White Plains apartment complex opens; more on the way

BY PETER KATZ Pkatz@westfairinc.comt

The Halden, an apartment complex that has repurposed part of the RPW Group's office park property at 1133 Westchester Ave. in White Plains had its formal opening on July 11 as the city's Common Council was set to vote at its regular August meeting on a special permit for another apartment complex in a different part of town.

Connecticut Airport Authority Executive Director Kevin A. Dillon on his agency's first 10 years

BY PHIL HALL Phall@westfairinc.com

This month marks the tenth anniversary of the launch of the Connecticut Airport Authority, the quasi-public agency that operates Bradley International Airport and five of the state’s general aviation airports.

In observance of the agency’s first decade, the Business Journals spoke with Kevin A. Dillon, who has served as the CAA’s executive director since its launch.

First, congratulations on the tenth anniversary of the CAA. What inspired the agency’s creation?

It was legislation back in 2011 that created the CAA as a quasi-public agency. At that time, Gov. Malloy and the state legislature felt the aviation assets here in the state were not being maximized – the state-owned airports were being run by the DOT. And that's not to say that the DOT didn't have capable people. It was that the DOT was subjected to a lot of onerous policies and procedures as a state agency, so that's why Gov. Malloy and the legislature felt it would be better to put those assets under a quasi-public agency that could react a little bit more nimbly and a little quicker.

The aviation world is a very dynamic world – things change fast, airlines need answers, developers need quick answers in order to invest in facilities. And that's what the CAA brings to the table. I was hired as the executive director in June of 2012, shortly after the legislation and the board were put together, and I spent the first year working with the FAA to get the approvals to transfer the airport sponsorship from the State of Connecticut to the Connecticut Airport Authority.

And what is the state of Bradley International Airport today?

With Bradley, we've made great advances over the past 10 years. We’ve had year-over-year passenger growth every year that we've been in existence,