Hartford Business Journal

www.HartfordBusiness.com • April 20, 2020 • Hartford Business Journal 5 After state-backed expansion, Bob's Discount Furniture HQ in Manchester listed for sale The landlord of Bob's Discount Furniture's corporate headquarters in Manchester has hung a for sale sign on the property that benefited from a state- subsidized expansion in recent years. The asking price was not disclosed. Waterstone Properties Group, of Needham, Mass., has retained realty broker-advisor CBRE to market the 9-acre property on Tolland Turnpike to potential buyers. A spokesperson for Bob's says the company has no plans to leave the space and is committed to its existing lease there through Oct. 2032. The 107,083-square-foot Class A office property at 434 Tolland Turnpike is fully leased by the national furniture retailer, which received a low-interest loan worth $7 million from the state Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD) to expand the Manchester operation. Pratt & Whitney to see pay cuts, furloughs Massachusetts-based defense manufacturer Raytheon Technologies Corp. announced pay cuts and furloughs across the company due to the coronavirus-related downturn of the aerospace industry. On the company's website, CEO Greg Hayes said beginning June 1, the company will cut pay by 10% for all salaried employees at corporate offices, and subsidiaries Pratt & Whitney in East Hartford and Collins Aerospace. "Airline travel in the U.S. alone is down 96% and we are seeing similar trends globally," Hayes said. "Our commercial business partners have begun dramatically scaling back on their operations … and now we must do the same." $28.5M in federal stimulus inbound for Bradley Airport The Federal Aviation Administration announced more than $30 million in stimulus funds for Connecticut airports, with Windsor Locks' Bradley International claiming the lion's share. Bradley, which has seen its passenger traffic plummet and its debt outlook lowered amid the ongoing COVID-19 coronavirus crisis, will receive $28.5 million, according to the FAA. The Connecticut Airport Authority had been anticipating the funds, which are part of an overall $10-billion aid package for U.S. airports. Frontier files for Chap. 11 bankruptcy Frontier Communications, which provides phone, internet and video services in Connecticut and 28 other states, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy as part of a restructuring plan that would swap more than $10 billion in debt for equity in the company. The filing comes after years of declining revenues and a dwindling number of subscribers at the Norwalk- based company, as cord-cutting customers abandoned traditional landlines in favor of wireless telephone. Under the agreement, Frontier said it also secured commitments for $460 million in debtor-in-possession financing that, combined with more than $700 million in cash on hand, gives the company more than $1.1 billion in liquidity. Frontier has 2,100 employees in Connecticut. Rallybio raises $93M A veteran team of Connecticut drug developers has raised $93 million for their startup, Rallybio, which is working to acquire and develop a portfolio of pharmaceutical technologies to treat LATEST HEADLINES 107 Old Windsor Road, Bloomfield, CT 06002 (860) 242-8586 | Fax (860) 242-8587 www.pdsec.com PDS ENGINEERING & CONSTRUCTION, INC. THINK • PLAN • BUILD Spotlight on: Municipal Wallingford Truck Storage Facility | Wallingord, CT Total Project Size: 10,740 SF Another Successful Project by PDS DESIGN BUILDERS • GENERAL CONTRACTORS • CONSTRUCTION MANAGERS The new DPW facility for the Town of Wallingford is a 10,740 square foot pre- engineered metal building. The project included 10 truck bays with overhead doors, 4' high concrete kicker wall, clear span, office space, lockers, restrooms, training room, mechanical room, tool storage/testing space, wash down bay with a gear wash area and a mezzanine. Continued on page 6 >> Bob's Discount Furniture's corporate headquarters in Manchester. PHOTO | HBJ FILE

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