Hartford Business Journal

8 HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | AUGUST 9, 2021 Deal Watch New landlord of East Hartford's Riverview Plaza office tower targets small biz tenants By Matthew Broderick Special to the Hartford Business Journal V anessa McGee has been selling African waist beads — a traditional African accessory — on ETSY since 2011. But when COVID-19 caused her hours as an adult education career development specialist to be scaled back, she decided to create her own online business, Her Beadfulness, in May 2020. "The beading helped [me] manage the stress and channel some creative energy," she said. It also helped grow her local customer base and create a need for office space to showcase her inventory in person. In July, McGee leased space in the newly reopened and renamed Riverview Plaza office tower in East Hartford – the former Bank of America headquarters at 20 Hartland St., more commonly known as 99 Founders Plaza – which was purchased at auction earlier this year for $1.3 million, town records show. The buyer was New York-based property management company Riverview Plaza LLC, which is controlled by Saul and Abrham Maslavi and David Damaghi, state records show. McGee represents a growing number of entrepreneurs who launched their own businesses during the pandemic. In fact, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, which tracks new business applications, the number of startup companies founded in 2020 was up 24% nationally (to 4.4 million) and 9% in Connecticut, which recorded 39,430 new business starts in 2020. And as some startup entrepreneurs look to grow or transition from the social isolation of a home office, that's created demand coming out of the pandemic for modest, cost- effective office space. McGee says proximity to downtown Hartford, scenic riverfront views and flexible month-to-month leasing options were important to her, but the $199 monthly rate for her 150-square-foot office space cemented her decision. Rates for similar office space in surrounding towns that she considered, McGee noted, often exceeded $1,000 a month — a figure that would have cut deeply into her monthly profit. Solomon Teitz, the new property manager for the five-story, 150,000-square-foot Riverview Plaza property that was built in 1971, says the building's price point is designed to attract small businesses and startups — the target tenants of the office tower's phase one, fifth-floor redesign. He says the building currently features nearly 50 office spaces like McGee's with about 15 leased within the first two weeks of opening. With verbal agreements in process, Teitz said he expects to double the fifth- floor occupancy by early August. "Each office suite is customizable, which is a huge advantage for us," Teitz said, noting space is not simply designed for sole proprietors. "We can also create cubicles and coworking space for teams." While the current focus is on attracting smaller tenants, Teitz says the building's other floors can accommodate mid-sized and large employers with up to 1,000 workers and he'll be looking to fill that space as well. One of the big challenges to date, Teitz says, is to change the perception of the building, which had recently gone through a foreclosure process. "People don't know [the building] as a small business area," he said. The landlord has been working with city officials and using online and social media like Facebook and Craigslist to promote the space — and tenants' businesses — with the goal of creating a diverse group of small companies and startups drawn largely from within a 10-mile radius of Hartford. Amenities, social interactions The Riverview Plaza office building, located in Founders Plaza, was formerly fully occupied by Bank of America before the North Carolina- based financial services giant fully vacated the space a few years ago as part of a nationwide effort to consolidate operations. That left the property's former owner in financial distress. The new ownership's leasing efforts are taking place amid some uncertainty about the future of office space in a post-pandemic world. Many employers have discussed shrinking their office footprints as they adjust to a more hybrid work environment. Greater Hartford's office vacancy rate at the end of this first quarter was 20.6%, while the vacancy rate in East Hartford was 31.4%, according to data from CBRE. Currently, Riverview Plaza's mix of small business tenants includes artists, product developers and telemarketers. Keyndra Pacheco, founder of Jade X Stone Skin, a startup that sells organic skin care products, is a tenant in the building. While she's been selling online, she wanted to provide an opportunity for customers to try products in person, which was more challenging from her apartment; she plans to use her office as a storefront. She said she also looks forward to networking with her fellow tenants. "It's nice to interact with other people on a day-to-day basis rather than being alone [at a home business]," she said. "They're also entrepreneurs who can relate to running a business, so it's great to be in the same building, maybe grabbing lunch and learning from each other." Teitz says it's not just the pricing and networking that is attracting tenant interest. The building's planned amenities, including a gym, café and modernized lobby expected to be completed by early fall, have also been selling points, as has the facility's ability to grow with a company's growth. He declined to disclose how much was being invested in the renovations. Melvin Sanchez currently leases one office at Riverview Plaza for his new trucking company, MAE Trucking Services LLC, which he founded with his brother and mutual friend. He says the explosive growth of online commerce and the delivery it requires has created a market opportunity for his services. He's in talks to contract with Amazon to assist with deliveries. Sanchez said he expects to grow both his fleet of trucks and staff, including dispatching roles to manage the workload. "As we grow the business, we're going to need more space," Sanchez said, adding that Teitz is helping him understand his future options in the building. "Small businesses are a big part of a community," Teitz said. "And we want to do anything we can to help them be successful, starting with a professional building that's affordable." The Riverview Plaza office tower in East Hartford, more commonly known as 99 Founders Plaza, is under new ownership looking for small business tenants. PHOTO | COSTAR Solomon Teitz

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