Senators to pitch bipartisan infrastructure plan to Biden

LISA MASCARO and KEVIN FREKING, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — A bipartisan group of senators is seeking President Joe Biden’s support for a $953 billion infrastructure plan, raising hopes for a breakthrough agreement after arduous negotiations on his top legislative priority.

Biden has invited members of the group of 21 senators, Republicans and Democrats, to the White House on Thursday. The pared-down plan, with $559 billion in new spending, has rare bipartisan backing and could open the door to the president’s more sweeping $4 trillion proposals.

The senators have struggled over how to pay for the new spending. The tentative framework dipped by $20 billion after a shift in funds for broadband internet, according to details from a person familiar with the proposal who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the negotiations.

The White House and Democratic leaders cast the bipartisan proposal as a positive development. Biden’s top aides had met with senators for back-to-back meetings on Capitol Hill and later huddled with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.

“We’re very excited about the prospect of a bipartisan agreement,” Pelosi said Wednesday night. The president's press secretary, Jen Psaki, said Biden had called for the meeting at the White House and that the group had made progress “towards an outline of a potential agreement.”

One member of the group, Republican Sen. Rob Portman of Ohio, said it was time for the group to reach out to other senators for support.

“In good faith, we tried to get there. We didn’t agree on everything, but we were able to get there,” Portman told reporters on Capitol Hill as he left a Wednesday evening meeting with the other senators and the White House team.

Biden has sought $1.7 trillion in his American Jobs Plan, part of nearly $4 trillion in broad infrastructure spending on roads, bridges and broadband internet but also the so-called care economy of child care centers, hospitals and elder care.

With Republicans opposed to Biden’s proposed corporate tax rate increase, from 21% to 28%, the group has looked at other ways to raise revenue. Biden rejected their idea to allow gas taxes paid at the pump to rise with inflation, viewing it as a financial burden on American drivers.

Psaki said the senior staff to the president had two productive meetings with the bipartisan group at the Capitol. The White House team was huddled late into the evening with the Democratic leaders.

The White House said Pelosi and Schumer and the top administration aides agreed on Biden's goal of infrastructure investments without raising taxes on anyone who makes under $400,000.

According to a White House readout of the meeting, the leaders talked with acting Budget Director Shalanda Young, National Economic Council Director Brian Deese and Domestic Policy Council Director Susan Rice, and they discussed the two-track approach ahead — a reference to the smaller bipartisan deal emerging from the group alongside a more sweeping plan of Democratic priorities that Congress is now drafting.

Schumer said the leaders “support the concepts” they have heard from the bipartisan negotiations.

The Democratic leaders also insisted on the two-part process ahead, starting with initial votes in July to consider the bipartisan deal and to launch the lengthy procedure for the Democrats' proposal, now drafted at nearly $6 trillion.

The Democrats' bigger proposal would run through the budget reconciliation process, which would allow passage of Biden's priorities by majority vote, without the need for support from Republicans to overcome the Senate's 60-vote threshold. It would require multiple rounds of voting that are likely to extend into fall.

Schumer said, “One can’t be done without the other.”

That's a signal to both parties of the road ahead. Liberal Democrats have been wary of the bipartisan effort because they see it as insufficient and worry it will take the place of Biden's bigger plan. Republicans are also skeptical of passing a bipartisan bill only to be faced with an even bigger Democratic plan.

“We got our framework. We’re going to the White House," Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., told reporters. “We wouldn’t be going to the White House if we didn’t think it has broad-based support.”

Norwalk Hospital plans $220M expansion amid anticipated 'surge' in births

Abigail Brone

NORWALK — Norwalk Hospital is scheduled to begin a $220 million expansion within the next year, with particular focus on services to mothers and newborns.

Construction will begin with the demolition of two existing pavilions on the hospital’s grounds, which will take place in the next 12 months, Norwalk Hospital President Peter Cordeau said.

The new building, which is anticipated to open in winter 2025, will replace the Tracey and community pavilions, which were constructed in 1918 and 1953 respectively, according to a hospital statement.

The project, which has an estimated cost of about $220 million, will be funded by local philanthropies and the hospital’s own budget, Cordeau said.

“The goal is to raise over $100 million from philanthropy and the remainder, somewhere north of $100 million, say $120 million, will be paid for,” Cordeau said. “We are not going to get a loan for this. We are going to use money from subsequent capital years. Every year, those are monies we use to buy equipment or renovate.”

The hospital funds will come from the Nuvance Health System, of which Norwalk Hospital is a part, Cordeau said.

While plans for the new, seven-story tower have yet to be finalized, the departments expected to be included and updated in the building are the medical-surgical unit, mother and infant unit, main pavilion, labor and delivery and intensive care/progressive care, according to the statement.

The project has been in the works for at least four years, Cordeau said, with the hospital board deciding whether to renovate the existing buildings or start anew.

“Is it worth rebuilding (the) 1918 building, which was around during the first pandemic, or do you build new?” Cordeau said. “It makes a lot more sense, otherwise you’ll be constantly pouring money into an old facility.”

In deciding which departments would be included in the new building and receive upgrades, Cordeau said the hospital looked at trends in medical care and needs to determine what will be in-demand in the future.

“Each year more and more services come off of the Medicare inpatient-only list, meaning those surgeries, for instance, could or should be performed in an outpatient setting,” Cordeau said. “Most recent is total-joint replacement in an outpatient setting and going home the same day. Years ago, they’d fill up entire orthopedic unit and now those folks aren’t even in the hospital anymore. There’s a lot of study of what we anticipate is going to be in the hospital or not.”

Labor and delivery are other main services that are on the rise for Norwalk.

The hospital receives between 130 and 150 patients daily for in-patient treatment, of which more than 100 are deliveries, Cordeau said.

To accommodate the increase, both the mother and infant unit and the labor and delivery will receive upgraded spaces in the new pavilion.

“We wanted to prioritize where the volume was, where overwhelming volume of patients were,” Cordeau said. “That’s how we decided. Still, moms and babies are going to delivery in the hospital and the community is not getting younger.”

The delivery and Neonatal Intensive Care Unit are currently housed in an older, while still medically up-to-date, building originally constructed around the 1970s, Norwalk Hospital Chief Nursing Officer Leslie Lincoln said.

The current facility has about 17 rooms for mother and 10 NICU bassinettes.

“It’s just an older space and we do the best we can with the resources we have, but this is all going to be enhanced,” Lincoln said.

In the new building, the mother and infant unit will have 17 private rooms and a six-bassinet nursery, according to the hospital statement. Additionally, there will be six high-tech NICU rooms and one that can accommodate twins, Lincoln said.

On average, mothers spend two or three days in the hospital following a cesarean birth and one to two days following a vaginal birth, according to Lincoln.

Over the next few years, the Norwalk area is anticipating a 10 to 20 percent increase in births, an amount the hospital already feels, she said.

“A lot of people moved up from the city during COVID, looking to get out of that environment and raise families,” Lincoln said. “We are finding there’s an increase in births right now. We see this surge. We expect this unit to be in high demand and people will continue to look to relocate out of urban areas to raise their families.”

The new pavilion will be located at the southeast corner of the hospital campus. The anticipated 180,000-square-foot building will be the largest expansion in Norwalk Hospital’s history, according to the statement.

Preston residents hear plans, express objections to proposed RV park

Claire Bessette

Preston — About 50 residents heard a presentation Wednesday from the developers of a proposed RV park on the former Dawley Farm and then peppered project officials with questions and concerns about potential noise, traffic, water quality and neighborhood disruptions.

Blue Water Development, based in Maryland, is proposing a 300-site RV campground on the approximately 63-acre property near the intersection of Routes 2 and 164, just north of the casino. The company lists the project on its website as an upcoming attraction called Foxwoods RV Park.

Blue Water CEO Todd Burbage and project engineer Will Walter told residents the plans call for a main entrance at an existing entrance where crumbled asphalt is seen now. A reception area and recreation area would be near the entrance, with amenities such as a splash pad and bocce courts. A road network would lead guests to three different types of campsites: one where vehicles pull through the site, another where vehicles back in and a third type with tents for so-called glamping, or luxury camping.

The season would run from April to October, project attorney Harry Heller said.

A floating dock is planned on Avery Pond to allow for kayaking and canoeing. Burbage said while many of Blue Water campsites along the Eastern Seaboard from Maine to Florida have entertainment venues and attractions, the Preston site would be geared for Foxwoods Resort Casino patrons.

“There’s no way I can compete with that,” Burbage said. “Who will come here are Foxwoods people. They are already here.”

Burbage said the company was drawn to Preston after Foxwoods was looking for a way to remove RV patrons from parking in the casino parking lot. The national firm Kampgrounds of America recommended Blue Water to Foxwoods.

Residents expressed strong objections to the project, fearing light, noise and water pollution. Lynn Drive resident Carol Guffy, whose property abuts the pond, said she enjoys fishing in the pond and watching the bald eagles and osprey fly by. She said she was speaking on an emotional level.

“That’s all gone,” she said of the wildlife she now enjoys.

She asked the developer to “take it back from the pond” and leave all the existing mature tree line in place. Several residents are worried that the company will clear cut trees that now block the view of the Foxwoods casino, leaving them with a view of the casino from their homes.

Others said the small natural pond cannot support the proposed development. Resident Judy Eccleston said the small town of Preston could not support “this monstrosity.”

Burbage said the company’s business model is for 300 campsites but he would consider reducing the number of campsites.

Resident Michael Clancy expressed concern that Preston’s municipal services could not support the project. He noted that the town has trouble now responding to emergency calls.

“I don’t know if this is the highest and best use for this property,” Clancy said. “We already have a couple campgrounds in town.”

The development site is former farmland the Mashantuckets purchased from the Dawley family in 1994. Prior to the tribe’s purchase, town residents voted in a referendum not to buy it.

In 2016, a portion of the property was eyed as a site for a rock music festival. Neighbors opposed such use of the property, a factor in the event ultimately being held at a nearby location on the Mashantucket reservation.

The developers have had preliminary discussions with the developers, but no permit applications have been filed. Heller said the project will need permits from the town Inland Wetlands and Watercourses Commission and from the Planning and Zoning Commission, as well as from the state Department of Transportation. A traffic study also would be conducted before the permit process.

About 70% of the project design is completed, officials said. Heller said the group is aiming at filing a permit application with the town wetlands agency in July or August.

Bushnell South is a $500 million vision for a new neighborhood in Hartford. Here’s how the project could come together.

Kenneth Gosselin

HARTFORD — A $500 million vision for shaping a new Hartford neighborhood from the barren landscape around The Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts made its debut Wednesday night, including the potential for a high-rise apartment tower, public performance spaces and tree-lined streets.

The master plan for “Bushnell South” — outlined at a community meeting at The Bushnell — includes 1,200 residential units — both rented and owned — restaurants, shops and entertainment venues.

The design aims to turn a jumble of parking lots into a neighborhood over the next decade. Bushnell South would connect Bushnell Park and the center of downtown Hartford to the north with the hospital district, Park Street and Colt Park to the south.

“It could be the linchpin of an exciting arts and entertainment district for the city, which I think it needs, which could help it draw young people,” said Robert Patricelli, chairman of The Bushnell’s board of director’s real estate committee and a past board chairman.

Last fall, The Bushnell joined with the Capital Region Development Authority and Spinnaker Real Estate Partners of South Norwalk to pay for a plan for developing the area over the next decade.

Patricelli, who spoke before the meeting Wednesday night at the Bushnell, said the city used to have more clubs and entertainment options, and the development could fill the gap.

“We think Capitol Avenue — with a lot of residential, certainly, as the lead momentum of the development — this could be a terrific neighborhood to live in,” Patricelli said.

The Bushnell, which now anchors the area, sought a role in how the 91-year old cultural institution would fit into the redevelopment and how it might invest and earn income from future arts endeavors in the area.

CRDA has helped publicly finance more than 2,000 new apartments in and around downtown since 2013. Spinnaker Real Estate Partners of South Norwalk has purchased key properties in the area and has an option on another. Spinnaker intends to become a major future development force in Bushnell South.

In addition, the city, which has been collaborating on the project, sees not only the opportunity to build a vibrant neighborhood but getting a sorely-needed boost to its tax base.

The vision is grand and one that has been talked about for decades. How quickly -- and to what extent -- the master plan turns into reality depends largely on financing and demand for downtown Hartford apartment rentals. So far, rentals, at least in newer buildings, appear to be recovering from a dip during the pandemic.

Early estimates for Bushnell South call for about $400 million in private investment and another $100 million in public, state taxpayer-backed loans. The availability of public funds for projects like Bushnell South has become less certain as the state cut back on its borrowing through the sale of bonds.

Clayton H. Fowler, Spinnaker’s chairman and chief executive, said the public financing will be critical to the success of the project.

“The underlying rents and values in Hartford don’t at this time support non-aided development,” Fowler said, before Wednesday’s meeting.

Fowler said the pandemic may mean changing designs of apartments to reflect the need for more work-at-home space for either part- or full-time use. But Fowler said he doesn’t see the attraction of living in a city the size of Hartford as having changed.

Here is a look at how a new Hartford neighborhood might replace the parking lots around the Bushnell.

The starting point

Bushnell South encompasses about 20 acres and is divided in half by Capitol Avenue. Some of the ground work for future development already is in place.

The state has completed a $205 million renovation of the State Office Building and the creation of a new park on its east side. Two new parking garages, one on Buckingham Street for state employees and other on Capitol Avenue, just east of the Presbyterian church, will serve state workers, Bushnell patrons and future residents of the neighborhood.

Spinnaker will soon start conversion of 55 Elm St. on Pulaski Circle into 161 apartments in a $63 million project that also includes a $13.5 million CRDA low-cost loan.

In addition, two historic buildings near the corner of Trinity and Elm streets that formerly housed state workers are being sold by the state. They are considered part of Bushnell South and have been mentioned as candidates for housing.

Phase 1

The first phase would focus on a parking lot now controlled by CRDA, just east of the new park next to the State Office Building. CRDA would seek out a developer for this parcel and others it owns in the area.

The plan calls for the addition of a broad pedestrian promenade with restaurants and space for outdoor events between the new park and a new block of 372 apartments and townhouses.

New housing would be built by Spinnaker along West Street adjacent to 55 Elm and streetscape improvements would be made along Clinton Street. Both are designed to be extensions of Bushnell Park.

The first phase would use existing parking garages and surface lots.

“Part of the whole trick is using surface for as much parking as we can get away with as we build phases and putting off the parking garage question as long as we can,” Michael W. Freimuth, CRDA’s executive director, said, before Wednesday’s meeting.

Phase 2

The start of Phase 2 would require the addition of two levels to the parking garage on Capitol Avenue and about 135 spaces.

Construction would focus on building residential buildings around the parking garage on both Capitol Avenue and West Street. The ownership of this area is divided between CRDA and Spinnaker.

This phase also could include row houses on Elm and Clinton streets to fill in vacant lots.

Another 112 residential units are possible in this phase.

Phase 3

To move ahead with Phase 3, a 650-space parking garage would need to be built on the interior of the existing parking lot for both neighborhood residents and the public.

This phase would focus residential development to re-create the row houses that once existed in this neighborhood. The housing was gradually demolished beginning in the 1940s to make way for parking lots to accommodate state workers commuting in from the suburbs.

An apartment tower is possible, capitalizing on views of the city, but it is still uncertain if it would be financially feasible.

Spinnaker now has an option to buy this parking lot, and it has an agreement giving The Bushnell a say in its redevelopment.

This phase also includes residential development on the south side of 55 Elm.

A total of 222 residential units could be created in this phase.

Phase 4

Phase 4 would add additional housing opposite Bushnell Park at the corner of Elm and West streets. A parking lot across Hudson Street near Pulaski Circle could mimic the “L” shape of the historic 55 Elm. Housing, office space, a hotel or retail space are possible at this site, now owned by Spinnaker.

A total of 234 units could be added in this phase.

Putting it all together

The completed development could one day transform the parking lots that now dominate into a vibrant city neighborhood on the edge of Bushnell Park and close to downtown.

Freimuth said the master plan now envisions four phases, but that could be expanded to more as the development unfolds over a period of years.

Rubber Avenue project pushed to next spring

Andrea Yilma

NAUGATUCK — The reconstruction of a section of Rubber Avenue won’t start until at least next spring as state and local officials work to finish acquiring property and designs for the project.

The project will reconstruct about two-thirds of a mile of Rubber Avenue from the intersection of Melbourne and Hoadley streets to Elm Street. The project will include drainage improvements, and new sidewalks and landscaping along the road.

As part of the project, the four-way intersection of Rubber Avenue and Meadow and Cherry streets will be replaced with a “modern roundabout.”

Naugatuck Public Works Director James Stewart the start of construction has been pushed back to the spring of 2022. He said the state Department of Transportation is acquiring land for the project, which has taken longer than anticipated.

DOT spokesman Kevin Nursick said the state has to acquire 3,956 square feet of land on Rubber Avenue, 76 square feet on Cherry Street and 265 square feet on Meadow Street for easements for new sidewalks. The process to buy the land can take nine to 12 months, he said.

The borough is also finishing the final designs for the project. The DOT has to review and approve the plans because the project incorporates Route 63, a state road.

Stewart said about 60% of the design work is finished. Weston and Sampson Inc., a civil engineering firm out of Rocky Hill, is doing the designs.

The project is estimated to cost about $5.1 million. About $4.8 million will be paid for through the state’s Local Transportation Capital Improvement Program, according to Nursick. The borough will cover the rest.

The preliminary design for the one-lane roundabout at the intersection of Rubber Avenue and Meadow and Cherry streets showed a roundabout that is 120 feet in diameter with a raised island in the center.

“I’m hoping it’s going to improve traffic flow through that intersection,” said Stewart, adding the project is also designed to improve the aesthetics of the intersection.

Nursick said the DOT has constructed a couple dozen roundabouts in the last decade, including ones in West Haven, Seymour and Windsor Locks.

“They’re (roundabouts) very effective at moving traffic and reducing crashes,” he said.

CT wins $10 million from U.S. Department of Labor to expand apprenticeship opportunities

Alexander Soule

Connecticut won $10 million from the U.S. Department of Labor to expand apprenticeship opportunities, among the largest awards doled out by DOL nationally from a $130 million pot for the purpose.

Under what the Connecticut Department of Labor dubs “the other four-year degree,” nearly 7,000 registered apprentices were learning the ropes in Connecticut last year, including more than 1,500 workers new to the system.

Only about 20 employers introduced new apprenticeship programs, however, bumping the statewide total up to nearly 1,760 formal programs.

Connecticut’s $10 million grant matched those for California, Texas and Michigan, which have far larger economies. A Boston organization called Jobs for the Future received the largest single grant nationally at $13 million, to create one of four “centers of excellence” to develop new models for apprenticeship.

A Connecticut Department of Labor spokesperson did not say immediately on Wednesday how the department plans to use the funding.

Connecticut offers incentives to businesses for taking on apprentices, to include grants of up to $3,500 under the American Apprenticeship Initiative. Manufacturers and construction trades can take tax credits of up to $7,500 and $4,000 respectively for each apprentice.

The COVID-19 pandemic hit apprenticeships hard, on the heels of a record year in 2019 when more than 120,000 workers nationally were enrolled in programs. Those ranks fell below 92,000 workers last year, the lowest total since 2016 as tracked by DOL.

In February, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill called the National Apprenticeship Act of 2021 that the U.S. Senate did not act on before President Biden pushed through his American Jobs Plan, which sets aside billions of dollars to spur the creation of as many as two million new apprenticeships.

William Fitzgerald, a Norwich native, led the original push during the Great Depression to create national apprenticeship standards, while representing eastern Connecticut in Congress. U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney, D-2nd, spoke out in February on the House floor for updating and improving on the Fitzgerald Act.

“After being signed into law by President Roosevelt, it has remained largely untouched for 83 years — yet the registered apprenticeship system it created as buoyed the nation through decades of tumultuous change in our economy and its workforce,” Courtney said in February. “The reauthorization of the Fitzgerald Act ... launches competitive grants to start apprenticeships in new sectors of the economy and thus recruit under-served populations.”

In February, Biden rescinded an executive order by his predecessor Donald Trump that allowed for “industry-recognized” apprenticeship programs. Trump supported the idea as a way to give employers more leeway to adjust apprenticeship programs to meet their needs, but Biden criticized the program as lacking the rigorous professional standards that registered apprenticeships look to instill.

Many apprenticeships are centered on professions that expose workers to potentially hazardous environments. Electricians dominate apprenticeship programs nationally with nearly half of all slots today, followed by carpentry and construction.

Despite urgent demand during the pandemic for health-care workers, DOL lists only about 2,000 people pursuing apprenticeships as nurse assistants nationwide, and less than 1,700 apprentices in pharmacies. Gov. Ned Lamont signed a new budget into law on Wednesday that will include $1 million in the coming two years to support health-industry apprenticeships.

But opportunities run the gamut in Connecticut, from Bush Meadow Farm’s program in Union where apprentices get an acre of “incubator” land to build an agriculture startup under the supervision of an experienced farmer; to a raft of opportunities at the Electric Boat submarine plant of General Dynamics in Groton in partnership with multiple labor unions, with 240 apprentices in Electric Boat’s ranks as of May.

“We have a unique opportunity — right now — to strengthen and modernize and diversify ... apprentice [programs],” said U.S. Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh, during an Electric Boat visit last month to learn firsthand about its system. “We’re making sure we prioritize workers we shut out in the past — particularly people of color and women. We need to make sure we create these programs for everybody.”

In Connecticut, apprentices are promised regularly scheduled pay increases for the duration of their terms which stretch anywhere from 2,000 to 8,000 hours of hands-on training. They must agree to be on time for shifts, remain engaged in their occupational opportunities, and show respect for the “journeymen” training them and assessing their progress.

Employers must disclose any violations of labor laws as part of the application for DOL approval to take on apprentices. They must agree to monitor their apprentices at all times and guarantee a safe working environment.

As an example of one program, an apprentice to become a child care specialist must spend 50 hours in safety training, including inspecting toys and facilities for hazards; and 500 hours of health and first aid, including for children with special needs. In no set order, the program must include 1,000 hours of nutrition and hygiene; 1,000 hours of child development and observation techniques; 950 hours of direct supervision of children and activities; 450 hours of presentation, data analysis and parental consultation skills; and 50 hours of administration including budgeting, personnel and fulfillment of regulatory responsibilities.

Connecticut allows businesses to have one apprentice for every licensed technician for up to three apprentices; after that it begins limiting that ratio on a staggered scale to one trainee for every three licensees. Gov. Ned Lamont’s administration proposed loosening that restriction last year to open up more opportunities.

Stillman Jordan, a vice president in the Orange office of Encon, urged the state last January to change the ratio, saying companies like his could put hundreds of apprentices to work immediately in the aggregate. Jordan added the heating and cooling systems contractor has about 30 apprenticeship slots, with “the vast majority” in his words going on to get their trade licenses.

“We all agree that that’s a good practice — one apprentice ... learning the trade and one guy actually who’s licensed,” Jordan said in January during a Connecticut General Assembly hearing. “But for some reason, our state laws are set up to where I can only hire one apprentice for every three licensed people.”