CT Construction Digest Thursday December 16, 2021
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From apartment buildings to train stations and commercial development projects, here are some of the major works underway in Fairfield and New Haven counties. PLEASE CLICK TITLE ABOVE TO ACCESS STORY.
State aid to jumpstart pair of critical Bridgeport redevelopments
BRIDGEPORT — An infusion of $13 million from the state will speed up two slow-going but significant projects in Connecticut’s largest city — the overhaul of a crumbling East End ammunition manufacturing site and construction of a long-promised youth center for the North End.
The state Bond Commission, chaired by Gov. Ned Lamont, is scheduled to meet Dec. 21 to vote on a new round of borrowing. Its agenda, released this week, includes $10 million to continue cleanup at the former Remington Arms plant, an East Side landmark but also symbol of Bridgeport’s long-gone glory days as a manufacturing hub.
Bridgeport gained control of the Barnum Avenue property from developer Sal DiNardo in the mid-2010s following a foreclosure fight over back taxes and recently stabilized the historic tower which is visible from Interstate 95.
A subsidiary of DuPont, the last industrial user, in 2000 agreed to assume responsibility for cleaning up any underground environmental contamination in preparation for future redevelopment. But the city is responsible for tearing down and removing the century-old buildings.
And that is where the state’s $10 million comes in.
“Hopefully 2022, 2023 and beyond it’s ready for development,” state Rep. Christopher Rosario, D-Bridgeport, who represents the neighborhood, said Wednesday. Rosario would like to see Remington again become “the hub of the East Side” with new commercial and retail uses and even some housing.
Thomas Gill, Mayor Joe Ganim’s economic development chief, said Wednesday that the $10 million — combined with $5 million the Bridgeport City Council set aside in 2020 — should go a long way toward covering the demolition and clean-up.
“That is the idea,” Gill said. “This $10 million is a real, real big help to us.”
But, he cautioned, the city still has to put the job out to bid.
“If it comes in too high over the $15 million we may look at seeing how many of those buildings we can get down for the $15 million,” Gill continued. “The priorities are, obviously, the ones that are burnt out, wide open and extremely dangerous.”
Another reason the demolition is so crucial to Remington’s future is because, Gill noted, the Dupont subsidiary is only responsible for the underground remediation after the complex has been leveled.
And Rosario is still holding out hope the state will eventually move ahead with a dormant effort to built a nearby train station, a project proposed in 2014 under then-Gov. Dannel P. Malloy that Lamont essentially shelved in early 2020.
“Obviously the more we develop that area the better chance and more logical that sounds,” Gill said.
Across town, at Madison and North avenues, the city has already torn down the former North End Boys and Girls Club. That work started in 2018.
But ground has yet to be broken on the replacement facility, proposed six years ago under then-Mayor Bill Finch’s administration and to be operated by the Fairfield-based Wakeman Boys & Girls Club. The $3 million on the Bond Commission’s Dec. 21 agenda will finally get construction going.
“That will allow us to push the green light,” Sabrina Smeltz, Wakeman’s chief executive officer, said Wednesday. “We’re super excited.”
Over the last decade the city obtained control of the property, which had once been operated by the Orcutt Boys & Girls Club, and in 2015 chose to partner on it with Wakeman, which already runs the Smilow-Burroughs Clubhouse in the Black Rock neighborhood.
Under the agreement, Wakeman is leasing the land from the city but will own the new club it is building and operating there. A big part of the delay has been raising the construction and initial operating funds, a price tag that grew from $15 million to the current $23 million.
Smeltz, who was hired in May 2020, said Wednesday with the $3 million Wakeman has finally reached that goal.
“So I’m gonna say ceremonial shovel in the ground beginning of February,” she said. “This is an 18-month build, roughly. We’re hoping to open summer of 2023, realistically July or August.”
The plans for the new North End clubhouse have also evolved over time and become more ambitious. The building will now not only offer youth activities and a cafeteria, but house a licensed pre-school/childcare program, space for Southwest Community Health Center services, the Bridgeport Caribe Youth Leaders and be the new home to Wakeman’s administrative offices. Smeltz noted she is a Bridgeport homeowner.
“The concept of this building is it’s a true community center as much as it’s a boys and girls club,” Smeltz said, adding: “A parent can come in with their infant in the afternoon while other kids are in Wakeman’s afterschool programs, go upstairs to Southwest, get care for their infant and selves, come downstairs, pick up their kid, go to the cafeteria and have a family-style dinner before going home.”
State Rep. Steven Stafstrom, D-Bridgeport, who represents the Black Rock neighborhood where Wakeman already operates, has been a vocal proponent of the North End club.
“The construction of a state of the art Wakeman Boys & Girls Club on Madison Avenue has long been a priority of mine and I am thrilled to have been able to secure the critical state matching investment needed to finally make this $23 million project a reality,” he said in a statement.
The state’s largesse does not end with those two key projects. Also on the Bond Commission agenda is $12.6 million for reconstruction of the parking garage at the Greater Bridgeport Community Mental Health Center and $300,000 to install an elevator at the Klein Memorial Auditorium.
State Sen. Marilyn Moore, D-Bridgeport, who represents the Klein’s neighborhood along Fairfield Avenue, said, “The Klein Memorial Auditorium hosts dozens of events throughout the year and should be a wonderful and up-to-date place for the community to spend time in.”
BRISTOL – Dr. Gerald Niznick invited city leaders to see his plans for a major addition to DoubleTree by Hilton – a 50,000 square foot addition currently under construction and scheduled to complete Jan. 2023.
Niznick, a Las Vegas entrepreneur, and his team of architects held a presentation for Mayor Jeff Caggiano, city council members and city economic development leaders on Monday. The presentation provided an overview of the project and showed architectural renderings of the completed building, inside and out.
Following the presentation, city leaders were taken up to DoubleTree’s presidential suite where they could look down on the new building under construction on six acres of land behind the existing hotel.
Caggiano said that it is “very important” to support projects like this, which he said will bring many people to Bristol.
“This will be a great boon for Bristol,” he said. “It was exciting to see the size of it and how it will look when it is finished. I look forward to seeing many events hosted here. I can’t believe that it will be finished in just a year.”
When the $25 million project is complete, the “Home2 Suites” building will be four stories tall and comprised of steel and concrete, with an EIFS stucco façade. It will connect to the existing building.
The top three floors of the new building will be guest rooms, with the first floor being home to a reception area and meeting rooms. There will be a main ballroom area, with a 32-foot-high ceiling and a dance floor. This area can be divided in two to host multiple events at the same time.
City Councilor Andrew Howe said it was “amazing” to see how the project was coming along.
“After the closing of Nuchie’s, people had to go all the way to the Aqua Turf Club for anything like this,” he said. “This building opening will bring a lot of business back to Bristol.”
Additional features will include a gym, a buffet area, a kitchen area, a bar connected to the inside and outside dining areas, a laundry room, a lecture room for 24 people, a dining room, a billiard room, a lecture room for 40 people, a conference room for 12 people, and an outdoor patio area with a fire pit and a putting green. There will also be several 20-foot television screens.
There will be parking spots for 250 people, plus an underground parking lot for an additional 110 people. The new building will also feature a 12 foot, stainless steel sculpture with a stylized B and C intertwined to stand for Bristol, Connecticut.
Niznick said that he envisions the new building as a “convention hotel.”
“You’ve heard of the saying ‘if you build it, they will come,’” he said. “That is especially true if you build it better than anyone else. This project has been a real team effort.”
Economic and Community Development Board of Commissioners Vice Chair Howard Schmelder said he was “astonished” by what he saw during the presentation. He has served on the Economic and Community Development Board of Commissioners for 48 years and said he voted in favor of DoubleTree originally coming to Bristol as well.
“Now you won’t have to go all the way to Hartford to get a hotel,” he said. “This will be one, very big complex. It’s going to be phenomenal.”
Lynn Dell, general manager of DoubleTree by Hilton, said that the addition will be a “perfect fit” for the city.
“Post covid, people will be looking to come to a space like this with larger rooms,” she said. “And they can also come over to the DoubleTree side to enjoy our pool area and TimeOut Sports & Pizza Bar.”
New Haven developers top bidders in auction of Meriden buildings
Mary Ellen Godin
MERIDEN — A New Haven-based partnership was the top bidder at $250,000 in a bankruptcy auction for two buildings, 9-11 and 13-17 Colony St., Wednesday.
Mendel Paris, founder of Havn Ventures, and Johnny Grunblatt of Malbec Enterprises LLC were among the four bidders that attended the bankruptcy auction at the rear of the properties on Railroad Avenue. City Manager Timothy Coon and Economic Development Director Joseph Feest also attended.
The court-approved bankruptcy sale was facilitated to forego a foreclosure action the city filed against property owner CBD Colony St. LLC for about $96,000 in back taxes and liens owed on the properties.
Paris and Grunblatt’s bid must be approved by the city and the bankruptcy court before it can be finalized, according to Oren Klein, of AuctionAdvisors. The auctioneers will receive 10 percent of the final bid for marketing the buildings to regional investors in advance of Wednesday’s auction.
Paris and Grunblatt are no strangers to Meriden. They recently purchased 51 Colony St., 1-3 Colony St. and 21-23 Colony St. and if approved, will own a significant row of properties downtown.
Downtown landlord and Meriden Planning Commission member Ross Gulino, owner of 5 Colony St., raised the bidding on 9-11 and 13-17 Colony during Wednesday’s auction from $200,000 to $230,000. Paris and Grunblatt outbid Gulino at $250,000.
Auctioneers did not put a value on the buildings but court documents set it at $300,000. City assessments are over $400,000 for both buildings.
“We want to do some multi-family units,” Paris said after the auction. “The city wants some more units here. We are still in talks with the city and working with an architect to do a feasibility study on the commercial uses. We want to bring some life into the corridor here.”
Paris said the city was going through a transformation of development, but for some reason Colony Street was neglected.
“It was begging for someone to do it,” he said. “It’s too small for a bigger developer. As a middle-sized developer, we’ve done projects like this in the past.”
Grunblatt is also excited about the Meriden project and restoring the historic buildings.
“We’ll be bringing some life back to Colony Street,” Grunblatt said. “Some of buildings here are beautiful and historic. You have the beautiful new train station and the beautiful Green. With the updates and new management, it’s going to be beautiful.
Feest, the economic development director, was pleased with the interest shown at the auction and has had discussions with Paris and Grunblatt about their plans.
“Downtown has been ripe for redevelopment for a long time,” Feest said. “This is hopefully the turning point that we can get behind and see some good movement and get things going.”
But Feest also encouraged residents to acknowledge some of the successes downtown such as La Poblanita grocery, Downtown Coffee Shop and other small businesses on West Main Street.
“Do we still have more to go? Yes, but it’s come a long way from where it used to be,” he said.
A bankruptcy court hearing to approve or reject the top bidder is expected later this month.
CRDA signs off on $11 million in loans for Hartford Hilton conversion
he Capital Region Development Authority board, on Wednesday, signed off on $11 million in loans to help retrofit the struggling downtown Hartford Hilton hotel into a mix of apartments and refurbished hotel rooms.
The 390-room hotel has struggled for years, but its economic woes have increased during the pandemic, making it dependent on soon-to-expire federal pandemic relief for survival, according to Michael Freimuth, executive director of the Capital Region Development Authority.
“Our hope is we can reboot that building for the long term,” Freimuth said. “It is really up against the wall. It is basically running on federal PPP (Paycheck Protection Program) money as we speak, and it is running out.”
The Waterford Group – which owns the hotel – has partnered with Downtown North developer Randy Salvatore in a plan to spin off the upper floors into 147 apartments and refurbish the lower floors into 166 hotel rooms under the DoubleTree brand, which is part of the Hilton portfolio.
Wednesday’s vote was the first step in securing critical state-backed financing. The CRDA will access $11 million for the loans though the state Bond Commission, which is scheduled to take up the request at a special meeting on Dec. 21.
It is rare for the state commission to reject an item on its agenda.
Hartford’s City Council must also approve a new land lease and payment-in-lieu-of-tax program before the Hilton project can begin.
Boosters of the Hilton conversion say it will preserve hotel capacity critical to the Connecticut Convention Center and XL Center. The alternative, they say, is closure of the hotel, which would leave the city owning a massive, empty building, draining the city’s finances and its reputation.
Worried about a possible loss of jobs, the union representing roughly 130 Hilton workers has called on officials to slow the approval process.
Freimuth said the hotel is only operating about 100 rooms at present, so no currently working employees are expected to lose their jobs.
The conversion would create 60 studio, 82 one-bedroom and five two-bedroom apartments. Twenty percent of units would be restricted to affordable rents.
According to a CRDA summary, the Hilton property would be divided into separate ownership condominiums, with the Waterford Group keeping ownership of the hotel portion. The residential portion would be purchased, developed and owned by the RMS Group, according to the CRDA summary.
The Waterford Group will be among investors backing RMS in conversion of the upper floors.
The $17.9 million conversion to apartments on the upper floors and the $11 million rehabilitation of remaining hotel space are to be handled as separate developments, with separate financing, according to the CRDA.
The CRDA board, on Tuesday, signed off on a $5.1 million loan to the Waterford Group for the hotel rehabilitation. Other courses of funding include a $4.9 million federal loan (guaranteed by the city) and $1 million from the owners.
The CRDA board approved a $5.9 million loan to the RMS Group for the apartment development. Another $9.4 million is to be financed by banks with RMS contributing $2.4 million.