FAIRFIELD COUNTY
BUSINESS JOURNAL
YOUR only SOURCE FOR regional BUSINESS NEWS | westfaironline.com
Leasing slumps in third quarter
FCBJ TODAY
Paul Allen’s loss is Stamford’s gain … 2 Connecticut 40th – again – for business tax competitiveness … 2
BY PATRICK GALLAGHER
pgallagher@westfairinc.com
Malloy betting on natural gas future in Connecticut … 3
W
multiple expert sources. The emphasis on women’s role in the economy is growing – and Connecticut’s largest conference for women is just around the corner. “Winning strategies for business professionals” is the theme of the 30th annual Business Women’s Forum, which will be
ith business mired in a holding pattern as markets await the outcome of the Nov. 6 elections, commercial leasing velocity fell by double-digits in Fairfield County during the third quarter, according to CBRE Inc.’s quarterly market report. The number of commercial real estate transactions declined nearly 12 percent in the third quarter, while the average deal size dropped 5 percent to about 7,400 square feet. In all, CBRE reports there were 76 transactions totaling just more than 563,000 square feet finalized in the third quarter, compared to 86 transactions totaling 674,000 square feet that were finalized in the third quarter of 2011. The county’s commercial vacancy and availability rates were virtually unchanged at 20.1 percent and 21.3 percent, respectively, according to the report. Steven Greenbush, a senior vice president of CBRE’s Stamford office, attributed the slowdown to a lack of interest among outside companies in moving to Fairfield County, as well as a lack of motivation among those already in the county to expand their facilities. “We’re definitely in a slow leasing cycle,” Greenbush said. “We’re not seeing the corporate growth. We’ve only seen companies renew – they’re not growing. And I think that’s our biggest issue right now.” Greenbush said it appears that companies
Women, page 6
Leasing, page 6
In the field: Connecticut hitches onto $121M for high-speed rail… 8 Gold coastal property: Maxum flies from Greenwich … 12 As it turns out, all it took was a little “know-how” … 14 The List: when the Subaru won’t do … 16 Also … “This is not going to be smooth, these next 12 months – we’re going to be making mistakes. We’re going to come to you with some bumps in the road. There are going to be times when you’re going to say, ‘What were you thinking?’” 11
In signing off on his EXP program, did Gov. Malloy snare business owner signatures destined for SBA loans?
EXP up, but SBA down
BY ALEXANDER SOULE
casoule@westfairinc.com Since Connecticut became a major lender to small businesses in the past year, bank loans backed by the Small Business Administration have dropped significantly, as the state – rather than the federal gov-
ernment – shoulders some of the risk of small business loans here. Under SBA’s most widely used 7(a) Loan Guaranty Program, banks statewide issued 500 loans for $152 million in capital for the 2012 fiscal year ending in September. In fiscal 2011, with several new SBA measures taking effect in EXP UP, page 6
Ways women will lead economic recovery BY JENNIFER BISSELL
jbissell@westfairinc.com
MEDIA PARTNER
October 15, 2012 | VOL. 48, No. 42
Is your brand communicating to women? They could be the ones leading the economic recovery. Women make 85 percent of buying decisions, including half of all purchases of products geared toward men, according to
UConn’s big initiatives • 18