Hartford Business Journal

6 HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | JUNE 1, 2026 Deal Watch Green Hub Development principal Joseph Gramando outside the Neil O'Leary Building, which his firm recently sold to three local investors for $4.1 million. HBJ Photo | Michael Puffer Immigrant investors buy landmark Waterbury building for $4.1M square feet on the ground floor under a 10-year agreement. Originally built in 1894 as headquar- ters for the Odd Fellows fraternal orga- nization, the building was renamed for former Mayor Neil M. O'Leary following its redevelopment. 'Can't hold everything' Green Hub Development originally bought the former office building from the city for $900,000 in September 2023, then carried out an exten- sive renovation with the help of state funding. The developer has also led two other major downtown Waterbury redevelop- ment projects, making it a key player in the city's broader revitalization efforts. Joseph Gramando, a principal of Green Hub, said the O'Leary Building sale will help fund the company's next Waterbury project: converting the former St. Mary's Catholic School on Cole Street into apartments. "I can't hold everything because I'm not Chase Bank," Gramando said. Green Hub received interest from out-of-state real estate firms but chose the local buyers because they are interested in additional develop- ment in Waterbury, Gramando said "We don't want to be the only developers doing development down here," he said. "We thought that it would be a great fit for the city to have somebody to come in that wants to do more development." Gramando said he sold the LLC that owns the building because it creates a simpler sales process that keeps service contracts, the 20-year lease with UConn and other agreements in place. "It was an easier way of doing the sale," he said. Kulla said a direct building sale could have required renegotiating tenant leases. "There are a lot of unknowns," he said. By Michael Juliano mjuliano@hartfordbusiness.com T hree immigrant investors recently paid $4.1 million for a historic, six-story office building in downtown Waterbury, purchasing the property from a developer that recently completed a major state-backed renovation. Gezim Kulla and Albana Lame, of Middle bury, and Sali Barolli, of Wolcott, bought the century-old, 40,000-square-foot Neil O'Leary Building at 36 N. Main St., at the eastern edge of the downtown Green. Sections of the building had been collapsing before Green Hub Devel- opment acquired the property in 2023 and completed a major redevelop- ment in 2024, aided by a $10 million state grant tied to broader downtown revitalization efforts. The buyers acquired the property by purchasing the limited liability company that owns the building. In late March, that LLC secured a $3 million mortgage from Danbury-based Ives Bank, with the building serving as collateral. Kulla said he and his partners — all immigrants from Albania — wanted to invest in the city that first welcomed them. "Waterbury is the city that gave us the opportunity to settle, get better, invest and grow," he said. "So, why not?" The three are active in Waterbury's Albanian community, serving in leader- ship roles with the Albanian American Muslim Community Center. Profes- sionally, Kulla is an electrical engineer and manager with semiconductor equipment maker ASML; Lame is the city of Waterbury's director of commu- nity strategy; and Barolli is cultivation director at Rocky Hill-based medical marijuana company CTPharma. They've also been active real estate investors. Kulla said he and Lame each own residential properties in Waterbury, while Barolli owns a shop- ping plaza in Granby. They are interested in additional downtown Waterbury investments. The buyers made an offer on the O'Leary Building after Green Hub put the nearly fully occupied property on the market in September 2025. It was originally listed for $4.4 million. A major anchor tenant is the Univer- sity of Connecticut, which in 2023 expanded its downtown Waterbury campus into roughly 26,300 square feet under a 20-year lease worth about $370,000 annually. The building houses psychology, allied health and nursing programs. Access Rehab also leases 3,600 A large nursing simulation lab with equipment sits on the fifth floor of the Neil O'Leary Building in Waterbury. Contributed Photo | Sydney Herdle/UConn GREEN HUB'S WATERBURY TRACK RECORD Green Hub Development has completed three major down- town Waterbury redevelopment projects over the past decade. Brown Building (2016): Converted long-vacant upper floors of the East Main Street property into housing for up to 92 UConn students. Howland Hughes (2018): Redeveloped the former 114,000-square-foot depart- ment store on Bank Street into office space for Post University. O'Leary Building (2023-26): Bought the former Odd Fellows Hall building from the city for $900,000, completed a roughly $15 million renovation backed by a $10 million state grant, then sold it for $4.1 million.

• Cover