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www.HartfordBusiness.com December 12, 2016 • Hartford Business Journal 7 WHAT'S AHEAD: ■ 12/19 Focus: 5 to Watch 2016 recap ■ The List: Largest Not-for-Profits in Greater Hartford ■ Nonprofit Profile: CT Automotive Retailers Association CALENDAR WEDNESDAY, DEC. 14 No More Boring Pitches The Simsbury Public Library Business Resource Center will host a talk by guest speaker Kathy McAfee, who will share insights and strategies to help businesses present themselves in a more compelling and credible way. With 11 years of experience as a small- business owner serving business-to- business clients as executive presentation coach, McAfee will motivate and equip companies to pitch ideas and land the right opportunities for growth. Attendees will walk away understanding the importance of opening and closing remarks and how to prepare; when and how to use technology to tell a story; how to build rapport before, during and after the pitch; and why the Q&A portion of the pitch is linked to a client's decision. McAfee just published a new book, "Stop Global Boring," which will be available for purchase and signing at this event, which runs from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Simsbury Public Library, 725 Hopmeadow St. Cost to attend is fee. HOSPITALITY & TOURISM Hartford, U.S. ink Coltsville pact The city of Hartford says it has satisfied the third and final condi- tion of its pact with the Interior Department, formally establishing the former Colt gun armory and surroundings as a national park. Mayor Luke Bronin's office announced the signing last week of a five-year general agreement between the city, the federal Interior Department and that agency's National Park Service. The collection of buildings and neighborhood in the city's South End, known as Coltsville, where Connecticut manufacturer Samuel Colt assembled his eponymous handguns and housed his workers, were designated as Coltsville National Park in Dec. 2014. Kathy McAfee CBIA Health Connections – Connecticut's leading small business insurance program – offers you the best combination of value, service, and choice in a single program. It's easy to administer and backed by industry-leading customer service. Medical plans from ConnectiCare and Harvard Pilgrim Group and voluntary dental, life, disability, and vision options Employee wellness program One bill; one number to call for personal service Join the thousands of Connecticut small businesses who choose CBIA Health Connections. Contact your agent for a quote or visit cbia.com. Why do Connecticut small businesses choose CBIA Health Connections for insurance? cbia.com/insurance | 860.244.1900 Savings, Simplicity, and Service Coltsville's national park status aims to boost tourism in Hartford. REAL ESTATE 5 Mansfield apts. sell for $20.25M A quintet of Mansfield apartment communities in the shadow of UConn recently sold for $20.25 million, the Hartford listing broker says. Chozick Realty Brokers said last week the properties contain 231 one- and two-bedroom units primarily leased to UConn students. Storrs Acquisition LLC sold the portfolio, which it acquired four years earlier and repositioned, to Connecticut Liberty Group LLC. Chozick represented the seller and procured the buyer. The portfolio consists of: Knollwood Apartments, 101 South Eagleville Road, 125 units; Oakwood Apartments, 114 South Eag- leville Road, 10 units; Clubhouse Apartments, 3 Clubhouse Circle, 44 units; Maplewood Apartments, 1 Carlton Road, 40 units; and Millbrook Apartments, 170 Spring Hill Road, 12 units. CT home, condo sales show signs of life in October Connecticut house and condominium sales and prices rose in October, according to a fresh Warren Group Report. There were 2,830 houses sold statewide last month vs. 2,608 sold in Oct. 2015 — an 8.5 percent increase, the Warren Group, the Boston publisher of The Commercial Record, said. Year-to- date sales are up 8.4 percent to 26,964 vs. 24,865 the same 10-month period last year. The median October price for those sold homes was $240,000, a 2.1 percent rise from $235,000 a year earlier. Condo sales totaled 806 units, a 13 percent climb from 713 in Oct. 2015, Warren Group said. For the first 10 months, condo sales are up 4.2 percent to 6,933 units vs. 6,656. Their median sale price was $158,000, a 1.2 percent rise from $155,000 a year earlier. "The Connecticut housing market rebounded a bit in October and remains healthy," said Warren Group CEO Timothy Warren. "Two of the prior three months had shown declines in sales vol- ume. October got things turned back in the right direction." P H O T O | H B J F I L E