Hartford Business Journal

HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | JUNE 24, 2024 29 POWER 25 | REAL ESTATE Mark Greenberg L ong a force in Connecticut commercial real estate, devel- oper Mark Greenberg is having a major impact on the town of Windsor, where he's assembling a sports and retail complex. Greenberg is part-owner of an 80-foot-tall sports dome that opened Dec. 1, at his roughly 150-acre property assemblage along Day Hill Road. The $11 million, 95,000-square-foot facility is attracting interest from teams and leagues across the Northeast. It serves as a practice facility for the Hartford Athletic professional soccer team. The Day Hill Dome joins 12 fields of FastPitch Nation – a for-profit softball facility on Greenberg's property. Last year, the 16,500-square-foot Dudley- town Brewing Co. debuted as one of several new tenants in Greenberg's 106,568-square-foot commercial building at 1001 Day Hill Road. And there's plenty more to come. Greenberg is spearheading devel- opment of a $9 million, 90-room Microtel hotel at the sports complex, along with other potential residential projects on-site. Greenberg, who lives in Litchfield, is also part of a team advancing plans for a 100,000-square-foot, 3,000-seat velo- drome for indoor team-track cycling, with an attached 40,000-square-foot field house. Meantime, he's also eyeing a 150-unit apartment building at 1095 Day Hill Road, a property he owns within sight of the sports-centered development area. Greenberg is also advancing plans for separate large-scale developments in various towns, including apartment complexes in Avon, Southbury and the Canton/Simsbury town line. Sami Abunasra W est Hartford businessman Sami Abunasra isn't a household name in Connecticut's commercial real estate circles, but he's been an active investor lately. He and his brother and business partner, Dr. Nazeeh Abunasra, operate three Ashley furniture stores in Newington, Manchester and Waterbury, and have been increasingly involved in commer- cial real estate investment and development. The two are trying to advance a major 150-unit, transit-oriented apartment redevel- opment in West Hartford, one of the region's hottest markets for new multifamily investment. In July 2023, they paid $3.3 million for a 161,744-square-foot vacant section of Water- bury's Brass Mill Center mall, where they recently opened a new Ashley furniture store as part of a broader redevelopment plan. Separately, Sami Abunasra has been pursuing a residential subdivision development in Southington. Despite a general slowdown in real estate activity over the past year, Abunasra said he sees opportunity in the market. "There are always opportunities," Abunasra told the Hartford Business Journal in January. "When it slows down, it's the best time to buy. You just have to get the right deals and the right location, which is essential." The brothers opened their first Ashley furni- ture store in Manchester in November 2013. It was a roughly $1 million investment to lease the site, buy inventory and set up shop. They followed up with a $2.91 million purchase of a closed Newington bowling alley in early 2017. They refurbished the 42,586-square- foot building, at 56 Costello Road, and opened their second Ashley store. In August 2020, Sami and Nazeeh Abunasra paid $1.12 million for adjacent New Britain Avenue commercial properties totaling nearly 3 acres in West Hartford's Elmwood neighbor- hood. That's where Abunasra is pursuing an estimated $34 million mixed-use apartment redevelopment, located across from a CTfastrak bus stop. 33 Main Street, Old Saybrook, CT 06475

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