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MARCH 14, 2016
Volume 24, Number 15
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L E A R N I N N O V A T E C O L L A B O R A T E S A V E
SUMMIT
ANNUAL
's
Index
■ Reporter's Notebook: PG. 5
■ Q&A: PG. 8
■ The List: PGS. 9, 10
■ Deal Watch: PG. 12
■ Movers & Shakers: PG. 18
■ Opinion & Commentary: PG. 20
FOCUS: RESIDENTIAL
REAL ESTATE
Picky Buyers
Sales of high-end homes in Greater Hartford haven't
been as robust as the broader market. Find out why.
PG. 8
Spring
Green
Guide
Big deals, new
potential markets push FuelCell Energy toward
profitability. See Special Insert
All in the Family
Tom Clark and his son Dan Clark run a small
insurance agency in the heart of downtown Hartford.
Find out what made them join forces and the
philosophy they share in running a small business.
PG. 3
Millennials, Boomers test builders' marketing skills
By Gregory Seay
gseay@HartfordBusiness.com
L
ike many U.S. home builders, Elizabeth "Liz'' Verna is doing
all she can to satisfy the nesting needs of two of today's most
influential buyers — Baby Boomers and Millennials.
So, at HillCrest Village, the Southington subdivision in which
Verna Homes is active, detached single-family dwellings, sized 1,700
square feet to 2,600 square feet, and priced from $369,000, are going
up. Of its 98 lots, four are occupied and eight more are sold — half
to Millennials, half to Boomers, Verna said.
"It truly is a Millennials subdivision and a Boomer subdivision,''
Unusual CT tax experiment
could get new life
By Matt Pilon
mpilon@HartfordBusiness.com
H
artford state and city lead-
ers have expressed inter-
est in using and expanding
a unique commercial property
tax experiment that has been
largely ignored since the legisla-
ture created it two years ago.
In 2014, state lawmakers cre-
ated a pilot program to allow a
limited number of municipali-
ties to temporarily reduce or
even eliminate property taxes for
unprofitable businesses that own
or occupy commercial spaces.
The measure, pushed by Sen.
John Fonfara (D-Hartford), was
intended to help local govern-
ments incentivize economic devel-
opment, particularly in germinat-
ing cash-strapped startups.
But it hasn't caught on. In fact,
no municipality has applied to par-
ticipate in the program, according
to its overseer, the Office of Policy
and Management (OPM), likely
because of the law's perceived
complexities and the fact that
State Sen. John Fonfara (D-Hartford).
Continued on page 16
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HOUSING DIVIDE
Continued on page 14
Home builder Elizabeth "Liz'' Verna, right, has
found dwellings she's building in Southington's
HillCrest Village appeal to both Millennials and
Baby Boomers. Verna and other Connecticut
builders say the right blend of amenities,
marketing messages and patience are keys.
GreenGuide
C
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C
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T
S
P
R
I
N
G
2
0
1
6
BUILDING
MOMENTUM
Big
deals,
new
potential
markets
push
FuelCell
Energy
toward
profitability
A
s
u
p
p
l
e
m
e
n
t
o
f
TRASH-T0-ENERGY'S
CHALLENGE
ECOMPANY:
LACK
OF
ROOF
SPACE
NO
PROBLEM
FOR
JCC
