Demolition of some buildings in the Waterbury State Office Complex is scheduled for August, the same month the federal reimbursement amount for the project’s reconstruction is expected to become known.
Michael Obuchowski, commissioner of the Department of Buildings and General Services, is confident the $125 million reconstruction project will be completed on schedule. The complex is expected to be fully operational by the year 2016, he said.
The complex was flooded during Tropical Storm Irene nearly two years ago and is still awaiting assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
FEMA was scheduled to provide a dollar determination of their assistance a year ago. However, the state decided to enter into a pilot program created by Hurricane Sandy assistance legislation President Barack Obama signed in January.
The pilot project will allow the state to have a definite funding strategy for the project next month, said Mike Stevens, special project administrator for the Department of Buildings and General Services.
Before construction begins later this year, hazardous waste must be removed from the facility, which is about half-complete, Obuchowski said. The complete design, the permitting, a historical documentation of the facility prior to the reconstruction and an archeological investigation and assessment of the site are complete.
At the Joint Fiscal Committee’s meeting in the Statehouse on Tuesday, BGS announced that approximately $10.9 million has been paid out for the project so far.
Currently, there are about 30 people working on the project, Obuchowski said. Approximately 70 people are expected to be employed in the reconstruction of the complex by September, he said.
