Records show how Connecticut tried to keep GE from moving out

Connecticut officials secretly offered General Electric three proposals to keep it from leaving the state, according to documents obtained by the Associated Press through an open records request.

General Electric headquarters connecticut Fairfield — GE’s former headquarters in Fairfield. File photo by Hearst Connecticut Media

One proposal involved the state buying the company”™s 66-acre campus in Fairfield, with GE using the proceeds of the sale to relocate to an urban setting within Connecticut. Another option involved moving a portion of the headquarters staff to another Connecticut city and upgrading the Fairfield campus. A third proposal involved the state”™s funding of major renovations to the campus. The state”™s documents obtained by the Associated Press had the specific financial incentives blacked out.

“We thought this could be a really unique way for us to make it easy for them to make the change here in Connecticut,” Economic and Community Development Commissioner Catherine Smith said.

GE chose to move its headquarters to Boston. Sacred Heart University bought the GE campus last year for $31.5 million.