NewHavenBIZ

22 n e w h a v e n B I Z | N o v e m b e r 2 0 2 2 | n e w h a v e n b i z . c o m P o w e r 2 5 R e a l E s t a t e John Guedes, Founder, President & CEO, Primrose Companies Bridgeport-based developer John Guedes is having a transformative impact on communities in the Valley — helping to turn blighted industrial areas into thriving communities. Guedes founded Primrose Compa- nies Inc. in 1978, and it specializes in commercial, multifamily and medical office construction projects. He leads Guedes Associates, an architectural firm, and Primrose Development LLC, which focuses on large residential develop- ment projects. Guedes' background also includes years of revitalizing properties in Bridgeport. Guedes is behind a large-scale river- front redevelopment project in Shelton along Canal Street, which when complete will house 650 residential units, 58,000 square feet of commercial space and 1,374 parking spaces. e project includes eight parcels with former industrial sites that require extensive cleanup. Shelton leaders have credited Guedes' efforts with revitalizing the commu- nity's downtown area and attracting new residents. When Guedes first got involved in Shel- ton redevelopment some 15 years ago, the area had abandoned factory complexes. Guedes has been involved in multiple projects during his career. He converted a former corset factory into the Birming- ham on the River condominiums in Shelton, which got their first occupants in 2006. Guedes also built the Riverside Retail Center on the site of the former Rolfite factory. Guedes' pipeline in Shelton includes a 64-unit complex now under construction at 223 Canal St., and a 92-unit complex at 113-123 Canal St., in the planning stages. At the far end of Canal Street, Guedes envisions a 64-unit condo tower and 90-apartment lo complex. In nearby Ansonia, Guedes is pursuing a sports complex that would include an outdoor soccer stadium, 39,000-square- foot indoor soccer facility and 49,000-square-foot multi-sports space on a vacant site on Olson Drive. In Bridgeport, Primrose is converting the former Holiday Inn hotel at 1070 Main St. into 100 one- and two-bedroom luxury apartments. In Hartford, Guedes has teamed up with Biagio Barone of Stratford-based Barone Properties on an $18.7 million conversion of the former Travelers training center at 200 Constitu- tion Plaza into 101 apartments. Amanda Faroni-Sheehan, Vice President of Investments & Multifamily Sales, Oxford Realty Group Amanda Faroni-Sheehan has been involved in several high-dollar deals in recent months, including apartment buildings in cities like Waterbury and Meriden. Faroni-Sheehan is the vice president of commercial invest- ments and multi- family sales for Oxford Realty Group with Van- guard Private Client Group. A Connecticut native, she has been working in the real estate industry for a decade. For the past six years, she has fo- cused on the investment and commercial real estate market, with a concentration on multifamily investment properties. Faroni-Sheehan recently represented the buyer in the purchase of a 22-unit, off-market portfolio across six proper- ties in Waterbury, which sold for nearly $1.3 million. In September, she represented the buyer of a century-old apartment building with first-floor retail in Waterbury, which sold for $1.9 million. e 112-year- old, 22,354-square-foot building at 174 Willow St., was purchased by a New Jersey-based limited liability company headed by Israel Wiznitzer. e four-story, brick-sided building has four commercial spaces on the first floor. It sits on a little more than a tenth of an acre along a busy corridor in a depressed neighborhood. In another large area deal in recent months, Faroni-Sheehan was the list- ing broker for a Meriden multifamily property containing 21 apartments, which sold for $2.2 million. e Hubbard Park Condominiums at 775 W. Main St. is a three-story, 20,158-square-foot develop- ment with a mix of one- and two-bed- room units. Faroni-Sheehan regularly works with investors and developers to close on multifamily, mixed-use office and retail transactions. Faroni-Sheehan was the top agent for multifamily sales in Waterbury in 2019 and 2020, though her reach extends into Hartford and New Haven counties, ac- cording to her profile. In those two years alone, she closed on more than 655 units, totaling more than $50 million. Before joining her current agency, Faroni-Sheehan worked as a senior com- mercial real estate advisor at Berkshire Hathaway Home Services New England Properties. Richard Coote, President, The Wm. M. Hotchkiss Co. of New Haven Richard Coote has some 35 years of experience in the real estate industry, and he serves as president of e Wm. M. Hotchkiss Co. of New Haven. Coote recently handled a deal involving a well- known Elm City landmark, the former Quinnipiack Club on Church Street, which sold for $4.1 million. Local pharmaceutical company Biohav- en bought the property, which included 221 Church St. and 280 Orange St., the building and neighboring parking space. Coote represented the seller, 221 Church St. LLC, in the transaction. Coote at the time of the sale said the property had been on the market for slightly over a year. e property, built in 1931, features 42,000 square feet, 27 parking spaces, 25 guest rooms, meeting space and a kitchen. According to Coote, it had been im- portant to the seller to find the right buy- er, so that the "charm and iconic nature of the building was preserved." e Wm. M. Hotchkiss Company was first founded in New Haven back in 1908. It has several brokers, sales and leasing agents on staff. According to the company, it provides commercial leasing services for over 1.5 million square feet of office and retail space. It also leases and sells residential properties, and offers maintenance and management of commercial and resi- dential assets, from commercial office buildings to multifamily dwellings. It represents buyers and sellers in a variety of real estate deals. Coote's career has included real estate and hospitality operational and manage- ment experience, according to his Linke- dIn profile. He has managed residential and commercial assets ranging from general office buildings to health care to banking to hotels. Fred A. Messore, Senior Vice President, Colonial Properties Undeveloped land may be hard to find in the Valley, but Fred A. Messore, senior vice president of Orange-based Colonial Properties, played a pivotal role in the recent sale of a wooded lot in Ansonia. In September, a real estate invest- ment firm purchased two properties totaling 27 acres at 64-78 Pulaski Highway in Ansonia for more than $1.1 million. e properties had been owned for more than four decades by Peter Over- chuk and family. Messore served as the broker for the sellers. Ansonia Orchard LLC, an affiliate of Manhattan-based Fortitude Capital LLC, purchased the site. e property is zoned residential, and is bordered by streets with single-family homes. Ansonia city officials indicated in September that they were interested in the property for a potential new middle school. In another deal in recent months, Mes- sore was the sole broker in the sale of a vacant 2,550-square-foot former automo- tive repair shop in Ansonia. e property at 209-211 Pershing Drive was formerly a Del's Auto Body and sold for $425,000. e buyer, 690 New Haven Ave. LLC (Monaco Enterprise), indicated it plans to open an Anthony's Auto Body. Messore, a West Haven native who lives in Orange, has been a realtor since 2007. Messore served as economic develop- ment director for the town of Seymour for seven years ending in 2018. Before that, he worked for six years as the executive director of the West Haven Economic Development Corporation. During his career as a real estate agent, Messore has garnered recognition for his accomplishments, including multiple "Deal of the Year" awards from the New Haven Middlesex Realtors (NHMR). Messore is active in the community and on professional organizations, includ- ing serving on the board of directors for NHMR, on the executive board of directors for the West Haven Chamber of Commerce, and on the Brownfield Committee for the Valley Council of Governments. Colette Harron, Agent, William Pitt Sotheby's International Realty Colette Harron has been involved in the sale of many of the most luxurious homes in the region — including the Old Saybrook estate of the late actress Katha- rine Hepburn. Harron, an Essex resident, has garnered multiple awards for her work, including Diamond, Platinum and Gold awards for being a top producer. 2 0 2 2 P r o f i l e s

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