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G r e at e r H a r t f o r d ' s B u s i n e s s n e w s w w w. H a r t f o rd B u s i n e s s . c o m for more B2B news visit March 30, 2015 Volume 23, number 18 $3.00 subscribe online J u n e 4 t h h a r t f o r d for more info: www.CtBeXPo.com Index ■ Reporter's Notebook: PG. 5 ■ Week in Review: PG. 6 ■ The List: PGS. 9 ■ Movers & Shakers: PG. 21 ■ Nonprofit Profile: PG. 21 ■ Opinion & Commentary: PG. 25 FocuS: EnGinEErinG Grooming STEM Connecticut's public schools are increasingly adopting science, technology, engineering and math programs to help groom the state's future STEM workforce. PG. 8 Property Hunters Several Connecticut real estate funds are raising hundreds of millions of dollars to place bets on commercial properties in some of the fastest growing U.S. markets. PG. 3 Hartford officials caught unaware by UTC move By Brad Kane bkane@HartfordBusiness.com T o convince Hartford's largest company to move away from the only home it's ever known, Farmington town officials had to do exactly nothing. As it turns out, exactly nothing is what Hartford officials did to try and keep United Technologies Corp. headquartered in downtown's Gold Building. Once UTC signed a five-year lease in December to stay in its long-time high rise — located at One Financial Plaza on Main Street — Hartford city officials figured the company was staying, unaware that the lease included a clause that would allow the $65 bil- lion conglomerate to leave early, said Thomas Deller, Hartford's development director. City officials didn't meet with anyone from UTC for at least six months prior to the com- pany's March 19 relocation announcement, said Deller. Continued on page 15 UTC slowly had been moving employees out of the Gold Building, to the point where its corporate offices felt like a ghost town by the time the Farmington move was announced. P H O T O | H B J F i l e State's OTB operator faces declining revenues, facility closure, legal woes By Matt Pilon mpilon@HartfordBusiness.com T he state's gaming indus- try has suffered in recent years, but it's not just casi- nos that have felt the pain. Connecticut's off-track-bet- ting operator Sportech Venues has faced its own headwinds, experiencing overall revenue declines since it entered the state five years ago and recently closing one of its 15 parlors — a move that sparked a legal dis- pute and complaint filed with gaming regulators. The amount wagered, or the "handle," at the British bookmak- er's 15 Connecticut pari-mutuel No Sure BetS Continued on page 18 Before: Winners Willimantic was open for four years. It's the first OTB parlor Sportech has closed in the state. After: Willimantic landlord Damian Fox said OTB operator Sportech vacated his building earlier this month, despite growing revenues. P H O T O | C O n T r i B u T e d P H O T O | P a B l O r O B l e s