Hartford Business Journal

www.HartfordBusiness.com October 19, 2015 • Hartford Business Journal 3 West Hartford's latest building boom leads to new offices, apartments By Gregory Seay gseay@HartfordBusiness.com W est Hartford Center just got denser. A pair of North Main Street devel- opments — an 18-unit apartment building and a 16,800-square-foot office build- ing, both in the shadow of Blue Back Square — are proving their promoters and the town justified in proceeding with their multimillion- dollar investments. Developer Niko Koutouvides has signed leas- es for half the $2,000- to $3,000-a-month units in his Loft 24 apartment building at 24 N. Main St., but so far only four or five units are occupied. Diagonally across the street, landlord David Sessions and his realty partners have filled all but 800 square feet on the ground floor of their new office building at 15 N. Main that opened earlier in the month. Major ten- ants Janney Montgomery Scott Securities and temp office-space provider Regus are West Hartford newcomers. Just down North Main, the Kaoud family is converting the former Masonic lodge into street-level retail topped with 24 apartments. On the edge of Blue Back Square, across from Whole Foods, work is underway on the Dela- mar West Hartford luxury hotel. In the town's Bishops Corner neighborhood, the former Haven Health Care nursing home is being converted into 64 apartments. On North Main, in an existing apartment property across from Big Y Supermarket, a developer is adding more units. On Steele Road, a 150-unit luxury apartment community is rising. All of these developments, plus a hand- ful of others outside the center but equally important to the town's culture and economy, "are indicative that West Hartford attracts high-quality development and people want to live here,'' said Mark McGovern, West Hart- ford's director of community services. West Hartford's building boom is cour- tesy of a rebounding local, state and national economy, plus the spillover benefit of an exploding healthcare sector that is generat- ing expansion at the UConn Health Center, and that brought Jackson Laboratory and hundreds of new jobs to Farmington. Work- ers at those venues have sought shelter in West Hartford, as well as neighboring com- munities like Bristol and New Britain. But to Dan Matos, master developer of East Hartford's Rentschler Field and a partner in the Delamar hotel project, topping all of West Hart- ford's attributes is stable leadership. "They're a town that's blessed with good governance,'' said Matos, who is a resident. Its current mayor has served the longest in its his- tory, Matos said, while its town manager is a long-time town employee and resident. "To a developer like us," Matos said, "that's a crucial element of future stability.'' New Britain-born Koutouvides, who spent the last few of his nine years in the National Football League as a linebacker with the New England Patriots, said he and his partner-brother were drawn to West Hartford's wealthy demographics, which he says can sustain a quality development like Loft 24. Rents are $1,999 for the apartment's 11 one-bedroom units and $2,999 for its seven two-bedrooms. All units have 10-foot ceilings, bamboo-wood floors, walkout balconies or patios, and access to indoor parking, among other amenities. His one-bedrooms are most in demand, Koutouvides said. A man on the premises recently told Kout- ouvides that he had just leased one of the units so he could relocate his mother from Rhode Island, to be nearer to the man's family. Continued (Above) Loft 24 apartments, 24 N. Main St. in West Hartford. (Left) 15 N. Main St. in West Hartford. H B J P H O T O S | G R E G O R Y S E A Y www.kelsercorp.com 111 Roberts St, Suite D East Hartford, CT 06108 860 610 2200 24/7/365 - hackers are incentivized to adapt tactics and attack persistently. How secure is your network? www.kelsercorp.com/cybercrime

• Cover