THE DAY (February 7, 2020) — Local and regional economic development officials on Friday cheered the submission of plans for the long-awaited manufacturing expansion by Nordson EFD LLC in the Norwich Business Park, expected to bring a variety of manufacturing jobs to the region.

Nordson, the former Plas-Pak Industries, manufactures precision measuring and dispensing devices for medical and manufacturing uses at its plant at 10 Connecticut Ave. in the Stanley Israelite Norwich Business Park. The company submitted plans this week for a 53,880-square-foot, or 37%, expansion to the existing 142,782-square-foot building.

The expansion plans come as the Concentra Urgent Care Center moved out of the building to the former Shoeniverse shoe store at 315 W. Main St.

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THE BULLETIN (February 4, 2020) — When Viking Fuel moved into the former Wonder Hostess Bakery Thriftshop on West Main Street in 2013, there was a lot of work to do on the building. This included fixing the heating and redoing the parking lot. However with so many things to do, owner David Spurgas said addressing the old sign by the road was not on his list of priorities.

“We would sell it, because people tell us it has value,” he said.

Throughout the city, there are numerous signs for businesses that aren’t around anymore. Some are freestanding, like the Wonder Hostess Bakery Thriftshop sign in front of Viking Oil.

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THE BULLETIN (January 27, 2020) — Robert Bell, owner of Bell Logistics, LLC, has worked from his Norwich home for almost the entire time since establishing his company in 2009. He wanted to get an office space so he “can continue to look like a legitimate business,” while also offering opportunities to other businesses.

The Norwich B2B (Business to Business) Center will open on Saturday. Located at 65 Main St., The B2B Center has room for five offices, with space for one or two employees, a conference room, and a co-working common area. The building the B2B Center is in is not owned by Bell, but is owned by the Norwich Savings Society, LLC.

So far, the B2B center will be occupied by Bell’s company and UNIFY Business Solutions. However, Bell will let other businesses make use of just the common area and the conference room at a cheaper rate than having one of the offices.

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THE BULLETIN (January 20, 2020) — American Systems says it is moving into a larger home at the Stanley Israelite Business Park in Norwich.

Peter Smith, president and CEO of American Systems, said the company will move from its current 20,000 square foot location at 40 Wisconsin Ave. to 243 Vergason Ave., which is 30,000 square feet. He said the move should be completed by March with no interruption of service during the move.

“We were very pleased to remain in Norwich, and in the same business park,” he said.

Smith said the added space will allow American Systems to add to its labs, manufacturing, packaging, and inventory. Smith wants to add 50 more employees at the Norwich location, for a total of 150 employees.

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THE BULLETIN (January 14, 2020) — Robert Mucciarone, of a wholesale plumbing supply company, has been interested in opening a location in town for a few years.

Now he has a chance.

Mucciarone, the chief operating officer of the Bedford, Mass.-based FW Webb Company, said the business is planning to purchase the former Benny’s building at 33 New London Turnpike to use as a distribution center and warehouse.

The company filed a zoning permit application Friday to renovate the 20,900-square-foot space. Mucciarone hopes to start work on the property in a couple months and to have the project completed by the end of 2020.

Deanna Rhodes, Norwich city planner, said the project includes adding green space in the parking lot, a fenced-in storage area, and new offices.

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THE BULLETIN (January 12, 2020) — When Viking Fuel moved into the former Wonder Hostess Bakery Thriftshop on West Main Street in 2013, there was a lot of work to do on the building. This included fixing the heating and redoing the parking lot. However with so many things to do, owner David Spurgas said addressing the old sign by the road was not on his list of priorities.

“We would sell it, because people tell us it has value,” he said.

Throughout the city, there are numerous signs for businesses that aren’t around anymore. Some are freestanding, like the Wonder Hostess Bakery Thriftshop sign in front of Viking Oil.

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THE DAY (December 9, 2019) — A three-day online auction starts at 3 p.m. Tuesday to sell the Marina at American Wharf at Norwich Harbor either in its entirety or broken up into subsections.

The sale could bring to a close the city’s troubled relationship with current owner Joyal Capital Management LLC.

Joyal has had the marina property for sale for the past two years with an asking price of $1.8 million, and prospective buyers have come and gone without completing a deal. Joyal Capital Management now has enlisted the real estate auction firm Tranzon to conduct a three-day online only auction from 3 p.m. Tuesday through 3 p.m. Friday.

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THE DAY (November 29, 2019) — When Julio Cancho and his father, Jose, opened Canggio’s Restaurant & Bar at 20 Lafayette St. in August 2017, Julio quietly set a goal for himself to open three businesses within five years.

Canggio’s, a Peruvian restaurant “with a twist” of modern American cuisine, is doing well, so Julio Cancho started thinking about his second venture. A friend had owned the former Water Works tavern at 685 N. Main St. in Greeneville and offered to sell the business to the Canchos.

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THE BULLETIN (November 6, 2019) — A lot of scenes in “Holiday for Heroes” are going to look very familiar when the Gavner family gathers around the television in their Colchester home to watch the Hallmark premiere on Friday.

The antique colonial on Jurach Road was one of several locations in southeastern Connecticut chosen by Synthetic Cinema International producer Andrew Gernhard for his latest release on the popular cable channel.

The movie arm of the Hallmark greeting card company is known for traditional, family-friendly love stories with a seasonal focus.

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THE DAY (October 31, 2019) — Local economic development officials spoke positively of the inaugural conference on opportunity zones the state held Wednesday, a topic that also came up at the New England Real Estate Journal’s inaugural Connecticut Summit held Thursday at Mohegan Sun.

Development projects on tracts included in the federal Opportunity Zone Program are eligible for federal tax incentives for investors. Connecticut has 72 opportunity zones, including three in New London, three in Norwich and one in Groton.

In between summit sessions Thursday, New London Planning Director Felix Reyes told The Day the insight that stuck with him the most came from Erik Johnson, his counterpart in Hartford: The opportunity zone is not about a grand slam or a $500 million development, but starting with one developer and one project.

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