CT Construction Digest Wednesday March 18, 2020
After $98M loss, Ideanomics weighing future of West Hartford project
Matt Pilon
Ideanomics’ “Fintech Village” project in West Hartford has faced various delays over the past two years, but now the company has added a new level of uncertainty to the purported $400-million development.
Ideanomics told investors on Monday that it has identified the Fintech Village at the former West Hartford UConn campus as a “non-core asset” and is “evaluating its strategies for divesting of this asset.”
Slipped into its annual earnings filing with the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission, the disclosure came as Ideanomics reported a $98.5-million loss in 2019, up from $27.4 million in 2018. The company’s shares were trading at all-time lows of around 37 cents on Tuesday morning, down from $1.77 a year ago.
“Fintech Village, we’re taking a long, hard look at that,” CEO Alf Poor said on an earnings call Monday. “It’s been a much longer, slower grind through the approvals process.”
"What began as a light remediation project has turned into a major undertaking," he said. "As such, we are shifting from a go-it-alone approach and are currently looking for partners to co-invest in the development of Fintech Village."
The Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD) has pledged up to $10 million in assistance for the project, but that funding is contingent on job creation targets. To date, Ideanomics has not drawn on any of the money, DECD confirmed Tuesday.
Ideanomics bought the 58-acre campus in Oct. 2018 for $5.2 million. Contamination, including asbestos and polychlorinated biphenyls, was soon discovered to be higher than expected, requiring demolition of four of the five buildings on the property.
Only one of the four buildings on the property has been demolished as of Tuesday.
The company’s most recent update, issued late last year, was that the work would be finished in the second half of 2020.
“If we elect to sell, transfer or change the use of the facility, additional environmental testing may be required,” Ideanomics said in an SEC filing. “We cannot assure that we will not discover further environmental contamination, that any planned timeline for remediation will not be delayed, that we would not be required by [state or federal environmental agencies] to incur significant expenditures for environmental remediation in the future.”
While Ideanomics unveiled a virtual fly-through of Fintech Village last summer, revealing an expansive development with numerous buildings and public spaces, the layout was only preliminary.
Once remediation work is finished, Ideanomics would still need to apply to the town for a zoning change to accommodate a specific design.
Aquarion plans water line work in Stonington
Stonington — Aquarion Water Company has announced that additional water main replacement projects are scheduled to begin March 23 on Marjorie Street and Lantern Hill Road in Mystic, followed by Linda Avenue, Summit Street, and Elm Street.
The work is expected to be completed by mid-June.
The company said the projects, which will replace 3,050 feet of water main, are part of an ongoing program to improve its distribution system and ensure high quality water. It said the upgrades also will help to reduce leaks and water main breaks.
During construction, drivers should expect minor traffic delays and possible detours from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.
To keep customers informed about scheduled/unscheduled work, Aquarion utilizes a CodeRED notification system to call affected customers. Customers can sign up for the free service at bit.ly/AquaOut.
Work begins on Meadow Street portion of $19.1M construction project
MICHAEL PUFFER
WATERBURY — Construction work begun recently on Meadow Street is part of a $19.1 million project to refurbish Jackson, Meadow and Freight Street.
The project is intended to help the city entice development in a roughly 70-acre area around Freight Street. It’s funded with a $14.4 million federal grant and $4.7 from city taxpayers.
Construction workers have spent nearly two weeks digging under a sidewalk near the corner of Meadow and Freight streets. These test pits are meant to help pin down the location of underground utilities ahead of more extensive work, said Salvatore Porzio, a project manager with the city’s Department of Public Works.
Meadow Street will be repaved, with new storm drainage basins and refurbishment of some sewage lines, Porzio said. That paving is expected to begin in late spring or early summer, Porzio said.
Upgrades to Freight Street were completed in 2018 under contractor Dayton Construction.
The city picked Guerrera Construction to rebuild Jackson and Meadow Streets. It’s contract calls for “substantial completion” by July 31, with a complete finish by Nov. 13.
Work on Jackson Street last week prompted the city to close a section of Bank Street by its intersection with Jackson. Porzio said contractors are tying in utilities at the mouth of the street.
Paving on the entire length of Jackson Street, including the new section, should begin this spring following the installation of sewer, water and electric lines, Porzio said.
Lamont admin. in early talks about economic stimulus package
Greg Bordonaro
ov. Ned Lamont’s economic development team is in talks with state lawmakers about a potential stimulus package, but what gets proposed will likely depend on how long the coronavirus public health scare goes on, a top administration official told Hartford Business Journal.
“We are having conversations with the legislature and it’s on the front burner,” said David Lehman, commissioner of the state Department of Economic and Community Development. “If the economic impact from this is longer and broader than what I think it should be, then everything is on the table, whether that is a new program similar to what was done at the beginning of the Lamont administration where we worked with the banks on a new small business lending fund [for federal workers impacted by the government shutdown] or something else.”
“The longer economic activity slows down the harder it is to get the economy started,” Lehman added, talking Monday by phone from his Greenwich home. (Lehman, who is also Lamont’s top economic adviser, says he will be working from home some days and be in Hartford others as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to spread throughout the state.)
Lehman said so far he approves of his bosses handling of the outbreak and that an aggressive response is needed to reduce the longer-term economic harm.
Lehman said he can’t predict how bad of a hit the economy will take but he doesn’t think it will be as bad as the Great Recession in terms of unemployment. However, the state and nation could see a loss of output equivalent to that time period.
He said he’s seen estimates of up to a 7% to 8% decline in output, which would be the worst decline since the fourth quarter of 2008, when the financial crisis really began spinning out of control.
“The real question in my mind is the duration of this thing, is it a two to three to four month thing or a six or nine month event,” he said. “It’s my view that this is certainly having a big impact but there is no precedent for this where parts of our economy literally stop. What’s challenging here is that what is right from a public health perspective is counter to the way our economy is set up and works.”
Second, is determining what residents and businesses are going to need in the medium term if they don’t get benefits already available to them from the state or federal governments.
Third, is figuring out what to do to stimulate the economy when we are at the tail end of the health crisis.
Lehman said he and other administration officials are in talks with legislative leaders about potential programs, whether they be incentives or tax credits, but nothing is finalized yet largely because the situation is fluid and there is no clear sign of how long the pandemic and downturn will last.
Matt Pilon
Ideanomics’ “Fintech Village” project in West Hartford has faced various delays over the past two years, but now the company has added a new level of uncertainty to the purported $400-million development.
Ideanomics told investors on Monday that it has identified the Fintech Village at the former West Hartford UConn campus as a “non-core asset” and is “evaluating its strategies for divesting of this asset.”
Slipped into its annual earnings filing with the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission, the disclosure came as Ideanomics reported a $98.5-million loss in 2019, up from $27.4 million in 2018. The company’s shares were trading at all-time lows of around 37 cents on Tuesday morning, down from $1.77 a year ago.
“Fintech Village, we’re taking a long, hard look at that,” CEO Alf Poor said on an earnings call Monday. “It’s been a much longer, slower grind through the approvals process.”
The company did not elaborate during the call. However, in a statement Tuesday, Poor said Ideanomics is "committed to find the best way forward to bring Fintech Village to its full potential and bring tech jobs to West Hartford."
"What began as a light remediation project has turned into a major undertaking," he said. "As such, we are shifting from a go-it-alone approach and are currently looking for partners to co-invest in the development of Fintech Village."
The Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD) has pledged up to $10 million in assistance for the project, but that funding is contingent on job creation targets. To date, Ideanomics has not drawn on any of the money, DECD confirmed Tuesday.
Ideanomics bought the 58-acre campus in Oct. 2018 for $5.2 million. Contamination, including asbestos and polychlorinated biphenyls, was soon discovered to be higher than expected, requiring demolition of four of the five buildings on the property.
McGovern said the company needed to work through approvals with state and federal environmental regulators before work could resume.
Only one of the four buildings on the property has been demolished as of Tuesday.
The company’s most recent update, issued late last year, was that the work would be finished in the second half of 2020.
“If we elect to sell, transfer or change the use of the facility, additional environmental testing may be required,” Ideanomics said in an SEC filing. “We cannot assure that we will not discover further environmental contamination, that any planned timeline for remediation will not be delayed, that we would not be required by [state or federal environmental agencies] to incur significant expenditures for environmental remediation in the future.”
“The surety bond will either serve as collateral to the state if we do not complete the environmental remediation to state and federal requirements or be returned to us in full if remediation efforts are successful and completed,” Ideanomics said in the recent filing.
While Ideanomics unveiled a virtual fly-through of Fintech Village last summer, revealing an expansive development with numerous buildings and public spaces, the layout was only preliminary.
Once remediation work is finished, Ideanomics would still need to apply to the town for a zoning change to accommodate a specific design.
Aquarion plans water line work in Stonington
Stonington — Aquarion Water Company has announced that additional water main replacement projects are scheduled to begin March 23 on Marjorie Street and Lantern Hill Road in Mystic, followed by Linda Avenue, Summit Street, and Elm Street.
The work is expected to be completed by mid-June.
The company said the projects, which will replace 3,050 feet of water main, are part of an ongoing program to improve its distribution system and ensure high quality water. It said the upgrades also will help to reduce leaks and water main breaks.
During construction, drivers should expect minor traffic delays and possible detours from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.
To keep customers informed about scheduled/unscheduled work, Aquarion utilizes a CodeRED notification system to call affected customers. Customers can sign up for the free service at bit.ly/AquaOut.
Work begins on Meadow Street portion of $19.1M construction project
MICHAEL PUFFER
WATERBURY — Construction work begun recently on Meadow Street is part of a $19.1 million project to refurbish Jackson, Meadow and Freight Street.
The project is intended to help the city entice development in a roughly 70-acre area around Freight Street. It’s funded with a $14.4 million federal grant and $4.7 from city taxpayers.
Construction workers have spent nearly two weeks digging under a sidewalk near the corner of Meadow and Freight streets. These test pits are meant to help pin down the location of underground utilities ahead of more extensive work, said Salvatore Porzio, a project manager with the city’s Department of Public Works.
Meadow Street will be repaved, with new storm drainage basins and refurbishment of some sewage lines, Porzio said. That paving is expected to begin in late spring or early summer, Porzio said.
Upgrades to Freight Street were completed in 2018 under contractor Dayton Construction.
The city picked Guerrera Construction to rebuild Jackson and Meadow Streets. It’s contract calls for “substantial completion” by July 31, with a complete finish by Nov. 13.
Work on Jackson Street last week prompted the city to close a section of Bank Street by its intersection with Jackson. Porzio said contractors are tying in utilities at the mouth of the street.
Paving on the entire length of Jackson Street, including the new section, should begin this spring following the installation of sewer, water and electric lines, Porzio said.
Lamont admin. in early talks about economic stimulus package
Greg Bordonaro
ov. Ned Lamont’s economic development team is in talks with state lawmakers about a potential stimulus package, but what gets proposed will likely depend on how long the coronavirus public health scare goes on, a top administration official told Hartford Business Journal.
“We are having conversations with the legislature and it’s on the front burner,” said David Lehman, commissioner of the state Department of Economic and Community Development. “If the economic impact from this is longer and broader than what I think it should be, then everything is on the table, whether that is a new program similar to what was done at the beginning of the Lamont administration where we worked with the banks on a new small business lending fund [for federal workers impacted by the government shutdown] or something else.”
“The longer economic activity slows down the harder it is to get the economy started,” Lehman added, talking Monday by phone from his Greenwich home. (Lehman, who is also Lamont’s top economic adviser, says he will be working from home some days and be in Hartford others as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to spread throughout the state.)
Lehman said so far he approves of his bosses handling of the outbreak and that an aggressive response is needed to reduce the longer-term economic harm.
“We have to take our medicine quickly to make sure we recover quickly both from a health and economic perspective,” Lehman said.
Lehman said he can’t predict how bad of a hit the economy will take but he doesn’t think it will be as bad as the Great Recession in terms of unemployment. However, the state and nation could see a loss of output equivalent to that time period.
He said he’s seen estimates of up to a 7% to 8% decline in output, which would be the worst decline since the fourth quarter of 2008, when the financial crisis really began spinning out of control.
“The real question in my mind is the duration of this thing, is it a two to three to four month thing or a six or nine month event,” he said. “It’s my view that this is certainly having a big impact but there is no precedent for this where parts of our economy literally stop. What’s challenging here is that what is right from a public health perspective is counter to the way our economy is set up and works.”
First, is what the state and his agency can do right now to respond through executive order or without any legislative approval. DECD has already announced a loan forbearance program for any companies that currently have state government loans. The Department of Labor is also making broader use of unemployment insurance benefits and the U.S. Small Business Administration announced on Monday that Connecticut small businesses are now eligible for federal emergency loans of up to $2 million.
Second, is determining what residents and businesses are going to need in the medium term if they don’t get benefits already available to them from the state or federal governments.
Third, is figuring out what to do to stimulate the economy when we are at the tail end of the health crisis.
Lehman said he and other administration officials are in talks with legislative leaders about potential programs, whether they be incentives or tax credits, but nothing is finalized yet largely because the situation is fluid and there is no clear sign of how long the pandemic and downturn will last.
“This is not a financial crisis,” he said. “Banks have a lot of liquidity.”