Here are 7 Hartford development projects to watch this summer. ‘Downtown housing is the thing’

KENNETH R. GOSSELIN 

HARTFORD — As Hartford emerges from a bruising pandemic, the downsizing of office leases in and around downtown — and the uncertain return of workers to the city from home offices — remains one of the biggest economic challenges the city will face in the coming years.

But development efforts — slowed but not stopped in the aftermath of COVID — are pushing ahead to better balance the downtown’s decades-long dependence on office workers with those who live in new apartments. Thousands of rentals have been added in the last decade but some say more are needed to strengthen the downtown ecosystem of restaurants, bars, entertainment venues and theaters.

Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin, a strong proponent of mixed-use, mixed-income housing redevelopment, said apartment occupancy remains strong coming out of the pandemic, a good sign for the city. But to build momentum back behind revitalization and achieve a 24/7 vibrancy, more housing — perhaps much more — will be needed to offset the loss of office workers, Bronin said.

“It is crystal clear that the future of our downtown depends on achieving enough residential density that there’s energy and activity and feet on the street, not just during the weekday but nights and weekends, too,” Bronin said. “That work was important before the pandemic. But now, it is existential.”

Coming out of the pandemic, further rental conversion of office buildings offer a probable path. But some say those moves have to be done thoughtfully, recognizing that more workers are likely to return to offices in the years ahead.

“Taking a 300,000-square-foot office building off the market and converting it begs the question, ‘What are we going to do five years from now?’ ” Michael W. Freimuth, executive director of the Capital Region Development Authority, said.

In the past decade, CRDA has taken a leading role in providing low-cost, state taxpayer-backed loans to fill in financing gaps in apartment conversion projects in the city and surrounding suburbs. That role has led the quasi-public agency to take an increasingly larger profile in urban planning.

On top of what evolving role downtown might play as a center for office employment, it is likely that decisions about converting office buildings to housing will be weighed against what part the building could play in future office leasing, Freimuth said.

“We’re really redefining downtown,” Freimuth said. “However much work we’ve done over the last 10 years, we’re really at somewhat at a crossroads that’s not unique to Hartford.”

‘Speed that part of it up’

From his office in downtown Hartford’s One Financial Plaza, the “Gold Building,” developer Marty Kenny sees daily that office workers haven’t returned in significant numbers.

“We still don’t have enough people returning to work,” Kenny, of Lexington Partners, said. “I think the insurance companies have been more circumspect on that than anybody and also, the state of Connecticut. We do recognize that people are consolidating.”

The high apartment occupancies — mostly 90% or better — is encouraging, said Kenny, who has been a developer in the city since the 1980s.

“The retail is coming,” Kenny said. “But we need to speed that part of it up because, ultimately, for Hartford to be a community where people want to live, you’ve got to have exciting retail. And by retail, I really mean, entertainment and restaurant and that kind of thing.”

The city’s $6.7 million Hart Lift storefront revitalization program is focused largely on those efforts, with half of the grants focused on downtown. Pratt Street is a major recipient of those grants, with 12 businesses, 7 of them restaurants or bars.

Kenny, part of a partnership that is redeveloping the south side of Pratt Street with apartments and reinvigorated storefronts, aims to make the street a destination.

David Griggs, executive director of the MetroHartford Alliance, the region’s chamber of commerce, has an upbeat outlook when it comes to revitalization. Griggs said he believes the city either has regained the revitalization momentum that it had prior to the pandemic “or we’re pretty darn close to having it.”

“For all the uncertainty, I feel there is a little more certainty,” Griggs said. “We know that downtown housing is the thing. We know we need to keep doing that. We know we need to keep these restaurants going.”

“Where I think before the pandemic, there was still a little question of do we really need all the housing downtown,” Griggs said. “Hopefully, that horse is so far out of the barn that it’s not even in the same county.”

Griggs said office downsizings are likely to continue, but, on the upside, jobs are not being cut.

The development strategy for downtown — and the city’s neighborhoods — has held for the last eight years under Bronin’s tenure as mayor. Although some some critics say Bronin hasn’t done enough to promote affordable housing in Hartford.

Bronin isn’t running for a third term so there is a question mark about where the city will go from here, Kenny said.

“We’ve had a mayor that’s proven to be a very steady force,” Kenny said. “It’s so important that we get the right leadership at this critical time. So that weighs on me for sure.”

Knitting back together

The next few years could see progress on expansive projects that have been talked about for decades.

Bushnell South, the redevelopment of a wide swath of parking lots near the state Capitol and the Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts, now has a preferred developer, The Michaels Organization, and a development agreement could be reached later this year. The first phase, estimated to cost $130 million, would form the foundation of what could eventually could be 1,000 apartments. A ground breaking could still be up to two years away.

The development, to the south of Bushnell Park, would serve to connect the park to Park Street and Colt Park. It also would shift Bushnell Park, a major city asset, more to the center of downtown rather than being on its edge.

Similarly, the North Crossing development around Dunkin’ Park, the city’s minor league ballpark, would bring together parts of downtown cut off from each other by construction of the interstate highways two generations ago. The first phase of apartments has been completed, but with litigation that, so far, has stalled work on the next phase, attention could turn to the nearby campus of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. The 13-acre property went up for sale earlier this year.

Bronin, the Hartford mayor, said there is interest in the property, though he has declined to elaborate. One likely developer is Randy Salvatore, chief executive of RMS Cos., which is developing North Crossing.

Bronin points to significant progress redeveloping blighted or vacant properties along Albany Avenue on the city’s northside, one of the city’s most heavily-traveled thoroughfares. The projects extend from the redevelopment of rundown public housing projects near the West Hartford town line to the Arrowhead Gateway project on the edge of downtown.

“Things are starting to knit together,” Freimuth said. “It’s going to take a while to make it look like it did. We’re not completely there yet, but it’s starting to happen.”

Here is a look at 7 development projects in Hartford to watch this summer:

XL Center

Neighborhood: Downtown

Cost: $107 million

Developer: State of Connecticut

Completion: To be determined

What to watch: A major upgrade to the lower half of the XL Center arena could start later this year if a study confirms cost estimates are valid. The venue’s operator also must commit funds to the project. The legislature also must give special approval to the public-private partnership between the state and venue operator Oak View Group.

Why it matters: Major renovations are seen as key to the nearly 50-year-old arena keeping up with more modern venues. An investment by OVG would boost competitive firepower for attracting big-name concerts and sports tournaments, which supporters say will economically benefit both the city and the region.

Parkville Market, Phase 2

Neighborhood: Parkville

Cost: $5 million

Developer: Carlos A. Mouta

Completion: Partial completion by the end of 2023

What to watch: The first part of the expansion, to be known as the Hall at Parkville Market, will include event space and a bar, and is expected to be completed by the end of 2023. Work also has begun in a separate building planned for either a brewery or winery. Hog River Brewing Co. has dropped plans to relocate to the space.

Why it matters: The success of the Parkville Market has raised the profile of Parkville neighborhood, long a center of arts and innovation. Plans for a major renovation at nearby Real Art Ways and the conversion of the former of Whitney Manufacturing Co. into apartments and business incubator space are among other projects in the works.

Hilton Hartford

Neighborhood: Downtown

Cost: $29 million

Developer: RMS Cos./Waterford Group

Completion: 2023

What to watch: The top floors of the 22-story hotel are being converted to 147 apartments in an $18 million project. The lower floors will remain guest rooms, undergo an $11 million renovation and will be rebranded as a DoubleTree hotel.

Why it matters: The Hilton Hartford, next to the XL Center, came dangerously near to closing in the pandemic. A rescue plan, partly financed with public funds, will preserve some of the guest rooms that will be needed to attract conventions and sports tournaments in the aftermath of COVID-19. The top floors also would add to the inventory of apartments.

Martin Luther King Apartments

Neighborhood: Sheldon/Charter Oak

Cost: $63 Million

Developer: Sheldon Oak Central, Inc./Vesta Corp.

Completion: To be determined.

What to watch:  A redevelopment of the 1960s, rundown housing complex near the former Colt manufacturing complex is now expected to break ground by late summer. The project has been delayed by more than a year by rising construction costs. All tenants have been relocated in preparation for demolition.

Why it matters: A rebuilt MLK complex will provide much-needed affordable housing options in the city, while allaying concerns about gentrification and displacement. A portion of the units will qualify for Section 8 subsidies, but will be blended with units that have higher income restrictions and others that are leased at market rate.

Neighborhood: Downtown

Cost: $17 million

Developer: San Juan Center/Carabetta Enterprises

Completion: 2024

What to watch: The long-anticipated project includes the renovation of three historic buildings and a construction of a new one. The redevelopment will create 45 mixed-income apartments over storefront space, all opening to a new pedestrian plaza.

Why it matters: This redevelopment is seen as pivotal for reconnecting Hartford’s downtown to the city’s northside neighborhoods. The connection has been disrupted for decades ever since the construction of the interstate highways in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Although Arrowhead Gateway is separate, it would build on the nearby North Crossing area, which includes Dunkin’ Park, the city’s minor league ballpark.

Pratt Street Corridor

Neighborhood: Downtown

Cost: $1 million in city grants, landlord and business owner investments

Developers: Shelbourne Global Solutions LLC, Northland Investment Corp., Business owners

Completion: 2023-2024

What to watch: The city’s Hart Lift storefront revitalization grant program has given out $1 million in funding on Pratt Street — and more grants on nearby Main and Trumbull streets. Some of the businesses on Pratt Street, including a bakery and a Korean-themed restaurant, have already opened.

Why it matters: The grants are aimed at raising Pratt Street’s profile as a destination for dining and entertainment in greater Hartford. The area could help attract more downtown residents and visitors.

North Crossing Phase 2

Neighborhood: Downtown

Cost: $53 million

Developer: RMS Cos.

Completion: To be determined

What to watch: The second phase of North Crossing, the former Downtown North, or DoNo, is being split into two parts. The first half would contain 228 apartments and a 541-space parking garage, plus retail space. The second half would have the balance of apartments at a total cost of about $100 million.

Why it matters: North Crossing, which includes Dunkin’ Park, Hartford’s minor league ballpark, is aimed at redeveloping a jumble of parking lots just north of downtown. The area was once a part of downtown but was cut off by the construction of the interstate highways. North Crossing is intended to bring the two areas back together again. Tax revenue from redevelopment in this area was part of the plan to pay for the $70 million, city-financed ballpark.

The first phase of apartments, known as The Pennant, is now almost fully leased. But moving on to the next phase has stalled because of litigation between the city and the previous developer of area. Fired from the job, the previous developer claims it was wrongfully terminated. A court decision affecting further development has been expected for months.

Curious about other development projects in Hartford? Visit The Courant’s online interactive feature to learn about two dozen developments throughout the city.

CT’s long, winding trip to fix a short stretch of Route 9

Mark Pazniokas, 

On the first day of summer in 2016, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and transportation officials greeted reporters on a sunny parking deck in Middletown, a spot affording views of a placid bend in the Connecticut River and a treacherous half-mile of state highway.

They came to announce a solution to a puzzle: How to remove two sets of traffic lights on Route 9, a contributor to about 260 crashes in three years on what otherwise is a limited-access highway, without cutting off the city’s riverfront or its rebounding downtown.

Building two bridges to allow northbound traffic to exit into the downtown under raised southbound lanes was the “minimalist” answer, as described then by the state’s chief highway engineer. Malloy urged patience: A final design and construction would take years, completion unlikely before 2023.

Seven years later, Connecticut has a new governor, the state Department of Transportation has a new commissioner, and Middletown has a new mayor. But as another summer approaches, the signals remain on Route 9, snarling traffic on a highway connecting I-91 and I-84 in Greater Hartford to Old Saybrook, I-95 and shoreline beaches.

It turns out the Rubik’s Cube nature of highway do-overs — how to fix one problem without creating two others — is harder than it looks.

Responding to concerns about the concept Malloy presented and revisions that followed, the DOT is now working on Alternative 11, assessing suggestions by Middletown officials in November. Alternative 1, the plan presented in 2016 and revised after public input, remains in contention.

DOT now aims to settle on a conceptual design by June 2024, produce construction drawings by November 2025, seek bids a few months later, then start construction in June 2026 — exactly one decade after Malloy’s press conference. 

The complexities of redesigning a relatively short stretch of highway to the satisfaction of myriad stakeholders around Middletown, a city of 47,000 at the center of the state, has been an instructive, if humbling, undertaking for a short-staffed DOT with far greater ambitions and challenges.

Notably, the delay hasn’t drawn criticism from Middletown’s mayor, Ben Florsheim, or his predecessor, Dan Drew, who both attended the 2016 news conference. Or from Rep. Roland Lemar, a New Haven Democrat and close observer of the DOT as co-chair of the Transportation Committee.

“It’s because DOT has been responsive and open to suggestions from the local community about how to ensure that that roadway serves the city of Middletown, not divides it,” Lemar said. “Taking a more deliberative and more community-focused approach has led to delay, but it’s a good one.”

Highway designers have revised plans repeatedly at the request of Middletown, meeting monthly with city officials as they attempt to balance concerns about river views and access with potential impacts on downtown traffic, historic properties, railroad tracks and an isolated and long-neglected neighborhood, Miller-Bridge.

“It feels to me like we’ve been listened to,” said Florsheim, who succeeded Drew as mayor in 2019. Drew offered a similar assessment and added, “I think everybody knew it was a very complicated project that required a lot of public input.”

Still, others have stopped following the twists and turns of a slowly evolving reality show about a highway makeover. They just want to know how it all ends.

“I am horribly cynical at this point about the process, and I don’t think without reason,” said Dmitry D’Alessandro, the owner of a downtown framing shop and a Miller-Bridge resident. “I don’t care anymore. They’ve said that they’re going to finally do it. I will believe them when they finally do it.”

Don Shubert, the president of the Connecticut Construction Industries Association,  said the painfully slow process of birthing highway projects, often more tied to regulatory and permitting issues than public reaction, long has frustrated an industry with an insatiable appetite for work.

“Ten years from conception to construction — all over the country — is far too long,” Shubert said. “We need a process where we’re not doing everything, then stepping back and doing it all over again.”

Shubert was speaking generally, not about the repeated reviews and revisions of the Route 9 project. He acknowledged that remaking highways in built-out areas is especially complicated.

“There’s no easy digging in Connecticut,” he said. 

Connecticut, like much of the U.S., is deep in a reappraisal of how the construction of tens of thousands miles of highways in the 1950s, ’60s and ’70s hollowed out American cities, carved up neighborhoods and walled off natural assets like the Connecticut River in Hartford and Middletown.

Much of that highway infrastructure, such as the I-84 viaduct that bisects and overshadows a long swath of Hartford, is nearing the end of useful life. The need for rebuilding comes in a time when best practices call for transportation plans that are multi-modal tapestries, woven to connect communities.

Michael Calabrese, the chief of highway design, said the DOT has been paying increasing attention to “context-sensitive design” for 25 of his 27 years at the agency. 

“Basically, it’s go out and talk to the public,” he said. “The more you talk to people, the more you can figure out the best solution for everybody. So for Connecticut, it’s not a recent mind shift. We’ve been doing this for a long time. So projects just take a while.”

Earlier generations of highway designers focused on the most efficient ways of moving cars from Point A to Point B, less so with the impacts on the communities through which they passed, destroying some neighborhoods and isolating others.  

“There has been a cultural change,” said Garrett Eucalitto, the commissioner of DOT.

With a background in transportation planning and finance, both in Hartford and in Washington, Eucalitto embodies and reinforces that change. He was recruited by his predecessor, Joseph Giulietti, and groomed to take over when Giulietti retired in January at the start of Gov. Ned Lamont’s second term.   

“We’ve seen the impact of the past decisions. You look at what happened to Hartford,” Eucalitto said, referring to the impact of highways built a half-century ago. “And it had lasting damage on the community that now we’re going to have to undo.”

Three years ago, the DOT halted work on how to replace the Hartford viaduct and accepted a challenge from a public-private partnership to think more broadly and much, much bigger.

Designers shifted to working on a conceptual plan for reconstructing not just I-84 but its riverfront interchange with I-91, a section of I-91 that stands between the downtown and river and, possibly, the clover-leaf exchanges that consume acres of valuable land on the other side of the river in East Hartford.

Costing billions and requiring 15 years to complete, it would be the mother of all highway makeovers.

“The goal is this summer to roll it out publicly: ‘Here are early-action projects. Here are the pieces. And here’s what the future of Hartford can look like if all this is completed,’” Eucalitto said.

The Middletown project is a smaller-scale dress rehearsal for the more ambitious production in Hartford, which most likely would have to be designed, funded and built in stages, given its cost and size. 

With more than 500 vacancies, the DOT is hampered by staffing shortages. Eucalitto said staffing has not been an issue in Middletown but is a factor in the projects lining up behind it.

Over time, the redesign and reconstruction of Route 9 through Middletown has both grown in scope and split into smaller projects: two are complete, one recently broke ground, and another is cleared to go to the bid in the fall. Each possesses an “independent utility.”

In other words, they are worth doing on their own, even if the final piece of the puzzle — how to eliminate two signal-controlled intersections while maintaining safe access on and off the highway — still is being designed. 

“So if we never get rid of the signals, all these projects still have a purpose and a need, and they’re beneficial to the environment,” said Steve Hall, the project manager.

Construction recently began on a $56 million project to remake an awkwardly angled ramp that connects Route 17 to Route 9. From a stop sign, drivers must look over their left shoulder for an opening to dash into northbound traffic with no acceleration lane. 

It was the site of 319 crashes over a recent three-year period, even more than the 260 attributed to the nearby traffic signals.

Hall said the on-again, off-again conversation over the feasibility of removing the Route 9 lights gained traction in 2014, when the public reacted skeptically to DOT plans to fix the Route 17 ramp without touching the two nearby traffic signals.

“The design back then was pretty similar to what we’re actually building,” Hall said. “But we got comments back then saying, ‘You got to do something about these signals. How can you fix that, and we have two traffic signals on Route 9?’ So we kind of shifted focus.”

The ramp project, which requires a new bridge and other changes, was put on hold. Two years later, Malloy, and James P. Redeker, then the DOT commissioner, came back with a fast-track plan to not only fix the ramp but remove the traffic lights.

“Real simply, it was just a let’s-look-at-this-from-a-minimalist-scope,” Thomas A. Harley, the chief engineer, said then. “When you look at it from that perspective, you come with ‘let’s just raise the southbound [lanes] so the turns can be made underneath it.’ ”

It was not entirely minimalist. Keeping traffic flowing as it comes off the highway at Washington Street also would require construction of a rotary. Early reviews were not good.

The community complained that one flyover destroyed views of the river when looking down Washington Street from Main Street and that other aspects compromised historic properties, complicated riverfront access and appeared to overwhelm the downtown with traffic that no longer could easily access Route 9.

“Whatever we do on Route 9, there’s a perception that means Main Street will bear the burden of what we’re doing,” Hall said. “There’s a perception DOT wants to fix the Route 9 problem by sending all the traffic to Main Street.”

Engineers experimented with revisions that would move a flyover north and use an open structure instead of retaining walls, opening river views. They also have considered closing off one of the two downtown exits to either north or south traffic, simplifying the design. 

Seven of the 11 alternatives were discarded after internal scrutiny. Three others have been subjected to detailed and sophisticated reviews designed to measure how traffic flows would be changed, using big data sold by cell phone providers to a Virginia company, Streetlight Data.

The fourth, Alternative 11, is now getting the same analysis.

Cellphones act as tracking devices, their movements collected over time. The data feeds into animated simulations showing DOT engineers where traffic now goes and how it would be affected by variables ranging from the closure of an exit to changing the cycles of traffic lights blocks away.

“Anytime we close highway access, those cars have to go somewhere, and we have to figure out where they go and then evaluate the impacts,” Hall said. “So with that traffic model we have, we’re able to basically plug in a closure of that exit ramp and see where these vehicles go.”

As engineers considered options, decisions were made in 2018 to break out portions into separate projects.

Sidewalk “bump outs” at intersections along Main Street were installed as safety measures that calm traffic and shorten the distance for pedestrians crossing the street, an immediate improvement that anticipated increased traffic once the Route 9 lights are removed.

Turning lanes were added at St. John’s Square, where Hartford Avenue takes traffic up a hill from Route 9 to the north end of Main Street, improving traffic flow now and preventing traffic from backing up onto the highway once the signal-controlled intersection becomes an exit ramp.

A broad pedestrian bridge to the river is in the design.

And the DOT listened to public suggestions that it do something for the residents of Miller and Bridge streets, a neighborhood literally in the shadow of the Arrigoni Bridge. The only access is directly off Route 9, which is dangerous and would become impractical without the traffic lights.

Two decades ago, Middletown tried buying out homeowners with the intention of erasing the neighborhood. 

“We were told we didn’t matter,” said D’Allesandro, the merchant who owns a home on Bridge Street.

They do now. The neighborhood has taken on the status of an “environmental justice” community under federal law, requiring the DOT to ensure it does not suffer from the final design.

The plan now is to connect Miller-Bridge to the rest of the city by building an at-grade crossing over the railroad tracks. It is a less-than-ideal solution the DOT long resisted but eventually deemed safer than continued access to Route 9. 

Hall said the rail crossing had its own complications, requiring negotiations with the railroad and a vote of the General Assembly. It goes to bid by year’s end, with construction next year.

As far as the last piece of the puzzle, the removal of the traffic lights?

The choices are narrowed to Alternative 1, the revised original with a largely finished conceptual plan, and Alternative 11, the latecomer that, among other things, would exit traffic further south and use local roads for access to the downtown.

The traffic analysis of Alternative 11 is underway, slated to be finished in September. 

“We’re going to reevaluate One and Eleven to get them on the same page, so we can really go apples to apples, Hall said.

Public comment will be opened in the fall. Once again, Middletown will be asked its opinion.

Karen Tensa

WILTON — The town obtained favorable rates in its recent $13.1 million bond sale that will primarily provide financing for the new police headquarters project, according to town CFO Dawn Norton.  

In the May 16 bond sale, the town yielded competitive interest rates on the strength of Moody’s reaffirmation of Wilton’s rating of Aaa, which is the highest rating available, Norton said in a statement. 

The town received 11 bids from various underwriting firms with the winning bid of 3.19 percent from Robert Baird Inc., she said.

The town’s policy of using a combination of 10- and 20-year bonds meant the winning True Interest Cost of 3.19 percent was lower than all recent Aaa bond sales, including Westport at 3.34 percent, Farmington at 3.27 percent, New Fairfield a 3.36 percent, Newtown at 3.45 percent and Darien’s 28-year issue at 3.67 percent, the statement said. 

The town is preparing to break ground this spring on the $16.4 million project to build a new police headquarters, officials said. Construction expected to take about 20 months, officials said.

In the 2022 annual town meeting, voters approved the construction of a new 19,000-square-foot headquarters with 77 percent of the vote. It will be nearly twice the size of the town’s current police station. 

The new police facility, which will be built on an 11.17-acre site at 238-240 Danbury Road, was approved, with conditions, on Feb. 27 by Wilton’s Planning and Zoning Commission.

At a recent P&Z Commission meeting, the floor plans, site improvements and architectural drawings were presented by Rebecca Hopkins of Tecton Architects. Joe Lenahan of Fuss and O’Neill, the project’s engineers, explained how use of the new building would be phased in, with police occupying the new building before the old building was razed.

During that meeting, First Selectwoman Lynne Vanderslice said the new headquarters has been more than six years in the making. 

The current two-story station was built in 1974 for a 25-member all-male force. 

“Since the station was built, the size of the department has almost doubled, leading to overcrowding and a loss of operational and functional space,” according to the 236-page special permit application submitted to the P&Z.

Police Chief Thomas Conlan said the department now has 48 employees — 45 officers and three civilian staff — including eight women.

The new building “will bring the department up to current policing and building code standards,” he said previously.

This $13.1 million bond sale “generated robust interest from various underwriting firms even with the uncertainty of the federal debt limit,” said Barry Bernabe, managing director at Phoenix Advisors and Wilton’s municipal adviser.

Moody’s Investors Service recently reaffirmed Wilton’s Aaa rating, citing the town’s “stable local economy, supported by an exceptionally strong residential market and high resident incomes. The rating additionally reflects the town’s low leverage and fixed costs … and moderate reserves and liquidity.” 

Moody’s also noted, “the town’s government operations are managed by certified and experienced professionals who are responsible for implementing policy objectives. This, plus a combination of a strong statewide institutional framework and conservative budgeting, has allowed for strong and stable financial operations.”

The town has an opportunity to complete a refunding bond issue that may save nearly $750,000 depending on interest rates in the next several weeks, Norton said.

Renovations at Hartford high school cause uproar as student body divided among campuses

Emily DiSalvo

HARTFORD — Ongoing renovations to Bulkeley High School have caused a disruption to the daily lives of students who wanted a more traditional high school experience, the school board was told at a recent meeting.

"The little school we are in is dirty, and it's nasty and bugs be flying everywhere," said Kadaya Joseph, a ninth grader at Bulkeley High School. "Also the floor is very dirty."

Joseph, along with several of her peers, spoke out at a May 16 Board of Education meeting about the state of Bulkeley High School, which has been under construction since 2020.

While construction was projected to be completed in 2023, the new building is now not set to open until the 2025-26 school year, and in the interim, students say they are suffering.

"The classrooms that we are in are always hot, and we also have to eat in there because we have no cafeteria," Joseph said. 

Joseph is a student at the South Campus at 585 Wethersfield Ave., which houses ninth and 10th graders. The other half of the student body attends North Campus at 395 Lyme St. The site of the construction is 330 Wethersfield Ave., which housed district offices until their recent move to Trumbull Street as construction advanced.

The construction is entering its seventh phase this week which involves site work, mechanical, electrical, plumbing, concrete and interior finishes, according to a spokesperson for the city. Once phase seven is complete, the facilities will be ready for furniture.

At a May 15 School Building Committee meeting, the committee approved partial phase seven trade contracts for $108,168,404. Chairperson Paul Drummey explained that the cost of the project has been higher than projected.

"Once we understood that the support from the state was going to be there, then we came down and the project management team... a tremendous amount of effort to get to this point," Drummey said at the meeting. "And this point is what? Us being able to move forward and get this school handed back over to the students."

The construction is part of a district-wide effort to upgrade schools with state-of-the-art facilities, according to district spokesperson Jesse Sugarman.

However, the facilities at the two temporary schools are less than state-of-the-art, students say.

Navita Budhoo attends North Campus and also spoke out at the May 16 Board of Education meeting about the divided campus and its impact on students.

"When I say we need our high school back, I am speaking from my experience and for every Bulkeley High School student," Budhoo said. "We as students are being deprived of the real high school experience. One result of this is that there are few or no clubs for our Bulkeley students. The only extracurricular activities we have are sports."

She also highlighted a lack of teachers, such as in math where students are taking online classes in place of classroom education in precalculus and college ready math.

Concerns about the quality of the food offered at Bulkeley High School came up repetitively at the meeting. 

Shanelle Morris, the youth program director at Hartford Food System, has been working with students to organize and speak out about the need for nutritious foods at Bulkeley.

"They are really concerned about the quality of the food," Morris said. "The food is usually served in these containers that are reheated."

Hartford Food System is a non-profit dedicated to fighting hunger in the Hartford area.

Morris said the food had been declining in quality since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the same year the construction began.

"They constantly say it's not filling, it's not appetizing," Morris said. "A lot of students end up throwing away the food instead of eating it. Those who do eat it are not filled, or they even have stomachaches."

The food has become repetitive, Morris said. Many days the cafeteria serves pizza, mozzarella sticks and cheeseburgers.

Sugarman said the district is working together to create a task force of students to meet with staff about the food problem.

"There's going to be a subcommittee of students that is going to meet with district staff as well as school staff to figure out some potential solutions in the short term and then what can be done to accommodate those students in the long term in regards to foods specifically," Sugarman said.

The decision to split into two campuses was based on availability, according to Sugarman. The two buildings are both former Hartford Schools buildings that were vacated.

"I think it's safe to say that it is not ideal," Sugarman said. "It is certainly not ideal. It's a part of our priority to have a welcoming culture and climate, and the idea is to have our high schools in one building together, and while this is the best solution, it's difficult for staff, it's difficult for students."

The company left NY for CT, but will it be allowed to build under restrictive zoning laws?

Luther Turmelle, John Moritz

In a history spanning just several years, Fullstack Modular has developed a portfolio of successful and planned projects that range from a sleek, six-unit apartment building sandwiched in-between stately rowhouses, to a 32-story high rise with dozens of affordable units towering over a basketball arena and one of the nation’s busiest subway stations.

In the company’s soon-to-be home of Connecticut, however, such projects are at the center of one of the state’s most-heated political battles. 

Fullstack, a modular developer based in Brooklyn’s Navy Yard, turned many heads last month when it announced its decision to decamp to Connecticut — a state with a long and well-established history of opposition to the very sort of dense, multi-family structures on which the company has built its brand.

Just 2.2 percent of residential land in Connecticut is zoned to allow houses with four or more units as a right, according to an atlas developed by Desegregate CT, an advocacy group that favors denser and more affordable development.

By contrast, nearly three-quarters of residential land is exclusively zoned to allow single-family housing.

“I was honestly so curious why they chose to move to Connecticut,” Pete Harrison, the director of Desegregate CT, said of Fullstack's plans.

Fullstack’s business model is built around designing and constructing prefabricated building units — or mods — at the company’s 100,000-square-foot Brooklyn factory. Those units are sold to developers, who have typically taken the lead in obtaining the necessary permits to complete the project.

Upon its relocation to Connecticut, however, Fullstack is aiming to become more involved as the developer or co-developer on nearby projects, according to Roger Krulak, the company’s founder and president.

Krulak told CT Insider in a series of written responses to questions this month that Connecticut’s reputation as being hostile to dense, affordable housing did not factor into the company’s decision to relocate. He added that he was not aware of any existing mid-or-high-rise buildings in the state that were developed using modular construction.

“Hopefully, that will change in the near term, as we're talking to several developers in the area about potential projects now that we're nearby,” Krulak said.

Longtime advocates of reforming the state’s zoning codes, however, say that in many Connecticut towns, any effort to challenge the conventional thinking that favors spread-out, single-family housing is likely to run headlong into entrenched opposition. 

“Just like a lot of public or private developers, they’re going to run into a lot of the anti-housing arguments — it’s not pretty, it’s too dense, it’s out of character,” Harrison said. “It’s certainly going to be a challenge to convince local governments to think about something new.” 

Fullstack’s decision to invest up to $12 million in developing its new headquarters in Hamden — as well as a connection to New Haven’s Gateway Terminal — was seen as a coup for Gov. Ned Lamont’s economic development efforts, which have focused on bringing new companies and taxpayers into Connecticut.

Lamont, a Greenwich Democrat, has also sought to spend up to $600 million to address the state’s housing shortage, though he has remained cool to more aggressive proposals that would force some towns — particularly those with a history of excluding affordable housing — to approve denser development.

When asked whether the state’s restrictive zoning codes had come up during his administration’s talks to lure Fullstack to Connecticut, Lamont said they had not.

The governor also added that he expected Fullstack to play an active role in development of “workforce” housing in Connecticut — which by definition is affordable to residents earning between 60 and 120 percent of an area’s median income — which is backed by $200 million in his proposed budget.

“We’re building more housing in Connecticut today than anytime in this century, and they want to be a part of that,” Lamont said, adding that he anticipated those projects to be focused in existing downtown areas.

“They do it faster, at less cost and it’s environmentally better sealed and saves you a lot on electricity and heat,” the governor added. 

The growing popularity of prefabricated, modular buildings in the United States has been supported by developers, who see it as a way of speeding up construction and reducing the risk of cost overruns, according to Jin Ouk Choi, an assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. 

For the same reason, Choi said that some communities have embraced modular developments because they can cut down on noise, dust and other disruptions associated with larger construction projects. 

In southwestern Connecticut — home to both booming cities such as Stamford as well the expensive, staid suburbs of Greenwich, New Canaan and Darien — Fullstack’s move has yet to spark conversations over potential developments, according to Francis Pickering, the executive director of the Western Connecticut Council of Governments. 

Pickering, who has voiced opposition to efforts to diminish local control over zoning, said that local leaders in the region have had more general discussions about utilizing new construction technologies, including modular development, and remain open to the idea. 

“It’s less about whether the three-four-five story building is built using modular construction… and more whether the building is appropriate for the area,” Pickering said.

Krulak said that while Fullstack’s modular units are often marketed by developers as affordable rentals, the company’s new factory in Hamden will have the scale to develop models that meet a variety of building projects. 

“Whether those mods are utilized for one building of 50 units or several buildings of 3-4 units, we're agnostic to where they find their permanent home,” Krulak said.

New Milford Town Council calls for closer oversight of school office project: 'zero confidence'

Kaitlin Lyle

NEW MILFORD — A volunteer committee will take a closer look at the school district's $750,000 plan to build an office for administrators after Town Council called for more oversight. 

The council has required the project to be reviewed by the Municipal Building Committee, with some members calling into question the school board's capability to manage its own facilities. 

“After 14 years of sitting here and watching budget after budget, I have zero confidence in the Board of Education’s ability to manage our buildings,” said Councilman Thomas Esposito at the council’s May 22 meeting. 

The school board had requested to use $750,000 in capital reserves to fund the construction of a permanent Central Office at Sarah Noble Intermediate School. 

“You’re not in the construction business — you’re just not,” Esposito said about the school board. “The buildings reflect that after all these years. If you were, they wouldn’t be in some of the shape [they’re in].”

Esposito suggested tabling the council’s discussion on approving the board’s request until the Municipal Building Committee could review the project and council members could tour the project area. Six council members voted in favor of Esposito's motion while three council members voted against it.

Councilwoman Hilary Ram, who voted against Esposito's motion, asked why the Municipal Building Committee’s review was “the issue we’re raising to stop this project that has been on the table for almost a decade.” She said the Central Office project has been “whittled down” from its original cost of $4 million to $750,000, which she called “a very reasonable number.”

“Now it is before us and we’re going to say that because it hasn’t gone before the committee, we should talk about it,” Ram said. “I’m saying this is a problem.”

Council member Chris Cosgrove first broached the subject of the committee’s review at the meeting. 

“The whole reason why we have a Municipal Building Committee is due to construction projects that failed certain review,” he said. 

Matt Cunningham, director of facilities for New Milford Public Schools, said the Central Office project did not go through the committee because “reconfiguration of internal space on property dedicated for school purposes should not be settled by the town.” He explained the project called for an “internal configuration” and was not a construction project so it shouldn't have to go through the Municipal Building Committee.

Town Attorney Randy DiBella emphasized the school board’s request called for using capital reserves for “the construction of a permanent Central Office.” Construction projects, he said, are required to go before the Municipal Building Committee.

“The reality is: this is municipal property under exclusive control of the Board of Education,” DiBella said, “but as municipal property, it’s owned by the town and the Multiple Building Committee has jurisdiction and responsibility to advise with recommendations to the Board of Education and the other entities concerning construction projects.”

Pete Helmus, chair of the New Milford school board, said he didn't have confidence in the Municipal Building Committee’s ability to exert command and control “and the New Milford group is a perfect example of why I lack this confidence.”

“Under the committee’s guidance and authority, we’ve had two roof fires,” said Helmus, referring to two blazes at New Milford High School in recent years. 

Helmus said he felt the board has done due diligence in submitting “a reasonable plan” to the Town Council and Board of Finance, adding, “It’s my belief based on my conversations with the board attorney that this project does not need to be under municipal control.”

Capital reserves for Central Office or classroom A/C?

The Central Office is at 50 East St. in the historic Catherine Lillis Administrative building. The school board started moving the Central Office and its 19 staff members from East Street to Sarah Noble Intermediate School last fall due to the East Street building’s failing boiler.

The costs of relocating the Central Office to Sarah Noble at 25 Sunny Valley Road was originally estimated at around $4 million, according to a 2019 relocation study conducted by the architectural company Silver/Petrucelli & Associates. The school board has since worked with the town to design a less costly relocation plan.

Former school board chair Wendy Faulenbach told the Town Council on Monday that she personally went to “one physical location” with the mayor while checking out possible Central Office locations.

“The board has no allegiance into one geographic location or another,” she said. “They want to be effective, cost-effective, safe and work in the best interest of the town.”

Council members discussed whether the $750,000 in capital reserves would be better used for improving the district’s air quality — an option the school board debated at its April 25 meeting.

“We value these 19 people in the Central Office,” Cogrove said, “but we’ve got hundreds of kids in hot weather… I guess myself and a lot of teachers and parents want to understand what we’re doing about the air climate in our schools. I think that’s a priority.” 

Councilwoman Mary Jane Lundgren pointed out that the staff work in the Central Office during the hot summer months, when students and teachers are on vacation. 

“They need the A/C in these offices — there’s no question about it,” she said. “They work all year round, they’re going to be there in the worst summer month and the schools need better A/C.”

Officials worry delay to replace Bridgeport's Congress Street bridge will increase price

Brian Lockhart

BRIDGEPORT — Add another month to the nearly three decades it has taken to replace the demolished Congress Street bridge linking downtown and the East Side.

Bids for the estimated $24 million infrastructure project were initially due this past Tuesday. But Mayor Joe Ganim's administration has extended the deadline to June 20.

City Engineer Jon Urquidi provided a statement saying the decision was made because interested contractors needed more time to obtain accurate prices from material suppliers, subcontractors and vendors.

"A number of them stated that if the bid was not extended, they would be forced to add a significant contingency," Urquidi said, meaning a financial cushion to compensate for the lack of some cost details. "Failure to give this time would result in a significantly higher bid price, which we cannot afford."

But there is also a question of whether the $24 million is too low to begin with because that is a pre-pandemic number. Specifically in early 2019 it was announced that the state would split that amount with Bridgeport. The global health crisis, which reached Connecticut in early 2020, has been blamed at least in part for a significant rise in construction prices over the last three years.

According to the Associated Builders and Contractors, a national trade association, that industry experienced a nearly 40 percent increase in costs since the start of the COVID pandemic, though prices as of earlier this month were down 1.1 percent over the past year.

"But inflation remains a pressing issue for the industry and the broader economy," ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu reported May 11. “Despite the annual decline in ... costs, contractors’ profit margins are still under pressure. Due to higher borrowing and labor costs and the substantial increase in materials prices over much of 2021 and 2022, the proportion of contractors that expect their profit margins will increase over the next two quarters has slipped in recent months, according to ABC’s Construction Confidence Index.”

Which means the bids for replacing the Congress Street bridge are even more eagerly anticipated.

The drawbridge got stuck in the open position over the Pequonnock River in 1997, during Ganim’s first tenure in office. He initially ran Bridgeport from 1991 until 2003 and was re-elected in 2015.

The rusty hulk was demolished in 2010 under then-Mayor Bill Finch, who called it “the city's most visible reminder of infrastructure neglect.”

But when functioning it was also an important thoroughfare for emergency services and for residents. City officials over the years pivoted away from building another drawbridge, estimated in 2010 to cost $60 million, to the cheaper but more convoluted process of seeking the necessary federal and state approvals to instead install the $24 million fixed span.

That effort has taken so long that the replacement of the Congress Street bridge has become a recurring campaign headache for some of those involved. 

Before his successful 2019 re-election, Ganim that January hoped to earn some votes by announcing the cost-sharing agreement with the state. At a press conference touting the new development in the bridge saga, officials said groundbreaking should occur in 2020.

“Me, I’d like to have it before November 2019, myself,” Ganim joked at the time, referring to the pending election day.

But work never kicked off in 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic, the complicated federal and state permitting process, and last minute objections from a few property owners along the Pequonnock River who instead wanted a drawbridge.

Then last year Ganim's fellow Democrat, U.S. Rep. Jim Himes, who has been closely involved in the bridge's demolition and replacement since first winning office in 2008, faced criticism from Republican challenger Jayme Stevenson over how long the project has taken.

A few weeks before voters went to the polls, the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection issued a key permit for the Congress Street bridge construction. Himes at the time took some credit, saying he made the DEEP "miserable with constant phone calls" and also took a dig at the Ganim administration, stating his "sense" was the project had been more of a priority under Finch.

Now, with Ganim seeking a third consecutive four-year term, his administration is again under political pressure to deliver on the Congress Street bridge promises. In April one of his opponents, Democrat John Gomes, a former mayoral aide, posted a video on social media of himself at Congress Street lamenting the lack of that "pivotal connection between downtown and the East Side."

"Every election cycle we hear about the great promises, the great construction plans that's going to happen," Gomes said. "And yet, 30 years later, we're standing at the same closed bridge, without connection."

City Council President Aidee Nieves and Councilwoman Maria Valle represent the East Side. In separate interviews Thursday both expressed disappointment over yet another delay, although Nieves said she understood the reasoning behind Urquidi's decision to give contractors more time to prepare their bids, calling it "fiscally responsible."

But Valle was skeptical.

"Why all of a sudden they need more time? To me that doesn't make sense," she said.

Nieves said she will not be surprised if the price tag exceeds $24 million.

"I don't think any project in any municipality anywhere is the cost it was estimated at in 2019," she said.

But, she added, ground "needs to be broken this year." If the city needs to find more money, Nieves suggested it could seek federal infrastructure dollars or perhaps look at unspent money the council has previously authorized be borrowed for other infrastructure work.

"And start chipping away at (a higher bridge price) that way," she said.

A look at Groton’s unused, town-owned properties

Kimberly Drelich

Groton ― Amid significant growth in the region and a major housing shortage, the town is looking at how to decide the fate of more than 50 unused town-owned properties that have been vacant for years, while involving community members more.

The town is trying to be deliberate as it weighs future uses. They have created a Property Re-Use Committee and stopped issuing requests for proposals for the properties, even as developers show strong interest.

Electric Boat, planning to hire thousands of new employees over the next two to three years, is a major driver of the demand, along with decades of slow housing construction.

Some of the properties are already spoken for.

A plan to build a 304-unit luxury apartment complex at the former William Seely School is moving forward, while another 65-unit apartment complex is proposed at the former Colonel Ledyard School in the City of Groton.

The apartments are market-rate and not priced as affordable. The town’s 2021 affordable housing plan found that Groton “exceeds the state’s mandated 10% affordable housing threshold.”

The town is looking at the former Claude Chester School for recreational facilities, and the former Noank School is remaining as open space.

Some residents have pushed back against what they see as over-development of the town and want to be more involved as the properties are redeveloped.

A Property Re-Use Committee delivered a draft policy to the Town Council this past week on how to handle the reuse of the properties, and Town Mayor Juan Melendez Jr. said the council would work on the policy next.

The committee found that the town owns nearly 190 acres of unused property housed in 54 land parcels, from .03 acres to 36.7 acres, across Groton, according to a presentation to the Town Council in March. However, the majority of the land — 89% — is in 12 parcels.

Paige Bronk, the town’s economic and community development manager, said once the council adopts a policy and gives the green light to advance Requests for Proposals, the private sector is definitely interested in jumping in.

Here’s a look at the properties:

William Seely School

DonMar Development of North Haven owns the 14-acre former William Seely School site at 55 Seely School Drive. The town’s Planning and Zoning Commission approved DonMar’s plan for 304 apartments on the site, said Jon Reiner, the town’s director of planning and development.

An abutting property owner appealed the decision and cited concerns over truck and residential traffic, noise, fumes and light and said the site plan did not comply with buffer and other requirements, according to court documents.

A Superior Court judge dismissed the appeal on May 22.

Anthony Di Gioia, vice president of DonMar Companies, said DonMar hopes to soon get building permits and plans to break ground on the site within the next few weeks. The plan is for a 2-year construction schedule.

Di Gioia said the apartment complex is geared toward Electric Boat employees, as the company increases hiring, as well as Pfizer employees. He added that the “luxury” building will have amenities, from work spaces to an outdoor pool, bocce court, and grilling stations. The former school site will have a playground and walking trail, along with parking spaces, that will be open to the public.

Colonel Ledyard School

Bellsite Development LLC of Manchester is proposing to convert the former Colonel Ledyard School at 120 West Street in the City of Groton, into apartments and build additional apartments on the 8.32-acre elementary school site. Bellsite Development Principal Member William Bellock has said the proposed 65-unit, market-rate apartment development near Electric Boat, is geared toward Electric Boat and Pfizer employees and to meet the overall demand for housing.

The city’s Planning and Zoning Commission held a public hearing May 16 about the proposal, and continued the hearing to June 21. The Colonel Ledyard Cemetery Association, an abutting property owner, had some concerns about residents accessing the cemetery property, while the commission asked about traffic.

Bronk said the proposed apartment complex would help with demand for housing from Electric Boat employees, as well as parking issues, since the development would be close enough to Electric Boat that employees could walk to work.

517 & 529 Gold Star Highway

PJ&A LLC. has an option agreement to purchase vacant lots at 517 and 529 Gold Star Highway, which the town obtained through tax foreclosure. The Town Council recently extended the option agreement by 18 months. Bronk said the developer envisions multifamily housing for the site and is looking to partner with a residential housing expert that will build the development.

Pleasant Valley School

Bronk said a developer was previously selected for the 17-acre former Pleasant Valley School, located at 380 Pleasant Valley Road South, but later decided not to advance the project.

The use of the property has not been decided. The Town Council then decided to look at how it handles the reuse of the town-owned properties, so the redevelopment of the site has been paused, he said.

Reiner said the majority of the interest the town has seen from developers in that property is for multifamily housing.

Groton Heights School

The former Groton Heights School, located at 244 Monument Street in the city by the Bill Memorial Library and Fort Griswold, is another unused property the town owns. ThayerMahan, a marine technology company located on Leonard Drive, had been selected to redevelop the approximately 2-acre site as part of the company’s expansion plans, but later decided against the plan.

Noank School

The Town Council endorsed a plan in 2020 to keep the former Noank School as green space. The Noank Zoning Commission last year approved a plan for the Groton/Noank Community Park and Garden, said Parks and Recreation Director Mark Berry. The first phase of the development of the park was proposed as a capital improvement project in next year’s budget, but not funded by the Town Council. The property will continue as open space, with a community garden.

Claude Chester School

The town is looking to potentially redevelop the former Claude Chester School, near Poquonnock Plains Park, for recreational use.

Berry said the town is putting together a Request for Proposals for design services to come up with detailed plans, based on conceptual plans for two athletic fields and associated amenities, renovations to the parking lot, and a maintenance/bathroom building.

Also among the town-owned properties are the former S.B. Butler School, at 155 Ocean View Avenue in Mystic, and 1208 Poquonnock Road, a former gas station, said Bronk and Reiner.

Mystic Education Center

Previous plans for the Mystic Education Center, a vacant property owned by the state, are not moving forward, and the state has not made a decision on its reuse.

Jesse Imse, senior advisor to the Commissioner of the state Department of Administrative Services, said the Mystic Education Center “is still state surplus property, and no future determination has been made at this time.”

Interest in Groton

Overall, developers are interested in a lot of the undeveloped properties for housing, due to the growth at Electric Boat and also a major shortage of housing in the area, which has not built a lot of new housing since the early to mid 2000s, said Reiner.

Reiner said developers see a strong housing need and market in the region for new workers and an aging population and workforce. He said the demand is for all price points, sizes and types of housing.

Electric Boat said in February that the company’s employment in Rhode Island and Connecticut is slated to peak at 22,000 employees in 2033, The Day reported. Even before the latest hiring projections, a 2021 study of Groton’s housing market forecast that Groton would need to add 3,000 to 5,000 new housing units by 2030 to meet current demand, Reiner has said.

Town Councilor David McBride, the chairman of the Property Re-Use Committee, said the property redevelopment policy needs minor revisions, but hopefully once those are made, the Council will approve the policy. The policy then can guide “decisions on what to do with town-owned properties ― most notably the closed school properties which have been vacant and unused for many years.”

Water main installation set to begin in downtown Naugatuck

ANDREAS YILMA

NAUGATUCK – Connecticut Water Co. has begun the installation of a few thousand feet of water main downtown ahead of scheduled infrastructure upgrades.

The water company will be installing about six-tenths of a mile, or 3,300 feet, of water main on Church Street between Rubber Avenue and Division Street, Rubber Avenue between Water Street and Church Street, Barnum Court and Park Place. The price tag for the project is $2.4 million, which will be funded through the Water Infrastructure and Conservation Adjustment on customers’ bills, according to a press release on May 18.

“The new main replaces existing pipe that is approximately 130 years old. Four fire hydrants will also be replaced as part of the project,” the release states. “The main and fire hydrants will provide additional fire protection for public safety and improved water quantity and quality to area residents.”

Work hours for the construction project will be from 7 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. during the weekdays, and the project is expected to be finished by August, according to the release.

“Investing in drinking water infrastructure improves water system reliability and enhances water quality,” stated Vice President of Service Delivery, Rose Gavrilovic, P.E. She added, “When customers turn on the tap they expect high-quality water, without interruption. This investment in the new water main will serve customers for decades to come.”

Customers in the construction area have been notified of the project and will receive advance notice of any scheduled water service interruption because of the water main installation project, according to the release.

Naugatuck Public Works Director Jim Stewart said the water company moved up their work schedule prior to the borough’s downtown work.

In February 2022 the Board of Mayor and Burgesses approved to contract with Kleinfelder Engineering, of San Diego, California to design storm water and sanitary sewer systems, offer construction oversight of the design, and to oversee a plan to repair, replace and improve those systems.

The borough will pay for that project using its federal American Rescue Plan Act funds. The downtown areas that would be affected include Church Street, Maple Street, Old Firehouse Road and Parcel B near the Naugatuck Event Center.

The goal for Connecticut Water is to replace roughly 1% of its more than 1,850 miles of water main every year through the WICA program. The company plans to invest more than $52 million in water treatment, water storage and pipelines in 2023, the release states.

Connecticut Water is a public water utility that is regulated by the Connecticut Public Utilities Regulatory Authority and provides water service to more than 106,000 customers in 60 of the state’s towns.