Hartford Business Journal

4 Hartford Business Journal • April 1, 2019 • www.HartfordBusiness.com Briefs Hartford city council greenlights $26M Park- Main St. development The Hartford city council has unanimously approved a development agreement and ground lease for a long- awaited 108-unit apartment and retail community at the corner of Park and Main streets. The council voted 7-0 to allow developers Spinnaker Real Estate Partners, of South Norwalk, and Hartford's Freeman Cos. to build the $26 million project that would consist of up to 90,000 square feet of residential space, 20,000 square feet of commercial space, a rooftop deck and up to 125 parking spaces, city officials said. For the project to move forward, design plans must still be signed off by city planners and the Planning and Zoning Commission. Construction could kickoff in the fall with an estimated completion date a year later. Farmington's CaroGen lands $1.4M grant Farmington-based immunotherapy startup CaroGen said it has landed a $1.4 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to accelerate development of its lead drug candidate, a potential cure for chronically infected hepatitis B patients. The two-year grant, which comes from NIH's Small Business Innovation Research program, is the largest of its kind yet for CaroGen, which is developing biotechnology spun out of Yale. It will be used for process manufacturing, formulation, development of quality control methods, and enabling studies for an Investigational New Drug application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, according to CEO Bijan Almassian. CaroGen raised $2.1 million in 2016, about half of which came from Connecticut Innovations, the state's quasi-public investment arm. The company is working toward getting its lead drug candidate, CARG- 201, into a phase 1 clinical trial. Almassian told HBJ recently that the company is also working to raise as much as $25 million in additional funds. TheaterWorks to complete $5.7M renovation by Sept. TheaterWorks said it plans to complete its $5.7 million renovation project downtown by September. The ongoing renovations at its building, known as City Arts on Pearl at 233 Pearl St., is being funded by a pair of urban act grants worth $2.7 million. Renovations to the site started last summer in an effort to upgrade the facility, built in 1927. The project price tag has grown from $4.7 million to $5.7 million following the receipt of a second state grant, officials said. According to plans, upgrades will be made to the HVAC system, elevators and electrical and fire protection systems, among other improvements. Apts. near UConn sold at $14.3M A 128-unit apartment community in UConn's shadow in Willington has sold for $14.3 million, brokers say. New York investors TC NY Associates LLC purchased the 62-acre Willington Oaks Apartments, 380 Daleville Road, from Willington Oaks LLC, according to exclusive broker Chozick Realty Inc. of Hartford, who said this is the second sale of the property it has brokered. Its units are evenly split between one-bedroom flats and two-bedroom townhouses whose 384 beds are typically filled at, or close to capacity, with students attending nearby UConn, in the Storrs section of Mansfield. West Hartford theater to reopen as luxury cinema A West Hartford movie theater in Blue Back Square says it's reopening this summer as an upscale cinema. Week in Review TOP STORY Morgan Stanley ditching CityPlace for Goodwin W all Street investment bank Morgan Stanley will relocate its outpost in downtown Hartford's tallest skyscraper across the street to the Goodwin Square office tower. Global realty broker-adviser Cushman & Wakefield's Hartford office (C&W) announced that Morgan Stanley will move from CityPlace I's 21st floor and will occupy 15,171 square feet leased on the 14th floor of 30-story Goodwin Square, starting in Jan. 2020. C&W represented Goodwin landlords Brian and Steve Kohn and their Westport Capital Partners vehicle in the lease. Broker-advisor JLL represented Morgan Stanley. According to Jon Putnam, C&W's executive director in Hartford, Morgan Stanley's lease follows more than 64,000 square feet three other new tenants have signed for at Goodwin Square in the past year: Infosys, Anderson Tax and Strategic Spaces. BY THE NUMBERS $224,000 The median price of a single-family home sold in Connecticut during the month of February, which was down 5.1 percent from a year ago, accord- ing to the Warren Group. 3.4% The annual growth rate of personal income in Connecticut in 2018, which was well behind the national average of 4.5 percent, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. 2,900 The estimated number of jobs Con- necticut lost during the first two months of 2019, according to the state Department of Labor. $352,129 The average annual salary for a physi- cian in Greater Hartford, which is the 10th highest in the country, according to Doximity, a social network for physi- cians and advanced practice clinicians. TOP 5 MOST READ On HartfordBusiness.com • 1. Hartford Club elects new president • 2. Boston architecture firm adds downtown Hartford presence • 3. CT income up 3.5% in '18; ranked No. 42 nationally • 4. Capacity crowds create headaches in March Madness' Hartford return • 5. Recreational marijuana bill clears first major hurdle 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 A rendering of TheaterWorks' new lobby. PHOTO | HBJ FILE PHOTO | CONTRIBUTED Goodwin Square has now filled 89 percent of its office space with the addition of Morgan Stanley.

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