Hartford Business Journal

14 HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | AUGUST 25, 2025 SERIES | CT'S ECONOMIC COMPETITIVENESS Reimagining Hartford Corporate leaders join forces to help shape the city's future which has lost significant value. Many companies that remain have pulled back on their downtown office footprints in the pandemic's wake. David Fagone, who helped manage many of Hartford's Class A office buildings during a 40-year career with real estate management firm RM Bradley, said there was "something magical" when corpo- rate leaders would get together decades ago to discuss and carry out plans that gave the city a "shot in the arm." The real estate arms of companies like Aetna and Travelers, for example, drove large-scale developments in Hartford, Fagone noted. "I lament the loss of the headquarters because I think we've lost identity, if you will, because the contributions those headquarters gave the city in two, three, five different ways — pride of ownership, sponsorships of major family events downtown, all of the above," Fagone said. To maintain its existing corporate headquarters long term, Hartford should leverage its strengths — notably a high quality of life and relative afford- ability that appeal to adults starting families, Fagone said. Hartford-based Hartford remains a home to key corporations, including Travelers Cos., Aetna and The Hartford, even as the city faces a high office vacancy rate. Photo | CoStar By Michael Puffer mpuffer@hartfordbusiness.com S ome of the Hartford region's most influential corporate leaders have been meeting regularly to see how they can leverage their vision and influence to help reshape Hartford and its surrounding communities. The group — which, according to sources familiar with it, includes senior executives from The Hartford, Travelers Cos., Stanley Black & Decker, Aetna, Hartford HealthCare and others — aims to help examine, prioritize and facilitate projects crucial to Hartford's future. Initiatives under review range from a planned multibillion-dollar overhaul of highways and transportation networks cutting through Hartford, to reimagining the struggling Constitution Plaza office park, to efforts aimed at revitalizing the historic Pratt Street retail corridor. "You have engaged corporate leader- ship that have come together who are trying to put some definition to all of this, a plan to all of this, and to make things better," said Andy Bessette, executive vice president and chief administrative officer at Travelers. Bessette said he's a member of the corporate leadership group, which isn't keen on publicity. He and others declined to reveal details, including who convened the group, or which executives are involved. Even so, its very existence offers a hopeful sign for a city whose corporate base has shrunk over the decades due to economic downturns, mergers, relocations or downsizing. The COVID-19 pandemic dealt the most recent setback by ushering in an era of increased remote work, which has reduced downtown foot traffic and caused the office vacancy rate to spike. That has heightened the urgency of efforts to revive Hartford's vitality, fill vacant office space and retain major employers. State financial support — from the Capital Region Development Authority and other agencies — is central to those revival efforts. Significant funding has gone toward subsidizing new downtown housing, part of the city's shift to a more residential, less office-dependent core. Corporate buy-in is equally important, Hartford Mayor Arunan Arulampalam said. The Democratic mayor said he meets regularly with the city's top corporate executives to update them on economic development efforts and challenges. In turn, they offer guidance, resources and support — including donations to local initiatives. For example, a group of corporate leaders "with deep ties to Hartford" is involved in the bid to bring the Connecticut Sun professional women's basketball team to the Capital City, the mayor said. "We tend to define ourselves in terms of the decline we might have felt over the last 50 years, but we forget for a city this size, there is an incredible corporate presence," Arulampalam said. "And, I think some executives of those corporations have really bought into the future of the city of Hartford, and view their future here and are really enthusiastic about the potential here in Hartford." Corporate drift Hartford has weathered a series of corporate exits and consolidations in recent decades. United Technologies relocated its downtown Hartford headquarters to Farmington in 2015, and later, following a merger with Raytheon, out of state. Aetna was acquired by Rhode Island- based CVS Health in 2018. While the insurer maintains its Hartford presence, it has shed hundreds of local jobs over the past year, and there is uncertainty about the future of Aetna's sprawling Asylum Hill headquarters campus, David Fagone

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