Hartford Business Journal

20 Hartford Business Journal • April 22, 2019 • www.HartfordBusiness.com By Matt Pilon mpilon@hartfordbusiness.com A s the 4:40 p.m. Hartford Line train accelerated southbound out of Berlin's new station recently, an excited Anthony Valenti turned to his business partner, Mark Lovley, standing nearby on the platform. "That thing was 90 percent full," exclaimed Valenti, who goes by Tony. Valenti and Lovley aren't trainspot- ters. Their enthusiasm was sparked by the business opportunity they say the recently launched $769 million train line presents to them and other developers. Just across the station's parking lot, several hundred yards away, is a four- acre parcel the duo plans to redevelop into an $18 million mixed-use village, with 76 apartments and 19,000 square feet of medical office and commercial space they envision will include a restau- rant and bar, coffee shop and other ame- nities to draw hungry and thirsty rail passengers and others from the region. The proposed five-building project is a textbook example of transit-ori- ented development (TOD), which state and local officials have been promot- ing in recent years, seeking to make economic hay from last June's launch of the CTrail commuter service on the Hartford Line that connects New Haven to Springfield. The beefed up rail service is perhaps a once-in-a-generation transportation development, and one that has changed the perceived value of nearby land par- cels for developers. "Without the train station here, this would be a different animal," Lovley said of the proposed project. Investments in new mixed-use developments around existing or proposed Hart- ford Line rail sta- tions have totaled approximately $430 million, ac- cording to Judd Everhart, spokes- man for the state Department of Transportation. Those projects, which encompass 1,400 residential units and 242,000 square feet of commercial and office space, date back to at least 2010, years before the Springfield-to-New Haven line expansion debuted, but in anticipation of its potential impact. There are nine Hartford Line sta- tions currently in operation. Four more are planned, but don't have a state funding source. Gov. Ned Lamont recently announced a "debt diet" that would cut state bor- rowing. That could affect further train- station devlopment, but Chris McClure, spokesman for the Office of Policy and Management, noted that Lamont wants to level-fund next year the spe- cific type of borrowing — special tax obligation bonds — that have paid for a number of previous station projects. Officials have similarly promoted transit-oriented development for properties around CTfastrak bus sta- tions. The 9.4-mile dedicated busway, which cost about $570 million to build, launched just over four years ago. A proper town center Branded Farmington & Steele, Lovley and Valenti's project would be perhaps the closest thing yet to a proper town center for Berlin, a relatively sleepy town of just over 20,000 residents. The site, which is being developed by a jointly held entity called Newport Realty Group LLC, fronts Farmington Avenue, a key two-mile corridor dotted by a mish-mash of retail, industrial and office properties. It would also be the largest new mixed-use development for Berlin in years, said Chris Edge, the town's economic-development director. "It's nice because our downtown area here … much like many commu- nities, is starting to have vacancies, starting to get a little older, so hope- fully it will bring some new life," Edge said. "We'd love to see some new res- taurant opportunities that are differ- ent, that we don't have in Berlin, and more importantly, that we don't have on the Berlin Turnpike." The project represents the second transit-oriented development for Ber- lin. The first, Depot Crossing, is right across the street. Developed by the nonprofit Corporation for Independent Living, the $3.3 million mixed-use proj- ect, with 16 apartments and ground- floor retail space, opened in 2015. Town officials selected Newport to develop the town center in late 2015, following a competitive-bidding process. The project still needs a special permit, which Newport hopes to file as early as June, with an eye toward getting a shovel in the ground by late fall. As of press time, Newport and the town were close to signing a $540,000 purchase-and-sale agreement for the land, which has been off the tax rolls for about seven years. The residential units will be one- and two-bedroom apartments at market-rate rents of approximately $2.50 per square foot, Valenti said. The state has kicked in approxi- mately $2.1 million for remediation at the site, according to Edge. Construction is planned in phases, with a projected 2021 completion date. Valenti and Lovley said bank financing would cover approximately 70 percent of the project cost, while their own equity would cover the rest. It's the latest in a string of joint property investments for the two men, who have each been active for decades in Connecticut's real estate scene. Lovley, the principal of Southington- based Lovley Development, has built 1,212 single-family homes over the past 34 years. His portfolio includes a nearly com- plete 94-home project at North Ridge Golf Course in Southington, where he said four homes have sold for more than $1 million. He's also built medical and professional office buildings. Tracking the Hartford Line This map, from a state Department of Transportation report, shows the 13 existing and planned rail stations along the Hartford Line. The stations circled in green are not yet built. Construction of those four stations will depend on the availability of state funding, according to DOT. Transit-Oriented Development Berlin's $18M town center is latest project spurred by Hartford Rail Line Source: "TOD Action Plan" report, 2017 Mark Lovley (left) and Tony Valenti outside the Berlin train station, where expanded passenger service along the Hartford Line has presented the next development opportunity for their decade-old business partnership. HBJ PHOTO | STEVE LASCHEVER MAP | CONTRIBUTED

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