[Mr_250]

Wasn't sure if this should go in the Rock Cats thread or here, but I figured it had to do more with development of a neighborhood which is economic.

Looks like the City of Hartford received 4 bids for the "stadium proposal". I quote the words "stadium proposal" because I'm not sure that it was JUST the stadium. From the news article it read as if they received 4 bids to build new facilities around that area i.e. Hooker's bid to build a brewery (which would be awesome).

Hartford Gets Four Proposals On Stadium Development Plan - Courant.com

Apparently the Rock Cats havent paid the tax bill yet so unless they pony up some dough, they (rock cats) will no longer have a place to play in 2015. This whole "deal" makes me really skeptical.

[BPt111]

Originally Posted by Mr_250

Wasn't sure if this should go in the Rock Cats thread or here, but I figured it had to do more with development of a neighborhood which is economic.

Looks like the City of Hartford received 4 bids for the "stadium proposal". I quote the words "stadium proposal" because I'm not sure that it was JUST the stadium. From the news article it read as if they received 4 bids to build new facilities around that area i.e. Hooker's bid to build a brewery (which would be awesome).

Hartford Gets Four Proposals On Stadium Development Plan - Courant.com

Apparently the Rock Cats havent paid the tax bill yet so unless they pony up some dough, they (rock cats) will no longer have a place to play in 2015. This whole "deal" makes me really skeptical.

don't forget 2,000 units is underway in Downtown Hartford plus a supermarket

[Mr_250]

Another survey to state the obvious. Connecticut businesses confidence has stalled. Couple key points:

-More expect economic conditions in CT to worse. A rise of 7 points in just 8 months!
-34% of businesses say their outlook has positive a drop of 4 points.
-24% see expanding workforce and 15% see decrease

So, overall is not good, but not bad either. I think a lot of people are in a holding pattern right now. November will be a possible game changer. If someone else gets elected..good (possible, who actually knows, but we are hopeful). If current administration stays...bad.

Survey: Connecticut Business Confidence Stalled

[Mr_250]

Say goodbye to 130 well paid positions AND a company headquarters. Smith Detections in Danbury will move all 130 jobs to new headquarters in Maryland. Reason you may ask?.. TO STAY COMPETITIVE!!

Defense Manufacturer To Move HQ Out Of Connecticut - Courant.com

This sounds like a growing company in an every changing field. This is the type of company jobs we want to keep in CT. Big loss for CT.

Connecticut needs to overall it's "business" climate i.e. taxes, fees and also try to reduce energy cost. With the new increase in electric costs CT manufacturers are going to see a big jump in costs.

[Armyvet1]

Defense contracting was never a stable career path to begin with which is why I never pursued it after my military service.

Strategic moves by relocating closer to DC makes sense since this is a defense based company but even at that with budget cuts defense jobs have dwindled a bit. As a current resident of Virginia I read and hear about it all the time.

Still I have to agree that by reducing operating costs the northeast can change it's economic climate and attract better jobs for either the college educated or technically skilled. Engineers, mechanics, builders, fabricators, welders, designers, programmers, project managers, these are all skilled decent paying jobs that can be saved by a change in government and direction.

[Mike 75]

Originally Posted by Mr_250

Say goodbye to 130 well paid positions AND a company headquarters. Smith Detections in Danbury will move all 130 jobs to new headquarters in Maryland. Reason you may ask?.. TO STAY COMPETITIVE!!

Defense Manufacturer To Move HQ Out Of Connecticut - Courant.com

This sounds like a growing company in an every changing field. This is the type of company jobs we want to keep in CT. Big loss for CT.

Connecticut needs to overall it's "business" climate i.e. taxes, fees and also try to reduce energy cost. With the new increase in electric costs CT manufacturers are going to see a big jump in costs.

Odd since MD is a high tax state that's not unlike CT. Have to imagine MD is subsidizing them with tax breaks.

[BPt111]

Danbury doing good as Stamford


Belimo prepares to move into new facility - NewsTimes

[Armyvet1]

Well that article sounds encouraging.

As far as the defense company relocating that is very common place. Most of them are project contracts and relocating to Maryland to be closer to DC, DoD, and the Pentagon from a strategic stand point makes more sense. Of course one could argue that Connecticut has Naval bases so perhaps maybe the company should stay.

Being somewhat close to DC and a veteran myself the defense contractors aren't doing as good as they were with sequester and budget cuts.

I served overseas during a conflict, not bragging, I had a security clearance, but in the civilian sector pursuing defense contractor jobs is probably one of the most unstable things you could do.

[HeadedWest]

The relative weakness of the CT job market shows up in this analysis.

Report: The Geography of Jobs

Graphic: job growth/loss from 2007-2014, so it covers the big recession and slow recovery. AZ and NV clearly show the huge housing bubbles in Phoenix and Las Vegas. (These are percentages, so the figure for small population states like ND is not a huge absolute number of jobs.)

An interesting question: how did Massachusetts grow when most of the rest of New England (including CT) is clustered near the bottom?

[Mr_250]

I have been wondering about this for some time now. I drive I91 everyday and I see them working on the Marlin Firearms building (Marlin Firearms left CT in 2011 or so).

So I found two funny articles. The first describes that C.Cowles is leaving New Haven to "consolidate" operations. In May 2014 the President of the company states the following
Moon said. “We won’t be saving a lot of money with the move, but it will allow us to operate more efficiently and effectively.” C. Cowles & Co. leaving Elm City for North Haven

So, cool CT company is expanding. Plus Made in America I'm all for it.

Today is comes out that the State is giving them a loan of $1.7m ($880,000 forgivable) State Loans $1.8 Million For Business To Move To North Haven - Courant.com to make the move. Just more corporate welfare from Malloy. I do not blame Cowles at all. If you can find a way to take advantage of the system go for it, but don't stand there (as the CEO) and say we are doing this move to benefit our business, we'll loss money, but we are staying in CT.

I'm all for American Made Products and I'm happy they are staying in CT, but when we have to bribe a company with an 176 year old history to move down the street 5 miles, we have some screws loss at the top.