Hartford Business Journal

4 HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | June 20, 2022 Editorial Greg Bordonaro | Editor, ext. 139 gbordonaro@hartfordbusiness.com Drew Larson | Web Editor, ext. 121 alarson@hartfordbusiness.com 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 Bartosz Zinowko | Production Director, ext. 147 bzinowko@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. 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Postmaster: Please send address changes to: Hartford Business Journal P.O Box 330 Congers, NY 10920-9894 BIZ BRIEFS that employs thousands of people, Lehman said, but that's come at a significant cost. Under Connecticut's Film and Digital Media Production Tax Credit, companies can receive — in the form of a tax credit — up to 30% off qualified production expenses or costs incurred in the state. There's no cap on the amount they can claim per year. Erica E. Phillips | CT Mirror Frontier Airlines adds nonstop Las Vegas flight from Bradley Frontier Airlines is adding a nonstop route to Las Vegas from Bradley International Airport, the Connecticut Airport Authority announced. It will be the second nonstop flight added to the Sin City in recent months. Breeze Airways announced in April it was adding a direct flight to Vegas starting in September. Beginning in August, Frontier will offer daily nonstop service from Bradley to Las Vegas. The flights will begin during what CAA officials expect to be a busy summer season as people travel more coming out of the coronavirus pandemic. Bradley could see more than 10,000 passengers take off daily during the summer months, Bradley officials said. M&T Bank to open new multicultural branch in East Hartford M&T Bank, which recently named a new Hartford region president following its $8.3 billion purchase of People's United Bank earlier this spring, plans to open a new multicultural branch in East Hartford, the company confirmed. The 2,750-square-foot banking center will be located at 957 Main St., in a building formerly occupied by Farmington Bank, which People's United acquired in 2018. People's closed the branch prior to its conversion with Farmington Bank in January 2019. The building has been vacant since. A "Coming Soon" sign went up this month with construction slated to begin in June. It's scheduled to open in September, the bank said. The location will be designated as a multicultural banking center offering financial services in customers' preferred languages and employing bankers from the community who understand the cultural nuances of the individuals and neighborhoods they serve, the bank said. State secures $13.8M federal grant to build Enfield train station Enfield will have its own train platform for the first time in more than 35 years with the help of a $13.8 million federal grant, state officials announced. The train station will be located in the Thompsonville section, and officials say it will mean more economic opportunities and revitalization for northeastern Connecticut. The state Bond Commission last year approved $35 million for a new Hartford Line train platform in Enfield, saying it would provide a faster, more convenient rail commute to Hartford and Springfield. Suffield CBD-producer seeks zoning text change for marijuana dispensary Lasa Extract LLC has proposed an amendment to the town's zoning regulations that would allow it to open a retail cannabis dispensary and micro-cultivation facility at its existing CBD-extraction business at 426 South Grand St., in Suffield. Currently, Lasa Extract operates a CBD extraction facility at the location, which is in a building originally built for tobacco processing. The business is owned by Rick Sotil, former jai alai player, arborist and woodworker. Lasa Extract is one of the few hemp oil manufacturers in Connecticut. M&T Bank will be taking over this former Farmington Bank branch in East Hartford, at 957 Main St. PHOTO | COSTAR Enfield Mayor Bob Cressotti points out the location of the planned Hartford Line train platform in the Thompsonville section of town. HBJ FILE PHOTO Lasa Extract Owner Rick Sotil (right) with lab director Nathaniel Huffman looking at a CBD sample. PHOTO | CONTRIBUTED 4 Peerless Way in Enfield. PHOTO | COSTAR Newington aerospace manufacturer sells Enfield industrial building for $5.8M Newington-based aerospace manufacturer PCX Aerosystems recently sold a 52,164-square-foot industrial building in Enfield for $5.8 million, nearly double what the company paid for the property two years ago. The 19-year-old building sits on 4.3 acres at 4 Peerless Way in Enfield. PCX Aerospace Enfield LLC — which shares a Newington address with PCX Aerosystems — sold the property to 4 Peerless Way Owner LLC in a deal recorded April 21. The Enfield property is one of four locations listed on the PCX Aerosystems website, including its Newington headquarters. The others are in California and Massachusetts. The buying limited liability company's principal is Kevin Ross, who lists his business and residential addresses at the same building in Rockville Centre, New York, according to state business records. West Hartford Starbucks baristas form union Connecticut has its first unionized Starbucks store, as employees of the chain continue a nationwide organized labor movement. The Starbucks is at 1449b New Britain Ave., in West Hartford. The Corbin's Corner Starbucks Workers United said in a tweet that employees voted 13-3 in favor of the union. They will be represented by Workers United, an affiliate of the Service Employees International Union. Alvarium expands in New Britain with new coffee shop Alvarium Beer Company — a brewery that has had a presence in New Britain for five years — opened a new coffee shop June 2, at 365 John Downey Drive. The coffee shop — run by Alvarium Roasting Company, a sister company to Alvarium Beer — is in a 500-square- foot space in the city's industrial center, which preexisted the building that houses Alvarium Beer Company. Alvarium owners Kate Bugnacki, Michael Larson and Brian Bugnacki teamed up last year with the company's director of roasting operations, Jacob Failla, to begin the year-long planning process for the coffee shop. The process was followed by a three-month construction phase that cost about $220,000 for equipment and build out.

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