Hartford Business Journal

www.HartfordBusiness.com January12,2015•Hartford Business Journal 5 RepoRteR's Notebook PDS has been meeting the needs of the construction industry since 1965. Our dedicated team of design and construction professionals welcomes the challenge of serving its past and future customers on their most demanding projects. Gymnastics Express | Glastonbury, Connecticut PDS acted as General Contractor to complete an addition of 3,500 square feet to this occupied fitness facility. PDS built the original building and were asked to perform their services again for an expansion. The entire building is now 14,000 square feet in which both projects were completed on time and within budget. Girls and Boys from all over Connecticut compete and exercise in this gymnastics building. Total Project Size: 14,000 SF 107 Old Windsor Road, Bloomfield, CT 06002 (860) 242-8586 | Fax (860) 242-8587 www.pdsec.com PDS EnginEEring & COnsTRuCTiOn, inC. Design BuilDeRs • geneRal COnTRaCTORs • COnsTRuCTiOn ManageRs SPoTlighT on: Retail CT workplace deaths lowest on record Twenty-six people died in Connecticut workplaces in 2013, the fewest since the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics started keeping track in 1992. By comparison, Connecticut had 36 work- related deaths in 2012. The highest number of annual workplace deaths on record was 57 deaths in 1998; the previous low was 28 in 2008. The 2013 numbers are preliminary and won't be finalized until April. Connecticut's work-related deaths are far below the national average, where 3.2 work- ers died per 100,000 in 2013. Since 1992, Con- necticut's work-related death rate always has been below the national average. In 2013, Connecticut was the eighth low- est state for work-related deaths; only South Dakota, Maine, New Hampshire, Hawaii, Delaware, Rhode Island, and Vermont per- formed better. The states that had the most work-related deaths were Texas, California, Florida, Pennsylvania, and Illinois. Of the 26 deaths in 2013, seven were the result of violence in the workplace, includ- ing four suicides; seven were transportation accidents; six were fatal falls; and five were equipment mishaps. There were no deaths from fires or explosions, the third year in a row Connecticut did not have any work fatalities in that category. Men accounted for 25 of the 26 Connecticut deaths. The age group with the most deaths (10) was the 55-64 range. The majority of those who died — 54 percent — were self-employed. – Brad Kane CT Work Deaths by Industry, 2011-2013 Industry Deaths Construction 22 Government 19 Professional and business services 14 Transportation and warehousing 12 Retail trade 6 Other services 5 Information 4 Manufacturing 4 Financial activities 3 Wholesale trade 3 S o u r c e : u . S . B u r e a u o f L a B o r S t a t i S t i c S 'DoNo' developer eyes Feb. 1 start M i d d l e t o w n developer Robert A. Landino says he and his partners' vision for a downtown Hartford ballpark ringed by new hous- ing, offices and retail is closer than ever to breaking ground. Landino told HBJ last week that his Centerplan Devel- opment Co. is close to wrapping up contracts with the city and the state transportation department, and groundbreaking for the $350 million "Down- town North'' redevelopment could come as early as Feb. 1. "We're hoping to get started in about six weeks,'' Landino said. Last Monday, Landino announced Centerplan had acquired the real estate, vehicles and other assets of former North Haven contractor Earth Technology Inc. He said the equipment and other resourc- es acquired in the deal enhance Centerplan's construction capabilities for the DoNo devel- opment and other New England projects. – Gregory Seay Foreclosure mediation program extended for 2 years The banking community has pushed hard to make changes to and scale back Connecticut's aggressive foreclosure medi- ation requirements, but the program won't be going away anytime soon. Lawmakers have agreed to extend the program for two more years and it will now run through June 30, 2016. The state's foreclosure mediation pro- gram determines whether borrowers and lenders can reach an agreement that will avoid foreclosure. The program, which was created at the height of the mortgage crisis in 2008, uses the Judicial Branch's foreclosure mediators to conduct mediation sessions. The foreclosure mediation process has helped some homeowners avoid, or put off foreclosure, but it also created a bottleneck in the foreclosure process, which frus- trated bankers. It also led Connecticut to experience a higher-than-average rate of residential mortgages under foreclosure procedures. – Greg Bordonaro P H o t o | H B J f i L e

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