Cedar Pointe will bring 108 units of multifamily housing to town. The project will see the construction of 72 units within two, three-story garden style buildings and a community building. There will be a mix of one- and two-bedroom apartments and the units will be built to Passive House standards. Passive House standards can result in monthly utility bills savings from reduced energy use, high indoor air quality due to excellent ventilation, and a sound-proof home due to air tightness and heavy insulation.

The property is listed on the Connecticut Brownfields and previously contained an auto dealership, which created an environmental situation that will be mitigated before the apartments are built. All of the original buildings have been demolished and the site is currently vacant and ready for development.

Construction for the project is scheduled to start in early fall 2021.

This transit-oriented apartment development is located near a newly constructed CTfastrack station and helps fulfill the town’s desire to create more mixed use and affordable housing in the surrounding area. Newington currently has less than 10% affordable housing, so this community will fill a void for residents who might otherwise be priced out of the area.

 White House grades states’ infrastructure as it pushes bill; C-minus for Conn.

Josh Boak

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden wants Congress to know he's sincere about cutting a deal on infrastructure, but the White House is also highlighting needed repairs and upgrades state-by-state that cost far more than what Republicans are willing to spend.

Biden met Monday afternoon with a bipartisan group of lawmakers and tried to assure them that the Oval Office gathering was not “window dressing.” One of the core disputes is what counts as infrastructure in his $2.3 trillion proposal that would also raise corporate taxes.

“I’m prepared to negotiate as to the extent of my infrastructure project, as well as how we pay for it,” Biden said. “It’s going to get down to what we call ‘infrastructure.'”

The meeting came as the White House released state-by-state breakdowns Monday that show the dire shape of roads, bridges, the power grid and housing affordability, among other issues. Biden's team is making a direct argument for lawmakers to put their constituents ahead of their ideologies. An appeal to the broader public is unlikely to resonate much with Republican lawmakers who have already blasted the plan.

The figures in the state summaries paint a decidedly bleak outlook for the world's largest economy after years of repairs being deferred and delayed. They suggest that too much infrastructure is unsafe for vehicles at any speed, while highlighting the costs of extreme weather events that have become more frequent with climate change as well as dead spots for broadband and a dearth of child care options.

Among the four Republicans on the White House guest list Monday were Sen. Roger Wicker of Mississippi, Sen. Deb Fischer of Nebraska and Reps. Garret Graves of Louisiana and Don Young of Alaska. Democrats on the list were Sens. Maria Cantwell of Washington and Alex Padilla of California and Reps. Donald Payne Jr. of New Jersey and David Price of North Carolina.

Drawn from an array of private and public data, the state reports show there are 7,300 miles of highway in Michigan alone that are in poor condition. Damaged streets in North Carolina impose an average yearly cost of $500 on motorists. Iowa has 4,571 bridges in need of repair. There is a roughly 4-in-10 chance that a public transit vehicle in Indiana might be ready for the scrap yard. Pennsylvania's schools are short $1.4 billion for maintenance and upgrades.

Most states received a letter grade on their infrastructure. West Virginia earned a D. So did Biden's home state of Delaware. Of the states rated, the highest grade went to Georgia and Utah, which each notched a C-plus. The lowest grade, D-minus, went to the territory of Puerto Rico.

Connecticut received a grade of C-minus. 

The administration is banking that the data will confirm the everyday experiences of Americans as they bump over potholes, get trapped in traffic jams and wait for buses that almost never correspond to published schedules. There is already a receptive audience to the sales pitch, and the strategy is that public support can overcome any congressional misgivings.

“We don’t have a lot of work to do to persuade the American people that U.S. infrastructure needs major improvement,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said on Fox News Channel's “Fox News Sunday” ahead of the reports' release. “The American people already know it.”

Republican lawmakers have been quick to reject the infrastructure proposal from Biden. They say just a fraction of the spending goes to traditional infrastructure, as $400 billion would expand Medicaid support for caregivers and substantial portions would fund electric vehicle charging stations and address the racial injustice of highways that were built in ways that destroyed Black neighborhoods.

The reports give some data to back up their argument that more money should be spent on roads and bridges. Biden's plan would modernize 20,000 miles worth of roadways, but California by itself has 14,220 miles of highway in poor condition.

Republican lawmakers also object to funding the package by increasing the corporate tax rate from 21% to 28% and increasing the global minimum tax, among other tax changes including stepped-up IRS enforcement being proposed by the Biden administration.

Wicker indicated a willingness to negotiate with Biden after the meeting and called it a “good discussion.” But a more fundamental disagreement also emerged about whether the United States is in decline because of its deteriorating infrastructure.

“He says that we’re a declining superpower, the United States is no longer number one,” Wicker said afterward. “I just fundamentally disagree with that. But he says that our allies and our adversaries tell us that.”

Yet the state-by-state reports make clear that many of the people Wicker represents could benefit from the package, an aspect of the Biden effort to engender the backing of voters across party lines.

Mississippi needs $4.8 billion for drinking water and $289 million for schools. Nearly a quarter of households lack an internet subscription, and a similar percentage lives in areas without broadband. Mississippians who use public transportation have to devote an extra 87.7% of their time to commuting.

Mississippi's infrastructure received a grade of D-plus.

Cantwell, a Democrat, said Biden plans to have his team revisit with the lawmakers who assembled at the White House and their colleagues in hopes of driving a consensus.

“The president said he would send his team up to the Hill to talk to anybody about how to get this done," Cantwell said.

------

Online:

White House's state-by-state infrastructure reports: Fact sheets by state.

Bond Commission to weigh millions of dollars for Elm St., Pratt St. mixed-use developments in Hartford

Matt Pilon 

In its first meeting of 2021, the state Bond Commission later this week will vote on millions of dollars worth of loans and grants that would help spur the redevelopment of 460 new apartment units in Hartford.

The funding on the commission’s Friday agenda would shepherd a $100 million Pratt Street redevelopment into its next phase, kickstart the repurposing of a former state office building fronting Bushnell Park and stake a mixed-income apartment redevelopment project near the Colt Armory.

The largest Hartford economic development item the agenda is $13.5 million in loans to help Spinnaker Real Estate Partners redevelop the 55 Elm St. office building into 164 apartments with co-working space and a restaurant.

The Norwalk-based developer acquired the 300,000-square-foot building more than a year ago for $6.8 million and plans to spend approximately $63 million on the project, it revealed recently.

The quasi-public Capital Region Development Authority (CRDA) is the public funding conduit for both Pratt Street and 55 Elm.

CRDA is also on deck to receive $1.5 million from the bond commission to complete a replacement of a waterproofing system, pavers and a protection membrane at the plaza and esplanade that connects the Connecticut Convention Center to the CT Science Center.

The Pratt Street project, developed by a partnership that includes Marty Kenny of Lexington Partners, Shelbourne Global Solutions and Alan Lazowski, of LAZ Parking, is well into its first phase, which includes conversion of 99 Pratt St. and 196 Trumbull St. into 129 units of new housing. The apartments at 196 Trumbull debuted last fall, and Shelbourne Chief Operating Officer Michael Seidenfeld told city councilors last week that work on 99 Pratt is about to begin, with pre-leasing activity anticipated to begin in the next six or seven months.

The Bond Commission this week will consider a $2 million loan for the Pratt Street Initiative Partnership to assist with the upcoming second phase.
With an estimated total cost of $32.2 million, the bulk of the work slated for the so-called “Sage Allen Apartments and Townhomes” phase will involve converting 42 student townhomes on Temple Street into 88 conventional rental units, which would join 77 existing units at the nearby Lofts at Main and Temple.

Seidenfeld said that Shelbourne is funding a marketing and branding campaign for Pratt Street that’s set to launch in a few weeks and run into the fall, including social media, email and paid search marketing, radio and other advertising outlets. He declined to disclose the cost of the campaign, but said it comes at a crucial time, with COVID-19 vaccines rolling out widely and warm weather setting in.

”Timing is really crucial because we’re climbing out of COVID, and things are starting to ease up, thank God,” Seindenfeld said. ”Now’s the time people are taking a fresh new look and asking ‘what’s new in hartford?'"

Also on the Bond Commission itinerary this week is a $4 million loan for nonprofit housing developer Sheldon Oak to assist with redeveloping the Martin Luther King Apartments at 79 Van Block Ave. in Hartford into 150 new units across several buildings intended for a mix of incomes. The total project cost is estimated to be more than $51 million.

Further details weren’t immediately available.

Finally, the commission will vote on a $3.9 million loan for the fourth redevelopment phase of the former Westbrook Village on Granby Street, a Pennrose-led development known as the Village at Park River.

There are 400 townhouse-style units in total planned for the former public housing site, which is being built over six construction phases.

Luxury apartments proposed for South Windsor's Sullivan Avenue Plaza

Olivia Regen

he first major plan of development, which includes 125 luxury apartments known as Sullivan Avenue Plaza, has been filed for the Geissler’s supermarket area in South Windsor and if approved could bring $601,238 in additional tax revenue to the town, officials say.

The Planning and Zoning Commission will consider the proposal and a request for a zone change from commercial to mixed-use development on April 13.

Along with the apartments, the $30 million project includes renovation of 60,740 square feet of commercial space at the nearly deserted plaza where Geissler’s supermarket is located at 959 Sullivan Ave. to make room for restaurants, a coffee shop, a salon, or a brew pub, said Greg Nanni, general manager of Prospect Enterprises, the management and development agent for the plaza owner.

In January 2020, the PZC voted 5-2 to add language to zoning regulations clearing the way for Design Professionals representing REESG Newco South Windsor LLC to submit the project to the PZC.

This was the first of three steps to approve the project. If the PZC approves the zone change and the developer’s plan of development, the final step would include bringing forward a site plan for approval.

“We are really looking forward to a mixed-use development, which creates synergy between the residential and apartment uses where one helps to invigorate the other,” Nanni said. “It will bring a lot of economic vitality to the area of Sullivan Avenue and hopefully will serve as an impetus for renovations of other development projects in the area of town.”

The existing Hot Leathers store at the end of the plaza would be demolished to make way for the construction of four three-story buildings to house the 125 apartments which include the following: 17 studios, 66 one-bedroom, and 42 two-bedroom units.

Regulations require that 10% of those units are affordable, which REESG Newco intends to meet and provide information at the site plan stage, according to Town Planner Michele Lipe’s report on the project.

The proposed plan also includes renovating the former gas station at the northwest corner of the site and converting it into a convenience store.

Mayor Andrew Paterna said the proposed development at Geissler’s Plaza would bring “new life to an area that has needed some help for a long time.”

Paterna said he hopes the project would also help stimulate economic development in the Sullivan Avenue business zone.

“This project will be a welcome addition to South Windsor,” he said.

Town Manager Michael Maniscalco agreed.

“The redevelopment of Geissler’s Plaza is an important first step for the Sullivan Avenue trade zone,” he said. “Our hope is that this is the first of many investments in that part of town.”

A fiscal analysis of the plan prepared by Donald J. Poland of Goman and York, the developer’s planning and design firm, found that the proposed mixed-use development wouild have a positive impact on area property values.

The analysis also said the development would create 101 construction and 20 permanent jobs.

Kwesi Brown of SLR International Corporation conducted a traffic analysis of the area, which found that it would be able to accommodate traffic that would be generated by the proposed development.

Deputy Mayor Elizabeth Pendleton said the proposed development is a “beautiful and welcome addition” that is going to fit a need. She also emphasized it is critical to support family-owned businesses such as Geissler’s.