Hartford Business Journal

HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | APRIL 7, 2025 15 The lobby of the Delamar Mystic, a boutique luxury hotel built on the campus of the Seaport Museum. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO look at a 25% credit and a 37% credit," Black said, "where do you think I'm going to go?" Black also noted that he continues to fight the myth, expressed by opponents, that the tax credit only lines the pockets of the producer or production companies. "That's absolutely incorrect," he said. "Industries are tightening their belts already. Between all the strikes, between the fires in L.A., just the world economy, everything is tightened." In fact, he said, the film industry has shrunk about 45% overall. "So, what's happening is, a lot of these studios and producers are looking for the best bang for their buck," Black said. While Lamont's bill would reduce the film production tax credit, some lawmakers from both parties have tried to restrict it even further, or eliminate it altogether. One of opponents' main arguments is that the money can be spent better elsewhere, especially at a time when lawmakers are restricted by spending caps and other budget guardrails. In fiscal 2024, the state issued 42 film, television and digital media tax credits valued at $171.2 million, according to the Department of Economic and Community Devel- opment. That was based on $570.8 million in spending by production companies, which created an esti- mated 3,820 new jobs, according to DECD estimates. DECD also said over $5 of new economic activity was generated in the economy per $1 of tax credit awarded in fiscal 2024. Some of Connecticut's largest employers are the biggest annual beneficiaries of the film production tax credit. In fiscal 2024, NBC Sports Network earned $50.1 million in tax credits, while ESPN earned $15.4 million and World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. earned $12.7 million. Supplemental income As devoted as the Bloomquist brothers are to their film productions, and as proud as they are of the results, it hasn't exactly made them rich. In fact, they supplement their income by doing other things. Erik, who has a degree in theater and dance, with a minor in music, from Trinity College, describes himself as a gig worker in the entertainment industry. "I do a fair amount of stuff," he said. "I'll do production services for movies. … I did one of the Christmas movies that was shot in Wethersfield, called 'Rediscovering Christmas.' I was the production manager on that movie." He has also worked as an actor, both in his own films and others and on stage. That includes a role in Hartford Stage's production of "A Christmas Carol" in 2023 and 2024. Carson, meanwhile, has a degree in film studies with a minor in economics from Connecticut College in New London. For the past three years, he has worked full-time as a creative producer with Adams & Knight, an advertising agency in Avon. "We work with clients in tourism, financial services and health care, and I've really enjoyed it," he said. "I think the advertising space and the filmmaking space, for me, make each other better, and having a foothold in both really is gratifying." His foothold in both spaces served him well in November, when Adams & Knight helped the state unveil the nation's first Christmas Movie Trail, offering fans of Hallmark, Netflix and Lifetime holiday films a map with 22 locations statewide that were used in the films. One of the featured actors who attended the trail's unveiling was Michael Rady, who has had roles in Hallmark Christmas movies, but also starred in the Bloomquists' 2023 film, "Intermedium." That movie, a musical that "is like 'Casper' meets 'La La Land,'" was shot in Wethersfield, Erik said. Gauging success So, if the box office take isn't the primary goal for the Bloomquists as they continue to produce their films, how do they gauge their success? "I think we do whatever we can to keep the human element alive, and that varies by project," Carson said. "And I don't think there's a one-size-fits-all answer." Erik said they have found a "very specific" way to gauge their success. He told the story of a teenage girl in California named Kylie, who fell in love with their film "Founders Day." "She got her dad to take her every single day it was in theaters, so she went, literally, like 14 or 15 times in a row," he said. "She started bringing friends, and then she could recite the script." The brothers met with Kylie and her father when they had a trip to California for an event. "We just chatted with them, and we just saw how much the movie mattered to and touched her," Erik said. "I mean, there are other ways to gauge success, but there's some- thing about that." FILM TAX CREDITS BY STATE A glance at film production tax credits offered in the Northeast: STATE MINIMUM SPEND CREDIT CONNECTICUT $100,000 10%-30% MAINE $75,000 10%-12% MASSACHUSETTS $50,000 25% NEW JERSEY $1M 35%-39% NEW YORK $250K TO $1M* 30% PENNSYLVANIA $0 25% RHODE ISLAND $100,000 30% *Minimum spend is $1M in Westchester, Rockland, Nassau or Suffolk county or any of the five New York City boroughs, $250,000 elsewhere. New Hampshire and Vermont do not offer a film tax credit. | Source: Wrapbook.com Greenwich Hospitality Group debuts new Delamar Mystic hotel By Harriet Jones hjones@hartfordbusiness.com C harles Mallory calls his new Mystic hotel a "handshake across the centuries." That's because it was in this small coastal town that his ancestor, another Charles Mallory, planted the first seeds of the shipping business that estab- lished the family's prosperity. "He arrived here on Christmas Eve 1816 as a penniless sailmaker," Mallory said. "And he became a successful ship owner and shipbuilder, and a major player in the Mystic community." A portrait of his ancestor now hangs at the check-in desk of the Delamar Mystic, a boutique luxury hotel built by Mallory's Greenwich Hospitality Group on the campus of the Seaport Museum and banks of the Mystic River. Mallory followed into the family shipping business right out of college. It wasn't until 2000 that he decided to take a detour into the hospitality industry, buying a rundown property in Greenwich, which he turned into the Delamar Greenwich Harbor. Since then, the group has opened Delamar-branded hotels in Southport and West Hartford, as well as out-of- state in Traverse City, Michigan. Another Westport location will open later this year. Delamar Mystic's three-story, 27,000-square-foot building has 31 rooms and suites, a 2,600-square-foot event space, and a separate guest cottage. The property opened for guests in February. All the rooms have floor-to-ceiling windows with a water view, facing west over the Mystic River, and the interior leans heavily on a nautical theme. The design incorporates high ceilings and detailed millwork, as well as maps, murals and copies of paint- ings from the family collection. Each location in the Greenwich portfolio has an associated restau- rant, run by executive chef Frederic Kieffer. At Mystic, it is La Plage, with 90 indoor seats and 100 outdoors. The oyster bar allows guests to choose from shellfish sourced locally and across the East Coast. The Mystic project has been a long time coming for the company. An RFP was first issued by Mystic Seaport in 2018, seeking to replace its Latitude 41 Restaurant, which then occupied the site at 105 Greenmanville Ave., with an upscale hotel as part of its strategic planning process. The plans were finally approved in 2020, just days before the COVID-19 lockdowns. It wasn't until mid-2023 that construction was able to start on the site. Other than the logistics of construction, Mallory says the pandemic also made financing the project considerably harder than he had anticipated. The town of Stonington required the new construction not to exceed the modest footprint of the building that was originally on-site, which limited the hotel's size. Dixon Mallory, Charles' son and Greenwich Hospitality Group's director of business development, said the hotel will be a good fit for corporate events and retreats, with its close proximity to Boston and New York, and access to Amtrak's Northeast corridor via the Mystic train station.

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