Hartford Business Journal

6 HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | FEBRUARY 9, 2026 DE AL WATCH DE AL WATCH | BUYERS & SELLERS on the second or third levels of a nearby garage. Now, she said, later arrivals often have to park higher up. "That's the joke, you know, get in early and you don't have to go all the way to the top of the parking garage," Swanson said. Swanson operates three busi- nesses — Accounting Connections LLC, Payroll Connections LLC and TaxAbility LLC — from the sixth floor of the Stark Building. She relocated from East Hartford, citing access for employees traveling statewide and proximity to restaurants, public transportation and other amenities. Since moving, Swanson said her full-time staff has grown from five to 16, with seasonal hires pushing head- count to about 25 during tax season. She began with about 1,500 square feet and now occupies roughly 4,500 square feet, with plans to expand further. Swanson said the ability to lease a smaller space and grow over time was a key factor in choosing the building. Other downtown properties required larger minimum footprints of 2,500 to 5,000 square feet, she said. "I think that more businesses really need to understand that Hartford has so much to offer the small business community," Swanson said. Former tenant returns after renovations Craig Clark, founder of small business lenders General Merchant Funding and GM Funding, moved his main office and 10 employees to the 12th floor of the Stark Building about a year ago. His prior downtown office on Trum- bull Street was vacated for conversion to apartments. Clark's businesses also operate in New Britain, Texas, Florida and the Philippines. "I looked at pretty much every place downtown," Clark said. "A lot of them are dated … . And the couple that are updated, the pricing is just not basically affordable for what I think downtown should be, because I've been here a long time." Clark previously leased space at 750 Main St. in 2009 before relocating to newer offices elsewhere downtown. After acquiring the property in 2017, Stark Office Suites invested more than $2 million in renovations, including elevator work, HVAC upgrades and a remodeled lobby. "Yeah, we had been here previously, but it didn't look the way it looks now," Clark said. "It definitely got renovated, so that was a good thing." A corner of the 4,500-square-foot office suite leased by Accounting Connections LLC, Payroll Connections LLC and TaxAbility LLC in downtown Hartford's Stark Building. HBJ Photo | Michael Puffer West Hartford OKs 54-unit affordable housing project W est Hartford's Town Council unan- imously approved a proposal for a 54-unit affordable housing develop- ment in the Elmwood section of town. The approval allows Avon-based Honeycomb Real Estate Partners to rezone two vacant parcels totaling 2.49 acres at 230 Newington Road and 60 Brook St. for the project, called Madsen Acres, under the state's 8-30g affordable housing statute. The plan includes building six two-story build- ings with 38 one-bedroom and 16 two-bedroom units, all deed-restricted as affordable and offered for sale to households earning up to 80% of area median income. The development will have 71 parking spaces and is near Elmwood Plaza and a CTfastrak station. Artist's rendering of the proposed Madsen Acres affordable housing development at 230 Newington Road in West Hartford. NEWINGTON A recently built, 122-room WoodSpring Suites hotel in Newington has sold for $8.82 million, according to a deed recorded Jan. 20. An affiliate of Atlanta-based Noble Invest- ment Group bought the five-story hotel at 712 Cedar St. from Gold Coast Properties CT 1 LLC, whose principals are Raul and Veronica Garcia of Miami. The 64,304-square-foot hotel, built in 2023, sits on 2.2 acres just off Route 9. The Newington property was part of Noble's acquisition of 14 WoodSpring-branded hotels. Noble focuses on travel and lodging invest- ments and reports about $5 billion in assets under management. WINDSOR New leases by two insurance companies have lifted occupancy to about 40% at The Hub, the rebranded former Aetna campus at 175 Addison Road in Windsor. Symetra and The Hanover Insurance Group recently signed leases for 15,000 and 13,000 square feet, respectively, at the roughly 600,000-square-foot complex. A Regus flexible office and coworking center has also opened on the property. The Hub is owned by Bradford Wainman of Hollister & Moore and Steven Inglese of New Haven Group, who purchased it in 2023 for $9 million and have since invested more than $1 million in upgrades to common areas, including a fitness center, cafeteria and market. The 78-acre site includes office, manufacturing and flex space as well as on-site power. The owners also have approvals to add two additional industrial buildings on-site. BLOOMFIELD Industrial automation and contract manufacturing firm Pearse Bertram LLC is seeking local approval for a 10,000-square-foot expansion of its long-time facility at 22 Tobey Road in Bloomfield, saying the added space is needed to support growth. The family-owned company said it currently occu- pies a 30,000-square-foot building that is nearing full capacity. The company — which supplies automation and motion-control parts and provides contract manu- facturing services for industrial customers — said the expansion would accommodate new equip- ment, improve employee facilities and address parking needs as it pursues two large projects expected to drive job growth. SIMSBURY A Massachusetts buyer has purchased a 4.6-acre development site in Simsbury for $1.2 million, according to a deed recorded Jan. 12. Agawam, Mass.-based MJ Homes LLC bought the property at 40 Dorset Crossing from Dorset Crossing LLC. The parcel is part of Simsbury's larger Dorset Crossing master-planned area and was marketed as capable of supporting about 72 multifamily units under a town-approved master plan, which requires 10% of apartments be set aside at affordable rates. The buyer's principal is Vitaly Dzhenzherukha. Any project will still need site plan approval from the town before construction can begin. Selective Recovery Continued from page 5 Craig Clark

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