Connecticut

Ritz-Grande-Hartford-CT

HARTFORD, CONN. — Aria Legacy Group has purchased Ritz Grande Apartments, a residential community located at 29 Annawan St. in Hartford’s South End, for $3.7 million. This acquisition marks the company’s 16th multifamily investment in the city. The 58-unit complex features a mix of one-, two-, three- and four-bedroom apartments. On-site amenities include laundry facilities, a playground, basketball courts and off-street parking. Taylor Perun and Rich Edwards of Northeast Private Client Group represented the undisclosed seller in the deal. Adelle Ross of Eastern Union Funding arranged acquisition financing with Freddie Mac through CBRE for the buyer.

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The retail market in Connecticut is alive and well. Sure it’s changing but what industry doesn’t experience change? There are numerous retail categories that continue to post healthy sales while also keeping their new store counts in a growth trajectory. Other categories will adapt to consumer trends and stay relevant in the world of brick and mortar. As we close 2017, we see that traditional shopping centers, especially grocery-anchored centers, are the solid performers in the sector. The “services” or “daily needs” category of retail continue to flock to these centers mainly because of consumer routine. The “services/daily needs” category includes health/fitness, traditional sit-down restaurants, quick-service restaurants, pharmacies, pet supply retailers, wireless communications, medical (walk-ins) and banking. Traditional neighborhood centers are becoming more conscious about merchandising with this specific category while trying to avoid deals with the more risky retail categories, such as off-priced apparel. The big-box power centers and the centers with large chunks of vacancy are another story, and there will be winners and losers. Geography plays a big role here and it’s not the dead-end road that some suggest. Over the past 18 months, my team’s exclusive leasing portfolio has had two Kmart closures in two separate …

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597-Westport-Norwalk-CT

NORWALK, CONN. — CBRE has brokered the sale of 597 Westport, a Class A apartment community located in Norwalk. An affiliate of Hunt Investment Management sold the property to GDC Properties through a 1031 exchange for $105.9 million. Built in 2009, 597 Westport features 235 apartment units, a clubroom with full caterer’s kitchen, a media lounge and billiards room, a fitness center and an outdoor saltwater pool with sundeck, cabanas and an outdoor kitchen. Jeffrey Dunne, Gene Pride and Eric Apfel of CBRE represented the seller in the deal. Jim Gunning, Donna Falzarano and Kyle Saviano of CBRE procured first and mezzanine financing from The Guardian Life Insurance Co. and a pension fund client represented by Quadrant Real Estate Advisors, respectively.

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70-Robinson-Blvd-Orange-CT

ORANGE, CONN. — Pearce/George J. Smith Commercial Real Estate has brokered the sale of an industrial building situated on 6.5 acres at 70 Robinson Blvd. in Orange. Robin Equity LLC acquired the 50,666-square-foot property for an undisclosed price. The buyer will repurpose the building for American Seal & Engineering Corp. to serve as its new global corporate headquarters and main manufacturing facility for engineered products, advanced manufacturing technology, and product testing and development. Carl Russell of Pearce/George J. Smith Commercial represented the sellers, ALM Properties and MCM Investments in the deal.

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The-Wescott-Stamford-CT

STAMFORD, CONN. — TH Real Estate, an affiliate of Nuveen, a TIAA company, has completed the sale of The Wescott, an apartment community located in Stamford. A private New Jersey-based investment group acquired the 261-unit property for $67 million. Built in 1986, the property features an indoor/outdoor pool, clubroom with kitchen, media lounge and billiards room, fitness center, tennis courts, basketball court, outdoor courtyard and garage parking. Most units have been renovated with new kitchens, featuring granite counters, stainless steel appliances, and new cabinets, baths, lighting and fixtures. The property also features a 8,500-square-foot vacant commercial space, which was formerly occupied by medical tenants. Jeffrey Dunne, Gene Pride and Eric Apfel of CBRE represented the seller in the deal.

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Connecticut’s Fairfield County ranks among America’s 40 wealthiest counties with a median household income of $81,268 in 2010. And while some of its current office market data stand at low levels, many indicators point to a bright future. Year-to-date office leasing activity reached 1.7 million square feet as of the third quarter. This amounts to a 21 percent increase relative to the same period one year ago. While this figure stands 3.1 percent below the five-year historical average, overall leasing volume does not take into account a 500,000-square-foot, build-to-suit lease undertaken by Charter Communications at Gateway Harbor Point in Stamford. For the quarter, aggregate office leasing in the county totaled 555,629 square feet. Stamford and Greenwich accounted for more than 77 percent of the total. Major transactions included Bank of America’s 166,000-square-foot lease at 600 Washington Boulevard in Stamford and AQR Capital’s 90,000-square-foot expansion at One Greenwich Plaza. In August, Stamford scored its most impactful corporate attraction of the year when the German-based multinational Henkel moved its North American headquarters from Scottsdale, Arizona, to 155,000 square feet within the BLT Financial Centre at 200 Elm Street. The consumer products firm said its laundry, beauty and home-care divisions are employing approximately …

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WATERBURY, CONN. — Hunt Mortgage Group has provided a $5.8 million Fannie Mae conventional loan for the refinancing of a multifamily property located in Waterbury. The borrower is 650 Howard 2017 LLC, a single-purpose, Connecticut limited liability firm backed by key principals Tom Bechard and George Louie. The 10-year, fixed-rate loan features a 30-year fully amortizing schedule with yield maintenance prepayment. Located at 119 and 136 Store Ave., the two-building Store Avenue Apartments offer a total of 113 units. At the time of refinancing, the property was 97 percent occupied.

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AUSTIN, TEXAS — Summit Hotel Properties (NYSE: INN) has purchased a four-property hotel portfolio for $164 million. The portfolio contains a total of 652 guestrooms. The acquisition includes the 207-room Courtyard New Haven at Yale in New Haven, Conn.; the 148-room Hilton Garden Inn Boston/Waltham in Waltham, Mass.; the 175-room Residence Inn Cleveland Downtown in Cleveland; and the 122-room Homewood Suites by Hilton Tucson/St. Philip’s Plaza University in Tucson, Ariz. The Courtyard New Haven is situated adjacent to Yale University. It is the only Marriott-branded hotel within nearly 10 miles of downtown New Haven. The hotel underwent a renovation of all public spaces and guestrooms in 2016. The Hilton Garden Inn Boston/Waltham is centrally located along the Route 128/Interstate 95 corridor known as America’s Technology Highway. The hotel benefits from strong corporate demand with 16.4 million square feet of office space within three miles of the property and another 1 million square feet under construction. The recently renovated Residence Inn Cleveland Downtown is positioned within the Central Business District’s 9.5 million square feet of Class A office space, which includes the headquarters of Fortune 500 companies Sherwin-Williams, KeyCorp and Cliffs Natural Resources. The Homewood Suites by Hilton Tucson/St. Philip’s Plaza …

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TAMFORD, CONN. — LCB Senior Living has broken ground on The Residence at Summer Street, a 104-unit independent living, assisted living and memory care community in Stamford, approximately 25 miles northeast of New York City. LCB will both own and operate the community, which is scheduled to open in summer 2018. Headquartered in Massachusetts, LCB Senior Living owns and/or operates communities throughout New England and the Mid-Atlantic states.

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Merritt-7-Norwalk-CT

NORWALK, CONN. — HFF has secured $100 million in financing for Merritt 7, a six-building, 1.4 million-square-foot office park in Norwalk. The borrower is a separate account managed by New York-based Clarion Partners. Riaz Cassum and Lauren O’Neil of HFF arranged the five-year, fixed-rate loan through a correspondent life insurance company. Situated on 22 acres along Norwalk River, Merritt 7 comprises six buildings and features a fitness center, conference centers, car care, two full-service cafeterias, a Starbucks Coffee location and a unisex salon. At the time of financing, the office park was 97 percent leased to a diverse tenant roster including General Electric, Factset Research Systems, Datto and Frontier Communications.

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