Hartford Business Journal

www.HartfordBusiness.com May 2, 2016 • Hartford Business Journal 11 Camp Courant's $1.7M facelift continues with new projects C amp Courant, the century-old sub- urban summer getaway for gen- erations of Hartford's neediest and underprivileged youths, is preparing the next phase of upgrades as part of a $1.7 million renovation-expansion of its Farm- ington campus. The nonprofit youth-camp operator says it recently obtained a $130,000 grant from the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving to continue with upgrades that will enable it to expand learning opportunities for campgoers. The foundation said its grant fulfills one of its three strategic priorities that all children in the Hartford region are ready to learn upon entering kindergarten and are prepared to succeed by the time they gradu- ate high school. Opened 122 years ago, Camp Cou- rant currently hosts about 600 Hartford youths annually. According to the foundation, camp projects covered under the latest funding grant are: • $50,000 for a renovation of its exist- ing Early Learning Center, including an upgrade to the heating, ventilation and air conditioning system, and outfitting its new multi-purpose classroom space, the Lego Learning Center. • $58,000 to install a new handicap- accessible bathroom. The camp, officials said, presently only has one handicap- accessible bathroom in its main building. With its expanded partnership with HARC Inc., the camp needs an additional bath- room to ensure that all of its campers have safe and adequate facilities. • $22,000 to cover architectural fees and drawings for the renovation work. Hartford Foundation for Public Giving spokesman Chris Senecal said the HVAC and bathroom addition will begin as soon per- mits are pulled, "which should be any day.'' The Early Learning Center renovation and bathroom installation are just two components of a large-scale, $1.7 million facilities upgrade, Senecal said. Among other camp improvements is a new swimming pool and renovations to the pool house, work on both slated to be fin- ished by the time the camp opens in June, he said via email. Next year, the camp plans to focus its fundraising efforts, Senecal said, on upgrades to its learning center building, plus a renovated ballfield, new basketball courts and new playground equipment. Stanley's Southington lease New Britain hand- and power- tool giant Stanley Black & Decker has leased space in Southington's 400 Executive Blvd. office building. S t a n l e y , through a spokes- man, was reluctant to divulge details about the amount of space and terms covered under the lease with landlord AmTrust Financial Inc., which paid $2.25 mil- lion to acquire the building in April 2015 from The Hartford. According to Stanley spokesman Timo- thy Parra, his company is renovating an unidentified building on its New Britain campus that will result in relocating work- ers from one of its downtown New Britain buildings to corporate headquarters. Meantime, Parra said, a group of employees tied to its hand-tools business will move to the space in Southington once renovations there are complete "as there isn't room for them at our head- quarters campus and there isn't enough of them to fill the current building.'' With the expansions and relocations, Stanley counts about 1,500 employees scat- tered over eight Connecticut communities, Parra said. AmTrust, based in New York City, declined to comment. $1.4M S. Windsor sale A 37,626-square-foot industrial build- ing in South Windsor has sold for $1.4 mil- lion, brokers say. Plasma Technology Inc. acquired the 26-year-old building on 4.06 acres at 694 Nutmeg Road North from Q&E LLC, accord- ing to listing broker Sentry Commercial. Coldwell Banker represented the buyer. n Deal Watch wants to hear from you. E-mail it, along with contact informa- tion to: gseay@HartfordBusiness.com. Gregory Seay is the Hartford Business Journal News Editor. DEAL WATCH PDS has been meeting the needs of the construction industry since 1965. Our dedicated team of design and construction professionals welcomes the challenge of serving its past and future customers on their most demanding projects. Valenti Chevrolet Dealership | Wallingford, Connecticut PDS Engineering & Construction served as design/builder for this 16,888 SF addition to the existing dealership. Design elements included civil, structural, and MEP. Project Features: • Showroom and offices • Service department • Detailing area • Technician space • Storage Highly recommended, competitive, straightforward ... on-time and on-budget. – David Valenti, President, Valenti Auto Sales 107 Old Windsor Road, Bloomfield, CT 06002 (860) 242-8586 | Fax (860) 242-8587 www.pdsec.com DESIGN BUILDERS • GENERAL CONTRACTORS • CONSTRUCTION MANAGERS SPOTLIGHT ON: Commercial PDS ENGINEERING & CONSTRUCTION, INC. THINK • PLAN • BUILD Nominate him or her for the Har tford Business Journal's 2016 4 0 U N D E R F O RT Y AWA R D S ! We're looking for candidates who share a commitment to business growth, personal excellence and deep community involvement. The people who are shaping the future of Greater Hartford. Winners will be recognized in a special Issue of the Hartford Business Journal publishing on July 25 in print + digital, and at the 20th Anniversary awards event on September 14 at the Connecticut Convention Center! NOMINATE NOW FOR 2016! K n ow s o m e o n e yo u n g a n d s u c c e s s f u l w h o d e s e r ve s t o b e r e c o g n i ze d ? Nominate yourself — or someone you know! Go to www.HartfordBusiness.com and click on the "Our Events" tab. Nomination deadline is May 26, 2016 Event Partners: EVENT & TRAVEL PARTNERS Presenting Sponsors: Event Sponsors: In Association With: #HBJ40U40 N O M I N AT I O N S F O R C L A S S O F 2 0 1 6 A R E O P E N ! Visit HartfordBusiness.com and click on "OUR EVENTS" to fill out an online nomination form today! Camp Courant's Farmington campus. P H O T O | C O N T R I B U T E D Gregory Seay 694 Nutmeg Road North, South Windsor. P H O T O | H B J F I L E

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