There's been good news this week for Connecticut contractors as several sources plan to launch new projects. These include Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceutical's announced plans to invest $42.5 million over the next two years to build a 63,000-sq-ft research and development unit on its 294-acre campus in Ridgefield and Danbury, CT. Completion is slated for 2013. Further details on construction were not available at press time.

Boehringer Ingelheim says it also hopes to gain approval this year for a $65-million pilot plant on campus.

Several Connecticut hospitals are also planning projects that are expected to take shape in the next year. These include Gaylord Hospital of Wallingford, which says it will build a solar thermal hot water heating system on its flat roof. Construction on the $550,000 system, which will provide two-thirds of the hospital's hot water needs, is set to begin this month.

Also, Governor Dannel P. Malloy recently signed a bill to create a state-of-the-art research and technology park on 300 acres of land at the University of Connecticut campus. The bill includes funding for design, site development and infrastructure improvements as well as construction of a 125,000-sq-ft facility that is slated for completion in 2015. The park will eventually include multiple buildings to house large, flexible-use laboratories for specialized research. Construction details were not available at press time.