Hartford Business Journal

8 HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | August 15, 2022 DEAL WATCH New gym in downtown Hartford building momentum Adam Kinson and Emily Walsh, co-owners of a new Hartford btone Fitness franchise, at their studio at 111 Pearl Street. HBJ PHOTO | MICHAEL PUFFER By Michael Puffer mpuffer@hartfordubusiness.com After three months of operation, btone Fitness has attracted a small but growing and dedicated clientele in its 2,128-square-foot studio in the center of Hartford. The first-floor studio at 111 Pearl St. offers individually tailored workouts on resistance-based machines, intended to cater to any fitness level. So far, it has averaged between 10 to 30 clients daily, with aspirations of building up after the summer lull period is over. "Our first month did exactly what we were hoping, and it's been steady growth since then," said Adam Kinson, who co-owns the franchise with his wife, Emily Walsh. "We are building good momentum into September." The studio occupies a large portion of the available first-floor retail space at 111 Pearl St., a former office building that had long sat vacant and neglected. New York-based developers Wonder Works Construction and Girona Ventures invested $21.6 million into the building, creating 101 apartments and first-floor retail in a project that wrapped up in 2020. Girona Ventures later sold its stake in the property to a partnership headed by major apartment developer and investor Marty Kenny and parking magnate Alan Lazowski. "This building, which is really in a strategic location in the heart of down- town, right on the corner of Trumbull and Pearl, was vacant for decades," Mayor Luke Bronin said recently. "This was a blighted deteriorated building. It is now a beautiful apartment building and home to bTone Fitness." The building at 111 Pearl St. is one of several repurposed downtown prop- erties offering market-rate apartments with amenities under the "Spectra" label. The Spectra projects are among thousands of new apartments in down- town Hartford, largely enabled through low-interest loans via the Capital Region Development Authority. "When we decided to move back to the Hartford area four years ago, we were honestly really drawn to the downtown area because there is nothing like this here and there's certainly the growing community of young professionals and commuters but there's especially a growing community of residents down here," Walsh said. "I think they deserve access to an amenity like this." The gym uses padded "reformer" resistance-based machines. The new franchise on Pearl Street has 10 at $10,000 apiece. These represent the bulk of the roughly $150,000 fit-out cost for the new business. Webster Bank provided financing. Walsh and Kinson, both 37, haven't quit their day jobs. She is a copy editor for social impact philanthropies and sings professionally for a church in Glastonbury. He is an actuary and software engineer for Arch Insurance Group. "Certainly, our other occupations have allowed us to pursue this," Kinson said. "It's not just cash we had lying around." There are 14 btone Fitness gyms, mostly in Massachusetts. Walsh got heavily into the fitness business while living around Boston for a decade. The location on Pearl Street is the first in Connecticut. "It changed my life," Walsh said. "As someone with chronic joint injuries and someone who really never got the hang of team sports, this workout helped me feel stronger, both mentally and physically." Building Ideas That Work... Building Ideas That Work... Contact us at 860.482.7613 or visit us at BorghesiBuilding.com 2155 East Main Street Torrington, Connecticut 06790 © 2011 BlueScope Buildings North America, Inc. All rights reserved. Butler Manufacturing ™ is a division of BlueScope Buildings North America, Inc. Borghesi Building & Engineering Co., Inc. will guide you in defining your project goals, help analyze your prospective property and provide a realistic budget. For more than 80 years, Borghesi Building & Engineering Co., Inc. has provided quality and reliability with design and energy efficient construction. With an attractive design, it presents to your customers a comfortable relaxing environment to help promote sales. You will appreciate the quality your facility presents. FUJI PLAZA, TORRINGTON MEN'S WEARHOUSE, WEST SIMSBURY WALGREENS, TORRINGTON

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