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C T I N N O V A T O R S , 2 0 2 2 1 3 MOUTA Carlos Mouta Founder Parkville Management Education: Marketing, Central CT State University Hartford. She recalls early neighborhood meetings about the concept. "People were looking so puzzled. They were like, what? Here, in Parkville? I don't know about that, Carlos." "He's bold, he's a straight shooter, he's candid," she says. "It's refreshing." But she also credits the famously outspoken Mouta with being able to listen. "Because he cares so much about the people in this community, he's open to hearing a different perspective," she says. Shaw and Hands On Hartford are now embarking on a business partnership with their neighbor, planning a mixed- use development for a lot that sits between the nonprofit's current property on Bartholomew Avenue and one of Mouta's. Mouta's success with Parkville Market has certainly given banks folded. He recalls it now as "a terrible time." But it gradually dawned on him that what was a disaster for many could be, for an ambitious businessman just starting out, an opportunity. He began bargain hunting, taking on loans to refurbish buildings, and betting that the low prices would eventually rebound. "I literally bought buildings without getting out of my car, they were so cheap," he said. Staying nimble Initially, his play was all about residential real estate, creating and renting apartments — at one time he owned and managed more than 600 units. e bets started to pay off, and his own company, Westside Property Management – subsequently named Parkville Management – was born. Slowly commercial buildings also entered the picture. He bought his first, the property where Parkville Market is now located, in 1999. But back then it was still tenanted by the Bishop Ladder Co., and the idea for the market was more than a decade away. Over the years he has stayed nimble, riding the downturns by getting creative, and oen doubling down on his position by investing more in hard times. Just aer 9/11, he got into self storage as a way to keep empty property profitable, later selling on that business. "I did what I needed to do to keep up with the times and survive," he says. He claims there was never a grand vision. But he looks back now and he can see the progress his old boyhood streets are making. "Slowly — I didn't know — I was changing the neighborhood." Development influences Parkville Market, the project that's put him on the map in recent years, began as a concept back in 2016 as the Park Street building became vacant. As with many of his projects, the $5.1 million in funding was patchworked together, including his own personal investment, a construction loan from the Capital Region Development Authority and further loans and grants from the state. Honoring the building itself became an important part of the project, and while he preserved its bones, the 200-foot-long hall was transformed to host a variety of food vendors with American and international flare, a beer bar, retail, individual dining rooms and two large terrace areas. Mouta says he created it "because I love markets." And that simple love of the thing he is creating turns out to be his driving philosophy as a developer. "I build what I want, what I think is missing," he said. "I just go somewhere and say, 'I'd love that in Parkville, that would be great in Hartford.' " Some concepts have come from visiting New York City and seeing the revival of disused industrial buildings there. "My daughters lived all over Manhattan, Brooklyn, and I go there and I love the vibe. Old buildings being reused," he says. Mouta just smiles at the title of innovator — to the man himself, he's simply applying common sense. "I'm not reinventing the wheel," he says of his signature mixed- use projects. "ey exist somewhere else — why can't I do it here? I'm not brighter than anyone else." A case in point: e buzz around the market — and the spotlight it has brought to his company — came as a surprise. "I had done better and bigger projects than Parkville Market, but that's where everybody went nuts. It was not a big deal to me," he says. "Like I discovered gold or petroleum or something. I mean obviously I was happy, but I was taken aback." e theme of collaboration and inspiring others is also important to him. "I did it to get folks to start their own business," he says of the market, which encouraged new food offerings. "I wanted it to be affordable for the community. I wanted the local people to use this. I don't want this to be a tourist trap." For his early vendors, he specified that at least 50% of their menu had to be under $10, to keep the market affordable. "There were some naysayers," recalls Parkville neighbor Barbara Shaw, executive director of local nonprofit Hands On Continued on next page Carlos Mouta has big plans for this former industrial building at 237 Hamilton St. in Parkville.