Hartford Business Journal

30 HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | MAY 1, 2023 EDITOR'S TAKE OTHER VOICES development efforts to grow their tax base. At the very least, any commercial mill rate cap would likely need to be raised much higher. And what happens when the state faces a future budget deficit and decides it needs to lower its reim- bursements to local communities? It would create fiscal instability for many cities and towns. Office lease incentive A number of Hartford landlords have called for state incentives to encourage companies to expand or relocate to downtown, given more than 30% of center-city office space is currently available for lease. However, it's legitimate to ask if this would be the best use of taxpayer dollars. Should we provide incentives to a company that moves from Glastonbury or Farmington to Hartford? That's the classic game of government choosing winners and losers — something the private sector often laments. Plus, incentives typically aren't a driving factor in company relocation decisions. Downtown Hartford's best shot at filling empty office space is creating a dynamic restaurant, retail, entertain- ment, arts and culture scene. While most employers need less office space coming out of the pandemic, they increasingly want to be located in vibrant environments that will draw workers back to the office. Hartford, with its small and walkable downtown, has the infra- structure to be an attractive employ- ment center, but it needs to fill empty storefronts with attractive tenants. Significant efforts have been underway. The city set aside about $6.7 million in federal COVID-relief money for its Hart Lift program, which offers landlords matching grants of up to $150,000 to outfit spaces for new, ground-floor retail and restaurant ventures. The money has been fully allocated and is expected to yield dozens of new businesses, many of them downtown. It would be wise to see what impact that program has before another new incentive is brought to the table. Property conversion tax credit Congress for several years has debated the Revitalizing Downtowns Act, which would help cities find new uses for unused office space. It proposes a tax credit equal to 20% of the qualified expenses for converting obsolete office buildings into residential, institutional, hotel or mixed-use properties. Unfortunately, it hasn't gained much traction, but Fonfara's proposal seems to emulate it. And it may be the best and most practical part of his overall bill. Converting underutilized office space into residential apartments has been a winning strategy in Hartford. Much of it has been spurred by the quasi-public Capital Region Develop- ment Authority, which provides low-in- terest loans to apartment developers to help fill financing gaps. CRDA has helped finance nearly 3,000 new apartments downtown over the past decade, but it's mainly focused on less expensive Class B or C buildings. Adding a 25% state tax credit could help convert some empty Class A office space — a much pricier proposition — in downtown Hartford into new uses. However, more clarity is needed in how the tax credit program would fit into the state's broader affordable housing efforts. Gov. Lamont's two-year, $50.5 billion proposed budget nearly doubles the state's investment in affordable housing development to $600 million. We don't need a smorgasbord of housing development programs — just effective ones that offer taxpayers the best return on their investment. Reinventing Junior Achievement: A strategic plan to better prepare CT's future leaders By Jeremy Race I mpact. That is our aim at Junior Achievement of Southwest New England — to have an impact on young lives by encouraging entre- preneurship, enhancing education, helping young people realize their own talents and potential, and connecting individuals established in their careers with students on the threshold of theirs. In the past, like many organizations, we have spent a good deal of our time highlighting our impressive numbers. More recently, we have realized that if we are to truly change lives — particularly in the aftermath of COVID and a changed workplace — it is not about how many, it is about how much. How much of a difference can we make in young lives; how much can young people develop their own goals and confidence; how much more of their potential can be realized and recognized — first by themselves, and then by others they encounter as they embark on career paths. To achieve these objectives, we need to reach further, aspire higher and innovate along the way. We need to build on JA's proven track record of scaling major workforce readiness initiatives, and accelerate efforts to provide students with the tools they'll need to better navigate their future and influence the trajectory of their lives, families and communities. We have embarked on that journey enthusiastically, and we are doing so with intensified partnerships, new collaborators and invigorated volun- teers who will be on the frontlines extending their expertise and commit- ment to students. As an organization, we've made the strategic decision to make impact and outcomes our leading priority. We still plan to reach thousands of students — this year, more than 30,000 — but our focus will be program quality versus quantity. We will do even more listening to community leaders and work harder to solve societal issues. Here's a glimpse of what is unfolding now, and what's ahead: For two consecutive years — and for the first time in more than 30 years — we are working with more middle and high school students than elementary school students. That's driven by school leaders telling us this age group of students, who have been significantly impacted by the pandemic and learning loss, truly need our help to prepare for their futures. We are pursuing substantive discussions with public and private colleges and universities that — starting next year — will grant high school students college credit for completing some of JA's 10 semes- ter-long courses. That hasn't happened before, but these institutions recognize the caliber of JA's newly-developed curriculum. A formal announcement remains ahead, but we're tremen- dously encouraged by commitments from Albertus Magnus College, University of Hartford and University of St. Joseph. We are also talking earnestly with community leaders about the possibility of building a JA BizTown/ Finance Park facility in Hartford, a life-changing program that exists in more than 20 states across the country. In this program, students complete 12 weeks of financial literacy curriculum before spending five hours at a JA facility for their capstone experience. There's more work ahead to launch this initiative, but our initial conver- sations have been quite promising. We're hearing from school and busi- ness leaders that there is a critical need for stronger financial literacy training for Connecticut students. We plan to launch a feasibility study in the weeks ahead to determine if we can raise the funds needed to build this program here. We are also talking with several local school districts about the possi- bility of opening and operating a JA high school, a program called 3DE. School leaders see this program as one that can substantially increase high school graduation rates, and business leaders see it as one that can help to better prepare young people for college and the world of work. In addition, we are in active explorations with the federal govern- ment, specifically the Department of Defense, about the possibility of establishing a program that would launch in Connecticut, then expand nationally, contributing to the talent pipeline for the nation's submarine and submarine supply chain work- force. This is a sampling of the important work now taking place. It will not be easy, but nothing this important ever is. We are confident that we can count on business leaders and profes- sionals across many industries to take JA to the next level — because that is what our communities are asking of us. Working collaboratively, we can inspire and prepare young people — the next generation of community leaders — to succeed. These ambi- tious, aspirational goals are now our North Star. Jeremy Race is president and CEO of Junior Achievement of South- west New England, which includes Hartford, New Haven, Middlesex, Tolland, Windham, Litchfield and New London counties. Jeremy Race

• Cover