monthly rents for a one-bedroom, one-bath unit at the Pierpont building range between $2,635 and $2,943, according to the leasing web site.
Of the 1,900 housing units built since 2020, 360, or 40% were pegged as affordable, restricted to a range of income guidelines, according to the city. A similar percentage for the 3,500 that are forecast in the next five years, 40%, or 1,400, are expected to be affordable, the city says.
That count, Elicker said, does not include the 1,000 or more units planned for the former, now-demolished Church Street South, across from Union Station. The project is being developed by Elm City Communities, the city’s housing authority, and the Glendower Group.
“We also have to make sure that the price of the market doesn’t financially displace people,” Elicker said.
Elicker said the loss of parking lots will be balanced in the future by a city that offers more restaurants, shops, entertainment and cultural attractions that won’t require a motor vehicle to get around, supported by robust public transportation.
“It’s rare if I walk across the Green and someone stops me and they say, ‘We need more parking,’ Elicker said. “Out of every 10 people, seven people will bring up housing issues.”
‘Scale is reinventing’
New Haven’s redevelopment has turned, in large part, on reversing 1960s urban renewal that was supposed to usher in the era of the modern city. A linchpin of the urban renewal was the construction of the Oak Street Connector, Route 34, that was supposed to take travelers into suburbs like Derby and Orange but was never completed.
Highway construction served to isolate one portion of New Haven, just as it did in Hartford, hastening its decline.
“That era of the 1950s and early ’60s, New Haven as a Model City … the city tried to hit a grand slam, and so there was this really big move, the development of the Oak Street Connector and massive clearance, massive redevelopment, whereas what we’re seeing now is persistent, consistent development that is being done in smaller increments but in an ongoing and comprehensive way,” New Haven City Historian Michael Morand said.
Urban renewal in the 1960s focused on highways and vehicles, whereas the approach in the 21st century are cities that cater to designs that are more walkable, Morand said.
“Now the scale is reinventing, looking at people-level scale, pedestrian-level scale, making the city more livable downtown, not a place where people drive in and out for work and shopping but a place that has 24/7 activity because there are residents.”
The centerpiece Downtown Crossing project, with its two new bioscience research towers on College Street, shows not only a growing biotech industry but efforts to reconnect the two parts of downtown separated by Route 34.
The two towers — encompassing more a million square feet of research space — eliminated most remnants of Route 34 and a planned third building will complete the job.
Atop 101 College, owner and developer Carter Winstanley, of Boston-based Winstanley Enterprises, points out a window to the Yale School of Medicine, Yale New Haven Hospital and the City Crossing apartment development, all clustered together.
“So you have this great collaborative community of medical hospitals and private-sector research and development all playing a very close role together and that’s what makes these sites successful,” Winstanley said. “The residential is just a bonus, having more people coming into the downtown choosing to work downtown, but also to live.”
Supporting ‘tech transfer’
The unfolding development in New Haven has benefited from a unified vision spanning three mayoral administrations, beginning in 1994 with John DeStefano Jr., Morand, the city historian, said.
DeStefano, who served as mayor until 2014, said the roots of the city’s current revitalization can, in part, be traced back to Yale’s decision in the 1990s to shift its focus.
“What happened was both the city and the university saw the importance of workforce and business development, particularly through tech transfer, particularly in the life and biosciences,” DeStefano said.
“Now that gets expressed today in the buildings that you see in the Route 34 right-of-way, the buildings that you see in Science Park,” he said. “So the university changed its focus to supporting tech transfer, its faculty and staff in that regard. The city began to accommodate the need to grow the campus in a much less constrained way than in the past.”
Tech transfer is the path by which new inventions and other innovations created in the labs of research universities and other institutions are turned into products and sold commercially.
Alexion Pharmaceuticals was one high-profile spinoff from Yale in the 1990s. New Haven suffered a setback when it moved its headquarters to Boston. But Winstanley said Alexion, now owned by industry giant AstraZeneca, still has a significant presence in the two College Street towers, leasing a combined 330,000 square feet, or a third of the total research space.
Winstanley said the city scored a coup when 101 College signed a lease with BioLabs, which operates serviced and equipped lab space for early stage life science companies to launch their operations. BioLabs moved into 101 College in February and will soon have 12 occupants in 41,000 square feet of shared lab space.
“There’s a huge boom in the bioscience industry here, with companies spinning out of Yale, some success stories like Arvinas,” Mary Ann Melnick, site head of the BioLabs in New Haven, said. “We thought this was a great opportunity for BioLabs to come to New Haven and then put one of our facilities here to really support the ecosystem here. … Seeing the spinoffs coming out of Yale, there’s a lot of potential.”
Beyond downtown, redevelopment at Science Park, the former Winchester Repeating Arms Co. factory, also is focused on biotech and quantum science, which is expected to lead to advanced computing and ultra-precise measuring equipment. One of the largest apartment construction projects in the city, at 283 rentals, is now under construction.
Trails by 8 years
To the north, 40 miles away, Hartford is pursuing its own revitalization, adding more than 3,000 apartments in and around downtown in the past decade. The city built Dunkin’ Park, a ballpark that is home to the Yard Goats, the Double A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies. A storefront revitalization program is drawing new tenants to long vacant shops throughout the city, the epicenter at downtown’s Pratt Street.
Hartford differs from New Haven in significant ways. Hartford’s mainstay industries — insurance and financial services — are more mature than biotech, but they are attracting fintech companies, including those developing new, technology-driven ways to assess risk.
Hartford, as the state capital, also hosts far more government offices. The predominance of downtown office space also has raised a new challenge in the aftermath of the pandemic, with high vacancies as more office employees spend more time working from home.
Hartford also lacks the deep pockets of Yale University.
But Randy Salvatore, founder and chief executive of Stamford-based RMS Cos., sees similarities, having built apartments in both cities — City Crossing in New Haven and North Crossing and others n Hartford.
The rental demand remains extremely strong in both cities, with occupancy at 95% or better in his projects, Salvatore said.
Salvatore estimates Hartford may be trailing New Haven by about eight years in redevelopment efforts.
“But New Haven was late to it too,” Salvatore said. “Stamford started 20 years ago.”
Here are 10 projects changing the landscape and the skyline in New Haven:
1. 101 College St.
Cost: $151 million
Developer: Winstanley Enterprises, Concord, Mass.
Completion: late 2023
What it is: The recently completed, 10-story building contains medical/laboratory research space encompassing more than 500,000 square feet. AstraZeneca’s Alexion Pharmaceuticals division, Yale University and BioLabs, a 50,000-square-foot incubator, are all tenants. Alexion was a spinoff from Yale.
Why it matters: 101 College is the second of two structures that anchor Downtown Crossing, a development that removed the remnants of the never completed Route 34, a failed urban renewal project from the 1960s that split the downtown in two.
The project provides pedestrian connections with an outdoor plaza and public walkway joining College and Temple streets. BioLabs is designed to support biotech startups and maturing companies, plus provides a laboratory classroom for the New Haven Public Schools.
2. Science at Square 10
Address: 265 South Orange St.
Cost: $127 million
Developer: Ancora L&G, Durham, N.C.
Completion: 2026
What it is: This project, known as “Science at Square 10,” will add another 250,000 square feet of medical/laboratory research space on a portion of the former Veterans Memorial Coliseum, demolished in 2007. The development will be within walking distance of both Union Station and the Medical District. The Medical District is anchored by Yale New Haven Hospital and the Yale School of Medicine. Construction is expected to begin later this year.
Why it matters: The development offers prospects for the downtown to grow and better connect to Union Station and the Medical District. The structure’s design by New Haven-based Pelli Clarke Pelli is promoted as “world class” by the city.
Ancora is a developer that nationally focuses on cities with reputations for innovation supported by institutions of higher learning, health care and research centers.
3. Anthem at Square 10
Address: 275 South Orange St.
Cost: $39 million
Developer: Spinnaker Real Estate Partners, Norwalk
Completion: 2024
What it is: Anthem at Square 10 is the first of two,\ mixed-use residential buildings planned for the former Coliseum site and will include 200 apartments over retail space.
Pre-leasing for the apartments is underway and the first retail tenant — a restaurant — has been signed for the ground level. A second building with 100 apartments wrapped around a parking garage also is planned. In addition, there is potential for further future redevelopment.
Why it matters: The development is critical to reclaiming one of the largest blocks in downtown — used for parking for nearly two decades — that will be broken down with a street design that will form a pedestrian-friendly connection between downtown and Union Station.
4. The Mason at City Crossing
Address: 188 Lafayette St.
Cost: $19 million
Developer: RMS Cos., Stamford
Completion: Early Summer
What it is: The building, now nearly complete, will add 112 market-rate apartments with three levels of parking, two of them underground.
Why it matters: The seven-story apartment building is the sixth to be built in the City Crossing development and is a block from the redevelopment on College Street. The apartments replaced parking lots that had existed for decades. City Crossing included the conversion of one structure — a historic school — into residential rentals.
For The Mason at City Crossing, developer Randy Salvatore negotiated a ground lease with the lot’s owner, Yale University, allowing a development that will put the property back onto the tax rolls.
5. Winchester Green
Cost: $90 million
Developer: Twining Properties and LMXD, both of New York
Completion: End of 2025.
What it is: Winchester Green is a 283-unit mixed-income apartment development that broke ground in March on the sprawling former Winchester Repeating Arms Co. factory complex.
The project, which will also include community-oriented retail, is part of a larger development by the Science Park Development Corp. Science Park is a not-for-profit, public-private partnership that includes Yale University, the city of New Haven, Olin Corp. and the state of Connecticut.
Why it matters: Redevelopment of the manufacturing complex, closed in 1981, draws on its past as an office park but makes the transition to 21st-century innovation, focused on biotech. Winchester Green is one of the largest residential projects under construction in the city.
The apartments will come in addition to 158 apartments, 150,000 square feet of lab space — now fully leased — and office space in two existing buildings. When complete, the area — known as Winchester Center — is expected to include 1,000 apartments, shops and restaurants, parks and a half million square feet of additional lab space.
6. 300 State St.
Cost: $56 million
Developer: Beacon Communities, Boston
Completion: Late 2025
What it is: This development, which broke ground earlier this month, will create 76 apartments. The majority will be pegged to tenants with incomes ranging from at or below 30% to 60% of the area’s median income in the city’s Ninth Square district. The project will create 19,000 square feet of street-level commercial space
Why it matters: The project, at the pivotal corner of State and Chapel streets, will transform a parking lot, an eyesore. and a largely vacant neighboring building along Chapel into much-needed affordable housing. The project is within walking distance of local restaurants, shops, bus stops and the State Street train station.
The development further strengthens the residential fabric of Ninth Square and connects to Wooster Square.
7. Union Square
Cost: To be determined
Developer: Elm City Communities/New Haven Housing Authority; Glendower Group, New Haven
Completion: To be determined
What it is: A redevelopment of 13 acres across from Union Station — the former, now demolished Church Street South housing complex — could include more than 1,000 units of mixed-income housing that would be built in phases.
There would be a focus on providing “deeply affordable” rents for people who earn below 30% of the area median income. The redevelopment also includes the aging Wolfe Building on nearby Union Avenue, which eventually will be torn down. Plans are expected to take shape by November.
Why it matters: The Church Street South housing complex was demolished in 2018 after years of neglect. The tract of land is the largest that is undeveloped near the train station. Union Square would replace crucial affordable housing lost in the demolition and meet a commitment allowing former tenants of Church Street South to return.
8. Union Station
Cost: To be determined
Developer: To be determined
Completion: To be determined
What it is: The project has secured more than $30 million in state grants to support and attract private investment.
The project’s scope is broad and is expected to include a major renovation of the station, including its first sit-down restaurant; a potential, mixed-use residential tower on the east lot; and a new center for buses and shuttles on the west lot located in a lower level beneath a parking garage to replace the east lot. The residential tower would be the first new non-transportation construction at Union Station.
Why it matters: Union Station is considered among the top 20 stations nationwide for Amtrak and major stations for both Metro-North and CT Rail, all of which converge in New Haven. The improvements are planned to create a more welcoming arrival to New Haven, and a stronger base for commuters and leisure riders traveling to and from New York City.
9. Science Hill
Cost: $1 billion-plus
Developer: Yale University
Completion: 2034
What it is: The project includes an expansion of the Wright Lab, which focuses on cutting-edge research in physics; a new Advanced Instrumentation Development Center; and a new physical science and engineering building.
Why it matters: The project is one of the largest in Yale’s 322-year history and is intended to solidify Yale as long-term strategic leader in quantum science and related fields of research. Quantum science focuses on the study of the smallest particles in nature and is expected to broaden understanding of the universe in the future and lead to new technology, including advanced computers and ultra-precise measuring devices.
10. Residences at Canal Place
Cost: $37 million
Developer: RJ Development + Advisors, New Haven
Completion: Late 2024
What it is: This project will create 176 apartments as part of a mixed-use, mixed-income development in the Dixwell neighborhood along the Farmington Canal Line and near Science Park.
Why it matters: The development will add to the city’s supply of much-needed affordable housing without displacement of current residents. Affordable units account for 50 of the apartments, or nearly 30%, higher than the typical privately-financed development.
SOURCES: City of New Haven, Elm City Communities, developers, Hartford Courant reporting
Construction of new Choate admissions building, underground parking garage begin in Wallingford
Christian Metzger
WALLINGFORD — A year after approval by the Planning and Zoning Commission, construction has begun on Choate Rosemary Hall’s new admissions center and cafeteria expansion.
The grounds for a new expanded admissions center at the corner of North Main and Elm streets are being cleared and earth is being moved on the central campus to make room for a 14,000-square foot, two-story building with an underground 70-space parking garage. Completion is expected sometime next year. Top of Form
The project was subject to a months-long approval process that concluded in May of last year. One of the major sources of contention was the addition of the underground parking garage, which some members of the commission believed would bring too much traffic to the residential area surrounding the school.
The new garage will replace an existing 60-space lot outside the current admissions building and will be covered with grass and new landscaping.
“From an environmental standpoint, it decreases the runoff from oil and other things that surface parking lots are known for. And then the new lot of course will have a green roof to it. It will be lawn on top, ” said Choate’s Chief Financial Officer Patrick Durbin.
According to Choate officials, the current admissions office is outdated and unable to fulfill the growing needs of its staff as interest in the school continues to increase year over year. They said that while Choate isn't looking to expand enrollment beyond its current 860 students, many more prospective students have been coming to the campus from across the globe, and they want a modern facility that accommodates those arrivals and the needs of its staff.
“We have an enrollment of around 860 students, which has been steady and we've done some self-studies, we're committed to that size. What we have seen, however, is that interest in our school has expanded greatly. And that is wonderful news for us and by design because we are dependent upon attracting students nationally and internationally,” said Chief Communications Officer Alison Cady.
“What we have seen is that our application numbers are way up, interest in the school is way up, and that brings a lot of visitors to campus and also to Wallingford. So while that has not changed dramatically our function here on campus, our improvement of our facilities is just to support the existing program supporting 860 students during the academic year," Cady said.
The new admissions center has a focus of environmentalism at the core of its design, being given the highest rating on the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design scale, with the goal of decreasing the school’s overall carbon footprint.
The first floor will be dedicated to a welcoming reception area and a versatile gathering space that can be configured for meetings, informational sessions, presentations, and receptions. The second floor will house more modern office spaces, which staff hope will increase the overall efficiency of their operations.
The name for the new space will be Carr Hall. It is named after Michael Carr, who served as chairman of Choate’s Board of Trustees from 2011 to 2019, and helped modernize the school and see significant additions to the campus during his tenure.
Simultaneously, the central dining facility in the Hill House building is also being renovated to add a new food service area so staff can accommodate the growing dietary needs of the students that aren’t being met with their current space. Hill House was built in 1910, and has created restrictions for the kitchen staff.
The new construction will add a 3,600-square-foot addition to the building, and while students are able to currently dine in the hall it will be closed during the fall and winter term as the area needs to be cleared for construction. Until it's finished, students will be temporarily relocated to the vacant student activity center to dine, moving back into Hill House by the end of next winter when the facility is complete.
Both projects were designed by Robert A.M. Stern Architects, a global firm based in New York, which the school has used for several projects including the Kohler Environmental Center.
“We have a situation where we have students living away from home and with different allergy needs and cultural considerations, dining preferences. Expanding that footprint a little bit allows us to offer all of those options, but also in a fairly efficient way because we move a lot of people through the dining hall in a short period of time in the middle of the class day when they are between classes,” Durbin said.
Cady noted that they were already considering other projects to continue expanding the school and providing new services for their students, but she was unable to offer further details. For the time being, she said that the school was anticipating seeing the new buildings completed next year, and that the new welcome center will become a focal point for new arrivals to the school, and Wallingford more broadly.
“Everything's moving along smoothly and we're really excited about the opportunities that these new spaces will provide,” Cady said. “In support of all the visitors that come to the town of Wallingford to visit Choate, we really think that these will be improvements. And as you may know, we support many community events on campus and a dining hall being used day to day by our students is really important. But as we can share these facilities with the community, we look forward to doing that as well.”
Danbury Municipal Airport overhauls taxiway in $2.5 million project: 'Needed to be done'
DANBURY — A $2.5 million project to repave taxiway Charlie at Danbury Municipal Airport and install new lighting along that span is ahead of schedule, according to the airport’s administrator.
Contractors are working to install the taxiway’s new LED lighting system, while they wait for the Federal Aviation Administration to approve the blacktop mixture they will use to complete the paving, airport Administrator Mike Safranek said.
“That’s moving along very very well,” Safranek said Tuesday.
Until the project began, the taxiway, which spans between taxiway Delta and the runway 8 approach, had gone 35 years without a complete overhaul.
“The taxiway that we’re repaving, it was deteriorating so badly that it was difficult for planes to actually maneuver on it,” Safranek said. The lateral separation along the taxiway’s pavement “was getting to be really bad,” he added.
Before the project began, crews temporarily fixed the
deteriorating surface by saw-cutting and filling cracks with asphalt.
“It was not dangerous, but it needed to be done,” Safranek said, adding that
the overhaul should have been completed five to seven years ago. “It was time.
The FAA agreed.”
Taxiway Charlie’s old lights were 40 years old. Crews are now installing a new LED system using an underground conduit, which Safranek described as “safer” than the direct burial method of the former system.
“It’s better for the longevity of the wiring, being conduit,” Safranek said.
Oxford-based Guerrera Construction Co. is the contractor completing the work. Hoyle, Tanner & Associates Inc., an engineering firm from New Hampshire, is the engineer on site overseeing the project.
The project is more than 60 percent completed. Federal funds will cover 90 percent of its costs; city funds will cover $213,108; and state funds will cover the remainder. Leaders expect the project will be completed by early summer.
While the project is underway, taxiway usage is limited at Danbury Municipal Airport. A section of Delta taxiway and half of Charlie taxiway are currently closed, Safranek said. The limits on taxiway usage are out of concern for safety, he said.
“My biggest concern, always, with construction equipment and airplanes, is it throws a lot more pressure on the aircraft control tower to move them around the airport,” Safranek said. So limiting the movement of equipment and aircraft is “a lot safer.”
The FAA signed off on the airport’s safety plan, he said.
“So it wasn’t just me putting together a safety plan. There are levels and levels of engineers and safety experts who sign off on it before it becomes official,” the airport administrator said.
The project, once completed, “won’t increase airport traffic at all,” Safranek said.
It was part of a larger five-year capital improvement plan that received approvals from the FAA, the Connecticut Airport Authority and local officials.
MERIDEN – A proposal that would allow MidState Medical Center to expand its operation by breaking a city lease on soccer fields and relocating them to Columbus Park passed a joint meeting of the Finance and Public Works and Parks & Recreation committees at City Hall on Thursday and was referred to the City Council meeting scheduled for Monday.
Mayor Kevin Scarpati, representatives of the Meriden Soccer Club and other city councilors supported the decision because it would bring an investment of $60 million to $100 million to the city’s Grand List and expand the hospital’s operations. If the resolution is passed as-is, the city would accept a projected $1.7 million from MidState to relocate two grass fields to the current site of two softball fields in Columbus Park on Lewis Avenue. The city would use an additional $2.4 million from its Capital Improvement Plan to install synthetic turf on the fields to increase play.
City Councilor and Meriden Soccer Club member Joe Scaramuzzo expressed support for the proposal.
“As much as I think we have a lot of work to do from a communication point of view and the logistics and getting all the stakeholders to understand what their piece of this is and how everyone fits in, I really think we need to get this going to improve the Grand List and get this project moving,” Scaramuzzo said.
However, Democratic Majority Leader Sonya Jelks, former city councilor Miguel Castro and representatives from the Mexican Soccer League were among those who expressed concerns about the impact of the decision and criticized the lack of input from residents and other stakeholders in the decision-making process.
“You have my phone number. You can call me anytime. I feel like I'm rejected from these meetings. I don't know what happened,” said Mexican Soccer League Director Alejandro González during the public comment session.
González was among the founding members of the league in 2010. The league now has over 250 male players of all ages. They typically gather to play soccer in Columbus Park every Sunday from April through October, an event which attracts families and food trucks.
González said he was angry and disappointed at the treatment of the Mexican Soccer League, citing issues with cutting the grass and having to rent portable toilets. He added that the league did not receive a permit from the city to play on the field at Columbus Avenue this year, even though the league brings health benefits and community engagement to the city.
In response to these concerns, Acting City Manager Emily Holland said the city did receive the application for this year, but did not want to commit to having the league on a specific field until they knew for sure what was going to happen with the MidState agreement.
Parks and Recreation Director Chris Bourden added that based on the discussion, it was unlikely any users of the field at Columbus Park would be impacted by construction this year. He added that the city would have to pay an employee double time to open the bathrooms on Sundays, but said he was open to working with the league. Despite the concerns, he spoke in support of the artificial turf fields because it would allow heavy use by the public and said the city would work with anyone displaced by construction to reschedule games.
“No matter which place we have, there would be a game of musical chairs in which an existing user would end up without a place to play,” he said. “You’re going to need a site like that that is currently not being used that's not going to displace a current user and right now, there is no other option that's better than Columbus Park.”
He referenced a 2019 study from Meriden engineering firm BL Cos. that considered relocating the MidState fields to Washington Park, Ceppa Field, and a privately owned vacant lot at 525 Kensington Ave. BL's report found that it would be much cheaper and easier to repurpose existing city parks locations instead of developing new facilities on unused private lands.
However, Jelks raised a series of ongoing concerns about the location of the park and said that local residents were not involved in the decision, as well as the lack of recreation spaces in the downtown area. She said that there was not a lot of parking, so creative scheduling and a potential expansion of the parking lot would be necessary to avoid unsafe traffic.
“I'm concerned that we're making decisions without ensuring that we're building for people who actually have to live in our community and who have to live around whatever traffic,” she said.
Meriden Soccer Club volunteer coach Ian Gaither spoke to the importance of club and asked that the city keep the fields because of the game’s importance to the kids he coaches. He said that most of the kids are usually inside and on their phones and that the club was an important part of creating exercise.
“With all these different language barriers that we have going on," he said, "the beautiful game of soccer brings everybody together as one, which is one common goal of just trying to score goals and keep the ball off your net."
Groton Long Point Bridge over railroad to be replaced
Kimberly Drelich
Groton ― The state plans to replace the aging bridge carrying Groton Long Point Road over the Amtrak railroad, with a new span that will provide greater clearance above the railroad tracks.
About 3,400 vehicles travel every day across the bridge, which is located to the north of Esker Point Beach and to the south of the road’s intersection with South Elm Street.
State Department of Transportation Communications Director Josh Morgan said the bridge overall is in fair condition. Its superstructure, including the steel beams and concrete deck is in fair condition, but the beams’ paint system is failing.
The DOT decided to replace the bridge, rather than repair it, to address structural issues while also allowing a higher vertical clearance for the railroad tracks underneath it, Morgan said. Currently, the vertical clearance is less than Amtrak’s standard minimum clearance for electrified railroads.
The new 113-foot span over the Amtrak right-of-way will be built with materials that will protect the bridge and extend its life, Morgan said.
Morgan said the new bridge will last at least 75 years and lower the cost of future maintenance.
“This provides a structure that accommodates safe travel for all,” including drivers, pedestrians, cyclists and trains, he said.
The DOT’s project team outlined details of the project during a virtual information session held Monday evening.
Jodi Constant, a project manager with engineering consulting firm WSP, said the project calls for pavement markings for bike lanes along Groton Long Point Road from Esker Point Beach up to Robert E. Fitch High School.
A new sidewalk will be installed on the west side of the road, south of the bridge. Sidewalks also are proposed between Fishers View Drive and Mohegan Drive, with the intention to connect sidewalks to the Esker Point Beach parking lot.
Constant said the existing road, at the bridge location, will have to be raised to meet the standard minimum vertical clearance for the railroad.
She said the project is estimated to cost $13.6 million. Federal funds will cover 80% of the project. The remaining 20% will come from state and municipal funds, with the exact breakdown to be determined as the project reaches its final design stage, she said.
The bridge replacement project will begin in the fall of 2026 and is slated to wrap up in the fall of 2028, according to the preliminary schedule.
Constant noted that an adjacent bridge replacement project, the Groton Long Point Road Bridge over Palmer’s Cove, is in the conceptual design phase. More information on that project will be shared at a public information session in November.
“We have already begun coordinating with their project team to ensure that these projects are going to be completed without any conflicts of one another,” she said.
Residents and business owners asked questions, including if there would be a way to limit construction during the busy summer season, what the impact on local businesses would be and if the work could be done more quickly.
Constant said the DOT doesn’t have any contract requirements that would limit construction activities in the summer but it’s something that can be considered.
She added the schedule can be looked at more closely as part of the final design process to try to avoid major construction activities in the summer and alleviate traffic. But she pointed out the DOT has to coordinate the construction work with Amtrak.
She also said there are ways to accelerate bridge construction, but it is more costly. She said the planned one-way alternating traffic during construction is the most balanced way to keep traffic moving while getting the project done as quickly as possible.
The public comment period is until May 27. More information about the project is available at: https://portal.ct.gov/dotgroton58-342.
Groton outlines guidelines for Groton Heights School redevelopment
Kimberly Drelich
Groton ― As the town plans to again seek proposals for the redevelopment of the Groton Heights School property, it wants a future developer to keep the historic two-story structure, if feasible.
The Town Council plans to include that, among other development guidelines, in a Request for Proposals document for the approximately 2-acre property at 244 Monument St. in the city.
The council also wants a future developer to create a quality development that will complement the neighborhood and manage traffic; preserve or create public space or recreation on or near the property that will be open to all Groton residents; and retain trees and landscape the property where feasible, among other guidelines listed in the draft Request for Proposals document.
There is no requirement that a potential developer propose housing for the site, but if a developer submits a proposal for housing, at least 10% of the units should be affordable.
After proposing changes to the draft document at its Committee of the Whole meeting on Tuesday, the Town Council recommended the Request for Proposals be taken up at the June 4 council meeting. It then would be sent to the Planning & Zoning Commission and Representative Town Meeting for comment, said Town Manager John Burt.
The town also is including criteria that, while not required, will help potential developers score higher on the town’s evaluation, such as including a Project Labor Agreement, incorporating solar lighting and carbon-neutral development, and having a variety of affordable housing price points, if housing is proposed, Burt said.
The town will seek proposals after ThayerMahan last year decided it would not move forward with redeveloping the school property as its headquarters and research and development center.
At the Tuesday meeting, Economic and Community Development Manager Paige Bronk said the intent is to keep the shell of the 1912 building, designed by Dudley St. Clair Donnelly, but the interior will need substantial modification or to be gutted. He said the town repaired the roof after water poured into at least the top floor a few years ago, and most of the windows and doors have been vandalized.
He said the gym was built after the original building, and the city potentially would entertain the removal of the gym or some modification of the gym.
Jon Reiner, the town’s director of planning and development services, said if there are not substantial changes as it goes through the town commissions, the town could issue the Request for Proposals in August.
The town also is asking to be part of the negotiations in a potential land swap between a developer and the adjacent Bill Memorial Library.
The town is reviewing the draft document before issuing it for potential developers to submit proposals. The town would then review the proposals and follow its recently revised process for vacant, town-owned properties, to select a developer. The new process is designed to include more community input and treat all vacant properties equitably, Burt has said.
Burt said he expects the Town Council to discuss a draft Request for Proposals document for another vacant town-owned property, the former Pleasant Valley School, at its May 28 Committee of the Whole meeting.
Beacon Falls officials consider relocating train station for regional hub with Seymour
ANDREAS YILMA
BEACON FALLS – Town officials are exploring the option of relocating the town’s train station to the Beacon Falls-Seymour line for a regional station serving both towns.
The Board of Selectmen approved a draft and sent a letter to the state Department of Transportation to show the town is in favor of exploring the option to combine the two train stations and move them. The town would need the DOT to approve the project.
Haynes Construction President Tom Haynes requested the letter from Beacon Falls First Selectman Gerald Smith and Seymour First Selectman Annmarie Drugonis.
Haynes was successful last year in getting $3 million in federal funds for construction of a 2-mile connector road to access a large stretch of privately owned property along Route 8 and the Waterbury rail line, one of the last pieces of undeveloped land in the Naugatuck River corridor.
Smith said if Haynes Construction gets the next $19 million to finish the road, Haynes would put up the $100 million for the train station project but the cost would be closer to $200 million.
“It would build the plans and it would actually move the project forward on his dime,” Smith said.
Smith said there’s pros and cons to keeping the train station where it is and moving it for a regional location.
“It’s a matter of do we see the value in keeping the Transit Oriented District here where we have our downtown,” Smith said. “Town Hall is in the Transit Oriented District, all of Railroad Avenue is in the Transit Oriented District, all of Main Street is in the Transit Oriented District. That all goes away if we do move it.”
However, Smith said there is a big potential for commercial, industrial and residential development with the proposed Haynes development. It’s a tough call as there are benefits to both, he added.
The Beacon Falls train station is on Railroad Avenue near downtown while the Seymour train station is on Main Street.
The proposed roadway would connect Route 67 in Seymour with Route 42 in Beacon Falls along the Naugatuck River Greenway. The access road also would lead to the 220-acre parcel of undeveloped land, owned by Haynes Construction and Real Estate Corp. of Seymour. Their vision is to transform the area into a housing, commercial, medical and light-industrial hub.
Haynes officials previously said the massive project would be similar to what the company created at Quarry Walk in Oxford, a 30-acre former quarry site that has since been developed into a popular living and shopping destination. It created more than 2,000 jobs and generates as much as $2 million annually in local tax revenue.
Selectman Michael A. Krenesky said he also had a brief conversation with Drugonis.
“To me there’s an economic development aspect of this that the town of Beacon Falls will sorely miss out on should the Haynes project go get put together and Beacon Falls is not part of it,” Krenesky said.
Out of the people who do use the train station, the only people that walk to the train station are people that may live in the condos or possibly some people on the hill. Anyone else who wants to use the train station has to drive to it. They have to drive to Main Street or if it’s moved, they would have to drive to Breault Road. The difference would only be about a mile, Krenesky said.
“I support the idea of putting this letter together because it brings us to that next step of conversation and if nothing else, we can turn around and say no down the road,” Krenesky said. “I don’t think this is locking us in to doing this.”
Selectman Peter Betkoski also agreed to put together the letter to explore a regional train station as the letter doesn’t commit the town to the project but it gives Haynes a little traction to get moving forward.
“If you look at the whole big picture, we’ll still be able to beautify downtown like I have a vision or like our town does, if we get some tax base from there,” Betkoski said.
Groundbreaking ceremony to be held for Lymes’ Senior Center renovation
Elizabeth Regan
Old Lyme ―The delayed Lymes’ Senior Center renovation project will officially break ground Monday.
A ceremony for the $5.5 million renovation will be held at 2 p.m. at the center, which is located at 26 Town Woods Road. The rain date is Tuesday, May 21 at the same time.
Local and state officials will be in attendance.
The center has been closed since the end of September, with meal opportunities and activities spread across locations throughout the two towns for the duration of the renovation.
The project was delayed by factors related to grant funding, insurance coverage and higher than expected construction costs.