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www.HartfordBusiness.com • August 6, 2018 • Hartford Business Journal 13 Government Total revenue (2015) $31,489,916 Per capita tax $2,606 Total expenditures $29,892,651 Total indebtedness $16,737,174 as % of expenditures 56% Annual debt service $2,008,575 Moody's Bond Rating - Actual Mill Rate 27.9 Net Grand List $848,584,530 Housing stock Existing units 4,538 % single unit 91% New permits (2015) 6 as % of existing units 0.1% Demolitions 0 Residential sales 110 Median price $285,000 Top 5 grand list Company Amount CT Light & Power $16.4M Fox Hopyard Golf Club $4.3M RMD Land Development LLC $2.3M Goodspeed Real Estate LLC $2.2M Banner Country Club $1.9M Town Profile East Haddam Town Hall address: P.O. Box K, East Haddam, CT 06423 (860) 873-5020 News Around Town ■ ■ The East Haddam Stage Company, which produces live theatre at Gillette Castle State Park, is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year. ■ ■ East Haddam is home to Connecticut's most expensive private school , according to Private School Review. Franklin Academy, which educates high school-age students, requires a $77,000 annual tuition. ■ ■ East Haddam at 54.2 square miles makes up almost one-seventh of the land area in Middlesex County, which has 14 towns and one city. General Land area (sq. miles) 54.2 sq. mi. Households 3,453 Median household income $82,117 Poverty Rate 3.9% Crime Rate (per 100,000 residents) 694 Population 2000 8,333 Projected 2020 9,169 Median age 43 Largest age demographic 45-64 (34%) Educational attainment (2012) Persons age 25 or older % of population High school graduate 26% Associate's Degree 12% Bachelor's or more 37% Labor Force (Residence) Employed 4,734 Unemployed 249 Unemployment Rate 5% Place of work # of units 178 Total Employment 1,415 Economics Business profile Sector Units Employ- ment Construction 25 65 Manufacturing 5 46 Retail Trade 15 166 Health Care and Social Assistance 12 200 Accommodation and Food Services 15 106 Total government 13 291 Major Employers • Town of East Haddam • Goodspeed Opera House Foundation • Franklin Academy • Chestelm Convalescent Hospital • Shagbark Lumber and Farm Supplies Source: Connecticut Economic Resource Center and from the town; its affordability for living there and starting a business,'' said Courtney Hendricson, a CRCOG vice president. The only insecurities focus-group participants voiced was about going into downtown Manchester at night, Hendricson said. The mayor said he is aware of those safety concerns and that the town has responded with improved lighting on Main Street. It also adopted an ordi- nance giving local police authority to corral overly aggressive panhandlers. "I don't have a problem going down- town at night,'' Moran said. The crime rate per 100,000 resi- dents in town was 2,931 vs. 2,167 state- wide in 2014. Manchester's poverty rate — 11.8 percent — is on par with Hartford County's average, but above the 10.5 percent statewide average, CT Data Collaborative data show. Beyond that, Manchester benefits, Moran said, now and into the future from its proximity to UConn's Storrs main campus and the thousands of students, faculty and staff who are at the same time potential visitors and residents. Manchester Community College is also home to a significant number of pupils and staff. It's largely because of UConn that Manchester, Anderson said, has been urging state transportation authori- ties to expand the CTfastrak busway system to include their town and other points east of the river. Manchester's proximity to I-84 and the I-384 connector have been business magnets for the community. Moran recalls asking at the opening of Dover Saddlery in Burr Corners, 1153 Tolland Turnpike, why the Littleton, Mass., retailer of equestrian gear and apparel chose a town with not many horses. The answer, Moran said, was that Manchester's access to I-84 made it an ideal stopover for motorists travel- ing between Boston and New York to eat, shop and refuel. Outdoor retailer Cabela's had a similar idea with its East Hartford location, also just off I-84. Retail worries Retail-space broker Mark D'Addabbo, founder/president of New England Retail Properties in Wethersfield, has watched Manchester's evolution the past two decades, brokering retail leases that first brought Outback Steakhouse and Carrabba's Italian Grill, among oth- ers, to the town's Buckland Hills retail district. D'Addabbo's firm brokered the lease for Joey Garlic's Pizzeria's newest Hartford area restaurant that recently opened with as many as 80 staffers in the former Carrabba's space. As the mall district grew, Manches- ter's quaint Main Street retail zone suf- fered, said D'Addabbo, whose mother- in-law is a town resident. He sees storm clouds hovering over the Buckland mall, as major tenants Sears, Macy's and J. C. Penny remain locked in a dire struggle with online competitors. "Should some or all of these stores close it would result in some extreme- ly large vacancies,'' D'Addabbo said. To counter that possibility, Moran said Manchester aspires to marshal more funding and other resources to stake and help grow its small-business community. Town officials are asking, "What can we do to help business owners get started … ?" he said. One way is through the town's of- fering of the Main Street coworking space. A popular amenity sprouting in downtown Hartford and more of its suburbs, entrepreneurs and startups share the cost of office space, furni- ture, copiers, fax machines and Wi-Fi. Moreover, these coworking tenants "are learning from each other," Moran said. "We're improving every day,'' the mayor said. "We're not perfect. But we're trying to accommodate small business as well as corporate business.'' (From left) Manchester's older Main Street structures are a draw for shops like Silk City Coffee. (Far right) Silk City co-owners Rob and Sarah May (left), and Tammy and Glenn Gerhard. PHOTOS | CONTRIBUTED