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22 HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | July 18, 2022 FOCUS POWER 25 REAL ESTATE Avner Krohn To a community long hungry for investment, the attention of a devel- oper who sees your potential can be a blessing. Fifteen years ago, that community was New Britain and the developer was Avner Krohn. Krohn's company, Jasko Develop- ment, took a long-neglected building on Main Street and renovated it into a mix of first-floor retail and luxury In 2021, Avner Krohn launched his most ambitious New Britain project to date, a $14-million, 107-unit luxury apartment building in the heart of downtown New Britain. HBJ PHOTO | STEVE LASCHEVER apartments above. Jasko also reno- vated the Rao and Raphael buildings into mixed use. In 2021, Krohn launched his most ambitious New Britain project to date, a $14-million, 107-unit luxury apartment building in the heart of downtown New Britain. "I think New Britain can handle many hundreds of market-rate apartments downtown if you build with the right mixed use, with retail on the ground floor," Krohn said at the time. "I think smaller projects will come into play on the side streets once you get the vibrancy that's neces- sary downtown." New Britain has seen a swirl of development interest in the past year, as other developers noticed successful projects by Krohn, who has continued to advance proposals in New Britain and elsewhere. Krohn and partners are pursuing a 48-unit apartment development in West Hartford Center and a 440-unit project at the former Showcase Cin- emas site in East Hartford. Krohn is also partnered in a 114-unit apartment development on a down- town New Britain site created by the demolition of three commercial buildings near New Britain City Hall. Those apartments are expected to be available by the end of 2023. More recently, Krohn paid $775,000 for a 36,530-square-foot office building at 114 West Main St., and a neighboring parking lot in down- town New Britain. Krohn plans to renovate the building, which once served as a U.S. Post Office, and find new tenants. Andrea Gomes Andrea Gomes is an attorney with law firm Hinckley Allen, practic- ing land-use, environmental and municipal law. She holds a leadership position within the state's commercial real estate industry by serving as pres- ident of CREW CT, a local chapter of an international orga- nization dedicated to advancing women in commercial real estate. A "dirt lawyer" at heart, Gomes works regularly with developers, property owners, and investors in obtain- ing municipal land-use approvals, ranging from special permits and site plans, to wetlands permits and vari- Andrea Gomes 15 HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | APRIL 25, 2022 I think it's important to take a look at the many different programs we have and determine if they are sustainable. At a time when you are trying to reinvent yourself and think of innovative ideas, you can't be doing everything that you've been doing before. Q. What are the key focus areas right now for the United Way? A. Early childhood education and reading proficiency by fourth grade are key issues. We also have economic mobility and workforce initiatives that we have to help prepare folks to be next-generation future leaders. Basic needs, including food assistance, shelter, utilities, are also important. We were able to provide $4 million in COVID assistance during last fiscal year. Those basic needs aren't going to go away. Those are things I believe United Way will always be involved in. United Way also runs 211, the information hotline where folks can get assistance or referrals to nonprofit agencies to get services. Q. What do you think has led to the decline in workplace giving? A. There are a couple of issues at play. I think workplace culture has changed from the 1970s to 2022. In the beginning of workplace campaigns, there was a top- down approach in terms of getting employees involved and being told they need to give and need to give to this organization. I think employees today like to be involved in the decision-making process of philanthropic giving within the company. I think you see a lot more of a bottom-up approach with philanthropy. All those things are great, but United Way kind of got lost in that shuffle. We used to be the only provider of workplace campaigns and only charity that employees would give to through their employer. Now we are in a sea of charities from A to Z and we are the U in the list. That just makes us have to work harder. The nonprofit community in general has also gotten very savvy with fundraising, which has added another layer of competition. Q. Besides creating a greater focus on a single issue, are there any other strategies you are thinking about to boost workplace giving? A. If there is a company that currently doesn't do a campaign, we always like to start with volunteerism. We will start with that as the entrance point into the relationship. We will coordinate volunteer projects. It's an employee retention strategy for their HR departments It's also an education about the needs of the community and a discussion about focusing on a specific issue the company wants to fundraise around, or they may want to do a broader community giving campaign. That's the strategy around the new business side. Also, if it's a company where employee giving is declining, and there doesn't seem to be a lot of enthusiasm around that, then we look at what are the corporate giving opportunities. Q. United Way is preparing for its centennial celebration in 2024. What opportunities does that present? A. We have 18 months of preparation and a lot of our planning for the next fiscal year will be around the centennial. There will be lots of opportunities to re-engage with donors who gave to us in the past. But it will also definitely be a future- focused centennial and about the future leaders of our community. There will be a new strategic plan going into the centennial, related to programs, volunteering, marketing. Deal Watch United Way of Central and Northeastern CT financial snapshot FY 2018 FY 2019 FY 2020 Revenue Campaign amounts raised $17,717,576 $14,341,464 $9,223,355 Total public support and revenue $13,031,831 $12,283,927 $12,472,596 Expenses Total community investment and program services $8,801,319 $9,034,926 $9,560,202 Total community investment, program and support services $12,686,791 $12,213,928 $13,303,935 Operating income $345,040 $69,999 ($831,339) Total margin ($271,156) ($1,538,235) $3,488,597 Source: United Way Annual Reports ABLE COIL | BOLTON CT MUNSONS CHOCOLATES | BOLTON CT COUZENS, DOMINGOS, ALLEN & ASSOCIATES LLC | TOLLAND CT MAX TRANSPORTATION | EAST GRANBY CT. 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