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Almanac
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Business New Haven
4/3/2000
By: BNH
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Fire Lite To Expand
in N. Branford
N ORTH BRANFORD - Fire Lite/Alarms/Notifier broke ground late last month on a 50,000-square-foot fourth addition to its North Branford facility. The new space will house an expanded alarm-system training facility and human resources department. The new space, slated for November completion, will bring the Fire-Lite facility to 303,000 square feet. The company added 60,000 feet in 1996. Fire Lite/Notifier employs some 600 workers.
Winstanley Talking
to Biotechs
NEW HAVEN - The Massachusetts company that purchased the former SNET building at 300 George Street is negotiating with four area biotechnology firms to lease space in the building. Winstanley Enterprises of Concord, Mass. said it will invest $25 million in the 500,000-square-foot building, which it purchased for $27 million from Matthews earlier this year. Erected as an office building, it will require extensive renovation to house wet laboratory space.
Utilities Winners
& Losers
NEW BRITAIN - The state's Department of Public Utility Control (DPUC) last month issued its customer service survey of utilities for 1999. In it, two companies serving the region - Southern Connecticut Gas Co. and Connecticut Light & Power - saw their drop as customer complaints about their service rose. Complaints against the Bridgeport-based SCGC rose about 15 percent last year compared to the year before, while CL&P, of Berlin, generated 68 percent more complaints over the previous year. Both companies attributed the increase to more aggressive collections efforts. Meanwhile, two other utilities - Yankee Gas Co. of Meriden and New Haven-based SNET - saw customer complaints fall by ten and 20 percent, respectively.
Bradley Flies High
WINDSOR LOCKS - It's official: Measured by passenger traffic, Bradley International Airport is New England's fastest-growing flyway. In February the Windsor Locks facility emplaned 540,119 travelers, an 18.4-percent increase over the previous month, according to the state's Department of Transportation. That marks the 23rd month in a row traffic had increased at Bradley. Year to date, 1,026,663 flyers have passed through the airport, a 17-percent hike over the same period in 1999. Call it the “Southwest effect”: “This really shows not only the effect that Southwest Airlines can have on an airport,” says DOT Commissioner James F. Sullivan of the low-fare carrier, “but the strong performance that our other carriers are putting forward in response to increased competition.” A recent Bradley survey revealed that 36.2 percent of passengers had noticed a drop in fares overall, while 87.7 percent were satisfied with current levels of service.
Whirleybirds on
the Web
STRATFORD - In the market for a slightly used helicopter? Boy, does Sikorsky Aircraft have a Web site for you. The Stratford chopper manufacturer has begun marketing used aircraft over the Internet at www.sikorsky.com/acsales. Actually, as of March 20, there was but one item on the site: a 1988 S-76B corporate helicopter, available for an untouchable $3,250,000. The chopper has a six-seat executive interior with VIP seating, “executive” paint finish and 3,129 flight hours. In its initial foray into e-commerce Sikorsky joins parent United Technologies Corp., which entered the e-trade fray last year.
Yale Inks Lease with NYC Storea
NEW HAVEN - Yale University Properties last month signed a ten-year lease with Gourmet Heaven, an all-purpose convenience store based in New York City. The 4,000-square-foot store will open this in the Broadway space that previously housed Store 24. As a “gourmet convenience store,” Gourmet Heaven will offer the typical grocery fare as well as items aimed at Yale consumers, according to the Yale Daily News, including produce, fruit, fresh flowers, coffee, drugstore fare, magazines, food and alcoholic beverages. It will also include a deli, a salad bar, breakfast grill and seating for some 35 patrons. Gourmet Heaven's lease will permit it to stay open around the clock.
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