Hartford Business Journal

24 HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | JULY 26, 2021 Lisa Cozzi C ommercial real estate tends to be a male-dominated industry but that hasn't stopped Lisa Cozzi from being a rainmaker in the multifamily market. Cozzi is the managing director of multifamily investments at Berkshire Hathaway and she's been brokering investment properties since 2003, overseeing a multimillion-dollar sales team responsible for market areas in Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Her expertise is in investment sales analysis, property management and development, and she's averaged $50 million in annual sales transactions in some years. In the past 12 months she has been involved in several major Hartford multifamily property deals including one 153-unit property that sold for $12 million and another 103-unit property that traded for $8.5 million. She also recently listed for sale a 505- unit apartment portfolio for $45 million. Business, she said, has benefi ted from a very active multifamily investment market. "The Greater Hartford market has been steadily appreciating, with will eventually include about 420 new rental housing units and homeownership opportunities and retail/ commercial space in the city's North End. The project's fi rst phase includes 75 apartments. Cloud has also worked with Philadelphia realty developer Pennrose Properties on several mixed-use residential developments in Meriden and Torrington. According to his bio, Cloud during his career played a major role in the development of the Upper Albany Shopping Center and Crown Gardens housing development in Hartford. He also led Aetna's national Neighborhood Development Program in the 1980s, and oversaw investments exceeding $100 million, which transformed several urban neighborhoods across the country. Cloud is also active in the community. He served two terms in the state Senate, became an Aetna executive and chaired or served on the boards of UConn Health, the Connecticut Health Foundation, Eversource and MetroHartford Alliance. the university planner at Yale, said one of her most signifi cant accomplishments was overseeing the restoration of the Hartford Times building, which is now home to the school's Hartford campus. Mark J. Duclos M ark J. Duclos is the president of Hartford-based Sentry Commercial, one of the most active commercial real estate fi rms in Greater Hartford that offers brokerage, property management and construction management services. Duclos has been in the commercial real estate industry for about 35 years and is a go-to resource on major trends and issues, especially in the region's red hot distribution sector. More importantly, Duclos is a champion for Hartford and its future. And he demonstrated that commitment by keeping his offi ce space in the city, even in the middle of the pandemic. In November, while many companies were thinking about or actively downsizing their Hartford offi ce space, Duclos moved his fi rm to larger quarters (4,500 square feet) at 160 Trumbull St. The space features exposed brick, wood fl oors and an open fl oor plan — all aimed at promoting a collaborative in-person environment. He also wants Sentry's new space to help bring the broader real estate community together — including other brokers and related professionals like attorneys, accountants, environmental consultants, etc. — for networking, programming and informal interactions. In the past year Duclos has helped broker Amazon's latest distribution facility in Windsor, which is currently under construction. He is also on the boards of the Hartford Real Estate Finance Association and CT/Western Mass. chapter of the Society of Industrial and Offi ce Realtors. FOCUS Power 25 Real Estate Randy Salvatore A fter years of delay and anticipation, construction on the mixed-use redevelopment near Dunkin' Donuts Park in Hartford is showing signs of progress. Stamford-based developer RMS Cos. broke ground on the project's fi rst phase last October, and has already completed construction of the 330-space parking garage. RMS CEO and President Randy Salvatore said construction on the $50-million project's fi rst phase, which will include 270 apartment units, should be completed in the fi rst quarter of 2022. Meantime, RMS is in early discussions about the development's next phase, which will include construction of 532 additional apartments and a 541-car garage. When the development is completed the plan is for the newly named North Crossing project to have 1,000 total apartments. The pandemic has dealt a setback to the city of Hartford, but Salvatore recently told HBJ he's still optimistic about the city's future, especially when it comes to demand for new rental units. "I remain as bullish as ever about the long-term prospects for Hartford and this development," Salvatore said in May. Developer Randy Salvatore stands outside Dunkin' Donuts Park, near his under construction mixed-use apartment development. HBJ FILE PHOTO Laura Cruickshank U Conn may be one of the most active developers in the state of Connecticut. Step on to the Storrs campus and you'll fi nd a small city in the middle of a rural community. And don't forget UConn's other campuses in Avery Point, Waterbury, Stamford and Hartford, which debuted just a few short years ago after a $150-million plus buildout. Overseeing all of it is Laura Cruickshank, UConn's master planner, chief architect and associate vice president of university planning, design and construction. It's a long title for someone with big responsibilities. UConn has been very active over the past year including with the construction of its new Northwest Science Quad, which is a total of fi ve projects on the Storrs campus that will encompass 22 acres and cost $640 million when fully complete. "All of the projects are interconnected and have to be coordinated for completion, it is like dominoes," Cruickshank said. The school also completed a new Athletics District Development, including the Rizza Family Performance Center, Elliot Ballpark (now home to the men's baseball team), Morrone Stadium for soccer and women's lacrosse and Burrill Family Field for softball. UConn also just broke ground on a new $70 million on-campus hockey arena. Cruickshank is also working on a student housing master plan and the renovation of the Gant Building, a 285,000-square-foot, three-phase project that encompasses state-of- the-art teaching and research labs for multiple science disciplines, faculty offi ces and classrooms. The entire building (walls, roof, windows) and infrastructure were rebuilt and are targeting LEED Gold certifi cation. Finally, a new 200,000-square- foot STEM science building is under construction, scheduled to be completed in fall 2022. Cruickshank, who was previously Laura Cruickshank Mark J. Duclos Sandy Cloud Jr. Lisa Cozzi Sandy Cloud Jr. S andy Cloud Jr., a lawyer by trade who became the fi rst Black barrister to work at law fi rm Robinson+Cole, has also made his mark as a prominent real estate developer. His fi rm The Cloud Co. LLC is currently co-redeveloping Hartford's old, rundown Westbrook Village housing complex, which has been renamed Village at Park River and

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