🔒Flying South: AdvanceCT is latest statewide economic development agency to make New Haven home

New Haven has become a destination for state organizations focused on retaining and recruiting businesses in Connecticut.

That’s according to the latest one to make the Elm City its home. AdvanceCT, the state’s nonprofit business-recruitment arm, moved into the popular office/coworking space known as District in late September.

It followed behind CT Innovations (CI), the state’s quasi-public venture capital arm that relocated its headquarters from Rocky Hill to District’s New Haven innovation campus at 470 James St., about two years ago.

Peter Denious — president and CEO of AdvanceCT, which also had previously been in Rocky Hill — cites multiple reasons for the organization’s move to southern Connecticut.

“We were ready to be in a new space,” Denious said. “That [Rocky Hill] space was a little old and tired, and it didn’t really represent us, our brand or the image we are trying to sell to people outside of the state. A move was long overdue.”

Once the decision to move was made, the question was where to go.

“Why New Haven and why District? We wanted to be in a place and a part of the state that spoke to what we are trying to do,” he said. “New Haven is a young city, it is a very diverse city, it is a university town. It is rooted in innovation and has got a very exciting innovation ecosystem, particularly in the life sciences, a key sector we are focused on trying to develop further.”

New Haven’s central location was also a factor, according to Denious, who noted that the organization’s staff can travel to all 169 towns and municipalities more quickly, with the I-95 and I-91 corridors converging here.

AdvanceCT, formerly known as the Connecticut Economic Resource Center, now has 22 people working at District, a rehabilitated former bus garage known for its modern, open atmosphere.

AdvanceCT’s new space was renovated to suit its needs.

“[District] is filled with innovation, and people and activity, and it is right in the middle of the state,” Denious said. “Our space is simple, clean and inviting. We are able to show Connecticut off when we bring a client here. The coworking space here, and the other companies that are here make it a great way to showcase Connecticut and New Haven.”

David Salinas, CEO and co-founder of District, said he would like to think that CI and AdvanceCT have relocated there solely because of what District has created.

“I don't think these choices are a reflection on Hartford, but more so a realization that New Haven is the nucleus of the state,” Salinas said. “[It is] a center point between New York City and Boston, the middle ground of the state between the major cities.”

Education hub

David Sacco, a faculty member with the University of New Haven’s Pompea College of Business, said the two organizations’ decisions to open locations in the Elm City, “indicates a willingness to accept realities of the market.”

Sacco echoed the geographic appeal of being between Boston and New York, both hubs for innovation.

“Being along the I-95 corridor makes more sense, it is bound to attract people who want access to other areas,” Sacco said. “New Haven itself is an education hub. It is not an accident that Silicon Valley is where it is, with engineering schools nearby.”

Being located near Yale University makes sense, Sacco noted, given its history of spinning off companies. Area talent and Yale’s research capabilities are also key attractors, according to Sacco.

“Startups need talent and financing, being in New Haven puts you closer to both of those than being in Hartford,” Sacco said. “You have proximity to Yale and Fairfield County financial markets, and proximity to New York City.”

The state’s population density is also a factor. Bridgeport, Stamford and New Haven are the state’s three most populous cities, followed by Hartford, according to 2020 U.S. Census data.

AdvanceCT’s new location is right next door to CI, which has invested in dozens of companies, such as New Haven’s Biohaven Pharmaceuticals and Arvinas. The quasi-public agency, which also has satellite locations in Hartford and Stamford, has indicated it plans to invest some $200 million in Connecticut startups in the coming years.

CI CEO Matt McCooe has said the move to New Haven allowed it to be close to the Elm City’s life science companies.

“The decision the board made was to move into urban centers and to be close to innovators,” McCooe said. “We also have the Hartford and Stamford locations, so we are distributed across the state. New Haven is our headquarters because it is more centrally located and easy to get to other parts of the state.”

Growth opportunities

AdvanceCT, which works closely with the state Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD), has several focus areas: business retention and expansion, attracting businesses to relocate to the state, marketing Connecticut, and partnering on statewide economic development projects. AdvanceCT also helps connect businesses to resources to help them navigate any difficulties they are encountering.

The team has partnered with Gov. Ned Lamont, DECD and others to score key economic development wins, Denious said.

Recent success stories include the September announcement that kitchen products maker GE Appliances plans to open a location in Stamford that will serve as a mini-factory, makerspace and showroom.

Another recent win involved HCL Technologies, a global IT business that has a new Hartford location that will create 200-plus jobs.

“That was a many months project with many of our stakeholders and partners, to make that work,” Denious said, noting that AdvanceCT’s board includes top business leaders who are on the frontlines of recruitment efforts.

In December, Milford-based Aquinas Consulting, which helps companies with their staffing needs, announced it was expanding its workforce in the state with at least 30 new workers.

Denious said he sees more opportunities for growth in the New Haven and southern Connecticut areas.

AdvanceCT will continue to focus on the life sciences area, which New Haven is becoming known for.

The organization plans to work closely with Yale University and other institutions and stakeholders, such as The Jackson Laboratory in Farmington, and BioCT, which has locations at District and in Groton.

“We are really trying to build that ecosystem within Connecticut, by really supporting company creation,” Denious said. “Yale has been fabulous in this regard, spinning out more than a dozen companies in recent years, and this is obviously leading to all kinds of jobs and investment. We very much want to support that.”

Other life sciences hubs, such as in Boston, have space shortages, and AdvanceCT is marketing Connecticut as an attractive location that offers space at a lower cost and is “full of incredible talent, and anchored by a world-class academic institution,” Denious said.

Connecticut has experienced population growth, partly due to the pandemic, and had recent fiscal surpluses, both factors that Denious said make the state more competitive.

Recently announced state initiatives are also helping to make the state more attractive, according to Denious.

In October, Lamont announced the launch of two new competitive grant programs aimed at creating jobs, boosting municipalities and promoting new public-private partnerships to accelerate economic growth.

Under the Innovation Corridor program, DECD is picking two or more proposals for major urban areas or regional economic centers. The department expects to grant up to $100 million in total over five years. Under the Connecticut Communities Challenge program, DECD will fund projects that improve livability, vibrancy, and appeal of communities, with half of the funds geared toward distressed municipalities.

“We have to take advantage of the wind being at our back for once in Connecticut,” Denious said. “I don’t want to ring the bell and call it a victory lap. There is enormous work to do.”