Hartford Business Journal

4 Hartford Business Journal • November 20, 2017 • www.HartfordBusiness.com Week in Review Briefs Survey: CT business climate not likely to improve soon Connecticut residents are pessimistic about the state's current business climate and its potential to improve, according to the latest InformCT Consumer Confidence Survey. In the third quarter, 51 percent of the 505 residents surveyed said they do not believe Connecticut's economy is improving, compared with 24 percent that believe it is. For the fourth consecutive quarter, the percentage of Connecticut residents who believe that overall business conditions in the state are worse now compared to six months ago has increased to 37 percent, up from 25 percent a year ago, the survey found. Meantime, more than half of respondents (58 percent) expect the employment situation in Connecticut to stay the same over the next six months. Looking ahead, 49 percent of state residents say they believe business conditions will remain the same over the next six months, while only 23 percent believe conditions will improve, the lowest percentage since the quarterly surveys began. InformCT is a public-private partnership that provides independent research, analysis and public outreach. Researchers from the Connecticut Economic Resource Center Inc. and Smith & Company administered the survey. West Hartford zoning change to incentivize business zone growth The West Hartford Town Council unanimously approved an incentive-based zoning ordinance that permits higher-density developments in West Hartford Center, if projects include key components such as affordable housing or private parking garages. The ordinance focuses on West Hartford Center, the municipality's central business zone, but does not include Blue Back Square, Community Development Director Mark McGovern said. The ordinance allows developers applying through the town's Special Development District process to seek additional incentives that would enable them to achieve greater density while still complying with local zoning law, McGovern said. According to the regulations, developers can seek an increase in density if they are providing one of six amenities: affordable housing, historic preservation, infill development, public space, private parking garages or public art. How much additional density can be achieved varies with each approach, McGovern said. The ordinance is meant to incentivize development in the central business zone that could lead to future grand list growth, according to Town Manager Matt Hart. Meantime, West Hartford also approved a zoning-ordinance change that would allow food, alcohol and arcade-style entertainment under one roof, McGovern said. That could entice retail operators, such as Dave & Buster's, the Texas arcade-sports bar chain whose sole Connecticut store is in Mancheter's Shoppes At Buckland Hills mall. Pratt's new engineering center opens East Hartford aerospace manufacturer Pratt & Whitney has formally opened its new Engineering and Technology Center, which will house up to 1,750 employees. Pratt, a division of Farmington-based United Technologies Corp., unveiled the center at a grand opening ceremony Nov. 11 attended by company President Robert Leduc, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, and Congressmen John Larson and Joe Courtney. The new 425,000-square-foot building was made possible in 2014, when UTC and the state of Connecticut announced an agreement under which UTC would invest up to $500 million to upgrade and expand its Connecticut operations, in exchange for being able to cash in its backlog of stranded state tax credits. The facility is the centerpiece of that agreement, Leduc said. Newly adopted CT budget already showing red ink Less than three weeks after legislators approved a new state budget, eroding revenues have opened deficits topping $175 million this fiscal year and nearing $150 million in 2018-19. Eroding income and sales tax receipts in particular also probably have worsened the multibillion-dollar projected shortfall Connecticut must solve after the next election. The consensus report from Gov. Dannel P. Malloy's administration and the legislature's nonpartisan Office of Fiscal Analysis also raises the risk the state might exhaust its emergency reserves. The estimated budget deficits tied to this revenue erosion — $178.4 million this fiscal year and $147.1 million in the next — total $325.5 million, easily exceeding the modest $213 million Connecticut holds in its rainy day fund. — Keith Phaneuf | CT Mirror TOP STORY E. Hartford outlet developer says project 'not dead yet' T he developer of the $105 million Outlets Shoppes at Rentschler Field has had a rough go of it recently. After some declarations that Horizon Group Properties' East Hartford development was dead after its financing fell through, the company's CEO Gary Skoien told Hartford Business Journal he still has hopes the project can be saved. He said the development is suspended but "not dead yet" and that he is working to raise capital and reschedule commitments with retailers before a March ground lease expires. Skoien said he plans to reach out to the high-end fashion and shoe retailers and chain restaurants, among other future tenants, about extending the project timeline while he raises the funding needed after losing $10 million in financing from lender PCCP of Los Angeles, Calif. United Technologies Corp. owns the land where the shopping center would be developed. Skoien said PCCP, a commercial real estate investor, told him it needed to reduce its $69 million loan commitment by $10 million, news that caused the developer to suddenly halt work on the site near Rentschler Field just weeks after a ceremonial groundbreaking took place. "We've stopped construction and we're reassessing whether or not we can go forward," Skoien said. "The ground lease with UTC is good until March, so we have time to find out if we can put together the money, but more importantly if we can get retailers to extend their possession dates." East Hartford Mayor Marcia Leclerc has expressed skepticism about the project after receiving news of the financing troubles. BY THE NUMBERS 991 The number of trips taken during the month of October on the newly expanded CTtransit bus route link- ing UConn's Storrs and downtown Hartford campuses and UConn Health in Farmington. 51% The percentage of Connecticut resi- dents who said they are pessimistic about the state's current business climate and its potential to improve, according to the latest InformCT Con- sumer Confidence Survey. 5% The percentage of mortgages in Great- er Hartford that were delinquent by at least 30 days in August, down from 5.5 percent in the year-ago period, accord- ing to CoreLogic. $213M The amount of money left in the state's rainy day fund, which could be ex- hausted by a newly projected two-year, $325.5 million deficit. TOP 5 MOST READ On HartfordBusiness.com • 1. E. Hartford outlet developer says project 'not dead yet' • 2. Pratt's new engineering center opens • 3. Survey: CT business climate not likely to improve soon • 4. Bus ridership linking UConn's Storrs campus to Hartford's grows • 5. CT tax chief says GOP plan would force many in state to pay more 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 Linkedln: 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 Plans for a $105 million retail center in East Hartford are on hold. RENDERING | HBJ FILE Pratt & Whitney's new technology center. PHOTO | CONTRIBUTED

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