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8 Hartford Business Journal • January 30, 2017 • www.HartfordBusiness.com October 5, 2017 | 5:30-8:30PM The Hartford Club (860) 236-9998 | JRUDY@HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM WWW.HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM September 25, 2017 CELEBRATING THE PAST, ENVISIONING THE FUTURE! ISSUE / EVENT SPONSORS: EDUCATION LEADERSHIP SPONSOR: COMMEMORATIVE ISSUE: EVENT DATE: 2017 marks a milestone for the Hartford Business Journal as we commemorate 25 years of reporting the Hartford Region's business news. We invite you to share in that history as we refl ect on its memorable episodes and people, but also as we look forward to what our third decade holds in store for the Region. Nix's Hartford faces new le- gal pressure for unpaid rent The landlord of Hartford's Front Street En- tertainment District has filed a second lawsuit against Nix's Hartford restaurant, accusing the tenant of failing to pay rent, according to documents filed in Hartford Superior Court. According to the new complaint, filed on March 6, Nix's Hartford owners since Sept. 1 have failed to pay rent and other charges as- sociated with its lease at 40 Front St. Landlord HBN Front Street District Inc. is seeking to recoup current and missed rent payments and other unspecified damages. "Despite previous demands by the plain- tiff to cure the defaults, the defendant [Nix's Hartford] has failed and refused to pay the rent and other monthly charges under the lease; and such unpaid rent and charges continue to accrue," the complaint states. At the end of 2016, Nix's in Hartford and Nix's Kitchen in South Windsor had been sued by separate landlords, including HBN Front Street District Inc., for owing tens of thou- sands of dollars in unpaid rent, according to the lawsuits. At the time, Nix's Managing Partner Abner Kurtin said the lawsuits stem from financial problems the restaurant is experiencing as a result of a foul odor infiltrating its Hartford property, which is hurting business. Feb. slump for CT house, condo sales, prices Connecticut home and condominium sales and median prices fell in February, further evidence the state's housing market remains "sluggish,'' the latest statewide survey shows. Single-family house sales across the state dropped 4.1 percent to 1,727 units last month vs. 1,800 sold in Feb. 2016, Boston financial publisher The Warren Group said. A year ago, February house sales rose 31 percent from the 2015 mark. Median price for a home sold last month was $220,000 vs. $225,000 a year ago -- a 2.2 percent decline, Warren Group said. This is the lowest median Feb. sales price since 2012. Condo sales statewide fell 8.1 percent in February to 454 units vs. 494 in Feb. 2016. The median condo price declined 3.7 percent to $144,500 vs. $150,000 a year ago. This is the third consecutive February year- over-year decrease for condo median prices, Warren Group said. "The Connecticut real estate market is sluggish as sales volume and median prices dipped last month," said Warren Group CEO Timothy Warren. "Perhaps a strong spring market will get things back on track, but I don't see any signs of that yet." Report: Hartford rental prices decline in March Hartford apartment rental prices fell 3.4 percent in March compared with the same month a year ago, according to the April 2017 National Apartment List Rent Report. Rents were flat or declining for much of 2016, but the national rent index has now increased in each of the past three months. In Hartford, the median price for a one- bedroom apartment was $830 in March and $1,170 for a two-bedroom apartment. Com- pared with the previous month of February, rent also was down 1 percent. But in Hartford County, the apartment prices were $1,090 for a one-bedroom and $1,300 for a two-bed- room, up 1.3 percent year over year (but flat month to month). Nationally, after a sharp 1 percent spike between January and February, the U.S. rent index is continuing to rise, but at a slower rate with month-over-month growth coming in at a four-tenths of a percent increase for March. Report: CT tech-sector em- ployment 26th in nation At an estimated $13.5 billion, Connecticut's tech sector represented 5.3 percent of the total gross state product (GSP) in 2016, with the number of tech businesses in the state growing 1.8 percent and employment growing 2.6 percent over the last seven years. Those are some of the findings in a com- prehensive nationwide report on the economic impact of the tech sector by CompTIA, a global technology association based in Down- ers Grove, Ill. Across the country, Connecticut ranks 26th for tech employment, 11th for average annual wages and 22nd for innovation. The GSP data is calculated based on economic output from several tech categories, including tech manufacturing, telecom and internet services, software publishing, IT and custom software services, and engineering and R&D. Connecticut's tech sector is responsible for about 5.3 percent of the state's total $252.9 billion economy, putting the state in the middle of the pack nationwide. The state whose tech sector makes up the largest percentage of GSP is Oregon (18 percent); Wyoming is ranked last (2.2 percent). Analysis: CT's equal pay gap costs women $15B a year Connecticut women working full time earn 82 cents for every dollar paid to men, amounting to a yearly gap of $10,864 per person, a fresh analysis from a national inter- est group shows. The National Partnership for Women & Families, which analyzed data from the U.S. Census Bureau, said the difference in pay parity means women in Connecticut lose a combined total of nearly $15 billion a year. That money could strengthen an economy in which more than 170,000 households in the state are headed by women, and nearly a quarter of those are in poverty, the organiza- tion said. If the gap between women's and men's wages in Connecticut were eliminated, the analysis shows, a woman in the state who holds a full-time, year-round job would have enough money for 1.6 more years of food, more than five additional months of mort- gage and utilities payments, nearly 10 more months of rent, more than 11 additional months of child care and have money for education as well. Release of the report was timed for na- tional Equal Pay Day. Meantime, the state legislature is considering a bill that aims to close the wage gap by prohibiting employers from asking job seekers how much they make or using an employee's previous wage as a defense in an equal pay lawsuit. Hartford 21 is one of the priciest rents in downtown Hartford. HBJ