WILTON, FAIRFIELD AND WESTPORT, CONN. — Westport, Conn.-based Vidal/Wettenstein has arranged the sales of three properties in Connecticut. In the first transaction, North American Pharmacal sold an office building located at 213 Danbury Road in Wilton for $2.1 million. The name of the buyer was not released. David Fugitt and Bruce Wettenstein of Vidal/Wettenstein represented the seller in the transaction. In the second deal, E&J Twin Properties acquired a multi-tenant office building, located at 303 Linwood Ave. in Fairfield, for $1.8 million. Randy Vidal was the listing broker. In the final transaction, Fin-Max Realty LLC acquired a Shake Shack property, located at 1849 Post Road East in Westport, for nearly $4 million. Robert Lewis represented the buyer and undisclosed seller in the deal.
FARMINGTON, ENFIELD, VERNON, ELLINGTON AND NEWINGTON, CONN. — Navarino Acquisition LLC has purchased a six-property, 741-unit multifamily portfolio located in central Connecticut. A series of Delaware limited liability companies sold the portfolio for $90 million, or $121,457 per unit. The properties are the 13-building, 186-unit Summit and Birch Hill Apartments in Farmington; the 23-building, 168-unit Fox Hill Apartments in Enfield; the 15-building, 150-unit Briar Knoll Apartments in Vernon; the six-building, 100-unit High Meadow Apartments in Ellington; the eight-building, 64-unit Bradford Commons in Newington; and six-building, 73-unit Woodbridge Apartments in Newington. Victor Nolletti, Steve Witten, Still Hunter III and Eric Pentore of Institutional Property Advisors (IPA) represented the seller, while Nolletti and Pentore also represented the buyer in the deal. IPA is a division of Marcus & Millichap specializing in serving institutional and major private real estate investors.
MANCHESTER, CONN. — Binswanger has arranged the sale of a retail property located at 550 N. Main St. in Manchester. Richard Edward Vogel acquired the 7,200-square-foot property as a net-lease investment from Rodino LP for an undisclosed price. Constructed in 1982 and situated on 1.9 acres, the property is fully leased to Maaco Collision Repair. Jim Panczykowski of Binswanger brokered the transaction.
DARIEN, CONN. — O,R&L Commercial has arranged the sale of a 3.7-acre land parcel located at 131 Hollow Tree Ridge Road in Darien. John Hertz and Robert Wood acquired the property for $3.7 million. The seller was Karen Park, as authorized by the Superior Court of the Judicial District of Hartford, Conn. The buyers plan to develop a 100,000-square-foot storage facility on the site. Phil Marshall of O,R&L Commercial represented the seller, while Halstead Properties represented the buyer in the deal.
The Connecticut industrial market has changed. The days of large corporate surplus assets littering our industrial parks, mid-teen vacancy rates and discounted lease rates are over — or at least on a hiatus. In the last few years, the market has tightened with many of the larger blocks of space absorbed by various local and national tenants. The last 20 to 25 years saw corporate consolidations, downsizing and the move to cheaper markets dominate our industrial landscape. Left behind were inefficient, large manufacturing facilities in a market losing its manufacturing base. As time went by, these idle, surplus assets were acquired by local and regional investors who eventually made these properties functional again. Over the years, steady absorption has chipped away at vacancy rates, and quality available product has become increasingly difficult to find for tenants. Traditionally, an industrial tenant needing 100,000 square feet or greater would have numerous alternatives to consider and a wide range of quality too. This gave tenants enormous leverage, allowing them to negotiate more flexible and favorable terms and conditions. The relatively recent shift in tide has allowed landlords to control the process and we’ve seen a corresponding upward tick in lease rates. The sales …
WATERBURY, CONN. — WinnDevelopment, the development arm of WinnCompanies, has acquired the historic 213-unit Schoolhouse Apartments in Waterbury for an undisclosed price. The company has a $16.4 million rehabilitation project planned for the occupied property, which was converted to residential use in 1982. The rehab project includes a restoration of masonry exteriors; the replacement of exterior lighting; the repair and replacement of roofs, siding and wood trim; new signage and security cameras; and improved handicap accessibility. The apartments will undergo mechanical system upgrades and the installation of new cabinetry, appliances and fixtures in the kitchens and bathrooms. WinnResidential will manage the property, which is slated for completion by fall 2017. The project will utilize an allocation of low income housing tax credits from Connecticut Housing Finance Authority, as well as financing from the Connecticut Department of Housing and federal subsidies from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Boston Financial Investment Management is the project’s equity investor, and the design team includes Keith Construction as general contractor and The Architectural Team as project architect.
NORWICH, CONN. — Lyman Real Estate has arranged the lease of a 6,400-square-foot office building located at 550-558 W. Thames St. in Norwich. Mindscape Industries, which provides acquired brain injury rehabilitation services, signed a five-year lease for the building. Ron Lyman of Lyman Real Estate represented the undisclosed landlords in the transaction.
Fairfield County, Connecticut, which has traditionally been home to many multi-national financial tenants, is transitioning to become one of the most diverse business environments in the region and attracting some of the biggest names from the TAMI (technology, advertising, media and information), creative, engineering and corporate arenas. This shift in the fabric of the business community may be attributed to major investments made by a number of owners to improve and reposition their office properties to meet the demands of this new type of tenant. Owners are virtually creating new tenant experiences in their buildings, with office space boasting technological efficiencies and tenant amenities designed to support a balance between professional and personal needs. The “if you build, he will come,” quote made famous in the movie Field of Dreams is certainly apropos when looking at the trend of newly renovated properties attracting some of the best tenants in the market. A perfect example is the success at Merritt 7, a six-building, 1.4 million-square-foot office complex that recently completed more than 600,000 square feet of new leases — including a recent 133,000-square-foot lease by Datto Inc., one of the fastest- growing information technology firms in the world for its global …
NEW HAVEN, CONN. — Binswanger has arranged the sale of an industrial facility located on 2.5 acres at 83 Water St. in New Haven. Amerco Real Estate Co. acquired the 156,000-square-foot property from C. Cowles & Co. for $6 million. The buyer plans to develop the facility for a combination of self-storage and vehicle rentals under the U-Haul brand. The five-story building features more than 100 surface parking spaces, original wood flooring, exposed brick and stone, and large perimeter windows, which Amerco plans to preserve. Jim Panczykowski of Binswanger represented the seller in the transaction.
BRANFORD, CONN. — O,R&L Commercial has arranged the lease of an industrial building at 16 Commercial St. in Branford. New England Orthotic & Prosthetic Systems plans to consolidate three locations into the 20,000-square-foot building. Tim McMahon of O,R&L Commercial represented the landlord, 16 Commercial Street Associates, while Frank Hird, also of O,R&L Commercial represented the tenant in the deal.