ROCKY HILL, CONN. — Virginia-based nonprofit United Way has signed a 41,815-square-foot office lease at 55 Capital Blvd. in Rocky Hill, a southern suburb of Hartford. The building is located within the 506,500-square-foot Corporate Ridge development, which offers a fitness center, game room, outdoor gathering areas and a full-service cafeteria. Bob Kelly and Jon Putnam of Cushman & Wakefield represented the landlord, KS Partners LLC, in the lease negotiations. The representative of the tenant was not disclosed.
STAMFORD, CONN. — Urby, a joint venture between Ironstate Development and Brookfield Properties, has delivered the final phase of Stamford Urby, a 641-unit apartment community located in southern coastal Connecticut. Designed by Concrete Amsterdam, the latest phase of the project added 176 units to the 11-building development. Residences are available in studio, one- and two-bedroom formats, with rents starting at approximately $2,075 per month for a studio. Amenities include a pool, outdoor grilling and dining areas, a fitness center, dog park, central courtyard and a coworking lounge.
NORWALK, CONN. — Newmark has negotiated a 20,586-square-foot office lease in the southern coastal Connecticut city of Norwalk. The building at 45 Glover Ave. is located within the Towers at Merritt River development and features a café with indoor and outdoor seating, conference space and a fitness center. Bill Levitsky, James Ritman and Benjamin Goldstein of Newmark represented the tenant, Verition Fund Management, in the lease negotiations. Leslie Whatley internally represented the landlord, Building & Land Technology.
By Elliott Pollack, Esq., Pullman & Comley LLC Although COVID-19 resulted in the pumping of significant dollars from the federal government into municipal and county budgets, generally speaking, property tax assessment offices remain understaffed and undertrained. Many assessors recognize these realities and are successful in convincing local leaders to appropriate funds to retain independent contractors to perform various assessment and collection functions. The theory is that these expenditures are non-recurring and are preferable to staffing assessment offices on a full-time permanent basis. As an example, Connecticut assessors almost always contract with certified revaluation companies to perform statutorily required, community-wide revaluations every five years. They contract with these companies because they simply lack the personnel to do the work themselves. In addition, reliance on outside contractors can, to some degree, insulate municipal staff from angry property owners who are unhappy with their new assessments. Another perhaps unplanned benefit to retaining outside contractors is that unless communications with the contractors can be made promptly after new assessments are published, at least in Connecticut, property owners are compelled to resort to judicial remedies to challenge their values. Since court proceedings tend not to conclude for a year or even more, localities obtain the …
MIDDLETOWN, CONN. — Institutional Property Advisors (IPA), a division of Marcus & Millichap, has negotiated the sale of a portfolio of two multifamily properties totaling 518 units in Middletown, located roughly midway between Hartford and New Haven. The 238-unit Middletown Ridge was built in 1988 on 12 acres. Units have an average size of 1,066 square feet, and amenities include a clubhouse, pool, racquetball court and onsite laundry facilities. The 280-unit Middletown Brooke was constructed in 1988 and features a pool, fitness center and a picnic area. Victor Nolletti, Eric Pentore and Wes Klockner of IPA represented the seller, San Francisco-based investment firm Hamilton Zanze, in the transaction. The trio also procured the buyer, Boston-based Jones Street Investment Partners.
BRIDGEPORT, CONN. — Eastern Union has arranged a $28 million acquisition loan for a portfolio of 13 multifamily properties totaling 437 units in Bridgeport, located in southern coastal Connecticut. Motti Blau, Mendy Pfeifer, Hershy Fried and Dov Bakon of Eastern Union originated the 10-year loan, which was structured with a 5.25 percent fixed interest rate, a 30-year amortization schedule and five years of interest-only payments. KeyBank provided the financing. The borrower was not disclosed.
HARTFORD, CONN. — Marcus & Millichap has brokered the sale of a 28-unit apartment building located at 385 Main St. in downtown Hartford. The five-story building houses 25 one-bedroom residences and three two-bedroom units. Eric Pentore, Ross Friedel and Wes Klockner of Marcus & Millichap represented the seller, a Connecticut-based private investor, in the transaction. The trio also procured the buyer. Both parties requested anonymity.
ELLINGTON, CONN. — An affiliate of Connecticut-based Cornerstone Properties has sold Valley Farms Shopping Center, a 99,936-square-foot retail property in Ellington, a northeastern suburb of Hartford, for $27.7 million. Big Y World Class Market anchors the center, which was originally built in 2007 on a 30-acre site that has land for potential expansion. Other tenants include McDonald’s and Liquor World. Tom Boyle of locally based brokerage firm Chozick Realty represented the seller and procured the undisclosed buyer in the transaction.
BRANFORD, CONN. — Colliers has brokered the sale of a 28,126-square-foot life sciences building located at 15 Commercial St. in the southern coastal Connecticut city of Branford. The sales price was $5 million. The building was built on 4.4 acres in 1979 and was fully leased to biotechnology firm Ancera Inc. at the time of sale. John Cafasso and Ian Hunt of Colliers represented the undisclosed seller in the transaction. The buyer was also not disclosed.
FARMINGTON, CONN. — CBRE has arranged the $7.8 million sale of a development site in Farmington, a suburb of Hartford, that is approved for the construction of 204 multifamily units. The 10-acre site is adjacent to Pond View Corporate Center. Jeff Dunne, Simon Butler, Biria St. John, Eric Apfel, Stuart MacKenzie, John McLaughlin and Brian Bowler of CBRE represented the seller, New York-based Sovereign Partners, in the transaction. The buyer and developer was Connecticut-based Skala Partners. Information on floor plans and construction timelines was not disclosed, but the new community will feature amenities such as a pool, fitness center, business center, dog park, clubhouse and a package locker system.