Wallingford OKs EV charging facility that might be a 1st in U.S.

David Krechevsky

The Wallingford Planning & Zoning Commission this week unanimously approved a special permit and site plan for a privately developed facility devoted exclusively to charging electric vehicles that could be the first of its kind in the U.S.

The plan submitted by Gem Property Group LLC will develop a 2.04-acre vacant lot at 1 Miles Dr., across the street from Wallingford KinderCare and close to two hotels — Fairfield Inn & Suites and Homewood Suites by Hilton.

The facility is approved for up to 38 charging stations, 36 of which would be under a canopy and two that would be compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act. It would also have a 3,000-square-foot retail building, which is expected to house a convenience-style store to provide packaged food, beverages and other items for people waiting while their vehicles charge.

The commission approved the plan with conditions that the design of the building would look more like a “convenience center” and not a convenience store, Town Planner Kevin Pagini said.

Overall, the site plan includes a total of 69 parking spaces, though only up to 38 would be dedicated to charging.

Elizabeth Verna, a principal with Verna Builders & Developers, said her family owns Gem Property and has owned the land on Miles Drive, less than a mile from Interstate 91, for more than a decade. She said the decision to seek approval for a large EV charging facility was made because demand for new office space is so low.

“We thought it was a great location for something new and different, “ she said. “We wanted to do something which was all EV, only EV.”

Verna said Gem Property worked with the town first to amend its Watershed Interchange (WI) District zone, which restricts uses for land near I-91 to protect the town’s “public drinking water supply resources while allowing low intensity uses and emerging technological development.”

Thomas J. Daly, the U.S. service line director for SLR Consulting in Cheshire, which worked with Gem Property on the project, said the town needed to update its permitted uses in the zone because EV charging was not listed among them.

“EV, wind, or battery storage — these are new, emerging things,” Daly said. “Most zoning regs are a little more 1950s’ looking than modern.”

Pagini said the existing zoning regulations need to be updated because they allowed for EV charging only as an accessory use and not as a primary use.

Daly said he is not aware of any similarly sized facility devoted exclusively to EV charging anywhere in the United States.

“There might be one in Pennsylvania, and the town said there is an eight-unit one down in Delaware,” he said. “Maybe in California, but not that I’ve seen.”

In February, the town of Orange approved a 8,384-square-foot facility off of I-95 that would feature an EV showroom with charging stations, but it will also include a Noble gas station, as well as a convenience store, ice cream stand and drive-thru coffee and sandwich shop. A Noble gas station with up to 20 EV charging stations is also planned in Windsor, according to Town Planner Eric Barz.

Daly noted that large facilities devoted exclusively to EV charging are already a trend in the United Kingdom.

“This layout is very similar to what they have in the U.K. right now,” he said, adding that SLR has an office in the U.K. and staff there provided advice on designing the facility. 

According to PlugShare,  a mobile and web application that provides information on EV charging stations nationwide, Connecticut has 2,853 charging stations. That includes 1,050 in the Hartford-East Hartford-West Hartford area, and 708 in the New Haven-Milford area.

PlugShare notes that some EV charging stations are free, while others charge a fee. There are 131 free charging stations in the Hartford-East Hartford-West Hartford area, it said.

The state launched an Electric Vehicle Charging Program in January 2022, a nine-year program that provides incentives for residential and commercial light-duty EV charging equipment. It is overseen by the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA) and administered by Eversource Energy and The United Illuminating (UI) Co. 

Verna said she planned to contact various state departments to investigate the potential for incentives to assist in developing the facility.

It does not yet have a tenant, but has already drawn interest, she said. 

“I just thought, because it is a new use, it was probably better to get all the approvals in place and then go out and market the property to someone who would like to lease it, like an EV company,” she said.

Great Wolf Lodge ‘topped out’; opening set for June 15, 2025

Brian Hallenbeck

Mashantucket ― A Great Wolf Resorts executive announced Wednesday the $300 million waterpark resort the company’s been developing next to Foxwoods Resort Casino will open June 15, 2025.

“Secretly, we’re hoping to move that date up,” Steve Jacobsen, Great Wolf’s vice president of development, said, admitting the announcement could put some pressure on Turner, the project’s contractor.

“The only one putting more pressure on me is my 9-year-old daughter,” Chad McCullough, vice president of Turner’s Connecticut office, quipped.

The good-natured exchange, which took place during remarks that preceded a traditional “topping out” ceremony on the construction site opposite Foxwoods’ Grand Pequot Tower, spoke volumes about Great Wolf’s target audience: families with kids.

Standing at a podium in the future lobby of the resort’s 549-room hotel, Jacobsen addressed an audience that included Mashantucket Pequot tribal leaders and most of southeastern Connecticut’s state legislative delegation.

He said Great Wolf would start taking reservations Thursday.

“Today, a really important milestone,” he said.

With most of the Great Wolf Lodge at Mashantucket’s shell in place, work will now proceed rapidly on the interior, Jacobsen said, including the 91,000-square-foot indoor waterpark and a 61,000-square-foot family entertainment center.

When finished, he said, the resort will provide more than 600 full- and part-time jobs and stimulate the local economy well beyond Mashantucket.

He said Great Wolf will be hiring for positions ranging from lifeguards to management. “And we promote from within,” he said. “If we hire you, we try to keep you.”

Rodney Butler, the Mashantucket chairman, recalled how Jacobsen had reached out to him in April 2020 in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic that caused Foxwoods to temporarily shut down.

“He said, ‘You still interested in Great Wolf?’” Butler said.

The Mashantuckets and Great Wolf had partnered on a plan to develop a waterpark on tribe-owned, non-reservation land along Route 214 in Ledyard in the mid-2000s. Then the Great Recession struck, scuttling the plan. The would-be partners also discussed waterpark projects in 2010 and 2014, before Jacobsen joined Great Wolf.

“I literally negotiated the deal during COVID without ever stepping on the land,” Jacobsen said.

Great Wolf Lodge at Mashantucket is located on reservation land Great Lodge is leasing from the tribe.

Jason Guyot, Foxwoods’ president and chief executive officer, said the Great Wolf resort promises to be a boon to Foxwoods and “a huge driver for the region with benefits for Mystic, Stonington and Westerly.”

“It’s a perfect fit between Boston and New York. It adds a whole new element,” he said. “It gives families options they’ve never had before.”

State Sen. Heather Somers, R-Groton, said the resort will help Connecticut capture tourism revenue it’s now losing to neighboring states.

“It’s great that it’s in our backyard,” she said.

Lamont responds to delay in congestion pricing: 'Look, you’ve got to pay for transportation'

John Moritz

Gov. Ned Lamont appeared skeptical this week of a decision by New York Gov. Kathy Hochul to halt the rollout of a congestion pricing plan that would have funded mass transit improvements throughout the tri-state area. 

The plan, which would have charged most drivers $15 a day to enter Manhattan below 60th Street, was expected to go into effect at the end of this month, until Hochul abruptly announced a “indefinite pause” last week, citing concerns about the cost on commuters. 

The move infuriated transit advocates as well as leaders of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which had planned to use the estimated $1 billion in annual revenues from congestion pricing tolls to fund improvements to the city’s subways and buses, as well as commuter rails extending to Long Island and Connecticut. 

More than 22,000 Connecticut residents take public transportation into Manhattan’s congestion pricing zone every day, mostly via Metro-North Railroad. About 3,100 commuters make the drive there, according to the MTA. 

“Look, you’ve got to pay for transportation, we’ve all had debates in our respective states, I know what everybody’s opposed to, I’ve got to see what they're for,” Lamont told reporters during an event in Meriden on Tuesday. “We’ve got resources, our special transportation fund’s in pretty good shape right now, if you want to upgrade Metro-North, you’re going to need some capital to do it.”

Both Lamont and Hochul are Democrats, and the Connecticut governor stopped short of directly criticizing his counterpart in New York. When asked if he believed Hochul made the right decision, Lamont offered a coy reply.

“I’m not going to weigh in on that,” he said. “Which answers your question.”

In the past, Lamont has expressed support for the concept of congestion pricing, saying, "It’s a good thing for all if more people took the train." 

The tri-state area’s third Democratic governor, New Jersey’s Phil Murphy, was a fierce opponent of congestion pricing and led a lawsuit seeking to block the plan from taking effect. Connecticut Republicans were also critical of the plan, calling it a "attempted cash grab."

"This toll will have a significant financial impact on the thousands of Connecticut residents who commute on a regular basis to Manhattan," Senate Republicans Stephen Harding, R-Brookfield, and Ryan Fazio, R-Greenwich, said in a joint statement last week. "It will also harm the greater New York area’s entire economy which is already overburdened by excessive taxes and fees."

Meanwhile, MTA Chairman Janno Lieber said during a press conference this week that the agency would have to adjust its ongoing capital improvement efforts in light of Hochul's decision, eliminating some projects while focusing on "basic stuff to make sure the system does not fall apart. 

The authority operates service along Metro-North’s New Haven under an partnership with the Connecticut Department of Transportation, which owns the tracks. Under New York’s congestion pricing law, toll revenue would have been used to back up to $1.5 billion in bonds for Metro-North and the Long Island Railroad, including state-of-good repair projects in Westchester County and the purchase of new rail cars.

In Connecticut, the Lamont-led State Bond Commission recently approved borrowing up to $144 million for bus and rail projects within the state, including station improvements along the Waterbury Branch Line and some of the state’s share of the $1 billion Walk Bridge Replacement in Norwalk.

Steelpointe Harbor Developer Inks Deal To Build Residence Inn By Marriott

Today, the True North Hotel Group Incorporated and Bridgeport Landing Development announced exciting news: a new hotel with a well-known national brand will be built at Steelpointe Harbor. Bridgeport, Connecticut’s largest city, has been without a hotel since the Bridgeport Holiday Inn closed in January of 2022. 

True North Hotel Group Inc. and Bridgeport Landing Development have finalized a deal to bring a Residence Inn by Marriott to Steelpointe. The hotel will feature approximately 135 rooms and be located between East Main Street and Pembroke, bordering Stratford Avenue. Construction on the new hotel will commence in 2025. 

Steelpointe developer Bobby Christoph, Jr. stated, “I’m so proud to be able to partner with the True North Hotel Group Inc. and Marriott to bring a new, state-of-the-art hotel to Steelpointe. Bridgeport deserves its own hotel, and I’m so glad we will be building it here on-site. With construction underway on our first 400 plus units of housing and retail, it’s exciting to begin this next development phase.” 

Chris Harlow, Vice President of Development for True North Hotel Group Inc. added, “This is a great development; we are thrilled to be coming to Steelpointe Harbor. This hotel will provide a first-class experience for our guests and help bring more visitors to the waterfront and this inviting harbor-side community. Entertainment venues such as Bass Pro Shops and a mix of residential, restaurant, retail, and commercial uses create a diverse, livable, pedestrian-friendly environment. All of this is just a stroll away from trains, a new amphitheater, and an arena. We are confident that this hotel will be well received by visitors and are proud to be coming to the heart of Bridgeport’s renaissance to serve the community and the region.”

Mayor Joe Ganim of Bridgeport said, “I want to extend my gratitude to True North Hotel Group Inc. for choosing Bridgeport as its newest destination for a Marriott Residence hotel. Having a Marriott company plant a flag in Bridgeport is a huge validation of the progress and visible recognition that Bridgeport is ‘on the move’, attracting First Class international companies to invest here. This new development will be a great addition to Bridgeport and will complement the housing that is currently under construction at Steelpointe Harbor. Our waterfront is truly remarkable and we look forward to sharing a piece of Bridgeport’s cultural beauty with visitors.”

About Steelpointe and the True North Hotel Group Inc.: 

Steelpointe Harbor is a state-of-the-art, full-service, mixed-use waterfront development located on the harbor in Bridgeport, CT. This newly designed waterfront community offers and will offer a mix of residential, restaurant, retail, commercial marina, and waterfront uses that combine to create a diverse, livable, pedestrian-friendly environment. All of these are located within walking distance of the commuter trains, sports arena, and new amphitheater. Website: https://www.bldsteelpointe.com

For over 20 years, True North Hotel Group Inc. has been an established, award-winning hospitality leader. Investors trust in True North because its solid values, creative solutions, and vast expertise in all areas of hotel development and management lead the way to profitability, sustainability and growth. Website: https://www.truenorthhotels.com

New $112M Greenwich Central Middle School finally gets planning OK -- but it wasn't unanimous

Robert Marchant

GREENWICH — The proposal to replace the outmoded Central Middle School with a new facility has been approved by the Planning & Zoning Commission.

The $112 million project was given the go-ahead by the commission, with one dissenting vote, Tuesday night following a final presentation by the Central Middle School Building Committee.

"The building committee has done a very thorough job," commented Chairwoman Margarita Alban. Review of the project has been extensive.

The approvals for the new school could have been made late last month, but final details on an internal sidewalk and some pedestrian safety features needed to be determined before the vote Tuesday. 

CMS principal Tom Healy told the commission, "we're proud of what we have in front of you." He said the "collaborative effort" behind the project was impressive.

The current school, built in 1958, has a number of major structural problems. 

According to the CMS building committee, construction is expected to start in October 2024 and finish in August 2026. New ball fields will also be added to the school campus.

Tony Turner, the Chairman of the Central Middle School Building Committee, said Wednesday, "After almost two years of work, we are very proud of the fact that we are still on track for students to occupy the school in August 2026 and still under budget. In the construction industry this is really unheard of especially on a project this size."

The vote was 4-1, with Commissioner Peter Levy casting a 'no' vote. Levy, who has a background in architecture, said he did not find the design as "welcoming" as it could be and it "lacked a sense of place." He listed a number of architectural issues which he believed could be improved upon.

The commission directed the project to go to the Architectural Review Committee on relatively minor details and the color scheme for certain portions of the building.

The building plans have been closely followed by the school community, and meetings have typically drawn well over 100 attendees.