CT giving Oakleaf $3M to remain in state

The state is chipping in $3 million to help Oakleaf Waste Management move its East Hartford home base to bigger quarters in Windsor, where it will add 427 jobs to the former American Airlines building on Day Hill Road.

The cost of the 10-mile move, plus needed upgrades to the facility, are tagged at more than $5 million, according to the waste remover and recycler.

As part of the move, Oakleaf plans to add 40 positions to its Connecticut workforce of 387, state officials said.

Oakleaf is currently headquartered in an office building at 800 Connecticut Blvd., on the westbound side of I-84 and across from Hoffman Lexus. Oakleaf had previously indicated that it was running out of space there.

Oakleaf was considering out-of-state locations for its headquarters, including Georgia, Florida and Arizona, state officials said.

The state’s $3 million grant, which Oakleaf won’t have to repay, is on the agenda for funding when the state Bond Commission meets July 13.

“We are helping this company to expand and grow jobs right here in Connecticut,” said Gov. M. Jodi Rell, who announced the move Wednesday morning.  “Oakleaf is one of the fastest growing companies in its industry.  They chose to locate in Connecticut, they are choosing to stay in Connecticut, and we want them to continue to be an industry leader.”

Oakleaf was founded in 1995 by East Hartford entrepreneur Jim Barnes, the former CEO who built the business into a $700 million enterprise. Barnes also started a cleaning-services affiliate, FM Facilities Maintenance.

Barnes stepped down from the company in 2009, passing the reigns onto Steven Preston, a former administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration under former President George W. Bush.

Oakleaf contracts with 5,000 waste haulers across the country to serve residential, retail, commercial and industrial customers, including Wal-Mart Stores Inc.

American Airlines vacated the Day Hill Road building in late 2009, shutting its call center there and consolidating them in Texas, Arizona and North Carolina. 

The airline had two years left on its lease.