Hartford Business Journal

www.HartfordBusiness.com April 13, 2015 • Hartford Business Journal 7 WHAT'S AHEAD: ■ 4/20 Focus: Energy ■ The List: Largest Electricity Suppliers ■ Nonprofit Profile: CT Foundation of Greater New Britain CALENDAR WEDNESDAY, APRIL, 22 Financial Planners Conference The Financial Planning Association is hosting an all-day conference April 22 that will discuss the future of the industry and what companies must do to survive and flourish in the years ahead. The event, which runs from 7:15 a.m. to 4:50 p.m., will take place at the AquaTurf Club in the Plantsville section of Southington. The conference will feature about a dozen different sessions on various topics including tax planning and investment strategies. Economist Don Klepper Smith from DataCore Partners LLC will be the keynote speaker. He will discuss Connecticut's economy and navigating the new economic normal. Cost to attend is $175. For more information or to register contact Jaclyn Farnham, 860.721.1060, fpact@snet.net. F O R A C O M P L E T E L I S T O F G R E A T E R H A R T F O R D B U S I N E S S E V E N T S , G O T O W W W . H A R T F O R D B U S I N E S S . C O M A N D C L I C K O N ' T H E A G E N D A . ' A L L C A L E N D A R I T E M S M U S T B E S U B M I T T E D E L E C T R O N I C A L L Y V I A O U R W E B S I T E , H A R T F O R D B U S I N E S S . C O M . REAL ESTATE 36 Lewis gets $300K CRDA loan A small housing-conversion project in downtown Hartford that will add to the city's pipeline of new housing units in the central business district has secured a state subsidy through the Capital Region Development Authority, officials said. Developer David Elwell secured a $300,000 CRDA loan to go with $1.2 million in private equity, plus $250,000 in state historic tax cred- its, to finance conversion of a vacant former restaurant building at 36 Lewis St. into six residential units — four one-bed, two two-bed. Demolition is already underway, with occupancy set for later this year. According to CRDA, it has approved 934 downtown housing units, with 701 in construction, leasing or occupied. CT housing sales up in Feb. Connecticut house and condominium sales each rose 14 per- cent statewide in February, a fresh survey says. Boston publisher The Warren Group said 1,352 single-family dwellings sold that month, up from 1,188 the same month a year ago. February sales, too, were their highest since 2008. Condo sales rose in February to 405 units vs. 355 a year earlier. "February was a good month for both condo and single-fam- ily home sales, which indicates that there is strong demand for homes," said The Warren Group CEO Timothy M. Warren Jr. said. Median prices for both housing categories, however, were down. Single-family prices fell 5 percent to $224,750 in February vs. $236,000 a year ago, while the median condo sale price dropped nearly 2 percent to $152,000 vs. $155,000, Warren said. "Prices for single-family homes slipped again, and so far this year the 3 percent decline in median prices matches the decline for all of 2014. The only year of the last four years that we experienced an in- crease in the median price was 2013. A lot is riding on the coming spring market." T housands of Connecticut small businesses have chosen CBIA Health Connections. If you haven't, it's the perfect time to check us out. Your insurance solution. CBIA Health Connections offers solutions for all your employee insurance benefits — from medical and dental to life, disability, and vision options. And it's got built-in cost controls. You simply set your budget then let your employees choose a plan from Aetna, ConnectiCare, Harvard Pilgrim, or UnitedHealthcare that best meets their needs without having any impact on your benefit costs. Discover the power of choice. Contact your agent for a quote or call 860.244.1900. cbia.com/insurance Where do small businesses get insurance? Health Insurance for Small Business ENERGY & UTILITIES Campbell Soup solar array goes live Norwalk's Campbell Soup Co. said it has flicked the switch on a one-megawatt solar array at its Pepperidge Farm bakery in Bloomfield. The ground-mounted, 2,720-panel array is expected to gener- ate 1.7 million kilowatt hours of electricity — which is the equiva- lent of 15 percent of the bakery's annual energy demand. It was turned on in late December, but Campbell announced it this week. The company is aiming to reduce its energy use by 35 percent per ton of product produced in the next five years. Campbell worked with BNB Renewable Energy Holdings to de- velop the project. SunPower engineered and built the array, which was financed by PNC Energy Capital. Campbell is selling the electricity credits generated by the array to Eversource Energy (formerly Northeast Utilities). 36 Lewis St. in downtown Hartford is being converted into apartments. P H O T O | C O N T R I B U T E D

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