Hartford Business Journal

28 HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | JULY 26, 2021 Roberto Arista R oberto Arista, co-principal and president of Waltham, Mass.- based multifamily developer Dakota Partners, is one of a number of out-of-state realty investors to take a shine to the Greater Hartford market in recent years. Dakota made its fi rst foray into the local market in 2015 with the debut of 179 Allyn St., a $15 million redevelopment of the Judd & Root Building that included 63 apartments and ground-fl oor commercial space. Since then, Dakota — which focuses on affordable rentals but also Tim Lescalleet G reater Hartford's industrial/ logistics market has experienced a relative boom this century, with UPS, FedEx, Amazon and others making major investments in modern, often massive facilities built in a wide radius around Bradley International Airport. While his company isn't a household name like those giants, Thomas M. "Tim" Lescalleet, executive vice president at Indus Realty Trust (formerly Griffi n Land & Nurseries), has played a key role in shaping the sector, including leading the development and expansion of the company's 600-acre New England Tradeport, adjacent to Bradley International Airport, which has only a few vacant spaces remaining. During his 19-year tenure at publicly-traded Indus, the tradeport has grown from less than 500,000 square feet of built facilities to about 4.2 million square feet today. That growth includes the single- largest deal of Lescalleet's career — the sale of 113 acres to Walgreens, which invested $175 million to build a 700,000-square-foot regional distribution center that opened in 2009. The tradeport square footage is set to grow further, as Indus is building a 235,000-square-foot warehouse, much of it pre-leased by UPS, to debut in 2022. In 2013, Indus sold 90 acres on Windsor's Day Hill Road to Amazon, where the e-commerce giant built a 1.5 million-square-foot distribution center that opened three years later. ago. Rather than slow down during the COVID-19 pandemic last year, Krohn appeared only to double down, working to win approvals to build a 111-unit luxury apartment complex in Bloomfi eld that is now under construction, and acquiring with his partners parcels on Farmington Avenue in West Hartford where they hope to build another 48 luxury units and 10,000 square feet of retail space. That new construction adds to numerous apartment redevelopment projects he has completed, focused in New Britain, that have often included historic preservation elements. Krohn entered 2021 with a bang, securing a tax break likely worth millions from the city of New Britain to bolster an envisioned $13 million-plus tear down and rebuild of the former Burrit Bank complex and an adjacent property, where Krohn wants to build 90 apartment units and ground-fl oor commercial space. Krohn said recently the project would likely be the fi rst example of ground-up multifamily development in the Hardware City in decades. FOCUS Power 25 Real Estate Avner Krohn Roberto Arista Tim Lescalleet Avner Krohn A vner Krohn, chairman and CEO of Jasko Development, has acquired, developed and sold numerous buildings in New Britain and other Hartford-area communities since the New York native began investing here 15 years John Philip and I. Charles Mathews I f you're a developer or property owner in Hartford, you probably know the names John Philip and I. Charles Mathews. City assessor since 2011, Philip is ultimately in charge of calculating property values in the city with Connecticut's highest mill rate. He can also help the city's legal team make judgement calls about just how hard to fi ght any of the inevitable wave of tax appeals that Hartford receives after revaluations. Meanwhile, Mathews has a key say on whether a proposed development will receive city incentives or tax breaks, factors that can make or break a project in Hartford, where the cost of constructing a building often doesn't justify the rents the property can draw. Mathews, a former city councilor who ascended to the powerful (and now extinct) offi ce of deputy mayor in the early 1990s, has more recently chaired John Philip the Hartford Stadium Authority and served on the boards of various nonprofi ts Appointed by Mayor Luke Bronin in mid-2020, Mathews has already made some waves, including questioning the fi nancing and overall design of a $22.5-million mixed-use development at the corner of Albany Avenue and Woodland Street. Developer Rohan Freeman had already been greenlit by city councilors for a 50-year ground lease and was also slated to receive $5.5 million in state Bond Commission funding. The project now faces an uncertain future, after the Capital Region Development Authority voted — at Mathews' request — to hang onto the bond funds while Mathews seeks a redesign or other proposals. I. Charles Mathews An aerial rendering of the vision for Bushnell South in Hartford, which today is mainly parking lots. PHOTO | CONTRIBUTED Clayton Fowler million overhaul that will include 164 residential units, and space for coworking and a restaurant. As city planners continue to conceptualize a potentially $500 million plan to overhaul Bushnell South, an area that stretches from 55 Elm to the Capitol, Fowler said recently he was optimistic, so long as government and local residents are welcoming. "If there's a will, there's always going to be a way," Fowler said. "There are obstacles and challenges involved in ground-up development in a community that's ... not as wealthy as downstate Connecticut. It needs to be a very fi rm public-private partnership. We're very excited to at least be at the table."

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