CT Construction Digest Tuesday February 1, 2022
Biden issues an infrastructure ‘roadmap’ to help spend $1T
Josh Boak, Associated Press
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden urged U.S. governors on Monday to ramp up their construction plans as his administration rolled out a guidebook for accessing the nearly $1 trillion made available by the bipartisan infrastructure deal.
Biden welcomed governors to the White House on Monday as part of the winter meeting of the National Governors Association, and he cajoled them on the importance of infrastructure.
“You know how to build roads and bridges,” the Democratic president told them. “Well, we got a hell of a lot to build.”
After the meeting, a pair of governors described infrastructure as a place for bipartisan cooperation and stressed that it was important for states to be able to spend money as they see fit.
“In terms of the infrastructure, the magic word from the governors is give us flexibility, hold us accountable, but we know how to invest in infrastructure and, trust us, and we want to partner with the administration," Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, a Republican and chairman of the National Governors Association.
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, a Democrat and the association's vice chairman, said infrastructure was “probably the topic that came up the most, was discussed the most, and where we found an enormous amount of enthusiasm." Murphy added that he would “underscore” the significance of "flexibility ... in terms of how the monies can be spent. ”
Mitch Landrieu, a senior White House adviser who is supervising the infrastructure spending, said the goal of the 461-page book is to ensure that all communities have the details on how to qualify for funding, no matter their size or politics.
“It's an absolute road map," said Landrieu, a former mayor of New Orleans.
The book is meant to level the playing field by making it easier for smaller cities, tribal leaders, nonprofits and faith-based groups to compete for money that usually only lobbyists know how to access. The infrastructure deal is unique in its scope as it goes beyond roads and bridges to include such initiatives as broadband internet, replacement of lead water pipes and resilience against climate change.
Administration officials assembled the guidebook quickly as the infrastructure package became law on Nov. 15. Copies are available online at build.gov, though the administration is working with associations and direct contacts to make sure it reaches government officials in communities of all sizes. Landrieu said he has already spoken with 43 governors and more than 250 mayors as part of the push.
The infrastructure package includes 375 distinct programs, of which 125 are new. And while the guidebook is more than twice the size of the F. Scott Fitzgerald novel “The Great Gatsby,” it's considerably shorter and easier to navigate than the infrastructure law, which stretched for more than 1,000 pages.
About 60% of the funds are available through formula and 40% through competitive applications. Not all the infrastructure money is able to go out as the federal government is operating on a continuing resolution that runs through Feb. 18, instead of an annual budget. Still, not all of the money will go out immediately as the programs are generally operating on a five- to seven-year timeline.
DANBURY — Fresh off an approval for the career academy, Danbury is exploring adding classrooms to Great Plain Elementary School to address growing enrollment.
“Just in terms of options and providing additional space for elementary classrooms across the district, I think this is a great conversation for us to have as we continue to experience growth across all our schools” Superintendent Kevin Walston told the school board’s Sites and Facilities Committee last week.
This project would be in addition to the ongoing addition to Ellsworth Avenue Elementary School and the new, 1,400 middle and high school that the Zoning Commission OK’d last week to be built in the Summit development on the west side.
In fact, officials considered expanding at Great Plain’s campus a few years ago, but shelved the project in favor of the Ellsworth annex and career academy. Great Plain is the district’s smallest elementary school, with 284 students in 2020-21, according to state data.
Details, such as cost and the number of classrooms, were scarce, but the city’s public works director and engineer is working on a plan to present to the committee at its next meeting on Feb. 17, Walston said.
School officials are also looking for a larger space the district could rent to consolidate some operations, he said. The district rents space for the facilities department on Beaver Brook Road and another building for a curriculum group that’s across the street from the administrative center on Beaver Brook. Plus, the city rents at Sacred Heart School for early childhood classrooms.
“We are beginning to see if there is an opportunity for space where there could be significant savings for the district,” said Walston, adding this would be more logistically efficient, too.
Ongoing school projects
The committee should get an update at its next meeting on the cost of the career academy, Walston said. The city approved borrowing $99 million for the project, with a state grant expected to cover 80 percent of that.
But the superintendent and mayor have hinted in recent weeks that rising construction costs related to inflation and COVID-19 challenges could drive up the cost of the project.
The state is still reviewing the city’s application for the grant. City officials had worried a change in leadership in that Connecticut office could have delayed the project, but have since met with the state about the project.
“Things are still moving forward with the Danbury career academy, still a couple more hoops that need to be jumped through,” Walston said.
One hoop is the city’s purchase of the three pods needed to build the school. The city and developers at the Summit, a 1.2 million-square-foot multi-use building, are negotiating that and other terms.
Walston said design plans should be presented to the committee at the next meeting. The high school principal and the assistant superintendent of teaching and learning are closely involved in planning, he said.
“The Danbury career academy is very exciting,” he said.
Despite the rising enrollment, the school district opted to close the Danbury Primary Center — a rented building serving Danbury kindergartners in Brookfield — next academic year.
The addition to Ellsworth will provide more space for kindergartners, and the school would have been too costly to keep open. In addition to needing to invest roughly $200,000 into the building, Danbury spends north of $300,000 for school buses aids alone, Walston said.
Ellsworth is perhaps the fastest growing elementary school in the district, he said. With the addition, the school will have four new kindergarten classrooms, three or four preschool classrooms, and a new registration center, Walston said. The renovation is projected to be done by the time students start school in the fall.
Construction crews asked Danbury not to hold summer school in the building so they can finish up work, said Richard Jalbert, coordinator of sites and facilities.
“I don’t know where we’re going to go, Rich, for summer school if we have to go somewhere else,” Walston said. “But I think we can figure it out for one summer, given all the progress, and if that means we can open our doors for everyone in September.”
Danbury’s career academy cost projected to rise 46 percent to $144.5M
DANBURY — The estimated cost to build a new middle and high school has risen dramatically — up almost 46 percent from what was approved last year.
City Council is expected to consider on Tuesday a new request to borrow $144.5 million for the career academy, compared to the $99 million approved last April. The city hopes the state will cover about $115.6 million of the project.
DANBURY — The estimated cost to build a new middle and high school has risen dramatically — up almost 46 percent from what was approved last year.
City Council is expected to consider on Tuesday a new request to borrow $144.5 million for the career academy, compared to the $99 million approved last April. The city hopes the state will cover about $115.6 million of the project.
Inflation led to a “significant” cost increase, while “COVID-19 related construction impacts” affected labor and the cost of materials, he said. Including prevailing wages and other requirements also drove up the cost
The original estimate was for a “turnkey purchase,” which the project is not, Esposito said. The latest design drawings and education specifications also provided more accurate estimates.
“The current pricing reflects educational specification and space needs along with specialty curriculum requirements that were not previously included,” Esposito wrote.
He said the city’s goal is to work with state legislators to amend original legislation based on the new estimates so that Danbury could receive the 80 percent reimbursement it applied for.
The new school has had wide support among city and education officials who have seen the academy as a key way to address rapid enrollment growth. The academy would serve 1,400 middle and high school students and be built within the Summit, the 1.2 million-square-foot development on the west side.
The request comes less than a week after the Zoning Commission approved the revised Summit’s master plan to include the career academy.
Council members must also consider the mayor’s request to appropriate a $190,000 deposit toward the purchase of three “pods” within the Summit. The city would purchase the pods at $19 million, according to another letter from the mayor to the council. He requested to appropriate $4 million in design services for the academy, as well.
Danbury’s attorneys are negotiating a contract with the Summit that will “contain numerous contingencies” benefiting the city, including that all funding for the project must be approved and that Danbury may chose the prime contractor, Esposito said. The council must approve the agreement, as well.
“Your authorization of these expenditures will allow us to stay on our original schedule to ensure our children attend the Danbury Career Academy for the 2024 school year,” he said.
West Haven could get new Allingtown library as plans advance
WEST HAVEN — Could the city build a new Allingtown branch of its library?
The site of the former Allingtown library on Forest Road was sold to a developer in July 2020, a controversial move that some in the neighborhood claimed was a decision that disadvantaged the working-class neighbors of the area — who used the building as a community space for seniors and youth — as a means of expanding the footprint of the nearby University of New Haven.
Colleen Bailie, director of the West Haven library system, said “nothing is final yet” for plans at a site on Boston Post Road, but those plans are firming up.
“(W)e are in the process of purchasing some land and have a state library construction grant approval at this time,” Bailie said in an email.
On Jan. 24, West Haven Library posted a request for qualifications seeking an architect for a 12,000-square-foot building at 634 Orange Ave. The request asks that the building design include 14 features, including a community room that can seat 75 people and is adjacent to a kitchen area; two study rooms; spaces designed for children, teenagers and adults; and a parking lot for 60 cars “or as close to this number as possible.”
John Galvin, president of the Village Improvement Association — the nonprofit that oversees the city’s library system — said despite the “hard feelings” felt by library advocates when the former building sold, he believes it’s time to move on and build a new library.
“Part of our contingency on buying that site is we get approval from Planning and Zoning as far as being able to put a building there,” he said. “It’s our belief the residents of Allingtown have waited too long for the city to act.”
Allingtown, he said, is the district with “the most residents and the most underserved,” so he believes the community needs a library after roughly 1.5 years.
Teddy Brown, a board member of the VIA, said he knew “a little bit” about the plans, to which he is opposed.
“It’s on the Boston Post Road. If you’ve got a child, say 18 or 19 years old, how would they get there if they don’t have a vehicle?” he said. “They’ve got to walk and there’s no sidewalks.”
Brown, whose wife, Carroll E. Brown, is founder of the West Haven Black Coalition, which met in the basement of the former building, said the library is meant to be a community building.
Galvin said he believes the Boston Post Road site could be made viable with advocacy.
“There’s a bus stop across the street and we certainly would hope our representatives on the City Council would see fit to put a sidewalk in,” he said.
Mayor Nancy Rossi said she supports a new Allingtown branch library.
“I do believe a library needs to be in Allingtown,” she said.
Rossi has not yet revealed her plans for the expenditure of $29 million in federal pandemic funding through the American Rescue Plan Act and she declined to say whether her draft plans include any funding to be designated for an Allingtown library.
Lt. Gov: Meriden brownfield selected for economic potential
Mary Ellen Godin
MERIDEN — State officials selected the Pratt Street brownfield project for a $1.8 million cleanup grant because of its potential for economic development in a transit-oriented district, Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz said Monday.
Bysiewicz was joined by city and state lawmakers in announcing the grant at a press conference in the Pratt Street fire station, near the target parcels at 289 and 290 Pratt St. The grant will go towards cleaning up the Meriden Enterprise Center and a vacant lot across the street. Steve Ancona, the developer and owner of both properties, plans to build a 92-unit market rate apartment building on the vacant lot. The building will include commercial space on its first floor.
“This grant is part of a tranche of $18 million given to 13 towns,” Bysiewicz said. “This is an opportunity for downtown businesses. It is a project that encourages transit-oriented development.”
Bysiewicz told the group 30,000 people have moved into the state since the start of the pandemic, adding she feels Meriden is an attractive location because of its access to rail and highways. She added that young people are moving to cities such as New Haven and Milford for access to rail.
The proposed apartment complex/lifestyle center is in the city's gateway corridor, which was recently divided using stone medians and plantings. It is also within the transit-oriented district.
The project will be mainly market rate housing, with nine units designated as affordable. Ancona and city officials envision a connection between the Meriden Enterprise Center and the apartments across the street. The apartments could be for empty nesters, workers at the Enterprise Center and commuters who want to live near the downtown train station, Ancona said.
The Meriden Enterprise Center was once home to a New Departure plant that built automotive parts for General Motors. The 14.3-acre lot at 289 Pratt St. held some ancillary buildings and the two parcels were once connected via a catwalk above Pratt Street. The city’s delegation of lawmakers lobbied Gov. Ned Lamont’s administration and the state Department of Economic Development to help the public-private partnership clean the site.
“Even though the factories are gone, their memories live on with what’s in the ground,” said state Rep. Michael Quinn, a Democrat who represents the city’s 82nd district
Ancona said cleanup has been ongoing and the grant will allow the work to be completed. He praised the city for its efforts to beautify the area, including the Meriden Green, the gateway corridor and new train station. Ancona expects construction on the new development to begin at the end of the year.
Mayor Kevin Scarpati initially opposed more housing in downtown, but after hearing the complex would be primarily market rate, he backed the idea.
“Downtown is a complex puzzle,” Scarpati said. “And the piece that is missing is market-rate housing. We have not been able to deliver market-rate housing. This will bring disposable income to our downtown.”
The city has a preferred developer agreement with Pennrose and the Cloud Group to build market rate housing on the Meriden Green. But there aren’t any definitive plans when that might happen, officials said Monday.
Since management at the Meriden Enterprise Center has had success with commercial leasing, Scarpati and others are confident it can fill the 6,000-square-foot commercial space on the project’s first floor, officials said.
Filling commercial space has been challenging for the city’s downtown, including a new building at 24 Colony St. But the ready-made co-working space across the street should trickle over to the new development, said city Economic Development Director Joseph Feest. The lifestyle center will draw residents for its amenities.
“The rooftop view will be straight up to Castle Craig,” Feest said. “It’s a prime location that checks off all the boxes.”