Hartford Business Journal

2 HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | April 11, 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 | Events Manager, 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 UConn approves plan to invest $46M in research, entrepreneurship faculty UConn Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs Carl Lejuez. HBJ PHOTO | STEVE LASCHEVER UConn's Board of Trustees recently voted to invest $46 million in 10 research and entrepreneurship faculty and new lab space and equipment as part of a plan to increase research and new business start-up ventures. The goal of the investment is to recruit from a wide pool of top researchers. Those new hires and the equipment would be paid via state bond funds over the next five years. The state Bond Commission still needs to sign off on that funding. In addition, under the plan, the university would foot the bill for salaries, equipment and lab space in the sixth year and beyond. The goal, said UConn Provost Dr. Carl Lejuez, is for the individuals who are hired to develop startups and help create "an ecosystem that further generates additional opportunities for other faculty to learn how to be entrepreneurial in this way and how to think about commercialization." The new hires would be studying in various fields, including biomedical sciences and engineering; clean and renewable energy; cybersecurity; genomics; and sustainable agriculture, among others. Developer sought for mixed-use project on downtown Hartford lot south of Bushnell Park A conceptual drawing from the Bushnell South Master Plan, which aims to transform about 12 acres of underused buildings and surface parking south of Bushnell Park into a vibrant neighborhood of 1,800 residents. RENDERING | CONTRIBUTED The Capital Region Development Authority is poised to begin its hunt for a developer to transform a four- acre parking lot south of Bushnell Park into a mix of hundreds of apartments and thousands of square feet of retail space. CRDA Executive Director Michael Freimuth said his agency is issuing a "request for qualifications" this month, seeking interested developers. The lot sits just to the east of a state office building, sandwiched between Capitol Avenue and West and Buckingham streets, one block south of Bushnell Park. It occupies one of several blocks — a total of about 12 acres — the city aims to transform into a vibrant mix of apartments for 1,800 residents, along with retail, arts and cultural offerings. That vision is spelled out in a "Bushnell South" master plan first issued last June and updated in November. According to that plan, the four- acre lot controlled by CRDA would host 372 apartments and 28,000 square feet of retail space. The exact scope and schedule, however, would be subject to negotiations between whatever developer is selected and the CRDA, Freimuth said. The larger Bushnell South redevelopment plan includes Spinnaker Real Estate Partners' $63.3 million redevelopment of a former state office building at 55 Elm St., which sits near the eastern edge of the development zone. Spinnaker plans to create 278 apartments, as well as retail on that site, according to the master plan. The master plan also shows Spinnaker eventually building another 456 housing units on parking lots just south of 55 Elm St. Freimuth said development of the four-acre parking lot currently controlled by CRDA could come in two or more phases. If all goes well, a preferred developer could be picked in late spring or early summer, he said. HHC opening talent development center in Hartford's Gold Building Hartford HealthCare's new corporate headquarters at 100 Pearl St., in downtown Hartford. HBJ FILE PHOTO Hartford HealthCare is expanding its presence in downtown Hartford with the addition of a talent development center, which will be set up on the ground floor of One Financial Plaza, better known as the "Gold Building." HHC President and CEO Jeffrey Flaks said the 7,000-square-foot leased space will be used for company orientations, as well as regional medical meetings, conferences and symposiums. The space, which will undergo a redesign, is expected to be ready for use by late fall or early winter, Flaks said. The Gold Building is located across the street from HHC's new headquarters, at 100 Pearl St., where the health system is leasing 110,000 square feet to have around 550 workers based there. ConnectiCare's Farmington corporate HQ property for sale A three-story Farmington office building anchored by health insurer ConnectiCare has been listed for sale. The 100,539-square-foot property at 175 Scott Swamp Road Unit 1 went on the market in March. M&T Bank closes $8.3B purchase of People's United Bank B uffalo-based M&T Bank announced April 2, that it closed on its $8.3 billion purchase of Bridgeport-based People's United Bank. The completion of the deal ends a more than year-long acquisition process that was delayed several times while it was awaiting approval from the Federal Reserve. The Fed signed off on the deal early last month. The combined company with $200 billion in assets now employs more than 22,000 people and has a network of over 1,000 branches and 2,200 ATMs that span 12 states from Maine to Virginia and Washington, D.C. As part of the deal, People's United's headquarters in Bridgeport will now become M&T's New England regional headquarters. M&T Bank also previously announced a five-year, $43 billion community growth plan that will provide loans, investments and other financial support for low-to-moderate income families and neighborhoods across the combined M&T and People's United footprint. People's United Bank at 1 Financial Plaza in downtown Hartford. HBJ FILE PHOTO

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