Hartford Business Journal

10 HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | FEBRUARY 19, 2024 Deal Watch WinnDevelopment Senior Project Director Matthew Robayna speaks with New Britain Mayor Erin Stewart during a tour of the former Landers, Frary & Clark factory, at 321 Ellis St. HBJ PHOTO | SKYLER FRAZER $85M factory redevelopment will add 154 new apartments in New Britain The city provided $950,000 in U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development grant funding to support the redevelopment. The state Department of Housing (DOH) provided $4 million in funding through one of its programs and an additional $3.85 million in federal funds through the National Housing Trust Fund. The Connecticut Housing Finance Authority has also provided tax credits and tax-exempt bonds for the project. The state Department of Economic and Community Development provided a brownfield loan to support environmental remediation at the site. Leasing activity could begin this fall, WinnDevelopment officials said. WinnDevelopment is a subsidiary of WinnCompanies, which owns and operates 1,511 apartment units in Connecticut, in Bristol, the Broad Brook section of East Windsor, East Haven, Thompson, Waterbury and Wethersfield. By Skyler Frazer sfrazer@hartfordbusiness.com T he massive redevelopment of a former factory building will add more than 150 new apart- ments in New Britain early next year. The project is being led by Boston-based WinnDevelopment, which is converting an old manu- facturing plant, at 321 Ellis St., into 154 one-, two- and three-bedroom apartment units. The 115-year-old building, which was added to the state's historic registry in 2022, is part of the former Landers, Frary & Clark factory, which manufactured electric appliances at the site until 1965. Much of the prop- erty has sat vacant since then. The redevelopment will include 79 one-bedroom units, 59 two-bedroom apartments and 16 three-bedroom units targeting young professionals, middle-income households and fixed-income seniors earning 30%, 50%, 60% and 80% of the area median income. The property will also have fitness, community and game rooms, flexible workspaces and outdoor seating areas, according to WinnDevelopment. The $85 million project broke ground in July 2023, and is about 30% completed, WinnDevelopment said, with an expected completion by early 2025. Mayor Erin Stewart said the project is another example of the city's focus on finding adaptive reuse opportunities for New Britain's many former factory buildings. Between several other projects in the city, hundreds of new apartments are opening in New Britain over the next several years, she said. NY investor pays $9.5M for Waterbury industrial complex; will 'work with the city to tidy things up' Snowball Developments President Brian Ker at his firm's newly acquired industrial campus at 567 South Leonard St., in Waterbury. HBJ PHOTO | MICHAEL PUFFER underused industrial properties with untapped potential. It has since committed tens of millions of dollars to real estate investments in New Jersey and Connecticut. "We want to work with the city to tidy things up and make this much more attractive," Ker said of the company's recent purchase in Waterbury. 'More demand for space' The Waterbury industrial complex once hosted a railroad "roundhouse" where trains would come to be serviced. Later, it was home to boat- maker Alcort Inc., which made the iconic Sailfish sailboat. Snowball purchased the site from White Plains, New York-based Benerofe Properties, which originally By Michael Puffer mpuffer@hartfordbusiness.com B rooklyn, New York-based real estate investor Snow- ball Developments recently paid $9.5 million to add a nearly 11-acre, three-building Waterbury industrial property to its growing Connecticut portfolio. The three concrete-block build- ings, which total 155,975 square feet, and their grounds are in need of some repair. One building needs a new roof. Another is without heat or water. The parking lot is pitted and cracked in places, and is partially covered by train tracks that have long been inactive. The buildings were erected between 1956 and 1970, according to assessing records. Despite being timeworn, the build- ings are completely tenanted. Snow- ball Developments President Brian Ker said he plans to spend around $1 million over the next 18 months on building repairs and making portions of the grounds ready to accommo- date outdoor storage. Snowball Developments launched roughly three years ago to buy bought it in 2007 for $4.85 million, according to assessing records. Ker said he believes the South Leonard Street property will yield higher rents following some renova- tions due to the increasing demand for industrial properties in Connecticut. He hopes to hang on to existing tenants, which include Circuit Breaker Sales NE, a Seymour-based company that reconditions circuit breakers and other electrical gear; Pack-All Inc., a retail-goods repackager; and Archi- tectural Supplements Inc., a manufac- turer of innovative plant containers. "In the market before, there was no incentive for landlords to really invest in properties," Ker said. "We see the market is shifting and will continue to shift. In our mind, there is more demand for space than space that can be created today." Waterbury Mayor Paul Pernerewski said Snowball has spoken with city officials about plans for continued investment in the prop- erty, including a possible expansion to its footprint. "We look forward to working with Snowball through the renovation process," Pernerewski said.

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