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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 AUGUST 3, 2015 Volume 23, Number 36 $3.00 Subscribe online GreenGuide C O N N E C T I C U T Reach decision-makers in the Green business community. Look for the Fall and Winter 2015 editions, publishing in August and October. Index ■ Executive Profile: PG. 5 ■ Week in Review: PG. 6 ■ Focus: PG. 8 ■ The List: PG. 10 ■ Deal Watch: PG. 11 ■ Opinion & Commentary: PG. 20 FOCUS: CONSTRICTION North End Promise Hartford's North End recently won federal promise zone distinction, giving it wider access to federal dollars for redevelopment. Find out what the early plans are to redevelop several properties in the area. PG. 8 Helping truckers sleep A brand new Pride travel center set to open in summer 2016 off Jennings Road in Hartford will help the state alleviate its shortage of parking spaces for tired trucks to get some sleep. PG. 3 Healthcare consolidation sinking medical societies By Brad Kane bkane@HartfordBusiness.com C onnecticut's county and state medical societies are scrambling to recover from significant membership declines, largely caused by hospitals and large physi- cian groups buying out private practices. The big jolt to the 223-year-old Connecti- cut State Medical Society (CSMS) came in mid-July when administrators, who had been trying to hide the falloff, revealed to the board the 6,000-member group had lost 500 members over the last 12 months, said Dr. Henry Jacobs, incoming president of the CSMS and a private practice obstetrician- gynecologist in Bloomfield. "This last year was disastrous," Jacobs said. "All these hospitals are buying up prac- tices and refusing to pay for doctors to join Wanted downtown: Grocery, bike shop, more restaurants By Gregory Seay gseay@HartfordBusiness.com D owntown Hartford's apartment dwell- ers have their amenities "wish list," and so do their landlords. Tops on landlords' list, of course, is a gro- cery store, followed by a wider selection of downtown retail shops and restaurants, longer coffee shop hours, a bicycle shop, a dry clean- ers, more cultural attractions, even a 24-hour urgent-care facility. Many downtown dwellers and renters say they want the same. Some Hartford apartment landlords were eager to share their check-list of downtown amenities they want added or expanded, to make the center city, and hence their proper- ties, more attractive to urban dwellers. The stakes are particularly high as landlords add more than a thousand new downtown apart- ment units over the next few years, fueling the need to attract new residents. Centerplan Cos., which is redeveloping the Downtown North acreage into a ballpark, also plans a nearby mixed-used project featuring apartments, parking and a supermarket. "Hartford would benefit from completing the basic infrastructure of any community so all services that are typically necessary should be available: grocery, urgent care, Continued on page 12 Continued on page 14 WANING INFLUENCE Dr. Tim Chartier, of the Connecticut and Hartford County medical societies, said doctors are losing their ability to influence how medicine is practiced in the state. P H O T O | P A B L O R O B L E S Downtown Hartford's list of lifestyle, cultural and retail amenities must grow for it to excel, proponents say. H B J P H O T O | G R E G O R Y S E A Y