Issue link: https://nebusinessmedia.uberflip.com/i/1547355
HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | 25 2026 BEST PLACES FOR BUSINESS | HBJ the expanding company would be flying in and out frequently. "It could be the most inane thing," Griggs said. "They 're trying to find ways to exclude a region." OVERCOMING OPPOSITION For Brown, narrowing down a site isn't always about the town, but rather the opportunity presented by a particular property, he said. He pointed to a shuttered Wallingford nursing home with "terrific bones" that Honeycomb recently purchased for $4.2 million and plans to convert into 66 affordable apartments. The 62,160-square-foot former Quinnipiac Valley Center sits on 11.5 acres and has been vacant since 2022. Brown said the existing building, combined with Wallingford's need for more affordable housing and support from local officials, made the property worth pursuing. Honeycomb is partnering with Montagno Construction on the roughly $14 million conversion. The apartments will be reserved for households earning 60% or less of the area median income. Affordable units currently account for 4.37% of Wallingford's housing stock. Brown said cooperation from local governments Adam Winstanley, a principal of Winstanley Enterprises, says unclear zoning rules can cause his firm to rule out a potential development site. HBJ Photo | Michael Puffer Lewis Brown, managing member of Avon-based Honeycomb Real Estate, says cooperation from local governments is particularly important for affordable housing projects, which often rely on multiple sources of financing. HBJ Photo | Michael Puffer is particularly important for affordable housing projects, which often rely on multiple layers of public and private financing. Local opposition doesn't automatically rule out a community, said Brown, whose firm develops affordable and attainable housing across the state. He views neighborhood or political resistance as something his firm can try to overcome through education and persistence. "In our work, we sometimes make difficult decisions to persevere and work through, even in towns where we face opposition, because the need is so great, and people, regardless of who they are, should have choice in terms of where they want to live." PROACTIVE APPROACH For Griggs, overpromising and underdelivering is one of the costliest mistakes a town can make. Site selectors and CEOs frequently learn about locations through interactions with their peers, he said, and if a town fails to deliver, companies will hear about it. "If you're going to say it, you need to deliver on it, and if you can't deliver on it, that gets out," he said. Proactive economic development, Griggs said, is a defining trait of towns that consistently land projects. Pointing to shovel-ready sites, he said a company "could come in and begin construction within days, as opposed to finding a field somewhere and then trying to figure out if there's enough power there." He added that some towns — including West Hartford, Windsor and South Windsor — go the extra mile when it comes to professional economic development by having officials take classes through the International Economic Development Council. Winstanley said a town's commitment to economic development also shows in whether it funds an economic development director position. Noting that not every community can afford a dedicated economic development director, he said there should at least be someone "that has a vision for what they are looking to accomplish in that community."