Hartford Business Journal

28 HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | JUNE 12, 2023 POWER 25 | REAL ESTATE industrial portfolio in Rocky Hill (340,000 square feet). McCormick said the macroeco- nomic headwinds associated with inflation, higher interest rates and supply-chain disruptions continue to impact the local market. "With the increased cost of tenant improvements, the market is seeing a higher percentage of renewal activity and relocations to flight-to- quality assets with superior ameni- ties," he said. "The urban migration trend continues, as evidenced by Talcott Resolution's announcement to relocate from Windsor to 52,000 square feet at One American Row in Hartford." With an oversupply of office space, it will continue to be a tenant's market in both the suburbs and Hartford's central business district, McCormick added. "Adaptive reuse for vacant offices may include medical office, multi- family, self-storage and in some cases, demolition for industrial and/ or retail development," he said. "Landlords will continue to provide overall lease term flexibility and improved economics and conces- sion packages for both large and small tenants." Kristen Gorski F rom a redevelopment and adaptive reuse perspective, the town of West Hartford has at least nine large-scale projects in various stages, each approximately $20 million or more in new investment. Helping shepherd those projects through the approval process is Kristen Gorski, West Hartford's economic development coordinator, who is responsible for business retention and expansion, new business attraction and small busi- ness, nonprofit and entrepreneurial support. Part of her job is to attract and spur commercial and multifamily development throughout town. She's been active on that front. The trend that West Hartford has seen over the last few years is mixed-use and multifamily redevel- opment, Gorski said, which is likely to continue. The town has at least one large redevelopment project occurring in each of its five commercial districts, she said. "Due to the fact that West Hartford does not have large tracts of vacant or abandoned land, we are encour- aging and seeing the redevelop- ment of underutilized properties in creative ways such as infill devel- opment, adaptive reuse and tran- sit-oriented development," Gorski said. "These projects are adding higher density housing options and expanding the overall variety of housing options throughout town." One of the most high-profile projects is the One Park redevel- opment, which is an adaptive reuse and historic preservation of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Chambery property, a 22-acre parcel at the corner of Park Road. The approximately 185,000-square-foot former convent, owned by the Sisters for over a century, along with supple- mental new construction is being retrofitted into 295 units of multi- family housing, 30 of which will be affordable units through a partner- ship with the West Hartford Housing Authority. That project is being led by Hartford-based Lexington Part- ners. Separately, the Sisters have a renovated wing that allows them to remain in the property long term. The total project investment likely exceeds $70 million, which is the largest single investment the town has seen since the development of Blue Back Square, Gorski said. A Massachusetts native, Gorski previously worked at the Bristol Development Authority for the city of Bristol. She earned a dual bach- elor's degree from Westfield State University in criminal justice, and geography and regional planning. Last year, she was an HBJ Forty Under 40 honoree, and she's currently the immediate past pres- ident of the Connecticut Economic Development Association. Mark Duclos M ark Duclos has been in the commercial real estate industry for over 35 years and is a go-to resource on major trends and issues, especially in the region's distribution sector. He typically represents southern New England companies that are in the manufacturing, warehouse and service industries. Lately, Duclos said he's been spending time building Sentry's property and construction management businesses. Sentry recently took on property manage- ment of a 175,000-square-foot property at 15 Sterling Drive in Wallingford, which will be the new headquarters of the CT Lottery. Duclos said most commercial real estate activity continues to reside in the industrial sector, however, vacancy rates continue to be in the landlord's favor. "I think the industrial market will continue to experience space shortages in the smaller catego- ries," he recently told the Hartford Business Journal. "The lack of speculative construction in the multi-tenant industrial market will further reduce overall vacancy. New construction pricing will not support existing lease rates in this market." Meantime, Duclos said large, big-box vacancies will rise due to the increase in sublease space. Overall, construction of big-box will continue to contract, as will the need for this space. Duclos is active in the region's real estate community. He has been on the boards of the Hartford Real Estate Finance Association and CT/Western Massachusetts chapter of the Society of Industrial and Office Realtors. Mark Lovley and Tony Valenti M ark Lovley and Tony Valenti make up the Southing- ton-based real estate develop- ment firm Newport Realty Group, which is revitalizing a stretch of Farmington Avenue in Berlin's Kensington Village with the Steele Center development. The $17 million, 75,000-square- foot commercial and residential multi-building project is centered around Berlin's new train station and will feature 70 market-rate apartments and several commer- cial storefronts when complete. The team was able to pivot earlier this year on shifting market

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