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12 Hartford Business Journal • August 31, 2015 www.HartfordBusiness.com from page 1 word not just about CUs' credit and savings products, but touting their deep community roots and engagement. The aim is to lift the anemic percentage of Connecticut residents who belong to a credit union, which currently stands at about 25 percent. States such as Maine and Michigan count nearly half their populations as credit-union members, industry authori- ties say. Nationally, a third of the nation's population belong to one. The credit union's campaign is largely viral, spreading its affinity message via its new www. ctcreditunions.org homepage, social media, and through member CUs' newsletters and other internal information-sharing organs. Nowacki, who 18 months ago arrived from Oregon to take the reins of state CUs' lobby- ing/networking organization, likened the Con- necticut CU's branding campaign to consumer awareness that dairymen and growers estab- lished to pitch their milk, cranberry and Cali- fornia raisins products. The campaign is credit union's latest attempt to remain relevant in a consumer- finance landscape in which smartphones and laptops are rapidly replacing traditional financial institutions. Nowacki said the Connecticut league also has shared notes with their counterparts in Mas- sachusetts and Rhode Island, both preparing to launch similar image campaigns. Frank Mancini, CEO of New Haven's Con- nex Credit Union, one of the state's largest at about $400 million in assets, says he has long advocated that Connecticut's CUs band togeth- er more often to promote shared interests, like building membership. "What's happening is we're just trying to get the message out,'' Mancini said. "It's just this generic message that anybody can join.'' Maine's lead In many ways, credit unions are like banks and savings and loans. All take in customers' deposits — which are federally insured — in the form of checking or savings accounts and issue auto, home mortgage and home improvement loans. Some credit unions also make business loans. But CUs are quick to point to one major differ- ence — the local credit cooperatives, by defini- tion, are owned by their depositors, the people residing in the communities were CUs are based. Most banks and S&Ls are owned by stockhold- ers, and some have shares that trade publicly, concentrating ownership among a scattered few. Banks and thrifts, though, are even quick- er to point to what they see as CU's inherent unfair competitive advantage: The nonprofit cooperatives are not subject to the same state and federal taxes as they are. Because they carry deposit insurance, CUs are subject to either state or federal regulation, depending on their charter type. Maine is one of America's and New Eng- land's top states for credit-union enrollment. Owing to its collective brand-awareness cam- paign for more than 20 years running, 657,000 of Maine's 1.3 million residents — half its pop- ulation — belong to one, said John G. Mur- phy, president/CEO of the Maine Credit Union League. The Maine league has 60 member CUs, with assets totaling $6.6 billion. "Maine has always been a strong credit- union state,'' Murphy said. Connecticut, by comparison, counted 841,684 credit union members among its 3.3 million residents at the end of March, down 3 percent from December 2012, according to National Credit Union Administration data. The Maine league, Murphy said, is current- ly underway with a biennial $1 million image campaign that has enabled CUs there to draw new members, particularly Millennials, in a state that in recent years has experienced a shrinking population. Mancini, who frequently travels to Maine with family, says he's long been impressed with the Maine league's member-affinity spots on TV, radio and limited print. He said he urged the Connecticut league to copy it. The Connecticut league's efforts, too, Mur- phy said, can help shore up their credit unions' aging member base, he said. It also is a way, he added, for smaller credit unions to leverage their meek marketing budgets "It's a great first step,'' Murphy said. "I applaud them for taking the initiative." Targeting Millennials with CUs' value message not only is a great way to build awareness of the financial-services savings and other benefits, Murphy said, but also the career opportunities the co-ops offer in lend- ing, finance, marketing and management. "Credit unions are a very good match to the ideals of that age group,'' he said. "They like local. They like being part of something. It's a great demographic for credit unions … They want them.'' n CT Credit Union Membership Ranks Members Dec-2011 Dec-2012 Dec-2013 Dec-2014 Mar-2015 Current Members 866,311 867,540 854,891 845,463 841,684 Total Savings Accounts 1,581,331 1,588,268 1,567,120 1,557,952 1,557,951 S O U R C E : N A T I O N A L C R E D I T U N I O N A D M I N I S T R A T I O N CU Membership Percentages % of Population State CU Customers Connecticut 23.50% Maine 49% Massachusetts 38.30% Rhode Island 32.70% Vermont 54.70% New Hampshire 43.10% S O U R C E : C R E D I T U N I O N L E A G U E O F C O N N E C T I C U T Millennials are CUs' fresh bulls-eye SKC office-retail project to cap Canton development zone T he Simon Konover Co. proposes to close out a special Canton develop- ment zone with construction of a mixed-use building along its commercial Route 44/Albany Turnpike corridor. West Hartford-based SKC recently won final site-plan approval from the town's planning and zoning commission to erect a 24,882-square-foot office-retail building on 4 acres at 115 Albany Turnpike, said Greg Konover, who is representing his family enter- prise's development interests in the project. With approval in hand, SKC is tackling the thorny chore of trying to pre-lease an unspecified portion of the building. If that happens, construction could commence in early 2016, with occupancy set for later that year, Konover said. The project's development pricetag rings in at around $5 million, he said. Hartford's Amenta Emma Architects designed the structure to accommodate either medical or professional office tenants, or retail occupants. BL Companies in Meriden is the civil engineer. A general contractor has not been assigned to build it, Konover said. Next door, UConn Health Center opened its own medical building fronting Albany Turnpike; a three-year-old CVS retail drug store also fronts the turnpike. All are within a 7.5-acre parcel that SKC, working closely with the town, created and tagged as the Albany Turnpike Devel- opment Zone, Konover said. The 4-acre Albany Turnpike parcel is the zone's last undeveloped slice. The zone sprang from the contentious ashes of SKC's previous proposal 15 years earli- er to erect a Target store fronting the turnpike. However, that plan withered in the face of vocal opposition from town officials and residents. "We've worked pretty hard with the town on this last one,'' said Konover, the third gen- eration of his family active in real estate development. "We've been trying to put together some- thing in keeping with the zone and with the town's desire for a development that is smaller in scale than when we started.'' Webster's remade trio Waterbury regional lender Webster Bank says remodeling work will wrap by August's end on three of its existing branches state- wide, including its Bishops Corner location in West Hartford. Bridgeport architect Antinozzi Associ- ates designed the interior/exterior upgrades for all three branches. Paniccia Construction is contractor for work underway at the 1,500-square-foot Branford location, 1 S. Main St.; and the 2,700-square-foot Stamford branch, 1959 Sum- mer St., which will have a sit-down teller line. PAC Group LLC is contractor for the 2,300-square-foot Bishops Corner office, 774 N. Main St. Each branch employs between four to five workers, Webster said. Meantime, Webster says it's on track to close three other branches on Sept. 25: 1160 Silas Deane Highway, Wethersfield; on Federal Road in Brookfield; and on Centre Street, in Brockton, Mass. n Deal Watch wants to hear from you. E-mail it, along with contact information to: gseay@HartfordBusiness.com. Gregory Seay is the Hartford Business Journal News Editor. Gregory Seay DEAL WATCH Sketch of the proposed 24,882-square-foot Canton commercial building that Simon Konover Corp. is developing. Webster's completed Branford branch makeover has features, like a pod-style layout and digital displays, that will be replicated in the Waterbury lender's other remade offices in Stamford and West Hartford. P H O T O | C O N T R I B U T E D P H O T O | C O N T R I B U T E D