Hartford Business Journal

www.HartfordBusiness.com • June 10, 2019 • Hartford Business Journal 11 people into less space," Ostop said. "People want to have more flexibility where they work. The days of showing up at your desk at 9 and sitting there most days are gone.'' Cross-town upgrades The Hartford's modernization of its Asylum Hill campus began in 2013, spokesman Matthew Sturdevant said, when the company was planning to relocate about 700 workers from its Simsbury campus to its corporate headquarters. At the time, the company said it was spending about $140 million on reno- vations. Its recently updated footprint features an open design that includes natural light throughout its buildings and state-of-the-art technology. Wi-Fi was added, Sturdevant said, along with collaboration spaces to encourage teamwork; soft seating in common areas; video-conferencing ca- pabilities; a fitness center; on-site cof- fee shops; and a technology help desk modeled after the Apple "Genius Bar.'' "This investment,'' he said, "created a more contemporary environment for our employees, providing state-of-the- art technology, work and collaboration space to encourage teamwork, creativ- ity and high performance." Enough extra electric-car charging stations were installed for ChargePoint to rank The Hartford tops among private Connecticut employers for the number of car chargers offered to employees. Energy efficiency and real-estate man- agement helped The Hartford reduce greenhouse-gas emissions company- wide by 66 percent from 2007 to 2017. For example, the company replaced more than 8,400 fluorescent lights with more efficient LED fixtures, upgraded elevators, and gained greater HVAC ef- ficiencies. Water fixtures were upgraded to reduce annual water consumption. Cigna's blueprint In Bloomfield, Cigna is pursuing town approval to invest upwards of $90 million over a three-year period on an interior redo of its historic Wilde office building, said Jose Giner, the town's planner and economic-development director. In return, a pair of town subcom- mittees has recommended approval of Cigna's request for a seven-year property-tax abatement — two years more than presently available under the town's development-incentive program, Giner said. If granted, Cigna would pay taxes on only half of any additional incremental property value over seven years arising from the upgrade, mitigating some need for project financing, Giner said. How- ever, the town would realize an extra $8 million in tax revenue in the period from Cigna's real estate and personal property. A formal abatement agreement between Cigna and Bloomfield is ex- pected in late June, Giner said. The company declined to talk about its planned renovations. In 2011, Cigna was the first recipi- ent of economic assistance under Gov. Dannel P. Malloy's "First Five" program when it agreed to relocate its corporate headquarters to Bloomfield from Phila- delphia, and to create hundreds of jobs. Cigna was promised $21 million in grants and forgivable loans, plus up to $50 million in urban reinvestment tax credits, all dependent on the insurer reaching certain goals for hiring and investing in its headquarters in Bloomfield and offices in Windsor. "We've utilized $12 million of the $30 million of credits earned," Cigna spokes- man Brian Henry said in an email. "We are hopeful to use the remaining $18 mil- lion over the next few years." A Connecticut Mirror report was used in this story. The Hartford in recent years made improvements to its Asylum Hill headquarters campus, including (clockwise from above) a collaborative kiosk near one of its on-site coffee shops; a technology help desk; and a fitness center. PHOTOS | CONTRIBUTED Member FDIC | Member DIF BusinessExpress. Easy Application. Quick Decision. Fast Funding. No time to apply for a business loan? firstsuffieldbank.com 877.888.1388 Get started now at bankatpeoples.com/businessexpress. Imagine applying for a $100,000 loan in minutes. Now that's a reality. With BusinessExpress you have an incredibly fast way to borrow the capital your business needs. There's never been a faster or easier way to borrow up to $100,000 for your business. FOCUS

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