www.HartfordBusiness.com • October 28, 2019 • Hartford Business Journal 3
By Sean Teehan
steehan@hartfordbusiness.com
I
t might be its central location,
or cheaper cost of land, but the
town of Southington has quietly
been a magnet for single-family
home development in Connecticut.
From 2015 to 2018, Southington
issued 339 single-family home con-
struction permits, more than any
other city or town except Green-
wich, which approved 553 permits
during that time period, according
to U.S. Census Bureau data.
"We're busy, I've got two new
customers I'm meeting this week,"
said Mark Lovely, president of
Lovley Development Inc., a home-
builder based in the Plantsville
section of Southington who has
several residential developments
underway or planned in town.
Lovely said he's not surprised
Southington leads the state in single-
family home construction because
the town of nearly 44,000 residents
didn't see as much of a slowdown in
demand as the rest of Connecticut,
following the Great Recession.
The housing bubble burst and sub-
sequent economic downturn from
2008 to 2010 wreaked havoc on the
state's home-construction industry.
Prior to 2008, Connecticut averaged
between 9,000 and 10,000 new home
permits annually; the new norm has
been 2,000 to 4,000 annual permits.
Southington has averaged about
85 new permits in each of the last
four years.
Town Planner Rob Phillips, whose
been in his current job for six years,
said Southington hasn't actively
pursued single-family home develop-
ment but has been working to attract
businesses and fill empty storefronts
and commercial buildings.
High residential demand might be
a result of restaurants and other busi-
nesses opening in town, Phillips said.
But Lovely said driving factors are
likely the town's central location in
the state and more affordable proper-
ty values compared to its neighbors.
Southington is about 20 miles
from Hartford and 30 miles from
New Haven. Lovely said he has had
more than one homebuyer family in
which one spouse worked in Hart-
ford, and the other in New Haven.
"It's so centrally located in the
middle of the state, you can get
anywhere from there," Lovely said.
Added to that, land and property
values are significantly cheaper
in Southington than nearby Avon
and Farmington. Homebuyers in
Southington usually pay between
Up Front
Continued on page 4 >>
TOWN PROFILE: SOUTHINGTON
In dormant homebuilding environment,
Southington is a hotspot
"With the right partner,
dreams become a reality."
Lynne Stanley, AVP Cash Management,
Windsor Federal Savings
Tony Karlowicz, Co-Founder,
Back East Brewery
George Hermann, President & CEO,
Windsor Federal Savings
WindsorFederal.com
– Tony Karlowicz, Co-Founder, Back East Brewery
@windsorfederalsavings
@windsorfederal
A Southington home built by
Lovley Development Inc.
PHOTO
|
CONTRIBUTED
