Year-end tally

Building and Land Technology provided one of the few bright spots in the construction market at Harbor Point in Stamford.

If Fairfield County”™s two biggest deals of 2011 represented stunners ”“ NBC Sports and the NHL Network creating a Stamford studio and Bridgewater Associates taking a massive new lease ”“ myriad smaller deals also represent significant new green shoots, even if the seeds for many of them were planted in previous years.

From Building & Land Technology”™s continued build out of Harbor Point, to Gov. Dannel P. Malloy”™s aggressive first-year agenda, the Fairfield County Business Journal recaps the top local stories chronicled in its pages in 2011.

 

Construction on the South End

Stamford residents have grown so accustomed to the trucks and concrete at Harbor Point that some overlook the miracle that is happening in the city”™s South End. Betting on its ability to secure commercial and residential tenants, Building and Land Technology has pushed ahead with multiple new buildings there, providing a major boost to the construction industry and giving the city attractive new properties in time for the next business cycle.

 

In acquiring Goodrich, UTC is getting a Danbury lab specializing in rapid satellite delivery for the U.S. military. Credit: Goodrich Corp.

Major move in M&As

After years of smaller deals, United Technologies Corp. zeroed in on a major new division in its $16.4 billion buy of Goodrich Corp., a defense-systems maker whose products include satellite optical and surveillance gear produced in Danbury where the company has more than 500 workers even as it expands its facility there.

 

Sick-leave could take toll

If state workers took a major hit after Gov. Dannel P. Malloy stripped promised future benefits to balance the budget, businesses across the

state did likewise in the wake of a new law that forces many to provide paid sick leave to employees. Some restaurant owners have said they would assess any future expansions against the 50-employee benchmark at which the new requirement kicks in.

 

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, center, led off his first year in office with tax increases followed by business incentives. Credit: Office of the governor

Taxing times for business

If Malloy dedicated the second half of the year to improving Connecticut”™s business landscape, the first half was about what businesses hate most ”“ higher taxes. The governor”™s hikes spanned personal, small-business and corporate tax categories, but appeared not to have an immediate, damaging impact on the economy as Connecticut”™s job gains kept pace with other Northeast states as 2011 came to a close.

 

Insider trading rings hit home

Focusing for a few years on uncovering pyramid schemes by individual fraudsters, prosecutors turned their attention to an equally nefarious avenue ”“ organized insider trading rings. Multiple Fairfield County residents pleaded guilty in an investigation culminating in the conviction of the founder of New York City-based Galleon Group, and authorities suggested a wide range of financial industry professionals have shared insider tips for years.

 

Mass-transit on track

The long-promised opening of a new Metro-North stop in Fairfield ”“ the first new station in some 85 years ”“ underscored Connecticut”™s determination to focus new construction around mass-transit hubs, even as the state failed to secure hoped-for federal funding to support a high-speed rail line north from New Haven.

 

Revving up the county

Hot on the heels of the 2010 spinout of Armored AutoGroup, Danbury saw a second independent automotive products company created within its borders in Rank Group”™s $950 million acquisition of Honeywell”™s automotive product line based here, with brands including AutoLite, Fram and Prestone. If not moving the needle significantly as major local employers, the deals highlighted Fairfield County”™s continuing appeal as a headquarters locale.

 

Environmental, economic balance

After years of company complaints of heavy-handed environmental regulation, the governor sought to overhaul how Connecticut does business on that front, creating a new Department of Energy and Environmental Protection and recruiting internationally renowned Yale University scholar Daniel Esty to run it. Esty”™s research has focused on harmonizing business growth needs with environmental responsibility.

 

Closing out 2011, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. raised its sign over Stamford.

Checking into the county

Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. moved its headquarters to Stamford in December, even as increased business spending resulted in improved occupancy figures at hotels across Fairfield County. Building and Land Technology promised a new hotel for Stamford”™s waterfront not far from Starwood Hotels”™ new headquarters, with BLT not immediately specifying what company would operate it.

 

Power struggles

If the primary concern five years ago was the ability of Connecticut Light & Power wires to stand up to the county”™s electrical needs, in 2011 the question surrounded the ability of supporting poles to stay standing at all. Tropical Storm Irene and the October nor”™easter topped power lines across the county and state, resulting in two weeks of power outages in pockets at a significant cost to businesses, putting CL&P parent Northeast Utilities under pressure even as it worked to complete a merger with Massachusetts-based NStar.

 

Jackson Lab represents among Connecticut”™s biggest coups in years. Credit: Office of the governor

Life sciences cluster

With a small parade of big economic development wins from Malloy”™s First Five program, none was bigger than Maine-based Jackson Laboratory”™s decision to scurry past Boston to establish a major new genetics lab in Farmington. The nonprofit has among the deepest wells of genomics talent in the nation and gives Connecticut a major anchor to build out a cluster.

 

Healthy boosts for health care

With a gift from Barbara Netter and the late Edward Netter, Quinnipiac University announced plans to open the Frank H. Netter M.D. School of Medicine in fall 2013. The Netter School of Medicine would be only the third in the state after those at Yale University and the University of Connecticut, and plans a focus on producing general practitioners who plan to remain in Connecticut. Separately, the Bridgeport-based Workplace Inc. secured $10 million in federal grants to train workers for careers in health care.

 

Norwalk Community College and peer institutions are now under the oversight of a consolidated board of regents.

Tackling education

In his first step to improve Connecticut”™s education system, the governor created a new board of regents with combined oversight for the Connecticut State University system and the state”™s community colleges, while leaving the University of Connecticut under the oversight of its existing trustees. Malloy promised to tackle early education in his 2012 legislative agenda.

 

Model builders

As Fairfield County bucked the statewide trend with an increase in new permits from 2010, Toll Bros. led builders in the Danbury area. The company created model homes at the proposed Rivington development on the city”™s west side and swiftly built out the Summit at Bethel overlooking Danbury”™s eastern side, while winning plaudits from the Home Builders Association of Connecticut.

 

Amazon strikes back

Amazon.com Inc. dealt swiftly with Connecticut”™s plans to begin taxing online purchases by abruptly dropping its network of affiliates here that sell through Amazon ”“ as those affiliates warned would happen. The state agreed to postpone plans to tax Amazon purchases after the company reached an agreement with California to pay sales tax in that state.

 

Connecticut is counting on incubators in Stamford and elsewhere to help unleash entrepreneurship.

Break for small business

If Malloy paid significant lip service to the importance of small business in the economic recovery, he followed through with targeted incentives for those representing growth industries. The state broadened a tax credit to a greater number of potential investors in qualified small businesses, among several moves to boost entrepreneurship in Connecticut. What business owners want most, however ”“ lower tax ”“ did not transpire, save for the state allowing companies to pay a mandatory $250 “business entity” tax every other year, rather than annually.

 

Strong signs for manufacturing

After years of vowing to move jobs to other locales, United Technologies Corp. quietly reinvested in its Connecticut capabilities in 2011, reinstating jobs at Pratt & Whitney and securing flex-office space for Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. in Shelton as it completes renovations at Sikorsky”™s Stratford headquarters.

 

Sporting new venues

When completed, few mid-size cities in the nation will boast a sports entertainment complex to rival that of Chelsea Piers”™ planned Stamford facility, which is to feature two ice rinks, a pool, a field house and myriad other options. Even as Stamford companies readied for a new entertainment option, Connecticut was exploring its options as Massachusetts readies for a trio of new casinos to compete with Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun, and as racinos in New York and Rhode Island siphon off patrons.