HAMDEN, CONN. — Press/Cuozzo Commercial Services has arranged the sale of a four-building apartment portfolio located at 63-69 and 75 Fairview Ave. and 154-164 Warner St. in Hamden. The portfolio, which features a total of 18 units, sold for $1.1 million. Stephen Press of Press/Cuozzo represented the owner, Tomer Real Estate Associates, and procured the buyer, Warner-Fairview LLC, in the transaction.
WOLCOTT, CONN. — Sequel Special Products has acquired an industrial facility located at 1 Hillside Dr. in Wolcott. Silversword Property LLC sold the 37,000-square-foot property for $2.4 million. The medical device manufacturing company will relocate operations from 122 Avenue of Industry in Waterbury, Conn. The former tenant, Alden Manufacturing, is relocating to its sister facility in Wolcott. Gerry Matthews of Matthews Commercial Properties was the sole broker in the deal.
TRUMBULL, CONN. — Massachusetts-based National Development, in partnership with EPOCH Senior Living, has begun construction on Bridges by EPOCH at Trumbull, a state-of-the-art memory community in Trumbull. Located at 2415 Reservoir Ave., the 64-unit apartment complex is slated to open in summer 2015. Bridges by EPOCH will feature a 24-hour specially-trained health care staff. The project team includes Boston-based CBT as architect; Portsmouth, N.H.-based JSA Inc. as interior designer; and Middletown, Conn.-based C.E. Floyd Company as general contractor.
WESTPORT, CONN. — GHP Office Realty LLC has acquired a retail shopping center located at 20 Saugatuck Ave. in Westport for an undisclosed price. The 19,000-square-foot center was vacant at the time of sale. The buyer has a $2 million capital improvement program slated for the property to redevelop it into a Class A multi-tenant shopping center. Upgrades will include installation of a new modern glass façade, awning and signage; installation of new mechanicals and gas service; new landscaping; resurfacing and re-striping of the parking lot; and resurfacing the roof. Additional terms of the transaction were not released. GHP Office Realty is a division of Houlihan-Parnes Realtors LLC.
ROCKY HILL, CONN. — West Hempstead, N.Y.-based GTJ REIT has acquired a single-story industrial property in Rocky Hill for an undisclosed price. Situated on 12 acres, the 92,500-square-foot property was retrofitted and renovated in 2008. The facility is currently leased and occupied through June 2023 by the Connecticut Lottery Corp. This is GTJ’s first acquisition of 2015; in 2014, the firm completed five transactions across the tri-state area. Terms of the transaction were not released.
Apartment rents and multifamily asset values are rising while vacancy remains low in Connecticut’s New Haven and Fairfield counties. Young professionals and commuters are moving out of suburban areas to reside in downtown locations so they can take advantage of transit-oriented, live-work-play environments. Costly single-family housing is another factor contributing to new residents seeking rentals rather than buying homes. There is a strong demand for apartments, which keeps vacancy low and prompts new development in the region, so much so that delivery of multifamily housing units this year will more than double those built in 2013. Demand however, outweighs the new supply and the current, record-low vacancy levels will be unaffected. Average prices for apartment assets in New Haven and Fairfield counties rose 3 percent over the last year to $169,000 per unit as the overall quality of listings improved. While the region experiences strong rent growth and higher yields than the likes of New York City and Boston, more foreign investors and institutional buyers continue to emerge with sights set on multifamily assets; and in particular, top-tier assets with more than 250 units in primary markets. Properties near Metro North commuter rail stations and employment centers will generate elevated …
STAMFORD, CONN. — Deloitte has taken occupancy of its new offices at BLT Financial Centre at 200 Elm St. in downtown Stamford. The 117,700-square-foot space was tailored to accommodate Deloitte’s Next Generation Workplace, a collaborative environment with flexible workstations. BLT Financial Centre recently underwent a comprehensive renovation and repositioning program. The property comprises two six-story interconnected buildings and features a four-story glass atrium main lobby and 1,400 covered parking spaces. Building and Land Technology owns the 594,000-square-foot property, which it acquired in 2011.
Large-scale new retail development in Connecticut has historically been relegated to super-regional markets or traditional retail nodes — north of Fairfield County, for the most part. It’s really a simple formula: strong national and regional retailers typically want to be surrounded by dynamic retail synergy, and if there’s a great enough demand for a specific market, developers jump on the opportunity to capitalize. It’s happened in Manchester/South Windsor, it’s happened in Milford and its happened in Danbury. From time to time we see pockets of development in less traditional markets but overall, developers stick to “less risky” markets where demand is imminent and the municipalities are of the pro-development variety. Recently, though, larger-scale developments in smaller towns are starting to appear more frequently and retailers and brokers seem to be slowly embracing the emerging trend. Are we running out of developable land in the super regional markets? I don’t think this is the case. I think developers are recognizing that well-placed, large-scale retail projects in smaller towns are garnering significant interest from national brands of all sizes. Developers have had success getting the ever-important anchors to these sites, and that is more than half the battle. -Smaller-format retailers follow in …
SHELTON, CONN. — Continental Properties has broken ground for the development of The Mark | Fairfield County, a 228-unit residential community located in Shelton. Located at 740 Bridgeport Ave., the six-building property will feature 96 one-bedroom units, 132 two-bedroom units, a clubhouse, cinema room, library, sports lounge, fitness center, EV car charger, private dining room, pool cabana, fire pot, two gazebos and a dog park. The property is slated for completion in 2016.
ROCKY HILL AND BERLIN, CONN. — O,R&L Commercial has brokered the $4.63 million sale of a four-building office portfolio in Berlin and Cromwell. Universal Enterprise LLC purchased the properties, which includes one building in Berlin and three buildings in Cromwell, for $4.63 million from RH Medical Center Associates LLC and Mill Crossing Associates, respectively. The 12,000-square-foot medical office building, located at 546 Cromwell Ave. in Rocky Hill, sold for $1.6 million, and the 35,000-square-foot Mill Crossing, located at 1224 Mill St. in Berlin, sold for $3.03 million. The buyer plans to expand the three-building complex at Mill Crossing to include a fourth building featuring 10,000 square feet of office/medical office space. Jay Morris of O,R&L Commercial represented all parties in the transaction.
