Anna Reynolds School planned renovation will hike up taxes for Newington taxpayers

Erica Drzewiecki Newington taxpayers will see their taxes increase by an average of $75 annually if the planned renovation of Anna Reynolds School moves forward. That net impact wouldn’t be seen until 2023, according to school officials, who have asked the town to consider the project in a referendum on Election Day Nov. 3. The project cost has been estimated at $35.5 million, but reimbursement from the state of Connecticut through a school building grant program is expected to bring the town’s projected cost to about $17.75 million.

 Town Council has scheduled a Public Hearing for this Thursday at 7 p.m. on Zoom to hear public comment on the project before setting the bond resolution and the referendum date. Information on how to attend will be posted on the town’s website, at newingtonct.gov/virtualmeetingschedule. 

“With Anna Reynolds being over 50 years old there are substantial needs to update the facility,” Superintendent of Schools Dr. Maureen Brummett told the Herald and Newington Town Crier this summer as details of the project were finalized. The renovate-as-new plans call for an upgrade to the entire structure, rendering bathrooms and other facilities handicapped-accessible, replacing outdated plumbing, HVAC and electrical systems, and finally, installing a new roof, as the existing one has been a source of ongoing issues. 

“If you followed the news or social media this past year or have children who attend Anna Reynolds you are probably familiar with the problems with the roof,” Principal Jason Smith told residents in a video presentation about the project. 

Smith offered the public a virtual tour of the school before this week’s hearing, in lieu of being able to host an in-person tour for the public due to ongoing pandemic restrictions. Classroom ceilings, learning materials and internet access were all compromised by water coming in through the roof. Repairs made by the town in early spring will sustain it for a period of two to five years, Smith said. “That means a new roof is still a necessity,” he added. The existing building is 61, 644 sq. ft., exceeding space standards. 

The footprint would not increase in the renovation, except for the addition of a handicapped-accessible elevator. The Anna Reynolds Project Building Committee has continued its efforts, planning construction and working with firm Colliers International on the grant application, which was submitted to the State June 26. JCJ Architecture is conducting an independent review of the facility as well, to ensure it qualifies for maximum reimbursement as a renovate-as-new project. Pending approval by taxpayers in the referendum, the State Bond Commission is expected to make its award selections by the year’s end. 

Cross Sound Ferry proposes to reconfigure operations in New London

Greg Smith New London — Cross Sound Ferry has applied for a permit to conduct work along the city’s waterfront that includes a reconfiguration of its operations and construction of a new ferry slip to accommodate the future National Coast Guard Museum.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New England District, received a permit for the proposed work and is soliciting comments from the public about it. The public notice with more detailed information is available at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers website at bit.ly/csfpn.

Cross Sound Ferry is losing waterfront from an 11,000-square-foot area that plans show will be occupied by the museum on adjacent property behind the train station, New London Union Station at 27 Water St.

Cross Sound Ferry plans to relocate its high-speed ferry slip and floating loading platform and remove an existing ticketing building and restrooms to create room for a new high-speed ferry terminal.Part of the proposed work by Cross Sound involves relocation of existing dolphin pilings and installation of new pilings and construction of a new 800-square-foot ferry ramp and slip. The plans call for filling in 6,200 cubic yards over 10,000 square feet to allow for construction of a 460-foot bulkhead along the waterfront. The plan envisions dredging about 200 cubic yards of material from a 2,000-square-foot area to be used for fill behind the bulkhead. Dredging will be performed by a barge.

“The decision whether to issue a permit will be based on an evaluation of the probable impact of the proposed activity on the public interest,” the Army Corps said in its public notice.

Comments received by the Army Corps are used in preparation of an environmental assessment and/or an environmental impact statement, pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act. Comments also are used to determine the need for a public hearing and to determine the overall public interest in the proposed activity.

Public comments on this proposed work should be forwarded no later than Sept. 25. A representative from Cross Sound Ferry was not immediately available to comment on this report.

$50M apartment proposal at Showcase Cinemas site leads East Hartford development project trio

Greg Bordonaro or most development directors in Connecticut, having one major project in the pipeline is a big deal.

East Hartford Development Director Eileen Buckheit has three.

But don’t expect all of them to come online soon. That’s not the way economic development — especially in the Land of Steady Habits — works.

Buckheit, who has been in her current role for seven-and-a-half years, said getting major developments off the ground can take up to a decade or longer, and in the meantime it takes many small steps — from making changes to plans of conservation and development to gaining local approvals and funding sources — to get major projects off the ground.

And that’s precisely what she’s been working on in her time in East Hartford, which has three major developments in the works: potential redevelopment of the former Showcase Cinemas site into apartments; a new commercial building being erected by Goodwin University as part of a larger master plan; and the addition of a large potential apartment community at Founders Plaza.“My philosophy is to keep marching forward, keep pushing and taking the next step,” Buckheit said. “These are projects that we’ve been building for the last 7.5 years.”

Buckheit said the town faces a few obstacles to economic development. First, it doesn’t have a ton of open space so new projects tend to be redevelopments of already existing sites. Second, there is some pushback against new apartments, particularly at the site of the old Showcase Cinemas, where long-established residents think a big-box retailer should go.

“East Hartford is transitioning into something that is more urban, but it’s facing a lot of resistance,” she said. “But if all these projects happen, it’s a game changer for us.”

Here’s an update on the three major developments in East Hartford:

Former Showcase Cinemas site

After remaining a vacant eyesore for nearly 14 years, the town of East Hartford in early 2020 finally razed the former Showcase Cinemas building on Silver Lane in hopes of clearing the path for a potential mixed-use residential development.

The town recently completed a request for proposals and received one bid to potentially redevelop the site.

East Hartford Development Co. LLC — led by Domenic Carpionato, a principal at Rhode Island-based real estate development company Carpionato Group — responded to the RFP proposing a $50-million, mixed-use residential development, Buckheit said.

Phase one would include construction of 204 market-rate apartments (131 one-bedroom and 74 two-bedroom units) and 72,000 square feet of commercial space that could be ready for development next year.

A second phase would include an additional 108 apartments (76 one-bedroom and 32 two-bedroom units) on acreage that leads to Forbes Street.

Both phases would have access to modern amenities, including a clubhouse, pool, dog park, etc.

Buckheit said the land is most suitable for apartments, even though some town residents would prefer to see another theater or big-box retail.

“That logic is flawed,” she said. “Big box is not where the retail market has taken us.”

[Read more: HBJ examines developments in CT towns, cities]

Buckheit said the town hasn’t had new apartment construction since the 1970s putting it behind its neighboring communities — including Manchester, Glastonbury and Hartford — which have all built new residential projects that have attracted Millennials and empty-nesters.

The redevelopment of the site is critical to the revitalization of the Silver Lane neighborhood, Buckheit added.

She points to the success Hartford has had in building new apartments that have been leased up. She said East Hartford would differentiate itself by offering more of a suburban lifestyle.

The town bought the Showcase Cinemas property in early 2019 for $3.3 million. The Capital Region Development Authority (CRDA) is helping out on the project.

Goodwin University commercial building

Goodwin University recently secured Rebel Dog Coffee Co. as the second tenant for its $8-million, 25-000-square-foot commercial building meant to expand and revitalize the East Hartford school’s riverside campus.

Rebel Dog Coffee, which operates locations in Plainville and Farmington, signed a lease to occupy roughly 2,500 square feet of ground-level space at the three-floor commercial building.

The coffee shop will be located next to East Hartford-based American Eagle Financial Credit Union, which was the first tenant to commit to the mixed-use development.

Both companies are expected to begin operating when the building debuts sometime this fall, said Bryant Harrell, Goodwin’s vice president for physical facilities, IT and security. Up to four more tenants — including retailers, medical offices and other businesses — could occupy the remaining available space on the second and third floors.

According to plans, the commercial site on Main and Ensign streets will feature flexible space for the 4,000 daily student population and some 600 faculty/staff at Goodwin. It will also provide on-site parking and access to the CTtransit bus route.

While Goodwin is a not-for-profit college, the building is projected to add about $1.3 million to East Hartford’s tax rolls over an eight-year period and is part of the school’s larger 10-year master plan of development.

In 2018, Goodwin announced an ambitious redevelopment vision that included construction of a 60-slip marina and riverfront hotel and restaurants, and those projects are still in play, Harrell said, though the pandemic has slowed progress.

Still, developers are showing interest in the potential development and a new stormwater drainage system is being installed that will make it possible to build more and larger buildings along the Connecticut River.

That should help entice developers to the area, Buckheit said.

Goodwin owns the majority of the Connecticut River neighborhood it inhabits on and around Riverside Drive.

Founders Plaza

East Hartford’s most notable office building — the half-century-old Founders Plaza office tower on Pitkin Street — is being eyed for a mixed-use residential-retail center with up to 2,000 new apartment units.The town has partnered with building owner First Merchant Group (led by Larry Nirenberg), CRDA and Tecton Architects on a district master plan to create a new “live, work, play” urban destination, which the town currently lacks.

The plan estimates an initial buildout of 250 or so residential units, with a potential to develop up to 2,000 units in the future.

The 12.5-acre site is covered by parking lots suitable for infill development that could take advantage of being a stone throw’s away from downtown Hartford, Buckheit said.

“When Founders Plaza was built in the 1970s it was supposed to be higher-density development, but it never came to fruition,” she said. “It’s a very important gateway to us.”

Buckheit views the project — now called “East Bank” — as a public-private partnership that she would like to see happen sooner, rather than later, although the COVID-19 pandemic has likely delayed things a bit.

There is no official project timeline right now.

“We are trying to walk very carefully on this,” she said. “It’s an ambitious and important plan.”

CT gas utilities customer conversions continue to slip against targets

Matt Pilon narrow spread between the prices of natural gas and oil continues to suppress the number of customers natural gas utilities in Connecticut are adding each year.

Eversource and Avangrid converted 9,939 Connecticut customers to natural gas last year, which was the second year in a row their combined total fell below 10,000, according to the latest annual filings the utility operators submitted to the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority.

2019 was the sixth year of a natural gas expansion plan drafted by the Malloy administration in 2012, when oil prices were higher, making conversions to gas more financially attractive.

The plan, part of the state’s first ever Comprehensive Energy Strategy, called for 280,000 conversions by 2023, a multibillion-dollar investment.

But oil prices have been lower than expected since crashing in 2016, and it’s become almost certain that the gas utilities will not meet the targets. They’ve been revising annual targets downward for the past several years to reflect that reality.

From 2014 through 2019, the gas utilities converted a total of 81,611, according to the filings, which were submitted to PURA in mid-June. That’s 52% of the 156,633 conversions originally called for by the state’s plan.

Conversions in 2020 are expected to slip further against the targets. The filings project 9,300 total conversions this year, which would be just over 31% of the original goal for this year.

Office, retail development coming to South Windsor’s Evergreen Walk area

Joe Cooper acant land across from South Windsor’s Evergreen Walk shopping center will soon become home to a four-building complex with a mix of medical office and retail space.

Farmington’s Metro Realty Group is leading the project aiming to construct 50,400 square feet of medical office and 38,880 square feet of retail space on Buckland Road across the street from LA Fitness.

South Windsor’s planning and zoning commission recently granted key land-use approvals for the real estate developer, which acquired the vacant land for an undisclosed sum in Sept. 2019, and filed applications for the development months later.

Tenants have not yet been selected for the so-called Gateway Boulevard development, town records show. The mixed-use property is expected to join a new Chase Bank branch and Aldi grocery store as new additions to the corridor. Metro Realty is also leading those projects, officials say.

It’s not clear when construction will begin on the development, or how much it will cost to build. Metro Realty declined multiple requests for comment.

Town Planner Michele R. Lipe said Metro Realty, one of Connecticut’s largest medical office developers, still needs certain environmental approvals before it can break ground.According to plans filed with the town, the complex will house two retail buildings near the well-traveled Buckland Road corridor. A combination of restaurants, with outdoor seating, and clothing retail tenants would be ideally suited for the buildings, officials say.

Another two medical-office buildings are to be constructed at the rear of the property. A total of 486 parking spaces and several electric car charging stations are planned for the development, plans show. There will be more than 600 parking spaces if the Aldi and Chase buildings are included.

A map of the development on Metro Realty’s website shows the office buildings will comprise 25,700 square feet and 30,000 square feet. Forteen retail units in the other two buildings mostly range from 2,495 square feet to 4,050 square feet.

A second phase of development is currently being eyed on a small piece of land just north of the property also controlled by Metro Realty, town officials have said. Construction on the Chase branch has already begun, and work on the Aldi supermarket is expected to begin soon, town records show.

Metro Realty will also create a four-way intersection and crosswalks where Buckland Road, Cedar Avenue and the new Gateway Boulevard meet.

The office-retail development will compete with its neighbors across the street at The Promenade Shops at Evergreen Walk. The outdoor shopping center spans more than 374,979 square feet, and is home to many specialty retailers and restaurants including Anthropologie, Brooks Brothers, Banana Republic, Old Navy, Ted’s Montana Grill, Red Heat Tavern, Sakura Garden and Omaha Steaks, among other storefronts.

Headquartered at 6 Executive Dr. in Farmington, Metro Realty owns and operates more than 30 medical office, industrial and multifamily buildings around Connecticut, according to its website.

Last year, it sold a 29,000-square-foot medical office building on Middle Turnpike Road in Manchester for $11.3 million, and is looking to invest $2.4 million to construct a 16,200-square-foot, one-story medical building on Cromwell Avenue in Rocky Hill.

Demolition phase could be near for The Haven project in West Haven

Pam McLoughlin WEST HAVEN — The developers of the planned The Haven outdoor luxury mall await only a fire marshal’s signature before starting demolition for the project, city Corporation Counsel Lee Tiernan told the City Council Monday, but council Chairman Ron Quagliani wants more: another appearance by the developer, and another timeline.

Fire Marshal Keith Flood said Monday afternoon he had the paperwork in hand and was reviewing it, and that it should be signed in the coming days. It is routine, Flood said, for his office to sign off on the safety precautions regarding demolition.Quagliani Monday requested Tiernan get a representative of the developer to appear before the City Council to provide a “timeline” for the project, stalled for years now and leaving many city residents wondering whether it ever will come to fruition.

Quagliani made a similar request in April 2019 and a representative eventually showed up to address the council, after canceling once.

Tiernan told Quagliani that he believed he could get an appearance by the developer, but not likely at the next meeting.

Tiernan told the council in his update Monday that the site — which many residents claim has turned into a blighted area — will be ready for demolition when Flood signs off on the project.

After Tiernan said the sign-off would make the site ready for demolition, Quagliani said he then would be under the impression that demolition would begin within days or a week following that.

The project developer couldn’t be reached for comment.

The site plan application for the 265,000 square feet of retail and restaurant development has long had approval of the Planning and Zoning Commission.

At one time, a representative of the developer said the target date for The Haven to open was June 2020.

Tiernan said they should see demolition first along Elm and Water streets. Tiernan said landscapers known to city Commissioner of Development Fred A. Messore would help clean up in a “swift response” to blight.

There are 57 properties within the 24-acre project area, which is bounded by Main Street, First Avenue and Elm Street. The project includes Water Street, which will be eliminated as The Haven is built.

Mayor Nancy Rossi has said she is “very excited” about The Haven project, and at the time of approval called it a “game changer” for the cash-strapped city.

The plans include 80 stores and five full-service restaurants. The Haven spent years in the acquisition stage as the developers negotiated with the 57 property owners.

City officials and the developers have said The Haven would pay $2 million in annual property tax and create more than $15 million in incremental sales tax for the state, as well as 800 full-time and 400 part-time jobs, plus 800 construction jobs using all Connecticut-based contractors.

Rossi has said that since taking office in December 2017 her administration has done “everything possible to facilitate the Haven project and will continue in that respect until the project is complete.”

The project has seen many delays that Tiernan has said are no fault of the developer because it was waiting for agencies to act, including the state Department of Economic and Community Development regarding $5 million in financial assistance and a certificate from the Office of State Traffic Administration.

Both those matters have been settled.

The developer hired a security company to monitor boarded-up houses in the project area.