CT Construction Digest Monday October 31, 2022
Danbury’s west side school of the future requires a return to the zoning of 40 years ago
DANBURY — The latest stop on the city’s journey to build a $164 million upper school of the future on a hilltop overlooking Kenosia Avenue is to go back to the way zoning was 40 years ago when the biggest thing on the west side was the Danbury Fair.
Before the city can retrofit a 270,000-square-foot office complex on Apple Ridge Road into a middle school and high school academy for 1,400 students, the industrial-zoned property needs to revert to its 1979 status, when the 24 acres in question were residential, like the surrounding neighborhood.
“The purpose of the (residential) zone is to provide for low-density housing and in appropriate locations to permit limited public uses” such as schools, said Sharon Calitro, the city’s top planner, during a public hearing last month. “We have had multiple discussions in the city as a whole about the need to provide additional facilities for our increasing school population.”
Calitro is referring to an emergency effort by City Hall to catch up with runaway student enrollment in Danbury that has surpassed demographers’ projections and put the city on a tight timetable to open the new west side career academy by August 2024.
With the support of voters in June who approved $208 million in borrowing for the west side academy and other emergency classroom construction, the city has proposed what would be Connecticut’s first “wall-to-wall” academy to provide career and college training for every high school student.
The next step is to get permission from the Zoning Commission to change the hilltop property’s use from light industrial to residential. A public hearing for all sides to be heard has been scheduled for 7:30 p.m. on Election Night, Nov. 8.
If the city’s request to change the zoning sounds straightforward, perhaps it is. The zone change is consistent with the principles of the city’s master plan, city officials said, and so far there has been nothing but support for the change. The city’s professional planning staff and Danbury’s appointed Planning Commission have already voiced their support.
Moreover, during a public hearing earlier this month about a Danbury company’s proposal to use a 1.5-acre property down the hill from the academy site to park and service concrete trucks in a 17,000-square-foot building, two city leaders and a neighborhood representative objected, in part because it would be incompatible with the new academy.
“I would ask that you deny this,” said Paul Rotello, the City Council’s Democratic majority leader, at a public hearing on Oct. 19. “Danbury is in the process of negotiating to acquire a parcel to build a high school and a middle school (nearby)… and at the end of the day (the concrete company storage site) is not particularly appropriate for that spot and for that road.”
The hilltop site for the academy overlooks a westside that has been transformed over the decades with the construction of the Danbury Fair mall and large-scale residential developments.
Today the westside continues to lead Danbury in economic development.
Because the academy site is already developed, it is an ideal location for the school district’s needs and a good fit to return to its residential roots, Calitro said.
“(The parking lot) in the back of this property used to be zoned (residential) and given the fact that the voters approved this, it could lead the Zoning Commission to conclude that this zoning change meets all of the (required) criteria,” Calitro told planners last month. “There is public water and sewer on the site, there’s not excessive slopes, and while there is some indications of wetlands, those have been avoided in the development of the parking facility.”
Former New Haven Coliseum site to begin new life as 'Square 10'
NEW HAVEN — Fifteen years after the city imploded the New Haven Veterans Memorial Coliseum, construction of the first of three buildings in Phase 1 of the site's redevelopment — to be known as "Square 10" — is about to begin, Mayor Justin Elicker and the developer announced Friday.
The five-acre site, which has been a parking lot since the Coliseum fell, is at the city's front door, where vehicles exiting Interstate 95 and Interstate 91 on Route 34 first enter downtown. It eventually will be home to 700 units, with ground-floor retail, a pool, a health club, a public plaza and other amenities.
The first building will consist of 200 apartments.
The Coliseum site, at 275 S. Orange St., "is one of the most important pieces of the Downtown Crossing redevelopment project," the city said in a release.
"It'll be a game-changer," Elicker said Friday. "It's the welcome mat to the city for so many people that come to the train station, drive in through Route 34.
"What people have seen for years is an empty parking lot," Elicker said. "Now, they will see a dynamic, mixed use, residential-retail-office complex" that "will invite people in."
In addition, "it will build on the already booming bioscience sector in the city and the residential (component) includes a good amount of affordable housing," he said.
“The transfer of the Coliseum site to LWLP New Haven LLC marks a major milestone in the Downtown Crossing infrastructure and development project that took patience, perseverance, and the right partner to reach,” Elicker said in the release.
“With this closing, the City of New Haven can begin to fulfill an important piece of our Downtown Crossing initiative, a transformative project that is reconnecting neighborhoods long cut off by failed, so-called 'urban renewal' efforts of the past and creating a new neighborhood within walking distance of Union Station and the Medical District," Elicker said.
"The redevelopment of the Coliseum site will provide an assortment of new commercial, residential, office, and educational spaces that will enable new local economic growth, create new jobs, unlock new business opportunities, and provide new market and affordable housing options for New Haven residents,” he said.
“We are thrilled at last to be moving forward with construction on this site, and to be a partner in a project that is transforming New Haven,” said Clay Fowler, founding partner of Spinnaker Real Estate Partners, based in Norwalk, and a principal of LWLP New Haven LLC.
“Spinnaker specializes in development opportunities that integrate the uniqueness and sense of place found in existing communities," Fowler said in the release. "We are constantly exploring neighborhoods that possess authenticity, connectedness, and the potential for livability.
"We appreciate all of the hard work by the city and community stakeholders, and we’re very excited to be moving forward and getting shovels in the ground,” Fowler said.
Spinnaker took over the project in August 2019 after the original developer, Live Work Learn Play, a Montreal company that started the plan in 2013, withdrew after six years, faced with complications related to potentially moving utility lines and putting up a hotel that didn’t cost out.
"As you know, it's been a long road" with "a lot of challenges. But we've persevered and it's been a lot of hard work," said Frank Caico, vice president of development for Spinnaker and one of its partners. "But we've finally reached a point where we can put shovels in the ground.
"I just feel very proud and we're really excited to bring this vision through to a reality," Caico said.
“The city will work with our partners to develop the Coliseum site through inclusive growth and exceptional design," said city Economic Development Administrator Michael Piscitelli. "The meaningful scientific research here in New Haven continues to drive our economy and we look forward to the next steps in the journey.”
Phase 1A of the project will include 200 apartments, about 16,000 square feet of retail space and more than 25,000 square feet of public open space, with a plaza along a “retail laneway,” officials said.
The developer will set aside 20 of those apartments as "affordable housing" for households at 50 percent to 60 percent of the area median income, and 20 units for households at 61 percent to 100 percent of the AMI.
Affordable housing was a major concern during negotiations and review of the plans, with Spinnaker at one point modifying the income range of tenants who would qualify for the affordable units in the wake of public feedback during the review process.
The city has finalized its conveyance of Phase 1 of the site to LWLP New Haven LLC, a consortium of Spinnaker Real Estate Partners, the Fieber Group, and KDP, completing the closing Thursday, Elicker said.
Phase 1 is a 3.5-acre parcel that will be developed in three sub-phases, which will include housing, public amenities and a "life sciences" medical and lab office building, city officials said.
A groundbreaking event to kick off Phase 1A construction is scheduled for Nov. 10, officials said. A community meeting on the project has been tentatively set for Nov. 17,
The next two buildings, Phase 1B and Phase 1C , which still need zoning approval, will follow next year after plans are reviewed and approved by the City Plan Commission, city officials and an executive with the developer said.
Phase 1B currently calls for construction of a 650-space parking garage and an additional 75 to 100 apartments, 20 percent of which will be affordable units, officials said. The new housing will partially wrap around the garage structure.
Phase 1C will involve the construction of a more than 200,000-square-foot medical and laboratory building with a ground-floor restaurant, officials said.
The total construction price for Phase 1A is expected to be $76 million, with the costs of the later phases still to be determined, said city spokesman Len Speiller. Estimated completion dates are 2025 for Phase 1A and 2027 for phases 1B and 1C, he said.
Ancora L&G, based in Durham, N.C., will carry out the development of Phase 1C. Ancora L&G specializes in building high-quality med/lab environments "in academic centers of distinction," the city said in the release.
In this case, Ancora L&G will build on research and innovation led by Yale University, as well as New Haven’s proximity to the New York and Boston metropolitan markets, the release said. Pelli Clarke & Partners, an architectural firm based in New Haven, will be the designer.
“We at Ancora L&G are excited to be a part of the redevelopment of this important gateway corner of downtown New Haven into a vibrant, thriving, Square 10,” said Josh Parker, CEO of Ancora L&G.
“We look forward to delivering a landmark building that advances research, academic collaboration and continued growth for the region’s early stage and mature life sciences companies, while also joining with the community’s residential and retail activities to enhance the economic and social health of New Haven,” Parker said in the release.
“The building planned by Ancora L&G for Square 10 will further establish New Haven as a regional hub for bioscience and biotechnology research and innovation, improving economic outcomes for the city and residents with good-paying jobs,” said Ginny Kozlowski, CEO of the New Haven Economic Development Corporation.
Alder Carmen Rodriguez, D-6, said she appreciated the developers listening and responding to the public's input.
“It’s so gratifying to see the Downtown Crossing project taking shape and to know that the input and ideas of residents have been considered and incorporated into the plan,” Rodriguez said.
“The redevelopment of the Coliseum site is one of the last, and biggest, parts of this transformative plan and I look forward to residents once again providing input on this project to ensure that Square 10 promotes economic growth that is both inclusive and sustainable,” she said in the release.
The city demolished the former New Haven Veterans Memorial Coliseum in 2007, and has since used the site for public parking.
Under the terms of the 2013 Development and Land Disposition Agreement, which LWLP New Haven LLC assumed in 2019, the company formally took possession of the 3.5-acre Phase 1 parcel and will serve as the developer for the overall project. Also under the terms of the agreement, the city sold the property to the developer for $1.
The company has secured $50 million in debt financing from Webster Bank, which, coupled with private equity from MSquared, enables construction of the $76 million Phase 1A investment to move forward.
Two additional development sites, totaling about one acre, will remain along the State Street side of the Coliseum site after completion of Phase 1C.
The sites will be reserved for Phase 2 and leased to LWLP New Haven LLC for interim use until a development project is ready to move forward, according to the release.
The city is seeking additional funding for Downtown Crossing roadway infrastructure. The hope is to use it to develop the former North Frontage Road right-of-way into a bicycle and pedestrian greenway park, officials said.
Big mixed-use development proposed for former West Hartford UConn branch campus
The buyers of the former University of Connecticut satellite campus in West Hartford have forwarded several possible design schemes for the 57-acre property, predominantly focusing on a mix of multifamily housing, retail, restaurants, medical office, research space and a neighborhood market.
Plans also call for walking trails and public park space. The development site is composed of two properties on opposite sides of the intersection of Trout Brook Drive and Asylum Avenue, 1700 and 1800 Asylum Ave. One already hosts several ball fields.
Five development options were shared with West Hartford’s Design Review Committee Thursday. Four mixed-use, with commercial development at 1800 Asylum Ave., the portion of the campus hosting academic buildings. Residential development would be clustered on the eastern side of Trout Brook Drive, 1700 Asylum Ave., a location currently occupied by parking lots and playing fields.
The “preferred” option shows seven large residential buildings ranging from three to five stories, along with a clubhouse, at 1700 Asylum Ave. This option also includes residential development on 1800 Asylum Ave., with some mixed retail and residential buildings, townhouses and multifamily buildings. This version includes a laboratory/research building, organic market, parking structure and retail building.
The proposal has been forwarded by West Hartford 1 LLC, which is listed as the principal of the limited liability companies that paid $2.75 million for the properties in December. West Hartford 1 has been quiet about its backers, but it shares a West Hartford office with Dominion Realty Group, whose principal, Domenic Carpionato, is a senior vice president with Rhode Island real estate development company Carpionato Group. A spokesperson for West Hartford 1 confirmed Carpionato Group is not involved in the West Hartford development.
Government relations firm Sullivan & LeShane released a statement Thursday on behalf of West Hartford 1 LLC.
“The people who live and work in this area have waited a long time for the empty UConn campus to re-emerge in a way that befits the size, scale and natural features of this property," reads a portion of the statement. “As we begin discussions and idea-sharing with the Town of West Hartford, we will also begin engaging with neighbors, residents and community organizations so we can ultimately shape and bring to the community a plan that is worthy of this neighborhood and contributes to West Hartford’s vitality.”
The plans presented Thursday will be further refined and would ultimately require a zone change from the Town Council, according to Town Planner Todd Dumais. It is likely the council would be asked to approve a special development design district, a sort of overlay zone, permitting the development, Dumais said. That process would include input from the Design Review Committee and the Planning and Zoning Commission. The properties are currently zoned for single-family development, Dumais said.
The development would also require an approval from the Inland Wetlands and Watercourses Commission, Dumais said.
West Hartford 1’s submission identified itself, Newman Architects, BL Companies and Alter & Pearson LLC. as members of the development team.
Don Stacom
Complaining of decades of decay at the Silver Lane Plaza, a series of East Hartford residents on Friday praised town government’s progress toward acquiring the property through eminent domain.
If the town council endorses the idea Tuesday night, East Hartford might have control of the 20-acre property before the year ends, Mayor Mike Walsh said Friday.
A town panel voted unanimously Thursday night to pursue seizing the half-empty shopping center, and the reaction on social media was overwhelmingly positive the next day.
The town posted the vote on its municipal Facebook page, and more than 65 people added comments — nearly all praising the decision. Comments like “Finally!” “great news” and “Thank God, what an eyesore” appeared in the first few hours.
“What was important was to see the community come together and in a strong, uniform voice say they support this,” Walsh said of Thursday night’s meeting of the redevelopment agency.
Eminent domain allows the state or individual communities to take private property when there is a strong public interest being served. The government must be able to demonstrate that interest, and has to pay the owner a reasonable price in compensation.
It is a power that towns and cities rarely invoke. When they do, they’re usually targeting land needed to complete a local school, a road, a police station, firehouse, library or other core municipal service.
But under narrow conditions, state law also allows eminent domain to take a property that is severely neglected or blighted.
East Hartford officials have warned that two massive development plans very close by — one for more than 470 apartments, the other for two mega-warehouses and a medical research complex — could be jeopardized if the plaza isn’t either upgraded or torn down.
East Hartford has two appraisals for the Silver Lane Plaza that average out to about $4.5 million. The town received federal aid that will cover that expense, but has made no progress in negotiations with owner East Hartford Venture LLC.
Walsh’s administration has said for the past year that the owner has shown no interest in good faith talks, even though the town has advised it that upgrading the property is crucial to a redevelopment plan for the whole Silver Lane corridor.
Calling the plaza “an eyesore,” lifelong resident David Case told the agency that he and his family support Walsh’s plan to buy and demolish it. The town would then seek developers for residential or mixed-used development of the land.
“We’re the crossroads of New England. We want people to come here, shop here, live here. I want to see us grow,” Case said. “This is not just a plan to knock things down, it’s a plan to revitalize this town.”
Resident Eileen Driscoll agreed.
“That thing is ugly. It’s like a bad apple,” Driscoll said. “I’m not a big fan of eminent domain, but when it’s got to be done, it’s got to be done.”
Don Poland, a senior planner with the Goman+York consulting firm, said Thursday night that the town’s redevelopment plan for the Silver Lane corridor includes less retail and more multi-family housing and mixed-use development. The plan clearly cites the plaza as one of the three key properties that need remediation, he said.
In the past, the property manager for the Silver Lane Plaza has said the town is overstating the state of disrepair there. The company did not issue a comment about Thursday night’s decision.
Walsh emphasized that the town is committed to helping the small number of shops and service businesses at the plaza to relocate before construction.
“At the end of the day, these are East Hartford businesses and we value them very much,” Walsh said.
Eversource C.E.O. "deeply concerned" about region's winter power capacity
MANCHESTER, N.H. —
New England may not have enough power if a severe cold spell hits this winter, the President and Chief Executive Officer of Eversource Energy warned in a letter to President Joe Biden.
“I write to you today to ask for your Administration’s leadership again to swiftly address the growing concerns about winter electric reliability in New England,” wrote Joseph R. Nolan, Jr.
“As both an energy company CEO and a lifelong New Englander, I am deeply concerned about the potentially severe impact a winter energy shortfall would have on the people and businesses of this region.”
Nolan called this a serious public health and safety threat.
He wrote that Eversource has ramped up investments in clean energy resources, but many of these projects won’t be bringing power to the grid for several years.
He added that both the region’s electricity grid operator and the federal Energy Regulatory Commission worry New England won’t have enough natural gas to meet power needs during a stretch of bitter cold weather.
He also mentioned the war in Ukraine, saying it has led to high electricity and gas costs as well as global price pressures.
“I respectfully urge you, Mr. President, to employ the emergency powers of the federal government to take all steps to ensure that adequate fuel resources will be available in the event of severe weather conditions in New England this winter,” Nolan wrote.
Nolan mentioned several emergency authorities the federal government has at its disposal, including the Federal Power Act, the Jones Act, the Natural Gas Policy Act, and the Defense Production Act as potential tools to help.
Nolan closed the letter by saying, “I know that you share my concern for the people and businesses of this great region. I ask your Administration to take all necessary measures without delay.”
WMUR reached out to the White House for a response to the letter, but we did not hear back on Friday.
Agreement approval moves forward plan to revitalize Waterbury
ALEXANDER MACDOUGAL
WATERBURY — The Board of Aldermen has approved an agreement between the city, Waterbury Development Corp. and environmental engineering firm Tighe & Bond, kicking off the investigation process for the city-owned 170 Freight St. property, part of a broader plan by the city to revitalize the downtown area.
The property is one of three neighboring addresses that the city, under Mayor Neil M. O’Leary, acquired with the intention of clearing out existing, corroding structures and then finding interested property developers. The other two properties are 130 Freight St., home of the former Anaconda Brass factory, and 000 West Main St.
With the agreement, Tighe & Bond now have 180 days to complete their initial investigation of the 170 Freight St. property. This will be followed by preparation for the demolition, then the actual demolition itself, and the subsequent cleanup, said Thomas Hyde, interim director of Waterbury Development Corp.
“Once they go in and investigate, it is likely that the property is going to have to be abated,” he said. “If the building is not structurally sound, then we have the ability to tear the building down and remove everything as polluted. If the building is structurally sound, you have to go in and remove those contaminants before you tear the building down, and it’s likely we’re going to have to do that.”
For all three properties to become ready for development, the timeline may be extended significantly longer, due to the Environmental Protection Agency considering the some of area a hazardous site under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, requiring the city to apply for a stewardship permit, a process which can take up to a year, Hyde said.
Funding for the project comes from a $200,000 grant the city received from the Connecticut Department of Economic Community Development (DECD), as well as money from the $10 million the city received from the state’s Community Investment Fund, spreading across all three sites.
“When we had the two sites originally, we got some DECD money for $130,000. Once we realized we were going to purchase the [170 Freight Street] building, we went out for another grant from DECD for $200,000, and then, at the same time, we went out for another grant from the CFI for all three sites,” Hyde said. “So there’s a lot of different funding sources for this project.”
The plan is part of the city’s Freight Street Redevelopment Strategy, first announced by the city in 2018 to revive economic activity in downtown Waterbury. The total cost for redevelopment is $68 million, with roughly $10 million being provided by the city and the remainder coming from state and federal funds, along with the American Rescue Plan Act and other funding sources.