Hartford Business Journal

14 Hartford Business Journal • October 1, 2018 • www.HartfordBusiness.com By Gregory Seay gseay@hartfordbusiness.com W est Hartford, the Capital City's most populous suburb, is the scene of a wave of multifamily construction. According to West Hartford's plan- ners and local developer-landlords, no fewer than three apartment/town- home/condominium communities are sprouting in town, with occupancy starting later this year, at the earliest. They include: eight luxury rental townhomes being erected in two buildings at 782-784 South Quaker Lane by developers Jason and Tommy Li; eight luxury condominiums being built at the intersection of Farming- ton Avenue and Arlington Road, near Town Center, by Simsbury developer Ron Webber; and 30 apartment units being added to the 160 luxury units of The Residences at Steele Road by Farmington developer Metro Re- alty, which is responding to red-hot demand for its product. All the rentals do, or are pegged to, offer their spaces at market-rate prices. On top of those, the town is accept- ing and vetting residency applications for the remaining unfilled units at the 54-unit 616 New Park Ave. apartment building the West Hartford Housing Authority completed and opened to leasing this summer. The transit- oriented development is situated next door to the CTfastrak station at New Park and New Britain avenues. But none come close to the 300 apartments that the town has already approved for the site of a convent at Prospect Street and Park Road, on the western border of Hartford and West Hartford. Town planner Todd Dumais said the previous developer-partner with the Sisters of St. Joseph — New York-based Center Development Corp. — withdrew from the project, tentatively called Ar- cadia Crossing. The town has yet to be notified about a replacement developer, though some are kicking its tires. Through August, West Hartford issued 52 housing permits, includ- ing for multifamily construction, vs. 47 granted in the first eight months of 2017, according to Census Bureau survey data compiled by the state. Among Hartford suburbs, only a hand- ful, including Simsbury, East Windsor, Ellington and Vernon, have posted more housing permits during that same period. Fueling West Hartford's multifam- ily boom, experts say, is the growing demand for newer, amenity-laden housing in proximity to where Millen- nials want to live, work and play. West Hartford residential broker John LePore says the town's latest multifamily spurt recalls the building spree of the '70s and '80s, giving rise to a number of apartment/townhome/ condo communities in Greater Hart- ford, including Rocky Hill's Century Hills Apartments and others. "That was probably the most notable apartment construction going on at that time,'' said LePore, broker with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Housing Push West Hartford's multifamily development mushrooms Greater Hartford municipalities with most housing permits issued Year to Date (Jan.–Aug.) Town 2018 2017 Simsbury 189 10 East Windsor 142 13 Ellington 71 64 Vernon 71 82 South Windsor 64 11 Suffield 54 61 West Hartford 52 47 Southington 44 45 Granby 41 29 Farmington 30 25 Source: U.S. Census Bureau/CT Dept. of Economic and Community Development Brothers Jason Li (left) and Tommy Li are building Talcott Corner, eight luxury rental townhomes in their hometown, at the intersection of Talcott Road and South Quaker Lane. HBJ PHOTO | GREGORY SEAY

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