Hartford Business Journal

4 HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | August 15, 2022 BIZ BRIEFS Executives from Winstanley Enterprises and Northpoint Development recently joined public officials, including U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal and Gov. Ned Lamont, for the Phase II groundbreaking of the Great Pond development in Windsor. Great Pond developers kick off Phase II of 650-acre mixed- use village project in Windsor By Hanna Snyder Gambini hgambini@hartfordbusiness.com Adam Winstanley said breaking ground Aug. 9 on the Great Pond Industrial project in Windsor was a very proud moment more than 15 years in the making. The 750,000-square-foot industrial warehouse development is part of WInstanley Enterprises' massive 650-acre Great Pond Village project that, when completed, will contain a variety of housing units, from apartments to townhouses and small starter homes for rent, along with retail storefronts, warehouses, bioscience and data centers, with a hefty dose of open space peppered in. Winstanley called the project "a labor of love" for his family's firm, Winstanley Enterprises, which includes his father David and brother Carter. The industrial warehouse development is a partnership between Winstanley Enterprises, Northpoint Development and ABB Industrial Solutions. The industrial building, which is being built on spec and doesn't currently have a tenant, will sit on 94 acres in the Great Pond campus off Day Hill Road, and include more than 100 dock doors, parking for 574 vehicles, plus 14 electric vehicle spots, and 150 stalls for trailer parking. Representatives from the development team along with state and local leaders were on hand Aug. 9 for the groundbreaking of Phase II, which includes the warehouse and a $14.4 million investment in roads, bridges and infrastructure. Phase I was completed in 2020, with the 230-unit Preserve at Great Pond luxury apartments complex. Northpoint Regional Vice President Christina Hubacek said ABB's $150 million remediation of the former Combustion Engineering site off Day Hill Road was the largest brownfield redevelopment in the region, "cleaning it up to the highest environmental standard possible," allowing the residential units. "A brownfield redevelopment not only turns old into new, but it brings a site back into production … and brings investment, tax dollars and wages back into a community," Hubacek said. The Great Pond Industrial building is expected to generate almost 300 permanent jobs, $400,000 in state taxes and more than $12 million in permanent wages, she said. Northpoint's capital investment is about $133 million. The entire project will run about $750 million, and reach close to $1 billion counting the remediation costs, Winstanley excutives said. The effort started in 2008 as a collaboration with ABB when Winstanley and Windsor town officials brainstormed the idea "to focus on cluster development governed by a form-based code," Adam Winstanley said. The concept is unique in that "basically (you) have kind of a city within a city with its own zoning code," creating more density but combining it with 225 acres of open space and walking trails. Agritech firm Enko raises $70M to commercialize crop-protection platform Mystic-based Enko, which uses machine learning to identify new crop chemicals, announced that it has raised $70 million in Series C funding. The company's overall capital raised to date totals $140 million, Enko said. The latest round was led by Australian agro- chemical company Nufarm as part of an expanded partnership with Enko. Enko said it would use the new funds to advance its product pipeline of crop protection chemicals. ConnectiCare latest insurer to add virtual primary care program Farmington health insurer Connecti- Care said it has introduced a new virtual primary care program, for no additional premium, for individual and small group members. ConnectiCare launched Teladoc Primary360 on July 1, in an effort to expand access to primary care and specialty services for all individual and fully insured small group members of its healthcare plan, the insurer said. Through the program, members can contact primary care providers, dermatologists, and mental health professionals via phone, video, or messaging through a mobile online application. According to ConnectiCare, doctors can provide annual exams and routine checkups through the program, and prescriptions are sent to the member's pharmacy of choice on the same day as they're issued. The new program also includes virtual care for a wide variety of mental health issues. Hartford jumps to 8th spot in hottest housing markets report The Hartford and New Haven metro areas again ranked in the top 20 U.S. hottest housing markets for June, according to a report from Realtor.com. The Hartford, West Hartford, East Hartford area jumped from 16th in May to the eighth hottest housing market in June, with a median listing price of $375,000, according to the report. The New Haven-Milford market dropped one spot to rank 19th for June, with a median listing price of $362,000. Affordability remains a key factor in housing markets, as "pricey western markets have been replaced with more affordable markets in the Northeast and Midwest, which account for 19 of the 20 hot markets," according to the report. Otis Worldwide to sell off Russian business amid war in Ukraine Farmington elevator maker Otis World- wide Corp. announced that it was selling off its Russian business amid the ongoing war in Ukraine. The deal follows Otis' decision in March to stop taking new equipment orders and cease investment in its Russia operations. Otis is selling its Russian business to Ice Development, a Russian-based investment company with a focus on the real estate sector and overseeing large- scale residential construction and building restoration projects. Financial terms were not disclosed. Wethersfield nursing home could be demolished for multifamily housing development A local development company has bought a long-vacant nursing home in Wethersfield with preliminary plans to rezone the site and build multifamily housing, according to town officials. Joseph Calafiore, principal of Hart- ford-based 341 Jordan Lane Development LLC, bought property at Jordan Lane and Folly Brook Boulevard on June 10 for $825,000, from Crosstone Realty Associ- ates and a number of other owners. The former nursing home has been vacant for close to a decade, Town Planner Denise Bradley said. Redevelopment plans call for multifamily units, but the scope of the project is not yet known. Report: Investment fraud in state jumps 700% A recent study found that Connecticut experienced the seventh-highest percentage increase in investment fraud in the country last year. The study, conducted by Broker- Chooser, which features an online broker comparison tool and reviews, analyzed data on investment-related scams and fraud from the Federal Bureau of Investi- gation. According to the BrokerChooser 2022 Investment Fraud Report, Connecticut had 136 investment fraud victims in 2021, compared to 17 in 2019, for a 700% increase. In a state-by-state ranking for the largest percentage increase in invest- ment fraud, Connecticut came in at No. 7. Enko Chem researchers work out of the company's Mystic headquarters. PHOTO | CONTRIBUTED HBJ PHOTO | HANNA SNYDER GAMBINI ConnectiCare's headquarters at 175 Scott Swamp Road in Farmington. PHOTO | COSTAR

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