Hartford Business Journal

www.HartfordBusiness.com May 11, 2015 • Hartford Business Journal 3 Parking, crime top of mind with new, existing apt. tenants By Gregory Seay gseay@HartfordBusiness.com A fter inquiring about an apartment unit's size, the rent and tenant amenities, two more questions are quick on the lips of downtown Hartford's newest or prospective apartment dwellers: How safe is the central business district and where do I park? Among the more than half-dozen down- town buildings converted to apartments, or about to be, only a handful have their own parking facilities or access to them. The rest either require tenants to find their own parking arrangements, or are negotiating for spaces with downtown parking operators. At a mid-April downtown session spon- sored by the Hartford Business Improve- ment District, several downtown apartment landlords or their representatives did not say parking or crime issues were interfering with their efforts to woo tenants. However, it was clear that safety and access to adequate park- ing are top-of-mind issues. Meantime, city crime statistics dating to 2011 show that auto theft and larcenies related to auto break-ins and shoplifting — the leading crimes committed in the central business district — are ebbing. The data indicate downtown is, relative to other city neighborhoods, the safest place in Hartford, said Deputy Police Chief Brian Foley. Indeed, Foley says most of downtown's crimes occur after hours and in proximity to the city's bar and club scene. Parking breakdown The city's parking operator, Hartford Park- ing Authority, says it has no arrangements with any residential landlords to use any of its more 6,600 surface and garage spaces. But some private operators do. The 190-unit Spectra Boutique Apart- ments will open June 15 in the former Son- esta/Clarion Hotel on Constitution Plaza, with 220 dedicated parking slots inside the adjoining plaza parking garage. A property easement perpetually ties the slots to the building, said Spectra developer Jeffrey Ravetz. Parking is not part of the rent. "As a New Yorker, I'm anticipating people who move in there, won't have to use their cars every day,'' Ravetz said. LAZ Parking, downtown's largest private parking operator with more than 11,000 slots, says it is in discussions with several landlords about slots for their tenants, said Stathis Manousos, LAZ's vice president and regional manager. Manousos declined to identify them, citing ongoing negotiations. "We want those landlords to be success- ful in bringing more tenants downtown,'' he said. "More bodies downtown means poten- tially more demand for food, beverages, entertainment, and, of course, parking." LAZ has ample parking capacity, Manousos said, to accommodate apartment dwellers, especially those who live downtown but com- mute to work in the suburbs. Spaces occupied by those parkers by night free up in the morn- ing for arriving daytime workers, who then free up the space for overnight parkers, he said. In addition to parking concessions and other options with apartment landlords, LAZ must have the approval of the owners of the private garages and surface lots it oper- ates under contract, Manousos said. 777 Main St., the 27-story former Bank of America building, has its own parking garage next door that will be acces- sible to residents and occasional park- ers. The Spectra Boutique Hotel has arranged parking for its 12-story, 198-unit building at 5 Consti- tution Plaza in one of the nearby garages. When they sign a lease, residents of the 69-unit Union Place Apartments overlooking Union Station who need parking, are given a list of four nearby parking garages and surfaces to consider, said Lisa Drazen, regional manager for landlord Union Place Realty LLC. On the list, Drazen said, is the surface lot due west of Union Station, run by the Greater Hartford Transit District; a pair of surface lots on Church and Allyn streets; and the Metro Center garage that LAZ Parking manages. "I believe in competition,'' she said, "because it makes for better customer ser- vice for our residents." Drazen said downtown apartment dwell- ers' and prospective tenants' expectations about parking reflects a suburban perspec- tive that apartments and parking go hand in hand. She noted that, in New York City, few renters with automobiles would ever expect to find a place to sleep and park as a package. Hartford Hospital and St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center, she added, have begun their traditional summer interviewing and hir- ing for the next new batch of medical residents and interns who will need housing. Combating crime As for tenant safety, Drazen says she typi- cally doesn't answer questions about down- town safety "because responses are so sub- jective.'' Instead, she said she refers people who insist on knowing to Hartford Police Department neighborhood crime data. According to weekly police data tallied through the week of April 25, there were 235 reported acts of car break-ins and shoplifting committed downtown — the area's most prev- alent crime — in the first 16 weeks of this year vs. the 230 for the comparable period in 2014. Continued www.kelsercorp.com 111 Roberts St, Suite D East Hartford, CT 06108 860 610 2200 Technology that speaks the language of your business Hartford Crime Stats Stats from Jan. 1- April 25 Central Crime Business District Citywide 2015 2014 2015 2014 Murder 1 2 7 3 Rape 2 5 11 17 Robbery 27 18 142 128 Aggravated Assault 39 33 233 232 Burglary 26 42 222 212 Larceny 235 230 988 1,104 Auto Theft 49 59 207 227 Totals 379 389 1,810 1,923 Shooting Incidents 3 2 38 32 Shooting Victims 3 2 38 32 S O U R C E : H A R T F O R D P O L I C E D E P A R T M E N T Downtown's newest apartment landlords say parking and crime are tenants' primary concerns about residing in the center city. P H O T O | C O N T R I B U T E D P H O T O | H B J F I L E

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