Hartford Business Journal

3 HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | April 11, 2022 BIZ BRIEFS There was no asking price. The current owner is Farmington Realty LLC, which purchased the property in 2005 for $25.4 million, town records show. New York City investment firm Fortress Investment Group is the true owner of the property, state records show. The office building was built in 2003 and is currently 100% leased by ConnectiCare, a large regional health insurance provider and subsidiary to New York-based Emblem Health. The property is connected to a smaller office building that is owned by a separate landlord. The second building, known as Unit 2, is not for sale, according to marketing materials. ConnectiCare's leased headquarters at 175 Scott Swamp Road Unit 1 has been listed for sale. PHOTO | COSTAR 3 CT newspapers sold to Rhode Island company Central Connecticut Communications, publisher of the New Britain Herald, Bristol Press and Willimantic Chronicle, has been sold to a Rhode Island-based publishing company. The sale between Central Connecticut Communications and the Rhode Island Suburban Newspaper, publisher of the Westerly Sun and other titles, was finalized April 4, according to Michael Schroeder, who was the publisher of Central Connecticut Communications. Schroeder, 63, purchased the Herald and Bristol Press in January 2009 and The Chronicle in May 2017. Greater Hartford home listing prices up 18.2% in March The median listing price of a home in the Greater Hartford area shot up 18.2% year-to-year to $355,000 as of March, according to the latest data from Realtors.com. The region lags the nation as a whole — where home prices are hovering around $405,000 — but the increase is nonetheless jarring, especially for young people looking to move out of apartments or their family homes. On the other hand, longtime homeowners have seen the equity in their homes explode over the last two years, as the COVID-19 pandemic sent millions of city workers, mostly renters, into the suburbs looking for space, safety and a measure of quiet. Combined with a historic lack of inventory, pandemic-influenced homebuying trends have sent prices soaring, but industry insiders say they expect a cooling off period to set in now that so many Americans have been priced out of the market. CRDA to launch up to $20M in XL Center renovations, with millions more contemplated The Capital Region Development Authority will shortly launch $20 million in repairs and upgrades to the XL Center, Hartford's decades-old sports arena and convention center. Michael Freimuth, executive director of the CRDA, told his board in a recent meeting the funding will come from a $40 million pool of state bond money the agency received "several years ago." The agency has already spent around $18 million of this, much of it on a costly replacement of the flooring system and chillers used to maintain ice for hockey games, Freimuth said. Other repairs included an elevator, escalators, technical upgrades, improved concession stands, replacement of basketball floors and upgraded lighting. Now, the agency is preparing a new round of projects. This could include the addition of a sports bar/sports betting lounge on the Ann Uccello Avenue side of the XL Center, as well as expansion of the concourse, Freimuth said. The work contemplated also includes upgrades to kitchens, loading dock repairs, new audio-visual equipment, replacement of a freight elevator and a start to the replacement of retractable seating systems. CT's 4Q GDP grows 7.7% Connecticut's gross domestic product grew 7.7% in the fourth quarter of 2021, a fact trumpeted by Gov. Ned Lamont, whose reelection campaign is framed around the state's newfound fiscal stability. Lamont highlighted the release of the GDP estimate by the Bureau of Economic Analysis after presiding over a meeting in which the Bond Commission briskly approved the borrowing of $666.9 million for state and local projects. Half the funding approved will go to transportation infrastructure maintenance and improvements. A little more than 20% will pay for a long bipartisan list of priorities set by lawmakers for projects in their districts. Lamont noted economic growth has come slowly, but it is real nonetheless The preliminary annual GDP estimates showed Connecticut with 4.5% growth in 2021 over 2020. — Mark Pazniokas | CT Mirror Former Hartford beauty products warehouse sells for $3.8M 150 Meadow St., Hartford. PHOTO | COSTAR A former beauty products warehouse on Meadow Street in Hartford sold to a New Britain investor for $3.8 million. The building at 150 Meadow St. had housed Beauty Enterprises Inc., a distributor of cosmetics products. In November, the company informed the Connecticut Department of Labor it would lay off 65 workers at the Hartford warehouse beginning in early January. RHC Realty LLC sold the building to 150 Meadow Street LLC, in a deal recorded March 10, according to city land and assessing records. The principal of the buying limited liability company is Peter Niro, whose state business filing lists 1 Hartford Square in New Britain as both his residence and business addresses. Niro is also principal for Hartford Square Associates, a limited liability company that owns the New Britain property. Bond Commission approves $10M fund to aid cannabis entrepreneurs The state Bond Commission has approved $10 million to provide low-interest loans to cannabis entrepreneurs as Connecticut's recreational adult-use market prepares to come online, possibly by the end of this year. The Department of Economic and Community Development will receive the funds to provide low-interest loans to social equity applicants seeking to start or maintain a cannabis establishment. Funds would be awarded based on applications submitted to the Social Equity Council. This would be the first allocation from the $50 million the state earmarked for technical assistance and business accelerator programs for social equity applicants. Per guidelines from the state, a business qualifies as a social equity applicant if it is at least 65% owned and controlled by individuals who had an average household income of less than 300% of the state median household income over the three tax years immediately preceding the application. Robert Lickwar, a partner at national accounting firm UHY LLP, told HBJ earlier this year that financing is one of the top challenges prospective cannabis companies face when entering the industry, particularly as traditional financial institutions like banks largely ignore the sector since marijuana is still a federally illegal drug. Lamont reaches $75M agreement to keep Sikorsky in CT; deal will need to clear state legislature Sikorsky President Paul Lemmo. PHOTO | GARY LEWIS The Lamont administration has put forward a raft of incentives worth up to $75 million in a bid to ensure that Sikorsky Aircraft will continue to manufacture helicopters in Connecticut. State officials recently announced that Lamont and Sikorsky parent company Lockheed Martin had reached an agreement that would sustain over 7,000 jobs and keep the manufacturer's Stratford headquarters in the state through at least 2042. Sikorsky is in the process of bidding for federal helicopter production contracts that will ultimately replace several existing helicopter programs, including Sikorsky's own Black Hawk. The agreement would provide up to $75 million in incentives depending on the level of work the company secures, as long as production remains in Connecticut. The pact must be approved by the General Assembly before coming into effect. PURA launches new grid innovation program The Public Utilities Regulatory Authority has launched a new program designed to encourage the deployment of new energy technologies and products, with the overall aim of modernizing the state's power grid. The program will allow "innovators" to submit ideas or proposals for consideration. A subgroup of successful applicants would be allowed to more completely develop their plans, and their projects could eventually be deployed on a limited scale to test their value. The inclusion of a phased approach and multiple innovation pathways is meant to cultivate a "robust ecosystem of innovation" in the state, agency officials wrote.

• Cover