Hartford Business Journal

2 HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | JANUARY 3, 2022 Biz Briefs Editorial Greg Bordonaro | Editor, ext. 139 gbordonaro@hartfordbusiness.com Zachary Vasile | Web Editor, ext. 128 zvasile@hartfordbusiness.com Beat: Energy Michael Puffer | Staff Writer, ext. 145 mpuffer@hartfordbusiness.com Beats: Real Estate, Economic Development, Banking & Finance Robert Storace | Staff Writer, ext. 127 rstorace@hartfordbusiness.com Beats: Health Care, Higher Education, Arts & Culture Skyler Frazer | Staff Writer, ext. 145 sfrazer@hartfordbusiness.com Beats: Manufacturing, Cannabis, Technology, Transportation Tim Doyle | Lead Researcher Heide Martin | Research Assistant Steve Laschever | Photographer Business Tom Curtin | Publisher, ext. 124, tcurtin@hartfordbusiness.com David Hartley | Senior Accounts Manager, ext. 130, dhartley@HartfordBusiness.com Daniel Schilke | Senior Accounts Manager, ext. 135, dschilke@HartfordBusiness.com Emily Paskind | Senior Accounts Manager, ext. 133, epaskind@hartfordbusiness.com Valerie Clark | Director of Audience Development, ext. 332 vclark@nebusinessmedia.com Jill Coran | Human Resources Manager jcoran@nebusinessmedia.com 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 Subscriptions Annual subscriptions are $110.00. 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 E -commerce pet products retailer Chewy Inc. has proposed building a massive, 750,000-square-foot fulfillment center in a Windsor industrial park to help serve its growing Northeast customer base. According to documents submitted to the Windsor Town Council, Chewy would work with a landlord to purchase 93 acres of land at 2000 Day Hill Road, with the property owner later building and leasing the finished facility to the company. Between construction and equipment purchases, town planners anticipate a total investment of around $175 million. Chewy plans to create up to 1,000 full-time jobs at the site within three years, with total annual payroll in year one estimated at $31 million. Chewy is requesting tax abatement and permit fee waivers totaling $3.9 million. It is also in talks with the state for incentives. Chewy Inc. wants to build a 750,000-square-foot warehouse in Windsor. Pet products retailer Chewy proposes $175M Windsor warehouse project PHOTO | PIXABAY PHOTO | COSTAR The state Bond Commission has approved $124 million in economic development funding that will support major apartment developments in Hartford and replenish a small business loan fund. Allocations include: ■ $25 million for brownfield remediation; ■ $21 million for the state's restructured Small Business Express Program, which provides financial assistance to small businesses; ■ $13.6 million for the North Crossing apartment project in Hartford near Dunkin' Donuts Park; ■ $11 million for the redevelopment and renovation of the Hartford Hilton hotel. State Bond Commission approves $124M for economic development The Hawthorn Suites by Wyndham at 191 Spencer St. in Manchester. In ConnectiCare leadership shakeup, EmblemHealth names Moran CT 'market president' Three top executives have parted ways with health insurer ConnectiCare, parent company EmblemHealth told HBJ. EmblemHealth CEO Karen Ignagni said ConnectiCare President Eric Galvin, Senior Vice President of Pharmacy and Medical Costs Robert Kosior and Senior Vice President Eric Galvin of Sales Brian Pagliaro have left the company as part of a corporate restructuring. The positions held by Galvin, Kosior and Pagliaro are not being filled as they have existed. Instead, Karen Moran, a Connecticut-based executive with EmblemHealth, will take over as "Connecticut market president." Company officials linked the shakeup to pandemic-induced pressures on the healthcare industry. Citing omicron fears, Travelers Cos. indefinitely delays return to office Major downtown Hartford employer Travelers Cos. is delaying its scheduled return to offices previously planned for January, Chairman and CEO Alan Schnitzer said in a company email. Amidst rising COVID-19 infection rates as the omicron variant continues to spread, Schnitzer announced in December that a larger-scale return to the office planned for Jan. 18 would be pushed back indefinitely, but he didn't provide a new timeline. "Until we have a better sense of what course the pandemic is going to take, we just don't have the clarity to answer that question," said Schnitzer, whose company employs thousands of people in downtown Hartford. "Given that we've had a few false starts, hopefully everyone is pretty well prepared to return to the office when the time is right. Nonetheless, we'll make sure everyone who needs it has at least a month's notice." Manchester hotel slated for apartment redevelopment sells for $7.45M A New York real estate investor who is converting a former hotel in Manchester into apartments has bought the property for $7.45 million, land records show. David Parisier in late November purchased the Hawthorn Suites by Wyndham hotel at 191 Spencer St. He is the founder and managing director of Paredim Partners, a real estate investment firm that received town approval in September to begin converting the hotel into apartments. The property consists of at least six detached buildings, each containing several efficiency apartments. Parisier told HBJ work is currently underway in building out amenity spaces and converting hotel rooms into apartments. Construction will take about six months to complete, he said, and the property will have 110 market- rate units, with a mix of studio, one-bedroom and two-bedroom apartments. Schnitzer said Travelers' offices will remain open for fully-vaccinated employees who prefer not to work from home. The Hartford Financial Services Group, which also employs thousands of people in Hartford, recently announced it was pushing back its office reopening date as well. Webster Bank receives federal approval for $10.3B merger with Sterling Waterbury-based Webster Financial Corp. recently received regulatory approval for its $10.3 billion merger with Sterling Bancorp. The parent companies of Webster Bank and Sterling National Bank of New York announced that the Federal Reserve's Board of Governors gave regulatory approval to complete their merger, which is expected to close on or around Feb. 1. Once the deal is finalized, Webster Bank said it plans to relocate its headquarters to Stamford. The newly-combined company will have approximately $65.5 billion in assets, $42 billion in loans, and $54 billion in deposits.

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