Hartford Business Journal

HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | July 18, 2022 27 POWER 25 REAL ESTATE FOCUS Turn to TSB for the flexible financing you need to move your business forward. • Commercial mortgages and construction loans • Competitive rates and customized terms • Prompt personal service every step of the way Where Do You Want To Be Tomorrow? It Starts Here, Today. Visit us online, contact a Commercial Lender, or stop by a branch to get started. TorringtonSavings.Bank/Business (860) 496-4495 EQUAL HOUSING LENDER | MEMBER FDIC Mike Goman & Tom York Mike Goman and Tom York are two stalwarts in Greater Hartford's com- mercial real estate industry, having teamed up in 2011 to start their own firm, Goman+York Prop- erty Advisors LLC. Goman oversees the firm's govern- mental and insti- tutional advisory practice and does work in Connecti- cut and around the country. And his firm has seen a lot of activity over the past year in munici- pal economic development advisory services and feasibility studies for private developers. On the municipal side, the majority of that work has been helping towns initiate the redevel- opment of specific large and obsolete projects, or with various grant pro- grams such as the Community Invest- ment Fund, Community Challenge Grants or American Rescue Plan Act-related programs. On the development side, he said he's seeing a lot of interest in acquir- ing obsolete office and retail proper- ties, with the goal of converting them either to rental housing or some type of mixed-use development. Another trend he said he's seeing is an increasing number of towns taking a real-world, pragmatic approach to economic development. "Whereas in years past we used to see many towns resisting new devel- opment, we're now seeing many more towns rethink their view of development and position themselves to be more favorably disposed toward new developments," he said. York has been in commercial real estate for a quarter-century, formerly serving as a broker for CBRE before hanging his own shingle. He oversees Goman+York's bro- kerage division. York says COVID-19 has been the biggest event to impact commercial real estate during his career and he's spent the majority of his time over the past year advising office occupiers on post-pandemic best practices. "One of our current clients is a 50,000-square-foot tenant with 250 employees and a lease expiring later this year," he said. "After care- ful consideration and analysis, they opted to relocate their operations and incorporate a hybrid model, which reduced their space requirement by Ostop is JLL's broker lead for central Connecticut and western Massa- chusetts and is active locally, hav- ing served as a board commissioner of the Hartford Busi- ness Improvement District. Ostop and JLL have been part of some of the biggest real estate transactions in Hartford, including selling, on two separate occasions, City Place I, the city's and state's largest office tower. City Place last traded hands in 2015 when it was purchased by Boston real estate investment firm Paradigm Properties for $113.3 million. JLL now represents Paradigm as the property's broker. Interestingly, Ostop has turned some of his attention to the New Haven market where demand for lab space has spurred new major develop- ments and office space conversions. For example, JLL was selected as the leasing agent for Winchester Works, a New Haven life sciences building that received a multimil- lion-dollar facelift in recent years to attract new bioscience companies. "Distribution and lab properties are Mike Goman Tom York about 18%. They chose an ameni- ty-rich, higher-quality property, which had become materially more afford- able post-COVID and they believe will enhance their ability to recruit and retain high-quality, produc- tive employees." Nicholas R. Morizio Nicholas R. Morizio's influence on the region's commercial real estate sector was on display when he was recently inducted into the UConn School of Business Hall of Fame. UConn said this about Morizio, who is the pres- ident of the Hart- ford and New Haven offices of brokerage firm Colliers Inter- national: "With more than 45 years of experience in commercial real estate, he has marketed properties exceed- ing $800 million. He has also led sev- eral professional organizations and is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Lifetime Achieve- ment Award by the UConn Center for Real Estate." Morizio, who has largely focused on the red-hot industrial market, has been involved in several major deals over the past year, including the $6.9 million sale of the former 139,000-square-foot Sam's Club property in Manchester to the Gross- man Cos. Inc. He also brokered the sale of the 154,000-square-foot East Granby warehouse at 7-17 Bradley Park Road for $6.2 million. The industrial market has been so hot, Morizio said, that land and build- ing prices are up 25% or more. Over his entire career, Morizio has been in the middle of some of the largest deals in Greater Hartford, including the sale of three major office buildings in Hartford: the former Bank of America tower at 777 Main St.; the "Stilts" building at 20 Church St.; and the Metro Center at 350 Church St. Aside from being a deal-maker, Morizio has been a leader in the industry, having been appointed a Counselor of Real Estate (CRE) and past president of the CT chapter of the Society of Industrial & Office Realtors (SIOR). Chris Ostop Chris Ostop is another top bro- ker in Hartford. He's the managing director of JLL, which did $110 million in commercial volume activity in 2020. seeing the most activity," Ostop said. "Activity at traditional office buildings is picking up but many companies are opting for short- term leases as they solve for their future space needs." Ostop said it's becoming clear that employees will return to the office but with much more flexibility. "Most national real estate firms forecast a 15% reduction in office demand as flexible work takes hold," Ostop said. "However, the increase in vacancy will not be shared equally by every building. In every market across the country the demand for top-quality buildings in a 'live, work, play' environment is far outpacing demand for the low-cost alternative options with fewer tenant amenities and higher-deferred maintenance. To the employee, the office experi- ence must be 'worthy' of their com- mute. Better space in desirable areas is another tool to lure employees back to their desks and to attract and retain top talent." He added that vibrant, work, live, and play areas like West Hart- ford Center and Somerset Square in Glastonbury are seeing high- er-than-normal activity. Nicholas R. Morizio Chris Ostop

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