Hartford Business Journal

www.HartfordBusiness.com • September 2, 2019 • Hartford Business Journal 17 downtown bond authority over the next few years." CRDA financing is crucial for Pratt Street, Lazowski said, to help fill the funding gap created by rising building costs and stagnant rents. "You need to have that gap-funding filled in order to make these projects work,'' Lazowski said. Of the trio, Kenny has the most expe- rience with downtown redevelopment. He transformed a dilapidated block into 100 apartments, street-level retail, and a parking garage overlooking Bush- nell Park at 100 Trumbull. Kenny, a Hart- ford development fixture since 1983 who has developed suburban Hart- ford apartments, is currently work- ing on The Borden, a two-building, 150-unit apart- ment commu- nity on the Silas Deane Highway in Wethersfield. For the Pratt/ Talcott makeover, Kenny will provide construction and property-manage- ment expertise. Lazowski will oversee their parking opera- tions, while Shelbourne oversees equity- investing and financing, Kenny said. "Both Alan and I,'' Kenny said, "love and are committed to Hartford, and making Hartford better and stronger is something we are committed to always; especially with an opportunity like this, which can be a game-chang- er for the city.'' Lazowski, who started his Hartford business as a valet parker downtown, said Pratt's diverse character is its chief asset. "It has elements of live, work and play,'' Lazowski said, that the redevelop- ment will help jump-start. Tenants react The future potential of Pratt Street has been seen in glimpses in recent years. More city cultural events have been staged there, bringing, at times, hundreds or more to the one-lane corridor. For example, the Hartford Business Im- provement District launched the "Pratt Street Patio" lunchtime concert series on certain summer weekdays, closing the street to traffic and offering free concerts. Earlier this spring, during the NCAA men's basketball tournament at the XL Center, a pop-up brew pub took over Pratt Street creating a pedestrian- friendly festival that highlighted Hartford's eclectic breweries and small businesses. It drew thousands. Pratt and Trumbull streets house a number of shops, restau- rants and com- mercial enterpris- es, some of whom like the redevelop- ment the Kenny/ Lazowski/Shel- bourne partner- ship propose. Restaurateur Hugh Russell, whose The Russell restaurant and The Russell Grab & Go next door are Shelbourne tenants at 99 Pratt, wel- comes the prospect of more eateries on or near Pratt Street. One of the project's goals is to bring in additional retail and restaurants to provide a vibrant, urban marketplace similar to Chelsea Market and Eataly in New York City. "It would make this more of a desti- nation," Russell said as he manned the music turntables for sidewalk guests on one of many summer Friday nights, when Pratt Street is closed to vehicles. Gerry Grate, owner of century-old The Tobacco Shop, a Shelbourne tenant who relocated to 89 Pratt from nearby Asylum Street years ago, hopes redevel- opment will make Pratt Street blossom. "I love what's happening downtown,'' said Grate, who sets up outdoor seating in front of his shop on days Pratt Street is blocked off as an outdoor patio. Still, Grate said he hopes the Pratt partners will allow tenants a voice in not only the street makeover, but be sensitive to their operating needs during recon- struction. There are other pockets of skepti- cism. Downtown apparel-boutique co-owner Jody Morneault, who with husband Ron have advo- cated to the city and state for decades to do more to market and promote downtown venues, welcomes more landlord investment. For a time, the Morneaults ran a "pop-up'' mens'/ womens' fashion outlet in a previously vacant Pratt Street storefront. However, the Morneaults worry that, absent more venue promotions from the city and state, there still won't be enough "feet on the street'' to support local merchants. "There's just not enough foot traf- fic downtown,'' said Jody Morneault, of Morneault's Stackpole Moore Tryon, a longtime retail fixture at the corner of Pratt and Trumbull. Pratt's other landlords As Shelbourne & Co. look to change the look and feel of Pratt Street, one challenge they have is they don't con- trol all of it. But that doesn't mean they haven't tried. West Hartford landlord The Simon Konover Co., owner/opera- tor of The Society Room, 31 Pratt, and a surface lot next door, says it has rebuffed the partnership's of- fer to buy both. "We bought out our partner (in the downtown property) years ago, because we believed in the city long-term," said Konover President James Wakim. Wakim said combining the Pratt Street developers' resources into a sin- gle vision "is accretive to the economic environment of Hartford.'' "We wish all the partners the best in this endeavor,'' Wakim said. Meantime, a large chunk of the street's north side — 42 Pratt — is owned by Northland Invest- ment Corp., which has faced criticism for leaving its downtown retail space largely empty. However, Northland CEO Larry Gottesdiener said his retail storefronts at XL Cen- ter, 242 Trumbull, and Pratt Street are empty, not due to high rents, but because there is a lack of demand. Indeed, retail vacancies have been a Pratt St. properties Building Owner Last sale date Last sale price Assessed value 31–51 Pratt St. Simon Konover Co. 12/18/1997 $1.4M $1.4M 42 Pratt St. Northland Investment Corp. 10/27/1987 $0 $2.3M 55–59 Pratt St. Shelbourne Global LLC 2/5/2019 $2.9M $630,000 63–65 Pratt St. Shelbourne Global LLC 2/5/2019 $600,000 $192,500 69–71 Pratt St. Shelbourne Global LLC 3/15/2019 $1.1M $252,140 73–77 Pratt St. Shelbourne Global LLC 2/5/2019 $1.3M $420,000 A grand vision for Pratt St. Here's an outline of the $100 million redevelopment plan recently pitched by Shelbourne Global LLC, LAZ Investments and Lexington Partners. • 375 apartments with an array of amenities including rooftop lounges, fitness centers, spa space, live/work breakout space. • A net addition of 257 new apartments (64 on Temple Street; 193 on Trumbull and Pratt). • 45,058 square feet of retail on Trumbull, Pratt and Main streets in Hartford's central core. • 1,308 parking spaces in three immediate locations to support housing and retail uses. Meet the Pratt St. developers Shelbourne Global LLC is the largest Class A office building owner in downtown Hartford with four buildings totaling 1.6 million square feet of Class A office and retail space. LAZ owns or controls approximately 30,000 parking spaces in Hartford and owns four additional office buildings downtown includ- ing the "Gold" Building, 15 Lewis, 30 Lewis and 183 Ann Uccello Street. Lexington Partners, run by developer Mar- tin Kenny, is one of the most active Greater Hartford multifamily real estate developers. Kenny developed Trumbull on the Park in Hartford and several suburban projects in Windsor, Glastonbury and Wethersfield. HBJ PHOTO | GREGORY SEAY HBJ PHOTO | GREGORY SEAY (Left) Regular customers of The Tobacco Shop on Pratt Street enjoy cigars on an outdoor living room owner Gerry Grate sets up on days when Pratt Street is open to pedestrians only. (Right) Restaurateur Hugh Russell provides music to Pratt Street patrons. A revived Pratt Street would be a destination for downtown dwellers and others, Russell said. Continued on next page >>

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