Fairfield County Business Journal articles from April 1992

Fairfield County Business Journal archives from April 1992

'Theater wars' continue in Bridgeport and Fairfield. (theater complexes of National Amusements Inc. and Loews Theater Corp.)
April 6, 1992... The race to construct a movie theater complex on the Bridgeport-Fairfield line appears to have been won by National Amusements Inc. as it breaks ground in Bridgeport, but Loews Theater Corp. is not quitting the contest. Loews still plans to...

Bucking trend, ITT Hartford expands its personal insurance business. (ITT Hartford Insurance Group) (Focus: Banking/Finance)
April 6, 1992... For nearly 40 years, insurance companies that sell personal auto and homeowners policies through independent agents have been losing business to insurers that sell to customers through their own sales force. ITT Hartford Insurance Group plans...

Bank, Frank Mercede Jr. hammer out agreement on $31 million in debts. (First Constitution Bank; Frank Mercede Jr. Construction Group)
April 13, 1992... Frank Mercede Jr. and a major lender reached a settlement to avoid $31 million in foreclosure actions against the Stamford developer, the Business Journal has learned. First Constitution Bank of New Haven agreed with Mercede not to pursue its...

State convinces manufacturer to stay. (Silikal North America remains in Connecticut)
April 13, 1992... Connecticut claimed a victory in its war to retain business with a Stratford company's decision to relocate to Waterbury, rather than to North Carolina. The company, Silikal North America, was swayed by an incentive package from the state and...

Rampart Group negotiates troubled waters. (financial advice services)
April 13, 1992... When a bank fails, it can leave its company-clients high and dry without a credit line. Suppliers and other creditors want their money, but the company has no cash to pay them. Is bankruptcy the only answer? No, says John Hyde, whose financial...

Performance Partnership Group helps that competitive edge. (personal and management development programs)
April 13, 1992... After 25 years of the corporate life, Peter Laqueur decided it was time to do something different. He drew up a plan for a management development firm, invested $40,000 and, with son, Jon P. Laqueur, established The Performance Partnership Group...

Reilly family promotes sport of platform tennis from ground up. (R.J. Reilly Jr. Inc.)
April 13, 1992... Kathy Reilly, executive director of R.J. Reilly Jr. Inc., hadn't planned to work in her father's business. After graduating from Dartmouth College in 1985, she changed her mind. Today, the 29-year-old psychology major manages the first and...

1988: the economic slump begins. (Focus: 25th Anniversary Salute to the Business Journals)
April 13, 1992... In 1988, Fairfield County was beginning to feel the widening impact of the stock market crash that occurred in October 1987. Activity in the commercial and residential real estate sectors and the construction industry started to slow down as...

D'Addario contends property deals will avert foreclosure: company threatens to countersue lender. (Lafayette Bank and Trust Co. files suit against David D'Addario)
April 20, 1992... Lafayette Bank and Trust Co. has filed a multimillion-dollar foreclosure action against Darien and Stratford properties owned by D'Addario Industries, which itself is threatening to sue the bank. Company chief executive David D'Addario called...

Sale sparks a condo war. (condominium purchase angers owners of neighboring condominiums)
April 20, 1992... A Cheshire developer's purchase of a partially completed Bridgeport condominium project for the bargain price of $440,000 has angered the owners of neighboring condominiums, who claim their property values will be lowered as a result of the sale....

Fairfield County office market remains dormant in first quarter.
April 20, 1992... Leasing activity reports from several of Fairfield County's major commercial office brokers show a very ho-hum first three months of 1992. The commercial firms, all of which gauge vacancy rates by differing criteria, reported little or no...

Chase Connecticut acquires Fairfield County Trust Co. (Chase Manhattan Bank of Connecticut)
April 20, 1992... The state banking commissioner closed Fairfield County Trust Co. of Stamford on April 9, and the bank's branches, deposits and some assets were transferred to Chase Manhattan Bank of Connecticut. Fairfield County Trust, created by last year's...

U.S. retailers, manufacturers failing to take advantage of 'quick response.' (quick response inventory systems)
April 20, 1992... A relatively new approach to retailer-manufacturer cooperation -- quick response -- is catching on, but not fast enough for some, according to a recent Coopers & Lybrand survey. Those who learn the game well, American retailers and the...

Building owners may find savings by challenging tax assessments. (Focus: Real Estate & Environment)
April 20, 1992... Commercial building owners contend with many expenses in the course of running their businesses. Construction, maintenance, office operation and many other costs all have to be watched with a sharp eye to keep expenditures at a minimum and remain...

Commercial office market outlook remains bleak for the near term. (Focus: Real Estate & Environment)
April 20, 1992... Long the bellwether of the commercial real estate market, office buildings enter 1992 as a universally troubled property category, comparable only to hotels in their contribution to investor distress. Offices are primarily responsible for the...

Downtown Stamford loses another office building to foreclosure. (One Atlantic Street L.P. building taken over by Mutual Life Insurance Company of New York)
April 27, 1992... One Atlantic Street, an eight-story, 79,000-square-foot Stamford building, was awarded to an insurance company after its owner defaulted on over $17 million in debt. Last year's failure of major tenant Connecticut Bank & Trust Co. was blamed...

FDIC sets a $5.5 million opening bid for 47 lots in trendy Southport Ridge. (Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.)
April 27, 1992... The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. has placed the remaining 47 unsold and vacant lots of Southport Ridge, a premier Fairfield subdivision, on the auction block for a suggested minimum bidding price of $5.5 million. Southport Ridge is a 79-lot...

Noise Cancellation Technologies ventures to prove silence is golden.
April 27, 1992... Life in the not-too-distant future may sound quite different: a trip aboard an airliner without the annoying whine of jet engines; a dishwasher spinning through its cycles in silence; a midtown office building impervious to the din of the streets...

SNET Telemarketing fine-tunes phone techniques. (SNET Telemarketing Consulting Group) (Focus: Telecom/Office Products)
April 27, 1992... "What we have here is a failure to communicate." So says the chain-gang boss in the movie "Cool Hand Luke," describing a prisoner who repeatedly doesn't get "the message." The situation is mirrored, albeit in a less violent setting, in...

Option One unleashes computer power. (desktop publishing services) (Focus: Telecom/Office Products)
April 27, 1992... As a market researcher in an area flush with market researchers, Pat Sabena was looking for something to set her work apart and help win clients. The obvious choice was her presentations, the final reports that tell clients everything learned...