Hartford Business Journal

www.HartfordBusiness.com June 1, 2015 • Hartford Business Journal 19 On May 6, Riverfront Recapture announced the hiring of Michael Zaleski, who heads the Hartford Business Improvement District, to succeed Marfuggi. Oz Griebel, CEO of the MetroHartford Alli- ance who chaired Riverfront Recapture for five years in the late '90s, said the ongoing rede- velopment of Constitution Plaza, with the for- mer Sonesta/Clarion Hotel about to reopen as apartments, and the development of Front Street would not have occurred without Riverfront Recapture. And the project wouldn't have gotten very far but for Marfuggi's engagement, he said. Maintenance and upkeep of the Riverfront Recapture parks system also is one of the ear- liest examples of regionalism. Once the green spaces were acquired, and walkways, plant- ings, and other infrastructure put in place, there was the need to maintain all of it. Mar- fuggi approached the Metropolitan District Commission with his idea to have the regional water-sewer utility do the maintenance. With backing from most of MDC's member towns, the utility says it now does just that, annually budgeting $750,000 for it. A Vermont native, Marfuggi landed in Con- necticut more than 30 years ago, after obtaining his graduate degree from Stanford University. He has worked a variety of professional slots during his career, including as an aide to former Hartford Democratic political boss Nicholas R. Carbone. Zaleski said he has known Marfuggi the past 15 years through their shared work on various development task forces and other projects. "He's a guy who's worked very hard to transform the region,'' Zaleski said. "He's a legend in the nonprofit world." "I'm excited about the opportunity to take on leadership of an organization that has changed this city's waterfront,'' Zaleski added. Looking back The idea to reconnect Hartford and East Hartford to the river, Marfuggi said, started with late Travelers insurance executive Rory O'Neil, a Chicago transplant who mused about replicat- ing the Windy City's link to Lake Michigan here. "Water has this appeal that cuts across backgrounds,'' Marfuggi said. "People like to be near water.'' From there, discussions among various business and civic leaders generated a task force to study the concept. By 1984, the nonprof- it overseer had been created, and, using state and federal grants and local donations, began assembling waterfront parcels that today make up a three-mile ring of lit and landscaped park and open spaces and walking/biking paths. The centerpiece, though, is a decked prome- nade extending all the way from the base of the Connecticut Science Center and Phoenix Co.'s adjoining "Boat Building,'' to a sloped amphi- theater overlooking the Founders' Bridge and the riverfront. Hartford architect Tyler Smith was on the board of Riverfront Recapture when Marfug- gi was hired. "Joe was well-known in the community and active in a variety of endeavors, pro- moting the downtown,'' Smith said. "He was plugged in socially and politically.'' Connecticut's state treasurer, Denise L. Nappier, was Riverfront Recapture's sec- ond executive director, serving from 1983 to 1988. Nappier brought Marfuggi aboard to be her deputy. The pair first worked together at the UConn Health Center, where Nappier at the time created and ran its institutional relations office. Marfuggi was its marketing- communications officer. She said she wanted Marfuggi on her Riv- erfront Recapture team but needed a way to sell him on the idea. Nappier said she used a river cruise aboard the Lady Fenwick as a lever to pry open Marfuggi's interest in work- ing on the project. "I felt the best way to entice him to leave [UConn] … was to first get him on the water,'' the state treasurer said. "He was always that kind of person that garnered respect in a way that compelled others to want to be on his team. He was someone you could rely upon to get things done and done well.'' Marfuggi insists he never doubted that the waterfront reclamation would occur. "It just seemed like such a great idea," he said. "People were really embracing it and telling us they wanted more.'' Economic impact Every summer since 1999, Riverfest has been a waterfront staple, bringing together peo- ple throughout the Hartford region and beyond. "What I'm really proudest of," Marfuggi said, "is Hartford and East Hartford sometimes get a bum rap. … This project really demonstrates what this community is capable of when people get together and rally behind a big plan.'' Marfuggi also points proudly to a new study released in May, showing Riverfront Recapture generates at least $7 million in annual tour- ism and leisure revenue for area shops, hotels, restaurants, parking vendors, and others. In addition, the study points to about $1 billion of development underway in the Greater Hartford region that the authors traced to Riverfront Recapture. Marfuggi is quick to note the billion-dollar sum does not include previous public and pri- vate investment that created the Science Cen- ter and nearby Hartford Marriott Downtown, the convention center, and the Front Street development across the street. Connecticut Congressman John B. Larson, whose district encompasses the Hartford-East Hartford riverfront park system, said the Con- necticut River long has been a major source of jobs and infrastructure for this state. Marfuggi's "vision and passion'' for Riverfront Recapture, Larson said, "helped ignite our community…'' "Between the booming growth of Goodwin College and countless hotels and businesses alongside the parks as well as the recent devel- opments with Coltsville," Larson said via email, "the Riverfront is poised to remain the apex of economic development, environmental recap- ture, and cultural outreach." With the designation of Coltsville as a national historic park, the U.S. Park Service plans to erect a visitor's center and do other neighborhood improvements. Riverfront Recapture is eager, Marfuggi said, to lever- age the extra visibility and tourism Coltsville will bring to the region. Plans are to eventually link Coltsville to Hartford's riverfront via a walkway erected beneath the elevated portion of I-91. Together with other site improvements, that price tag is around $26 million, Marfuggi said. One of Marfuggi's favorite riverfront assets is the boathouse built in Hartford's Riverside Park, once the "outdoor living room'' for tene- ment residents in the then Front Street neigh- borhood in downtown. Now, just as then, the river remains a focal point for community lei- sure and recreation, he said. "You know what I really love,'' he said, "is being there … and watching other people enjoy the river.'' n from page 1 No more rain worries Joe Marfuggi says people's natural affinity for water is behind Riverfront Recapture's success. P H O T O | S T E V E L A S C H E V E R CT home to 103K women-owned firms Connecticut has an estimated 102,900 women-owned firms, an increase of 42.1 percent over the past 18 years, according to a new report by American Express Open. The fifth annual State of Women- Owned Business Report showed Connecticut ranked 43rd in the nation for the number of women- owned firms since 1995. The national growth rate over the past 18 years has been 74 percent. Connecticut's women-owned firms ranked 28th in revenue growth over that same time period, an increase of 80 percent to $16.7 billion in sales. The national growth rate was 79 percent. The report analyzes data from the U.S. Census Bureau's business cen- sus, which occurs every five years. The numbers for 2015 are estimated and compared to 1997, 2002, and 2007. Connecticut nearly doubled the national growth rate for employ- ment at women-owned firms. In 2015, Connecticut had 95,000 employees at such firms, an increase of 21 percent since 1997. Nationally, the increase was 12 percent. – Brad Kane Women-Owned Business Growth Trends (1997-2015) Women-Owned Firms % Change, 1997 2002 2007 2015 (est.) 1997-2015 Total U.S. Number of Firms 5,417,034 6,489,483 7,793,139 9,410,800 73.7% Employment 7,076,081 7,146,229 7,579,876 7,922,900 12.0% Sales ($000) $818,669,084 $940,774,986 $1,202,115,758 $1,463,166,300 78.7% Connecticut Number of Firms 72,393 82,118 93,480 102,900 42.1% Employment 78,598 88,074 89,942 95,000 20.9% Sales ($000) $9,276,337 $12,215,939 $14,409,072 $16,712,600 80.2% S O U R C E : A M E R I C A N E X P R E S S O P E N , U . S . C E N S U S B U R E A U CT ranks sixth in business brand value Connecticut's top compa- nies collectively rank No. 6 in the nation for brand value, sur- passing Georgia to move up one spot from last year, according to the rankings from New York consultant Brand Finance. Connecticut companies rep- resent 4.4 percent, or $114 bil- lion, of the total U.S. brand value, according to the company's annual U.S. 500 Brands Report. The top brand in Connecticut remains Fairfield conglomerate General Electric. GE's brand is valued at $48 billion, which rep- resents 42 percent of the total brand value in the state. Milford restaurant chain Subway came in second with a $12.2 billion brand value. Danbury industrial gas pro- vider Praxair was one of Con- necticut's new entries in the top 500 this year, with a brand value of $1.8 billion placing it at No. 321. Brand Finance calculates brand value using the royalty relief method, which looks at attributes such as awareness, loyalty, emotional connection, market share, marketing spend, and financial forecasts. The calculations are not dependent on company earnings or profit, which Brand Finance said can be influenced by one-time cash influxes or charges. Hartford conglomerate Unit- ed Technologies ranked No. 10 on the list of top Connecticut brands, while its Farmington subsidiary Otis Elevator came in at No. 8. In the 2014 list, UTC had two subsidiaries named to the Con- necticut top 10 including East Hartford jet engine maker Pratt & Whitney at No. 10. However, Pratt was bumped out of the state top 10 this year after ESPN joined the list, along with new tourism company Booking.com, which is part of The Priceline Group based in Norwalk. – Brad Kane REPORTER'S NOTEBOOK

• Cover