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Public Works
A project-by-project update of the region's biggest big-ticket developments
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Business New Haven
7/13/1998
By: Linda Mele
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Harbour Place, Bridgeport
The $200-plus million Harbour Place development in Bridgeport is expected to generate about $20 million in taxes, 12,000 construction jobs and 7,000 permanent full- and part-time jobs.
The city is currently in the final stages of acquiring the 50 acres needed to construct one million square feet of retail space, a 12-screen theater, a large-screen circular theater, high-speed ferry service, two office buildings, three hotels, a marina, a floating cruise ship boasting a restaurant and hotel and a New England fishing village.
The project is being developed by Alex Conroy of Greenwich and funded by local and state money. Construction is expected to be done in phases, beginning within 18 months and taking about six years to complete.
Saw Mill Road, West Haven
The first phase of an 84-acre redevelopment project being developed by Devcon Enterprises of West Hartford is on target.
Acquisition of two parcels totaling 23 acres near Exit 42 off I-95 is nearly complete. Buildings on a five-acre tract on the corner of Allings Crossing and Saw Mill roads were already torn down by the city, demolition on the buildings on an 18-acre parcel across the street between Denny's and St. Louis Church should start by early September, and the project is slated to be turned over to the developer on January 1, 1999.
About 38 percent of the nearly 200 people who have already been relocated moved out of West Haven.
The project will encompass up to 225,000 square feet of commercial and retail space, including a suites-type hotel, a large pharmacy and a steak house, according to West Haven officials.
The developer is investing an estimated $28.5 million, $3.5 million of which will be paid to the city to reduce its total acquisition, demolition and relocation costs of $9.1 million.
The city is also seeking $2.8 million in state funding.
Long Wharf, New Haven
Development of the $431 million “Marketplace at Long Wharf” is proceeding, albeit slowly.
The Newton, Mass.-based New England Development and New Haven's Fusco Corp. are finishing up the negotiations to acquire the 19-acre Pirelli Armstrong Tire Corp. site and 50 Brewery Street, home of a 200,000-square-foot U.S. Postal Service facility.
Earlier this year, the city announced that Nordstrom's and Macy's would in all likelihood be two of the three or four anchor stores, to be joined by 150 upscale specialty stores in the one-million-plus-square-foot mall.
Developers announced earlier this year that the issues of where to relocate the post office and what to do with the architecturally significant Pirelli building had been solved. The Pirelli building would become part of the project, and the post office would move into it. A new USPS vehicle storage/maintenance facility would be built behind the landmark structure.
The success of the project is also dependent, however, on several other projects, including the reconfiguration of I-95 at Long Wharf, the widening of the Pearl Harbor Memorial Bridge and linking downtown to the whole project via an extension of Church Street South.
Funding for these projects is still by no means guaranteed, even though the state pledged some $60 million in special tax financing and grants in June and the city has been promised $19.5 million in federal highway funds.
The bridge renovation project is still on the drawing board.
The project is expected to generate nearly 1,000 construction jobs, more than 2,000 permanent full- and part-time jobs, and as much as $7 million in annual taxes for local and state governments.
Electric Generating Plant, Meriden
A $250 million, privately funded electric generating plant is being proposed for an 821-acre parcel in the north end of the city formerly owned by Meadow Haven Inc. and slated for residential development.
Known as Summitwood, a planned development for up to 7,000 people, the site was lost by Meadow Haven when it recently emerged from bankruptcy.
Texas-based El Paso Energy Corp. and Boston-based Power Development Corp. want to construct a 544-megawatt, natural gas-fired generating plant on about 30 acres. The remaining acreage, including a portion of the Metacomet Trail, would be preserved as open space.
The company has begun the application process through the state's Department of Public Utility Control (DPUC) and, if approved, would begin construction next spring and be online by early 2001.
It would be the single largest investment in the history of the Silver City, generating as much as $4 million in taxes and up to 40 permanent jobs. The project would also generate hundreds of temporary construction jobs.
Amtrak High-Speed Rail Project
Work on Amtrak's $2.4 billion high-speed, electric train service between Boston and New York continues.
Installation of poles between Old Saybrook and East Haven is complete; new freight sidings will be built in Guilford, North Branford, Clinton and Branford; and electric sub-stations are being constructed in Old Saybrook, Guilford, Branford and Clinton.
Another $18 million is being spent to renovate the Old Saybrook station.
The project will allow up to 34 trains per day travel between Boston and New York at speeds of up to 125 m.p.h., and is on schedule to begin service next June.
Science Park, New Haven
With Gov. John Rowland's June 24 announcement of a $100 million plan to rescue the long-suffering incubator, Science Park may yet become the state's biotech nerve center.
The plan would raze 38 buildings at the former U.S. Repeating Arms Co./Winchester and Olin Corp. site at a cost of $7.4 million.
A combination office/lab facility would be built for $5 million and a 50,000-square-foot light industry complex would also be constructed for $2.4 million. The combined project is expected to generate more than 200 jobs.
In addition, about $86 million will be spent to build more than 600 units of affordable and rental housing in adjacent neighborhoods.
Yale University has also agreed to subsidize operating losses over the next two years to the tune of about $600,000, and the city of New Haven has committed to a two-year tax relief program.
Funding will be provided by long-term, interest-free loans from the Connecticut Housing Finance Authority (CHFA), HUD grants, private investors and the state's Department of Economic & Community Development.
Work will be undertaken in three phases, and is expected to be finished by the end of 2001.
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