CT Construction Digest Tuesday February 14, 2023
Marine Company Plans Industrial Buildings for Thames River Site, Awaits Dredging Regs
Brendan Crowley
GALES FERRY – With their plans to process dredged soil at a rail-connected industrial site on the Thames River on hold, Massachusetts-based Cashman Dredging and Marine Contracting is now pushing to develop the rest of the 165-acre site into a complex of industrial buildings.
Cashman Vice President Allen Perrault presented a conceptual plan to the Ledyard Planning and Zoning Commission on Thursday night showing that the company intends to use the north side of the former Dow Chemical property on Route 12 for its own marine equipment business, and will clear woods and level a hill on the south side of the property to make way for several large industrial buildings that Cashman would lease to other companies.
Perrault said that they plan to start by building a 20,000 square foot building on the north side of the property with a driveway onto Route 12, which would house its marine contracting and equipment division. There would also be a large space on the north side of the property for a lay down area to store large equipment.
One of the largest costs of marine work is moving equipment, Perrault said, and Gales Ferry gives Cashman a location to fix and store equipment between its other centers in Staten Island and Quincy, Massachusetts.
The major marine uses on the Thames River also makes it a prime location for a dredging company, and the proximity to the New London State Pier puts the company in position to supply aggregate material for offshore wind construction, or to stage equipment for offshore wind, Perrault said.
“We’ve already talked to an aggregate supplier with a quarry in Connecticut who may be interested in railing aggregate here and shipping it off by barge,” Perrault said. “The aggregate is inland, and this is the first water site to get to from the quarries.”
Cashman’s attorney Harry Heller said that shipping out aggregate wouldn’t increase the number of trains that run to the site, but it will likely mean those trains have more cars to carry the materials in. There wouldn’t be any aggregates brought in by ship and then transported out by rail, he said.
Heller told the commission that the plans to process dredged materials on the site – which have drawn heavy scrutiny from the community – are temporarily stalled while the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection works out new dredging regulations.
The dredging facility is still on the table, he said, but for now Cashman is looking to move ahead with developing the rest of the property – a process that will likely take 10-15 years to complete, depending on the demand for those spaces, Heller said.
The conceptual designs Cashman showed the commission on Thursday showed four new buildings on the southern end that Cashman would clear and level: a 100,000 square foot building, and 80,000 square foot building, and twin 40,000 square foot buildings.
The plans also show a new 100,000 square foot building and 38,000 square foot building between the existing American Styrenics plant and the railway. American Styrenics, a joint venture of Dow and Chevron, has a long-term ground lease and will remain on the site, Heller said.
Sean Duffy, head of industrial real estate for Cushman & Wakefield, said the “intermodal” rail, highway and river access and its size makes the site a unique opportunity for businesses. Duffy said demand is trending towards larger buildings, and it’s unique to have a site in this market that could accommodate multiple 100,000 square foot buildings.
“There isn’t another site of this size that can deliver these kinds of buildings, even across the river at WestRock,” Duffy said. “The transportation there is more difficult, the neighborhood is more challenging, the pads are smaller, the intermodal was more complex.”
The south end would be leveled and cleared to make room for new buildings, but nothing new would be built until Cashman had a business lined up to use it, Heller said.
“We’re not going to build buildings on speculation,” Heller said. “We’re going to build buildings to suit when we have end users.”
Cashman has not yet submitted a formal application to the town for any of the work considered in the conceptual plan.
Comcast tapping into East Windsor solar farm
Collin Atwood
EAST WINDSOR — Comcast, one of the largest telecommunications operations in America, has purchased 70 megawatts of renewable solar electricity from a town business that is in the early stages of development.
Serving millions of customers across the nation, Comcast will now power 43% of its Connecticut and Massachusetts operations utilizing renewable solar electricity from the Gravel Pit Solar project in East Windsor.
The solar project, between Apothecaries Hall Road and Plantation Road, is being developed by D.E. Shaw Renewable Investments and North Light Energy.
In February 2021, the state Siting Council unanimously approved the construction of the 485-acre solar development, which is planned to be the largest of its kind in the Northeast.
Aaron Svedlow, president of North Light Energy, said the project started construction in late January and will be completed in 2024.
He said the 120-megawatt clean energy facility will include over 250,000 solar panels and will begin delivering to customers in 2024, with Comcast the facility’s largest customer.
The facility will provide carbon-free electricity for Comcast’s Western New England region headquarters in Berlin, NBC Sports in Stamford, and NBC Connecticut in West Hartford, Joe O’Leary, press aide for the Connecticut State Democrats, said.
“I am overjoyed that Comcast is pursuing this opportunity to diversify its energy sourcing through Gravel Pit Solar,” Sen. Saud Anwar, D-South Windsor, said. “This will have positive impacts statewide, for NBC and Comcast through use of green energy and for East Windsor’s local business growth.”
Comcast will purchase an annual volume of 111,000 megawatt-hours, a year’s worth of electricity use for more than 15,000 homes, O’Leary said. He said the development will create around 200 construction jobs.
“This is a huge boost for municipal revenue growth — and it shows that East Windsor is the place to be and to do business,” Rep. Jaime Foster, D-Ellington, said.
The Board of Selectmen approved an agreement in June 2021 that will bring the town $378,000 in taxes annually, plus $1.5 million for infrastructure improvements.
First Selectman Jason Bowsza said that upon completion, D.E. Shaw Renewable Investments will become one of East Windsor’s largest taxpayers.
He said the development will reduce dust, noise, and truck traffic, while prohibiting activity in the gravel mines, such as off-road, all-terrain vehicles.
Contractors are completing the framework for the largest building at Meadow Commons, a mixed-use project along the Berlin Turnpike that is on track to be one of Newington’s biggest new developments in a decade.
Most of the walls are up for the roughly 43,000-square-foot retail building closest to the turnpike, and a large crane is assembling the framework for the roof.
Framingham, Mass.-based Grossman Development Group is also constructing several smaller retail buildings on part of a 24-acre tract previously used by Eversource. In all, Grossman plans about 80,000 square feet of retail space, with the first store opening in late summer. In a second phase of the project, Criterion Development is scheduled to build more than 250 apartments on land in the back of the retail complex.
Mayor Beth DelBuono said Thursday that the development helps Newington in numerous ways.
“It will bring much-needed housing as well a niche shopping experience,” she said. “It’s like nothing we have in Newington and we can’t wait to see the benefits to our community, as well as to all those who will travel to Newington because of this development.”
The town last February approved a tax incentive for both Grossman and Criterion that will freeze their assessments for the first 10 years of operations. Town officials at the time estimated the combined value of the residential and commercial improvements would amount to more than $82 million, and construction inflation since then may have driven that figure up.
The site is about a half mile from the Berlin line, and is just north of Best Buy. Meadow Commons is expected to house a supermarket, but the chain has not been named yet.
Grossman said other tenants will include an outlet of New Haven-based Sally’s Apizza; the chain’s website lists a Newington restaurant as “coming soon.”
Additional tenants will be Shake Shack, an outlet of the cookie retailer Crumbl, and the first Connecticut location for PJ’s Coffee.
Grossman is building the retail complex in partnership with Long Wharf Capital and Callahan Inc., with financing by Washington Trust.
In its marketing to potential retail tenants, Grossman stressed the high traffic volumes on the turnpike. In addition to being a significant north-south artery, it has a heavy concentration of retail, restaurants and consumer service businesses.
“The site benefits from over 33,000 cars that drive by the property daily and a new, fully directional signal (currently in permitting) in order to access the site from the Berlin Turnpike,” according to Grossman. “Meadow Commons is shadow-anchored by strong retail, including Raymour & Flanigan, Best Buy, Target and other national retailers.”
In his 2021 presentation to the planning and zoning commission, company President Howard Grossman said he is “very bullish” about Connecticut and plans another project in Middletown.
The concept in Newington is to build “amenity retail and boutique retail,” he said, describing it as “trying to be as Amazon-proof as possible in this new world of retail and online.”
Grossman redeveloped several parcels in Shrewsbury, Mass. into Lakeway Commons, a 375,000-square-foot mixed-use development.
It includes 100,000 square feet of retail, 250 apartments and 14 townhomes, and its retail operations are anchored by a 50,000-square-foot Whole Foods. The Shrewsbury property also includes 250 apartments that were developed by Criterion.
The Shrewsbury tenants include Starbucks, Tavern in the Square, Burtons Grill, Visionworks, UniBank, Jenny Boston Boutique, Scottrade, Tile Works, Lunchbox Wax, Massage Envy, Club Pilates, Loyal Companion, Orangetheory Fitness, The Tile Shop, The LUX Group, SkinMD, The Lash Lounge and Shrewsbury Dentistry and others.
On the residential side, Criterion is a multifamily development company based in Boston and Dallas. It has built more than 5,500 apartments.
Stratford legislators' bills target Bridgeport's sale of Sikorsky Airport to CT agency
BRIDGEPORT — The debate over the city's pending sale of its Stratford-based airport to the Connecticut Airport Authority has reached the state legislature.
A pair of lawmakers representing Stratford in Hartford — Republican Senate Minority Leader Kevin Kelly and Democratic Representative Joe Gresko — are behind four bills that would further complicate the CAA's already delayed purchase of Sikorsky Memorial Airport and also give their town more influence in the deal.
Gresko on Monday acknowledged the proposals — one would give Stratford the right of first refusal to buy, another require Stratford's approval of any sale, and the others attaching strings involving historic preservation and future environmental impacts — may not survive the current legislative session. But, he added, that is not necessarily the end goal.
"I can tell you the stories about what it takes to get a bill passed," Gresko said. "To think all four of these bills will pass? No. But a message is being sent that we feel, Stratford feels, that we need to have a bigger role in the future of the airport. And hopefully we can get our colleagues at the Capitol to agree with us."
Kelly said of the first submission in particular, "This just seems like common sense, reasonable, fair, good government if one municipality has property in another and wants to get rid of it, they should first go to the town in which it's located and say, 'Hey, you guys want this?'"
Kevin Dillon, the CAA's executive director, could not immediately be reached for comment Monday.
Daniel Roach, an aide to Democratic Bridgeport Mayor Joe Ganim who has been closely involved in the negotiations with the CAA, said of the bills, "We'll see how it works out."
The four proposals are just the latest hurdle for the Ganim administration's effort to have the CAA either buy or lease Sikorsky Memorial and return regular passenger service there.
As recently reported, an initial analysis of potential ground contamination at the airport concluded the cleanup costs could be anywhere from $4 million to $19 million, while the CAA has offered to pay $10 million maximum for the property based on what Bridgeport has invested in the site beyond the federal dollars that keep it operational.
And, under a state property transfer law, the parties have to agree to a remediation process before the sale can proceed. Roach has said the city is seeking an exemption to that requirement given state legislators have been moving to amend the transfer rule anyway.
The airport currently serves business, charter and private flight services. The Ganim administration and CAA have been in talks for over a year and both sides had initially hoped to finalize a deal by the end of 2022.
Proponents of CAA control argue that entity, which already operates Bradley International in Windsor Locks and other state airports, can better position Sikorsky as a key travel hub that will further grow the regional and Connecticut economies. Democratic Gov. Ned Lamont in November 2021 endorsed a CAA take-over.
Meanwhile Stratford's Republican mayor, Laura Hoydick, and her administration have been trying unsuccessfully to make a counter-offer, arguing the town is not against having expanded flights there, but should have control over the facility instead of the upstate, Windsor Locks-based CAA.
One of Kelly's and Gresko's bills would "prohibit the Connecticut Airport Authority from purchasing or acquiring an airport owned or controlled by a municipality without first obtaining the approval of the municipality within whose territorial limits the airport is located." In other words, while the Bridgeport City Council must eventually vote on a sale, Stratford leaders, in some capacity, would also need to give their blessing.
And two bills would, in various ways, place added responsibilities on the CAA to ensure that its purchase of and future plans for Sikorsky will not adversely impact the environment or any historic structures on site. For example, it has been unclear what a CAA takeover will mean for the airport-based Connecticut Air and Space Center, which in 2015 obtained a 99-year lease from Bridgeport and has been trying to refurbish the historic Curtiss hangar for its home.
Kelly has served as the center's attorney and its leaders have complained that they have been left out of any talks between the Ganim administration and the CAA.
Dillon last September said of the attraction, "If we're the airport operator, we'd want to make sure it (the air/space center) has a home at the airport. But we'd want the flexibility to be able to work with the museum to relocate the facility if necessary."
Kelly on Monday said that besides the Curtiss hangar, Sikorsky Memorial and Stratford in general have had key roles in aviation history, and that history needs to be safeguarded. And, he noted, as for the legislation that focuses on environmental impact, there are preserves, sensitive habitats and species close to the site that must be taken into account should CAA or another entity take the airport over and expand operations there.
The debate over Sikorsky's future has put some area legislators who have influence over the four bills in question in awkward positions. Gresko, for example, is a Ganim ally and has a part-time job with the city. Besides co-sponsoring the proposals he is co-chairman of the legislature's environment committee, which has cognizance over two of his and Kelly's submissions.
Meanwhile newly-elected Democratic state Sen. Herron Gaston, who as a member of both the environment and transportation committees will also be dealing with some of the four bills, not only represents portions of Bridgeport and Stratford, but is another of Ganim's top aides.
Gaston in a statement Monday said, "Bridgeport stands to gain significantly from this acquisition should there be a meeting of the minds."
"Any changes to Sikorsky Memorial Airport must first and foremost protect residents in the immediate area and regionally as well as the environment," Gaston said, adding he is "committed to being a voice for the people of these impacted communities."
He said he also wants to learn more not just about the CAA's vision for the aviation facility, but Stratford's long-term plan too.
State reps. Antonio Felipe and Christopher Rosario, both D-Bridgeport, have seats on, respectively, the legislature's environment and transportation committees.
Felipe on Monday declined to comment on the quartet of bills related to the airport's sale, but said that municipally-run airports "have never worked."
"This (a CAA takeover) is the best way to kind of turn it (Sikorsky) commercial and have some flights coming out of the region," Felipe said.
"I'm gonna let the process play out," Rosario said of the four proposals. "I'm gonna advocate in the best interest of my constituents and the city. I would love to take a quick hop flight down to (Washington) D.C. and be home in half an hour flying out of Sikorsky."
He said having revived passenger service would also be good for prominent local employers like M&T Bank and its executives.
Rosario said he would have liked Bridgeport to have "gotten rid of" the airport years ago and voiced some concern about the negotiations with the CAA "dragging on" and maybe the latter eventually backing out.
Ganim and his staff have actually been thinking on-and-off about selling Sikorsky since just after his election in 2015.
The administration tried to woo a private passenger carrier to the airport in 2019, but ultimately concluded the CAA was better positioned to do so.
"I wish we didn't have so many hiccups," Rosario said. "But obviously Sen. Kelly's gonna advocate for his town and do the best he can. I'm gonna do the same for mine."
Cromwell Middle School Building Committee trying to close $21M budget gap in $56M project
Cassandra Day
CROMWELL — The Town Council voted to allow the Middle School Building Committee to proceed with the $56 million school project while expressing concerns about the budget being $21 million over what voters approved at referendum.
The committee’s website offers a breakdown: $17.2 million for construction and $3.8 million for other “soft” costs.
Council members will revisit the issue in April or May, when the next estimate is received.
The new middle school is “desperately needed,” Superintendent of Schools Enza Macri said Friday. “The current facility doesn’t have the educational space or layout to support a STEAM curriculum. This is significant when we think about preparing students adequately for high school and beyond.”
Voters passed the ballot measure June 14, 2022, by a vote of 970 to 231.
“I’m sure there’s nobody who wants to go back twice,” Mayor Steve Fortenbach said. If project costs exceed even $1 over $56 million, he added the question whether to spend more must again be put to voters.
Expenditures, Fortenbach explained, “can’t be looked at in a vacuum, because there are other projects in town the residents are looking for."
The district has said it expects about 60 percent of the final costs will be borne by the state Board of Education.
Building Committee Chairwoman Rosanna Glynn expressed frustration over the matter at a special Town Council meeting Wednesday, which followed their meeting.
“The committee was led to believe that our concept cost estimation had everything that we had discussed, such as the enlarged stage and auditorium. We had documentation indicating as much,” she said Thursday.
“It is also frustrating that there is no direct line to make an apples-to-apples comparison between the two designs. It will take some research and significant effort from the committee to put a clear comparison together. All the questions the Town Council asked, we asked ourselves,” Glynn said.
“The building committee has been very committed to their core value of transparency during this project,” Macri noted. “They expect it of themselves as well as their partners.”
Members will be reviewing project information “to see where a partner in this project may not have provided appropriate information,” the superintendent continued. “Financially, no one wants to be in this situation. I am confident that the building committee will sharpen their pencils and find additional cost savings.”
Rising costs may prohibit building sports fields and an auditorium, the committee wrote on its website, something Macri hopes the town will never face.
“Cromwell children deserve both a new middle school and the athletic facilities that go along with it. We should not have to sacrifice one for the other; however, this is a community project and we will work together to do what is best,” Macri said.
Some residents are wondering whether the project would simply be abandoned for the large increase in costs.
“Anything is a possibility, but, right now, we are way too early in the process to head in that direction,” Macri said, adding that there are two more outstanding estimates and bids. “We will really know what we are dealing with, cost wise, after those bids are received.
“At that time, a decision will have to be made, but the hope is, costs will be lower than predicted,” she added.
"We have to be very clear as we're moving this forward,” Councilwoman Jennifer Donohue said during Wednesday’s town meeting. “What are the costs, why are the costs different, and educating everybody on that, because we can't keep going back and doing this.
“Where's the trust in the project and what we’re doing?” Donohue asked.
“I think it’s imperative for the school building committee to dig deep and define our wants and needs on the school building project to try and bring that number down,” Fortenbach told The Press.
“We have a fiduciary responsibility to the residents. We should be delivering a great project,” but one that is also “fiscally responsible,” the mayor pointed out.
He acknowledged that inflation has hit everyone hard. “Everybody’s belt is tight all around. Electricity is up, the cost to heat your home up. Everything is more expensive today.
“Increasing [the tax] rate has a financial effect on everyone in the community,” Fortenbach said.
“No one wants to see this project go over budget, and we are going to do everything in our power to close the gap,” Glynn said.