Hartford Business Journal

14 HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | August 15, 2022 Steve Cortese is leading efforts to raise money for a planned $30 million autonomous vehicle test track and research center near UConn's Storrs campus. Cortese has an option agreement with UConn to purchase 105 acres in the southwest portion of the school's Mansfield Depot campus (shown in the above photo) where the test facility would be located. HBJ PHOTO | STEVE LASCHEVER Transportation's Future Meet the duo behind an ambitious $30M plan to build the region's first autonomous vehicle test track facility, research center By Robert Storace rstorace@hartfordbusiness.com Longtime financial advisor Steve Cortese heard back in 2018 that UConn was seeking investors to potentially build an autonomous vehicle testing facility near its Storrs campus, an idea that piqued his interest. So he decided to travel to the university with his daughter who was enrolling that year in the school's nursing program. It was during that visit four years ago that Cortese met Eric Jackson, associate research professor in UConn's engineering school and director of the Connecticut Transportation Safety Research Center. Jackson presented his idea for the potential testing site that could include simulated highway driving environments, intersections, parking lots and ramps — in what would be the first such test track facility in New England. Today, that vision is much closer to becoming reality. UConn's Board of Trustees recently approved an option agreement to sell 105 acres in the southwest portion of the school's Mansfield Depot Campus to a private company — Promesa Capital LLC — headed by Cortese, who would lead a group of investors in developing the site as the region's first-ever connected and autonomous vehicle test track and research facility. Such a facility, Jackson and Cortese said, would be a boon for the university and region, helping make UConn a leader in autonomous vehicle research, technology and safety. "My goal is to raise the stature of UConn to a school where world- class research takes place on this technology, and students come to UConn specifically to work with leading faculty on projects that will change the way we travel," Jackson said. "UConn will be transformational in terms of research and will provide a world-class facility to open opportu- nities we've never had before for the future of transportation." The players Under the option agreement — if all steps and zoning approvals are met — UConn would sell the Mans- field property to Promesa Capital LLC for $5 million. Promesa Capital would use its own money from investors to fund construction of the estimated $30 million test track facility, named Spectrum Park. UConn — and other entities — would use the property for different purposes. Cortese said he thought the project would be a great investment opportu- nity for someone with his professional background, which includes more than 25 years as a stockbroker and financial advisor. Cortese isn't a household name, and he's kept a low profile online. He does not have a LinkedIn page and a simple Google search brings little to no information about the 52-year-old Florida native. He said he attended Florida State University in Talla- hassee, where he majored in history, but didn't graduate. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission lists several compa- nies he's been associated with including as an investment advisory representative with Dynamic Wealth Advisors. The SEC website also lists his employment with Stamford-based Hedgeye Risk Management LLC, which provides investment research and is an online financial media company, according to its website. He was also a business develop- ment consultant for a limited liability company called Sungarden Fund Management LLC, which is not registered in Connecticut. Jackson, a Tolland resident, earned his bachelor's degree in civil engi- neering at the University of Kentucky and got his civil engineering Ph.D. at UConn, where he specialized in transportation systems. He leads the Connecticut Transportation Safety Research Center, which works with the state Department of Transporta- tion to develop and maintain a crash data entry, collection, and safety analysis system. Cortese formed Guilford-based Promesa Capital LLC in 2021. It serves as the financial arm of Spectrum Park, a safety research company. The companies, Cortese said, were formed with the sole purpose of a potential deal for the UConn-owned land, which is located in one of the state's 72 Opportunity Zones, making investment in the project potentially eligible for capital gains tax benefits, Cortese said. That's part of the pitch Cortese is making to investors, who he declined to name. Cortese said he has enough investor money for the land purchase, but will need to raise more to cover the estimated $30 million project cost. It would take about 18 months to complete build-out of the test track facility, Jackson said. Under the plan, Cortese's company would work with the university to maintain and potentially operate the facility. Business model Cortese said the testing facility's business model is to have a consor- tium of large companies that want to invest in the project and have a presence in the facility. Potential clients would be charged a user fee, which is how the facility would earn revenue. Companies that he and UConn are

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