Issue link: https://nebusinessmedia.uberflip.com/i/1547355
HBJ | 2026 BEST PLACES FOR BUSINESS 24 | HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM Deal Breakers Why some CT communities get crossed off developers' site selection lists By Clarissa Garza cgarza@hartfordbusiness.com I n an industry where a two-minute difference in airport security lines can be enough to knock a region out of contention for a project, site selection often comes down not to who wins a company over, but who avoids getting crossed off the list. That, according to David Griggs, president and CEO of the MetroHartford Alliance, is largely how site selection works in practice: a process of elimination. Sites aren't so much won as they are the last ones left. Griggs, along with Adam Winstanley, a principal of development firm Winstanley Enterprises, and Lewis Brown, managing member of Avon-based affordable housing developer Honeycomb Real Estate, are among the developers and executives who help decide where Connecticut's next warehouse, apartment building or manufacturing plant lands and, just as often, where it doesn't. Together, they describe a consistent pattern: Municipalities rarely lose projects on price or incentives alone. Unclear zoning, slow permitting and bungled public hearings can quietly knock a town out of contention long before negotiations begin. LAYING THE GROUNDWORK Much of the site-selection process happens out of public view, as regions work to stay on the radar of the people advising companies on where to locate. "So much of site selection happens before we even get a call," Griggs said. "We market to site selectors. We market to real estate professionals and business influencers around the country to keep Hartford and opportunities about Hartford in front of them." By the time a project surfaces publicly, the Hartford region may have already been eliminated from consideration, or gained an edge based on groundwork laid months earlier. When Winstanley 's firm is presented with a potential site, one of its first moves is to request a meeting with the mayor, town manager or head of economic development to gauge the local business climate. That meeting alone can help determine whether it's a project the firm wants to take on, Winstanley said. Recalling one town where his firm currently has a site under contract, Winstanley credited the community with being "very pro-business," adding that it "was looking to attract more business to the particular area." That helped persuade the firm to move forward with the project. Conversely, a clear disqualifier is zoning ambiguity, Winstanley said. "If a site is special permit and the town doesn't provide clear guidance on what they're looking for — what they're looking to achieve with their zoning regulations — or if it appears more complicated, then it's not a site we're likely to take on," he said. "We're essentially looking for communities that are looking for high-quality developments." Winstanley pointed to two projects that illustrate how local zoning rules and meetings with town officials can influence his firm's investment decisions. In Killingly, the firm has 600 acres under contract for potential warehouse, logistics and manufacturing development. Winstanley said the town helped make the project possible by changing its zoning rules to allow those uses without requiring a special permit. In Brookfield, the firm initially planned to construct a new building for defense manufacturer Leonardo DRS. But when an existing building at 120 Park Ridge Road became available, the firm met with town officials to learn more about the community. That meeting helped persuade the firm to buy and renovate the property instead. "We were originally looking at a build-to-suit and then had an opportunity to buy this building (120 Park Ridge Road), and we went and met with the community and got a sense of what the town was like," Winstanley said. "And we really liked the town and the location, and so we decided to … shift to a rehab of an existing building instead." Even when a community 's zoning and business climate align with a company 's needs, smaller details can tip the decision toward another location, Griggs said. Recalling a project from earlier in his career, before he joined the MetroHartford Alliance, he said a region lost out to a competitor over a two- minute difference in average airport security wait times. That mattered because executives from David Griggs, president and CEO of the MetroHartford Alliance, says attracting business investment often comes down to avoiding the pitfalls that eliminate a community from consideration. HBJ Photo | Michael Puffer