Hartford Business Journal

18 HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | OCTOBER 16, 2023 (From left) Patrick and Kevin Kenny, sons of Lexington Partners founder Martin Kenny. HBJ PHOTO | MICHAEL PUFFER Succession Plan Hartford's Lexington Partners poised for ambitious growth/big projects despite loss of founder "The most important thing for me is that his legacy is continued in having his kids carry that torch along with our president Chris Reilly," Lazowski said. "The ownership on Marty's side will be in the family. We will remain partners with the family." Lazowski noted Patrick Kenny has worked on all facets of develop- ment, from planning and permitting to execution. "He was right in the middle of that," Lazowski said. "He knows what to do." A full plate Martin Kenny had a knack for identifying opportunities and putting together complex developments, friends and family say. Lexington's current leaders say the company has enough ongoing work and more in the development pipeline to keep it busy for the foreseeable future. These include, among others: • Putting the finishing touches on Lexington's "One Park" develop- ment of 292 apartments at a former convent property in West Hartford. • A recently launched, $14 million redevelopment of a 133-year-old, granite-block courthouse oppo- site the Litchfield Town Green into a boutique hotel with an upscale restaurant. • An $841 million, 1,000-unit mixed-use apartment, office and retail redevelopment at East Hart- ford's Founders Plaza office park along the bank of the Connecticut River. Lexington and Lazowski are pursuing this plan with a team of well-heeled and experienced developers and businessmen. • A $100 million redevelopment of the former Red Lion Hotel property in Cromwell into 265 apartments, 24 townhomes and 30,000 square feet of retail space. A tax agree- ment with local officials for this project is anticipated to go before the town council in November. • The conversion of a struggling retail property in a Connecticut shoreline town into hundreds of apartments, along with retail opportunities. By Michael Puffer mpuffer@hartfordbusiness.com L exington Partners founder Martin Kenny built thousands of apartments in Connecticut and had hundreds more in various stages of planning and development when he died suddenly of a heart attack in September. While mourning the loss of its founder, the company Kenny founded is reassuring staff, business part- ners, investors and public officials ongoing projects will be completed, prospective projects will be pursued and plans to grow Lexington are moving forward. The company also recently launched a new brokerage arm, giving the multifamily developer a stronger foothold in the broader commercial real estate sector. "We've proactively reached out to all of our investors to let them know what happened and to assure them that we're marching forward and we're working as hard for them as we always have," said Patrick Kenny, Martin's son and vice president of Lexington Partners. Patrick Kenny, 38, has worked with his father for the past 11 years. His brother, 36-year-old Kevin Kenny, joined more recently. Martin Kenny spent the past few years grooming both to become development leaders. The Kenny sons say Lexington and its affiliated companies — Lexington Property Management, InnoConn Construction Management and the new brokerage business — will remain a family endeavor. "Marty brought Pat and me into the business for a reason, and I think every intention is for Pat and I to keep this a family business," Kevin Kenny said. Marty Kenny's daughter, Mallory Kenny Williams, will continue to lead Lexington's social media. It might be appropriate to say Lexington is an extended family business. Lexington President Christo- pher Reilly, with more than three decades in property management, will continue to keep a steady hand on the wheel of the company. Martin Kenny's close friend and business partner Alan Lazowski, of Hartford-based parking giant LAZ Parking, owns a large stake in Lexington and has invested in all of its projects. Lazowski said Martin Kenny had already begun handing over increasing responsibilities to his sons, so the late developer could spend more time on personal hobbies and with grandchildren. A rendering of Lexington Partners' planned 78-unit apartment conversion of 15 Lewis St., in downtown Hartford.

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