Don’t call it a speed trap: Speed-cam ‘enforcement’ debuts in Westport

John Schwing

WESTPORT — Local drivers, ready for your closeup?

As previously reported, a pilot program using cameras to monitor — and ticket — speeders will be deployed Monday, April 10, at three sites around the state by the Department of Transportation. 

It’s now been revealed that one of the “speed safety camera” installations will be in Westport, along the stretch of Interstate 95 being reconstructed between Westport and Norwalk.

The project is designed to cut down on the rising number of accidents in highway construction zones — one of which occurred in Westport just last week. A Bridgeport man, who State Police said was driving drunk, faces multiple charges after striking two vehicles in the construction zone April 4 and then fleeing the scene.

The new cameras, which run continuously, will issue tickets to drivers exceeding posted speed limits by 15 mph.

The DOT program, called “Know the Zone,” also is being rolled out Monday in the Route 8 corridor through the lower Naugatuck Valley and along Route 2 in the Hartford area.

Highway speed-limit campaign tightly controlled

The speed enforcement campaign, as approved by the General Assembly, is to be tightly controlled through its duration. 

No more than three of the DOT’s enforcement vehicles equipped with cameras will be deployed throughout the state at one time. The zones are currently restricted to limited-access highways, and signs will be posted to alert drivers that they are entering a zone with active speed cameras. Full details of the Know the Zone regulations are posted on the DOT website.

Ticketing penalties will be: a written warning but no fine for the first offense; a $75 fine for the second offense, and a $150 fine for the third and subsequent offenses.

“This is not that complicated. Don’t drink and drive. Don’t tweet and drive. Stop speeding,” Gov. Ned Lamont said at a recent press conference launching the campaign.

State officials, however, seem wary of drivers’ reaction — particularly, privacy concerns over the cameras — to stepped-up enforcement of speed limits.

Asked at the same press conference about the relative lack of traditional “speed traps” set up by state troopers, a State Police representative responded, “We don’t call them speed traps … We do motor vehicle enforcement.”

Initiative may expand “automated enforcement” to local streets

Although the Know the Zone campaign currently is restricted to limited-access highways, a broader effort to deploy “automated enforcement” by cameras focused on speeding and red-light violations on local roads is up for consideration in this year’s General Assembly session.

Bill No. 5917, which to date has received a favorable report from the legislature’s Transportation Committee, calls for implementation of road safety recommendations by the “Vision Zero Council.” The group is described on its website as “an interagency work group tasked with developing statewide policy to eliminate transportation-related fatalities and severe injuries involving pedestrians, bicyclists, transit users, motorists and passengers.”

If the legislation is approved, it would grant municipalities the authority to install cameras that, by recording a driver’s license plate number, could issue penalties for exceeding the speed limit by 10 miles an hour or for running a red light.

An advocate for the proposed legislation, noting Connecticut’s traffic deaths rose to more than 380 last year, makes a full argument for the proposal in an opinion piece posted last week on the CTMirror website.

John Schwing, the Westport Journal consulting editor, has held senior editorial and writing posts at southwestern Connecticut media outlets for four decades. Learn more about us here.

In West Hartford, sprawling convent campus gets even bigger in apartment conversion

KENNETH R. GOSSELIN

The steady, stately presence of the convent in West Hartford’s Park Road neighborhood spans more than a century, its campus growing in a series of additions over the decades.

But the latest expansion by the new owners of property is dwarfing, by far, anything that came before, part of a $70 million conversion into 292 apartments that is now nearing completion. The project includes a new wing that will more than triple the size of the existing structure.

In a recent tour of the site, developer Martin J. Kenny remembers well sitting on a nearby hillside overlooking the convent on a Saturday morning just before purchasing the property in 2021, contemplating the scope of the redevelopment.

“I just looked at this as this Big Mama wave coming at us,” said Kenny, a developer with decades of experience in the Hartford area, often tackling difficult apartment conversions. “It’s just that big.”

Two years later, the first apartments in what is now known as “One Park” — after its address at the corner of Park Road and Prospect Street — have now come up for lease with occupancy expected next month. The initial 92 units are in converted convent space, which retains its historic, Colonial Revival-style architecture outside but completely reworked inside into upscale rentals.

The 200 rentals in the new wing are expected to be ready by late July.

Kenny, chief executive of Lexington Partners, joined with Alan Lazowski, founder of the LAZ Parking empire, on the project. Lexington and Lazowski’s LAZ Investment, both based in Hartford, have partnered on multiple projects in downtown Hartford, including the Sage-Allen Apartments — a recent redevelopment of former student housing on the site of the old department store.

The rentals at One Park are hitting the market at a time when there are plans for hundreds of new units of housing, most of them apartments, in West Hartford. Those projects — now breaking ground or seeking approvals — are in and around the town center in West Hartford and elsewhere, including the former University of Connecticut regional campus near Bishops Corner.

“Let’s face it, right now, there’s a lot on the drawing boards for multifamily residential in West Hartford but not many being delivered,” Kenny said. “We’re one of the first, and we like that. And we like this location.”

The eclectic Park Road district stretches for a mile to the west blending long-established names such as Hall’s Market, Quaker Diner, Park Road Playhouse and A.C. Petersen Farms with relative newcomers J.Rene’s coffee house, Zaytoon’s Bistro and Taqueria La Grande.

To the east, a little over a half-mile away, is Parkville in Hartford, which is working to establish itself as a center of arts and innovation. The successful Parkville Market, which is now expanding, has emerged as a prime attraction.

Kenny said One Park isn’t trying to be another Blue Back Square in the town center.

“I think this neighborhood will be attractive to people because it’s a little more cutting edge,” Kenny said. “It’s generally a younger crowd, and they are not looking for suburbia.”

Competing on amenities

The leasing push for tenants at One Park began less than a month ago. So far, 15 leases have been signed and another half dozen are in discussion.

While younger renters are expected to be key tenants, the complex also could be balanced by empty nesters seeking to downsize in West Hartford but still want to remain in the community and near family and friends, the developers say.

More than half of the units will be studios and one-bedrooms, with one- and two-bedrooms, some with spiral staircases leading to a loft, and three-bedroom apartments making up the rest. Kitchens will be outfitted with stainless steel appliances and porcelain countertops, and baths with walk-in showers equipped with rain shower heads.

In the converted convent, apartment size will range from 436 square feet for a studio to 1,361 square feet for two bedrooms. The corresponding rents range from $1,590 to $3,315. The unit sizes and rent ranges will be similar, but with larger windows, some balconies and closer to amenities off the lobby.

Of the units, 10% have been set aside as affordable or income restricted for the next 20 years, an agreement essential to winning a rare tax break from the town. The development came as West Hartford seeks to create more affordable housing options within its borders.

Among the fees are $400 for amenities that covers the term of a lease; $90 a month for highspeed internet; a $50 monthly pet fee and $175 month for an assigned space in one of two parking garages. Utilities are not included in the monthly rent.

Amenities, which have emerged in recent years as crucial to competing for tenants in new apartment projects, include an outdoor pool, rooftop lounge and game room, plus both indoor and outdoor fitness space. A former chapel is becoming a community recreation space for sports like pickleball or basketball, and in the future could be used for a brewery or live performance venue.

Chris P. Reilly, president of  Lexington, said he is optimistic about demand coming into the spring. He expects to lease 30-45 units a month between April and October, capitalizing on close access to I-84 for tenants who work downtown, There also is budding interest from employees at the UConn Health in Farmington and Hartford HealthCare, the parent of Hartford Hospital, in downtown Hartford.

Reilly also points to recent statistics from the U.S. Census that are in One Park’s favor. Based on an analysis by the Wall Street Journal, five-year Census estimates show the number of renter households earning $150,000 or more a year rose by 87% between 2016 and 2021 to more than 3 million across the country.

The apartments also are coming onto the market at a time when generally rising interest rates are making purchasing a home less affordable. At the same time, the selection of single-family houses in the Hartford area remains thin and the properties that do sell often are fetching above asking price.

“You can’t avoid the interest rates and what that’s doing to the affordability of the single-family home,” Reilly said.

A nod to history

The conversion of the 111,000-square-foot convent and provincial house on 22 acres was launched after the developers purchased the property from the Sisters of St. Joseph of Chambéry for $5.3 million  An addition of 230,000 square feet is being constructed on the Prospect Street side of the property, connecting to the existing structure. The main entrance will be relocated to Prospect from Park Road.

The smallest wing of the existing building is still owned and occupied by the nuns. It is not part of the redevelopment but could be in the future, if the size of the Sisters of St. Joseph continues to shrink.

The order’s declining numbers and an increasingly precarious financial situation led to a decision in 2012 to sell the property. But it took eight years, two proposals from different developers, failed attempts to win historic tax credits and securing the tax break from the town to make project economically feasible.

At the convent’s peak, there were 200 nuns living on the campus. Today, there are just 23 on the campus and a total of 56, most living in houses scattered throughout the surrounding communities. The size of order has declined from 77 in just two years, with the median age being 84, according to Sister Sally Hodgdon, the order’s leader.

Hodgdon said the decision to sell the property was not an easy one, considering its 140-year history with the Sisters of St. Joseph.

“Well, I’m sure people naturally would continue to want to see the land they saw before, but it just wasn’t realistic,” Hodgdon said. “Just as with families, you get to a certain age and we downsize. Same with our sisters, and I’m thrilled that we can be where we are.”

Kenny said there will be nods to the convent’s long history in the new development. The logo for One Park incorporates a sketch of the chapel’s rose window. The converted convent will be known as Chambéry, after the town in France where the order originated, while the new addition will be known as Savoy, the larger surrounding French region. A cemetery on the property where generations of the order’s nuns are interred will remain with the sisters.

Hodgdon said the sisters are relieved that the bulk of the heavy construction and the disruptions it caused are now over. The order hopes the new apartments will be a success, and that the sisters will become part of the larger, new community, Hodgdon said.

“We’re hoping that we will have a good relationship with the new tenants,” Hodgdon said. “Not that we will know many of them, but that we will certainly be friendly and accommodating. That’s part of our charisma.”

Delayed East End Bridgeport retail/office center could open by fall with help from state aid

Brian Lockhart

BRIDGEPORT — After caterer Nate Smith's Southern and Caribbean eatery, Uncle Joe's, opened four years ago in the Hollow neighborhood, developer Anthony Stewart became a regular customer.

So when Stewart was wooing various tenants, including a restaurant operator for his Honey Locust Square retail/office project in the East End, he approached Smith, who agreed to come aboard. 

Smith has been working on the menu — "barbecue-infused, more on the tapas side, like a pulled-pork slider, stuff like that" — and is aiming to make the spot a dining destination in an area that has seen better days, economically.

He just needs the building to finally be completed. Honey Locust has experienced delays and financial issues over the past few years.

"It has been a little bit frustrating," Smith acknowledged. "Hopefully we'll get to open this fall."

That became more of a possibility Thursday when Connecticut's bond commission, an arm of Gov. Ned Lamont's budget office, awarded the city $3.5 million to complete Stewart's development. 

"It's a big, big thing for me," Stewart said of the aid, which is being provided through the new Community Investment Fund that state lawmakers established in 2021. "If you listen to my voice, you see I'm in a much better mood. I don't feel as much pressure as I did."

That pot of money — $875 million total, spread out through 2030 — was set up to funnel financial support to projects/initiatives that will benefit underserved and marginalized communities; people who live in rural areas; and people otherwise adversely affected by persistent poverty or inequality.

"This (Honey Locust Square) fits almost perfectly what we envisioned this fund to be — critical investment in areas that have needed it for decades," said state Rep. Antonio Felipe, D-Bridgeport.

Felipe has a seat on the nearly dozen-member board of legislators and other state officials that oversees the CIF and had initially rejected Bridgeport's application for Honey Locust last fall. The city successfully reapplied over the winter and the project was part of the latest recommended round of CIF recipients announced in mid-March.

The bond commission, which votes on state borrowing for various projects around Connecticut, then played its role in the CIF process Thursday. 

Stewart is an East End native whom Mayor Joe Ganim's administration selected in late 2018 to revitalize the dilapidated commercial block on Stratford Avenue between Newfield and Central avenues. But, following delays attributed to the global COVID-19 pandemic that struck in early 2020,  as of last summer he had run out of money, a situation Stewart also blamed on the health crisis' impact on the supply chain and prices.  

Stewart said the $3.5 million from the state, combined with a nearly $1 million bailout he received from the Ganim administration and City Council in early January, could have Honey Locust on track to open in "Octoberish."

"The big issue is the lead time on things," Stewart said, arguing some of the key equipment he needs has been ordered, but it will be several months before it arrives for installation.

Smith's new restaurant — he said he sold Uncle Joe's during the pandemic — has been intended as one of the major anchor tenants, feeding not only locals but out-of-towners. He said he turned down other business opportunities because he is committed to the project's success.

Smith said his establishment will have a section for casual and one for finer dining, plus an events space.

"We're trying to get a rooftop lounge," he added.

Another key tenant is Gala Foods, which already has two other grocery store locations in Bridgeport. East End community leaders have long complained about the lack of a nearby supermarket. And when Lamont's office Thursday announced the bond commission's approval of the $3.5 million, the release specifically referred to the neighborhood as a "food desert."

Alex Pena's family runs Gala Foods. He said that despite the delays — the Penas were announced as a tenant in 2018 — they too are still looking forward to opening up in Honey Locust, "Hopefully before Thanksgiving."

"We're anxious of going in and making it work. It's just a waiting game now, I guess," Pena said. "It's been a long project."

Pena said the operation, which is in addition to Gala's other Bridgeport addresses, will be "an all-shop destination" and "full, blown-out store with everything in it."

Stewart said some of the equipment needed for the supermarket is taking the longest to order and arrive. For example, he said, a special rooftop unit that recycles cold air from the coolers "is almost five months out."

"I wanted to try to pay for that back in September, October or November but I didn't have the money," he said. "So the grocery store can't open without it. That's the one critical piece."

Stewart said his tenant roster is rounded out with Optimus Health Care, a Medical Arts pharmacy, a salon and a woman's clothing store. He was working on getting a bakery shop "but because it took me so long to open, she opened up another place."

"I have another I'm in talks to get," Stewart said.

And he is still trying to lure a bank. As previously reported, Ganim and other city elected officials have been urging M&T Bank, the new owner of Bridgeport-headquartered People's United, to open an East End branch at Honey Locust. 

M&T Chief Executive Officer Rene Jones last month wrote Ganim, "I want to assure you that the importance of the East End is a priority that we share" and the company has been holding "listening sessions" with the community "to make sure that we're showing up in the most impactful way possible." 

An M&T spokesperson declined to comment when asked for an update.

Getting Honey Locust completed and opened has even political rivals like Ganim and state Sen. Marilyn Moore, who is again challenging her fellow Democrat's re-election after losing their close 2019 mayoral primary, working on the same side. 

Ganim and his aides stepped in when the initial CIF grant application was denied last fall and Stewart's lenders stopped the cash flow to offer Stewart $588,000 in city dollars and $400,000 of Bridgeport's $110 million share of federal pandemic relief.

“The East End is one of the many communities we’ve been working to revitalize," Ganim said in a statement last month after the CIF board approved the $3.5 million. "The residents of that neighborhood deserve to have a local grocery store nearby, along with other essential services."

Moore with Felipe also sits on the CIF board. She said she prioritized getting the $3.5 million approved because Stewart "was doing everything he could to get that project done and he just needed a little lift."

"All of us were rooting for that," Moore said. "That community deserves to have that project finished"

"To a certain extent we are taking a chance," Smith acknowledged of opening his new restaurant in the East End. "The goal is to make Honey Locust Square a destination within the city. And we can only do that by taking chances. It's not just gonna happen."

Monroe 196-unit apartment plan draws safety concerns and backlash

Andy Tsubasa Field

MONROE — Planning and zoning officials are questioning a proposal to build a combined 196 units, echoing some safety and traffic concerns residents have raised for the possible complex near the Trumbull line.

The proposal — known as the Pond View Development — would build seven apartment buildings, each with 28 units, at 127 Main St. There will also be parking a maintenance building, a clubhouse with a pool, cabanas and space for outdoor activities.

During the recent meeting, Kevin Solli of Solli Engineering, a firm representing the applicant Pond View LLC, reiterated how the project would include solar panels at the clubhouse and low-flush toilets, using less water than traditional ones. Faucets and showerheads would pour a “limited” number of gallons per minute, Solli said. The project would also feature bike racks and electric vehicle charging stations, he said.

Developers are “really trying to reduce that overall impact and really kind of focus on the sustainability aspect of what we’ve trying to bring to the community,” Solli said.

The applicant has also tweaked the plan to include a ridge, or berm, on the east side of the property, with a six-foot fence. They also plan to grow plants north of the proposed development.

“We feel what we proposed is a robust buffer to be cognizant of what our surrounding environment is,” Solli said.

Still, a few residents living nearby who already oppose the plan pushed back against the proposed change. 

Monroe Economic Development Commissioner Rick Smith, who lives in the area, suggested children would climb on the ridge. 

"You don't think the kids are going to try to climb on that?" Smith said. "Come on now."

Residents living in the area have criticized the proposal’s traffic study, which estimates the project would generate 73 new trips during peak morning hours and 77 trips during peak afternoon hours. At a hearing last month, they said it doesn’t adequately account for the number of residents who would live there and some have called traffic in the area dangerous.

As part of the project, engineers are proposing to widen the road at a Route 25 intersection near Dunkin’ Donuts and Baskin-Robbins. 

“That just adds some additional capacity to ensure that it can operate effectively and efficiently,” Solli said.

Last month, some residents expressed concern the proposed apartment project would contribute to overcrowding in schools, especially coming not long after planning officials approved another project near Trumbull.

Engineers estimate the Pond View Development would house about 18 school-aged kids, who Sollis told commissioners “wouldn’t all necessarily be new students to the school system.”

Proponents estimate the money the apartment project would bring to the town will offset any additional expenses the schools might have for the students who live there. 

During the most recent meeting, Lupo and Alicia Garfield, a resident living nearby, said the estimates of schoolchildren were too low for a 196-unit apartment project.

“I’d love for the community to grow, responsibly, but I just think that there’s too many apartments here,” Garfield said.

Some planning and zoning commissioners were wary about residents having to drive their children to a nearby bus stop on Route 25. 

“It doesn’t seem like a lot, but if you have 17 kids, they could be all in elementary school, waiting to get on the bus, getting out of the car, you’re going to back up 25,” Lupo said.  

Although the proposal includes a bus stop near its clubhouse to accommodate public transportation, the stop wouldn’t be included in any school bus routes. Engineers have agreed to work with the local school board to identify a stop within the proposed complex or at a nearby area.

Connecticut, other northeastern states will seek over $1 billion in federal funding for hydrogen fuel projects

John Moritz

Connecticut will join six other northeastern states in competing for over $1 billion in federal funding to create a regional “hub” for clean hydrogen fuel, Gov. Ned Lamont announced last week.

The announcement came at the deadline to submit official bids to the Department of Energy for a piece of the $8 billion made available to develop hydrogen projects under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which President Joe Biden signed in 2021. The northeast is one of several state coalitions, or hubs, that are vying to coalesce support and funding for hydrogen projects, according to the Associated Press.

The other states participating in the Northeast Regional Clean Hydrogen Hub are New York, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Maine and Vermont. 

Together, the states are seeking $1.25 billion in federal funding for more than a dozen projects. Combined with other funding, the total cost of the proposal is $3.62 billion. 

“The public-private partners in our hydrogen ecosystem are worldwide leaders in business innovation, and climate leadership,” Lamont said in a statement Friday. “I thank them for the collective effort getting us to this point, and I look forward to a favorable decision from the Department of Energy and the good-paying, local jobs and many other community benefits that will result."

Hydrogen, a chemical element, can be used to produce energy through specialized fuel cells, producing only water as a byproduct. Hydrogen fuel has been adopted to power cars, heat homes and supply electricity, according to the Energy Department.

Despite being the most abundant element in the universe, however, pure hydrogen is hard to come by on Earth. The most common method of producing hydrogen requires heating water into steam using natural gas, which releases carbon emissions into the atmosphere.

For that reason, many environmental advocates have expressed skepticism about turning toward hydrogen as a way of combating climate change and lowering traditional emissions.

“Hydrogen has a very discreet use to help with decarbonization that could easily be taken way further than it should,” said Samantha Dynowski, the director of the Connecticut Chapter of the Sierra Club.

Straying beyond a limited use on hard-to-electrify sectors such as heavy industry, aviation and maritime transportation, Dynowski added, “would be both costly economically and costly to our greenhouse gas reductions targets.”

The Northeast Regional Clean Hydrogen Hub will focus its efforts on other, cleaner methods of producing hydrogen fuel, such as water electrolysis that can be powered by solar and wind turbines, according to Will Healey, a spokesman for the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.

Last year, state lawmakers voted to establish a task force to study hydrogen power, and DEEP has also expressed an openness to hydrogen playing a role in the state’s plan to decarbonize its power grid by 2040. One of the world’s largest manufacturers of hydrogen fuel cells, FuelCell Energy Inc., is headquartered in Danbury. 

Healey said that the states involved in the hub application are not disclosing the identity of specific projects included within the proposal at this time, due to the ongoing competitive bid process. 

The DOE is expected to announce the winning bids for its regional hydrogen hub program this fall, according to a release from New York Gov. Kathy Hochul’s office.

Unit 2 at Millstone goes offline for routine refueling and maintenance

Kevin Arnold

Waterford ― Unit 2 at Millstone Power Station is currently undergoing its 28th refueling outage, a planned outage that occurs about every 18 months.

Unit 3 continues to operate at 100% power.

Scott Miller, manager of nuclear fleet communications with Dominion Energy, the company which owns the power station, said the outage will allow approximately one-third of the uranium fuel in the reactor core to be removed, placed into storage and replaced by new fuel. Planned maintenance operations, which cannot happen while the unit is fully operational, will also be conducted during this time.

Miller said operators removed the main generators from Unit 2 from the power grid on April 6 at 9 pm.

Miller said Dominion does not provide information about the outage’s duration as that is considered proprietary, which is a practice enforced by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

First Selectman Rob Brule posted on Facebook when the generators went offline and said Dominion will follow up with him when it starts the reactor up and synchronizes the main generators back onto the electrical grid. He said Dean Rowe, the manager of nuclear emergency preparedness and station licensing at Millstone, was providing him with updates on the situation.

Miller said residents won’t see a drop off in service during this period, with the only by-product of the shutdown being a non-radioactive steam that is released as the unit cools.

Miller said during the outage, staff and contracted workers will perform maintenance work and equipment evaluations that can only be performed while the unit is offline.

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Sr. Public Affairs Officer Diane Screnci said the commission will use the time to conduct inspections of the power plant, with a focus on the maintenance work conducted while the unit is offline, to make sure proper procedures and precautions are followed.

Screnci said inspectors are assigned to the plant year long and specifically during the planned outage. She said specialists, such as security and radiation specialists, make sure adequate measures to protect workers and the public are being taken.

Lyme-Old Lyme Schools Receive $12M Grant for HVAC Systems

Emilia Otte

LYME/OLD LYME — The school district has received about $12 million in grants for HVAC upgrades for three schools — funds that can potentially be used to reimburse part of the cost of the $57.5 million school building project that voters approved in November. 

Region 18 was one of 19 districts recently awarded funding through the first round of a state grant program for schools upgrading their heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems. The program, funded through a combination of state bond money and federal coronavirus relief funding, sets aside $150 million for HVAC projects across the state. On Wednesday, the state announced the first round of the project, which grants a total of $56 million to a variety of districts. 

Region 18’s grant includes $6.24 million for HVAC improvements at the middle school, $3 million for Lyme Consolidated School and $2.7 million for Center School. 

Superintendent of Schools Ian Neviaser said the funds will significantly decrease the cost of the building projectfor the towns, lowering a project expected to cost $47 million after state reimbursement to $35 million. 

“I’m so excited. That’s just such great news,” he said. 

According to the grant guidelines, municipalities are required to pay an amount that matches the grant they received. Neviaser said the district still has to calculate  how much it  needs to  bond to receive the full reimbursement.  

Neviaser said the district did not apply for a grant for Mile Creek Elementary School because it  had already applied for reimbursement from the state through a “renovate as new” designation. The district expects to receive about $9.8 million in reimbursements for the school, according to Neviaser.  

With the exception of Waterbury, Region 18 received the largest grant award of the 19 districts. The overall cost of Region 18’s project is also one of the highest. 

The school building project includes code upgrades, boiler replacements and HVAC upgrades at Center School, Lyme Consolidated School, Lyme-Old Lyme Middle School and Mile Creek Elementary. It will also add classrooms at Mile Creek.. 

Neviaser said he believed the grant funds have to be expended by 2024. He added that  the architects are aware of the date, but that it was always the district’s plan to get the project done within that time frame. But he said it’s possible the date may also be adjusted. 

“Obviously our goal is to try to get it done in that time period to get the full investment,” he said.

Aldermen OK $8.2 million for work at Hamilton Park

LIVI STANFORD

WATERBURY – The Board of Aldermen unanimously approved an $8.2 million contract Monday to construct a new pool, a 3,200-square-foot pool house, and a promenade adjacent to Seven Angels Theatre at Hamilton Park.

Hamilton Park’s pool, bathhouse, “Bubble” building, and athletic center are scheduled to be demolished, signifying the beginning of Phase 1 of a massive renovation project at the 92-acre park that has been three years in the making.

On March 20, the Board of Aldermen unanimously approved allocating $700,000 from American Rescue Plan funds toward Phase 1 improvements.

Board of Aldermen President Paul Pernerewski said the project was part of a push to upgrade the parks in the city.

“In the not-too-distant future that park is going to be in great shape,” Pernerewski said.

Thomas Hyde, interim president of the Waterbury Development Corporation, said Mayor Neil O’Leary’s administration has “made improving public parks a huge priority” in the city.

Aldermen Minority Leader George Noujaim said he was pleased with the project.

“I am very happy to start seeing money go toward Hamilton Park,” he said. “It is one of our largest parks in Waterbury. It is highly utilized by the public and multiple organizations.”

The board approved the contract between the city and Montagno Construction Inc., which the project will be funded from American Rescue Plan funds.

In a memo to the Board of Aldermen, Hyde said there were five responses to the RFP for the project including Montagno Construction. Other firms that responded to the RFP included Viking Construction Inc, Milestone Construction Services, LLC Giordano Construction Co., Inc., and JA Rosa LLC.

“All five proposers were interviewed, and the committee thoroughly evaluated each response,” Hyde said in the memo.

Construction on the pool, pool house, and promenade is expected to be completed by April 30, 2024.

These projects are all part of Phase 1 of Hamilton Park.

Mayor O’Leary has described the project as a “quality of life issue” that is long overdue.

O’Leary said work on the master plan for Hamilton Park began three years ago, with neighborhood community meetings and the hiring of the Chesire-based design firm SLR Consulting, which helped with the design of the park.

The firm included 25 recommendations, of which SLR landscape architect Suzanne Schore has cited the conversion of Hamilton Park Road into a pedestrian walkway and multiuse trail with amenity space and lighting as one of the most significant. All 25 recommendations are part of the master plan.

City officials say the goal is to do every single item on the master plan contingent on funding and grants.

“There are thousands of grants at the state and federal level,” said Hyde. “That doesn’t mean that all of them are going to fit this project. It is something we continuously look at.”