Hartford Business Journal

HBJ121525UF

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HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | DECEMBER 15, 2025 7 DE AL WATCH 107 Old Windsor Road, Bloomfield, CT 06002 | 860.242.8586 | pdsec.com Flex Shop Space For Rent CONSTRUCTING EXCELLENCE PDS ENGINEERING & CONSTRUCTION, INC Startline Business Park 100 South Satellite Road, South Windsor Individual Bays 1,200 SF to 10,000 SF INCLUDES • Bathroom • Unit Heater • 14' Overhead Door CONTACT DANJ@PDSEC.COM IF INTERESTED. Last, best choice AI Engineers has explored multiple expansion options over the years. In 2008, its real estate holding company paid $700,000 for the former WFSB-Channel 3 Broadcast House building in downtown Hartford. The firm demolished the 100,000-square- foot structure with plans to construct its own headquarters on the site, but abandoned the project during the 2008 financial crisis. AI Engineers recently sold the Hartford property for $1.3 million and is reinvesting that money in the Middle- town expansion, Islam said. In 2016, the company secured a $1.6 million low-interest loan from the state Department of Economic and Commu- nity Development to renovate portions of its Middletown headquarters, including converting basement storage into office space. It contributed another $500,000 to the project and repaid the state loan in 2021. In late 2024, AI Engineers purchased 2.1 acres just down the street from its Middletown headquarters. Plans to build there were abandoned earlier this year when Islam spotted a "for-sale" sign on the property abutting his headquarters. The company plans to hold onto the 2.1-acre site for possible future expansion, Islam said. Meantime, over the past five years, AI Engineers has roughly doubled in revenue and staff, Tariq Islam said. He credits much of that growth to his father's eagerness to reinvest in the business, putting money into tech- nology, facilities and staff. "Most companies will hoard the cash," Tariq Islam said. "But what I have seen (my father) do throughout the history of the company is just reinvest earnings. Our growth is that we reinvest hugely into the company." Renderings show AI Engineers' planned Middletown campus expansion, featuring a new glass atrium, open-concept work areas, collaborative meeting spaces and upgraded amenities.

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