Hartford Business Journal

6 HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | NOVEMBER 21, 2022 BIZ BRIEFS More than a hand up. We're hands on. Our investment in the Connecticut community goes far beyond charitable giving. The Centreville Bank team believes it makes good sense to give our time as well. The Read to Grow Bookmobile was made possible by a donation from the Centreville Bank Charitable Foundation. Paola Fernandez, senior vice president, community development officer for Centreville Bank spoke about the wonders of reading and the importance of books in a child's life. There will be multiple pop ups across Connecticut as the Bookmobile hits the road. $1,333,134 in contributions to non-profit organizations in 2021 3,000 employee community volunteer hours in 2021 centrevillebank.com/community EQUAL HOUSING LENDER | NMLS#402947 | MEMBER FDIC Centreville-39839 475x675_HBJ_f.indd 1 Centreville-39839 475x675_HBJ_f.indd 1 11/3/22 4:19 PM 11/3/22 4:19 PM Shelbourne Global Solutions and LAZ Parking CEO Alan Lazowski paid $20 million for a 9-story, 78-unit apartment tower and the townhouses in late 2019. According to Kenny, renovations to common areas of the tower are in the works and the partnership recently completed a "re-imagining" of the townhouses. A previous owner had leased the townhouses to the University of Hartford as dormito- ries. Interest in the townhouses was lacking, however, after that lease expired, Kenny said. Cigna expanding Medicare Advantage business in CT Bloomfield health insurer Cigna is expanding its Connecticut pres- ence in the lucrative Medicare Advantage market. Cigna first entered the state's Medi- care Advantage market, which offers supplemental coverage to those 65 and older who are on Medicare, last year, gaining a foothold in New Haven County. Now it's expanding coverage to Litchfield and Middlesex counties, the company announced. It's offering a number of different plan options, including $0 premium plans that will be available during Medicare's annual election period, which begins Oct. 15 and continues through Dec. 7. Plans will be effective Jan. 1, 2023. As of mid-2022, 712,549 Connecticut residents were enrolled in Medicare and more than half have Medicare Advantage plans, according to healthinsurance.org. Sema4 closes CT labs, cuts hundreds of jobs Sema4, a biotechnology company that received millions of dollars in state loans to open laboratories in Branford and Stamford is shuttering its Connecticut lab operations. In a conference call with analysts Nov. 14 announcing Sema4's third quarter earnings, Chief Executive Katherine Stueland said the company was eliminating its reproductive health business, cutting 500 jobs and closing its 70,000-square-foot labora- tory in Stamford, which it opened less than two years ago. A company spokesman said about half of the employees who will be impacted are based in Connecticut. Sema4's primary laboratory will be its facility in Gaithersburg, Md., and the company will still employ about 1,100 after the cuts, a spokesperson said. The news comes just three months after Sema4 announced plans to exit another line of business — somatic oncology — and close its first Connecticut lab, in Branford. That decision eliminated more than 200 jobs, roughly half of which were located in the state. — Erica E. Phil- lips and Dave Altimari, CT Mirror Conning to purchase Chicago investment firm Hartford-based investment management firm Conning announced it will be acquiring Chicago real estate investment firm Pearlmark, a move the company said would allow it to grow and expand its current investment capability. Conning has signed a definitive agreement to purchase a majority stake in Pearlmark Real Estate, a specialized investment manager of commercial real estate debt and equity strategies. Financial details of the transaction, which is expected to close early next year, weren't immediately available. Lincoln Tech to launch new medical assistant training program at East Windsor campus Citing the need for qualified health- care positions, Lincoln Educational Services Corp. – parent company of Lincoln Technical Institute – announced it will be introducing medical assistant training at its East Windsor location. Lincoln Tech announced the new program will launch Nov. 30, and can be completed in about nine months. The school said day and evening class options are available. The U.S. Department of Labor estimates there will be about 12,000 more job openings across the Nutmeg State for skilled and trained medical assistants by 2030. Hartford City Councilperson Marilyn Rossetti, U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, developer Marty Kenny, Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin and LAZ Parking CEO Alan Lazowski at the ribbon cutting of the Sage Allen apartments. PHOTO | CONTRIBUTED Purchase a group subscription for your team or entire organization. Get access to HBJ for your entire team! EMAIL>> CIRCULATION@HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM FOR MORE INFORMATION

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