Hartford Business Journal

HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | MAY 1, 2023 7 DEAL WATCH BUYERS & SELLERS "I think he's modeled his approach after Carlos Mouta in understanding if you are going to upgrade the neigh- borhood, you can't do it with one building, you need to concentrate in the area," Levy said. "I think this is starting to have an impact with other people starting to take a little more pride in their properties. As a result, the community and the city benefits, especially Albany Avenue, which is really the gateway into the city from the west." Andaleeb has also hired Enfield consultant Housing Enterprises and Hartford-based architecture firm LifeCare Design Inc. He said city staff have been supportive. Andaleeb said his main focus now is launching the 40-unit, mixed-use residential project at 270 Albany Ave. He still must finalize designs, a lease agreement with the city and his funding stack, which will include historic tax credits, affordable housing credits and other public support. The city might also pitch in by demolishing two fire-ravaged retail buildings on-site, he said. "The plan right now is to stay focused on 270 Albany and wrap that up," Andaleeb said. "And, obviously, if other opportunities arise in the neigh- borhood, we will always look at them." Upward trajectory Hartford's Albany Avenue/Main Street corridor has seen a fresh infusion of public investment in recent A rendering of the $10.7 million, 40-unit apartment mixed-use redevelopment planned at 270 Albany Ave., in Hartford. RENDERING | CONTRIBUTED 150-unit multifamily, mixed-use plan eyed under West Hartford's new transit district N ew Jersey businessman Sami Abunasra has applied to develop a five-story building mixing 150 apartments with 17,241 square feet of restaurant and retail space along New Britain Avenue in West Hartford, in the town's Elmwood section. Located near the CTfastrak rapid busway's Elmwood station, the proposal for a 205,262-square-foot building at 1051 and 1061 New Britain Ave., is the first to take advantage of a new transit-oriented development district adopted by the Town Council last June. The district allows developers to build higher multifamily residential densities in a district near mass transit, with preference granted to applications that incorporate affordable housing, clean energy and underground parking. Abunasra paid $1.1 million for the 2.97-acre New Britain Avenue property in 2020, initially converting the former Puritan Furniture store into an Ashley HomeStore location. After talking with town officials about their aims for the district, he pivoted to an ambitious mixed-use development plan with studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments. EAST GRANBY Two neighboring manufacturing buildings totaling 82,386 square feet at 5 and 18 Connecticut South Drive in East Granby have sold for $7.35 million. The previous owner, 5-18 Connecticut Real Estate Holdings Company LLC, sold the properties to CoreOne Industrial LLC, an industrial real estate investment company headquartered in Darien. The current tenant, Overhaul Support Services, will remain in the facilities under a long-term lease. Overhaul Support Services, estab- lished in 2000, is an aerospace maintenance company specializing in overhauling helicopter components. Coldwell Banker Commercial brokered the deal. SUFFIELD A developer looking to convert a Suffield church into apartments has purchased the property for $588,000, despite the Planning and Zoning Commission denying his application. James R. McMahon of Guilford and LND 2000 LLC bought property at 140 South Main St., for $450,000 from Sacred Heart Parish Corp., according to town records. Records show McMahon also bought the neighboring property, 156 South Main, as principal of MI 2 LLC from Sacred Heart Parish for $138,000. Both deals were recorded April 3. Since November, McMahon has been seeking an adaptive reuse permit from Suffield land use boards to convert the former St. Joseph Catholic Church into apart- ments, but the town's zoning board denied his project application in February. McMahon could not be reached for comment regarding his plans for the property. HARTFORD A dilapidated, century-old office building a couple blocks south of Hartford's Bushnell Park may get a new lease on life after the City Council voted to sell it to the Charter Oak Health Center. The city owns the boarded-up, 2.5-story building at 15 Grand St., abutting a community health center run by the nonprofit. Charter Oak proposed to buy the building for $6,800 and rehab it for administra- tive offices. A rendering of 1051-1061 New Britain Ave., West Hartford. Arrowhead Café. The city helped secure a $6.3 million state grant for this development. "Albany Avenue is a vital artery that connects multiple neighborhoods, and it's also the most heavily-used corridor in Hartford, so we're taking a comprehensive and aggressive approach to economic development up and down Albany Avenue," Bronin said in a statement to the Hartford Business Journal. "Too often in the past, the city has scattered its economic development efforts rather than concentrating them for maximum impact, and while we're doing lots of work all over the city, we're really focused on making sure that we reinforce the work we've already done on Albany Avenue and make a lasting change — filling in the gaps, bringing blighted properties back to life, and creating a vibrant corridor where people can live, work, shop, play and walk." Hartford City Council member Shirley Surgeon said there has been a tangible uptick in development interest on Albany Avenue following decades of decline. She remains a bit guarded, saying she's seen too many absentee landlords, but is hopeful the Andaleeb family proves good stew- ards of their recent acquisitions. "It's great to get those properties back online," Surgeon said. "We need to increase our taxes. These newly renovated apartments for low- to moderate-income people continue to be needed in the city." years, with the Bronin administration pumping resources and attention into what the mayor describes as a vital city artery. The city and state jointly funded a $30 million reconstruction of a roughly mile-long section of Albany Avenue with improved road designs and streetscapes. The Bronin admin- istration has also directed funding to various redevelopment projects along the corridor. Philadelphia-based developer Pennrose is nearly halfway through a 412-unit apartment development at 1550 Albany Ave. Construction began in 2019, made possible by a long-term lease of 40 acres through the city's Housing Authority. Plans call for 80,000 square feet of commercial development, predominantly retail with some offices. The city is angling to incen- tivize private development of a 38,000-square-foot commercial building and 2,502-square-foot retail building on four vacant lots at the corner of Albany Avenue and Woodlawn Street. The plan calls for a restaurant, community room, retail shops and relocation of the city's health department to the site. At the corner of Main and Ann Uccello streets, a partnership between the nonprofit San Juan Center and Carabetta Development LLC is pursuing a $17.4 million development of 43 apartments and 7,300 square feet of retail space in three buildings. The project is centered on a building that formerly hosted the

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