Hartford Business Journal

www.HartfordBusiness.com July 6, 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. Bloomfield Fire Department | Bloomfield, Connecticut PDS acted as General Contractor to complete renovations to the Bloomfield Fire Burn Building. PDS installed new fire resistant steel shutters, hollow metal doors and gauge gutters. The project was completed on time and within budget. 107 Old Windsor Road, Bloomfield, CT 06002 (860) 242-8586 | Fax (860) 242-8587 www.pdsec.com DESIGN BUILDERS • GENERAL CONTRACTORS • CONSTRUCTION MANAGERS SPOTLIGHT ON: Public Safety PDS ENGINEERING & CONSTRUCTION, INC. THINK • PLAN • BUILD Order today and get 20% off! 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PG. 3 Focus: economic DeveloPment Social Entrepreneurship Hartford business accelerator aims to nurture socially conscious businesses. PG. 8 Music copyright lawsuits cost restaurants unexpected thousands By Matt Pilon mpilon@HartfordBusiness.com A few years ago, nine songs were played inside Shelton's Vazzy's Cucina restaurant that ended up costing owners John Vazzano and Vincent L. Noce $18,000. That's because an agent of licensing giant Broadcast Music Inc., which represents the artists who owned the tracks, attested to being present when the tunes were played and sued Vazzano and Noce for copyright infringement, claiming the restaurant's music qualified as a public per- formance. Under federal copyright law, that meant the restaurant had to pay for the rights to play the songs, BMI said. Vazzano said he thinks a private party actually played the tunes. Broadcast Music Inc. • Founded in 1939 • Represents more than 600,000 songwriters and publishers with more than 8.5 million songs. • Distributed 85 cents of every dollar in licensing revenue in royalties — that amounted to $814 million in fiscal 2013. By Gregory Seay gseay@HartfordBusiness.com B y late May, the Corporation For Independent Living (CIL) expects to have in its hands title to the derelict Capewell Horse- nails factory in Hartford's South End in a bid to convert the idle eyesore into 72 apartments and an adjacent parcel into 24 affordable townhomes. If it does, it will open another fruit- ful chapter for a South End nonprofit that has leveraged — and exported — its talent as a group-home developer to shelter a diverse swath of central Connecticut's population. It, too, will be one of the final swan songs before the yearend retirement of its first and only chief executive. Since its launch in 1979 to finance, build, lease out — then ultimately give away — supportive shelter for thou- sands of the state's physically and mentally disabled, CIL has invested $458 million to construct or convert 2,205 dwelling units into shelter for 7,200 residents in Connecticut and Massachusetts. For at least a dozen years, CIL has applied that same skill set to its expand- ing for-profit realty development opera- tions that include Capewell, and a neigh- boring nonprofit-office-space cluster. In February, CIL announced it bought and will resume work on the $3.34 mil- lion Depot Crossing mixed-use project John Vazzano, owner of Vazzy's Cucina in Shelton, was upset when his restaurant had to pay $18,000 to settle a music copyright lawsuit. P h O t O | P a b l O R O b l e s Continued on page 16 Continued on page 15 Martin "Marty'' Legault, president and CEO, Corporation For Independent Living (CIL) With Legault, developer CIL soars as landlord Sued for a ong EPA working to reduce CT downwind pollution The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency this summer will start working with the 10 states that send their air pol- lution downwind to Connecticut, which is one of the worst states in the nation for smog, according to Curt Spalding, EPA regional administrator. Smog — or ozone, as the EPA calls it — is created when greenhouse gases in the air mix with sunlight and heat to create a haze that, among other things, makes it difficult for people to breath and leads to respiratory problems. Connecticut typically has the most smog days of any New England state, and EPA data shows Connecticut is the only state in the nation where smog impacts every county. Connecticut's unhealthy ozone days has decreased over the years through various efforts by EPA and the state government. Connecticut had 113 unhealthy days in 1983; last year the number fell to nine days. This year, the state has had five unhealthy ozone days so far. "Unfortunately, we still have issues here in Connecticut, moreso than anywhere in New England," Spalding said. Connecticut suffers from smog more than other New England states because pollution from southern and western states drifts up to our borders, Spalding said. This pollution comes from New York, New Jersey, Penn- sylvania, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, Ohio, Michigan, Indiana and Illinois. EPA is developing a good neighbor pro- gram where it is going to work with these 10 states to lower the threshold of pollution they generate, or develop methods to cut down on the amount of pollution they send downwind, Spalding said. EPA also may lower the threshold for what it considers an unhealthy ozone day, with the hopes that pollution will drop even further, Spalding said. The program is expected to be fully implemented by summer 2018. — Brad Kane Hartford Office Supply redo next for Dakota Massachusetts affordable-housing develop- er Dakota Partners, with its first Hartford hous- ing conversion under its belt, is now focused on its next big Capital City housing project. Dakota, of Waltham, Mass., recently unveiled 179 Allyn St., its $15 million rede- veloped retail-apartment building adjacent to Union Station downtown. All but a hand- ful of the 63 units are already leased and most of the tenants have moved into the six-story building that houses Black Bear Saloon and Club NV on its ground floor. Lease-up took two months less than the six-month timetable that Dakota had envisioned, signaling that its mostly single, young professional tenants aged early 20s to early 30s find the one-bedroom rents ranging from around $1,000 to $1,300 a month very attractive, said Managing Prin- cipal Roberto Arista. Now, Arista said, his company is focusing its next redevelopment, the makeover of the former Hartford Office Supply building, at the corner of Capitol Avenue and Flower Street. According to Arista, reconstruction will start almost as soon as the developer closes in mid- to late-July on the building purchase, as well as on public and private financing, includ- ing state and federal tax credits, totaling more than $33 million. Bank of America has pledged to fund an $18 million construction loan, and $5.3 million in permanent financing. Meanwhile, Dakota continues to seek, Arista said, other opportunities to build or rehab apartment buildings in or outside Connecticut. It is building now in Brook- field, New Milford and Waterbury. In Suff- ield, Dakota is vying for a multi-phase devel- opment of townhomes and apartments and has petitioned the state housing depart- ment for funding assistance, he said. — Gregory Seay In-state power plants like the Mid-Connecticut Project in Hartford contribute less to smog in the state compared to pollution that travels downwind from neighboring states. P H O T O | H B J F I L E

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