Lamont budget deal pledges up to $80M for XL Center renovations

Michael Puffer

Connecticut taxpayers could cover up to $80 million in renovation costs for the XL Center arena in downtown Hartford under the budget deal struck by Gov. Ned Lamont and legislative leaders this week.

Among the multitude of provisions in the budget compromise is the outline of a deal that would see Los Angeles-based entertainment and events company Oak View Group bear at least $20 million in XL Center renovation costs in return for a long-term agreement to manage the roughly 15,500-seat sports and entertainment venue.

Under the enabling language in the budget bill, OVG would cover any annual operating losses, but get to keep the first $4 million in yearly profits. OVG and the Capital Region Development Authority would split any additional profit evenly.

The CRDA – a quasi-governmental agency responsible for economic development initiatives in Hartford and East Hartford – manages the XL on behalf of the city of Hartford.

OVG has operated the XL on behalf of the CRDA since late 2021, when it acquired venue management and hospitality company Spectra, the company previously contracted to manage the XL center.

The facility currently runs at a roughly $2.5 million to $4 million deficit yearly, which is covered by the state.

Backers say the XL Center is needed to promote vibrancy in Hartford, and pays dividends in extra demand at restaurants, hotels and other nearby businesses. CRDA leaders believe renovations to make the building a more attractive and economical venue for performers could see it turn a profit.

CRDA's leadership hopes to strike a deal with OVG that would fund a large-scale renovation. The enabling legislation in the budget compromise is an important prerequisite that would allow for a deal. 

The CRDA has tried for years to secure funding for a large-scale repair and upgrade of the roughly 50-year-old arena. Lawmakers balked at a comprehensive $250 million plan in 2018, but had approved $40 million for repairs and upgrades in 2017, and signed off on another $65 million in 2019.

Portions of that money have been slowly fed out through the state Bond Commission for work at the XL Center, including an ongoing $15 million package of repairs and upgrades including construction of a sports-betting lounge on the edge of the building overlooking Ann Uccello Street. 

Providence-based Dimeo Construction is also making commercial kitchen improvements, adding restrooms and upgrading other building systems.

In May, the Bond Commission released $7 million for additional repairs and upgrades at XL, as well as designs for bid documents on a grander renovation.

The CRDA has spent months negotiating with OVG on a deal that would see the company bear a portion of renovation costs in return for a long-term operating agreement that includes a cut of the profits.

CRDA Executive Director Michael Freimuth has previously said his agency expects to begin soliciting bids for the large-scale renovation this summer. He expects bid returns in time to determine in “late fall” if costs fall in line with the projected $107.2 million budget.

“If the budget comes in too high, none of this going forward,” Freimuth told members of the CRDA venue committee during a May 9 meeting. “If the budget comes in line, we can secure the OVG arrangement.”

Under Lamont’s current budget deal, an agreement may be entered into with the operator of the XL Center as of July 1, which will be OVG. That agreement — which, under the budget language, must be entered into no later than Dec. 31, 2025 — sets out a number of additional terms.

The agreement must outline future upgrades, remedies for breach of contract and a requirement that the contractor (OVG) furnish an annual, independent audit report for the CRDA and the secretary of the governor’s budget office. The secretary’s approval will also be required for any long-term management agreement between CRDA and OVG.

Before striking a deal with OVG, CRDA will also need an agreement with the city of Hartford to extend the lease of the XL Center to the authority. During that lease, any equipment or other personal property added to the arena will be considered state-owned and not subject to taxation, something the state will not compensate with a payment in lieu of taxes. 

Steelpointe luxury apartment project passes environmental hurdles 

Brian Lockhart

BRIDGEPORT — After months of delays caused by environmental issues, the developers of the luxury apartment project at the Steelpointe site are now aiming to break ground on the first phase in around 50 days. 

"We're going through the bidding process right now with our general contractor and we have a couple items that we've gone back and redesigned as well," said Robert "Bobby" Christoph who, with his father, Robert Sr., has spent years slowly redeveloping the swath of East Side property between Interstate 95 and the harbor. "We're very positive on this going forward."

Christoph said, and a spokesperson with the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection confirmed this week, that the housing has received the necessary state and federal approvals for work to finally begin.

As reported in early January, the Christophs had hoped construction would already have been well-underway. But things got complicated after it was determined the site, the former location of a steel works and electrical substation, had more ground pollution problems than initially anticipated.

Specifically, elevated levels of hazardous, federally-regulated PCBs or polychlorinated biphenyls that required both the DEEP and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to get involved.

PCBs are, according to the DEEP, a "suspected human carcinogen" that persist for many years in the environment and are widespread throughout the nation. Connecticut banned their manufacture in 1976, and the federal government in 1978. It is not unusual for PCBs to be discovered on old manufacturing sites like Steelpointe that are being re-purposed. But they make for a more time-consuming process as environmental officials work with developers to determine how best to either remove and/or "cap" the toxic material for public safety.

"Being residential, we have to be conscious of protecting the tenants," Kevin Neary, a supervisor with the DEEP involved with overseeing Steelpointe, told Hearst Connecticut Media last winter, adding, “I've had many, many (cleanup) sites in Connecticut. This is nothing out of the norm."

In an email this week, Paul Copleman, the DEEP's media relations manager, wrote that the EPA in late February approved the Christophs' "PCB cleanup and disposal plan" and DEEP followed a month later authorizing its pieces of the project.

"There are no outstanding reviews or approvals necessary from our remediation division for the developer to start cleanup," Copleman concluded.

The overall goal is to build 1,500 luxury apartments in all. Phase one involves 400 and is estimated to take two years to complete, though Christoph said tenants might be able to move in in stages as the units are finished.

The apartments have been discussed and anticipated for years, particularly when elected officials are touting progress. Mayor Joe Ganim during his May 31 state-of-the-city address to the business community told the audience the Christophs "will soon be breaking ground." In last year's speech, delivered in early September, Ganim had said construction was to begin last fall.

An accompanying hotel has also long been part of the Christophs' plans, and is even more highly anticipated given Bridgeport's only major hotel, the downtown Holiday Inn, closed in early 2022 and is being converted into a 94-unit apartment complex by local developer John Guedes.

Asked about a hotel timeline, Christoph said he and his team are "really focused right now on going vertical on the residential." He said "We have a couple different hotel management companies that we are interviewing."

Changes and delays at Steelpointe are nothing new. When in 2015 then-Mayor Bill Finch was seeking re-election and fending off an ultimately successful attempt by fellow Democrat Ganim to take his job, it was announced that the Christophs were bringing a luxury movie theater operator and a Hampton Inn to the property. Neither moved forward.

At another point a Dave & Buster's restaurant was also going to be part of the mix. 

The first major anchor tenant was Bass Pro Shops, an outdoor retail chain, which opened in late 2015. Finch, an avid lover of the environment and the outdoors, along with other city leaders, heralded Bass Pro's arrival as a major step forward for the long-dormant Steelpointe. 

These days the store is rarely touted by the Ganim administration. Still, Christoph in the interview for this story said Bass Pro and the smaller retailers at Steelpointe — a Starbucks coffee shop and a Chipotle fast food restaurant — are all doing well. He noted that during the global COVID-19 pandemic that struck Connecticut in early 2020 and for a time put a halt to large events and gatherings, "The whole world decided to go camping and fishing" so Bass Pro benefited from that interest.

The Christophs have also opened a marina and a seafood restaurant, Boca. And the fourth annual Steelpointe boat show is scheduled there for June 15 through 18.

"It's going to be exciting," Christoph said. "It's going to be another great year to show off Bridgeport's waterfront."

ENR's 2023 Top 400 Contractors: Uncertainty Looms Over Market

Emell D. Adolphus Jonathan Keller

Contractor revenue grows despite rising costs as firms say owner confidence waning in an increasingly cloudy market.

As economic uncertainty swirls around the Capitol Hill debt limit negotiations, some ENR Top 400 contractors are worried about reaching the limit of their ability to keep projects profitable. Through years of pandemic-induced cost volatility and workforce shortages, firms have kept their revenue and backlogs strong by strategies that include value engineering.

But can they also value engineer economic confidence?

With the Federal Reserve looking to fight inflation and cool the economy by raising interest rates, economists seem to overwhelmingly agree that an economic slowdown is on the horizon. But ENR Top 400-listed general contractors say there is uncertainty looming over how the construction industry should prepare for when such a slowdown will hit and what business sectors will be most affected.

Construction industry markets are not reacting to economic developments all in the same way, explains John Cannito, president and CEO of PENTA Building Group, ranked No. 128. “Some market segments are flush with optimism and are looking to capitalize on pent-up consumer demand. Others are more cautious, with concern about a potential recession,” he says, explaining that the “two extremes” are driving owners to make decisions based on a false sense of security in experiences that do not transcend all markets.

In effect, some owners are “delaying projects that should be going forward in soft markets” and others have “unrealistic budget expectations in strong markets,” says Cannito. Managing project expectations, “advising clients responsibly and making sound business plan decisions will be important to succeeding in 2023,” he says.

Uncertainty Coming to a Head

Managing cost volatility continues to be a top priority for firms, says Rycon Construction Inc. CEO John Sabatos, as owners weigh whether to pause projects or cancel them altogether, “which will in turn cause a slowdown in construction starts,” he explains.

“Normal historical cost increases from year to year have been manageable with good value engineering processes,” Sabatos says, but “higher increases will not be able to be recovered by simply making designs more efficient.” Delays have caused the “necessity to perform work on an overtime basis which has increased the costs and negatively impacted bottom lines,” he adds.

Ranked No. 1 for the third consecutive year is Turner Corp., with more than $16.25 billion in reported revenue. Bechtel is ranked No. 2. Although many Top 400 listed firms have consecutively reported increased revenue and record backlogs since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, firms sense a change of pace is inevitable as owners grow weary over volatile project costs. While workforce shortages, cost inflation and supply chain delays continue, there is also uncertainty among firms about how resources can further be reconfigured to provide solutions.

Steven H. Sommer, Lendlease executive general manager and president of East Coast construction, says the No. 53-ranked company has seen lead times nearly double for materials. “And we continue to experience significant shifts in pricing,” he says.

With business interests in development and construction, the company has a “360-degree view of challenges and the costs and delays they present,” he says.

 

Lendlease says it is also better equipped to offer solutions by meeting with owners and design teams early on for key decision-making. According to Sommer, the strategy has helped push owners and the design team “to make decisions quickly so that components and materials can be pre-purchased and secured months ahead of installation.”

In addition to supply chain issues impacting the ability of projects to move forward, Sommer says uncertainty over economic conditions also add to project risks. “While we have a robust pipeline of future work in addition to a number of projects underway in various stages, that economic uncertainty will certainly be a major factor in new projects moving forward;” he says.

As firms manage cost volatility, managing fatigue among employees and subcontractors has become equally important, says McShane Cos. CEO Molly McShane. “It’s been a long two-to-three years working through labor shortages and supply chain issues, and people are getting worn out,” she says. “In the past, so much construction was being put in place that some general contractors could be selective about which projects they pursued. With deals [now] being scarcer, the competition among general contractors is stronger.”

At XL Construction, CEO Richard Walker echoes McShane’s concerns about staying competitive “as certain markets continue to slow down and additional general contractors move into markets that remain stronger,” he explains. The firm is back on the list and ranked No. 141 this year after not filing a survey since 2017.

For Farmington, Conn.-based KBE Building Corp., ranked No. 333, staffing is the company’s top challenge, says executive vice president Jim Culkin.

“Finding qualified people right now is something the entire industry is really struggling with,” he says. “We are all still dealing with the COVID hangover of supply change issues. The question is, how do you navigate these waters when you’re faced with these kinds of shortages?”

Ramin Cherafat, CEO of McCownGordon Construction, anticipates that 2023 will be a “very strong year,” tempered by industry challenges coming to a head throughout the year and further putting a strain on resources for firms.

“All economic data points are indicating that maintaining this level of activity may be challenging going forward,” he says.

Opus Design Build LLC President and CEO Tom Becker says that “businesses can deal with good times and tougher times, but uncertainty is especially challenging because it’s difficult to be fully committed to your strategy.” He explains, “I don’t think we are alone in this. I’ve talked to many leaders in the industry who are in a similar situation,” adding, “It’s going to be a very interesting year.”

Balancing Bottom Lines

Last year, total Top 400 revenue rose 16.2% from 2021 to $488.98 billion. Revenue rose only 4% between 2018 and 2021. Part of the recent growth is attributable to the inclusion of MasTec on this year’s list. The Coral Gables, Fla.-based firm, which contributed $11.6 billion to the total, opted to file as a general contractor after its acquisition of IEA, ranked No. 42 on last year’s Top 400. But even with MasTec’s contribution removed, total revenue would still be up 13.4%, the largest year-over-year increase in revenue since 2006-07.

After speaking with industry partners, Wharton-Smith Construction Group President and CEO Tim Smith says he found that work is moving, but completion schedules are being pushed further out, delaying revenue as a result. “It is improving some, and our backlogs are bigger than ever,” says Smith, “but we look forward to being able to build and bill on a regular schedule again.”

For Top 400 firms, profit margins have mostly stayed strong, but have not increased in step with gains in gross revenue, with 96.7% of reporting firms indicating they made a domestic profit in 2022, virtually identical to last year’s survey results. The median profit margin is down slightly, to 3.2% from 3.8% last year.

STO Building Group has been focused on efficiently managing resources so that “our clients don’t feel the negative staffing effects of the project date sliding out to the right,” says Executive Chairman James Donaghy. “Profitability and cashflow are the lifeblood of every contractor, and this market presents challenges which can disrupt the critical path when resources—for the CM or subcontractors—are not available as planned.”

Similar to Lendlease, Urban Atelier Group President and CEO Andy D’Amico says the company has been able to increase certainty by bringing owners and trade partners earlier into the process. It comes down to greater communication, he says. “In these circumstances, it’s vital to prioritize effective communication and collaboration with the owner, architect, engineers and subcontractors to keep parties engaged and aligned with the project goals.”

In many cases, collaboration can save money, says Steve Ennis, president and CEO of ASRC industrial—especially when “everything is more expensive,” he stresses.

“Whether it is fuel, parts, or materials, not only do consumables cost more, but logistically they take longer to get to the job site,” says Ennis. When prices are fixed, such conditions make it extremely difficult to know what the right price is when job schedules are moving, he adds. “We are also seeing a lot of clients who want to expand their payment terms, says Ennis. "A pay cycle that used to be 60 days going to 90-day or 120-day terms starts to make a huge effect on our bottom line, since we’re basically getting into financing for that change in receipt.”

New contracts for Top 400 firms total $557.1 billion, up 30.9% from last year. The median new contract total is also up, rising 20.4%. As with total revenue however, the biggest players have made the biggest gains. The top 10 firms account for $140.3 billion of that backlog, about a quarter of the total. Last year the top 10 collectively reported $80.2 billion in new contracts, or a little under 19% of the total.

Backlogs are strong for some, but higher interest rates are still spooking private developers, adding to industry instability, says Scott Blaine, president of Goodfellow Bros. With a potential pause on private work due to the economy, Blaine wonders when projects funded by federal infrastructure spending will kick into high gear.

“We are still waiting for the increase in shovel-ready public works projects promised by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the Inflation Reduction Act,” says Blaine. “This would certainly help create jobs and stability within the AEC industry.”

In Barton Malow’s view, the availability of projects isn’t what ultimately affects bottom lines. “The projects are still all out there regardless of various economic indicators,” says Chuck Binkowski, COO and executive vice president. “The biggest impact to our bottom line comes back to labor availability.”

He adds, “There hasn’t been the natural progression in talent replacement that we see in other industries. The veterans have left or are leaving and there isn’t enough coming in to replace them.”

Alternative Scheduling Paths

Limited labor resources have encouraged some Top 400 firms to seek leaner scheduling methods that can accommodate smaller teams, facilitate collaboration and streamline work plans.

ANDRES Construction Services uses digital pull planning to complement the critical path method, says vice president of operations Stephen Miller.

“Our teams will pull plan to validate project milestones and complete weekly work plans that measure the complete/incomplete work from the previous work period, confirm the activities for the upcoming work period and plan the work in the following three-to -six week look-ahead period,” he explains. Through digital pull-planning tools, the team is then able to “quickly sort and summarize information for any work day or work area or trade.” The result is “clarity and consensus in the plan of what must be achieved each day to realize the project schedule,” says Miller.

With the collaborative-focused last planner method, Hoar Construction President Turner Burton says the scheduling system improves accuracy and efficiency.

“Part of our mission as a general contractor is to eliminate waste of all types—time, money, materials in the construction industry—so using lean construction processes is essential to accomplishing those goals,” he says.

Similarly, Primus Builders uses the critical path method as a starting point for the last planner method, says COO Erik Gunderson. The firm is ranked No. 340.

“It starts with a high-level master milestone CPM schedule that identifies major milestones and the general sequence of how the project will be executed,” explains Gunderson, which includes checklists on items such as relevant submittals, procurement, delivery, and installation dates.“Each trade is accountable to the team for their contributions. Meetings with all trade partners take place weekly to update the schedule according to current conditions and to keep the team on track,” he says.

At DPR Construction, CEO and leadership team member George Pfeffer says the critical path method continues to be the team go-to method for long-term scheduling. “However, as we shift to more medium- and short-term schedules, we regularly employ other methodologies such as last planner and Takt, which better support our detailed project planning needs,” he says. “All scheduling methods are only as good as the data you are putting into them, so we’ve been putting a lot of focus on data-driven planning,” which can better leverages quantities, planned/actual production rates and crew sizes to ensure that sequences are planned for what is achievable in the field, he explains.

For Swinerton, the traditional critical path method schedule is the “beating heart of every Swinerton project,” says CEO Eric Foster. “We leverage business intelligence tools to employ alternative scheduling technologies in order to support various consumers with simplified role-based data,” he explains. “Business intelligence reporting is essential to ensure all stakeholders receive targeted and actionable data applicable to their specific roles and responsibilities.”

Complementing its business intelligence reporting, Poettker Construction has taken to using drones to track job progress and percentage completes, says CEO Keith C. Poettker. “Ultimately we tie that information back to our CPM monthly updates,” he says.

Poettker shares that the firm is also excited to see how newer technology such as artificial intelligence will impact scheduling and productivity in the construction industry.

“While I don’t think the AEC industry will ever lose the human touch of doing business, I do think AI will streamline processes, tasks and communication efforts in the future,” he says.

Digging Into Data & Technology

Clancy & Theys uses technology to make data-driven decisions, explains President Baker Glasgow. “We are constantly evaluating our technology stack inclusive of hardware and software,” he says. “We have come to the conclusion that there is no software that solves all of our issues; it’s always going to be a suite of softwares.” However, the company is adamant that any technology adopted does not work in a vacuum.

“We do not believe in duplication or double entry, so how one software interacts with another is absolutely paramount to understand when procuring and implementing software,” says Glasgow. Ranked No. 131, Clancy & Theys is in the process of procuring HR software that incorporates learning management and recruiting systems. Glasgow shares that the company is also going all-in on cloud-based project management software.

At McGough, the company is continuing to explore “better, more efficient ways to improve scheduling through analytics and monitoring tools,” says Nate Wood, executive vice president of regional operations. “We’ve implemented several programs including Deltek Acumen Fuse as well as 4D scheduling programs that improve planning and coordination on very large, complicated projects.”

For Boldt, one of the firm’s “biggest challenges” has been managing their personnel resources related to project staffing. “Knowing which personnel are available and when, so we can put the right people in the right place, at the right time,” is critical, says Rob Branyan, vice president of labor relations. He shares that over the past year, the company has incorporated a third-party workforce visibility platform into project planning and operations.

“This lets us track and forecast project needs and integrates into a lot of our existing platforms, so we can create long-term workforce strategies,” says Branyan. “Overall, this helps us keep our workforce engaged and our clients satisfied.”

In 2021, ANDRES Construction Services added a full-time data analyst to its team to focus on data collection, analysis and continued improvement across company operations. “Focused innovation and partnering with select construction tech developers has allowed [the firm] to add significant value for our clients, trade partners, and employee-owners,” says VP Miller.

At a jobsite level, a digital twin process functions in a similar way for Kraus-Anderson. The digital twin provides a dynamic, data-rich virtual replica of the built environment, “providing a visual common ground to support construction, closeout and asset management,” says COO and Executive Vice President Rich Jacobson.

Also at a job site level, DPR CEO Pfeffer says technology is “helping us keep people out of harm’s way like never before.” He adds, “We’re addressing some of the inherent safety risks on jobsites with a variety of solutions, from eliminating the use of taglines when lifting steel to robots that can drill ceiling penetrations without the poor ergonomics that workers in the trades experience.”

The safer the jobsite, the better for the skilled labor talent pool, and “the easier it will be to recruit and retain skilled craft workers,” says Pfeffer.

Ranked No. 21, Brasfield & Gorrie says the firm is also incorporating more robotic control technology, such as robotic layout and grade control.

“We hope to see our usage increase in the future. We also anticipate growth for AI-assisted tools for knowledge management and intelligent search across multiple platforms,” says chief strategy officer and chief information officer Chris Kramer.

Last year at Brasfield & Gorrie, a departmental-wide collaboration implemented digital dig boards on 41 jobsites.

“These allow project teams to see real-time information about utility lines, making our projects safer and more efficient,” says Kramer. “Workers can use their mobile devices to quickly identify the utility lines around them by scanning a QR code on job sites that use digital dig board.”

Melissa Faulkner, Skanska senior vice president and head of USA information technology, says the firm spent the last few years building and investing in their cloud-based infrastructure.

“With improved data quality and accessibility, we’ve uncovered valuable insights using project data found across all our platforms,” she says. In addition to minimizing risk and safety hazards, the infrastructure “creates more efficient ways of working, and drives performance certainty for teams, subcontractors, and clients.”

Planning for the future, Faulkner says the investment in the firm’s data infrastructure will allow it to leverage AI advancements, natural language processing and machine learning to “quickly share knowledge across the company and predict and anticipate project risks.”

Considering the construction industry’s ongoing labor shortages, MYCON General Contractors partner and vice president Ryan Stoll says advances in technology shows potential to increase “efficiency immensely.”

“We are patiently waiting to see how the recent surges in artificial intelligence will affect our industry,” adds Stoll, who describes MYCON as a “data-driven construction firm that leans heavily on using technology and data” to drive business decisions.

“Instead of just tracking budgets, costs and projected costs, we are tracking and analyzing cost data from multiple perspectives,” says Stoll. The strategy has helped the firm streamline operations and pinpoint optimal project types.

Hot Markets

Revenue in all markets that ENR tracks rose between 2021 and 2022 except for the transportation, which was down for the second consecutive year. The sector with the biggest gains was manufacturing, up 72.32% to $25.3 billion dollars. More firms seem to be entering the market, with 130 firms listing manufacturing revenue in 2022, up from 115 in 2021. Last year 35 firms made more than $100 million in the market; this year 45 did.

With the passage of the CHIPS Act, Gilbane Building Co. President and CEO Tom Laird says the company is seeing great opportunities in the advanced electronics sector as well as in life sciences and food and beverage manufacturing—in addition to a renewed vigor for onshore manufacturing.

“These are priority investment areas for the company. Fortunately, we are well-positioned for these opportunities,” says Laird, naming the Intel Ohio Fabs project and Constellation Brands Brewery Expansion projects among opportunities for the firm.

CFO Michael Williams of No. 42-ranked Black & Veatch shares that “economic uncertainty” and industry challenges such as inflation and supply chain constraints are indeed having an impact on the firm's clients decision-making process. However, “demand for services stemming from the decarbonization, electrification, water scarcity and energy transition megatrends facing humanity continue to build solid pipelines and backlog,” he says.

Williams says the firm remains disciplined in “our contractual arrangements ensuring we are not taking on risk that cannot realistically be managed or mitigated in the current environment.”

Speaking on projects connected to the energy transition, a Bechtel spokesperson says meeting environmental sustainability goals will require a “more everything” approach from a project perspective.

“We need to continue building more renewables, introduce more technologies and innovations, but we also need to utilize mature scalable technologies we have, like LNG, nuclear and hydro,” says Bechtel. “Improving efficiency and targeting emissions elimination in existing infrastructure all have near-term positive impacts that are largely self-funding and should not be ignored.”

No. 104-ranked Blue Ridge Power is constructing a 305-MW solar project in Texas, with another 1.8 GW of projects in the pipeline from that state alone, says senior marketing manager Casey Hulme.

“Texas and California continue to lead in the utility-scale solar installation market,” she says, citing a 2022 American Clean Power Q4 report that found Texas installed 3.9 GW last year—the most in the U.S.

Russell Group President Caitlin Russell says an uptick in the firm’s multifamily housing construction is being driven by a demand in the “smile,” or Sun Belt, states of the country. “There also continues to be a driving need for affordable housing, including government assisted, senior, student, low-income and workforce,” she says. “The health care and manufacturing markets are also seeing some growth, with a focus from just-in-time to the readily available.”

Overall, revenue is up for the strong majority of Top 400 firms. Of the 378 firms who filed both this year and last, 78.0% saw an increase in revenue in 2022. On last year’s survey, the equivalent number was only 58.6%. Median firm revenue is also up, rising 15.3% to $567.9 million.

Moreover, international contracting revenue is up 12.8% to $29 billion, its highest total since 2019. However, the majority of the gains are concentrated among larger international players. Of the firms that made more than $100 million in international revenue this year, 73% had more international revenue than last year. For those firms below $100 million, that number was only 39.4%. Median international revenue actually fell 9.4%, to $67.5 million.

GCs Revamp Safety Training

Statistics show that new hires are especially vulnerable to safety incidents. The 2022 Travelers Injury Impact Report showed that about a third of the injury claims in the period it analyzed occurred during an employee’s first year on the job. Data from Birmingham, Ala.-based contractor Brasfield & Gorrie LLC (No. 21) shows that the first 90 days is an even more important timeframe for training and supporting new employees, says Troy Ogden, vice president of safety and learning with the firm.

In order to minimize that vulnerability and keep safety top of mind for more experienced workers, Brasfield & Gorrie launched SKILLED, a comprehensive training program combining safety and skill training in 2022. The program is a combination of in-person training and on-demand video, available with captions, in both English and Spanish. “Because our target audience—craft employees—typically doesn’t use computers for their jobs, it was essential to build a mobile-friendly platform,” says Ogden. The firm also created a series of hardhat decals so workers can show off the training they’ve completed.

New hires at Brasfield & Gorrie are provided a blue vest to be easily identifiable on the job site. “In addition, to ensure that someone is consistently watching out for new hires, we assign a mentor to each new employee during that period,” adds Ogden. New hires also have the opportunity to earn a prize for completing the First 90 Days training on SKILLED.

For Landmark Construction LLC (No. 189), the 2022 goal was to take a more granular approach to safety training. “Developing a role-centric HSE training matrix allowed us to concentrate on the essential basic compliance of OSHA 10 and 30, CPR/First Aid/AED, and an additional 25 role-specific training programs,” says Josh Landrum, safety manager at Landmark.

In January, KBE Building Corp. (No. 333). rolled out a 10-hour safety program to complement and exceed the standard OSHA 10. “We’ve looked over the history of subcontractor safety performance on our projects, identified the core safety issues that we see time and again, and put together a program focused on those key trouble areas,” says executive vice president Jim Culkin.

The program includes 14 breakout sessions that cover very project-specific safety topics. “For example, we cover fall protection in detail, but we focus on making sure that the trade employees using the fall protection system have the right equipment and are properly trained in how to use it,” says Culkin. The program is provided during the first 30 days of employment and as a required annual refresher course.

Firms Invest in Employees

In addition to tackling industry challenges and changes, Top 400 firms also celebrated myriad levels of company successes.

At Granite Construction, President and CEO Kyle Larkin says the company is proud to have “de-risked our portfolio away from large design-build projects.” The firm is now moving toward “collaborative contracting methods such as construction manager/general contractor (CM/GC) and progressive design-build (PDB),” says Larkin.

When it comes to labor recruitment and retention, many firms say they have added enrichment programs and stepped up their safety programs to greater cultivate and protect its trade partners and in-house teams.

“Internally, our team has taken formal steps to better support the quality craftsmanship of our employee owners and to foster a strong and diverse workforce for years to come,” says MW Builders COO Jason Evelyn. Last summer marked the inaugural class of the firm’s Emerging Leaders Program—a multiyear continued learning and development program for recent project engineering grads.

“Being able to provide continued education and the opportunity to explore multiple career paths within the

organization has proven to be an invaluable tool in recruiting and retaining world-class talent nationwide,” says Evelyn.

Sundt vice president and corporate director of health, safety and environment Paul Levin says Sundt’s biggest success in the last year has been the company-wide rollout “Stop the STCKY,” (which stands for stop the Sh*T That Can Kill You).

“Over the past decade, the industry’s average recordable injury rate (RIR) has gone down, but its fatalities have remained steady,” says Levin, explaining that it is this gap that the company is looking to close in on by implementing the program on its job sites.

The program focuses on eight areas of high-risk work and the identification and implementation of adequate controls needed to complete the work safely, Levin explains. “Data is collected during STCKY Walks (high-energy control assessments) and analyzed to help us effectively review, manage and implement improvements, trainings, coaching and best practices to continue our effort to stop the STCKY,” he says.

McShane adds that implementing programs that reinforce company culture and values are just as important as addressing industry challenges.

There is no value engineering needed to simply ask, “What can I do to help?” explains McShane.

“We’ve been able to respond to the outside pressures by calling on our culture. We’ve seen a fair amount of challenges over the last few years, but our people have shown their dedication and commitment to our team,” she says. “Character is revealed during times like these, and I couldn’t be more proud.”

Newtown denies 3rd out-of-state developer over objections that ‘we gotta let them build something’

Rob Ryser

NEWTOWN — For the third time in a year, planners have shut down a major development proposed for the open terrain off Interstate 84 at Exit 9 — this time a rezoning request to allow 300 apartments.

“Anything we put there is going to increase traffic — so what about the owners? We have to let them build something there,” said Gregory Rich, a member of Newtown’s Planning and Zoning Commission, addressing not only the neighborhood opposition to the 300 apartments during a public hearing last week, but also referring to the objection by neighbors to two other major development proposals on the same Hawleyville Road stretch that critics defeated over the past year.

“If you want to keep it undeveloped, then buy it,” said Rich, speaking to the Newtowners who’ve spoken against the unpopular building plans. “The owners will be happy, and you will be happy. We gotta let them build something, folks.”

The chairman of Newtown’s five-member commission seemed to agree, although that is not the way he voted.

“I’ve seen a lot of things brought up on this property for the 30 years I’ve been here,” said Dennis Bloom, shortly before he and three other members of the commission voted down the latest proposal. “I believe that it is time, some way, somehow, that these people have the right to get something built there so they don’t have to keep paying taxes.”

Bloom was referring to request by New Jersey developer Sterling Properties to rezone 70 of the 100 acres in question on Hawleyville Road from light industrial to residential, to allow a 14-building complex of one- and two-bedroom apartments with rents ranging from $2,300 to $2,900.

The plan was panned in May by residents who told planners “I don’t see how you can entertain this all over again,” and “We spent a year with this between two developers who tried to turn this place upside down.”

The two other developments planned for Hawleyville Road were both run out of town after residents organized opposition. First, Newtowners successfully opposed a Manhattan investor who wanted to build an 8-acre trucking warehouse on the 100 acres. Next, residents successfully objected to a New York developer’s plans for 200 apartments on a next door property.

At a June 1 public hearing where Newtown planners voted 4-to-1 to reject the rezoning request for 300 apartments, resident Mark D’Amico said a residential development of that size would cost the town more than it would contribute, starting with an estimated 127 school-aged children that could come with the project.

“It’s not to say that there definitely would be (127 students) but it definitely could be if that apartment complex follows the statistics that the town of Newtown actually has,” D’Amico said, adding that it would cost $2.5 million annually to educate those students.

“High density housing doesn’t cover its own burden, so while this (project) might generate $750,000 (in annual real estate taxes) that sound(s) like a great idea until you realize the potential cost to the town.”

Joe Wrinn, a commercial broker with Coldwell Banker who said he has “represented this property exclusively for at least the last 10 years,” told Newtown planners during a presentation that the rezoning and subsequent apartment project would be “a boon to the businesses in town, and a boon to the town in terms of taxes.”

“You spent $4 million bringing the sewer line in (to the property) — let’s use it,” Wrinn said. “A warehouse — I’m fine with that too. I think (the apartment project) fits well into the character of the neighborhood. This fits better than the warehouse.”

D’Amico, a leading neighborhood critic, said the property was meant for economic development, not residential development.

“Economic development is commercial development that generates more revenue than it costs,” D’Amico said. “That is what this property is earmarked for. That's why the taxes were spent to drag in the sewers. Not for this.”

Commission member Corinne Cox had concerns about impervious surface and runoff. 

“Per Connecticut state standards and regulations, all that added runoff will be treated and detained,” project engineer Rick Bohlander said. 

“You hope,” Cox said.

“That is not debatable — that is a statewide thing that is reviewed by the state and approved by the state and there is really no fluff on that,” Bohlander said.

“I am concerned about any runoff into Pond Brook that goes through there,” Cox said. “It would kill the trout.”

“Absolutely,” Bohlander responded. “It was high on my priority list to maintain the hydrology site to the best extent practical.”

Yale NH Health’s plans for Meriden Mall remain behind schedule

Mary Ellen Godin

MERIDEN —  Yale New Haven Health’s goal to build a comprehensive medical center at the site of the former Macy’s at Meriden Mall remains behind schedule.

“We are still in the planning stages at this juncture and will update everyone as we move ahead,” Yale New Haven spokesman Mark Dantonio stated in a email. “No other updates at this time.”

Yale New Haven officials said the 179,258-square-foot former Macy’s store will be used to provide out-patient care for patients through partnerships with Smilow Cancer Hospital, the Yale New Haven Heart and Vascular Center and Yale New Haven Children’s Hospital. 

The site will also offer blood draw and radiology services.

Construction workers have been doing interior demolition and recently filed a plan revision with city building officials, said city Economic Development Director Joseph Feest. 

After purchasing the former anchor store for $2.8 million in October, Yale New Haven Health initially said it planned to start construction in early 2022, and open some services in the next 18 to 24 months.The project was expected to be completed by the end of 2023 or early 2024.

But Yale representatives recently told Hearst Media, "Like many health systems across the country, Yale New Haven Health is facing headwinds stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic and the current economic climate.  We are being very thoughtful in our planning and will update everyone as we move forward.”

The move puts Yale in the backyard of Hartford HealthCare which owns MidState Medical Center also on Lewis Avenue. The two organizations are among the largest health networks in the state and have been creeping into each other’s service areas. 

“They’re committed to the project,” Feest said. “They paid for the interior demo and the remediation has been done already. They are waiting for the next stage of construction on the interior. Last month, they sent in some revisions. Based on that, you know they are still working on it.” 

Meriden Mall is among other struggling malls in the state as management attempts to move toward non-retail uses to fill vacant space. After the sale of the former Macy’s store to Yale in 2021, the mall had seen interest in a dinner theater next to a former Best Buy that is also on the southern wing of the retail center. The future of the dinner theater is unknown, but activity has stalled. 

Neither mall or dinner theater representatives could be reached for comment. 

Th mall welcomed a new and unique addition in March called Petrillo’s Fairs and Festivals, a company that produces free, fun events for the entire family to enjoy. The business, which hosts vendors and other activities, is open on the weekends.  

“This is a great concept to draw more people into the mall,”  President of the Midstate Chamber of Commerce Rosanne Ford said in March. “So you know they’re there for the event, there’s great exposure for the vendors, but also a good additional way to draw traffic to some of the stores in the mall like Boscov’s.”

Another attraction had been the Meriden Public Library, which operated a temporary location at the mall during renovations to the main library building on Miller Street. The temporary mall location closed last week ahead of a July 14 reopening of the Miller Street building.

63-hour Closures Scheduled For East Haddam Swing Bridge, Starting June 11

Cate Hewitt

EAST HADDAM — A new weekly schedule of 63-hour closures of Route 82 over the Connecticut River at the East Haddam Swing Bridge will begin Sunday evening, June 11. 

Under the new schedule, the bridge will be closed Sundays starting at 8 p.m. and will reopen on Wednesdays no later than 11 a.m., according to the Connecticut Department of Transportation.

The new 63-hour closure schedule will occur every week through late fall, excluding state-observed holiday weekends. All traffic, including pedestrians, cyclists and vehicles will be prohibited from the bridge during the closures. 

American Bridge Company built the iconic bridge in 1913 and was awarded a $55 million state contract in 2022 to renovate and repair and replace the structural and electrical components. In addition, a $23 million cantilevered pedestrian bridge will also be constructed as part of the project. 

During the night closures, traffic will be detoured to the I-95 Baldwin Bridge in Old Saybrook and Old Lyme, and to the Arrigoni Bridge in Middletown and Portland. 

Inclement weather or unforeseen circumstances could cause cancellations or changes in the closure schedule. 

Check for weekly updates here. To opt-in for text alerts, text the word SWINGBRIDGE to 888777. Questions related to construction can be emailed to dotproject40-141@ct.gov.

Apartment building proposed for 19th century jail site in Norwich

Claire Bessette

Norwich ― For the first time since the mid-19th century, something new could be built on a vacant, overgrown Cedar Street property where the 19th century New London County jail once stood overlooking Norwich Harbor.

The former jail was the centerpiece of the clifftop neighborhood that became home to Norwich African American families and was known as Jail Hill. It is now a National Historic District.

The 1.88-acre property at 16 Cedar St., with a commanding view of Norwich Harbor, is the site of the former New London County Jail, a factory associated with the jail and the home site of an early 19th century prominent Norwich African American family.

A Hartford-based housing developer purchased the property in January for $80,500 and has submitted plans to the city for a proposed four-story, 26-unit apartment building, with open recreational space in the front area near the School Street intersection.

The Commission on the City Plan will hold a public hearing on the permit application by 16 Cedar Street Development LLC at 7 p.m. June 20 at 23 Union St. The plan calls for 18 two-bedroom apartments and eight one-bedroom units in a single building facing Norwich Harbor.

The plan does not describe whether the apartments would be designated as affordable units or market rate housing.

The property has changed hands several times in recent years and once was proposed for a housing subdivision. But not since the “new” county jail was constructed there in 1830 to replace one that had burned down and prominent African American resident, Rev. William Spelman, built his house in the immediate vicinity of the jail, has anything new been constructed there.

The abandoned jail was torn down in the 1950s, its foundation and stone walls now concealed by thick brush and trees that have taken over the property.

City Historian Dale Plummer said because of the neighborhood’s rich history as an early African American neighborhood, home to leading Black citizens with strong ties to the abolitionist movement, the jail site should be studied before construction begins. Plummer led the historical and architectural survey in 1984 that led to Jail Hill being named a National Historic District.

State Archaeologist Sarah Sportman recommended the city planning office request a professional archaeological reconnaissance survey of the property be completed prior to development, “given the notable history of the Jail Hill District, as well as the potential for archaeological resources related to the former jail and prominent members of Jail Hill’s 19th century African American community.”

Norwich Director of Planning Deanna Rhodes included the recommendation for an archaeological survey in her staff report to the planning commission, asking that the survey results be submitted to the city and to the Office of State Archaeology.

Elizabeth Torres, who signed the project application for owner 16 Cedar Street Development LLC, could not be reached to comment last week on the project plans.

According to Plummer, Jail Hill emerged as an attractive neighborhood for local African American families because the jail, located in the center of the cliff-top area, depressed surrounding property values, making it affordable to entrepreneurial Black families. The area was called Kinney Hill prior to the jail. Plummer added that property owners with sympathies toward the growing abolitionist movement were not averse to selling land or houses to African American buyers.

The neighborhood became home to James Lindsay Smith, who escaped from slavery, settled in Norwich running a shoe shop and became a minister. The Harris family also resided on Jail Hill. Daughters Sarah and Mary Harris, along with neighbors Julia Williams and Eliza Glasko were students at Prudence Crandall’s school for Black girls in Canterbury, state Archaeologist Sportman wrote in her letter recommending the archaeological study.

Sarah Harris became an advocate of abolition of slavery, and Mary Harris traveled to New Orleans to educate formerly enslaved people, Plummer said.

The Rev. William Spelman was a delegate to the Connecticut Convention of Colored Men in 1849. His son, James Spelman, was a noted journalist and teacher, Sportman wrote. Plummer said not a lot is known about Rev. Spelman, and his connection to the former jail property “is quite significant.”

“These folks were active in the Civil War and post-Civil War era, and they came from Norwich, Connecticut,” Plummer said. “We really don’t know a lot about them.”

Plummer’s National Register nomination report in 1984 recommended archaeological studies of the jail property and other Jail Hill sites. He said not a lot was done on that recommendation. He said he was pleased that good research has been done on the Harris family based on the historical survey, but much more can be uncovered.

“We know the brush strokes ― the Harrises, the Smiths ― but we don’t know a lot about what was going on there,” Plummer said. “The Underground Railroad. Jail Hill was very much involved in it. How do you prove that?”