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12 HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | SEPTEMBER 8, 2025 Marc Lewis, principal managing member of Lexham Realty Management, standing on a roughly 2-acre West Hartford Center site where workers are set to begin groundwork for a 58-unit luxury condo building. HBJ Photo | Michael Puffer Center Rising $75M condo project, Ernst & Young relocation highlight West Hartford's appeal Lewis said he and his Arapahoe Group partners in late August secured $50 million in construction financing from Westfield Bank, Guil- ford-based Ascend Bank and Thom- aston Savings Bank, clearing the way for work to begin this month. Plans call for three levels of parking to serve both condo resi- dents and nearby office tenants, topped by a crescent-shaped building with four floors of luxury residences. Amenities will include an elevated outdoor pool, high-end fitness center, landscaped rooftop lounge and first- floor concierge service. "This is a very high-end, super modern steel-and-concrete building," Lewis said, adding that one would have to go to Boston or New York City to find its match. Coldwell Banker Realty's Kate D'Addabbo said buyers have already placed deposits on about 30% of the condos. Units are priced between $900 and $1,150 per square foot, meaning an 1,850-square-foot condo would cost roughly $1.85 million. Some buyers have reserved multiple units to combine them into larger spaces. "That's why it's so attractive, because it offers a luxury solution, which is totally walkable, which is what almost everybody wants," D'Addabbo said. "It's going to be a beautiful building in a very desirable location. And you have all of West Hartford Center outside your door." As work on Center Park Place approaches completion in about two years, the partners plan to break ground on a neighboring five-story, 25-unit luxury apartment building at Arapahoe and LaSalle roads. Plans also call for a 3,470-square-foot ground-floor restaurant space and By Michael Puffer mpuffer@hartfordbusiness.com C onstruction is set to begin in early September on a $75 million, 58-unit luxury condominium project in West Hartford Center. At the same time, a $1 million renovation will get underway on a neighboring office building that will soon house a major Connecticut office for Big Four accounting firm Ernst & Young, which is relocating from downtown Hartford. The developments, both involving prominent real estate investor Marc K. Lewis, underscore the strong investment interest that has trans- formed West Hartford Center over the past two decades, experts say. The town of about 64,000 residents has more than 1,200 multifamily units under construction or in the develop- ment pipeline, and continues to buck national trends when it comes to office space demand. While many cities and towns have struggled to fill office vacancies in the wake of the pandemic, West Hartford is grappling with a shortage of avail- able space, forcing developers and landlords to think creatively about how to bring new product to market. "We have the ability to accom- modate smaller (office) users, but those larger spaces, we just don't have right now," said Kristen Gorski, West Hartford's economic development coordinator. 'High-end, super modern' Lewis is one of West Hartford's largest landlords — he owns 10 commercial buildings in town, with eight located downtown. He is part- nering with the Manafort family and Figure 8 Properties, led by Bruce and Harris Simons, on the "Center Park Place" condo project. The development will rise on 2 acres of parking lots that have served Lewis-owned office buildings off Farmington Avenue and LaSalle Road. The Center Park Place luxury condo building in West Hartford Center will be constructed on part of a parking lot next to a four-story office building at 65 LaSalle Road. HBJ Photo | Michael Puffer