Hartford Business Journal

8 Hartford Business Journal • April 13, 2015 www.HartfordBusiness.com FOCUS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT Busway's long-term success rides on employer, college connections By Chris Dehnel Special to the Hartford Business Journal T he state's new Hartford-New Britain busway has kicked off its inaugural run with much fanfare and hope that the 9.4 mile thoroughfare will help alle- viate highway traffic and make it easier for commuters to get in and out of the Capital City. But a key part of CTfastrak's long-term success will depend on whether or not the region's employers and colleg- es embrace it by encouraging or even incentivizing workers and students to trade in their motor vehicles for a bus ticket. "I think it has caught on already, but we will have a real idea on participation once we start charging [fares] and have had a chance to study who is using the system," State Department of Transportation Commis- sioner James Redeker said. "But so far, we are happy with what we have seen." CTfastrak is designed to supplement the CTrides pro- gram, a state initiative that encourages and partners with employers to offer workers telecommuting, carpooling, and transit subsidies. In recent years, CTrides has been pushing for greater business participation as bus and rail ridership has stagnated. The hope is that CTfastrak will encourage a new a wave of bus riders, but it may have to come at the urging of many employers. Whether that happens remains to be seen. The most popular aspect of CTrides is the bus ser- vice with stops along the Interstate 91 and 84 corri- dors, which companies like Aetna and Travelers have embraced for years. Aetna, for example, offers a pre-tax monthly subsidy for eligible employees to use mass transportation including van pools, buses and now the CTfastrak system, said the health insurer's spokesman Matthew Clyburn. Depending on eligibility, an employee can receive up to $50 each month to cover a portion of the money spent on mass transit. Mike Marshall, Aetna's vice president of global real estate services, said he thinks the new busway will encourage more people to ditch their cars. "There clearly has been local interest among employ- ees and community residents about the new CTfastrak system," Marshall said. "I have spoken to a number of people who have taken advantage of the free ride period to check the system out, and everyone seems impressed." Small business impact Some Hartford businesses say they are already notic- ing a positive impact from the new busway. Black Eyed Sally's restaurant owner James Vara- no said he's had several groups of customers visit in recent weeks who said they came to eat and drink via CTfastrak. Customers, he said, liked the idea of enjoying a night out without having to worry about driving home. Varano said several families took advantage of a pro- motional deal out of West Hartford for kid's discounts if a family rode in on CTfastrak. He said two staff mem- bers are also abandoning their cars to take the bus in from New Britain. "This could work out," Varano said of the busway's impact. One key ques- tion is what ridership will look like as the free fare period expires. State officials hope the convenience of the busway will spread by word of mouth, but they are also launching a rewards pro - gram to incen- tivize people to take the bus. It will offer retail and business-to-business perks for transit riders and help promote businesses in the CTfastrak corridor, said busway spokesman Ron Dresner. College impact One surprise early on has been the popularity of the busway along the New Britain line. Redeker said Central Connecticut State University had a huge contingent riding the busway over the first few days. Some students were curious, while others just didn't want to drive. CTfastrak could help draw a closer linkage between the state's colleges and Capital City. The connection to CCSU is obvious since the busway has a direct route there. But state officials are looking for ways to connect UConn's main campus in Storrs to Hartford. In fact, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy's 30-year transportation proposal has UConn in its sights. Redeker said expanding the busway to Storrs is merely conceptual at the moment, but giving UConn direct access to the commuter lot in Tolland is realistic. Redeker said he does envision direct access from UConn to Hartford and back. "We can have a dedicated right of way serving the univer- sity — even part of the Fastrak system," Redeker said. n Q&A Berlin sees opportunity in rail, industrial building development Q&A talks about the economic development priorities within the town of Berlin with Chris Edge, who recently took over as the town's economic develop- ment director. Q: W h a t p ot ent i a l e c onom ic impact will the New Haven-Springfield rail line have on Ber- lin? Are there any development oppor- tunities in town along the route? A: The major impact will be the increased number of people coming to and through Berlin that will help to show- case the great things Berlin has to offer. The greatest development opportunity will exist in the area surrounding our historic train station. To assist growth in the area, the town recently received a grant from the state Office of Policy and Management to create a transit oriented development plan around the train station and within the Kensington Village. This grant will help us to determine the best types of development and where those developments would best be located. Q: What are your biggest challenges in terms of encour- aging new development? A: The biggest challenge that Berlin faces now is bringing new businesses to the Berlin Turnpike, in particular south of the Route 9 interchange. We have seen a recent migration of retailers to Berlin with Michaels and Kohls locating in the Brickyard Plaza, but that development has not yet moved south on the Turnpike. We hope that the new ownership of the Hawthorne Inn and the proposed 200,000-square-foot Sports Com- plex can be economic catalysts to bring additional services, offices and retail to the Berlin Turnpike. Q: What type of commer- cial property is the town most in need of? Why? A: For continued economic growth in Berlin, our biggest property need is industrial land. In particular, lots of 1 to 4 acres upon which new buildings could be built. I have been approached by a few firms that would like to grow in Berlin, but with the very limited amount of buildings for sale, their desire is to build. If we can subdivide larger sites into smaller lots that are ready to go, the town could see new industrial construction as soon as the end of 2015 and into 2016 and beyond. Q: How important is the role of public-pri- vate partnerships in stirring new eco- nomic development today? Has the nature of such part- nerships changed over the years? A: Public-private partnerships are a key component in helping bring difficult projects to fruition. For exam- ple, if a property is abandoned, has back taxes owed or envi- ronmental concerns, the collaboration of the private and public sectors can be the best (and some- times only) way to bring a property back into productive use. Additionally, we have been very fortunate to have received funds from the state to change the face of Berlin through new streetscapes, new facades as well as helping to start to bring brownfield properties back into the marketplace. I don't believe that the nature of these collaborations has changed, but it appears to be a tool that is more commonly used now than in the past as the state has increased its investment in brownfields redevel- opment, transit-oriented develop- ment and the enhancement of the "Main Street" areas of Connecticut towns to stimulate private invest- ments. Town and state investments in private development projects such as Depot Crossing, the Lofts at Sherwood Falls and the River Bend Business Park show how these partnerships have been suc- cessful in creating opportunities and jobs in Berlin. Q: What are your top pri- orities for the town as you get started? There are two distinct things that I see as my top priorities for Berlin. The first is to reach out to the business community to sup- port their growth and to bring Ber- lin businesses together. We plan to have four to six events in 2015 rang- ing from breakfast networking to after-hours gatherings. Our goal is to get businesses large and small together to support each other. My second priority is to enhance the existing linkages that former Economic Development Director Jim Mahoney has created including those with our great team members within Berlin Town Hall, our legis- lators in Hartford, as well as the teams at various state agencies. n CHRIS EDGE Economic development director, town of Berlin Riders pickup CTfastrak at the New Britain station, which is one of the first stops on the 9.4 mile busway that connects the Hardware City with Hartford. ▶ ▶ The hope is that CTfastrak will encourage a new a wave of bus riders, but it may have to come at the urging of many employers. P H O T O | C O N T R I B U T E D

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