Hartford Business Journal

www.HartfordBusiness.com • August 24, 2020 • Hartford Business Journal 5 36 CT companies on Inc. magazine's fastest- growing companies list Thirty-six companies across Connecticut made this year's Inc. magazine 5000 list of fastest-growing private companies in America. The Inc. 5000 rankings are based on the largest percentage revenue growth comparing 2016 and 2019. Generating a combined $766.7 million, Inc. magazine said Connecticut companies on the list increased their revenue by an average of 182% and added more than 1,000 jobs. Farmington medical-technology firm Diameter Health had Connecticut's largest percentage revenue gain of 1,363%. Diameter, which helps health information exchanges, IT vendors and care providers and payers consolidate and better evaluate clinical data, ranked No. 334 in the nation. Hartford's $26M Main- Park St. redevelopment breaks ground Developers Spinnaker Real Estate Partners of Norwalk and Hartford-based Freeman Cos. have broken ground on a long-awaited, $26-million apartment and retail community near the corner of Park and Main streets in Hartford's South End. The 126-unit complex will include two buildings on blighted, city-owned properties with approximately 90,000 square feet of residential space and 23,460 square feet of commercial space. It will feature 18 studios, 84 one- bedroom and 24 two-bedroom units; a 9,000-square-foot rooftop lounge; and a rear surface parking lot with 125 spaces — 20% of the one- and two- bedroom units are reserved for low- to moderate-income earners. $18M Berlin transit- oriented development to begin after land deal The developers of an $18-million transit-oriented development (TOD) near the Berlin Train Station are breaking ground on the project this fall after recently acquiring two of the town-owned properties slated for apartment, medical office, restaurant and retail space. Land records show developers Anthony Valenti and Mark Lovley, of Newport Realty Group LLC, completed their purchase of 861 and 903 Farmington Ave., on July 30 for $10,000 and $195,000, respectively. Newport is also close to buying adjacent town- owned land at 889 and 913 Farmington Ave., for the five-building complex that will include 76 market-rate apartments and medical office, restaurant and retail space built over three phases. Chris Edge, the town's economic- development director, said the deal sets the partners up to begin redeveloping the former vacant commercial building at 861 Farmington Ave. in September. Other construction will commence this fall, as the entire development is expected to be completed in late 2022, Edge said. Hartford's TheaterWorks to put on 12-month season featuring streaming productions In the face of a pandemic that makes the concept of live theatre largely impossible, Hartford's TheaterWorks is pursuing an ambitious new model: 12 plays produced in 12 months to be released over a streaming platform. The nonprofit will also move from a previous model in which patrons subscribed for an entire season to a membership setup in which they can subscribe month to month, said Freddie McInerney, TheaterWorks' marketing director. The monthly subscription price is $20.21, McInerney said, a shout-out to the year that will end 2020. Greater Hartford home sales up 7.6% in July Low interest rates helped drive up the number of Hartford-area home sales by 7.6% in July, and sale prices also rose, thanks to fewer listings and competition among buyers, according to new data. There were 780 single-family home sales in the Hartford area last month, an increase of 55 transactions compared to July 2019, the Greater Hartford Association of Realtors (GHAR) said. The median sale price rose to $285,000, up from $265,000 a year earlier, GHAR said. Pending sales were up 31.5% in July. For the first seven months of 2020, sales in the Hartford area have decreased 2.6%, while the median sale price has increased 6.1% to $260,000. Otis acquires Mass. elevator biz Farmington elevator manufacturing and maintenance company Otis Worldwide Corp. says it's acquired a Massachusetts-based elevator company in an effort to expand its Northeast footprint. Otis announced it closed on buying Bay State Elevator's service portfolio and six offices in Agawam, Mass., Rocky Hill, Vermont and upstate New York. Financial terms were not disclosed. CT Innovations leads $10M investment in Israeli medical device maker The state's quasi-public venture capital arm Connecticut Innovations led a recent $10 million investment in EyeControl, an Israel-based startup that makes a wearable device to help paralyzed and ventilated patients communicate through eye movements. EyeControl tied for second place in CI's fifth and final VentureClash competition last year. EyeControl said the funding will help grow its activity within hospitals, where it is currently piloting its device to help ventilated COVID-19 patients communicate with nurses. VentureClash winner Voiceitt raises $10M Voiceitt, an Israel-based speech recognition technology company that won first place in Connecticut Innovations' 2018 VentureClash competition, said it has secured a $10 million Series A investment round. The $10 million investment was led by Viking Maccabee Ventures but also included Connecticut Innovations, which has put $1 million into the startup since the company placed first in its now discontinued annual pitch contest. Voiceitt's technology translates unintelligible and atypical speech in real time, and is targeted at users that include people with speech and motor disabilities, as well as their families and healthcare providers. The company has established an office in Stamford and says it currently has 25 employees, up from 16 as of late 2018. Hartford apartment pair sells for $16M A New York-based real estate investment company has acquired a pair of Hartford apartment communities on West Boulevard and New Britain Avenue for $16.3 million, brokers say. 25th Century recently completed its purchase of the apartments at 873 West Boulevard and 748 New Britain Ave. from owners Forum Capital Partners and Cantor Real Estate, according to realty broker-advisor CBRE, which arranged the deal. CBRE said that 25th Century plans to make major upgrades at the two housing facilities, which comprise 165 and 52 units, respectively. Amid shrinking workforce, CT overtime pay up slightly in FY 2019-20 State agencies in fiscal year 2020 spent nearly $235 million on overtime wages, a modest increase compared to the year prior, according to new data. A report released by the Office of Fiscal Analysis says the state's overtime spending in the 2020 fiscal year, from July 1, 2019, to June 30, 2020, ran $600,000, or 0.2%, above fiscal year 2019. Part of the reason for the increased overtime pay could be that Connecticut's workforce is smaller than it was in previous years. As of Aug. 7, the Office of Fiscal Analysis said state agencies employed 1,068 fewer workers (17,265 in total) than they did a year prior. On tail-end of longtime HQ lease, CT Lotto assesses realty options With the 15-year lease on its Rocky Hill headquarters three years away from expiration, the Connecticut Lottery Corp. is assessing its options. Lottery management is currently reviewing proposals solicited from real estate brokers and intends to select one soon to help it evaluate area real estate. The agency's current lease for 777 Brook St., inked in 2008, expires in May 2023. Lottery spokesman Peter Donahue said that hiring a broker merely means the lottery is doing its due diligence, not that there is any dissatisfaction with the 93,000-square-foot property, nor that it won't necessarily negotiate a renewal with its current landlord. The lottery is currently paying $87,000 a month for its headquarters lease, according to its 2019 annual report. LATEST HEADLINES Eric Rosow, CEO, Diameter Health TheaterWorks Artistic Director Rob Ruggiero. PHOTO | HBJ FILE

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