New Haven begins $13.2M Whitney Avenue improvement project this week
NEW HAVEN — Whitney Avenue, one of the city's busiest
arteries, is about to undergo a
long-planned $13.2 million makeover of nearly its entire 1.5-mile length.
In addition to improved traffic flow, it will also be a lot
safer for pedestrians and cyclists, with a dedicated two-way "cycle
track" physically separated from the main road and the sidewalks, said
Mayor Justin Elicker and other city and state officials at a news
conference announcing the start of the construction project this week.
Whitney is "one of the busiest corridors in our city —
and it is all
too often a dangerous corridor," Elicker said Thursday.
About 10,000 vehicles use Whitney Avenue daily. Over the
past five years, there have been 378 automobile accidents on the roadway —
an average of one to two crashes a week. While there have been no fatalities,
there have been three serious injuries and 12 accidents involving cyclists,
Elicker said.
"This artery is primarily designed for cars. ... It's
not well-designed for pedestrians and cyclists, yet it is smack dab in the
middle of a very active neighborhood," Elicker said.
The project will span two phases. Construction on the first
phase, from the New Haven-Hamden line to Canner Street, is scheduled to begin
this week and is expected to be completed by mid-2026, Elicker said.
The second phase will run from Canner Street to Trumbull
Street, two blocks from where Whitney Avenue begins at Grove Street in downtown
New Haven, and is projected to be completed in 2027, officials said.
The project includes narrowing the roadway from four lanes
to three, with two travel lanes and a turning lane, Elicker said. The dedicated
bicycle track will be two-way, he said.
"That will go (the length of) this entire corridor. You
will see raised intersections, as well," he said. The east side of the
street will have permanent parking.
Pedestrian safety improvements will include raised
crosswalks, raised intersections and shortened crossing distances, officials
said.
The project will also include replacing all traffic signals
and updating timing to help improve traffic flow, said City Engineer Giovanni
Zinn.
Zinn said that most of the project's cost will go toward
replacing the traffic signals and repaving the entire length of the
roadway. "We are finishing up design right now on the other six traffic
signals in phase two," he said.
Whitney will remain open throughout construction, Zinn said.
The project is funded through the state Department of
Transportation's Local Transportation Capital Improvement Program. It is part
of the city's and CT DOT's ongoing efforts to improve road safety and
commuting options for all users.
CT DOT Deputy Commissioner Laoise King said the state
"was proud to provide more than $13.2 million" for the project, which
is part of more than $57 million the agency has provided in 2025 for 17
projects statewide. Foxon Boulevard (Route 80) is also among them. Since
2013, the CT DOT has provided nearly $408 million for nearly 190 local road
projects throughout the state, she said.
"These safety upgrades are intended to slow down motor
vehicle traffic ... protect pedestrians and cyclists and enhance overall
mobility between the Hamden line and Trumbull" Street, King said.
"We are seeing a high watermark in the Department of
Transportation right now," and the agency is "giving a great deal of
consideration now to cooperating with municipalities in a way that had not been
the case before," said state Senate President Pro Tempore Martin Looney,
D-New Haven.
He pointed out that CT DOT-funded projects are also underway
along Quinnipiac, Dixwell and Grand avenues.
"Everyone has been aware for years that Whitney Avenue needed a major
redo, and now that will be in progress," Looney said.
The project has been in the works since 2009, when then-East
Rock Alder Roland Lemar, now in his eighth term as the 96th District state
representative, and then-East Rock alder candidate Elicker held a community
meeting to talk about possible changes along Whitney.
Lemar said that what Elicker and he heard at that meeting
back in 2009 "is reflected here."
He said he has also been working closely with Hamden Mayor
Lauren Garrett on a future "road diet" project along Whitney in
Hamden.
Alder Kimberly Edwards, D-19, the ward where the
announcement took place, said, "I'm very pleased and happy that we are
starting right here."
"We have a park right here. We have a house of worship
and many schools along this corridor." Yet, "we can't cross the
street," Edwards said.
Raymond Tsao, of the New Haven Coalition for Active
Transportation, lives in East Rock. He said his two teenage boys tried riding
their bikes across town to Hopkins School but had to stop because the 4- to
5-mile ride was too dangerous.
"The reality is that, unfortunately, people do not
willingly slow down," Elicker said. "I think in general, we want to
have communities that are more walkable and bikeable."
CT's stake in Revolution Wind dates to 2018: The State Pier, turbines and an unexpected stop order
Back in 2018, when state officials selected a to-be-built
offshore wind farm called Revolution
Wind to provide hundreds of megawatts of power to Connecticut, it
marked the first time the state had ever procured such power.
Little did officials know then that seven years later, with
the project about 80% complete, the federal
government would order work on the wind farm to halt.
Revolution Wind was expected to begin commercial operations
next year, providing energy to both Connecticut and Rhode Island. But in
August, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management issued an order for the project
to pause.
Gov. Ned
Lamont’s administration has said the cancellation of Revolution Wind
would lead to higher
electric bills, a less reliable grid and unemployed
workers. The project has also been tied to a controversial overhaul
of the State Pier in New London that cost
more than $300 million — about $200 million of which was funded by the state.
Here is a timeline of the development of Revolution Wind,
starting when Connecticut took a stake in the project, as well as the
redevelopment of the State Pier.
2018
April — The state Department of Energy and
Environmental Protection receives more than two dozen responses to a
request for renewable energy proposals, with three
involving offshore wind farms.
Rhode-Island based company Deepwater Wind,
Massachusetts-based Vineyard Wind and a joint venture between Eversource Energy
and Danish company Orsted each submit a proposal.
Deepwater Wind proposes to supply 200 megawatts of power to
Connecticut from Revolution Wind, a wind farm to be built in the waters between
Montauk, N.Y., and Martha’s Vineyard that the company aims to have in operation
by 2023.
June — The state picks
Deepwater Wind’s proposal, marking Connecticut’s first procurement of
offshore wind power.
October — Orsted strikes
a deal to acquire Deepwater Wind.
December — Connecticut selects
a bid from Orsted for an additional 100 megawatts of power.
2019
February — Eversource purchases
a 50% stake in Revolution Wind and other Orsted offshore wind
projects.
May — By this time, the cost of the State Pier's
overhaul is estimated to be $93 million.
2020
February — The quasi-public Connecticut Port Authority,
Orsted, Eversource and pier operator Gateway Terminal finalize an agreement
to redevelop
the State Pier for $157 million, with the funding coming from both public
and private sources.
Orsted and Eversource plan to use the pier as a staging site
for Revolution Wind and two other projects, Sunrise Wind and South Fork
Wind.
The partners aim to start upgrading the pier’s
infrastructure in early 2021 so it can become a “heavy-lift capable port.”
2021
December — Months later than expected, the U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers grants a permit allowing
for dredging work to begin around the State Pier.
At this point, the pier project’s price tag is $235
million.
2022
February — The State Contracting Standards Board voices
concern about “success fees” the Connecticut Port Authority agreed to pay
an advisory firm in 2018, saying they appear similar to “finder’s fees,” which
are prohibited by state law, the Connecticut
Mirror reports.
The state Port Authority hired
Seabury Maritime in 2018 to help find an operator for the State Pier,
shortly after Henry Juan III, a Seabury employee, resigned as a port
authority board member. Attorney General William Tong’s office later determines
the “success fees” were legal.
March — Lamont takes
a tour of the State Pier ahead of an announcement that the cost of its
redevelopment will be more than $242 million. Orsted and Eversource are
contributing about $75 million, but the cost overruns fall to the state.
Concerns swirl around the rising cost and a federal
investigation into construction projects that former state budget official
Konstantinos Diamantis was involved in, including the redevelopment of the
State Pier.
May — The pier project’s total cost hits $255 million.
The chair of the Connecticut Port Authority’s at the time,
David Kooris, attributes
the increasing cost to permitting delays, a design change to allow
more space for Cross Sound Ferry operations and “the difference between
engineered cost estimates that were vetted by third parties and actual bid
prices we received from contractors.”
Kooris also says the initial $93 million estimate “did not
include all the soft costs and the contingencies.”
June — Seabury agrees
to pay a $10,000 penalty for providing gifts to employees and a board
member of the Connecticut Port Authority in 2017 and 2019 while the company was
seeking or doing business with the authority.
November — The Connecticut Mirror reports that Kiewit
Corp., the State Pier’s construction manager, recommended itself for
several subcontracts worth tens of millions of dollars, and Kiewit was
sometimes selected even though another company made a lower bid.
2023
May — Seabury agrees to pay another
$10,000 fine for failing to register as a lobbyist and file financial
disclosure reports in 2017, 2018 and 2019.
June — Henry Juan III agrees
to pay $18,500 over allegations that he used his position on the
Connecticut Port Authority’s board to “advance Seabury’s interests in doing
business with” the port authority.
The same month, Lamont signs
a bill into law prohibiting the Connecticut Port Authority from paying
success fees and construction managers from bidding on subcontracts for
state-funded port authority projects.
May-July — The cost of the State Pier’s overhaul tops
$300 million.
The State Bond Commission allocates
more money to the work at the pier, while Orsted and Eversource
increase their contribution by about $24 million.
Kooris says large rocks were unexpectedly found deep under
the water, contributing to the cost increase.
August — The federal government publishes what’s known
as a joint record of decision for Revolution Wind, which the project’s partners
say will allow
for onshore construction to start. Their goal by this point is for the wind
farm to begin operating in 2025.
November — The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management approves
Revolution Wind’s construction and operations plan. Offshore construction
is expected to pick up in 2024.
2024
February — Eversource announces an agreement to sell its 50% share in Revolution Wind and South Fork Wind to Global Infrastructure Partners.
May — Revolution Wind’s first
turbine foundation is installed.
While crews at ProvPort in Providence, R.I., have built the
foundation components for the wind farm, workers at the New London State Pier
are assembling the turbine components. Meanwhile, Quonset Point in Rhode Island
serves as a base for crew transfer vessels and helicopters.
September — The first
of 65 wind turbines is installed.
Most of the foundations for the other turbines are also
installed by this point.
2025
August — The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management issues
an order for work related to Revolution Wind to stop, citing “concerns
related to the protection of national security interests of the United States
and prevention of interference with reasonable uses of the exclusive economic
zone, the high seas, and the territorial seas.”
Connecticut officials decry the
order.
September — Connecticut
and Rhode Island sue the Trump administration over the order. Orsted
and Global Infrastructure Partners’ Skyborn Renewables also file
a lawsuit.
A bridge to Long Island? Prolific Bridgeport-area housing developer has ideas he wants to share
EASTON — Stephen Shapiro’s name has become synonymous
with housing developments, with some 20 either in process or complete
throughout the greater Bridgeport area.
But the Easton developer has a grander vision — one that
calls for the creation of a 14-mile-long bridge spanning Long Island Sound,
connecting Connecticut to Long Island. He sees it going from Bridgeport, across
the Sound to Sunken Meadow State Parkway.
“That’s my dream,” said Shapiro, who has housing projects
throughout the area, including Fairfield, Easton,
Bristol, Trumbull, Milford and
Shelton. “Imagine getting to Ocean Beach from here in 45 minutes.”
Shapiro is not the first to envision this bridge — with a
lower level for train service connecting Metro-North to the LIRR — traversing
the Sound. New York officials have commissioned studies in the past on this,
but Shapiro hopes to spur interest in Connecticut for this project.
“It would bring in $8 to $10 billion a year in revenue ...
yes, the initial construction would cause some issues, but the final result
would be an economic boon,” Shapiro added. “This is not my idea ... it is
something that should have been done that has never gotten done.”
Shapiro said such a bridge, with its connection in
Bridgeport, would help to revitalize the Park City and bring financial benefit
to the Valley and state while alleviating traffic in lower Fairfield
County.
And this idea is catching the eyes of some lawmakers as
well.
“A project that can bring in revenue and that will lower
taxes, bring jobs and economic growth as well as protect American lives in the
event of a natural disaster should welcomed with open arms," said state
Rep. Joe Hoxha, who represents Bristol and Plymouth and a member of
the Naugatuck Valley COG.
Next step, he says, is making the public aware this is a
possibility. Then it would be bringing in the federal government, which could
provide a source of millions in grant money to offset costs.
Shapiro said the greatest benefit would be cutting traffic
bottlenecks in New York City and Connecticut, specifically I-95 and the Merritt
Parkway in Fairfield County, two of the worst, most congested stretches in the
country.
He said a $39 bridge toll — less than the cost of the ferry
and 1/5 the travel time — would pay for construction in 48 years, and this does
not consider any other economic benefits.
Shapiro said it would add a safety component in case Long
Island would ever again be hit with a hurricane like the Long Island Clipper, a
devastating Category 3 also known as the "Long Island Express" that
hit the region in 1938, causing widespread damage and deaths. He says this
bridge answers how 8 million people could evacuate if ever needed.
“I am always thinking about what’s next ... where can I help
make this a better place,” said Shapiro, who was born in Bridgeport and grew up
in Fairfield. “This would be it.”
Now, Shapiro spends his time creating housing projects
throughout the greater Bridgeport area. Connecticut is in desperate need of
accessible, affordable housing – and he says he is answering the call.
Shapiro began his real estate career a couple years after
dropping out of Fairfield University when he was 19. He bought his first house
at 22 and did his first flip at 23.
He proceeded to flip more than 100 homes before shifting to
larger housing developments.
"I kept growing, learning and doing,” Shapiro
said.
“I was building new houses, dealing with zoning already,” he
added. “I lived here my whole life ... I know the place like the back of my
hand. I figured if I am already working with zoning just building a house, why
not go for something bigger.”
Shapiro presently has 20 developments — either in process or
complete — in municipalities from Bristol to Fairfield to Milford and
everywhere in between.
His goal — create more middle income housing, sometimes
called workforce housing, allowing town employees and seniors to have an
affordable option.
"I did not come up with the shortage, naturally
occurred in economy,” said Shapiro, adding this change happened in earnest
during COVID. "Now it’s through the roof.”
Shapiro has approved plans in Fairfield (19 units on
Stillson Road, presently under appeal by neighbors, and 39 units as part of a
8-30g text amendment approval on Congress Street); Bristol (28 units of
hospital workforce housing); Monroe (a five-unit single family subdivision);
Newtown (eight-unit single family subdivision); and Stratford (14 units of
workforce housing and a five-unit single family subdivision).
He also has pending applications in Fairfield (108 units on
Biro Street); Trumbull (48 units on Reservoir Avenue); Shelton (on separate
plans for Shelton Avenue and Armstrong Road); Milford; and the Easton/Trumbull
line on Plum Tree Road.
Shapiro has been most vocal about "middle
housing," or multifamily residential developments more moderate in size
and scale than towering apartment buildings.
He's teamed up with former Connecticut Speaker of the House
Jim Amann to lobby state lawmakers for middle housing incentives at the local
level.
This workforce component would allow for town employees,
including teachers, police and fire personnel, as well as senior citizens to
have first crack at renting units during the first 30 days the development is
taking applications.
Shapiro wants middle housing developments to get the same
exemptions from local zoning regulations as affordable housing projects under
8-30g. The state legislature is considering a bill that would offer grants to
public housing authorities for middle housing developments.
“This is not a partisan issue, it’s a fact,” Shapiro said.
“Everyone knows Connecticut is short on housing, and we need to work together
for reasonable density developments in reasonably placed areas."
He said there are extremes on both sides of the issue, but
people need to cross party lines to find solutions.
“There is a real level of insanity when it comes to
housing,” Shapiro said.
And he knows all too well, with his applications drawing the
ire of residents in every community he files plans. He faces opposition in
letters, petitions and ultimately appeals, as is the case with his townhouse
project in Fairfield. He has since received approval for a 66-unit apartment
building under the state’s 8-30g statute for the same site.
“This type of housing not only helps you attract more talent
... the teacher, cop, firefighter ... but also alleviate what is the worst
traffic in situation the United States,” said Shapiro, noting I-95 and Merritt
Parkway from Bridgeport to Stamford.
The housing he proposes in most cases sits near public
transportation. Affordable housing also allows people to live where they
work.
“The benefits to society are so common sense, I don't get
the opposition,” he added.
“This housing climate may not last forever ... I want to
serve the need based on what the climate is, based on what the needs are for
society, the economy. But I want to do more than just housing ... I want to do
what is best for society.”
And that next project may be a bridge over Long Island Sound
waters.
BRIDGEPORT – A federal judge has refused to prevent a jury
from hearing that co-conspirators of former state deputy budget director
Konstantinos Diamantis, who is accused of using his position overseeing the
state’s school building office to solicit bribes from construction contractors,
admitted to defrauding the government.
U.S. District Judge Stefan Underhill entered the ruling
earlier this week setting up jury selection in the case to begin Oct. 3.
Diamantis’s lawyer, Norman Pattis had argued that the
testimony would unfairly prejudice his client.
Diamantis was fired from his post as a deputy budget
director by Gov. Ned Lamont after the state received a subpoena from federal
prosecutors in 2021 seeking information about Diamantis and a host of projects
and companies he was involved with. Diamantis also stepped down from his job
overseeing the state’s school construction office.
He is accused, according to court documents, of misusing his
former position as a state official to demand and receive payments and
benefits from different construction contractors.
Specifically, it is alleged that Diamantis, as the head of
the state’s Office of School Construction Grants and Review, used his position
to solicit and receive bribes from Acranom Masonry, Inc., of Middlefield,
through its principals Salvatore Monarca and John Duffy, and Construction
Advocacy Professionals LLC, of Moosup, through its principal Antonietta
Roy.
In exchange for these payments, Diamantis allegedly took
official action to help Acranom and CAP obtain and retain work on state-funded
school construction projects, including in Hartford and Tolland. In addition,
it is also alleged that Diamantis used fear of economic loss to Acranom and CAP
in order to induce those companies to make payments to him which he was not
otherwise entitled to receive.
Finally, it is alleged that Diamantis made materially false
statements to FBI agents who were investigating this case.
He is charged with extortion under color of official right
and by threat of economic fear, bribery, conspiracy to commit extortion under
color of official right, conspiracy to commit bribery, and making false
statements.
On May 13, 2024, Monarca and Duffy each pleaded guilty to
separate informations charging one count of conspiracy to commit extortion
under color of official right. On May 14, 2024, Roy pleaded guilty to one count
of conspiracy to commit bribery in connection with a state government receiving
federal funds.
Federal prosecutors have given the defense notice that Roy,
Monarca, and Duffy are potential witnesses in its case, with Monarca and Roy on
its “will call” list and Duffy on its “may call” list.
That witness list also includes several current and former
members of the Lamont administration, including Josh Geballe, the former
commissioner of the state’s Department of Administrative Services, as well as
the state employees who worked under Diamantis at the state’s Office of School
Construction Grants and Review.
PeoplesBank Arena set to reopen Oct. 17 after $145M overhaul; upgrades already draw more shows
Nearly five months after closing for a $145 million renovation, Hartford’s PeoplesBank Arena will reopen Oct. 17, when the Hartford Wolf Pack takes the ice.
At first glance, longtime fans may not see sweeping changes.
The overhaul is largely focused on behind-the-scenes upgrades — premium spaces
for VIPs and performers, new escalators and loading areas, and infrastructure
designed to make the 50-year-old venue more attractive to touring acts.
Still, some improvements will be obvious.
The arena’s 6,000 lower-bowl seats will have been replaced
with padded chairs, the walls now sport fresh blue and gray paint, concourses
will be modernized and the rebuilt stage has been pushed further back, freeing
up about 1,000 more seats for concerts.
“The real magic is making this building work for the
industry,” said Michael Freimuth, executive director of the Capital Region
Development Authority (CRDA), which oversees the arena. “That doesn’t
always translate to the guy sitting in the seat. He might say, ‘How’s it any
different?’ There’s a lot of back-of-house stuff.”
Booking momentum
Promoters are already responding. PeoplesBank Arena
General Manager Ben Weiss said he has seen an increase in concert date
holds.
“I’ve been here almost eight years, and this is the most
interest we’ve had from artists, management or promoters that are putting holds
on our calendar,” Weiss said. “They are asking for date availability and
putting holds on dates based on their tour schedule.”
Historically, the arena averaged six to eight concerts each
fiscal year. This year, despite losing the first quarter to construction,
operator Oak View Group (OVG) expects at least 15 shows. In future years, Weiss
said, the venue could host 25 to 30 concerts annually.
“The renovations, added premium seating, increased bookings
— all of that will allow us to run the building in the black,” Weiss said.
Entertainment promoter Live Nation has three shows coming up
before the close of the year at the Hartford arena — as opposed to just one in
all of 2024 — including Stevie Nicks on Oct. 25, Playboi Carti on Nov. 8 and
Pentatonix on Dec. 6. Two of the events are nearly sold out.
Live Nation also booked a Mary J. Blige concert in May.
“Looking at ticket sales, it’s very clear the public wants
to go back to that venue,” said Jim Koplik, Live Nation’s president for
Connecticut and upstate New York. “The interest is definitely much greater for
people coming to the PeoplesBank Arena. We are seeing it.”
The OVG deal
Denver-based OVG, which manages the arena for the city and
Capital Region Development Authority, has pledged $20 million to support
ongoing renovations as part of a new 20-year management deal.
Starting next July, OVG will keep the first $4 million in
annual net profits, share anything above that with the city, and absorb any
operating losses. The structure shifts much of the financial risk away from the
city, while giving OVG a strong incentive to grow revenue and reverse what have
been annual deficits of about $2 million.
OVG points to its success reviving similar facilities in
Savannah, Georgia, Austin, Texas, and Baltimore, Maryland, where a $250 million
renovation turned the 1962-era CFG Bank Arena into one of the highest-grossing
venues in its class.
“Baltimore was doing a handful of shows a year,” Weiss said.
“I think they are doing over 40 or 50 shows a year now. That’s the model we are
following. We have seen it done in other places, so we are pretty confident.”
Premium seating sells fast
A centerpiece of the Hartford arena overhaul is new premium
seating.
The arena’s five “bunker suites” — each featuring luxury
spaces with private lounges and 15 to 18 first-row seats — cost an average of
$400,000 annually. Four have already been leased, with a fifth deal close to
being finalized, Weiss said.
There will be 51 new loge boxes, each seating four to six
people, with in-seat dining service and access to an exclusive event-level
bar/club area. Over half of the long-term loge boxes have been reserved in
five-year deals at an annual average price of $75,000. A sellout is expected by
mid-October, Weiss said.
The arena will also sell memberships to its event-level club
at $2,500 per seat annually. It maintains 43 executive suites, about 15 of
which are leased under long-term deals. Those older-style luxury boxes are
excluded from the current renovation plans, though tenants may update and
refurnish them independently.
Holyoke, Massachusetts-based PeoplesBank, which purchased
the arena’s naming rights in June, has reserved one bunker suite and two loge
boxes. The bank is paying an average of $2 million annually over 10 years for
the 225,000-square-foot venue’s naming rights, with options for two additional
five-year extensions.
The attention from a new sponsor and name has been a big
boost, especially as it coincides with the upgrades, Weiss said.
“We are really looking forward to them being in the building
and truly being a partner, not just a name on the building,” Weiss said. “They
will be in the building as patrons and fans, bringing customers and staff. So
far, they have been a really fantastic partner.”
More work to come
Providence, Rhode Island-based Dimeo Construction is leading
the arena overhaul.
When the facility reopens Oct. 17, visitors and teams will
see other upgrades, including a multipurpose room for events and gatherings,
new team locker rooms for UConn and the Wolf Pack, a new main roof and expanded
areas for broadcast trucks.
Renovations will continue through next spring without
further shutdowns. The second phase of upgrades will introduce an event-level
kitchen, star dressing rooms, an artist lounge and new electrical switchgear,
among other improvements.
Freimuth, who has long championed an overhaul of the aging
arena, said the renovations will allow Hartford to book shows it previously
missed out on.
“We were missing out on opportunities because we couldn’t
put the right seats in, we couldn’t put the right ticket pricing in, we
couldn’t get the right rigging, we couldn’t get the right stage position, we
couldn’t get the trucks in and out,” he said. “It was endless.”
Downtown boost
Freimuth acknowledged that it’s hard to calculate the
arena’s economic impact. Despite years of operating deficits, officials have
defended the venue as a key driver of downtown Hartford foot traffic that
supports local restaurants and merchants.
That activity, he noted, helps restaurants survive slower
periods, and those establishments in turn serve as vital amenities for
companies and employees occupying millions of square feet in Hartford’s
downtown office towers.
“This building is in many ways like an anchor at a mall, it
drives people into the general fabric,” Freimuth said.
Mike Smith, general manager of the Urban Lodge Brewing Co.,
located on Pratt Street across from the PeoplesBank Arena, said his revenues
typically more than double on event nights.
Area businesses are all looking forward to the arena’s
reopening, he said, and customers are regularly asking about progress.
“Pretty much, with any of the events over there, we always
get some level of extra business,” Smith said. “We are excited about the
project and what it means for us and all of the small businesses in the area.”
Max Hospitality Group CEO and President Scott Smith said
UConn basketball games drive a roughly 30% increase in business at his
company’s three downtown eateries — Max Downtown, Trumbull Kitchen and Max Bar.
Concerts with top-tier headliners pack his restaurants to
capacity, he said.
“With big concerts, we sell out,” Scott Smith said. “I would
say we can double the sales when there is a big act coming through. … Anything
that will bring more attention and more activity downtown is good for us. We
thrive when there are concerts, games and other activities.”