Hartford Business Journal

6 Hartford Business Journal • January 23, 2017 www.HartfordBusiness.com BANKING & FINANCE Webster closing 8 offices in spring Webster Bank says it will close eight branches in Connecticut, Massachu- setts, Rhode Island and lower New York state to improve efficiency of the Water- bury regional lender's branch network. The first closing will take place April 7, with shutdown of its Scarsdale, N.Y., office at 51 East Parkway, Suite A, Webster said last week. Days later, on April 10, two more branches will shut: 320 Middle Turnpike West in Manchester; and 105 Mill Plain Road in Danbury. The final branch closing, at 1160 Silas Deane Highway in Wethersfield, will occur May 26, Webster said. The 28 Webster employees in the affected branches are being offered the opportunity to be reassigned within the bank. Tobacco Valley Credit Union taps new president, CEO The Tobacco Valley Teachers Federal Credit Union in Enfield has appointed Assistant Manager Lori Triba as president and CEO, replacing retiring CEO Myrijam Meserve. Meserve, who has been CEO since 2004, announced she will retire in April. Under her leadership, the credit union has grown to almost 3,900 members with assets of around $42.7 million, board of directors President Jack Kertenis said. Meserve started at Tobacco Valley in 1989 as assistant manager, when the credit union was located on Hazard Avenue, he said. In 2004 she was promoted to manager and CEO, Kertenis said. HOWARD FRENCH | JOURNAL INQUIRER ADVERTISING, MEDIA & MARKETING Glastonbury marketing firm Cronin rebrands Glastonbury digital marketing agency Cronin and Co. is dropping part of its name as part of a rebranding effort that aims to reflect the speed at which con- temporary marketing moves. Kim Manning, Cronin's principal/CEO, said the name "Cronin and Company" has been shortened to Cronin, and a new logo has been designed to include the pixel, which represents both the creative and analytical capacities of the business. Inter- nally, the company also has "re-imagined" and restructured departments. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT & CONSTRUCTION Towns selected to host third casino have mixed reactions As the joint venture formed by the state's two casino-owning tribes narrows its search to two communities for the site of a potential third casino in the state, some skepticism remains. The Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan tribes, which run the Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun casinos respectively, are attempting to build a casino in the Hart- ford area to compete with the $950 million MGM casino under construction in Springfield. Their venture, MMCT, announced recently that it has narrowed its choice of possible sites to East Windsor and Windsor Locks. Both towns' first selectmen are enthusiastic about the idea. But Windsor Locks Board of Finance Chairman Paul Harrington is questioning whether a ca- sino in his community is in the best interests of its residents. ERIC BEDNER AND HARLAN LEVY| JOURNAL INQUIRER CT tops in Winstanley's $124M realty deal One of New England's biggest commercial landlords is deepening its bet on the U.S. future of electronic and rapid commerce with its $124 million purchase of a pool of warehouse-distribution properties primarily in northern Connecticut and southern Massachusetts. Winstanley Enterprises announced its acquisition last week of 10 commer- cial properties, including toy-block maker Lego's U.S. headquarters building in Enfield (300 Shaker Road), from Los Angeles realty investor Hackman Capital Properties LLC. Winstanley did not break out the pricetag of each property acquired from Hackman Capital, but said they include seven Connecticut buildings. In Greater Hartford, Winstanely bought five Enfield properties and one in Bloomfield. GOVERNMENT Study: Hartford needs a bailout or bankruptcy Hartford is the "most broken" of Connecticut's four challenged cities and will likely need a state bailout or bankruptcy protection to deal with its fiscal crisis, according to a new study published by the Manhattan Institute and the conser- vative Yankee Institute for Public Policy. Manhattan Institute Senior Fellow Stephen D. Eide diagnoses the ills facing Hartford, Bridgeport, New Haven and Waterbury, noting that all four have fewer city workers than a decade ago; higher mill rates; no savings; and concen- trated poverty. Hartford's debt service payments will nearly double between 2016 and 2018, and then increase by a third again by 2021. Hartford's debt per capita is up 78 percent since 2006. Eide predicts the city will need either a state bailout or bankruptcy protection. NONPROFITS Report: CT charitable giving dips Charitable donations by Connecticut foundations, companies and individuals dipped 3.2 percent from 2013 to 2014, according to a new annual analysis by the Connecticut Council for Philanthropy. CCP's latest report found that philanthropic giving in the state totaled $4.51 billion in 2014 (the most recent year for which data is available), down from $4.66 billion in 2013. While the largest category of givers — individuals — donated more in 2014, there was a steep decrease in bequests, a more unpredictable category that fluctuates year to year. BY THE NUMBERS 9.8% The commercial office vacancy rate projected in Greater Hartford at the end of 2017, down from 10.5 percent in 2016, according to a market forecast by Avison Young. $4.51B The total amount of philanthropic giving in Connecticut in 2014, down from $4.66 billion a year earlier, according to a new analysis from the Connecticut Council for Philanthropy. $1.3B The amount of money nonprofit social-service providers say the state can save if policymakers privatize an array of services for the intellectually disabled and mentally ill. 4.3% The 2016 median home sales price increase in Greater Hartford, which rose to $221,000, according to the Greater Hartford Association of Realtors. TOP 5 MOST READ on HartfordBusiness.com ■ Webster closing 8 offices in spring ■ West Hartford Chick-fil-A hiring for Feb. opening ■ UnitedHealth profits soar at end of 2016 ■ BlumShapiro hires 48 since Jan. 1 ■ House Dems unveil economic development proposals 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 TOP STORY Report: Hartford area office, industrial vacancies projected to fall Hartford is seeing industrial vacancies fall and office leasing expand, according to a commercial real estate forecast that suggests overall U.S., Canada, German and UK markets are still in flux. Avison Young's 2017 realty market forecast is an annual report that cov- ers the office, retail, industrial and investment sectors in 63 markets in five countries on two continents. Hartford is one city that "continues to test a newly optimistic investment climate," the report states. The region has experienced strong office leasing in the financial sector and expanding industrial and warehousing operations, leading to decreased vacancies and unemployment declines quarter over quarter since early 2015. Office vacancy rates in Greater Hartford are projected to decrease from 10.5 percent in 2016 to 9.8 percent this year. Industrial vacancy rates are pro- jected to dip from 7.4 percent last year to 7 percent this year, the report states. Some of the productive developments in 2016 included Lincoln Finan- cial's leasing of 200,000 square feet in Hartford. P H O T O | H B J F I L E

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