Hartford Business Journal

HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | July 18, 2022 25 POWER 25 REAL ESTATE FOCUS Salvatore said he should be ready to begin that $60 million proj- ect this summer. Salvatore is also eyeing develop- ment of a former data center at 150 Windsor St., and a vacant parcel at 1261 Main St. Lisa Cozzi Lisa Cozzi is the managing direc- tor of multifamily investments at Berkshire Hathaway and she's one of the most prolific apartment bro- kers in the region. She's been brok- ering investment properties since 2003, overseeing a multimillion-dol- lar sales team responsible for market areas in Connecticut, Mas- sachusetts and Rhode Island. Her expertise is in investment sales analysis, property management and development, and she's averaged $50 million in annual sales transac- tions in some years. So far in 2022 she's closed $39 million in deals, including a 98-unit Hartford apartment complex at 22 Elliot St. for $8.6 million, and a 54-unit Hartford apartment port- folio on Prospect Avenue for $4.97 million. She also brokered the $2.8 million sale in February of a 41-unit Hart- ford apartment complex at 903- 911 Asylum Ave. Cozzi said the multifamily invest- ment market continues to be hot. Randy Salvatore Randy Salvatore's Stamford-based RMS Companies is nearing comple- tion of a 270-unit apartment building adjacent to Dunkin' Donuts Park, a first installment in his vision for 1,000 units of market rate housing just north of downtown Hartford. The first units were ready for occu- pancy beginning July 1, accord- ing to Salvatore. He plans to begin another building this summer. The North Crossing project has cemented Salvatore's place as one of Hartford's most active residential developers, a status he should keep for years if his plans for continued phases pan out. In recent months, Salvatore added to his Hartford project load by tak- ing on the partial conversion of the struggling, 390-room Hilton Hotel on Trumbull Street into apartments. The hotel would update and maintain 166 rooms on lower floors with Sal- vatore converting upper floors into 147 apartments. The state Bond Commission is backing Salvatore's vision with $11 million. Salvatore has described the hotel venture as a product of neces- sity, not wanting a failed hotel on the doorstep of his North Crossing project. Salvatore said he is wrapping up negotiations with the city for the next phase of North Crossing, a 530-space parking garage and an attached 237-unit apartment wing on a vacant lot at 1139 Main St. Lisa Cozzi "As far as Connecticut as a whole, the demand is still high with New York and New Jersey investors aggressively building portfolios throughout the state," she said. "The per-unit prices are at a high and I believe that the pricing will begin to plateau as the interest rates begin to rise." Cozzi has also had a leadership role in the industry, having pre- viously served on the Greater Hartford Association of Realtors Commercial board. In 2017, she won the Woman of Fire Award, which honors female leaders in the financial services, insurance and real estate industry. In 2021 she won the 2021 CoStar Power Broker Award. The Winstanleys Winstanley Enterprises LLC con- tinues to be one of Connecticut's most impactful developers, respon- sible for some of the largest retail, apartment and commer- cial develop- ments in the state. Owned by David Winstanley and his sons, Adam and Carter, the Concord, Mas- sachusetts-based company is building a 500,000-square-foot distribution center on North Maple Street in Enfield. The company also has local permission to build an 817,000-square-foot logistics facil- ity on Bacon Road in Enfield. The Bacon Road project has been set back by locals who fear the facility's environmental, traffic and quali- ty-of-life impacts. The past few months have brought new challenges for Winstanley and other logistics developers, as north- of-Hartford towns have begun adopting curbs to temper years of fast-paced logistics construction. Outside Enfield, Winstanleys' Great Pond Village — a 653- acre joint devel- opment effort in Windsor with ABB Combus- tion Engineering — has seen tre- mendous interest. Missouri-based NorthPoint Development has begun construction on a 750,000-square- foot warehouse at the site, while Winstanley has begun a $14 million program of roadbuilding, infrastruc- ture and off-site traffic improve- ments within the property. Carter Winstanley Winstanley also plans to begin construction on a community of 180 rental starter homes in another section of the Great Pond property beginning in spring 2023. The proj- ect will include a pool, clubhouse, pickleball courts and other ame- nities. Construction is anticipated to wrap up in fall 2024. Hartford's Crosskey Architects has been hired to design plans. New Haven-based biotech firm New England Cell Therapeutics recently paid $4.4 million for a roughly 40-acre plot in the Great Pond development. The company had previously approached Wind- sor seeking a tax abatement for a $36 million project to build a 50,000-square-foot facility. Verizon also bought a 30-acre site at Great Pond last Novem- ber, where it plans to build a data center. In New Haven, Winstanley contin- ues work on a 500,000-square-foot bioscience tower. In Manchester, Winstan- ley continues renovations to a 280,000-square-foot retail plaza it purchased in 2015. Winstanley secured Dick's Sporting Goods as a tenant last fall. Adam Winstanley expects to shortly announce addi- tions of a new restaurant tenant and clothing shop, he said. The Klaynbergs Belarussian-born Joseph Klaynberg arrived in America four decades ago with a master's degree from the Moscow State University of Civil Engineering and about $140 in his pocket. From those hum- ble beginnings, Klaynberg built up a powerful construction firm and real estate portfolio in New York. Klaynberg also partnered with others over the past decade to build a downtown Hartford portfolio of 559 mar- ket-rate apartments. Klaynberg's son, Daniel, now leads the family's investments in Hart- ford as head of Spectra Construc- tion and Development, a venture he said also includes a partner- ship with West Hartford-based Levy Properties. Spectra is now working to finalize the purchase of a municipal build- ing at 525 Main St., and a former firehouse at 275 Pearl St. Once remodeled, the two properties will contain a combined 78 apartments, with first-floor retail. The Klayn- bergs estimate a two- to three-year construction schedule. David Winstanley Joseph Klaynberg Developer Randy Salvatore, CEO of RMS Cos., stands on the roof of his nearly-completed, 270-unit apartment building on the northern edge of downtown Hartford. HBJ PHOTO | MICHAEL PUFFER Adam Winstanley

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