English Bulldog Puppies for Sale in Waterbury, CT

WATERBURY — A city-based nonprofit developer of affordable housing is proposing to build 63 "contemporary farmhouse residences" for working families on a former horse farm on Waterbury's town line with Prospect.

NEST has partnered with Meriden-based Carabetta Development on a “workforce housing” proposal called Forest Hills that it describes as "a visionary oasis" to be nestled on a mostly wooded 30-acre property off the northern side of Route 69.

If approved, the two- and three-bedroom homes in the Forest Hills development will be priced between 80% and 120% of the area median income to be affordable for working people, said Kevin Taylor, executive director of NEST, a nonprofit community development organization dedicated to expanding home ownership opportunities and revitalizing neighborhoods.

He said the Forest Hills project is the largest housing development that NEST has proposed since its founding as Neighborhood Housing Services of Waterbury in 1980.

NEST is seeking approval for a special exception for the Forest Hills project under the city's zoning regulations for residential campus developments.

The City Planning Commission has scheduled a public hearing on the Forest Hills application for May 14. The Inland Wetlands and Watercourses Commission approved a wetlands permit for the project at its April 2 meeting.

Because the proposed development site is within 500 feet of the Prospect town line, state law required referrals to Prospect's Inland Wetlands and Watercourses Commission and Planning and Zoning Commission.

The Inland Wetlands and Watercourses Commission reviewed the Forest Hill plan on Monday, and it posed no concerns because none of the wetlands on the property are located in Prospect, said Mary Barton, Prospect's land use inspector. The Planning and Zoning Commission will conduct an informational hearing on the project on May 7, she said.

NEST has negotiated a sales agreement with the owner of the property, Sunrise Farm LLC, and NEST and Carabetta Development will develop the affordable housing project, Taylor said. NEST will also offer housing education and counseling to home buyers, he said.

"If all goes well, we're looking to break ground in November," he said. The zoning application states the project is expected to take five to six months to complete.

Taylor and other NEST representatives have been meeting with the East Mountain Neighborhood Association to share plans for the Forest Hills project and discuss neighborhood concerns since last October.

Traffic volume and safety remain top concerns for home owners in the surrounding Waterbury neighborhoods, said Robert McGovern, president of the East Mountain Neighborhood Association. They question if an already busy Route 69 can safely handle the additional traffic from Forest Hills development, he said.

City planning officials said they are awaiting a traffic study for the 63-home plan.

McGovern said East Mountain homeowners have also been concerned that increased water use by the 63 planned single-family homes will cause water pressure to drop in their neighborhoods. Taylor advised the homeowners association last month that water pressure will not be affected.

Taylor said NEST has made changes to its plans based on its consultations with the East Mountain Neighborhood Association, including reducing the number of proposed building lots from 98 to 63.

In 2008, the city had granted wetlands and zoning approvals for the construction of cluster development of 71 residences on the 30-acre property where NEST proposes to develop Forest Hills, but project did not move forward.

The bulk of the 30-acre parcel is vacant and undeveloped, and a majority of the property is wooded, according to the application. It was previously mined for sand and gravel. There is a small equestrian paddock in the front southwestern corner of the property.

The development site is on the northern side of Route 69, and it is bordered by Bateswood Drive on the west and and Greenwood Road to the east in Prospect. City-owned open space parcels and the Reidville Industrial Park occupy lands to the north of the site in Waterbury.

The Pond Place Medical Center is on the adjacent commercial lot to the east of the proposed entrance and exit on Route 69, The plans call for a gated entrance on Greenwood Driver for emergency access only.

The plans for Forest Hills call for the construction of 63 single-family homes consisting of 27 two-bedroom homes and 36 three-bedroom homes, a community center with a kitchen, gathering space, and game and fitness rooms, and walking trails. There will be five designs for the "contemporary farmhouse residences" that NEST and Carabetta Development propose to build.

The development will also involve the construction of 4,065 liner feet of private roadway.

Taylor said NEST does not yet have a cost estimate for the houses. He encouraged anyone interested in possibly buying a home in Forest Hills to look into applying online at www.nestct.org/foresthills

WATERBURY — After three years of eager anticipation, online retail giant Amazon is on its way to delivering on a towering and massive state-of-the-art warehouse and distribution center to Waterbury and Naugatuck.

The announcement on April 21 that Amazon.com Services officially closed on the purchase of the 157-acre project site in the Waterbury-Naugatuck Industrial Park put the planned fulfillment center on the road to realization at long last.

With the logistics hub, Amazon is also expected to bring the equivalent of up to 1,000 full-time jobs to a part of the state with the highest regional rate of unemployment. The construction of the five-story, 3.2 million-square-foot building is additionally anticipated to create 300 construction jobs.

The tax bases of the city of Waterbury and the borough of Naugatuck are going to get a boost, and their local economies, too. The project site extends over Waterbury's southern border into Naugatuck. The two municipalities have agreed to evenly split the property tax revenue from the Amazon fulfillment center.

No construction timetable has been announced yet. The project developer has three years to complete construction under its contract, but can request two extensions totaling 18 months. Waterbury and Naugatuck officials have been advised Amazon is looking to have the fulfillment center up and running in 2027.

Work on preparing the 157 acres of hilly, rocky and wooded undeveloped land for construction of the Amazon fulfillment center is expected to start shortly. Building officials in Waterbury and Naugatuck are reviewing permit applications for this preliminary site work.

The initial site work will include construction of an access road to the project site and a retaining wall that will wrap the perimeter of the planned truck court. Applications for demolition and excavation permits will follow next, and then finally permits for the construction of the five-story, 3.2-million square-foot building once the site is readied for construction.

Once opened, the Amazon distribution center will operate 24-hours-a-day, year-round. As planned, the building will have 59 tractor-trailer bays and loading docks, and it will be equipped with the latest robotics and AI technologies to assist employees store, pick and pack goods for delivery. The plans call for a parking lot of about 600 parking spaces and a two-level parking deck with about 400 spaces.

Picking off problems one at a time

The milestone announcement on Monday that the project site had been purchased came more than three years after then- Waterbury Mayor Neil O’Leary, Naugatuck Mayor N. Warren “Pete” Hess and Gov. Ned Lamont announced Pennsylvania-based Bluewater Property Group had been selected to develop a plan for a logistics center for Amazon in the Waterbury-Naugatuck Industrial Park.

This much cheered 2022 announcement had come with a caution that much due diligence and work still had to be done to make the Amazon project happen, including needed approvals on the state and local levels. Subsequent developments underscored reason for the caveat, including a post-pandemic environment that created delays for the Amazon project.

Waterbury ended up giving Bluewater two extensions to to complete the sale and close on the property. In between, the city and Naugatuck granted wetlands and zoning approvals for the project.

Waterbury Mayor Paul K. Pernerewski Jr. said the extensions created doubt and concerns in some quarters that Amazon might pull out, and the unease was exacerbated by Amazon closing or scrapping plans for numerous fulfillment centers and delivery stations in 2022 and 2023.

"That gave some people pause that they weren't going to go forward," he said.

Amazon had also been pursuing local approvals for construction of a 97,954-square-foot "last mile" delivery center on a 20-acre East Main Street property on the city's border with Cheshire at the time the plan for the much larger fulfillment center project in the Waterbury-Naugatuck Industrial Park was announced. That smaller project did not move forward.

But Waterbury and Naugatuck officials were encouraged through the delays and other business developments by the level of interest Amazon continued to express in the Waterbury-Naugatuck Industrial Park site, and also because while Amazon was scaling back elsewhere the company's reasons for requesting the extensions were unrelated to its moves to streamline its logistics network.

Bluewater representatives had said a construction feasibility analysis and the final design for the fulfillment center were taking longer due an uncertain economic climate and what they described as complicated and challenging site conditions, including the topography and rock conditions

"We remained hopeful that they were trying to straighten things out, and that's what happened. They came back last year ready to pull the trigger, and obviously we were able to close on Monday," Pernerewski said.

Hess said he had some moments of uncertainty, but there always are ups and downs with development projects of the magnitude of what Amazon proposed in Waterbury and Naugatuck.

"I would say for the last 18 months Amazon, Bluewater, Naugatuck and Waterbury have been picking off problems one at time to get to the point where they can get their approvals, building permits, and everything they need in order to build the building," Hess said. "I guess it took a few months longer than anticipated, but not that much longer. It is a huge project."

One remaining piece of unfinished business is the sale of 17.3 acres of city-owned land in Naugatuck to Amazon. The Board of Aldermen earlier this month scrapped a planned public hearing on the proposed $325,000 sale because Amazon required more time. Pernerewski said he expects this sale will be successfully concluded in the near future. In addition to the Board of Aldermen, the city's Board of Public Works must also conduct a hearing and vote on the land sale.

The city had granted Bluewater Property Group an easement over the parcel for an access drive to the planned the Amazon fulfillment center. City officials later offered to sell the land to Amazon after they determined the lot would have limited development opportunities due to being divided by the access road and the difficult topography on its remaining sections. The city and the company negotiated the $325,000 sales price.

An application for a major traffic generator permit is also pending before the DOT. State law requires certain large developments to get permits from the Office of State Traffic Administration. The Amazon fulfillment center meets the statutory criteria.

The access to the Amazon fufillment center will be via Sheridan Drive and Great Hill Road in Naugatuck. Bluewater traffic engineers reported that 90% of the traffic to and from the site would be from employees, with only 10% truck traffic.

More recently, the Board of Aldermen in Waterbury and the Board of Mayor and Burgesses in Naugatuck approved amendments to an intermunicipal agreement concerning the Amazon project clarifying the sharing of municipal oversight and services between the city and the borough, including building inspections and the provision of fire services.

Pernerewski and Hess said Waterbury and Naugatuck have retained two land-use and construction consultants to advise and assist local officials, and Amazon is paying the cost for each. One of the advisers is retired Waterbury building inspector E. Gil Graveline, who has been retained to serve as a part-time liaison to Bluewater and Amazon for Waterbury and Naugatuck building departments.

Bluewater representatives have said the Amazon fulfillment center will have an estimated tax assessment of more than $200 million. Hess has projected that taxes would add about $2.5 million in revenue for each municipality.

Waterbury and Naugatuck have agreed to evenly divide the revenue from the real estate and personal property taxes on machinery and equipment. The city and the borough will each apply its local tax rate to the portions of the land, the building, and equipment located within its borders. Roughly 115 acres of the project site is situated in Waterbury and 52 acres in Naugatuck.

Waterbury and Naugatuck officials had explored the possibility of using Waterbury's higher mill rate to tax the Amazon fulfillment center, but state law would not allow it.

The current tax rate for Naugatuck is 41.79 mills, and the Waterbury rate is 49.44 mills. A mill is equal to $1 for every $1,000 of assessed property value, and property taxes are based on 70% of appraised market value. The city and the borough will be adopting new tax rates for the upcoming budget year. Pernerewski proposed a rate of 44.98 mills and and Hess recommended a rate of 39.79 mills based on recent grand list revaluations in both municipalities.

Amazon reviewing tax abatement options

Pernerewski said Amazon has not approached the city about property tax abatements. But the e-commerce company could apply through the state because the project site is located in enterprise zones in both Waterbury and Naugatuck, and also the Naugatuck Valley Enterprise Corridor Zone follows Route 8 from Ansonia through Naugatuck to Torrington and Winchester.

Among the incentives that state law authorizes the state Department of Economic and Community Development to provide to qualifying businesses that start up or expand in enterprise zones is a five-year, 80% abatement of local property taxes on real estate and machinery and equipment.

Amazon said in a statement that the company is reviewing the incentive options available through the state's enterprise zone program and their applicability to the fulfillment center project.

Bluewater representatives have said construction of the warehouse and distribution center is expected to take 24 to 30 months. Pernerewski said Amazon officials have advised that the company is looking to gave the fulfillment hub up and running in 2027.

Pernerewski and Hess acknowledged the expressed concerns and objections nearby Waterbury and Naugatuck residents have had concerning traffic, noise, lighting, demolition, tree clearing and landscaping, and views of the fulfillment center from their properties. They said they believe the project plans go a long way to mitigate these issues, but will not completely alleviate them, or satisfy residents who have continuing doubts and complaints about the development.

May 2, 2025

Reporter

A Pennsylvania-based development group has purchased 157 acres from the city of Waterbury for $2.5 million, setting the stage for construction of a roughly 3.2 million-square-foot logistics center.

Waterbury and Naugatuck officials, on Monday, confirmed the sale of the site – which stretches over the city’s southern border and into Naugatuck – to Bluewater Property Group.

“They want to start site work immediately,” Waterbury Mayor Paul Pernerewski said. “We are looking forward to it because of the potential it has to bring 1,000 jobs to the area that are much-needed. It will also increase the tax base. It will be a huge boon for Waterbury and Naugatuck.”

The sale marks a key milestone in a years-long effort to get the massive Amazon warehouse built.

In 2021, Bluewater representatives joined Waterbury-area officials and Gov. Ned Lamont at a news conference announcing plans for the project.

The city has tried to lure development to the site for decades, with prior proposals for a dog track, casino and mall failing partly due to steep topography on much of the property. That difficulty was overcome, in part, thanks to new cooperation between Waterbury and Naugatuck to facilitate access through the borough.

The two municipalities have agreed to evenly split tax revenue from the development.

“We are all thrilled to have reached this critical milestone,” Naugatuck Mayor N. Warren “Pete” Hess said. “Naugatuck and Waterbury remain fully engaged in a cooperative effort with Amazon and Bluewater to bring this exciting project to life.”

“Waterbury and Naugatuck are great places to live and work, and we’re pleased to be establishing local operations here,” said Glendowlyn Thames, a senior manager of economic development with Amazon. “We’re excited that construction on this state-of-the-art Amazon robotics fulfillment center is slated to start soon.”

Christina Bernardin, vice president of Bluewater Property Group, credited both municipalities with being “incredible partners.”

“After 3 years of collaboration, planning, engineering and dedication, we're proud to begin construction on a project that reflects the shared vision of both municipalities and our team,” Bernardin said.

Of the sale proceeds, $392,932 will be split between the Waterbury Development Corp. and the borough of Naugatuck in payment for a parcel the two bought to facilitate access to the development site.

Separately, an Amazon-affiliated limited liability company — Amazon.com Services LLC — paid $4.8 million in 2022 for a 55,349-square-foot, 1980-vintage industrial building on 8.5 acres at 191 Sheridan Drive in Naugatuck.

A conceptual plan Bluewater shared at that time showed access driveways pushing through that property.

Under its purchase agreement with Waterbury for the 157-acre site, Bluewater is required to begin site work within one year. The contract gives the developer three years to complete the project, but also allows for two extensions to add up to 18 months to the construction schedule.

If Bluewater fails to make adequate progress within these timelines, the purchase agreement it signed with the city has provisions that could force a sale, either to another developer or back to the city.

The project is expected to support more than 300 construction jobs and, once operational, could create up to 1,000 full-time equivalent jobs with benefits.

Former Waterbury Mayor Neil O’Leary, who reached the agreement with Hess that opened up access through Naugatuck, said he is “incredibly proud” of his role in the effort.

“What began as a shared vision between two municipalities has now become a regional success story,” O’Leary said. “This is a win not only for Waterbury and Naugatuck but for the entire Naugatuck Valley.”

WATERBURY — Waterbury may be known as the Brass City for its historical connection to manufacturing with the metal, but the city also has a preponderance of companies that make screws and fasteners.

At least a half dozen companies make screws and fasteners in Waterbury. Those businesses are drawing a great deal of attention because of the impact of tariffs that are the key weapon in President Donald Trump's trade war with countries around the world.

And like many other small manufacturers, some screw makers are beginning to see increased costs from the implementation of tariffs on metals imported from nations across the world roil their businesses. The United States imports between $5 billion and $6 billion worth of screws and fasteners each year, according to Fastener World, a trade publication.

Their increased costs, from tariffs on the steel, aluminum and other metals used to make their products, have been passed on to customers. What was once a 10 cent screw has now increased to 17 cents, according to the Wall Street Journal, an increase that when multiplied by products that are fastened by dozens, hundreds or even thousands of screws, can be substantial.

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Gene Simpson, president of Illinois-based fastener maker Semblex, told the Journal that U.S. fastener makers simply don't have the necessary production capacity to replace or reduce the amount of imported screws that domestic manufacturers currently use.

“It’s a select group of suppliers," Simpson said.

But not everyone in the screw making business is suffering from the uncertainty associated with Trump's tariffs. Neil Tremaglio Jr., the owner of Waterbury Swiss Automatics, said his company hasn't seen a fall off in orders from customers, although he acknowledged it may still be too soon to judge the long-term impacts on the three quarter of a century old company his father and uncle founded in 1949.

Diversification of the types of industries that Waterbury Swiss serves have a role in that, according to Tremaglio. The company's customers include medical equipment, electronics and lock making sectors.

"It may be different for other businesses," Tremaglio said. "But our business hasn't been hurt at all; if one market is down, the others are up. The ebbs and flows balance each other out."

Waterbury Swiss Automatics has a 12,000-square-foot factory in an industrial park near Austin Road on the east side of Waterbury. The company employs 20 people.

The metal fastening business is split into two predominant groups: Custom-made precision fastening products for a specific project or customer and generic fasteners, which are designed for the broader market. Jeff Astle, Waterbury Swiss' general manager, said that the company's specialty is precision screws, some of which have a diameter 40 times smaller than a human hair.

Waterbury Swiss' business is also structured in such a way that it is protected from the perfect storm that Trump's tariffs have become to many businesses around Connecticut and the country at large. Tremaglio said all of the company's customers are either headquartered here in the United States or are located in territories like Puerto Rico. And the companies that supply the metals that Waterbury Swiss turns into screws and fasteners are also domestically-based.

"The volume of metals we use doesn't warrant going directly to the mills for our supply," Astle said. "So we buy from (domestic) distributors. We don't buy direct."

He said one advantage to the company being based in an area where there are so many screw and fastener manufacturers "is the availability of qualified workers" in the employment candidate pool.

Tremaglio said the company's hiring efforts benefit from Waterbury being home to W.F. Kaynor Technical High School as well as the Manufacturers Alliance Serice Corp., an educational foundation focused on the education and training of workers for Connecticut's manufacturing community.

"It gives kids here a head start on what can be a very good career that can allow them to live comfortably," he said. "And we have a couple of people here that started as apprentices while attending Kaynor. And once we get them here, we have an experienced workforce that can help train them."

While Waterbury Swiss isn't being hurt by Trump's tariffs at the moment, other small manufacturers across Connecticut whose products are made with metals are justifiably nervous, according Jamison Scott, president of Air Handling Systems, a Woodbridge-based manufacturer that makes dust and fume handling components.

Scott, who also teaches supply chain management courses at Quinnipiac University, said manufacturers he has talked with are concerned about the uncertainty that comes with the current environment surrounding tariffs.

"There is certainly a lot of concern about this because of what is unknown," Scott said. "Everybody is trying to figure out how they are going to parcel out the increased costs when they come. And it's not hitting us all at the same time."

With his own business, Scott said he has not seen the price of steel increase at all. He said that is due in part to his getting his steel from domestic companies.

"I source domestically because you can never be completely certain of the imported steel," Scott said. "But when prices from foreign manufacturers go up, the domestic companies tend to increase their prices, too."

April 28, 2025

Arjelis Heredia of Waterbury has been teaching for far longer than the 19 years she’s been an educator, if you count the years she used to pretend to be a teacher when she was a kid.

“If you speak to any family member, they'll let you know, since [kindergarten], I was the teacher,” Heredia said. “That's all I used to play, line up all my dolls and join my cousins and teach and be the principal and the cook and all the school rules.”

That lifelong passion for education has earned her the LifeChanger of the Year award. National Life Group chose her out of 750 nominations from across the country. The financial services company rewards K-12 educators who make a difference in the lives of students through its LifeChanger of the Year program.

Heredia is “being recognized for her success in educating and inspiring at-risk and economically disadvantaged students to achieve greatness in school and at life,” according to Kevin Gould, an award spokesperson.

Ultimately, for Heredia, the key to that success is keeping open communication with students, even after they’ve gone to high school and beyond.

“I like to set the standard of if anything, you can come to me,” Heredia said. “If you're hungry, we'll figure it out. If you need stuff, then let me know and I'll do my best. … I like to try my best to let them know that I'm really here.”

Real-life lessons passed down from Abuela

Heredia is a seventh and eighth grade teacher at Children’s Community School in Waterbury, a non-profit that serves children pre-kindergarten through eighth grade. She has been teaching there for 14 years, starting at the preschool level.

As an educator, Heredia said she likes to ensure her students are prepared for the future by teaching them life skills that she didn’t learn growing up.

“When I left high school, it's like, ‘What? I don't know any of this. What's a job application? What's a resume?’” Heredia said. “I like for [my students] to have those things that I know now that I needed, that I wasn't necessarily taught at school.”

Those life skills include learning how to budget and maintain financial stability. Heredia said she has her students open bank accounts before they graduate. She also teaches them social skills, like how to interview for a job and how to keep eye contact.

Community service and social justice are also priorities for Heredia.

“I feel that this generation is very self absorbed and entitled,” Heredia said, referring to Gen Z. “It's fine to have more than others, but if you're just all about yourself, you're going to be a pretty sucky adult.”

Heredia said she and her students go to local soup kitchens to serve sandwiches and food baskets they make themselves. They also read to the elderly in nursing homes, write to children’s hospitals and make birthday boxes for families in need.

Children’s Community School primarily serves children from families who live at or below the federal poverty level. More than 160 students attend the school; nearly 100 of them qualify for free or reduced lunch, according to principal Katherin Sniffin.

Heredia credits her grandmother for shaping her.

“I grew up with my grandma and Abuela was very social. Everyone knew her because she would feed people out of her kitchen window, and if anyone needed, they knew that they could knock on her door,” Heredia said. “I grew up witnessing that, and it made me who I am now.”

Creating lasting impact

Heredia likes to keep in touch with her students after they’ve gone off to high school. She appreciates it when they reach out.

“One student that left three years ago, she calls me every day and before she gets herself into trouble, she's like, ‘Ms. Arjelis, I need you to talk me off the ledge so I don't do anything stupid,’” Heredia said. “I'm happy to be there for them because sometimes they don't have a trusted adult.”

Receiving the LifeChanger of the Year award came as a surprise for Heredia. The school hosted a ceremony for her on April 3 to share the news. After thinking it was an April Fools’ joke, Heredia said she realized it was proof of how her efforts make an impact.

“I always doubt myself,” she said. “It just gave me the validation to keep going [knowing] I am changing someone out there.”

Heredia and the school received a $10,000 prize as part of the award. Heredia said she would like to see the funds go toward revamping the science lab with new equipment.

In May, Heredia will be going to the Bahamas to deliver an acceptance speech at a LifeChanger of the Year celebration.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT is an initiative from Connecticut Public, the state’s local NPR and PBS station, to elevate Latino stories and expand programming that uplifts and informs our Latino communities. Visit CTPublic.org/latino for more stories and resources. For updates, sign up for the SOMOS CONNECTICUT newsletter at ctpublic.org/newsletters.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

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