Stamford Transportation Center needs a face-lift. But will it get one soon?

Verónica Del Valle  STAMFORD — Another year, another conversation about sprucing up the Stamford Transportation Center.

The second busiest Metro-North Railroad station, behind only Grand Central, could see new improvements, according to Gov. Ned Lamont’s 2022-2023 budget. Despite promises of modernization for the problematic train station, details on the initiative remain sparse.

“We are in the beginning stages of preparing to roll-out a comprehensive public engagement process to provide input in the development of a Master Plan, which will lay out a path forward for the modernization of the (Stamford Transportation Center),” said Kevin Nursick, spokesperson for the state Department of Transportation. “Once those plans are finalized we will release additional information.”

The department anticipates public outreach on this project to start in the spring or summer.

Lamont recommended a “highway use tax” in his newest budget to help fund a flurry of transit-related projects, including the transportation center. To help build out the state’s often-criticized roadways, bridges, and mass transit systems, the Lamont administration proposed charging operators an incremental rate, determined by the weight of the truck and how many miles it travels within Connecticut.

New York collects a similar tax, something that the state’s trucking association has criticized for being “administratively burdensome and easy to evade.”

If the legislature moves to implement, Lamont’s budget predicts that a highway use tax could collect $45 million in Fiscal Year 2023 and touted it as a way to boost the Special Transportation Fund. That statewide reservoir of cash is expected to run dry in 2024, a byproduct of rising debts and gas taxes collecting less money.

The budget predicts that a highway use tax could bring in $90 million in revenue annually.

For the city, transportation center modernization is a welcome conversation.

“The mayor has really been asking for a modernized plan since 2014, and rightfully so. The environment is dramatically changing,” said Michael Pollard, chief of staff to Mayor David Martin. Both Pollard and Nursick said that the mayor’s office has been engaged in frequent conversations with the state to understand what a newer transportation center could mean.

Changes are already afoot at the transportation center, like updates to its five elevators and 17 escalators and a public parking garage at South State Street. The construction process for the public parking facility caused an uproar from Stamford residents, as the community worried about traffic gridlock near the station and loss of spots during the construction.

Pollard said any modernization will likely piggyback off those two projects, which have already been funded by the state and federal government.

Jeffrey Maron, vice chair of the Connecticut Commuter Rail Council, is a fan of any further updates to portions of the state parking facility that remain open.

“Leverage the fact that the garage is pretty empty now to seal the surfaces of the floors and repair all the problems with the concrete,” Moran suggested. “This is the perfect time to do things.”

While parking may be the most prominent problem for the transportation center, Moran sees multiple ways the decades-old building could change. New signs, he said, are a prime example.

“All too often, people … take Amtrak to Stanford, or people come to visit family and they’ve taken Metro-North to Stanford, and they get lost literally in the station. When they try to park in the garage, and they get lost trying to get out to find the right exit,” he said. Little things like more accurate signs, or signs that indicate parking capacity in garages, could make all the difference, he said.

Even though the state said the highway usage tax could fund up to $1 billion in transportation funds over five years, Moran is skeptical of the promise.

“Historically, the government has claimed that money was supposed to go into the transportation funds, and somehow either it never made its way in or never stayed there,” Moran said. “Too many years, money didn’t make it to a lockbox in the first place. Based on history and experience, I question how much is actually going to benefit commuters and others who leverage the train station.”

Offshore wind project off Martha’s Vineyard nears approval

NEW BEDFORD, Mass. (AP) — The first commercial-scale offshore wind power development in U.S. history is edging closer to approval, federal officials said Monday.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management made the announcement about Vineyard Wind, a much anticipated and debated project off Massachusetts that would include dozens of turbines and produce enough power for more than 400,000 homes. The bureau said it is publishing a notice of the availability of the final environmental impact statement for the project on Friday.

That's significant because it means the government could approve or disapprove the project soon. BOEM officials said whether the project is approved can happen 30 days later. That's the major approval needed to begin construction.

Offshore wind development is still in its infancy in the U.S., which is home to two small projects off Rhode Island and Virginia. President Joe Biden's administration has pledged to pursue renewable energy development such as wind power.

Vineyard Wind Chief Executive Officer Lars Pedersen said the company looks "forward to reaching the final step in the federal permitting process and being able to launch an industry that has such tremendous potential for economic development in communities up and down the Eastern Seaboard.”

Downtown North developer Salvatore eyes next phase of Hartford’s mixed-use neighborhood development

Greg Bordonaro  fter years of delay and anticipation, construction on Downtown North's mixed-use redevelopment near Dunkin’ Donuts Park is showing signs of progress, and now the developer is eyeing the project’s next phase.

Stamford-based developer RMS Cos. broke ground on DoNo’s first phase last October, and has already completed construction of the 330-space parking garage. 

In an interview with Hartford Business Journal Monday, RMS CEO and President Randy Salvatore said foundation work has now begun on the $50-million project’s 270 apartment units, which should be completed about a year from now. 

The goal is to have tenants moving into the apartments located on Parcel C along Main Street in early 2021. It will take up to two years, he said, to fully lease the units. 

“Construction is going well despite the rough winter,” Salvatore said.

Meantime, RMS is in early discussions about the development’s next phase, which will include construction of 532 additional apartments and a 541-car garage on DoNo’s parcel B. 

Salvatore said work on parcel B will be broken down into two phases. The first will be a $52.8 million investment that will lead to the construction of the parking garage and 228 apartment units.RMS has already submitted a $13.6 million funding request for the first phase of parcel B to the Capital Region Development Authority. The rest would be financed by a mortgage ($33.2 million) and equity ($6 million). 

Phase two of parcel B would include 304 apartments and a $56 million investment. 

Salvatore said he’d like to start parcel B site work later this year and move quickly into construction, which will take about 18 months. 

He said the pandemic hasn’t detracted from his vision to create a vibrant mixed-use neighborhood with 1,000 apartments around the ballpark. In fact he’s more bullish about Hartford’s prospects and wants to keep construction moving so that the neighborhood blossoms quickly and people see the momentum and want to live there. 
“What’s important in developments like this is you create a sense of community there and show progress,” Salvatore said. 

Salvatore said talks with a potential grocery store operator remain ongoing but there are no agreements in place yet. He also hasn’t started talks with potential retail or restaurant tenants because both of those sectors have been hit hard by the pandemic. 

Those conversations will likely begin in  about three or four months, he said.