NewHavenBIZ

26 n e w h a v e n B I Z | J a n u a r y 2 0 2 2 | n e w h a v e n b i z . c o m W h a t ' s T h e D e a l ? Downtown Bridgeport apartments sell for $13.6M By Greg Bordonaro, Liese Klein and Michelle Tuccitto Sullo A former downtown Bridgeport office building that was convert- ed into a mixed-use apartment development has sold for $13.6 million, property records show. e 65-unit apartment complex at 333 State St., sold in October to Premier Properties of Lake- wood, New Jersey, records show. e property, which was originally built in 1968, was redeveloped last decade into apartments by Carlson Construction. It includes one- and two-bedroom market-rate apartments as well as some commercial tenants. Milford shopping plaza formerly anchored by ShopRite sells for $11M A Milford-based retail plaza an- chored by a recently-opened specialty grocery store has sold for $11 million, records show. e 180,315-square-foot neighbor- hood shopping center — known as Milford Plaza — at 155 Cherry St., sold in December. e buyer was New York-based Northpath Investments. Milford Plaza is approximately 65% leased and is anchored by G-Mart, a grocer with a focus on Asian cuisines. Its other tenants include Planet Fitness, Dollar Tree and Hartford HealthCare, according to CBRE, which helped broker the deal. e property — which was built in 1958, sits on 15 acres, and has 885 surface parking spaces — was formerly anchored by ShopRite before the New Jersey-based supermarket moved into a larger nearby building. Salvatore wins OK for last building in City Crossing project near Yale medical campus Another luxury apartment tower is set to join the growing cluster near Yale's medical campus in New Haven's Hill neighborhood aer a plan by Stamford-based developer Randy Sal- vatore recently gained city approval. e plan, for parcels at 188, 196 and 206 Lafayette St. and 39 Prince St., outlines a 112-unit, seven-story building on land now used as surface parking. e City Plan Commission voted unanimously in mid-December to approve Salvatore's project. e new building will house 35 studios (550 square feet) with sleeping alcoves; 36 one-bedroom apartments (720 square feet); and 41 two-bedroom apart- ments (1,050 square feet). e developer cited the neigh- borhood's dire parking shortage as impetus to also build a three-story, 178-space garage at the site, with one floor at ground level and two floors below ground. Developer breaks ground on upscale multifamily project in Haddam Construction is underway on a new 56-unit multifamily community in Haddam, with a projected opening in the winter of 2022. e developer, Elm Tree Communities of Old Saybrook, announced that it had broken ground in December on the project, dubbed "Blueway Commons." It will include three two-story buildings and feature a 2,500-square- foot community center, fitness center, community gathering room, coworking spaces and resident lounge. Elm Tree plans to begin leasing as early as this summer. e development is being built on Brookes Court, close to Route 154 and the swing bridge over the Connecticut River, which links Haddam and East Haddam. Jeff Hartmann, founder and CEO of Elm Tree Communities, said the complex will appeal to several potential residents, particularly young professionals, families and empty nesters. e development will have a variety of floor plans, with one- and two- bedroom options, ranging in size from 815 to 1,180 square feet. Popular restaurant The Essex moves to new home in Old Saybrook An upscale shoreline restaurant, e Essex, has reopened in a new town — Old Saybrook. Originally established in 2017 in the Centerbrook section of Essex, it features the culinary offerings of Chef Colt Taylor. e new location is at 247 Main St., in downtown Old Saybrook, and has an open kitchen, with seating for 42 guests indoors and an additional 20 seats at an outdoor patio. e restau- rant is across from the Katharine Hep- burn Cultural Arts Center, and offers a new dining option for theatergoers. Virtual golf planned for former trampoline park e new owners of a 25,316-square- foot building in Wallingford are planning to transform it into a virtual golf facility called "Back 9 Social." Slomkowski Family Realty LLC recently sold the property at 805 North Colony Road, to Mean Sisters LLC for $1.55 million. e industrial building, formerly leased by Sky Zone Trampoline Park, is on 1.65 acres. Sentry Commercial represented the seller, while Press/Cuozzo Realtors represented the buyer in the deal. Mean Sisters LLC's principals are listed as Shawn Reilly of Hamden and Raffaele DiFonzo of Wallingford, according to the Secretary of the State's office. DiFonzo said the plan is for the new virtual golf facility to feature 10 simulator bays, a full bar, televisions, games and "gastropub-style eats in a modern industrial aesthetic." "Back 9 Social will have everything from lessons and leagues to private events and fittings, and everything is open to both the experienced golfer and non- golfer alike," DiFonzo said via email. Bioscience incubator opens doors on New Haven's Congress Ave. e latest bioscience incubator space to open in New Haven is set to nurture the next great Elm City entrepreneurs, science leaders said. "We feel we're going to lead the way," said John Geibel, speaking at a recent ribbon-cutting for the New Haven Innovation Labs, a new startup space inside the John B. Pierce Laboratory. Geibel is the director of Pierce, a nonprofit, independent research institute affiliated with Yale University and named for famed 19th-century inventor and entrepreneur John Bartlett Pierce. e New Haven Innovation Labs incubator houses 7,630 square feet of lab and office space for up to 19 startups inside the Pierce building at 290 Congress Ave., near the Yale Medical School. e project, a partnership with BioCT, recently wrapped up aer more than a year of renovations funded by a $550,000 grant from CTNext, the state entrepreneurship program. New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker said startup lab space is still at a premium in the city although major new projects like the 101 College St. lab tower and Elm City Bioscience Center at 55 Church St. are in the pipeline. n The apartments at 333 State St., in Bridgeport. PHOTO | COSTAR Rendering of Blueway Commons. RENDERING |CONTRIBUTED 805 North Colony Road is slated to become a virtual golf site. PHOTO | CONTRIBUTED Pierce Laboratory Director John Geibel (center) cuts the ribbon at the New Haven Innovation Labs. PHOTO | LIESE KLEIN

• Cover