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6 Hartford Business Journal • October 24, 2016 www.HartfordBusiness.com TOP STORY East Windsor, South Windsor now vying for third casino The two tribes soliciting proposals for a third Connecticut casino an- nounced last week that East Windsor and South Windsor sites are now in the mix, following an Oct. 15 request for proposals (RFP) deadline. MMCT Venture, which is the organization led by the Mohegan and Mashantucket Pequot tribes, said the new proposals join sites being consid- ered in East Hartford, Hartford and Windsor Locks. Details on all of the plans were not immediately available, but South Windsor Town Manager Matthew B. Galligan identified his town's site. South Windsor has 22 acres in the I-291 development zone that it owns jointly with developers DCK of Pittsburgh. Instead of creating an industrial park, the town and developers decided to submit a detailed proposal for a casino, Galligan said. In East Windsor, the town is proposing a casino on 55 acres off I-91 near exits 44 and 45. Showcase Cinemas went out of business there, but 40 acres are buildable and the site is zoned commercial, said First Selectman Robert Maynard. The new casino would be owned and operated by the tribes and designed to save jobs and revenue in Connecticut. Developer Anthony J. Ravosa Jr., a member of Silver Lane Partners LLC, also provided details on East Hartford's amended application, saying in an email that the site would include a 150,000-square-foot parking lot behind the former Showcase Cinemas as the spot for a primary gaming floor. The entire site's size is now about 300,000 square feet and is zoned commercial already, he said. Sites in Windsor Locks also are under consideration. Sportech resubmit- ted its plans for development of its existing OTB campus next to Bradley International Airport. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT & CONSTRUCTION Work to resume at Hartford ballpark Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin last week signed a takeover agreement with Arch Insurance Co. to resume work at Dunkin' Donuts Park. Stadium work has been stalled but Arch Insurance tapped Baltimore-based Whiting-Turner Contracting Co. to complete construction on the unfinished ball- park in late September. The city fired the original developer for shoddy and late work, which had been expected to cost $53.5 million, but whose pricetag has grown. The original developer, Centerplan Construction, is suing the city over the firing. The Hartford Yard Goats, which played their entire 2016 season on the road, aims to play the upcoming season with Hartford as their home base beginning April 13. Bob's Furniture building new Manchester HQ Manchester home-furnishings retailer Bob's Discount Furniture broke ground last week for its new headquarters in town. Gov. Dannel P. Malloy joined Bob's executives, Manchester's mayor and other town officials for the ceremony at the site of its current 90,000-square-foot store/headquarters at 428 Tolland Turnpike. The new, 103,000-square-foot building will be located next door and will house 326 Bob's workers. The retailer also plans to add 125 new jobs, officials said. No completion date was disclosed. NONPROFITS Travelers championship raised record $2.8M+ The Travelers Championship generated a record $2.8 million-plus for charity at this year's event. The record-setting number was boosted by the Bruce Edwards Foundation Benefit Dinner, which raised more than $1.3 million. This year's fundraising effort brings the total money distributed since Travel- ers became title sponsor in 2007 to nearly $13 million. More than 600 charities have received funds from the tournament over that time. Alan Schnitzer, Travelers chief executive officer, said more than 160 charities will benefit from this year's effort. This year's primary charitable beneficiary was the ALS Clinic at the Hospital for Special Care in New Britain. MANUFACTURING Pratt's turbofan engine saving on fuel Pratt & Whitney's PurePower geared turbofan engine has entered passenger service with Spirit Airlines, which debuted its first Airbus A320neo flight from Detroit to Los Angeles on Oct. 16. Spirit Airlines calculated that on that 2,000 mile flight, the new aircraft saved about 422 gallons of fuel compared with the previous model. Performance on other aircraft also confirms that the engine reduces fuel burn by 16 percent, lowers emissions by 50 percent and reduces the noise footprint by 75 percent. Spirit Airlines has ordered 55 of Airbus' latest narrow-body passenger jets, each powered by Pratt & Whitney's PurePower PW1100G-JM engines. Eight carriers are flying 22 geared turbofan engine powered aircraft across the globe. ENERGY & UTILITIES Report: Transportation, buildings key to emissions reductions With a major shift from coal to natural gas and more efficient power plants largely complete in the Northeast, further reductions in greenhouse gas emis- sions will have to come from other sectors, according to a new report conducted by Massachusetts-based M.J. Bradley & Associates. For states that have pledged emissions reductions, including Connecticut, there is more to be done in transportation and buildings, according to the report, which was funded by several foundations and other donors with environmental missions. Continuing to "decarbonize" power generation will be important, as will a shift from gasoline-powered cars to electric vehicles, and from fossil-fuel heat- ing systems to electric heat pumps in buildings, if states are to hit their goals. There are many potential hurdles to achieving further emissions reductions, including utility companies' opposition to clean-energy tariffs, the economic strug- gles of nuclear plants, which do not emit CO2, and the relatively slow adoption of electric vehicles, the report said. GOVERNMENT, POLITICS & LAW Malloy to FEMA: Help CT cope with crumbling foundations Gov. Dannel P. Malloy has asked federal regulators to assess the damage caused by crumbling foundations in some 43,130 homes in Connecticut after an earlier inquiry failed to get their attention. Malloy last week asked the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to establish a field office in northeastern Connecticut and conduct a preliminary damage assessment on the properties with foundations that are at risk of crumbling and collapsing due to what the state believes is the result of a natural disaster. In a letter to FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate, Malloy states that potentially tens of thousands of Connecticut residents are at risk, and that federal expertise is critical to the ongoing efforts by state and local governments, and a coalition of insurance companies that are working to address the problem. INSURANCE Survey: CT insurers leaders in addressing climate change The Hartford, Travelers and seven other insurers with operations in Con- necticut earned high-quality ratings for efforts to address climate change, according to a survey analyzed by Ceres, a Boston-based nonprofit that pro- motes sustainability. According to the Insurer Climate Risk Disclosure Survey Report & Scorecard, those two insurers, plus Lincoln National, AIG, Munich Re, Xl, MetLife, Chubb and Prudential all earned the high-quality ratings, Ceres said. Some of these companies are based here while others have a significant presence in the state. Chubb and Travelers were among the most improved, going from low-quality and medium quality, respectively, to high-quality ratings. Analyzing survey results of 148 insurance companies representing 71 percent of the U.S. market, the report evaluates the quality and comprehensiveness of climate risk disclosures by insurance companies. The firms responded to the National As- sociation of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) Climate Risk Disclosure Survey. BY THE NUMBERS $300,000 The approximate amount of money Republican Congressional candidates in Connecticut raised through September, a new low for the GOP, according to the CT Mirror. $40K The UConn athletic department's profit margin in fiscal 2016, a year in which it recorded $78.8 million in revenues. 9% The projected national growth in Obamacare enrollment in 2017. $2.8M The amount of money the Travelers Championship generated for charity this year, which is a tournament record. TOP 5 MOST READ on HartfordBusiness.com ■ Work to resume at Hartford ballpark ■ Tribes: East Windsor, South Windsor now vying for third casino ■ Bob's Furniture building new Manchester HQ ■ Hartford, New Haven among top 20 'rattiest' cities ■ HSB acquires 'Internet of Things' startup 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 shuttered East Hartford Showcase Cinemas is the site of a possible casino. P H O T O | H B J F I L E