Hartford Business Journal

6 HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | SEPTEMBER 8, 2025 Deal Watch (Right) Robert Christoph Jr., president of RCI Group, stands on the balcony of The Lighthouse at Steelpointe Harbor as The August, a 420-unit apartment building, is being built in the background. (Left) An aerial photo shows construction of The August in June 2025. HBJ Photo | Michael Juliano Waterfront Vision RCI Group pushes ahead with next phase of Bridgeport's Steelpointe Harbor wich and Essex Bank, in addition to various state funding support. Also key to the overall development is that Steelepointe sits in a tax incre- mental financing district, which allows some of the property tax revenue generated from the project to be used to finance infrastructure work. Christoph Jr. said the Steelpointe project — expected to generate several thousand construction jobs — will likely continue for another 12 to 15 years as the company phases in up to 2,000 waterfront apartments. The firm plans to wait until each building is largely occupied before starting the next one. "We won't start the next phase until we get to a certain absorption," Christoph Jr. said. The next project will be a 15-story, 300-unit apartment tower on a 2-acre parcel next to The August. Construc- tion is expected to start in 2028. Changing perceptions RCI was founded in Chicago in 1969 and moved its headquarters to Miami Beach in the 1980s. There, operating as RCI Marine, the company co-devel- oped the 400-slip Miami Beach Marina and four high-rise condominium towers with a combined 1,200 units. It eventually relocated its head- quarters to Bridgeport for the Steelpointe project. The firm's connection to Steel- pointe goes as far back as the start of this century. Christoph Sr. first bid on the project in 2001, according to the Connecticut Post. The project progressed slowly over time, with numerous false starts, until RCI Group was transferred initial parcels in 2014. Steelpointe Harbor did not see its first sign of tangible redevelopment until 2015, when a 150,000-square- foot Bass Pro Shops opened. Addi- tional multi-tenant retail buildings were also erected, with tenants that include a T-Mobile store and Chipotle Mexican Grill. A diagram of the Steelpointe Harbor development shows five parcels slated for future development. Contributed | RCI Group By Michael Juliano mjuliano@hartfordbusiness.com A fter more than a decade of investment and planning, RCI Group has steadily rede- veloped Bridgeport's once-blighted Steelpointe Harbor peninsula into a mixed-use waterfront district featuring retail space, a marina and maritime businesses. The Bridgeport-based company, which traces its roots back to Miami Beach and the Midwest, is now entering a second decade of work on the 55-acre site, where a 420-unit apartment complex — the first residential compo- nent of the project — is under construc- tion, and a hotel is nearing a start. Robert Christoph Jr., RCI's presi- dent, said he and his father, Chairman and founder Robert Christoph, are still fully committed to Steelpointe, even after years of delays. "We see a lot of potential in Bridge- port, Connecticut," he said. "This has been an ongoing love of ours." The attraction, Christoph Jr. said, is that Steelpointe Harbor provides a deepwater port, great access to Interstate 95 and the Metro-North Railroad, and a large site that allows for waterfront living. "We think it has some of the best infrastructure of anywhere in the North- east," he said. "That's what kept us attracted … and pushing this forward." Positive absorption In September, RCI and Kansas- based True North Hotel Group plan to break ground on a 141-room, six-story Residence Inn at Steelpointe. The hotel project, slated for completion in spring 2027, has been awarded up to $850,000 in sales-and-use tax exemptions on construction mate- rials through Connecticut Innovations, the state's quasi-public venture arm. In 2022, RCI brought in Indiana-based developer Flaherty & Collins as a partner to develop The August, a 420-unit, four-story apartment building with 10,000 square feet of retail space and a five-story parking garage. The $200 million project, set on 6.5 acres, began in January 2024, and is expected to be completed next summer. About 160 units will be desig- nated as workforce housing for middle-income residents through the Connecticut Housing Finance Author- ity's (CHFA) Build for CT program, which provides low-cost financing for middle-income rentals. The developers have received an $111 million loan from Illinois- and Indiana-based Old National Bank, according to Flaherty & Collins. Connecticut lenders involved in the housing development include Stam- ford-based Webster Bank, Newtown Savings Bank, First Bank of Green-

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