Hartford Business Journal

8 HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | MAY 31, 2021 By Sean Teehan steehan@hartfordbusiness.com B efore the pandemic hit, Joe Hochberg worked out of the offices of a small Chicago trading company, where he's employed as an options trader, but when COVID-19 forced many people to abandon their cubicles it also introduced unprecedented flexibility. Hochberg, a New Jersey native, has been working remotely from his home state for the past year, but he's moving to Hartford, where his girlfriend lives as she finishes medical school at UConn. When he arrives, he'll work out of his apartment and downtown Hartford coworking space ThinkSynergy. He said he's enjoyed working remotely, and could see doing it permanently if his employer is amenable to it. Hochberg said he'll likely move away from Hartford after his girlfriend graduates, but he's open to staying here and working remotely long term if she takes a job in Connecticut. "I think a lot depends on how the next year goes," Hochberg said. ThinkSynergy President Keith Werner said several new tenants renting office or living space at his Asylum Street property are working remotely for out-of-state companies. He's actively promoting the space to small and medium-sized businesses based in major East Coast cities like New York and Boston, which could be interested in opening satellite locations in smaller and less expensive locales. "There are clear signs that small to large companies are going to have a more open door policy to working virtually," Werner said. "That's opened up a bigger opportunity for coworking [spaces] coming out of COVID." Werner's not the only one who sees an opportunity. Several of Connecticut's public and private economic development organizations — including the Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD), AdvanceCT and MetroHartford Alliance — have strategies and marketing plans in place to promote Connecticut as a satellite location for companies located in larger nearby cities. In fact, they are actively talking with Boston and New York City firms about establishing remote work hubs in Connecticut, where employees who favor living in a lower-cost or less-densely populated area could primarily work. "We're very much focused on companies that may be rethinking their presence in these large metro areas that are expensive," said Peter Denious, president and CEO of AdvanceCT, the state's nonprofit economic development arm. "I think you are going to hear some Business Recruitment As pandemic recedes, CT markets itself as a potential re- mote work hub Peter Denious Keith Werner said he's actively marketing his ThinkSynergy coworking space in downtown Hartford to small and medium-sized businesses based in major East Coast cities like New York and Boston. HBJ PHOTO | STEVE LASCHEVER

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