CT Approves $1 Billion In Bonding For Projects

CONNECTICUT — About $1 billion in state bonding was approved Thursday to finance projects throughout the state.

There weren’t a lot of new bold initiatives in the Bond Commission approval round, Gov. Ned Lamont said.

“We're taking care of chores, taking care of a lot of our older state buildings, facilities, upgrading our schools, especially with an eye on a security given we're coming up on the 10th anniversary of Sandy Hook,” Lamont said.

About half of the approved money will go toward maintaining Connecticut roads and bridges, Lamont said.

Connecticut is also in a good position if there is an economic downturn thanks to the rainy day fund being full, he said. He credited the 2017 bipartisan state budget for establishing the state’s volatility cap. Previously, the state would spend volatile revenue like capital gains taxes on reoccurring expenses, only to be in a budget hole when the market went into a downturn.

The state legislature will decide whether to extend the 2017 rules in the upcoming session.

“I've gotten a lot of very positive feedback from the legislature that they plan to continue that for at least another five plus years,” he said.

The Bond Commission meeting was the last for outgoing State Treasurer Sean Wooden, who didn’t run for re-election.

“We are on the right path, the story of Connecticut on Wall Street, nationally and right here in Connecticut is a different narrative in terms of our fiscal trajectory,” Wooden said during the meeting.

The state has received five credit rating upgrades over the past five years, Wooden said. There is strong demand for Connecticut bonds among both retail and investment firms, which means the state can borrow at lower interest rates and save taxpayers millions of dollars over the years.

“Connecticut is in a new place that we haven’t been in, and we should be proud of that,” Wooden said.

One of the big ticket items was the approval of more than $76 million to finance projects through the Community Investment Fund 2030. The projects were approved by the CIF board in September.

The program was created during the 2021 legislative session to invest in capital projects and small business support programs in historically underserved communities, said Matt Pugliese, director of CIF under the Department of Economic and Community Development.

$10 million was approved for Dixwell Plaza redevelopment in New Haven under Conncorp. It includes 150 new housing units, 20 percent of which are affordable.

The overall project is a $200 million investment, said Erik Clemons, CEO of Conncorp. The project also includes a child care facility, 15-restaurant foot hall, 60,000 square feet of office space, job training programs and a supermarket.

Another $12 million will go to help remediate brownfield sites in Middletown, and $4.5 million will go to the North Hartford Collaborative to help with neighborhood development.

Other larger approved items include:

• $40 million for the University of Connecticut Health Center to finance deferred maintenance needs.
• $34.5 million for various IT upgrades for state departments.
• $1.2 million to reimburse local police departments for body camera and dash camera purchases.
• Funding for capital equipment purchases at Connecticut technical high schools.