The president and CEO of Ideanomics has suspended all work on a proposed financial technology center at the former UConn campus in West Hartford, citing “regrettable and unreconcilable differences with the State of Connecticut.”
On Thursday evening, the company said it was working with the Lamont administration and local elected officials to get the project back on track.
Last Friday, Alfred Poor, CEO and president of Ideanomics, wrote in an email that the company had stopped “all activities” at the site, located at Trout Brook Drive and Asylum Avenue, because of unspecified problems with the state.
Gov. Ned Lamont, who met with Poor this week, declined to comment.
Ideanomics is a New York- and China-based company focusing on financial technology. The company purchased the former UConn campus for $5.2 million in 2018 and planned to build a $283 million center for financial services technology. The proposed “Fintech Village” at the former UConn campus was slated to bring 330 jobs to the area.
Former Gov. Dannel Malloy offered Ideanomics a $10 million loan to redevelop the site. The loan has potential to convert into a grant if Ideanomics meets certain job creation targets at Fintech Village.
But Poor said that the cooperation his company had with Malloy has not transferred to Lamont’s administration.
“The spirit of the property acquisition and the suggested support we would receive has not been carried over during the change of administration,” Poor wrote. “This has created a situation whereby the company needs to reevaluate the viability of the project within the state.”
Following Poor’s email last week, Ideanomics representatives met on Tuesday with Lamont, members of his team, and local officials including state Sen. Derek Slap and West Hartford Mayor Shari Cantor.
Slap said that Poor’s email prompted that meeting.
A spokesman for the state Department of Economic and Community Development, James Watson, declined to comment on any details of the meeting.
The department “does not disclose any details about discussions or negotiations taking place with a company,” Watson said.
Following the meeting, Poor said that his company meets regularly with the governor’s staff to discuss a wide variety of topics.
“The conversations with the state and local officials are multifaceted,” Poor said.
He declined to comment on the details of Tuesday’s meeting.
In a statement issued Thursday evening, however, Poor looked toward the future.
“We had a very positive meeting with Governor Lamont on Tuesday, and as a result we believe an equitable solution has been reached to move forward with Fintech Village,” Poor said.
Cantor focused on the remediation of the former campus, which is contaminated with toxic PCBs. As part of Ideanomics’ purchase of the property, the company agreed to remediate the campus before developing it.
Poor told the Courant in February that the remediation would cost in the millions of dollars.
“The remediation of this large parcel of land is very important to the town of West Hartford,” Cantor said. “I appreciate the collaborative efforts of the state … along with the owners of the property to make progress on the remediation.”
Following Tuesday’s meeting, both Cantor and Slap said they felt all parties were committed to getting Fintech Village operations, including remediation, moving again.
Slap said he believes that “the state wants to be a good partner” to Ideanomics.
“I walked out of there believing that … things are back on track,” Slap said. “It was a positive meeting and I think that everybody in attendance was committed to moving forward.”
