Hartford Business Journal

4 HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | JUNE 10, 2024 BIZ BRIEFS Lamont announces $100M program to support 'innovation clusters' Gov. Ned Lamont recently announced the creation of a $100 million initiative to support and accelerate growth in key sectors of the state economy. Speaking at his alma mater during the 10th Annual Yale Innovation Summit, a two-day event that kicked off in late May at the Yale School of Management in New Haven, Lamont said the Innovation Clusters Program will support several sectors critical to the state's economy, including biotechnology, financial and insurance technology, and advanced manufacturing. Administered by the state Depart- ment of Economic and Community Development (DECD), the program will leverage private and public investment to support development of new technologies, such as artificial intelligence and quantum computing, in those high-growth clusters. DECD Commissioner Daniel O'Keefe said the program will prior- itize funding for capital projects that incorporate a strong focus on workforce training, economic devel- opment, neighborhood vibrancy and regional stakeholder collaboration. Former Long Wharf Theater site in New Haven becomes cannabis dispensary After launching its first Connecticut storefront in Hartford in late April, Massachusetts-based Insa Cannabis has opened its second location in New Haven as it expands in the Nutmeg State. Insa Cannabis, a multistate legal marijuana business, opened its first dispensary in the former Chowder Pot restaurant property at 167 Brainard Road, in Hartford. In late May, it opened another dispensary at the former site of the Long Wharf Theater, 222 Sargent Drive, in New Haven. Insa also purchased the property adjacent to its Hartford dispensary, where it plans to eventually open a cultivation facility. Fitch gives A+ rating to pending $669M Yale New Haven Health bond issuance; $333M will be used for capital spending Fitch Ratings has assigned A+ ratings to $669 million in bonds that will be issued on behalf of Yale New Haven Health (YNHH). Proceeds from the bond issuance are expected to refund the health system's existing debt and provide approximately $333 million to support Yale New Haven's capital spending program. Fitch outlined several major capital projects Yale New Haven has underway or planned, including construction of an $840 million neurosciences center on the St. Raphael campus in New Haven, and a comprehensive outpatient center in Meriden. Most other capital spending will be directed at infra- structure improvements, technology and equipment needs, and addi- tional ambulatory access centers, according to Fitch. The bonds are expected to price the week of June 10, Fitch said. Savings Bank of Danbury to rebrand as Ives Bank The Savings Bank of Danbury is changing its name in honor of the family that originally hosted it in their home. Under the rebranding, Savings Bank of Danbury will become Ives Bank. The change will occur later this year. The bank, which has 16 branches and $1.6 billion in assets, is under the same ownership and its head- quarters will remain in Danbury. The Ives family is well-known in the region. When the bank was founded in June 1849, it operated inside the home of Charles Ives, with George W. Ives serving as the bank's secretary-treasurer. Generations of Ives family members have lived in the Ives home, which is now owned by the Danbury Museum and Historical Society. George Ives' grandson, Charles Ives, a noted modernist composer, was born at the home in 1874. Hartford mayor names Infosys exec Auker to lead development services Hartford Mayor Arunan Arulam- palam has named Infosys executive Jeff Auker as the city's new director ofdevelopment services. Auker takes over the position filled on an interim basis by Randal Davis, the department's deputy director, who has served since I. Charles Matthews resigned Dec. 23, during the final days of former Mayor Luke Bronin's administration. An Ohio native who has lived in Connecticut for more than two decades, Auker has led tech giant Infosys' emerging technology and innovation hub in Hartford since 2018. Since March 2023, he also has served on the board of Gov. Ned Lamont's Workforce Council. He will oversee a department whose responsibilities include reviewing site plans, issuing permits and building licenses, inspecting projects and existing properties, and managing city- owned real estate. Auker said his focus will include supporting economic development to increase the grand list by making Hartford "the easiest city in the state to do business with." New $57M CCAT HQ would consolidate, double organization's space The Connecticut Center for Advanced Technology (CCAT) is hoping to consolidate its three East Hartford facilities into a new, $57 million "state-of-the-art" head- quarters that would double the organization's current footprint. CCAT, a nonprofit technology demonstration and training center, requested a $15 million grant from the state Bond Commission to construct a new Manufacturing Technology and Innovation Center in East Hartford. CCAT President and CEO Ron Angelo said pitching a new head- quarters has been a "multi-year effort" as his organization hit 20 years old in May. Currently spread across three facilities in East Hart- ford, the new headquarters would give CCAT and its member busi- nesses a centralized hub for their research and development work. A location for the new head- quarters is still being decided, Angelo said, with a few sites in the region already identified. The new headquarters is expected to be funded with $32 million in federal funding, $15 million in state bonding, and $10 million in private funding. Yale New Haven Health in New Haven. A flag showing the new Ives Bank logo. HBJ FILE PHOTO HBJ FILE PHOTO WEST HARTFORD, CT | WESTPORT, CT | PARSIPPANY, NJ | NEW YORK, NY | WAYNE, PA 75 Isham Rd, Ste 310, West Hartford (844) 248-9998 or (860) 206-7400 CAR20240502

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