Hartford Business Journal

www.HartfordBusiness.com • May 6, 2019 • Hartford Business Journal 5 Reporter's Notebook Gregory Seay | gseay@HartfordBusiness.com Real Estate, Economic Development/Construction, Banking & Finance and Manufacturing MANUFACTURING Producers gripe about CT's skills-funding spigot A s the state and Connecticut manufac- turers collectively work to identify and train the next generation of skilled labor, a schism has emerged over how funds and other resources are used to assist producers — as well as other industries facing worker shortages, including health care — train and develop talent. The state Department of Labor's (DOL) deci- sion to omit a Greater Hartford coalition — called the Capital Area Pipeline Partnership — from its recent $5 million award for apprenticeship and other skills training has elicited ire from some in the region's manufacturing-training community, including Glenn Ford, president of Enfield's Phoenix Manufacturing Inc. The DOL awarded the fund- ing to two regional job-skills partnerships in northwestern Connecticut and south-central Connecticut, while groups in Hartford and Bridgeport were left out. According to Ford, the Capital Area Pipeline Part- nership was created back in January, with Hart- ford's Capital Workforce Partners (CWP), a jobs- training organization serving the north-central Connecticut region, set to administer it. Through the efforts of CWP and other industry groups, Ford said they would have supported more than 1,000 jobless or underemployed individuals at area community and four-year col- leges, high school pre-apprenticeships, construc- tion training and other programs. Jobs filled under the partnership's plan, he said, might have ranged from 1,200 slots at Pratt & Whitney to 600 openings at Hartford HealthCare. The $5 million was a slice of the $50 million Connecticut committed under former Gov. Dan- nel P. Malloy to fund apprentice- ships and other programs to train 10,000 citizens to fill job shortages in manufactur- ing, health care and construction. A DOL spokes- person said the award criteria limited the agen- cy to funding just two groups this year with only $5 million. "Knowing that manufacturing employers need skilled workers, we will continue to advocate for the appropria- tion of additional funding from the original $50 million bond,'' DOL spokesperson Nancy Steffens said via email. "If additional funding is made available in the future, we invite the Hartford partnership and other organizations to submit training proposals." CWP CEO Alex Johnson said he has not yet gotten a satisfactory explanation from DOL as to why CWP's funding request was rejected. "We all believe $5 million is not enough,'' John- son said, "but we believe that it could have been a start had it been distributed on a statewide basis.'' According to Ford, the Capital Area Pipeline Partnership Plan estimated that investing $5 million into training and placing 1,000 un- and underemployed state residents into well-paying manufacturing and other jobs would boost the state economy, while generating about $15 million in new tax receipts and curbed public expenditures. But most galling to Ford and his other manufac- turing peers is that the state appears unwilling to listen to their ideas for allocating and using state resources for worker development. "It's got to be a shared responsibility,'' said Ford, who is chair of the Advanced Manufac- turing Employee Partnership, also devoted to identifying alternatives for nurturing the state's manufacturing-talent pipeline. That partnership, he said, has more than 300 members from among the state's community of advanced manufacturers. Moreover, most belong to the Connecticut Manufacturing Collaborative (CMC), of which eight different industry sectors or organizations are affiliated, including the Connecticut Business & Industry Association and Advanced Components Manufacturers of Connecticut and Western Massachusetts. Ford's solution: Allow the CMC "to advise the legislative body on how to allocate funds.'' DEAL WATCH CityPlace I notches 4 new tenants Downtown Hartford's CityPlace I, Connecticut's tallest skyscraper, has signed or renewed four tenants in space totaling nearly 30,000 square feet. Landlord Paradigm Properties LLC said Cosi, the Mediterranean flatbread sandwich and salad restaurant, signed a five-year lease for a 3,702-square-foot space formerly occupied by Au Bon Pain. Cosi is expected to open in June. Law firm Hassett & Donnelly P.C. leased 4,027 square feet on the 26th floor, and business-technology consultancy Slalom LLC leased 12,762 square feet on the 32nd floor. Also, law and government- relations firm Bracewell LLP renewed 12,018 square feet for five years on floor 34. National real estate leasing/ brokerage advisor Jones Lang LaSalle represented Paradigm Properties in lease talks. With the leases, the 38-story tower, with 884,669 rentable square feet, is 87 percent occupied, Paradigm Properties said. New W. Hartford leases A pair of retail tenants have signed for vacant space in West Hartford's Park Road retail district, brokers say. Peter Madero, owner of Knights Cigar Lounge, leased the 1,500-square-foot former Petals & Paws space at 268 Park Road. SARJAC Partners LLC is landlord. At the opposite end, at 262 Park Road, Dr. Afia Antiwi signed for the 1,400-square- foot former Max and Lily's Closet space, to open L.A. Vision Family Eyecare this fall, according to listing broker NAI Elite of West Hartford. Both tenants are due to open this fall, NAI Elite said. Accro-Met's E. Granby renewal Metal supplier Accro- Met Inc. has renewed its 5,280-square-foot office- industrial lease in East Granby. Accro-Met has occupied its space in the 48,800-square- foot building at 29 Kripes Road since 2007. 29 Kripes Road Associates LLC is landlord. Hartford's Sentry Commercial was the sole broker. CCI's Wallingford expansion CCI Logistics has renewed and expanded its industrial lease for its order- fulfillment operations in Wallingford Business Park. CCI also added 30,000 square feet to its existing 106,000-square-foot space in the park at 718 North Colony Road, said broker Reno Properties Group. Wallingford Business Park LLC is landlord for the 389,787-square- foot industrial/ distribution facility on approximately 34.4 acres just off Route 5. Himalayan Secrets' Bloomfield lease Importer Himalayan Secrets LLC has leased 5,890 square feet in Bloomfield to distribute food-grade salt products. Himalayan Secrets occupies 522 Cottage Grove Road, a 26,709-square-foot industrial facility on 3.33 acres that landlord Kinneret Associates LP owns. Sentry Commercial was the sole broker. 262-268 Park Road, West Hartford. PHOTO | CONTRIBUTED Glenn Ford, President, Phoenix Manufacturing Inc. Manufacturers are looking for any funding sources to train young workers. PHOTO | HBJ FILE

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