Hartford Business Journal

4 Hartford Business Journal • February 11, 2019 • www.HartfordBusiness.com Week in Review Briefs Mass.' Tree House Brewing buys CT farm for $1.6M Tree House Brewing Co., a popular Massachusetts beer-maker, is entering the Connecticut market after purchasing 100 acres in Woodstock where it plans to operate a large farm and produce cider. The internationally ranked Charlton, Mass.-based brewery announced plans for the Tree House Orchard & Farm Fermentory. In a blog post, the company said it now owns and operates 100 acres of farmland, including 60 acres of agriculturally prime soil, grazing pasture for cattle, a produce and flower program, apple trees and "vast expanses of land to be cultivated and planted for many years to come." Tree House didn't detail the location of the farm. However, a Woodstock town clerk confirmed an entity registered to the Tree House founders — Pride and Purpose LLC — purchased the 93-acre Devon Point Farm property for $1.6 million this week. A significant portion of the farm will be set aside for an orchard and fruit project that will include peaches, pears, plums, cherries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries and other produce to serve both the farmstand operation and the brewery's eclectic fermentation program. In addition to a barrel room for the fermentation, conditioning and fruiting of various beverages, the brewery is planning to produce cider in the fall. Feds: 80% of CT towns, cities getting older New census data show what many already know: Connecticut's population is getting older. Recently released data by the U.S. Census Bureau says the median age of residents rose in 135 of Connecticut's 169 municipalities over the last decade. The average resident was older in nearly 80 percent of towns and cities between 2013 to 2017 vs. 2008 to 2012, the data show. The average age fell in 31 municipalities and remained flat in three others. Connecticut's median age is 40.8. More apartments set for Colt Gateway The owner of the Colt Gateway office- residential-commercial complex plans to convert a vacant school-building on its grounds into 26 new apartments. Larry Dooley, CEO of CG Management Co., said work will soon get underway converting the one-time home of a Capital Regional Education Council school, 160- 172 Huyshope Ave., into apartments. The studio, one- and two-bedroom units will average 787 square feet in size and rent from $1,350 to $1,940 monthly, Dooley said. CG Management envisions financing the project with a $2.2 million private loan, augmented with a second mortgage of $1.5 million through the Capital Regional Development Authority (CRDA). Pending completion of all financing, renovation- construction likely will get underway sometime in the third or fourth quarters of 2019, with completion set by fall 2020, Dooley said. Colt Gateway currently has 129 apartments, all fully occupied, he said. Makeover set for ex-Hartford church assets A New Jersey landlord plans to convert several former Hartford church properties into an estimated 100 apartments. Aria Legacy Group (ALG) confirmed its recent purchase for an undisclosed amount of four properties in the city's South End: 160 Main St., the site of St. Peter's Roman Catholic Church; 180 Main St., a former school; 11 Charter Oak Place, a former convent dormitory; and 20 Clifford St., formerly St. Augustine School. All but the church building — shuttered since Dec. 2017 and which ALG hopes to sell — will be transformed into apartments, featuring a fitness center, parking and laundry services, ALG Managing Principal Joe Novoseller said. Coalition wants to ban electricity suppliers Consumer Counsel Elin Katz, long an opponent of competitive electricity suppliers, is calling to ban them from the residential market. Katz and a group of like-minded supporters, including AARP, lawmakers and others announced they intend to support legislation that would take suppliers out of the residential electricity market. If successful, the change would leave Connecticut-licensed suppliers with only the commercial market. TOP STORY Partnership pitches leave UConn Health wanting U Conn Health's leadership has decided to take a pass on "several" proposals it received in December from potential healthcare business partners. The decision is a setback in a long-running process that came to a head in 2018 after the legislature, concerned about the Farmington health system's steady stream of red ink and high costs, ordered officials to explore a public-private partnership. Next steps are not immediately clear, as UConn Health said it's still weighing whether or not to engage those that responded to its October "solicitation of interest" in any further discussions. The exact number of proposals, their content, and who submitted them has not been made public. UConn's leadership has remained tight-lipped over the past year about how potential deals might be structured. UConn Health made it clear at the outset that it was under no obligation to pursue any proposals it received. Its solicitation specifically sought partners for the system's clinical operations, including the 234-bed John Dempsey Hospital and UConn Medical Group. UConn Health is part of the overall UConn system and governed by the university's trustees, but it also has its own board of directors. UConn Health has grown its patient revenues in recent years, but expenses have well outpaced money coming in — to the tune of $383 million last year, according to an unaudited financial statement UConn Health included in the October solicitation. BY THE NUMBERS 135 The number of cities and towns in Connecticut that have seen the aver- age age of their populations increase over the last decade. $44,000 The amount of money granted by entrepreneurial booster CTNext to six Connecticut startups at its recent Entrepreneur Innovation Awards. 32% The percentage decline in Connecticut's prison population since 2008. There are currently 13,228 people incarcerated in the state, according to the Criminal Justice Policy Advisory Commission. 5 The number of Democratic candi- dates who have officially filed paper- work to run for Hartford mayor this year, including incumbent Mayor Luke Bronin. TOP 5 MOST READ On HartfordBusiness.com • 1. Mass.' Tree House Brewing buys CT farm for $1.6M • 2. Shipman & Goodwin taps former AG Jepsen to lead new practice group • 3. Coalition wants to ban residential electricity suppliers • 4. Partnership pitches leave UConn Health wanting • 5. Makeover set for ex-Hartford church assets STAY CONNECTED For breaking and daily Greater Hartford business news go to www.HartfordBusiness.com HBJ on Twitter: @HartfordBiz HBJ on Facebook: www.facebook.com/HartfordBiz HBJ on Linkedln: www.linkedin.com/company/ the-Hartford-Business-Journal Daily e-newsletters: HBJ Today, CT Morning Blend www.HartfordBusiness.com/ subscribe PHOTO | CONTRIBUTED UConn Health's Farmington campus has received major upgrades in recent years, though the health system is still a money loser.

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