United Technologies has announced plans to move its corporate headquarters from Hartford to Farmington.
"Our remaining headquarters personnel in Hartford are moving 10 miles to UTC-owned space in Farmington later this year," a UTC spokesperson said in an email Thursday evening. "This consolidation of offices is part of an effort to reduce corporate overhead costs."
Hartford Mayor Pedro Segarra said the news wasn't unexpected.
"We've known for a while they've been looking to consolidate and relocate their offices to Farmington, so it doesn't come as a surprise," he explained. "We have been looking and working to get a new tenant in the three floors they occupy of that building."
Segarra said in a statement Thursday that the city is "disappointed" about UTC's decision to move but "confident" that another business will soon move into the space.
"We're going to continue to work with development services to make sure we get a tenant in there as soon as possible. There's a lot of momentum going on in our city and I'm sure that we can recruit someone," Segarra said.
According to Hartford City Councilman Ken Kennedy, about 175 UTC employees will be making the move. Kennedy said he believes the city was officially notified late Wednesday night.
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"I think this has more to do with their situation. They have a nice campus up in Farmington, rather than paying rent for three floors at the Gold Building," Kennedy said, of UTC. "It's not necessarily a huge hole in the budget, but you'd like to see them stay."
Rose Ponte, the director of economic development in Farmington, said in a statement Thursday that the town is "proud to have UTC" and called the corporation "an important contributor to Farmington's vibrant business community."
"They are excellent corporate citizens providing high paying jobs, contributing to our community and making substantial investments updating and maintaining their buildings," Ponte said. "We welcome their additional staff to Farmington and are very happy that they will remain in this region."
Devon Puglia with the governor's office said that Gov. Dannel Malloy "has been in communication with UTC executives and has conveyed that, as they are considering their options, it is in their best interest to keep Sikorsky located in Connecticut."
