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HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | FEBRUARY 10, 2025 5 DE AL WATCH DE AL WATCH | BUYERS & SELLERS Former downtown Hartford synagogue eyed for event space listed for sale T he long-vacant former Ados Israel Synagogue in down- town Hartford, which had been eyed for conversion to an events space, has been listed for sale. The property, at 215 Pearl St., has been listed by Berk- shire Hathaway New England Properties. The asking price is $799,900. The property was purchased for $196,000 in 2019 by Hartford attorney Jose L. Del Castillo, who planned to convert the building into a banquet and event space. The conversion project received city approval in 2022, but faced several delays and challenges, including rising construction costs. In May 2023, Del Castillo said he was getting funds together to start renovation work, and he hoped to open the facility by October of that year. That didn't happen. The status of the conversion effort is unclear. Del Castillo didn't return a message seeking comment. The former Ados Israel Synagogue at 215 Pearl St. in downtown Hartford. PHOTO | COSTAR STAMFORD Downtown Stamford's commercial real estate market has had a wave of major deals over the past month that will yield at least two new apartment projects. Sports-entertainment giant WWE in December sold its former 90,000-square-foot Stamford headquarters, at 1241 E. Main St., for $3.75 million to Branford developer MB Financial, which plans to convert the now empty office building into luxury apartments. Prominent developer Randy Salvatore, of RMS Cos., in late January purchased a 123,000-square-foot former retail building, at 74 Broad St., for $16 million. He has approved plans to knock the empty building down to make way for a seven-story, 280-unit apart- ment property with 5,722 square feet of retail space and associated amenities. The site is a little more than one block away from a 228-unit apartment building — "The Asher" — that Salvatore completed last spring as part of a $50 million project. The Asher is almost completely leased up, Salvatore said. Finally, developer and investor Abraham Gottesman paid $6.5 million on Jan. 15 for the 189,896-square-foot, seven-story Soundview Plaza office building, at 1266 East Main St. Gottesman's plans for the property are unknown. He has been involved in a major office-to-apartments conversion in Bridgeport. DANBURY A boutique hotel near the Danbury Fair Mall has sold for $5 million, after being on the market for just a few months. The 76,000-square-foot Maron Hotel & Suites, at 42 Lake Ave. Ext. in Danbury, contains 86 guest rooms and 18,000 square feet of retail space, including existing long- term tenants Chase Bank and UPS Store. It was put up for sale last fall by Coldwell Banker Commercial Realty. The listing price was $6.25 million. The property sold on Jan. 13 to RL 42 Lake Hospitality LLC, property records show. The limited liability company is controlled by Vishal Patel, who lists the hotel as his business address, state records show. The property was sold by Mill Plain Center Limited, a business controlled by the late Albert J. Salame, a longtime Danbury entre- preneur who built the hotel. MANCHESTER The town of Manchester is seeking a developer to transform a key site downtown into a mixed-use development that could include affordable housing. The town issued a request for proposals for two parcels, at 1050 and 942 Main St., long earmarked for redevelopment. The site is directly opposite the spot where a new $50 million Manchester public library is planned. The RFP specifies a multi-story and mixed-use development with ground-floor retail and residential or office units above on the 2.4 acre site. The town says it will prioritize proposals that include mixed-income, multifamily housing, with 10% to 20% of units falling under affordable housing guidelines. The deadline to submit bids is April 8. New 17,500-sq.-ft. retail plaza opening in New Britain By Michael Puffer mpuffer@hartfordbusiness.com A fter years of planning and one year of construction, a 17,500-square-foot retail plaza just off Route 9 in New Britain is finally ready to debut. The Shoppes at Village Square, at 450/488 Hartford Road, includes a 15,000-square-foot multi- tenant building and freestanding 2,500-square-foot restaurant site that hosts a Starbucks. Builder James Basile, of South Glastonbury, partnered with Tarta- glia Commercial Properties for the multimillion-dollar development. Basile's father and the patriarch of Tartaglia Commercial partnered about two decades ago to build a property across the street that hosts a Target store. At the time, the partners also built a commuter parking lot across Hartford Road. But that nearly 3-acre property saw little use, so the state of Connecticut, working with New Britain officials, agreed to sell it to the Basile-Tartaglia partnership. As part of a development agree- ment with the city, the developers were required to build a new, smaller commuter lot behind the retail strip. "We like that our Target and now this property are at the entrance to New Britain," said Lorraine Tarta- glia, a principal of her family's business. "It was important for us to come back to where we started. We used to drive by and say, that's our parking lot. I think we have been Lorraine Tartaglia, of Tartaglia Commercial Properties, at The Shoppes at Village Square, a new 17,500-square-foot retail plaza at 450 Hartford Road, in New Britain. HBJ PHOTO | MICHAEL PUFFER a great introduction to the city of New Britain." The Basile-Tartaglia partnership paid $1.6 million for the Hartford Road property last February. Tarta- glia said the plaza cost more than $6 million to develop, a number impacted by unexpectedly swift increases in construction and materials costs. THE SHOPPES AT VILLAGE SQUARE TENANT MIX TENANT SQ. FT. Aspen Dental 3,565 UrgentVet 2,400 Mattress Firm 4,016 BIRDCODE 2,500 Starbucks 2,500 Available 3,143 Source: Charter Realty A Mattress Firm store and BIRD- CODE fried chicken restaurant are the first businesses to open in the retail plaza, Tartaglia said. Aspen Dental and an UrgentVet clinic are expected to debut this spring. The partners are still seeking a tenant for a 3,100-square-foot storefront at the center of the new building.