Hartford Business Journal

3 HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | March 28, 2022 BIZ BRIEFS Executives from Bigelow Tea, General Dynamics Electric Boat, Boehringer Ingelheim and Hartford HealthCare testified in support of legislation that would increase state funding for child care and school readiness programs by several thousand dollars per child — an investment they said is vital to Connecticut's economic health. So far this year in Connecticut, more than 124,000 parents of young children said their work has been disrupted by child care issues, according to a U.S. Census survey. Working parents have cut work hours or taken sick days, vacation days and unpaid leave to care for children. Some left jobs or lost jobs due to child care responsibilities. Many said they had to supervise children while also performing job duties. Erica Phillips | CT Mirror Hartford's Dillon Stadium to be renamed Trinity Health Stadium under new naming rights agreement Hartford Athletic fans at Dillon Stadium. PHOTO | HARTFORD ATHLETIC) Hartford's Dillon Stadium will be renamed Trinity Health Stadium under the terms of a multi-year naming rights agreement involving Trinity, the city and Hartford Athletic, the professional soccer team that plays its home games at the venue. Trinity Health of New England, which owns St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center in Hartford and other hospitals and facilities in Connecticut and Massachusetts, will have new signage placed throughout the stadium. A new archway featuring the Trinity Health Stadium logo will be built by the main entrance and the stadium's press box and video board will also feature the new stadium logo. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed. Feds: CT job openings grew by 11% in January Connecticut added around 12,000 job openings in December, a likely encouraging trend for job-seekers but further proof of a labor shortage for the state's employers, some of whom have been struggling to find workers for months. According to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Connecticut's number of unfilled, open positions increased by 11.4% between December 2021 and January 2022, despite a relatively high unemployment rate of 5.3%. The state's jobless rate has been coming down in recent months, but it remains tied with New York for sixth- highest in the country. There are now believed to be around 117,000 job openings in Connecticut. Manchester issues new RFP for former Parkade site A conceptual rendering shows proposed development at the vacant town-owned portion of the Manchester Parkade. RENDERING | CONTRIBUTED Manchester officials are once again looking for developers for the former Parkade property on Broad Street and have issued a request for proposal for the site. Almost two months after nixing a deal with Easton-based Manchester Parkade 1, the developer picked two years ago to lead a $140 million mixed-use project at the site, the town has issued another RFP for the 23.2-acre property. Town officials want the new developer to carry out the vision for a revitalized Broad Street area it's been pursuing since the adoption of the Broad Street Redevelopment Plan back in 2009. "Residential, retail, service, office, entertainment and civic uses are possibilities throughout the area and for the redevelopment parcel. The Town recognizes market realities will play a significant role in the eventual success of a project," town officials wrote in the RFP. "Whatever the proposed use, the development should be compact and dense, creating a strong sense of place where people want to be." Redeveloper of New Britain's Berkowitz Building buys nearby land for future mixed- use projects The Berkowitz Building on Main Street in New Britain. PHOTO | COSTAR The city of New Britain has sold four land parcels adjacent to the Berkowitz Building that will be used to build additional mixed-use apartment properties as part of a broader redevelopment plan. The city this month sold 0.64 acres at 634, 666, 676 and 686 Main St., to developer Douglas Bromfield, who is currently in the process of redeveloping the nearby Berkowitz Building into a mixed-use apartment complex. Once completed, the Berkowitz Building — located at 608-626 Main St. — will be about 25,000 square feet and house 24 apartments, as well as first floor retail space. The residential units will be completed this spring, while the completion date for the retail space is still to be determined. Bromfield, who runs Hartford- based Capital Restoration Inc., bought the land parcels from the city this month for $65,000, officials said. They will be used for the construction of additional buildings and parking that aligns with the character and design of the neighborhood, city officials said. New sports bar coming to Pratt Street in downtown Hartford A new restaurant and sports bar is coming to the Pratt Street corridor in downtown Hartford. New York-based Shelbourne Global Solutions, which owns much of Pratt Street and is working to redevelop it, announced that Corner Three will open on the corner of Pratt and Trumbull streets. The two addresses on that corner, 103 Pratt St. and 203 Trumbull St., are in the process of being combined, Shelbourne said. When finished, Corner Three will wrap around both spaces, while also utilizing a refurbished mezzanine space at 103 Pratt St. The sports bar will offer craft cocktails and local beers, along with meals and "small bites." Report: CT's 4Q EV market share grew by 2.8% Connecticut's electric vehicle market share grew by 2.8% year- over-year in the fourth quarter of 2021, according to a new report from the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, one of the biggest gains of any state in the country. For the fourth quarter, electric vehicle sales accounted for over 6% of all motor vehicle sales in the state, the alliance found, greater than the 2021 full-year average of around 5%, a sign that interest in electric options had grown by the end of last year. While Connecticut is not among the top EVs adopters — a crowd that includes California, Washington, D.C., Washington state, Oregon and Nevada — it remains far ahead of most other states, and its EV market share is greater than the 2021 U.S. average, which sits at 4.4%. Overall, 187,490 electric vehicles, including battery, plug-in hybrid and fuel cell electric models, were sold in the U.S. in the fourth quarter of 2021, helping nationwide monthly EV market share double between December 2020 and December 2021. FHI Studio acquires landscape architecture company To Design Hartford-based planning and engineering firm FHI Studio has acquired To Design, another Connecticut company, company officials said. FHI Studio specializes in transportation, environmental and community planning; To Design is a New Britain-based landscape architecture company. The acquisition is effective immediately, company officials said, and five new employees from the purchase will work out of FHI Studio's Hartford office. Study: Hartford Regional Market needs major renovation After more than 70 years in operation, a 33-acre regional agricultural distribution center in Hartford's South Meadows needs widespread repair or replacement. The center can be rebuilt with modern amenities and new missions, bolstering New England's food supply against climate change and disruptions experienced in the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new study supplied to the Capital Region Development Authority. Now, CRDA will work with farmers, current commercial tenants of the market and officials to develop a final plan – including a cost estimate – and seek funding to rebuild the market. The CRDA took over the market from the Department of Agriculture in January 2019. It quickly became clear that the facility was in need of either enormous repairs or wholesale replacement of buildings and facilities, according to CRDA Executive Director Michael W. Freimuth. "The existing tenants are in 50- to 60-year-old facilities that just don't cut it," Freimuth said. "We really can't keep doing it with band-aids." The market contains more than 185,000 square feet of warehouse and refrigerated space at 101 Reserve Road in Hartford. Freimuth said the market leases space to about a dozen food distribution businesses. The consultant team report said a rebuilt regional market could offer processing facilities, classrooms and business lessons to support budding farmers and growers. It could enhance and enlarge direct- to-consumer opportunities, including creating a freestanding restaurant focused on locally-grown offerings.

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