Hartford Business Journal

8 Hartford Business Journal • August 3, 2015 www.HartfordBusiness.com FOCUS CONSTRUCTION City plots new development in Hartford's North End By Chris Dehnal Special to the Hartford Business Journal H artford Mayor Pedro Segarra is being careful not to make any promises on new developments within the recently appointed North Hartford Promise Zone, despite $10 million in fresh state money to invest in the area. It's too early, and there are too many players involved, he insisted in a recent interview, to have a set-in-stone plan. But the mayor does have a vision for the North End and hinted at a couple of industries he thinks would fit- in well with the area's redevelopment goals. "The point is to make the area a vibrant residential place with a plan for new development while taking care of some eyesores in the area," Segarra said. "I can see Homestead Avenue being promoted as a manufacturing space — the whole corridor," adding that he's already identified one site for a startup. He said Sheldon Avenue would be perfect for advanced medical manufacturing companies. Program background The federal Department of Housing and Urban Development has awarded a promise zone designation to North Hartford, specifically in a 3.11-square-mile area encompassing the Clay Arsenal, Northeast and Upper Albany neighborhoods. It makes Hartford the first city in Connecticut to take part in the competitive economic and housing development initiative created by President Barack Obama. In his 2013 State of the Union Address, Obama announced that he would designate 20 promise zones nationwide in high-poverty communities that would part- ner with the federal government to create jobs, increase economic activity, improve educational opportunities, reduce violent crime and improve health outcomes. Promise zones receive preferential consideration for existing federal funding and are assigned federal staff, along with five full-time AmeriCorps VISTA members, to help navigate federal resources. To be eligible for consideration, the rate of overall poverty of residents within the promise zone must be greater than 33 percent and encompass a population of at least 10,000 but no more than 200,000 residents. About 49.35 percent of the 23,930 residents in the North Hartford Promise Zone are in poverty, compared to the city's overall 33.9 percent poverty rate, according to the federal grant application. In June, the state legislature approved $10 million for promise zone development that will be overseen by the Cap- ital Region Development Authority, which has led much of the housing redevelopment currently underway downtown. CRDA Executive Director Michael Freimuth said his organization is likely to be focused more on the "eco- nomic development and housing components" within the promise zone. He also cited creation of a health sec- tor but did not rule out an education focus and some additional social services. Thomas Deller, Hartford's director of development services, said the mayor's office is in the early stages of developing a proposal for the neighborhood, but the overall focus is job creation, supporting a re-entry pop- ulation that comes back to the North End, promoting business growth, maintaining an aspect of safety and improving infrastructure. Efforts will be targeted at initiatives that are already underway, including $100 million in façade and infra- structure improvements, two school renovations, the North End Senior Center, Keney Park ballfields, the res- toration of Keney Park Golf Course and its clubhouse, and a new police substation on Coventry Street. "We want the residents and the businesses who are already here to get better, and we do not want to develop anything at the expense of the existing neighborhood," Segarra said. Urban farming Another initiative Segarra mentioned is urban farm- ing. He said the culinary philosophy of farm-to-table is taking off, so he consulted officials in Cleveland on their efforts. He now sees an opportunity to expand the farm- to-table concept at the old M. Swift & Sons factory building and the North End Farmers Market by adding a hydroponic element to the area. A main component of the promise zone is Commu- nity Solution's restoration of the Swift property. For more than 100 years, the factory was a leading source of gold leafing for state capitol buildings and historic landmarks across the country. The former factory closed in 2004, and the promise zone plan prioritizes revitalization of the factory as a hub for startups and healthcare services. The vacant land sur- rounding the former factory has already been repurposed and is now the site of the Five Corners Urban Farm. "These could be jobs that reach the community — smaller companies whose workers are the sharehold- ers," Segarra said. "It would have a social impact and take in the meaning of the promise zone. Setting up something like that would follow the intent of the appli- cation and support existing small business while grow- ing the local economy. Urban farming is getting big and we could take advantage of that." n Q&A Construction industry addressing worker shortage Q&A talks with John Butts, executive director of the Associated General Contractors of Connecticut, about the group's efforts to recruit more young people to the construction trades. Q: Why is there a work- force shortage in Connecticut's con- struction industry? A: The economic recession had a big impact. Between 2007 and 2012, many work- ers in Connecticut's construction industry were laid off or left for lack of work. Since then, as the economy and the industry have slowly recovered, the construction labor force has gradu- ally returned as well. Regardless, we're still not back to the num- bers we saw in 2007. According to the Con- necticut Department of Labor, at the end of 2007, we had 69,000 construction workers in the workforce, and after a low of 49,000 workers in 2010, we've climbed back up to 60,500, as of last month. Q: What are the potential long-term ramifications of a workforce shortage? A: The worst-case scenario for the construction industry is that companies will turn away work and projects will be delayed or won't get built at all for lack of qualified bidders. On a national scale, there are signs that may be happening. In a recent survey of its members, the Associated General Contractors (AGC) of America reported that 87 percent of firms reported having a hard time filling key professional and craft worker positions, and for the first time in many years, com- panies reported turning away work because of a labor shortage. In Connecticut, while some of that may be playing out at a micro level, we are a long way from the point that projects won't get built because there's a shortage of skilled workers. The industry still has a lot of capacity and there are many firms out there that are ready, willing and capable of delivering quality projects in spite of a few spot shortages in certain trades. Q: What is the AGC of Connecticut doing about the shortage? A: Recognizing that the Internet is the first place most young people go for anything from entertainment to research to communicating with each other, the Connecticut Con- struction Industries Association (CCIA) and its commercial building division, AGC of Connecticut, are developing a website geared toward attracting young people who are looking for informa- tion on construction careers. The idea for the website originated several years ago from other AGC chapters around the country independently devel- oping websites to educate and attract the next generation of construction workers. AGC of America, looking for a strategy to deal with the grow- ing nationwide labor shortage, adopted the idea and hired a web- site developer to assist chapters to create similar websites. Q: What information will you provide to make construction an attractive career choice? A: The website will focus on two main areas, detailed information on the wide variety of career choices and where to go for the necessary training for construction careers. While the website is still under construction, it will feature a list- ing of the major trades, including average annual salary figures, training opportunities through four- and two-year college degrees, apprenticeship programs, techni- cal schools, individual member company programs, and videos of various construction professionals and tradespeople telling real stories about their jobs and how they came to pursue a career in construction. Q: How many new workers will the construction industry need over the next 15-20 years? A: It's hard to say. Workforce demand is directly related to the volume and complexity of projects. While there are approximately 9,000 fewer construction workers now than there were at peak level in 2007, such a level does not nec- essarily mean that we need that many workers to fill the workforce demands of most of the industry. The industry has recently devel- oped technologies and efficiencies that allow it to do more with less. Furthermore, should acute shortag- es arise, the one thing Connecticut has in its favor is that we have the training and education infrastruc- ture (apprenticeship programs, etc.) in place to address employer needs on a timely basis. n JOHN BUTTS Executive director of the Associated General Contractors of Connecticut A major goal of the North Hartford Promise Zone is to redevelop the M. Swift & Sons factory building (shown above) in Hartford. P H O T O | H B J F I L E

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