As Bridgeport smokestack demolitions loom, Soundside organizer has major concerns for music festival

Brian Lockhart

BRIDGEPORT  —  As the developer and manager of the city-owned concert amphitheater, Howard Saffan looks forward to the just-announced demolition of the decommissioned power plant and its three smokestacks that loom over the live music venue.

"Nobody happier in this world those things are coming down," he said.

But as an organizer behind the fourth annual Soundside music festival, also nearby at Seaside Park, Saffan is not as enthusiastic about the tentative implosion date of Sept. 28, which is also day two of the concert event.

"Our major concern is environmental — pollution and potential airborne material," Saffan said.

Chad Parks, whose Bridgeport Station Development purchased the retired PSEG plant last year and is preparing the site for housing and public waterfront access, said he does not believe there will be an issue. Parks previously said if the demolition goes forward Sept,. 28 it would be around 4 a.m. Gates at Soundside open nearly eight hours later at 11:45 a.m.

Still, Mayor Joe Ganim's administration is hosting a meeting on a possible demolition date change Thursday.

"We look forward to gaining more details," Saffan said.

Thomas Gaudett, Ganim's chief administrative officer, said Tuesday there may be valid logistical reasons to not have the ex-PSEG structure, recognized by its tallest, 500-foot red-and-white striped smokestack, razed on the same weekend as Soundside. 

"It's a very short-lived problem, but there will probably be some kind of dust ball and we may need to block off a certain radius around the building, so we need to get a handle on what those details are," he said. 

Parks is also a part of the Beesley's Point Development Group which is similarly transforming an old power plant property in New Jersey. Video footage taken by the Associated Press from the fall 2023 demolition of that facility shows an initial large plume arising from the toppled structure.

The mayor's office also received two emails Monday from members of the public worried about the potential impact on Soundside. One said they will be attending the festival Sunday and, as someone "who is impacted by poor air quality," urged the plant be removed on a different date.

"There will be plenty of opportunity for the public to ask questions to our team as we work toward the plans and finalize the implosion," Parks said Tuesday.

Although some, including Ganim, have called for the preservation of the so-called candy cane smokestack in Bridgeport, Parks and partner David Kreutz told downtown business leaders at a meeting last week that the entire plant was being torn down. They cited the costs of maintaining the red-and-white striped edifice and how difficult it would be to remove it at a future date once surrounded with new construction.

There is also sentiment that the smokestack, though a local icon, represents pollution and the past and Bridgeport needs to move on.

Ultimately, Gaudett said, deciding whether or not to tear down a shuttered power plant on the same weekend as a major music festival drawing big names like Weezer, The Killers and Hozier is staged is a good problem.

"Both are an indication of a changing, developing, vibrant city," he said.

Southington elementary school expansions and roof improvements to head to referendum

Ciara Hooks

SOUTHINGTON— The expansion of Kelley and South End elementary schools, along with roof replacements for three other elementary schools are on the horizon once they pass referendum.

The expansion of Kelley and South End elementary schools were previously part of the original South End construction project, said Superintendent Steven G. Madancy. They were also included in the discussion at the special Board of Education meeting presentation of the Elementary Facilities Plan recommendations last month. 

This project would build a new, slightly larger Kelley with four sections per grade, and includes a capacity of around 450 students. It would also build out the lower level of South End to have additional classrooms. 

Madancy said these changes will allow the district to redistrict and close one of the elementary schools. Though closing Flanders was considered during the special BOE meeting Madancy said further studies will be done before a decision is made on which school will be closed.

This approved phase would cost $73.9 million with an estimated district share of $47.8 million.

The Kelley portion of this phase would be $66.4 million with an estimated district share of $43.7 million and South End's buildout would be $7.5 million with an estimated district share of $4.1 million. 

The $6.8 million roof replacement projects at Thalberg, Strong and Hatton elementary schools have been on the town’s Capital Improvement Plan since 2019, but have been pushed out each year “for a variety of reasons,” Madancy said.

“They were slated to go to referendum in November 2026, but the worry is that pushing the school construction to 2026 pushed the roofs out yet again to 2027, which would be viewed as risky since they are well past their expected life,” he added. 

Madancy said the BOE would like to target a referendum date this November for the roof replacements at Thalberg, Strong and Hatton and May 2026 for the new Kelley and buildout of South End.

The latest work on these buildings' roofs dated back two decades. Madancy said Strong’s roof was done in two phases in 1993 and 2003, Hatton’s roof was also done in two phases in 1996 and 2003 and Thalberg’s roof was last done in 2002.

The Town Council approved a nearly $15.2 million Capital Improvement Plan as a part of its 2025-2026 town budget on May 12, which reflected the BOE's request to expedite the Board of Education roofing projects. $7.3 million of that budget was for the three elementary school roofs, according to Town Manager Alex Ricciardone, which must go to referendum.