CT Construction Digest Wednesday November 29, 2023
WASHINGTON, D.C. — As part of the inaugural meeting of the White House Council on Supply Chain Resilience, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today announced $275 million for seven projects to strengthen clean energy supply chains and accelerate domestic clean energy manufacturing in nine former coal communities across the nation. Each project positions the U.S. to enhance its global competitiveness and national security by building domestic supply chains for existing and emerging technologies, built with American labor and materials. Thanks to the President’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, these projects will leverage over $600 million in private sector investments into small- and medium-sized manufacturers and create nearly 1,500 high-quality, good-paying jobs in cutting edge technologies. The portfolio of projects will address critical clean energy supply chain vulnerabilities by supporting key materials and components for energy storage for grid and transportation uses, wind energy, and energy efficient solutions for buildings. In addition to co-location with energy communities, the majority of selected projects will be in or adjacent to disadvantaged communities, supporting the Biden-Harris Administration’s efforts to ensure every community is included in our clean energy future.
“President Biden's Investing in America agenda is driving the manufacturing boom while preserving the communities and workforce that have powered our nation for generations," said U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm. “With these historic investments, DOE will bring new economic opportunities and ensure these communities continue their key role in strengthening America's national and energy security.”
The global market for clean energy and carbon reduction technologies is anticipated to reach a minimum of $23 trillion by 2030, and the President’s Investing in America agenda is helping ensure the nation’s energy communities take part in this massive economic opportunity. The U.S. economy grew at the fastest pace in nearly 40 years in recent years, and manufacturing as a share of U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) returned to pre-pandemic levels. The project selections announced today will strengthen domestic clean energy supply chains by making them more resilient, robust, and cost-competitive.
The selected projects with small and medium-sized manufactures will build up the production of technologies, such as insulated windows essential in large building retrofits, wind turbines, materials for grid components and critical battery materials, to reduce the nation’s reliance on fossil fuels, strengthen national defense and energy independence, and mitigate the climate crisis. The seven projects selected for negotiation of award focus on manufacturing products and materials that address multiple needs in the domestic clean energy supply chain.
The lead organizations are listed below along with their proposed project locations.
Alpen High-Performance Products, Inc., will retrofit existing facilities in Louisville, Colorado, and Vandergrift, Pennsylvania, for production of ultra-thin, triple and quad-pane insulated glass units (IGUS) for windows. These retrofitted facilities will the first of their kind in the U.S.
Boston Metal will build a new facility in Weirton, West Virginia, to manufacture ultrapure chromium metal and high temperature alloys that are critical materials needed for clean power, fuel cells and green steel supply chains.
Carter Wind Turbines, LLC, a family-owned company will build a new facility in Vernon, Texas, to scale production of mid-sized turbines and improve wind energy access for remote, rural locations, and rugged terrains.
CorePower Magnetics, Inc., will retrofit an existing facility in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, for melting and casting of advanced magnetic amorphous alloys for grid components.
FastCAP Systems d/b/a Nanoramic Laboratories, will build a new facility in Bridgeport, Connecticut, to manufacture lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery electrodes for grid storage.
LuxWall Inc will build a new facility in Detroit, Michigan, to manufacture vacuum insulated glass (VIG) window units, one of the highest energy efficient return-on-investment (ROI) options used to retrofit buildings.
MP Assets Corporation will build a project in Virginia, to manufacture lithium-ion battery separators important for electric vehicle supply chains.
Learn more about the seven projects selected for award
negotiations here.
MESC leads several of DOE’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law investments,
including the Advanced Energy Manufacturing and Recycling Program. Selection
for award negotiations is not a commitment by DOE to issue an award or provide
funding. Before funding is issued, DOE and the applicants will undergo a
negotiation process, and DOE may cancel negotiations and rescind the selection
for any reason during that time. DOE anticipates moving quickly on another
investment round in the U.S. advanced energy manufacturing sector to continue
accelerating domestic clean energy manufacturing.
Learn more about the MESC mission
to strengthen and secure energy supply chains as the frontline of clean energy
capital deployment.
Bridgeport Joins Growing Opposition to $225M United Illuminating Project
Sophia Muce
Bridgeport has joined Fairfield, preservationists, residents and business owners in questioning the “unreasonable” impacts of a proposed $225 million project by United Illuminating.
The utility company applied with the Connecticut Siting Council in March to replace its aging electric transmission lines with 100- to 135-foot monopoles along the Metro-North Railroad line in downtown Bridgeport, Fairfield and Southport.
In August, the town of Fairfield intervened in the application process, opposing the 8.6 acres of permanent easements in town required by the project. According to the company’s standard easement form, it would have the right “at any time” to fill, excavate and remove structures obstructing its work near hundreds of houses and businesses.
In addition to Fairfield, the National Trust for Historic Preservation and local environmental groups like Sasco Creek Neighbors Environmental Trust Inc. have intervened in the process. The project has also been staunchly opposed by officials including Sen. Richard Blumenthal, Rep. Jim Himes, State Sen. Tony Hwang, R-Fairfield, State Rep. Jennifer Leeper, D-Fairfield, State Rep. Sarah Keitt, D-Fairfield, First Selectman Bill Gerber and former First Selectwoman Brenda Kupchick.
But the City of Bridgeport, which would face about 10.7 acres of permanent easements under the proposal, did not intervene until a Tuesday council hearing.
Lee Hoffman, an attorney representing the city in United Illuminating’s application, said Bridgeport is concerned that the project would negatively impact future economic development, coastal resources, low-income residents and people of color.
“Bridgeport seeks to participate in these proceedings to prevent an unreasonable impact to its municipal interests and to the natural resources of the State including coastal and water resources,” Hoffman wrote in a Nov. 22 letter requesting party status from the council.
Given the potential impacts on the city’s tax revenue and a “material discriminatory impact” on the environmental justice community, Hoffman said, Bridgeport requested that the utility company consider other ways to strengthen its grid such as moving the transmission lines underground.
The city was not the first to suggest underground lines; many intervenors, including Fairfield, have all asked United Illuminating to consider alternatives. But the utility company said it already considered and rejected the underground option.
UI has estimated underground lines along the 7.3-mile project area would cost approximately $1 billion, take about a decade to construct and said the state — which currently leases the space on the New Haven line to the company for $877,500 per year — does not support the option. According to testimony from the state Department of Transportation, underground construction would interrupt railroad operations and interfere with existing state infrastructure.
But at the Tuesday hearing, Hoffman asked for special consideration of an alternative in Bridgeport alone.
“Why didn’t you consider undergrounding in Bridgeport only?” Hoffman asked.
UI project team members said that they analyzed the underground option for the entire stretch of the project, and gave no indication they would look further into Bridgeport’s request. The company’s director of environmental permitting and compliance, Todd Berman, noted that the city never requested that the lines be placed underground during the numerous meetings between Bridgeport and UI.
Similarly, the project team said they did not consider placing underground lines solely in historic areas.
In order to receive state approval, the company submitted a report identifying historic properties within the project area, including the Southport Historic District, the Mary and Eliza Freeman Houses in Bridgeport, and Southport Congregational Church. Of the 21 listed, the report named 12 properties that could be visually impacted by the monopoles due to planned vegetation clearing.
This month, the State Historic Preservation Office, National Trust and local historic preservationists called the report by Heritage Consultants, a firm hired by UI, into question, and maintained that the project will have adverse effects on historic properties. Several opponents have also insisted that the report is incomplete and does not identify all the potentially impacted properties.
But at the hearing, the company’s principal transmission engineer, MeeNa Sazanowicz, said placing the lines underground only around historic properties would not eliminate visual impacts, as some of the equipment would still need to be above ground to connect to nearby monopoles.
“In order to dip underground, we would still have to have the above-ground poles and riser structures,” Sazanowicz explained.
Attorney David Ball, representing Fairfield, continued to push for underground lines across the entire project area on Tuesday.
Ball questioned the project team on each benefit of the underground option, compared to their above-ground proposal. UI employees acknowledged that underground lines are generally less susceptible to weather-related outages, pose a lesser visual impact and require less vegetation removal.
As Ball continued to question the company’s original analysis of the underground option, UI attorney Bruce McDermott objected.
Fairfield and Bridgeport had the opportunity to question the contents of the application during earlier hearings, McDermott said, arguing that the parties have lost their chance to do so this late in the council’s process. He insisted that the municipalities should only question the UI panel on new document submissions.
Council Chair John Morissettee agreed, but Ball continued stressing the importance of an underground alternative.
“I’m simply trying to explore whether a few other alternatives were considered that might avoid a catastrophe in Fairfield, which is the taking of 19 acres of property,” Ball said.
In addition to Bridgeport and Fairfield, attorneys representing local businesses, residents, Southport Congregational Church and council members cross examined UI employees about their project at the two most recent hearings.
At the end of the Tuesday meeting, Morissettee extended the hearing to Dec. 12. Per state guidelines, the council must issue its decision by March.
School Construction Moves Forward in Madison, With Brief Debate Over Goals for Sustainability
Tim Leininger
MADISON – Plans to upgrade the HVAC system at Polson Middle School sparked a short debate about spending limits and the town’s goals for environmental sustainability at Monday night’s Board of Selectmen meeting.
The work at Polson Middle School and the new elementary school are part of a larger $89.2 million project approved by referendum in Feb. 2022. The new school budgeted for $61.15 million and improvements on Polson budgeted for $21.55 million. There is a third project for improvements on Brown Intermediate School, budgeted at $6.5 million.
By a vote of 4 to 0, with one abstention, the board approved a $935,000 bid for the Polson project by BL Companies, a local architectural and civil engineering firm.
The $935,000 is divided into three different projects as part of the improvements at Polson.
$170,000 is for auditorium upgrades; $135,000 for electrical power distribution upgrades; and $630,000 for modernization of the HVAC system.
“This was all part of the referendum,” said Democratic First Selectwoman Peggy Lyons..
Republican Selectman Bruce Wilson, who was the one abstention, voiced concerns that the HVAC project for Polson was at odds with the town’s strategic plan and vision for sustainable energy.
“I think it’s a mistake to invest in traditional HVAC equipment in a renovation of this scope and magnitude, especially with the other work scheduled to go on on the grounds,” he said. “I’m particularly struck that the working draft of our strategic plan repeatedly talks about sustainability and investing in the future and this… we’re committing the town to at least another 15 to 20 years of fossil fuel use and it is difficult for me to support that and the strategic plan at the same time.”
In response, Lyons said that although a more sustainable system would have been preferable, it didn’t warrant the added investment.
The town has been under significant pressure to reduce spending for school construction.
Elementary school update
Graham Curtis, chair of the New Elementary School Building Committee, provided an update on the progress on the new elementary school, telling the board that the architects had completed a design for the school, and were in the process of getting the final sign offs from the state.
“Hopefully in the next two weeks, we’ll be going out to bid with the main package,” Curtis said.
There had been problems with the project going over budget.
After grants and rebates, the $61.15 million project was initially estimated to cost the town about $48.7 million, but with inflation, and the addition of four classrooms to meet changing expectations for student enrollment, the project was $5.9 million over budget.
In June, the board approved the transfer of $3.5 million from the Polson project, which was under budget, to help offset the cost, leaving $2.4 million of costs unresolved
“The building committee is working really hard to get us back on budget,” Curtis said. “We came up with $1.8 million in reductions.”
The “reductions,” Curtis said, do not reduce the number of classrooms, nor do they reduce programming in the school.
“They’re on budget and back on schedule,” he said.
As it currently stands, Curtis said, the rest of the contracts will go out to bid in early 2024.
“Hopefully we’ll hit a favorable bidding market when we go out to bid,” he said, “and we can get positive bids.”
Curtis said that construction should commence in the spring and take about 15 months, finishing by spring 2025.
“Hopefully despite some bumps in the road we’ll be able to bring that in.”
CT Democrats pledge to keep on path to phasing out new gas cars
With choreographed expressions of contrition and determination, Gov. Ned Lamont and Democratic legislative leaders acknowledged Tuesday their failure to make a convincing case for phasing out sales of new gasoline-powered vehicles by 2035 and pledged to quickly find a new path forward.
In a crowded room in the state Capitol, administration officials and members of the Democratic majorities in the House and Senate offered a defense of the 2035 mandate— something that never came in October and November, when Republicans campaigned against it as bureaucratic overreach.
The display came a day after the Lamont administrations confirmed it did not have the votes for passage by the legislature’s bipartisan Regulation Review Committee of regulations that would have implemented a timetable for the transition to car and truck markets dominated by electric vehicles.
House Speaker Matt Ritter, D-Hartford, said he scheduled a caucus of the House Democratic majority for Monday, a sign legislative leaders were contemplating passage of a yet-to-be-defined zero-emissions bill in special session before the General Assembly returns for its annual session in February.
Connecticut must remain committed to the 2035 deadline, but only if residents can be assured that the phase-out of gasoline-powered vehicles is practical and will not be financially ruinous to consumers, Ritter said.
“Once you get off target, once you don’t have a goal, you will surely fail,” Ritter said. “But we have to do more. We have to demonstrate to the Connecticut residents that this switch not only will save the environment, save lives and save our planet, but not leave you in a position where you can no longer afford a vehicle.”
Implicit in Ritter’s remarks was a suggestion that the Lamont administration and the legislature’s Democratic majorities had failed to make those important assurances to the public.
Ritter, House Majority Leader Jason Rojas of East Hartford, Senate President Pro Tem Martin M. Looney of New Haven and Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff of Norwalk joined the governor and Katie Dykes, the commissioner of energy and environmental protection, to address what they insist is a setback, not a defeat.
The presence of the top legislative leaders was intended as a statement that Connecticut is not backing away from updated clean-air standards set by California and embraced by New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and other states, despite the failure to adopt regulations necessary for Connecticut to join them.
“We know that the gasoline-powered car is certainly on its way out. We will have all electric vehicles in the future. And we want to make that future happen as soon as we can. We also have to make sure that it happens in an equitable way, not leaving any community behind,” Looney said.
Looney blamed the failure to adopt the regulations on Republicans, ignoring the role of members of his own caucus.
“The Republican Party, unfortunately, is the party of no, without thought; no, without a plan,” Looney said, contrasting them with the Democratic majorities. “We have to plan. We have to think. We’re responsible for the state.”
But the administration withdrew the regulations only after concluding that two Senate Democrats on the Regulation Review Committee, Cathy Osten of Sprague and Joan Hartley of Waterbury, were prepared to vote with all seven Republicans against the regulations. (Osten was among the two dozen lawmakers at the press conference, but she made no remarks.)
The committee has seven Democrats and seven Republicans. A tie vote at the meeting Tuesday would have allowed the regulations to take effect next month.
Like the Republicans, Osten and Hartley said they were concerned about the affordability of electric vehicles, the availability of charging stations and the ability of the electric grid in Connecticut to supply adequate electricity.
Standing just feet from Looney, Ritter rebuked those who dismissed the concerns raised by Osten, Hartley and the Republicans.
“Our party sometimes has a wag-our-finger approach to individuals who may not always see it the same way,” Ritter said. “These are real concerns that can’t be just shooed away, they can’t be wished away. They have to be worked on.”
Ritter said his caucus has those same concerns, but he is confident they can be addressed.
One option is a bill that would endorse the 2035 timetable but require periodic reviews by the legislature about whether the EV market and infrastructure are sufficiently robust to meet the deadline. Such an approach, which had been privately suggested by some advocates, would assure lawmakers that the 2035 goal was realistic — or allow the state to change course.
“I think that’s what people need to know,” Ritter said.
Every state has two options: hewing to the California standards or the ones set by the federal Environmental Protection Agency. The EPA has set a less ambitious timetable for phasing out gas-powered cars.
Looney said the legislature should focus on a path forward, not a look at what went wrong.
“I don’t think there’s a need to point any fingers at those who did or did not advocate that effectively on this,” Looney said. “But I think what we need to point out is just that we now are in a better position to have an understanding of the key issues in this process.”
“I think the one thing that we learned today from that press conference is that, thank God, there’s Connecticut Republicans who are here being the voice of working- and middle-class families, of rural and urban communities, that have raised legitimate — and you’re hearing — they recognize these were legitimate concerns,” said Senate Minority Leader Kevin Kelly of Stratford.
“Certainly, I think moving forward, it was good to hear that they’re now going to start taking into consideration the affordability, the impact this is actually going to have on Connecticut residents. And we’re looking forward to that conversation,” said House Minority Leader Vincent J. Candelora of North Branford.
There was a surprise guest at the Democratic news conference: Steve Sullivan, the Eversource executive in charge of the utility’s Connecticut operations, whose presence at the invitation of the governor raised eyebrows. Eversource currently is battling utility regulators who serve at Lamont’s pleasure, complaining that a hostile regulatory environment is hobbling efforts to modernize the electric grid.
Jonathan Dach, the governor’s chief of staff, said Sullivan’s presence was intended to underscore the administration’s understanding that grid modernization is necessary to make the 2035 mandate achievable. Sullivan used the opportunity to double down on Eversource’s criticism of the regulators.
“Our customers and our residents all want the same thing: clean, reliable energy at an equitable cost. And the best path forward to achieve that is through a constructive regulatory environment,” Sullivan said. “A constructive regulatory environment enables a collaboration in the planning process, and a strategic partnership between the state and the utilities.”
Lamont did not disagree.
“Look, you have to be able to make the investments to make sure the power is there for the charging stations,” he said.
The administration adopted an “electric vehicle roadmap” in 2020 and a strategy to expand the availability of charging stations in 2022. The Public Utilities Regulatory Authority also has opened a docket on grid modernization.
But Sullivan said Connecticut lags other states.
Dykes, the commissioner behind the regulations, said the need to move away from internal combustion engines remains.
“Connecticut has some of the worst air quality in the country, and our kids in our vulnerable communities, especially environmental justice communities living near highways, industrial zones, are disproportionately experiencing asthma and respiratory illness, disruptive lives and high medical bills,” Dykes said.
$176B plan unveiled to rebuild Northeast rail corridor
The Northeast Corridor Commission — a coalition of Amtrak, commuter transit agencies, states and the U.S. Department of Transportation — announced Nov. 16 an ambitious 15-year plan to rebuild the Boston-New York City-Washington, D.C., rail line.
The plan is an update to one set out in 2021 that outlined repair needs, service goals and the necessary infrastructure to achieve those, and is estimated to cost $176 billion in inflation-adjusted, year-of-expenditure dollars.
“The Northeast Corridor is vital to hundreds of thousands of Americans and the American economy, and investing in it is a priority of the Biden-Harris Administration,” said Amit Bose, administrator of the Federal Railroad Administration and co-chair of the NEC Commission, in a statement.
Dive Insight:
Amtrak expects ridership along the Northeast Corridor to return to or exceed pre-pandemic levels by 2024. The NEC also carries the commuter trains of transit agencies serving Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia. Under the Commission’s latest plan, the NEC will handle 60% more commuter trains and 50% more Amtrak trains between Boston and New York City. The plan will also nearly double the number of Amtrak trains between New York City and Washington, D.C.
“Amtrak ridership on the Northeast Corridor is at all-time record levels, and the projects included in this plan will provide the capacity, reliability, and service improvements that our customers need and deserve,” Amtrak CEO Stephen Gardner said in a statement.
The planned improvements would accommodate 51 million more travelers each year, potentially shifting some 38 million car trips and 600,000 short-haul plane trips to rail each year, according to the Commission. The Northeast Corridor is electrified from Boston to Washington and west to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, although some commuter trains use diesel locomotives. In addition to shifting travel to rail’s more carbon-efficient transportation mode, upgrades to the NEC aim to improve its climate resiliency and make electric power systems less susceptible to outages in extreme weather.
The Federal Railroad Administration awarded $16.4 billion to 25 passenger rail projects in the Northeast Corridor on Nov. 6, funded by the Federal-State Partnership for Intercity Passenger Rail Program, which was established by the 2021 infrastructure law. Those projects are included in the Commission’s latest plan. The infrastructure law provided additional funding, which is expected to account for about a third of the available funding for the NEC plan. In total, approximately 40% of the estimated cost of the Commission’s plan is funded through existing or expected federal, state and local sources.
According to the Commission, the corridor’s collective jurisdictions will work with the Commission on regional improvements. The plan includes detailed sequencing of construction that can allow for completion within 15 years with minimal disruption to riders.
“Amtrak, the states, and the federal government all recognize the importance of the Northeast Corridor to the regional and national economy,” said Northeast Corridor Commission Executive Director Mitch Warren in a statement.
Final Anaconda building in Waterbury razed, environmental tests of 20-acre site to continue
STEVE BIGHAM
WATERBURY – The razing of the third and final building of the former Anaconda American Brass Co. factory complex is nearing completion just over a month after demolition crews first converged on the site at 170 Freight St.
Six excavators were in operation Tuesday, taking down the last skeletal remains of what was the first large brass manufacturing firm in the United States and, for much of its existence, the country’s largest brass manufacturer.
Manafort Brothers of Plainville is doing the demolition work on the 20-acre brownfield through a contract with the city.
“Demolition began in mid October, they’ve made great progress and we expect the entire building to be down over the next two weeks,” said Tommy Hyde, CEO of Naugatuck Valley Regional Development Corp.
The city is looking to transform the property into a mixed-use, transit-oriented development. Hyde said more environmental work still needs to be done.
“We had trouble getting some of the test borings in because of the building and its location, so we’ll do additional sampling once the building is down,” Hyde said.
The city already demolished buildings at 130 Freight St. and 000 West Main St., both also once part of Anaconda. Hyde said those two properties require additional environmental testing, and are subject to state and federal guidelines beyond those at 170 Freight St.
The city held a news conference marking the start of demolition in October, hailing it as an opportunity to transform a blighted, contaminated property into a potential hub for jobs and economic growth.
Mayor Neil M. O’Leary said the city lobbied hard for federal funding to transform the site. He said the property will dictate the next chapter for Waterbury, noting its location as a 5-minute walk to the Metro-North train station, 3-minute walk to the Naugatuck River Greenway, and next to Route 8 and Interstate 84.
Waterbury is in the process of transforming more than a dozen brownfield sites across the city. To date, more than $30 million in federal and state grants have been invested in the redevelopment of the Freight Street property and surrounding infrastructure.
Medical campus eyed for 40-acre site in Waterbury
LIVI STANFORD
WATERBURY – Plans are underway on a long-term project to construct a medical campus behind BJ’s on Reidville Drive and the residential development off of Saddle Rock Road, which city officials said will spur economic growth.
“I believe the end result is not only to bring people to the area but also to create a large number of jobs in the medical field,” said Joe McGrath, the city’s economic development director. “It is a great asset to the city. It is a very populated and busy area.”
In January of this year, the city’s Zoning Commission approved changing the designation of the 40-acre site from single-family residential to commercial and supporting the project.
The property is owned by 84 Vistas LLC, whose principals include developers Curt Jones, Joe Pisani, and Robert LaFlamme.
Pisani said the first step in the project is clearing the trees, followed by land preparation. He said the project could take a couple of years to complete.
“The long-term economic goal is to entice medical uses, which right now is very high in demand for medical space,” he said.
The proposed medical campus will consist of four buildings varying in size, the largest at 100,000 square feet, with all the buildings arranged in a block with a shared parking space, said Robert Nerney, city planner.
McGrath said there are certainly challenges with the project.
“It is a challenging area to develop because of the rock and ledge,” he said, as the property is located on a cliff behind BJ’s. “It is going to take some time to do that.”
The project has a long history dating back to 2016 when Eighty-Four Vistas first acquired an easement from the city, allowing it to build an entrance from Interstate Lane as city regulations prohibit a commercial development from being accessed via a residential street.
But at the time, East Mountain neighbors contested the zone change from residential to commercial, arguing it would change the residential character of the area. Ultimately, the Zoning Commission approved the plan.
Still, Catherine Brunnock and her husband, retired probate Judge Thomas P. Brunnock, who lived on Split Rock Drive, filed a lawsuit, with the court ruling in their favor that 84 Vistas’ acquirement of an easement does not meet the frontage requirement in the city’s zoning regulations.
Eighty-four Vistas LLC addressed the frontage requirement by buying a parcel of land from the city on Interstate Lane, the main road to the medical campus.
“We are able to prohibit any kind of traffic from the neighborhood at Split Rock Road,” said Pisani.
Brewer Street Bridge in East Hartford now expected to reopen in May due to unanticipated delays
EAST HARTFORD — Originally scheduled to reopen in November, construction on the Brewer Street Bridge near the Pratt & Whitney campus has been suspended until the spring due to unanticipated delays and temperature restrictions.
The bridge, which spans Pewterpot Brook, closed on May 1. It is now expected to reopen in May 2024.
"A gas main, a water main, and several dozen communication conduits had to be relocated between the bridge beams as part of the project," Town Engineer Douglas Wilson said.
Wilson said that the construction is a "full bridge replacement project" with new foundations. Utility lines, which used to block the waterways, had to be relocated between the bridge beams above the water elevation.
The abutments have been built and the wings walls and beams have been set, Wilson said, and most of the utility lines have been hung. The concrete deck still needs to be poured, but with winter weather setting in, the temperatures are not optimal now.
Wilson said that the new bridge will span 24 feet, whereas the original bridge was 15 feet.
The bridge was originally built in 1938 and was modified in the 1960s, Wilson said, when concrete deck sections were added to the north and south of it.
Construction on the bridge is expected to resume in April, as that month is typically the end of the winter shutdown, when temperatures are most favorable for construction.
"Asphalt plants also are closed for the winter and reopen in April," Wilson said.
The reconstruction is part of an $8 million road project that goes from Main Street to Jefferson Lane, Wilson said. It includes a new traffic signal at the intersection of Brewer Street and Contractors and Glenn roads, as well as an intersection change at Main and Brewer streets, where there will be new sidewalks, new storm drainage, and road reconstruction.
Wilson said that more than 90 percent of the funding for the project is being provided by state and federal programs, with the town's Road Improvement Program covering the remaining amount, so there is no specific property tax increase tied to the project.
The Road Improvement Program, which is funded by bond referendums, was created in 2003 to address the conditions of the town's roadways.
West Hartford nonprofit breaks ground on $100M affordable housing project for Starkel Road campus
WEST HARTFORD — In a town where new housing developments are coming to all corners, one uniquely stands out among the rest.
West Hartford Fellowship Housing, a nonprofit that for over 50 years has provided low-income housing for an older population and to people with disabilities, broke ground on a sweeping and transformative $100 million project that will modernize and expand upon its Starkel Road campus, ultimately providing 300 total units of in-demand housing.
Mayor Shari Cantor said that enhancing the property, which is on town-owned land, has been a long time coming.
"I am really, really excited and touched to be here because this has been a long road," Cantor said on Tuesday. "It is sort of a culmination of the commitment of the town to provide affordable housing, respect and dignity for really a treasured group of residents."
Teresa Adamczyk is one of those residents who will soon reap the benefits of the project, which will include larger units and modern amenities in all the new apartments. She's particularly excited about having a new kitchen.
"I'm so excited," Adamczyk said. "I'm the first one to cheer for this. I've been waiting, waiting, waiting a long time. They've been talking about this for awhile. I'm looking forward to a regular kitchen and excellent windows. I cannot explain how excited I am. I want it to be done tomorrow."
Claire Buck has lived on the property for nine years now. She said she's happy to hear that the apartments will be 80 to 110 percent bigger than what is currently offered.
"I've really enjoyed it," Buck said of the community, which is centrally located in Bishop's Corner and just across the street from a grocery store and branches of the town's senior center and library. "I just think the community is just fantastic. I can't wait until this project is finished though because I really want to get into those bigger apartments. Right now, they're small, they don't accommodate that much."
The plans will replace 23 of the 24 buildings on site with six new buildings. Construction will be done in four phases, with the first estimated to take about 18 months. All residents living in those units have been given new accommodations in the meantime and will move into the new apartments when they're finished. When all work is finished, there will be 87 more units than when things started, which will help alleviate their waiting list.
And when they walk into those new apartments, they'll be greeted by more accessible and energy efficient homes, according to Mark Garilli, the nonprofit's executive director.
"They're going to walk into almost double the size of the units they're in today," Garilli said. "You think about, as we're aging in place and the need for more accessibility, more room to make turnarounds if folks need walking-assisted devices, that takes up space in your room. If you need a caregiver to come, you've got room to make that happen. Right now, the units are so small it doesn't really afford that opportunity. We think the opportunity with the new buildings will afford our residents more independence."
West Hartford's commitment to keep West Hartford Fellowship Housing what it's been since 1970 by issuing a 99-year lease agreement earlier this year marks an investment in affordable housing for a vulnerable population. The town, which is currently reviewing its new affordable housing plan, has set a goal to have 10 percent of its housing stock be considered affordable. Those types of units have appeared across town in the last few years, with most recent additions being properties managed by the West Hartford Housing Authority on New Park Avenue and the recent approval that will transform a former synagogue into affordable housing. The West Hartford Inn is also marked to become affordable housing.
"Fifty years ago the town had the vision and the strength and the courage to give some very valuable land for the most important reason — for people to live in safety and in dignity," Cantor said. "The potential for this to be a market rate development and to do something else was real for a period of time. The recommitment of the partners is to make sure this place ... remains a high-quality project."
New Haven gets $7.5 million to improve Grand Avenue
NEW HAVEN, Conn. (WTNH) — Some big changes are coming to Grand Avenue in New Haven.
On Tuesday, city and state leaders announced millions in grants and investments will go toward two major revitalization projects aimed at improving Grand Avenue.
More than $7.5 million will improve a 1.5-mile stretch of Grand Avenue in the Fair Haven, Mill River and Wooster Square neighborhoods.
“The community for many years has been crying for some improvements in Fair Haven, and now is the opportunity. We’re going to make our streets safer and this improvement couldn’t have been done without everyone involved,” State Rep. Juan Candelaria (D-District 95).
The first phase of the revitalization project will focus on roadway enhancements: including repaving and traffic calming improvements along the busy and dangerous stretch of road.
“The moment I step out of my school, I see a lot of commotion involving the cars speeding or while crossing the street. It can sometimes be dangerous with kids crossing the road in the morning, said Fair Haven School eighth grader Nathalia Marcano Gutierrez.
Grand Avenue has one of the highest crash fatality rates in the city.
“It’s important to make these investments while having the kids in mind and think about their future, “Marcano Gutierrez said.
The second phase of the project will include streetscape improvements: sidewalk upgrades, new signage, lighting, trees and planters.
“The third phase is this new public plaza that we’re going to be built at the corner of Grand Avenue and Poplar, which is currently a parking lot,” New Mayor Justin Elicker said.
The improvements are meant to enliven and activate the corridor. The project is expected to take 3 years to complete.
The City of New Haven also announced that the vacant Strong School site will be turned into 58 new affordable housing units. The full statement can be found below.
“New Haven will officially formalize the Development and Land Use Agreement (DLDA) with Pennrose LLC and the Cloud Company, the development partners that will convert and expand the historic and long-vacant Strong School, located at 69 Grand Avenue, into 58 new affordable housing units and a community art space, all within an LGBTQ-friendly environment. The $27 million project will begin in late 2024 and construction will take 18 – 24 months to complete.”
The plans for Grand Avenue may also be viewed here.
Church Street South Futures Floated
LAURA GLESBY
A plan to rebuild at the site of the old Church Street South apartments will bring a new start not only for the neighbors still living in the Hill, but also for the people who lived there until hazardous conditions forced them out.
After Church Street South residents were forced to leave their homes when the apartment complex was condemned, they secured an agreement from the then-landlord that they could someday move back to redeveloped apartments at that address.
At a public meeting on Monday evening that drew sixty people from the Hill and beyond to High School in the Community, the property’s new owner, Elm City Communities/Housing Authority of New Haven, assured attendees that that promise to former residents still stands.
ECC leaders also announced that it will demolish and redevelop the adjacent 93-unit Robert T. Wolfe building, which is still operating as public housing for elderly and disabled tenants. Tenants in those apartments, too, are guaranteed housing in the to-be-developed apartments.
On Nov. 13, Elm City Communities (also known as ECC, the Housing Authority of New Haven and its nonprofit affiliates) spent $21 million purchasing the 8.27-acre property from the Massachusetts-based Northland Investment Corp., the landlord that owned the property at the time of the historic apartment complex’s demise.
“This is a huge site, an important site, and we want to be intentional,” said ECC Executive Vice President Shenae Draughn.
The now-demolished private affordable housing complex once comprised 301 apartments, which housed generations of New Haveners. Church Street South often made the news for its reputation as a site of drugs and violence, and eventually for the long-brewing mold and structural problems that gave numerous residents chronic asthma. But to many former Church Street South residents, the apartments were a site of strong friendships and community networks, of matchbox car races, hide-and-seek games, double-dutch teams, and block parties at the height of hip hop’s rise.
When local and federal government agencies declared the apartments uninhabitable in 2015, the residents were forced to relocate, their community dispersed. Eventually, more than a thousand former tenants sued the landlord, Northland Investment Corporation, and received an $18.75 million settlement.
Though Northland initially sought to redevelop the site into 1,000 new apartments, with 300 set aside at affordable rents, its plans stalled for years, leaving the property’s future in limbo until Elm City Communities purchased it this month.
Monday’s meeting marked the first of many planned public conversations over the course of the next year about what the vacant expanse across from Union Station could potentially become. That planning process is supported by a $500,000 federal Housing and Urban Development (HUD) department Choice Neighborhood Implementation planning grant. The agency plans to submit the outcome of many planning sessions and community conversations about Church Street South to HUD in November 2024 to try to secure more funds to actually build on the site.
Former Hill Alder Dolores Colon, who worked with Church Street South residents to advocate for better conditions while she was in office, questioned the amount of money that the Housing Authority paid to Northland. “The price is $21 million,” she said. “How was that price determined? Was this an opportunity [for Northland] to recoup losses from the lawsuit?”
Draughn replied that the $21 million figure arose from a variety of factors. If, for example, ECC were to build 1,000 units on the site, that purchase price would be divided into about $21,000 per unit. “That is money we can make up,” Draughn said.
“This is a prime piece of property,” she added — especially given its proximity to Union Station just across the street.
And finally, “if there was an outside developer that came in, you may not see a lot of affordable housing.” ECC’s purchase of the property ensures that much of the housing units there remain accessible to residents making lower incomes, she argued.
ECC leadership informed meeting attendees that they plan to work alongside the city’s Hill-to-Downtown vision of a more walkable, “transit-oriented” accessible route between between Union Station and its adjacent neighborhoods.
For now, Elm City Communities has few constraints or specific plans in mind for the development, which it plans to rename “Union Square.” The only certain thing is that the site will include ample housing units for low and very-low income tenants alongside market-rate units.
“We are dreaming this together,” said ECC President Karen DuBois-Walton. She prompted the room to offer suggestions for the site. “If you are a little [kid], what would you hope that community has?” And for people who work every day, who are aging, who live with a disability? “I wish I had that in my neighborhood — what’s on that list?”
“Exercise rooms!” called out Leticia Counsel, whose mom lives in Robert T. Wolfe. Counsel said she’s observed flooding in the backyard; when she raised this problem at the meeting, DuBois-Walton said that the Housing Authority will still invest in maintenance repairs at Robert T. Wolfe up until its demolition, and that the new buildings will be constructed with attention to rising sea levels.
“Trader Joes!” whispered Carmen Rodriguez, who represents the ward including “Union Square” on the Board of Alders, to the others at her table.
She later raised her hand. “We have previously heard there was gonna be commercial space on the bottom,” she said. She suggested that some space be allotted for young people living in the building to use for businesses. For instance, “If they wanted to start a cafe. Then, they’re building wealth.”
“Will residents have a chance to own?” asked Davante Mallard, a developer who grew up in the Hill.
“We are looking at that,” replied Draughn.
“I’m big on the ownership piece,” Mallard said later. In a largely Black and Brown neighborhood affected by redlining and predatory lending over the last century, having homeownership opportunities would “give our community a jump start in building that wealth.”
“Don’t forget the elderly,” piped up Thomasine Shaw. “I want to see them there.”
Throughout the meeting, attendees continued to raise questions about who would have the chance to actually live in the new buildings.
Andrew Giering urged Elm City Communities to provide housing for former Church Street South residents who lived there within as broad a span of time as possible, and “not just the folks who stuck to the bitter end.”
“Is their priority for New Haven residents?” asked Georgia James. She particularly had in mind people who have been on ECC’s housing waitlist, which as of October was about 30,000 households long and isn’t just limited to New Haven residents.
“Anything we build that’s affordable, we go to the wait list we already have,” responded DuBois-Walton.
James later said she asked the question because she knows a family who’s been on that waitlist for 5 years.