Hartford Business Journal

www.HartfordBusiness.com July 31, 2017 • Hartford Business Journal 5 REPORTER'S NOTEBOOK CT med-equipment provider seeks bankruptcy protection A Branford pro- vider of orthotic and prosthetic devices that has nearly a dozen clin- ics across the state, including in Hart- ford, East Hartford and Meriden, has filed for Ch. 11 bank- ruptcy reorganiza- tion, according to court records. New England Orthotic and Pros- thetic Systems and five related com- panies petitioned a Connecticut federal judge for bankruptcy protection July 11, court records show. Formed in 1998, the company grew to approximately 30 locations across New Eng- land and New York as of several years ago. That number has since been pared back to 22, according to Bridgeport lawyer James Ber- man, who is representing the company and its affiliates. The company's parent, NEOPS Holdings, reported to the court liabilities ranging from $10 million to $50 million and assets ranging from $1 million to $50 million. New England Orthotic and Prosthetic Systems said in its petition that it owes nearly $8 million to its top 20 unsecured creditors, which include lenders, suppliers, hospitals, insurers and others. The largest unsecured creditor is Pennsylvania's Tecum Capital Partners, which is owed $4.8 million. NEOPS has 133 employees, according to Berman, of law firm Zeisler & Zeisler, who said the company has financing in place to remain open during the bankrupt- cy process. NEOPS CEO David Mahler didn't return a call for comment. NEOPS moved its headquarters in 2016 to a 20,000-square-foot facility on Commer- cial Street in Branford that was previously inhabited by Roche Diagnostics. The federal Medicare program spent nearly $1.6 billion on braces and artificial limbs in 2015, according to the American Orthotic & Prosthetic Association, a nation- al industry group based in Virginia. – Matt Pilon Naming opportunity arises for The Gold's next big tenant One of the carrots "The Gold Building's" landlord is dangling to attract a high-profile tenant to the 43-year-old downtown Hart- ford skyscraper is the opportunity to hang the tenant's corporate logo outside the sig- nature landmark. United Tech- nologies Corp., one of One Financial Plaza's original lead tenants until the 2016 relocation of its headquarters to Farmington, never wanted its name astride the 26-story anodized-glass and metal building at 755 Main St., said The Gold's lease broker Andrew Filler, man- aging partner of Avi- son Young's Hartford regional office. Three upper- most floors of the tower, totaling about 100,000 square feet, are available to the right tenant. To help seal the deal, landlord-owner Talcott Realty Part- ners is offering to allow the tenant to place its logo on the building as a number of other down- town Hartford corporate tenants have done. Travelers, which has emerged as a siz- able Gold tenant, already has its signature red umbrella and name astride one of its downtown buildings. UnitedHealthcare's rooftop sign over 38-story CityPlace I is visible for several miles beyond the center city. "The value is to the tenant,'' Filler said. "It is a tool land- lord's can and do use to attract tenants. Most tenants are more interested in lobby identification more so that exterior building signage in the [central business district]." If wallside sig- nage isn't catchy enough, the land- lord has one more ace up its sleeve: The unused roof- top helipad atop The Gold, that UTC executives briefly used before safety con- cerns forced its closure, is sealed but the surface could accommodate a corporate logo of some kind, officials say. – Gregory Seay 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. 1037 Boulevard | West Hartford, Connecticut PDS served in the role of General Contractor for the completion of a retail building which features a number of businesses and a fast food outlet. The design was in keeping with local and residential area. Construction included demolition, excavation, concrete, structural steel, carpentry, thermal protection, roofing, insulation, MEP's, doors and hardware. Total Project Size:12,000 SF 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: Retail PDS ENGINEERING & CONSTRUCTION, INC. THINK • PLAN • BUILD New England Orthotic & Prosthetic Systems LLC's headquarters, 16 Commercial St., Branford. Hartford's One Financial Plaza, "The Gold Building." P H O T O | C O N T R I B U T E D P H O T O | H B J F I L E GET CONNECTED GET CONNECTED GET CONNECTED BUSINESS PROFESSIONALS START THEIR DAY ACTIVELY READING THE CT MORNING BLEND BUSINESS PROFESSIONALS EVERY DAY 3,500 ADVERTISING OPPORTUNITIES AVAILABLE IN PRINT. ONLINE. IN PERSON TO FIND OUT MORE CALL JAIME RUDY, SALES DIRECTOR, AT 860-236-9998 X 124 OR JRUDY@HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM

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