Numerous subcontractors for the company building the 225-unit Kelson Row apartment complex in Rocky Hill have been hit with stop work orders from the state labor department, but construction is continuing with different companies and town leaders remain optimistic about the project.
Nine companies were cited last Thursday when a surprise state Department of Labor inspection determined that some appeared to be misclassifying workers as independent contractors and others were not providing workers compensation for employees.
The state posted bright magenta “stop work” signs on fencing outside the 12-acre construction site at the former Ames headquarters along Main Street just above the Dividend Road intersection.
Belfonti Companies, the Hamden-based developer company doing the massive project, did not respond to a phone message Wednesday. A staff member would say only that Chief Executive Officer Michael Belfonti was away for the day.
Late Wednesday morning, the labor department reported no progress with the nine subcontractors. But Wednesday evening, state Senate Deputy Majority Leader Matt Lesser — who publicly reported the stop work orders on his webpage last week — said that only nine remain posted, suggesting that two companies resolved their cases.
Belfonti has a general contractor overseeing construction of the three-story buildings, and that company retains a series of smaller construction firms — often specialists — to perform jobs from installing plumbing and electrical system to painting, landscaping and putting in tilework. It was nine of those companies, not Belfonti or its general contractor, that were cited by labor department inspectors.
Two years ago, Rocky Hill agreed to a plan for Belfonti’s Rocky Hill Gateway LLC to buy the vacant 225,000-square-foot building that housed the headquarters of the long-defunct Ames discount department store chain. The town granted a property tax incentive, and the state put up just under $1.5 million in aid.
Rocky Hill Gateway LLC bought the 2418 Main St. property for just under $2.28 million in mid-2022 with plans to demolish it and put up three-story buildings with 213 apartments along with office and ground-floor retail space. It has since modified its Kelson Row plan to scrap the office space, offer more retail area and add another dozen apartments, bringing the total to 225.
Belfonti already has a website advertising one-bedroom apartments at $2,105 to $2,235 a month and two-bedrooms from $2,630 to $2,820.
From outside, the buildings closest to Main and Dividend look largely complete, with others to the east and north only partly constructed. Several crews of workers were at the site Tuesday evening.
The stop-work orders apply only to the specific subcontractors cited, so work by other crews is allowed to continue.
“The Wage and Workplace Standards Division rescinds the stop work orders when the employer resolves the violations,” department spokeswoman Juliet Manalan said Wednesday. “In these cases, the employer must show proof of sufficient workers compensation insurance for their employees and correct classification of workers.”
Lesser, whose district includes Rocky Hill, announced news of the stop work orders on his webpage. This week, he called the situation disappointing.
“We’ve put a lot of state money into this, the town of Rocky Hill has put a lot of money into it with a tax abatement,” Lesser said. “All employers have to pay workers comp. We really need contractors to do the right thing and treat their workers fairly — that’s why this is such a disappointment.
“It’s really bad policy for workers to be on dangerous construction sites without workers compensation, and it’s bad policy for them to be paid under the table through misclassification,” he said. “This is a marquee project.”
Lesser said he commended the labor department for intervening, and said lawmakers next year should try to restore agency positions that have been lost because of tight budgets.
“The department of labor has been starved of resources” and doesn’t get to check up on enough contractors and other employers, he said.
Mayor Lisa Marotta and Town Manager Ray Carpentino on Wednesday emphasized that construction is going forward, and said the subcontractors involved didn’t produce payroll documents or workers compensation forms to the labor department immediately. Carpentino described the situation as “a bump” in the process, saying “as soon as the companies can produce their paperwork, they can come back.”
The town will monitor what’s happening with the violation complaints, Marotta said. When asked if her administration has expressed concerns to the Belfonti Companies, Marotta replied “100 percent.”
Rocky Hill officials have said for years that getting the old Ames property back into productive use was a key to creating a town center around that area.
