CT Construction Digest Wednesday January 3, 2024
CTDOT: Norwalk Merritt 7 train station completed, with ribbon-cutting set for walkway in next week
NORWALK — A ribbon-cutting ceremony for Norwalk’s long-awaited new Merritt 7 train station will officially welcome commuters to the completed project within the next week, a Connecticut Department of Transportation spokesperson said.
Work crews completed construction between Christmas and New Year’s Eve for the project that the state approved funding for in 2017 — although part of the new station has been open to commuters since June, said Josh Morgan, CTDOT communications manager.
“I think they were doing some finishing touches,” Morgan said. “Most of it was completed by the end of Dec. 22, and then they had a little bit of work there that week between Christmas and New Year's.”
Now that the construction work is finished, Morgan said the station needs final inspections.
“So the building officials need to sign off to make sure that it's safe,” he said. “Elevator inspectors need to go and ensure that the elevators are working and functioning properly.”
These inspections are the last step before the official opening for the project, which has been delayed by supply chain issues for months at a time since the September 2020 groundbreaking — with delays even into the last few weeks, Morgan said.
Most recently, the station’s completion hinged on the delayed delivery of elevator parts and glass for the new pedestrian walkway, he said.
“We're no longer waiting for those materials that we have been struggling with over the last four to six weeks or so,” he said.
Despite supply chain issues and the recent construction completion, Morgan said much of the new station has been open to the public since June.
In just over three years, the train station got a handicap-accessible and raised 500-foot-long heated platform that will prevent snow and ice accumulation, 17 new parking spaces for a total of 105 and a pedestrian footbridge to the Merritt 7 office complex on the opposite side of the tracks. The business complex includes Hearst Connecticut Media's offices.
While commuters accessed the platform in the summer, Morgan said the biggest change now that construction has completed is the station’s pedestrian bridge.
“The pedestrian crossing that (goes) up and over to get on the other side of the tracks and over to the Merritt 7 complex is really what's going to be the biggest difference for people out there,” he said.
This footbridge enables commuters to cross the train tracks rather than take a shuttle or navigate roadways to get to the other side, where the office complex is located.
The Merritt 7 train station, which is on the Danbury branch of Metro-North's New Haven Line, offers direct access to New York’s Grand Central Terminal.
The project was initially slated for completion in fall 2022 but supply chain, underground utility and drainage system issues delayed the work.
Former Bristol Myers property in Wallingford dormant despite warehouse approval
It has been a year since the owner of the former Bristol Myers Squib property on Research Parkway in Wallingford got approval for a 440,000 square foot warehouse and 10,000 square feet of office space, but it doesn't appear that construction of the facility is going to start anytime soon.
The only substantive action that has taken place since the December 2022 approval of the warehouse occurred earlier this month when the town's Planning and Zoning Commission approved a subdivision of the property. That subdivision turned what had previously been one parcel of just over 180 acres into two pieces of land, one of which is 5.65 acres while the other piece of property is 174 acres.
A Framingham, Mass.-based company, Calare Properties, owns both properties created by the subdivision.
The smaller of the two pieces of property is home to the former Bristol Myers day care center, which now sits vacant at 7 Research Parkway. The 20,320 square foot daycare facility is on the market for $3.1 million and is being marketed by Cushman & Wakefield, according to the online real estate marketing web site LoopNet.
Planning and Zoning Commission Chairman Jim Seichter, as well as Town Planner Kevin Pagini, said that officials with Calare have indicated they want to sell the day care center. But both men said Calare officials haven't divulged who they are building the warehouse for or indicated when the facility might be built. There are multiple warehouses along Research Parkway, which stretches from Wallingford into Meriden, including two operated by Amazon. The local road runs parallel to Interstate 91, which provides access to Interstate 84 via Interstate 691.
The day care center was built in 2000 and has a capacity for 150 children. Calare bought the former Bristol Myers corporate campus in February 2018 for $5 million and much of the campus has been demolished, including a 915,000 square foot building that served as the main facility.
The pharmaceutical giant announced in June 2015 that it would close its 982,000-square-foot research, doing so three years later. Since Calare bought the property, it has tried three times to get redevelopment plans for the property approved, with two failed efforts preceding the PZC's approval of the warehouse a year ago.
Plans approved by the PZC in December 2022 for the warehouse include 105 loading docks, 96 tractor-trailer parking spaces and 530 regular parking spaces.
William Manley, Calare's chief executive and chief investment officer, did not return several requests for comment regarding who the warehouse is being built for and when construction might start.
John Boyd, whose Florida-based company evaluates locations for corporations, said the Bristol Myers property remaining undeveloped is evidence of a slowing in the logistics sector. Some of the slowdown, according to Boyd, has to do with current economic conditions.
"Some of it is an overall weakening of the U.S. economy, and some of it is due to high interest rates and inflation," he said.
But an equally significant factor, according to Boyd, is "the enormous community backlash" to mammoth distribution centers, Boyd said.
"New Jersey has become the poster child for this kind of opposition," he said. Boyd said the state and several communities have spent public money to acquire land that appeared to be attractive to warehouse developers in communities across central New Jersey and in rural Warren County.
Demolition of flood-prone West Haven homes to improve drainage, create open space
WEST HAVEN — More open space will be created in a residential neighborhood near the water as the city plans for the demolition of eight houses in the area of Old Field Creek, continuing federally-funded work that began in 2013 following Tropical Storm Irene and Superstorm Sandy.
The city on Dec. 22 posted a request for proposals to prepare for the abatement and demolition of eight homes on six streets located as northerly as Brown Street and as southerly as 3rd Avenue Extension. The other streets with at least one home cited for abatement and demolition are Jones Street, Peck Avenue, Marshall Street and Marion Street.
According to public land records, the eight properties included in the RFP came under the city's ownership between August 2021 and August 2022.
"It has been a very slow process in taking these homes down, therefore we proposed to USDA that we take them down and then get reimbursed which they have agreed to," Mayor Dorinda Borer said in an emailed comment. "The anticipated timeline to take the buildings down is late spring."
The purpose of the demolition will be to provide extra space for drainage basins and to encourage water flow away from other homes in the area, but Borer said there are certain deed restrictions that the city must navigate as a condition of accepting the federal funds — namely that the city cannot erect fencing and there are restrictions on tending the growth on the property.
"Right now we are requesting an exception to allow us to maintain them regularly so that they don’t grow unruly especially the lots that are between homes," Borer said.
The city received its first round of grant funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resource Conservation Services' Emergency Watershed Protection Program in 2013. Twelve of first 13 homes demolished in the program's first phase were along 3rd Avenue Extension and had been abandoned or bought out by the city because of consistent flooding. Borer said the city received $1,102,350 in federal funding for the project and the local cost of the $1,207,100 project budget is $104,750.
The RFP details that the purpose of the demolition of the eight single-structure homes came about by offering residents in flood-prone homes federal buyouts so the properties could be used for flood mitigation by encouraging regrowth and open space, disallowing future development.
"Properties included in this RFP were selected from a list of flood-impacted homes, and owners were approached to sell them through the EWPP Program," the RFP says. "The City of West Haven now maintains ownership of the homes and, in accordance with the USDA EWPP agreement, is required to demolish any existing structures and return the parcel to its 'natural' state. All included properties are deed restricted to encourage native regrowth and prohibit future construction. The overarching goal of EWPP is to reduce inland flooding impacts by increasing floodwater retention and groundwater recharge, while adding open space to the community."
The NRCS says on its website that all applications for EWPP funding must successfully demonstrate that the project reduces threats to life and property; is economically, environmentally and socially sound; and must be designed to acceptable engineering standards.
Borer said the city is in the process of applying for additional relief for city areas affected by flooding.
Norwich mayor urges spending restraints, touts economic development projects
Claire Bessette
Norwich ― Mayor Peter Nystrom highlighted major public and private developments, fueled by millions of dollars in state and federal grants during his annual State of the City address Tuesday but also urged city, school and utility officials to curb spending in the coming budget years.
Nystrom noted that, other than the recent referendum defeat of a proposed new police station, city voters have approved major city, school and utilities projects in recent years. This included the overwhelming approval of a $385 million school construction project a year ago and several road improvement bonds and natural gas expansion projects for Norwich Public Utilities.
NPU broke ground in November on a five-year, $200 million new sewage treatment plant that is expected to greatly improve water quality in Norwich Harbor and the Thames River, just as new owners of the Marina at American Wharf are making major improvements to that centerpiece on the waterfront, Nystrom said.
Nystrom, a Republican, will have to work with a Democratic majority City Council in his final two years as mayor. In his address Tuesday, Nystrom cautioned the City Council, school and utility officials that taxpayers and ratepayers must pay for the approved projects over the next decade, and they cannot be expected to bear other increased tax and rate burdens.
“Whether you’re a taxpayer or a rate payer the people of Norwich suffer enough,” Nystrom said. “It's our job to be the guardians of their monies and I ask the city council not to impose hardships on them unnecessarily. All these issues that I've outlined are real and costly.”
Nystrom specifically criticized a proposal being considered by the School Building Committee that calls for prearranged labor agreements between construction unions and contractors for work on the first two new schools.
Nystrom warned that such a policy would raise costs to taxpayers by restricting the pool of bidders for the project and would hurt the ability for small local businesses to bid on projects and delay critical time schedules.
He said project labor agreements for the school construction project would negate the added state grant reimbursements Norwich’s state legislators secured in the last General Assembly session.
“This will drive the cost of schools up and it will limit the workforce pool,” Nystrom said. “This is the last thing we want to do when you consider that our state delegation worked so hard to get an increase in our state reimbursement levels.”
Nystrom highlighted state and federal grants that have given Norwich unprecedented funding boosts, with $28 million over four years in federal American Rescue Plan Act grants and an $11.4 million in state Community Investment Fund grant to build the access road into the planned second business park in Occum.
Through the Norwich Community Development Corp., economic development grants were matched with private dollars to move some long-stalled projects, including redevelopment of the abandoned, blighted former YMCA into the headquarters of Mattern Construction, and the creation of 17 apartments in the former Reid & Hughes building.
“These investments will strengthen our grand list and help relieve the financial pressures on the homeowners and taxpayers here in the city of Norwich,” Nystrom said.
The past year was marked by both achievements and challenges in Norwich.
Norwich Mayor Peter Nystrom shared his State of the City address during the City Council meeting on Monday, talking about what was handled well during the year, and what challenges lie ahead for 2024.
Public and private partnerships were important for Norwich in 2023, as progress on the redevelopment of the Reid and Hughes and YMCA buildings in downtown Norwich have been moving forward, supported by state funds. Other efforts have been helped by the total of $28 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds the city has received in the past four years. This investment will help to grow the city’s grand list and help relieve the tax burden on homeowners and taxpayers, Nystrom said.
Grants enhanced city projects
The city also received $11.4 million for initial infrastructure for the Occum Business Park for creating the roadways, connection to highways, stormwater management, and more for the proposed business park. When the business park gets going, it will also help with taxes, as the city prepares to pay for a multimillion-dollar school building project, Nystrom said.
Other grants that came to the city this past year include Norwich Public Utilities receiving $10 million in April to upgrade 10 miles of gas mains in the city over the next five years, and $1.6 million in February for upgrades to reduce untreated sewage discharge from entering the Thames River. The latter is timely, as the Norwich Marina has recently come under new management, Nystrom said.
NPU will also be investing $200 million over the next five years into sewer upgrades for the region, which includes upgrading the sewage treatment plant on Hollyhock Island. This helps protect the environment, and increases sewer revenues, Nystrom said.
Affordable housing progress
The city has also worked toward creating more affordable housing. The Westledge Housing Complex has created 120 more units of affordable housing, and the developers of that property are looking to expand the Hills Development Project in Taftville by adding 66 more affordable units. The Lofts at Ponemah Mills will also be expanding with another 145 affordable units, Nystrom said.
Challenges facing the city
One of the big challenges that will face the city is affording the new schools, which will cost the city $385 million. Nystrom was concerned about the possible use of Project Labor Agreements, as he argued it would increase the cost, limit the involvement of local businesses, and possibly delay construction, he said.
Nystrom also reminded the public that the city still needs a new police station, and reminded the City Council to keep spending down, as Norwich is in a revaluation year, and the council works “for the taxpayers, the citizens of Norwich,” he said.
Top labor and safety stories of 2023
Zachary Phillips
From advancements in hard hats to the continued skilled worker shortage, here are some of the topics that were most popular with readers this year.
Labor issues nabbed headlines in 2023, and not just in construction.
Actors, writers and autoworkers each made national news with their strikes, demanding new contracts and benefits for their members. Meanwhile, the White House took action on its pro-labor promises by updating the Davis-Bacon Act, proposing new OSHA rules and, as recently as this week, implementing a mandate for project labor agreements on federal projects.
Meanwhile, major funds from the federal government fueled a boom in infrastructure and manufacturing work. That hasn’t come without issue, however, as megaprojects gobble up available workers. The divide between open jobs and the skilled workers to fill them remains wide.
And, as in years past, the trades were a hazardous place to work. A new report showed that construction counted more at-work fatalities than any other industry, even as contractors continued their efforts to improve safety, both through cultural shifts and advancements in protective equipment.
Biden mandates PLAs on large federal contracts
By Zachary Phillips • Dec. 19, 2023
The White House announced on Monday the implementation of an executive order to require project labor agreements on federal construction jobs above $35 million. Read the full article ➔
Contractors swap hard hats for helmets
By Zachary Phillips • June 29, 2023
Increasing availability and better protection have made helmets the new standard for major contractors like Clark and DPR. Read the full article ➔
OSHA proposes change to walkaround rule
By Zachary Phillips • Aug. 31, 2023
The proposal would allow union officials or other employee advocates to join in jobsite safety inspections. Read the full article ➔
Manufacturing megaprojects gobble up workers
By Sebastian Obando • Aug. 14, 2023