Hartford Business Journal

June 28, 2021

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2 HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | JUNE 28, 2021 Biz Briefs HartfordBusiness.com | (860) 236-9998 Editorial Greg Bordonaro | Editor, ext. 139, gbordonaro@hartfordbusiness.com Matt Pilon | News Editor, ext. 143, mpilon@hartfordbusiness.com Beats: Real Estate/Economic Development, Banking & Finance and Government Liese Klein | Staff Writer, ext. 127, lklein@hartfordbusiness.com Beats: Health Care, Bioscience and Government Sean Teehan | Staff Writer, ext. 145, steehan@hartfordbusiness.com Beats: Manufacturing, Startups & Entrepreneurs, Technology, Higher Education and Transportation Zachary Vasile | Web Editor, ext. 128 zvasile@hartfordbusiness.com Beat: Energy Tim Doyle | Lead Researcher Heide Martin | Research Assistant Steve Laschever | Photographer Business Tom Curtin | Publisher, ext. 124, tcurtin@hartfordbusiness.com Christina Zuraw | Events Coordinator, ext. 134, czuraw@hartfordbusiness.com David Hartley | Senior Accounts Manager, ext. 130, dhartley@HartfordBusiness.com Daniel Schilke | Senior Accounts Manager, ext. 135, dschilke@HartfordBusiness.com Valerie Clark | Director of Audience Development, ext. 332 Jill Coran | Human Resources Manager Megan Mason | Operations Assistant, mmason@hartfordbusiness.com Production Christie Novotny | Production Director, ext. 147 cnovotny@hartfordbusiness.com Peter Stanton | CEO, pstanton@nebusinessmedia.com Tom Curtin | President, ext. 124, tcurtin@hartfordbusiness.com Mary Rogers | COO/CFO, mrogers@nebusinessmedia.com Joe Zwiebel | Founding Publisher Subscriptions Annual subscriptions are $96.00. To subscribe, visit HartfordBusiness.com, email hartfordbusiness@ cambeywest.com, or call (845) 267-3008. Advertising For advertising information, please call (860) 236-9998. Please address all correspondence to: Hartford Business Journal, 100 Allyn Street, Suite 3, Hartford, CT 06103 Stay Connected For breaking and daily Greater Hartford business news go to: www.HartfordBusiness.com HBJ on Twitter: @HartfordBiz HBJ on Facebook: www.facebook.com/HartfordBiz HBJ on Linkedln:www.linkedin.com/company/the-Hartford- Business-Journal Daily e-newsletters: HBJ Today, CT Morning Blend: www. hartfordbusiness.com/enewsletters Hartford Business Journal (ISSN 1083-5245) is published bi-weekly, 27x per year — including two special issues in November and December — by New England Business Media, LLC, 100 Allyn Street, Suite 3, Hartford, CT 06103. Periodicals postage paid at Hartford, CT and at additional entry points. Tel: (860) 236-9998 | Fax: (860) 570-2493 Copyright 2020. All rights reserved. Postmaster: Please send address changes to: Hartford Business Journal P.O Box 330 Congers, NY 10920-9894 C onnecticut has officially legalized the recreational use and retail sale of cannabis after Gov. Ned Lamont signed a legalization bill into law June 22. Possession of cannabis for non- medical purposes will become legal July 1, with retail sales set to begin next year. "I think it is a model for the rest of the nation," Lamont said of the law, touting measures meant to ensure equitable access to the new cannabis market for communities affected by marijuana enforcement. "Maybe we weren't the first, but we were the first, I think, to show that we could get it right." The law permits marijuana possession of up to one-and-a- half ounces for adults 21 and over, starting July 1, with legal sales anticipated by May 2022. Adults will be allowed to securely cultivate cannabis at home starting July 1, 2023. Connecticut will become the 19th state in the U.S., and the fourth state in New England to fully legalize cannabis. The law envisions marijuana as a major industry in Connecticut, which already has four commercial growers of cannabis for medical use. Commercial production licenses for the recreational market will cost as much as $3 million, while the fee for a micro-cultivator will be $1,000. With Lamont's signature, CT legalizes cannabis Gov. Ned Lamont signed a law legalizing recreational cannabis on June 22, 2021. PHOTO | SEAN TEEHAN RENDERING | CONTRIBUTED PHOTO | HBJ FILE Philip Morris International will relocate HQ, 200 jobs from NYC to CT Tobacco giant Philip Morris International is moving its corporate headquarters to Fairfield County from New York. The move will bring 200 jobs to southern Connecticut and is scheduled to take place next summer; Philip Morris has not yet chosen an office location. The state isn't offering incentives as part of the move. Philip Morris CEO Jacek Olczak acknowledged the company's reputation as a longtime cigarette maker, but said it's making a pivot to smokeless products. Former Pepsi CEO Indra Nooyi (left), Gov. Ned Lamont and Philip Morris International CEO Jacek Olczak. A rendering shows the planned apartments at One Park Road in West Hartford. CT added 7,800 jobs in May Powered by growth in the business services, hospitality and manufacturing sectors, Connecticut added approximately 7,800 jobs in May, according to the state Department of Labor, dropping the official unemployment rate from 8.1% to 7.7%. The announcement added some positive momentum to the state's recovery, which appeared to stall in February when the jobless rate ticked up to 8.5% after a few months of modest gains. While Connecticut has since course-corrected, unemployment numbers have stayed high relative to the U.S. overall; a more significant drop, as seen in May, suggests the state's reopening is finally paying off in terms of job creation. "Jobs are up more than 18,000 so far in 2021, and the unemployment rate is lower than it was more than five years after the start of the Great Recession of 2008," said Patrick Flaherty, director of the Labor Department's Office of Research. Patrick Flaherty $70M redevelopment of West Hartford convent moves forward Developers are moving forward with an ambitious project to convert the Sisters of St. Joseph convent and estate on Park Road in West Hartford into a 292-unit multifamily community. The partners behind the $70 million effort, Lex-Laz LLC and Corridor Ventures, announced they have secured financing for the overhaul, after years of planning and revisions. Lex-Laz is a partnership between Marty Kenny, founder and principal of Lexington Partners, and Hartford- based parking magnate Alan Lazowski; Avon-based Corridor is a principal investor in the entity. The project, known as One Park Road, will include a mix of two- bedroom, one-bedroom and studio apartments, with 10% of the units set aside for renters earning less than 80% of the area's median income. The former chapel on the eastern side of the 21-acre estate will be redeveloped into a common area for residents, with a fitness center, community hall, yoga room, work stations and lounge space. Plans also call for the construction of a swimming pool and pool house. Manchester manufacturer Lydall to be acquired by NY firm Lydall Inc., a filtration systems and engineered products supplier with deep roots in Manchester, has agreed to be acquired by a New York firm. Unifrax, a specialty materials group, has agreed to buy Lydall for $62.10 per share, giving the company an implied value of approximately $1.3 billion. Unifrax is headquartered in Tonawanda, New York, just outside of Buffalo. It makes high temperature- resistant fabricated products, coatings, insulation, furnace hardware, textiles and battery materials. The deal must be approved by Lydall shareholders and cleared by regulators. Provided those requirements are eventually met, company officials said, the deal should close some time in the second half of this year.

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