WESTPORT, CONN. — Vidal/Wettenstein Commercial Real Estate has brokered the $1.1 million sale of a 4,000-square-foot office building in Westport. The buyer, a local developer, plans to renovate the building to establish its own office and lease out the remaining space for professional use. The seller was undisclosed. David Fugitt, SIOR, a partner with Vidal/Wettenstein Commercial Real Estate was the sole broker involved in the transaction
WESTPORT, CONN. — The HK Group has orchestrated the $1.2 million sale of a two-building, 5,571-square-foot office property in Westport. The complex is fully leased to a tenant roster that includes luxury homes builder Milton Development, an Allstate Insurance Agency and Backspace Westport. The seller was Argentini Corp. of Sarasota, Florida, which acquired the property in 1982. Millennium Brothers LLC. purchased the property as part of a 1031 exchange.
WEST HARTFORD, CONN. — CS Acquisition Group LLC has purchased Westwood Apartments, a six-building, 200-unit apartment community in West Hartford for $20.8 million. The complex is the largest market-rate multifamily property in West Hartford by number of units and was constructed in 1971. Victor Nolletti and Wes Klockner of Institutional Property Advisors represented the seller, Westwood Apartments LLC, in the transaction.
NORTH HAVEN, CONN. — Press/Cuozzo Commercial Services has orchestrated the sale of a 5,742-square-foot retail property in North Haven. Kitchen Advantage LLC acquired the vacant property for an undisclosed price and will relocate its kitchen design showroom to the location. Stephen Press of SIOR represented the seller, 278 State Street LLC, in the transaction. The property sits on a 0.6-acre corner lot at 276-278 State St.
SHELTON, CONN. — Marcus & Millichap Capital Corp. has secured a $7.6 million cash-out refinancing for Bridge Street Commons, a mixed-use property located at 50 Bridge St. in Shelton. The building consists of 43 residential units and 7,000 square feet of commercial space. Robert Bhat of Marcus & Millichap Capital Corp. secured a 15-year loan with a fixed rate of 5 percent for the undisclosed borrower. The lender was Fannie Mae.
NORTH STONINGTON, CONN. — Electric Boat Corp. has signed a 125,000-square-foot lease at a flex building located at 25 Norwich Westerly Road in North Stonington. The building consists of 53,376 square feet of office space and 72,439 square feet of warehouse space. Electric Boat Corp. will occupy the entire building based on their expansion requirements. Colliers International represented the landlord, Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation, in the transaction. CBRE/New England represented the tenant.
STAMFORD, CONN. — Northeast Private Client Group has arranged the $35 million sale of The Moderne Apartments, a 116-unit, two-building multifamily community in Stamford. The sales price equates to a capitalization rate of 5.4 percent based on the first year of net operating income. Bradley Balletto, Rich Edwards and Jeff Wright of Northeast Private Client Group represented the seller, RMS Cos., in the transaction. The buyer was Navarino Acquisitions LLC.
America’s $3.5 trillion retail sector is going through tough times. E-commerce has cut into the conventional brick-and-mortar market by roughly 12 percent, an impact that has decreased rents, increased retail vacan- cies and left landlords increasingly anxious. But even in this period of widespread adjustment, the number of store openings nationwide has outpaced closings. We see this in Fairfield County, Connecticut, with first-quarter vacancy rates in 2018 totaling 3.7 percent, 30 basis points lower than one year ago, according to CoStar Group. The retailers that aren’t surviving are those that aren’t adapting to con- temporary market dynamics. Techno- logical and social disintermediation create the chaotic decision-making process of adapt or perish. Still, amid today’s anxieties, here are three examples of adaptation that offer promise. Selling an Experience Stores that are succeeding today are often the ones that have realized that retail is now less about selling goods and more about selling an experience. Below we offer two examples in Fairfield County, both designed to add a stimulating overlay of experience into typically more tepid retail settings. The first illustration of a retail experience is the indoor adventure ropes course located within furniture and mattress retailer Jordan’s 150,000-square-foot showroom along New Haven’s Long Wharf. Touted …
NEWTOWN, CONN. — Senior Lifestyle Corp. has broken ground on Church Hill Village, a 71-unit assisted living and memory care community in Newtown, located approximately midway between New York City and Hartford. The community will feature 49 assisted living apartments and 22 memory care apartments. The 66,000-square-foot building will be situated on four acres. Development partners for the project include Teton Capital Co. and JRP Architects. The community is scheduled to open in summer 2019.
MERIDEN, CONN. — Pennrose has opened Meriden Commons I, a 75-unit multifamily community in Meriden. The community is the first of a two-phase transit oriented development that will bring 151 mixed-income apartment units and more than 6,500 square feet of retail space to the City of Meriden. Once completed in the fall of 2019, Meriden Commons II will consist of 76 mixed-income apartments. Located at 161 and 177 State St., Meriden Commons I and II are within close proximity to downtown Meriden and Meriden’s Amtrak Center.