Hartford Business Journal

HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | FEBRUARY 10, 2025 17 Movers & Shakers Brainerd Place's total development costs. He acknowledged a seven-year tax abatement granted by the town requires at least a $30 million invest- ment, but costs will be well above that threshold, he said. Bertram said his prior Connecticut developments have focused on Fairfield County. Portland is the furthest he's ventured into central Connecticut, away from the employment center of New York City. It is, however, within easy commuting distance of Hartford and New Haven. Bertram also said the recent widespread acceptance of remote work has unteth- ered workers from major employment centers like New York and Boston, making a big multifamily development in central Connecticut more feasible. Growing pains Middletown-based Liberty Bank helped finance Brainerd Place's first phase. Manhattan-based HKS Real Estate Advisors recently secured another big piece of financing — a construction loan from New York City real estate lender Kriss Capital — for the second apartment building. HKS Principal John Harrington said the Portland site has a lot to offer. It's set in a small town, but also bene- fits from the vibrant downtown and pres- ence of Wesleyan University just across the Arrigoni Bridge in Middletown. New Haven and Hartford are within easy driving distance. Even so, several lenders passed on the project before one was secured, Harrington said. "Lenders are looking at areas with a lot of comps, with more high-density areas than Portland," Harrington said. "So, a lot of lenders have a problem wrapping their minds around a development of this size that is multi-phased. Really, it is a whole new community going into a place like this, where there hasn't been something like this done in decades, if ever." Town leaders say the size and scope of the Brainerd Place development wasn't easy to sell to residents either. First Selectman Michael Pelton said many residents whose families have lived in Portland for generations balked, raising concerns about traffic, a burden on local schools and a change in the town's character. Newer arrivals were generally more supportive, he said. Pelton, who moved his family to Port- land 25 years ago, said the town needs to grow its tax base to support schools and other local services. Together, the Nordic spa and Brainerd Place develop- ment could also provide a long-sought boost to Portland's half-mile downtown commercial strip located between them, he said. "Portland has been a drive-through town over the years," Pelton said. "We've tried really hard to kind of stop that. I think until these projects have come to fruition, that was kind of a hard sell." Portland, like Connecticut in general, has been slow growing over the years. Its population shrank by 1.3% between 2010 and 2020, U.S. Census figures show, but has grown a bit — from 9,384 to 9,422 — since then. Lou Pear, a volunteer on various municipal boards, said there has been a growing acceptance of the Brainerd Place as the project takes shape. But he and other local leaders say residents will need time to digest its impact before accepting additional develop- ments of that magnitude. "There are some commercial areas of town that could be housing, but I don't think the appetite is there for that much growth soon," Pear said. "So, this is OK and let's just see how it works. I think the long-range plan is, let's do this and not rush into something after that." Pelton and town leaders also tout recent efforts to improve Portland's quality of life and development capacity. A $6 million effort is underway to dig a 330-foot-deep municipal well capable of producing up to 2 million gallons of drinkable water per day, providing excess capacity for growth, said Port- land Selectman James K. Tripp. In 2019, town residents endorsed a $385,000 acquisition of a 5.5-acre property along the riverfront, near the historic quarry. The town has since spent a $1.1 million state grant removing large heating oil distribution tanks from the site. Pelton said the town this year will begin searching for a developer to partner with on building out the site. Town leaders would like to see commer- cial development that also provides public access to the riverfront, he said. There have been some preliminary talks with Pomeroy Lodging about possible interest in adding a hotel at the riverfront site. The new Starbucks location at Brainerd Place in Portland. HBJ PHOTO | MICHAEL PUFFER Delta Dental of New Jersey and Connecticut has named John Rosero senior vice president and general counsel. Rosero will oversee the organization's legal and compliance functions and Delta Dental's government affairs operations. Rosero joined Delta Dental following a career at Prudential Financial, where he held several senior leadership positions, including vice president and chief compliance officer for U.S. businesses, chief legal officer and chief counsel. The Connecticut Bar Association has named Lina Lee its new executive director. Lee is the founder and former executive director of Communities Resist, a New York City-based legal services organization that, under her leader- ship, grew to serve more than 4,000 community members and a $6 million budget. Law firm Shipman & Goodwin LLP announced that Ryan A. Less has been hired as an associate in its tax and employee benefits practice group. Less provides ERISA advice to a variety of employee benefit plan sponsors, including corporate, nonprofit and governmental plans. He regularly advises on statutory and regulatory compliance matters arising in connection with employee benefit plans, programs and arrangements. He will be located in Shipman's Hartford office. Glastonbury-based SRC, Certified Public Accountants P.C. announced two new partners, John W. Luo and Shawn R. Gessay. Luo joined the firm in 2001 and has nearly 30 years of experience in public accounting. His expertise encompasses financial statement audits, review and compilations, along with tax services for both businesses and individuals across varying levels of complexity. Gessay joined the firm in 2019 and has more than two decades of experience in public accounting. He provides assurance and tax services to privately held businesses and their owners, including those in the construction and manufacturing industries. Law firm Silver Golub & Teitell LLP has elected Jennifer Sclar and Johnathan Seredynski to its partnership. They are based in the firm's Stamford office. Sclar represents individuals, unions and munici- palities in litigation involving consumer fraud, data privacy, environmental contamination, securities fraud and health care. Seredynski has broad experience representing plaintiffs in complex litigation, including federal securities, commodities and antitrust class actions, shareholder, contract, and partnership disputes, consumer protection, environmental litigation, internal and government investigations and whistleblower actions. Law firm Robinson+Cole announced the election of Gregory J. Bennici, Kyle G. Hepner, Janet Kljyan and Danielle Andrews Long as partners, as well as the promotion of Jessica D. Bardi, Raymond J. Carta, Audrey E. Goldman, Kathryn N. Mullin and Diana E. Neeves to counsel. Bennici is a member of Robinson+Cole's managed care + ERISA litigation group. Hepner is a member of the intellectual property + technology group and artificial intelligence team. Kljyan and Long are members of the business litigation group. Bardi is a member of the real estate + development group. Carta is a member of the managed care + ERISA litigation group. Goldman is a member of the insurance + reinsurance group. Mullin is a member of the real estate + develop- ment group. Neeves is a member of the energy + telecommunications team. Lina Lee John W. Luo Jennifer Sclar Shawn R. Gessay Johnathan Seredynski Ryan A. Less

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