4 Hartford Business Journal • December 23, 2019 • www.HartfordBusiness.com
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that he continues to explore knowing that
the end product will be very high quality,"
Zoppo-Sassu said.
Starting and selling
Niznick was born in Canada, went to
dental school to train as a prosthodontist
and then became a pioneer and serial entre-
preneur in the dental implant field, having
amassed a few dozen patents and founded
and sold multiple companies.
Barron's magazine once called him the
"godfather of American implant dentistry."
Most notably he started Implant Direct LLC
in 2004, a dental implant business that offers a
broad range of surgical, prosthetic and regen-
erative products and services. He said he sold
that company for $300 million to a division of
industrial conglomerate Danaher Corp.
Niznick is no longer in the dental implant
business, but he's been spending his money
on new business ventures.
For example, he now owns Acromil Corp.,
a California-based aerospace company
whose customers include Boeing, Lockheed,
Northrop, Kaman Corp. and Barnes Aero-
space, according to its website.
"I get into ventures that I like to play at,"
said Niznick, who is an aviation buff and has
a pilot's license. "It keeps me busy."
Niznick had no significant ties to Con-
necticut but more than a decade ago he said
he made a loan to an investor who purchased
the Bristol Clarion Hotel, which was built in
1988 and had a troubled history, including
falling into foreclosure in 2007.
He says the investor failed to pay him back
and he eventually took over the property with
plans to sell it, but he couldn't find a buyer.
"It was such a dump I couldn't do anything
with it," Niznick said.
So instead, he decided to make it an invest-
ment property. It remains the only hotel he owns.
In 2013, the hotel changed flags, convert-
ing from a Clarion to a DoubleTree by Hilton,
following a 13-month, $20 million makeover.
Niznick said he's continued to make up-
grades to the hotel, and his total investment
is up to $25 million.
"It's worked out very well — I'm getting a 3
percent return," he said.
Upgrades to the 141-room hotel, which
Niznick said has become a cultural center of
Bristol, have included a renovated lobby and
a new five-story, 19-suite tower with a sepa-
rate, private entrance for guests. Elsewhere
on the property, two dining areas are avail-
able, including The Willows restaurant and
TimeOut Sports & Pizza Bar.
His planned Home2 Suites by Hilton would
be an extended-stay hotel, which Niznick
said is growing in popularity. There is an
extended-stay Homewood Suites nearby in
Southington that he says is always busy.
>> Town Profile continued
Bristol
General
Land area (sq. miles) 26
Median age 40
Population (2020) 59,535
Median household income $64,586
Unemployment rate 4%
Major Employers
ESPN
Bristol Health
Amazon
City of Bristol
Faneuil
Housing stock
Median price $190,500
Median rent $950
Top taxpayers (2018)
ESPN $237,962,440
Connecticut Light & Power/
Eversource $63,343,420
Covanta $33,986,610
Government
Total revenue (2017) $221,073,541
Per capita tax $2,337
Mill rate 38.05
Grand List $3,916,963,485
Economy
Top employment industries Units Employment
Health care and
social assistance 154 4,097
Information 21 3,701
Manufacturing 133 2,972
Source: Connecticut Economic Resource Center
