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26 n e w h a v e n B I Z | A p r i l 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 ? Bridgeport hotel slated for apartment redevelopment sells for $6.5M By Greg Bordonaro, Michelle Tuccitto Sullo & Liese Klein A Bridgeport-based Holiday Inn hotel that is being converted into an apartment complex has sold for $6.5 million. e Holiday Inn Bridgeport- Trumbull-Fairfield hotel sold in February, property records show. e buyer was 1070 Main Street LLC, which is controlled by John N. Guedes, who is the president and CEO of Bridgeport construction, development and architectural firm Primrose Cos. Inc. Guedes said his firm is already underway with work to convert the former 268-room hotel into about 100 one- and two-bedroom luxury apartments. Some of the apartments, he said, will be available for short-term stays, to help accommodate people who attend concerts and other events at the nearby Total Mortgage Arena. e Holiday Inn previously served as the city's main hotel. Guedes said the project will target young professionals who take the train for work to New York City. e average rent, he said, will be about $2,750 per month, which is less than apartment rents in neighboring Fairfield, a competing market. Primrose Cos. is a family-owned business that focuses on adaptive reuse of properties into apartments. e seller of the hotel was Bridgeport-based developer Trefz Properties, which originally bought the property in 1996. e hotel was constructed in 1986 and renovated in 2012, according to CoStar. ere is a trend in Connecticut and nationwide of developers purchasing struggling hotels and converting them into apartments, especially aer the pandemic battered the hospitality industry. Pitney Bowes sells Shelton office building for $52.2M Stamford-based Pitney Bowes, one of Connecticut's largest employers, has sold its Shelton office property as part of a sales-leaseback deal. e global shipping and mailing company inked a deal in February to sell its 300,000-square-foot Class A office building at 27 and 35 Waterview Drive for $52.2 million, land records show. e buyer was BDP Holdings, a New Jersey-based real estate investment company. Pitney Bowes leases 100% of the property and will continue to do so, according to BDP Holdings. As part of the deal, BDP took out a $31.35 million mortgage with New York City-based Ladder Capital Finance LLC, land records show. "e location at Waterview Drive is 100 percent leased to Pitney Bowes and just a short commute from the company's Stamford headquarters," said Dennis Lim, principal of BDP Holdings. In a statement, Pitney Bowes said it determined last year that "conditions were favorable for a sale leaseback of our Shelton property and we went to market negotiating with several potential buyers." e facility is Pitney Bowes' largest operating center housing a mix of departments, the company said, including IT, human resources, finance, innovation and inside sales as well as multiple non-office operations such as assembly, virtual product demo, research and development labs, data center and warehousing. "Although this transaction represents a change in ownership, Pitney Bowes will continue to operate the facility as it has in the past," the company said in a statement. e property, situated on 22.7 acres, consists of three stories of office space, with additional space utilized for assembly/warehousing and engineering. e building also includes a full- service cafeteria, fitness center and scenic outdoor area. Built in 1995, the property has also undergone many recent capital improvements, including a new roof and major office and lab renovations. BDP said this is its fih investment in the New York City metropolitan area. It has invested more than $6.5 billion in real estate across the U.S., the company said. 27 and 35 Waterview Drive, Shelton PHOTO | COSTAR Bridgeport's Westnor Apartments sell for $8.1M A 57-unit Bridgeport apartment complex has sold for $8.1 million, property records show. e Westnor Apartments at 45 Monroe St. sold in February. e buyer was Blackrock Homes Partners LLC, which lists a West Hartford business address. Blackrock Homes' principal lists another LLC, Stockbridge Capital, whose principal is Arthur Mbanefo, state records show. e seller was Westnor Apartments LLC, which is controlled by Ernest Paushter, who has a Bridgeport business address. e property was built in 1969 and contains studio and one- and two-bedroom apartments, with rents averaging between $894 to $1,287 per month, according to CoStar. Westnor Apartments, Bridgeport PHOTO | COSTAR Manufacturer leases Wallingford industrial space Jet Process Corp. has finalized a long- term lease for 5,500 square feet at 126 South Turnpike Road, Wallingford. e company supplies thin film solder coatings for customers The Holiday Inn Bridgeport-Trumbull-Fairfield hotel in Bridgeport is being converted into apartments. PHOTO | COSTAR

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