Hartford Business Journal

HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | JUNE 12, 2023 21 ORTHOPEDIC & SPINE HEALTH Targeted Care That Moves You You can count on our expert team to provide individualized treatment options to solve your orthopedic problems - both surgical and non-surgical. We offer the best in sports medicine, joint replacement, arthroscopic surgery, spine health, pain management, physiatry and rehabilitation, podiatry, hand and fracture care, and general orthopedics right here in the heart of your community. Take the first step in geing back to what you love. Schedule your appointment today! 833.4BHDOCS | bristolhealth.org/ortho HIP ELBOW FOOT KNEE SPINE IWG said it was seeing "higher demand for hybrid working solutions globally with companies reducing their real estate costs and responding to the needs of their employees," but that "macroeconomic headwinds," including inflation and higher interest rates, could negatively impact future office-space demand. On a far smaller stage, West Hart- ford Coworking offers 10 desks and seven offices capable of hosting one or two people, all with shared ameni- ties, from a leased 4,100-square-foot space on New Park Avenue. At present, only two desks are available, said Annisa Teich, managing director of Bromleigh Ventures, parent company of West Hartford Coworking. Even so, she is wary of a possible shift, either in working habits or the economy. She believes the small business advisory services and special events offered at West Hart- ford CoWorking will help shield it from any downswing. "I think if we were just offering space, we might be in a little bit of trouble," Teich said. "We offer space and community programming. We have small business services on-site. That certainly bolsters another kind of community that keeps us alive." Teich said she's confident enough that Bromleigh is opening a second location, WindsorWorx, this July. She's leasing 3,800 square feet on the first floor of a converted 15,990-square-foot light industrial building at 41 Mechanic St., in Windsor. The building is in a section of Windsor that officials are trying to turn into a more vibrant town center. It's a short walk from a passenger rail and bus station. Nearby, devel- oper Greg Vaca is transforming a shopping center into a mix of retail and 106 apartments. "If Greg Vaca was not coming in with that complex, I might not have been as excited about Windsor," Teich said. "Seeing brand-new development come in at this stage is really encouraging. Other areas where you are seeing apartments go up with one-bedrooms, they are typically for younger folks. They are going to be more familiar with this (coworking) model. They are more likely to have some hip, sexy job that will be remote." Developer Randy Salvatore, who has built multifamily projects in Stamford, New Haven and Hartford, said coworking space is a popular feature in the 270-unit mixed-use apartment building he recently completed next to Hartford's Dunkin' Park baseball stadium. There is also coworking space, including a conference room, built into a 228-unit apartment develop- ment Salvatore's RMS Cos. has nearly completed on Broad Street in Stamford. Coworking will also be incorporated into a 204-unit apart- ment building planned in Norwalk, Salvatore said. "We need to provide places for people to do that if they don't want to sit up alone in their apartment doing it," Salvatore said. "Anything designed after the pandemic will have more (coworking space) because we have seen the demand for it, and the necessity." Demand for coworking and small offices not a sure-fire bet By Michael Puffer mpuffer@hartfordbusiness.com K eith Werner, president of downtown Hartford busi- ness services provider ThinkSynergy, offers four dedicated offices big enough for up to four people, along with eight "hot desks" at coworking space in his Asylum Street building. The hot desks are available for use by clients on a pop-in basis, and aren't dedicated to a particular user. Werner said his space can accom- modate about 30 people, but member- ship has dwindled to about half capacity over the past three months. "I'm finding a lot of people who are going back to their offices because there is a certain percentage of companies that are still asking them to come back in," Werner said. "And for that reason, there is less of a demand in the Hartford area for coworking." Werner said he's been approached by brokers seeking to lease 50% or more of his building's office space, at 241 Asylum St., for one dedicated user. "There may be some boutique firms that are wanting small spaces under 3,000 square feet in Class B buildings," he said. Real estate investor Joseph Moruzzi said carving up office buildings for small users is more about survival these days, than anything else. In 2016, he paid $750,000 for a roughly 65,000-square-foot office building in Cheshire that formerly housed Webster Bank's lending office. Nearly seven years later, he has managed to almost fill the building by dividing three of its five floors into small office suites, some with room for only one to two users. "It cost a boatload and it was neces- sary to do," Moruzzi said. "If I didn't do that, I would be sitting on it still. You either have to change the way your office space is, or you will be eating office space for a long time." Such a conversion isn't possible in "deep" buildings, as users demand window access, Moruzzi noted. Renovations to reconfigure electrical and HVAC services also come with steep costs, he said. Given rising interest rates and building material costs, it's hard to make the math work today on an office conversion or retrofit, without an extreme bargain on the purchase price, he said. "It's not a bed of roses," Moruzzi said. "It's a necessity that needs to be done in certain buildings that can handle the conversion." Downtown Hartford landlord and businessman Keith Werner said he's seen a recent increase in empty desks at his coworking space, at 241 Asylum St. HBJ PHOTO | STEVE LASCHEVER Advise Realty founder Vinny Valentino. PHOTO | CONTRIBUTED

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