For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms shall have the following meanings unless the context indicates another meaning and intent:

(a) “Department” means the Department of Economic and Community Development or its successor agency.

(b) “State” means the state of Connecticut.

(c) “Municipality” means any town, city or borough in the state.

(d) “Project” means any facility, plant, works, system, building, structure, utility, fixture or other real property improvement located in the state, any machinery, equipment, furniture, fixture or other personal property to be located in the state and the land on which it is located or which is reasonably necessary in connection therewith, which is of a nature or which is to be used or occupied by any person for purposes which would constitute it as an economic development project, information technology project, public service project, urban project, recreation project, commercial fishing project, health care project, the convention center project, as defined in subdivision (3) of § 32-600, nonprofit project or remediation project, and any real property improvement reasonably related thereto. A project may be acquired (1) directly, or (2) indirectly through the purchase of all or substantially all of the stock of a corporation.

(e) “Eligible financial institution” means any trust company, bank, savings bank, credit union, savings and loan association, insurance company, investment company, mortgage banker, trustee, executor, pension fund, retirement fund or other fiduciary or financial institution, the state or, to the extent otherwise permitted by law, any municipality, or any political subdivision, instrumentality, agency or body politic and corporate thereof, which is approved by the corporation to participate in the financing of a project.

(f) “Cost of project” as determined by the corporation means the cost or fair market value of construction, lands, property rights, utility extensions, disposal facilities, access roads, easements, franchises, financing charges, interest, engineering and legal services, plans, specifications, surveys, cost estimates, studies and other expenses necessary or incident to the development, construction, financing and placing in operation of a project and, subject to the provisions of § 32-16, the cost or fair market value of machinery, equipment, furniture, fixtures or other personal property of a project.

(g) “Insurance fund” means the Mortgage and Loan Insurance Fund created by § 32-14.

(h) “Maturity date” means the date on which the mortgage indebtedness would be extinguished if paid in accordance with periodic payments provided for in the mortgage.

(i) “Mortgage” means a mortgage or lien on a project together with credit instruments, if any, secured thereby, or any other agreement for the extension of credit or making of a loan related to the financing of a project or any portions thereof or interest therein, however evidenced, including financing by means of a lease or a conditional or installment sales agreement, or any pool of or interest in any of the foregoing financed from any source.

(j) “Mortgagee” means the original lender or other provider of credit under the mortgage or participants therein, and their successors and assigns, approved by the corporation and may include, but is not limited to, all eligible financial institutions and, except as used in § 32-17a, the corporation as defined in subsection (v) of this section.

(k) “Mortgagor” includes the successors and assigns of the mortgagor.

(l) “Mortgage payments” means payments called for by a mortgage, and may include, but is not limited to, interest, installments of principal, taxes and assessments, mortgage insurance premiums and hazard insurance premiums.

(m) “Mortgage year” means the annual period measured by the date or the anniversary of the date of the execution of the mortgage.

(n) “Principal obligation” means the sum total of all mortgage payments due from the mortgagor.

(o) “Municipal planning commission” means a municipal planning commission created under chapter 126.

(p) “Regional council of governments” means a regional council of governments created under § 4-124j.

(q) “Federal agency” means the United States, the president of the United States and any department of, or corporation, agency or instrumentality designated or established by, the United States.

(r) “Revenues” means receipts, revenues, service charges, rentals or other payments to be received on account of lease, mortgage, conditional sale, sale or loan agreements and payments and any other income derived from the lease, sale or other disposition of a project, moneys in such reserve and insurance funds or accounts or other funds and accounts and income from the investment thereof, established in connection with the issuance of bonds, notes or other obligations for a project or projects, and fees, charges or other moneys to be received by the corporation in respect of projects and contracts with persons.

(s) “Person” means any person, including individuals, firms, partnerships, associations, cooperatives, limited liability companies or corporations, public or private, for profit or nonprofit, organized or existing under the laws of the state or any other state, and, to the extent otherwise permitted by law, any municipality, district, including any special district having taxing powers, agency, authority, instrumentality, or other governmental entity or political subdivision in the state or any federal agency.

(t) “Economic development project” means any project which is to be used or occupied by any person for (1) manufacturing, industrial, research, office or product warehousing or distribution purposes or hydroponic or aquaponic food production purposes and which the corporation determines will tend to maintain or provide gainful employment, maintain or increase the tax base of the economy, or maintain, expand or diversify industry in the state, or (2) controlling, abating, preventing or disposing land, water, air or other environmental pollution, including without limitation thermal, radiation, sewage, wastewater, solid waste, toxic waste, noise or particulate pollution, except resources recovery facilities, as defined in § 22a-219a, used for the principal purpose of processing municipal solid waste and which are not expansions or additions to resources recovery facilities operating on July 1, 1990, or (3) the conservation of energy or the utilization of cogeneration technology or solar, wind, hydro, biomass or other renewable sources to produce energy for any industrial or commercial application, or (4) any other purpose which the corporation determines will materially contribute to the economic base of the state by creating or retaining jobs, promoting the export of products or services beyond state boundaries, encouraging innovation in products or services, or otherwise contributing to, supporting or enhancing existing activities that are important to the economic base of the state.

(u) “Commissioner” means the Commissioner of Economic and Community Development.

(v) “Corporation” means Connecticut Innovations, Incorporated, as established and created pursuant to § 32-35.

(w) “Capital reserve fund bond” means any bond of the corporation secured by a special capital reserve fund established pursuant to this chapter.

(x) “Recreation project” means any project which is to be primarily available for the use of the general public including without limitation stadiums, sports complexes, amusement parks, museums, theaters, civic, concert, cultural and exhibition centers, centers for the visual and performing arts, hotels, motels, resorts, inns and other public lodging accommodations and which the corporation determines will tend to (1) promote tourism, (2) provide a special enhancement of recreation facilities in the state, or (3) contribute to the business or industrial development of the state.

(y) “Public service project” means any project which is to be used or occupied by a common carrier or public utility to provide bus, truck, rail, limousine, water or air transportation services or water, sewer, gas, electricity, or telephone utility services, and which the corporation determines will tend to assist the common carrier or public utility in providing service to the general public in the state. A public service project may include ferry boats or railroad rolling stock, but may not include any other vehicle, aircraft or watercraft.

(z) “Urban project” means any project which is to be used or occupied by any person for commercial or retail sales or service purposes located wholly or partly within an urban municipality in the state and which the corporation determines will tend (1) to maintain or provide gainful construction or permanent employment, maintain or expand the tax base of the economy or maintain, expand or diversify industry in the state, or (2) to otherwise revitalize the economy of the urban municipality. An “urban municipality”, for the purposes of this definition, means any municipality which is a “distressed municipality” as defined in subsection (b) of § 32-9p.

(aa) “Commercial fishing project” means any project which is to be used or occupied by any person for commercial fishing purposes or for support, maintenance, storage, production, or manufacturing purposes reasonably related to commercial fishing activity, including without limitation commercial fishing vessels, docks, wharves, piers, land or floating processing facilities, transportation terminals, facilities for the maintenance, storage, and construction of vessels and equipment, and fish storage and handling facilities.

(bb) “Health care project” means any project which is to be used or occupied by any person for the providing of services in any residential care home, nursing home or rest home, as defined in subsections (c) and (o) of § 19a-490, or for the providing of living space for physically handicapped persons or persons sixty years of age or older.

(cc) “Nonprofit project” means any project which (1) is to be used or occupied by any person organized and operated not for profit but exclusively for health, educational, charitable, community, cultural, agricultural, consumer or other purposes benefiting the citizens of the state, or as an agricultural or hospital cooperative or service organization or as a chamber of commerce or trade or professional association, and (2) which the corporation determines satisfies a public need not adequately met by businesses operating for profit.

(dd) “Information technology project” means any project (1) providing information technology intensive office or laboratory space, including, but not limited to, smart buildings, incubator facilities, or any project that is to be used or occupied by any person specializing in e-commerce technologies or other technologies using high-speed communications infrastructure, and (2) which the corporation deems will materially contribute to the economic base of the state by creating or retaining jobs, promoting the export of products or services beyond state borders, encouraging innovation in products or services, or otherwise contributing to, supporting or enhancing existing activities that are important to the economic base of the state.

(ee) “Incubator facilities” has the same meaning as incubator facilities in subdivision (5) of § 32-34.

(ff) “Smart building” means a building that houses, for use by its tenants, an information or communications infrastructure capable of transmitting digital video, voice and data content over a high-speed wired, wireless or other communications intranet and provides the capability of delivering and receiving high-speed digital video, voice and data transmissions over the Internet.

(gg) “Remediation project” means any project (1) involving the development, redevelopment or productive reuse of real property within this state that (A) has been subject to a spill, as defined in § 22a-452c, (B) is an establishment, as defined in subdivision (3) of § 22a-134, (C) is a facility, as defined in 42 USC 9601(9), or (D) is eligible to be treated as polluted real property for purposes of § 22a-133m or contaminated real property for purposes of § 22a-133aa or § 22a-133bb, provided the development, redevelopment or productive reuse is undertaken pursuant to a remediation plan meeting all applicable standards and requirements of the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, (2) that the corporation determines will add or support significant new economic activity or employment in the municipality in which such project is located or will otherwise materially contribute to the economic base of the state or the municipality or will provide a residential or mixed-use development pursuant to chapter 828, and (3) for which assistance from the corporation will be needed to attract necessary private investment.