HARTFORD — Standing in the Blue Hills Cafe on Albany Avenue Tuesday morning, Hartford Mayor Arunan Arulampalam announced his plans to make things easier for those who run a business in the city — or for those who would like to do so.

Business One Stop, he said, will help current and budding entrepreneurs cut through red tape and regulations to achieve their goals, assisting them with permits, licenses and other paperwork associated with setting up and maintaining a business.

"We want to make Hartford the easiest place to do business in this state," Arulampalam said. "This office will make it easier for you to navigate City Hall."

City officials said that the office will help businesses with issues related to local licenses and inspections procedures, planning and zoning regulations, as well as connecting and informing them about available grants and other financial opportunities. They hope to have the staffing in place and the office running by early February. But a leader, who will report directly to the mayor's office, has been chosen.

That is Don Chapman, a self-described urban planner who spent 18 years working for the city in a variety of roles. He left city employment in 2020 to become executive director of the nonprofit Rebuilding Together Hartford. He resigned from that position in October.

"This (position) is an amalgamation of the other things I've done," Chapman said Tuesday.

Chapman will be paid about $124,000 a year, according to city officials.

Business One Stop will be part of the city's Department of Developmental Services, but will not compete with or duplicate the city's Hart Lift initiative, which provides property owners with funds to help incentivize small businesses to lease their vacant spaces in the city's downtown and neighborhood commercial corridors.

Kirkland Brown, owner of the Blue Hills Cafe, welcomed the announcement.

"Small businesses are the life-blood of the city, and it's so important for the city to help business owners be successful," Brown said. "Everybody benefits."

Arulampalam agreed, saying that from Maple to Albany avenues "this is something that the business community has been asking for."