Hartford Business Journal

HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | JUNE 26, 2023 21 dime-bank.com / 860.859.4300 Colchester | East Lyme | Glastonbury | Ledyard | Manchester | Montville | New London Norwich: Broadway, Corporate, Norwichtown | Stonington Borough | Taftville | Vernon | Westerly, RI It's your home. Your choice. Your Dime. Local Businesses Deserve a Local Lending Team We invite all local business owners to discover what makes working with a local, community-based lending team better for your business. Take advantage of: • lenders who work and live in the area • local decision making to help your business grow more efficiently With $35M state bonding allocation, UConn eyes new nursing school, expanded downtown Hartford presence By Michelle Tuccitto Sullo & Greg Bordonaro msullo@hartfordbusiness.com U Conn is eyeing a new, larger home for its School of Nursing, which is outgrowing its current Storrs campus location. The state's flagship university is also looking to expand its downtown Hartford campus presence. Both moves are being spurred by state funding support. Tucked into the state's massive two-year, $7.5 billion bond package bill approved on the last day of the legislative session, is a $30 million allocation for UConn to use toward the design and construction of a new nursing school facility. It will be built on UConn's Storrs campus. Another $5 million was earmarked for UConn to acquire or lease property at the XL Center for academic space. Stephanie Reitz, a spokeswoman for UConn, said plans for both projects are still in the early stages, with designs for the nursing school not expected to be finished until next June. Following a bidding process, construction is slated to begin in November 2024, with the new building complete in July 2026, Reitz said. Currently, UConn's School of Nursing is in Storrs Hall, a historic building erected in 1906. UConn expanded the building to 51,000 gross square feet in 2012, because the school was growing. "Due to the continued growth of the school's program, the existing building can no longer adequately fulfill the school's requirements in terms of size and spatial configuration," Reitz said. The new building will help accom- modate increased nursing school enrollment. Healthcare providers have reported a shortage in workers, espe- cially nurses, to meet their needs. Plans are for the new School of Nursing building to be located near the existing Brain Imaging Research Center, which is on Alethia Drive in Storrs, Reitz said. Surplus space Meanwhile, UConn is considering several potential uses for the XL Center space. Early talks have already begun between UConn and the Capital Region Development Authority about the expansion, according to CRDA Executive Director Michael Freimuth. Freimuth said UConn is looking to add academic programs and other associated services in three possible XL Center locations, including space previously leased by the University of St. Joseph's pharmacy program, which was relocated to the school's main West Hartford campus last year. UConn could also consider using surplus space within the XL Center itself, or the nearby Hilton Hotel property at 315 Trumbull St., which is being converted into a mixed-use DoubleTree by Hilton hotel and apartments. UConn already has a significant downtown Hartford presence with its graduate business learning center in Constitution Plaza, and a $140 million satellite campus on Front Street, located in the former Hartford Times building. The UConn School of Nursing in Storrs Hall, in Storrs. PHOTO | PETER MORENUS/UCONN dermatologists, who would share them with patients, who would then seek out the products at local drug stores. But without a budget for television and magazine adver- tising, Kulesza said he found drug stores slow to make orders. About 10 months into Young Pharmaceuticals' first year, inspiration came from a doctor in Ansonia. His patients loved Kulesza's skin lotion, but they couldn't find it on store shelves. The doctor suggested Kulesza sell him the lotion wholesale, and then he would sell directly to his patients. The company's business model was born from that transaction. Today, Young Pharmaceuticals sells to roughly 2,000 derma- tologists and plastic surgeons, everywhere from West Hartford to Dubai to Hong Kong. The products are researched and formulated by the company and made by contract manufacturers, mostly in New Jersey, under labels tailored to individual customer offices. Kulesza said he began devel- oping formulas by reading medical journals at UConn Health's Farmington campus. Today, he employs 10 scientists working on product development. Kulesza said he also spends a lot of time thinking about how artificial intelligence can speed up product development. "I am asking AI questions all the time when it comes to formulation, and I am always amazed by the answers," Kulesza said.

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