Hartford Business Journal

6 Hartford Business Journal • May 2, 2016 www.HartfordBusiness.com TOP STORY Planned Windsor Locks outlet mall appears dead One of two proposed outlet malls for the Hartford region appears dead. According to Windsor Locks First Selectman Chris Kervick's Facebook page, Indiana retail developer Simon Property Group has told the town that it is suspending efforts to recruit tenants to its proposed Hartford Premium Outlets on a 76-acre former tobac- co parcel on Old Country Road, at the junction of I-91 and Route 20. Simon Property's option to buy the land expired April 25 and the developer was unwilling to extend it, Kervick said in the posting. Meantime, Chicago-based Horizon Properties Group con- firmed that it is proceeding with plans to erect its 410,000-square- foot Outlet Shoppes at Rentschler Field in East Hartford. The announcement is a sharp reversal from late March, when Kervick boasted in a Facebook posting at the time that Simon's Windsor Locks mall project was still a "go." ADVERTISING, MEDIA & MARKETING Hartford Courant parent gets $815M offer Tribune Publishing, parent company of The Hartford Courant, is being wooed by Gannett Co., parent of USA Today and newspapers throughout the United States and United Kingdom. Gannett made an unsolicited $815 million offer, with numerous contingencies, to acquire all outstanding shares of Tribune Publish- ing common stock for $12.25 per share in cash, according to a Tribune statement. Gannett owns no publications in Connecticut. A Quinnipiac professor says the deal isn't good for readers. "I think these big whales-swallowing-big-whales media deals are inevitable in the current climate, but sad — and bad for journalism," said Kevin Convey, assistant professor and chair of journalism in the School of Communica- tions at Quinnipiac University, a former editor-in-chief of The Daily News. EDUCATION Barnes & Noble to run UConn bookstores; Hartford location in play UConn's board of trustees last week approved the choice of Barnes & Noble as the school's next campus bookstore operator. Barnes & Noble will take over management of UConn's Storrs cam- pus bookstore from the University of Connecticut Cooperative Corp., also known as the UConn Co-op. As part of the deal, Barnes & Noble has also made a $1 million com- mitment to establish a downtown Hartford bookstore, when UConn's new center-city campus opens in 2017. University President Susan Herbst previously said a relationship with a private operator represents new revenue to UConn — poten- tially millions annually — which the university has decided it will devote to student financial aid and student support. As part of the agreement, Barnes & Noble will pay UConn a com- mission based on its sales volume — as high as 20 percent if the national bookstore operator has $25 million or more in sales. UHart launches virtual realty campaign To entice students to enroll, the University of Hartford's Barney School of Business has adopted a virtual reality campaign. The Barney School tapped Farmington independent digital agency Primacy to develop the VR campaign, which immerses students into campus life via a customized and fully branded website with video and audio, and a Google Cardboard VR headset. This past month, the school mailed the custom web-app and headsets to its group of 1,300 accepted students in their admissions package. Marty Roth, dean and professor of management and marketing at the Barney School, said the goal was to convert accepted students into matriculating students in the fall. HEALTH CARE Five CT hospital systems in the red for FY 2015 The parent companies of St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center and Manchester Memorial and Rockville General hospitals were among at least five Connecticut hospital systems that lost money in fiscal 2015. St. Francis Care Inc., which was recently purchased by Michigan- based Trinity Health and is parent to St. Francis Hospital and myriad other health and rehab service providers, posted an overall $14.1 mil- lion loss (-1.75 percent margin) in fiscal 2015, compared to a $12.7 mil- lion surplus a year earlier, according to recently released data by the state Office of Health Care Access. Eastern Connecticut Health Network, owner of the Manchester and Rockville hospitals as well as a nursing home, physician groups, real estate company, and visiting nurse association, posted a $2.5 million overall loss (-0.80 percent margin) in fiscal 2015, compared to a slight $46,970 surplus a year earlier. The three other networks that lost money in fiscal 2015 include the Greater Waterbury Health Network ($22.4 million), Milford Health & Medical Inc. ($6.7 million), and St. Vincent's Health Services Corp. ($32.9 million). STARTUPS CI launches $5M investment challenge A $5 million global investment challenge for early-stage digital health and financial technology companies has been launched by Connecticut Innovations. Called VentureClash, it features a top award of a $1.5 mil- lion investment. CI said it will support companies with corporate, university, non- profit and state resources to help high-growth enterprises succeed. Companies have until June 30, 2016, to submit a first-round application. HUMAN RESOURCES Study shows tuition reimbursement improves bottom line Investing in college tuition as an employee benefit has significantly helped Bloomfield insurer Cigna improve its bottom line, according to a new study. The analysis of Cigna's education-reimbursement program (ERP) shows every dollar the company puts into the program is returned and gen- erates an additional $1.29 in savings — a 129 percent return on investment. Lumina Foundation, a national foundation focused on increasing postsec- ondary attainment, partnered with Cigna to design the study, which was conducted by Accenture, a global professional services company. Program participants were 10 percent more likely to be promoted, 7.5 percent more likely to be transferred within Cigna, and 8 percent more likely to stay at the company, reducing talent management and recruiting costs. NONPROFITS CT Food Bank names new CEO The Connecticut Food Bank has named Bernard J. Beaudreau CEO. His appointment takes effect May 16. Beaudreau comes to the position with nearly 40 years of experi- ence in human-service work, including more than 20 years of leader- ship in food banking and hunger-related service organizations at the state, national and international levels. Most recently, Beaudreau was executive director of Serve Rhode Island, connecting volunteers with nonprofits and schools in the state. BY THE NUMBERS 541 The number of housing permits issued in March by the 104 Connecticut cities and towns tracked by the U.S. Census Bureau, which was up 14 percent from a year earlier. $10M The amount of money UConn's board of trustees has decided not to seek from the state to repair the roof of its Gampel Pavilion arena. 57.81% The percentage of Connecticut Republican voters who cast ballots last week in support of Donald Trump, who won the state's Republican primary by a wide margin. 51.81% The percentage of Connecticut Democratic voters who cast ballots last week in support of Hilary Clinton, who won the state's Democratic primary over Bernie Saders by more than 5 percentage points. TOP 5 MOST READ on HartfordBusiness.com ■ Yard Goats announce a new dining option ■ Hartford area office pair on troubled-realty list ■ Planned Windsor Locks outlet mall appears dead ■ Appeal of long-term care insurance declines ■ Barnes & Noble to run UConn bookstores; Hartford location in play STAY CONNECTED For breaking and daily Greater Hartford business news go to www.HartfordBusiness.com. HBJ on Twitter: @HartfordBiz HBJ on Facebook: www.facebook.com/HartfordBiz HBJ on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/ the-Hartford-Business-Journal Daily e-newsletters: HBJ Today, CT Morning Blend www.HartfordBusiness.com/subscribe Weekly e-newsletters: CT Green Guide Weekly, CT Health Care Weekly www.HartfordBusiness.com/subscribe WEEK IN REVIEW The planned Windsor Locks site for the now sidelined Hartford Premium Outlets. P H O T O | C O N T R I B U T E D

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