Hartford Business Journal

26 HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | July 18, 2022 FOCUS POWER 25 REAL ESTATE Clayton H. Fowler Clayton H. Fowler is chairman, CEO and a founding partner of Spinna- ker Real Estate Partners, a Norwalk company that has completed more than $1.5 billion in acquisition and development projects over the past 70 years. Spinnaker is a key player in Hartford's attempt to build a vibrant neigh- borhood on blocks of parking and underused buildings just south of Bushnell Park. The hope is to build a walkable, livable community alive with retail and arts that connects Hartford's downtown with the state Capitol and surrounding govern- ment buildings. Spinnaker helped fund and direct the creation of the "Bushnell South Master Plan," which calls for 1,200 apartments, new public gathering spaces and more than 63,000 square feet of retail. Spinnaker is currently pursuing a $63.3 million redevelopment of the former state office building at 55 Elm St., on the eastern edge of the redevelopment zone. Spinnaker plans to build 278 apartments and retail space on that site. The master plan also shows Spinnaker building another 456 housing units on parking lots just south of 55 Elm St. Fowler has previously led massive redevelopment projects in St. Louis, Portland, Oregon and elsewhere. His company's plans for Bushnell South have advanced with praise and sup- port of city planning staff. Spinnaker paid $6.8 million for the 200,000-square-foot office complex at 55 Elm St., in 2020. It also pur- chased three nearby parking lots. After renovating 55 Elm St., Spinna- at promoting a collaborative in-per- son environment. It also aims to help bring the broader real estate community together — including other brokers and related professionals like attorneys, accoun- tants, etc. — for networking, pro- gramming and informal interactions. Duclos is very active in the region's real estate community. He is on the boards of the Hartford Real Estate Finance Association and CT/Western Massachusetts chapter of the Soci- ety of Industrial and Office Realtors. In terms of an outlook, Duclos said the office market continues to be challenged, but he remains bullish on the region's industrial market, although the slowing and uncertain economy is creating some headwinds. Michael Freimuth It would be hard to overstate the importance the Capital Region Development Authority has played in the development of Hartford and sur- rounding towns since its creation in 2012. The agency over- sees maintenance and operation of Rentschler Field, the Connecticut Con- vention Center and XL Center. Low-in- terest loans supplied by the agency have been key drivers in the creation of thousands of new downtown Hart- ford apartments. Executive Director Michael Freimuth is the steady hand guiding the agen- cy's efforts and advising its board. The quasi-public agency over the past year has focused on continu- ing apartment development, pre- serving a portion of the failing Hilton Hotel, arranging the creation of a sports-betting lounge at the XL Cen- ter and assisting ambitious rede- velopment plans for East Hartford's Norwalk-based Spinnaker Real Estate Partners is currently pursuing a $63.3 million redevelopment of the former state office building at 55 Elm St., in downtown Hartford. PHOTO | COSTAR ker plans to add a five-story, 81-unit apartment building with ground-floor retail space, basement parking and an outdoor beer garden. Subsequent phases would see the addition of an 85-unit building with ground-floor retail and a 1.5-story building with retail and amenity space. Mark J. Duclos Mark J. Duclos is the president of Hartford-based Sentry Commer- cial, one of the most active com- mercial real estate firms in Greater Hartford that offers brokerage, property management and construction man- agement services. Duclos has been in the commercial real estate industry for over 35 years and is a go-to resource on major trends and issues, especially in the region's red-hot distribution sector. He typically represents southern New England companies that are in the manufacturing, warehouse and service industries. He's been involved in several major deals over the past year, including completing long-term leases at two major Greater Hartford properties: the 140,000-square-foot office and industrial space at 15 Sterling Drive, Wallingford; and the 238,000-square- foot office and industrial space at 113 North Maple St., Enfield. He's also helped broker the sale of two other properties: the 86,000-square-foot industrial facility at 780 North Colony Drive, Wall- ingford; and the 167,000-square- foot industrial facility at 215 Moody Road, Enfield. Sentry's relatively new 4,500-square- foot downtown Hartford office space at 160 Trumbull St. — dubbed The REC — is also unique. The space features exposed brick, wood floors and an open floor plan — all aimed Clayton H. Fowler Michael Freimuth Silver Lane Corridor and Hartford's Parkville neighborhood. Other large-scale plans backed by the agency are changing the face of Hartford, including the first, $50 million phase of developer Randy Salvatore's North Crossing project, which will yield 270 apartments next to Dunkin' Donuts Park,. CRDA is working with Spinnaker Real Estate Partners on a $63.3 million project that will create 164 apartments, coworking space, and a restaurant at a former state office building at 55 Elm St. in Hartford. Freimuth has spent years directing one of the most powerful develop- ment engines in the state. Aided by infusions of state bonding money, the agency has lined up develop- ments for areas that long sat idle and decaying. Dinora E. Lopez Dinora E. Lopez is a senior associate attorney at West Hartford law firm Gfeller Laurie LLP and she has taken a leadership role within the commercial real estate industry as the president-elect of CREW CT, a local chapter of an international orga- nization dedicated to advancing women in commercial real estate. Lopez started her career in the real estate industry at Hartford law firm Ford & Paulekas in 2008 as a sec- retary and moved up the ranks to paralegal, attorney and eventu- ally partner, before recently join- ing Gfeller Laurie. She represents commercial real estate buyers and sellers from contract negotiation through closing; owners and tenants in office, industrial and retail property leasing; and institutional lenders and borrowers in financing closings for all property types. In a recent deal, she represented a lender in a multimillion-dollar construc- tion mortgage loan for a mixed-use development in Middlesex County. She also represented Hartford developer Carlos Mouta in con- nection with the construction financing for his popular Parkville Market development. The most interesting trend that she said she is seeing is the reshaping and rethinking of office space. "I think we will continue to see build- ing owners and employers working to reconsider how office spaces can be more inviting by expanding the types of amenities that are offered and reevaluating the use of indepen- dent workspaces," she said. Dinora Lopez Mark Duclos

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