Hartford Business Journal

24 HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | JUNE 30, 2025 POWE R 25 | RE AL ESTATE Brian Ker A former economic develop- ment leader in New York City, Brian Ker has spent the past four years building a real estate company that has become a signifi- cant player in Connecticut's industrial real estate market. Ker, founder and president of New York-based Snowball Develop- ments, has focused on purchasing decades-old, Class B warehouses that he can improve or expand. Since its 2021 launch, Snowball has spent $108.6 million buying 10 Connecticut warehouses, including two purchases in 2025. He has also invested tens-of-millions of dollars buying industrial properties in New Jersey. Ker launched his career with a 15-year-run at real estate services firm CBRE, where he climbed to become a senior vice president, before his departure in 2018. He spent three years working for New York City's nonprofit economic development arm before founding Snowball. Now, Ker is focused on leasing up and improving properties he's acquired. His strategy includes upgrading properties and bringing in tenants at higher rents as space becomes available. Snowball's broadly distributed portfolio in Connecticut — Ker owns properties in Danbury, Norwich, Glastonbury, East Hartford, Water- town, South Windsor and Waterbury — means it can compete for every potential user eyeing under 1 million square feet of industrial space, he said. "I'm just taking comfort that we have good properties in good loca- tions that we think will appeal to tenants looking to upgrade," Ker said. "As an owner, we are willing to put our money where our mouth is." Seila Mosquera-Bruno S eila Mosquera-Bruno is commissioner of the state Department of Housing, which has seen its influence and impact rise significantly in recent years as Connecticut tries to build more affordable housing. Her agency is responsible for all affordable housing issues in the state, including development, pres- ervation and homeless prevention. DOH administers more than $200 million for homeless and emer- gency support services annually, and more than $800 million for development and preservation. Under Mosquera-Bruno's tenure, the agency has completed construction on 13,000 units of housing since 2019, with 6,400 currently under development. In the last three years, Mosquera- Bruno has been responsible for creating two programs to accelerate development and homeownership. Time To Own is the state's first down payment assistance loan program for first-time homebuyers. Since its launch in late 2022, over 6,000 Connecticut residents have become homeowners with an average age of 34 and annual income of $70,000. The second program, Build for CT, is a middle-income housing program that provides gap financing to developers building market-rate housing. In exchange for state financing, it requires developers to set aside a minimum of 20% of units as affordable. Since late 2023, the program has generated more than 1,900 new units, with over 500 for middle-income residents. Prior to her appointment, Mosquera-Bruno was the president and CEO of New Haven-based NeighborWorks New Horizons, a nonprofit that provides affordable housing to low-income residents. She holds a master's degree in urban studies from Southern Connecticut State University, and a bachelor's degree in business administration from Charter Oak College. She was also a fellow of Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government.

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