Hartford Business Journal

www.HartfordBusiness.com April 18, 2016 • Hartford Business Journal 13 Landlord Martin Kenny, whose 100-unit Trumbull On The Park apartments bowed in 2005, said his lease renewals are below what they were before the first of several hundred converted offices-to-apartments hit the market. "So to me,'' Kenny said, "we needed to do two things: look at our interior finish- es and update them." Starting this year, as Trumbull's units are vacated, and before new tenants move in, Kenny says he will give each a makeover. He has hired downtown Hartford architects Amenta Emma to han- dle redesign chores. Over time, he said, all 100 units will be upgraded with fea- tures that make them more enticing to ten- ant prospects. He also is considering taking over space now used as a leasing office and combining it with a patch of empty retail space on the ground floor into a community room for his Trumbull tenants. He also plans to update and expand the building's fitness center — a magnet for tenants at some of Kenny's downtown rivals. As a mature housing market, growth in Hartford's multifamily tenancy has been slow- er than its urban peers due to a paucity of new construction, according to Jay Parsons, vice president at Dallas-based MPF Research, which tracks and analyzes the performance of some 8 million apartment units in more than 300 U.S. markets, including about 25,000 in the Hartford area. While Hartford's apartment occupan- cy held steady at 96 percent among the 25,000 units MPF surveyed in the first quarter vs. 96.7 percent the same three-month period in 2015, the Capital City's apartment rents grew only 1.6 percent vs. 5 per- cent a year earlier, Parsons said. MPF data also ranked Hartford and nine other U.S. cities among the 10 best in its percentage of apartment renters opting to renew their leases and stay where they are. Hartford's 65 percent renewal rate pegged it No. 2, well ahead of No. 4 New York City, No. 9 Providence and No. 10 Boston. Nationwide, apartment rents are expect- ed to rise 4 percent this year vs. 3 percent in Hartford, he said. Glastonbury's Trio Properties LLC man- ages more than 75,000 apartment units and more than 1 million square feet of commer- cial space on behalf of owner/investors, much of it in Greater Hartford. The newly built Front Street Lofts on Prospect Street, next door to UConn's incoming downtown campus, and The Spec- tra are two of the newest residential proper- ties on its management roster. As of April 7, half of Front Street's 121 luxu- ry units were leased or occupied; 90 percent for Spectra, said Jeffery T. Ferony, Trio's executive vice president/member. Capital Region Development Author- ity Executive Director Mike Freimuth said lease-up for the pair and a half-dozen more offices-to-apartments CRDA helped finance are pacing according to projections. The 39-story Hartford 21, the only newly built apartment high-rise in downtown Hartford in the last 30 years, says the newcomers haven't dented its occupancy, currently at 95 percent. But that hasn't kept landlord Northland Investment Corp. from investing in amenities, such as a dog park and an updated entry lobby, said Northland Senior Vice President Peter Standish. In 2017, more amenity upgrades are planned, including a refresh of its courtyard. n LET'S TALK ABOUT HOW WE CAN HELP YOUR BUSINESS MAKE IT BUILD IT BUY IT LEASE IT MOVE IT GROW IT EDUCATIONAL PLAYCARE Financed the expansion of day care centers across the state CADCO, LTD Financed acquisition of major equipment DOYLE'S MEDICAL SUPPLY Maintaining a long-standing business relationship www.nwcommunitybank.com Member FDIC Equal Housing Lender Contact Steve Zarrella Senior Vice President & Chief Lending Officer 860-379-7561 zarrella@nwcommunitybank.com YOUR COMMUNITY – YOUR COMMUNITY BANK FOR OVER 150 YEARS Move your plans from the drawing board into action. You know your business— and we know ours. Together we can make things happen. NCB COMMERCIAL HBJ 1-4pV_Layout 1 3/2/16 1:23 DEPTH IN ENERGY LAW Murtha Cullina's comprehensive Energy Group has years of practical experience representing: CONTACT: Paul McCary 860.240.6037 | pmccary@murthalaw.com P R A C T I C A L E X P E R I E N C E . S T R AT E G I C A P P RO A C H . MURTHA CULLINA LLP ATTORNEYS AT LAW MURTHALAW.COM BOSTON HARTFORD NEW HAVEN STAMFORD WHITE PLAINS WOBURN Industrial Facilities Merchant Generators Municipal Renewable Facilities Renewable Energy Developers Retail Electricity Suppliers Schools and Universities New Hartford Apartment Buildings' Occupancy Rates Project Units Occupancy 777 Main St. 285 76% 201 Ann/Grand 26 73% 179 Allyn St. 63 98% Front Street 121 29% Sonesta/Spectra 193 74% 38–42 Elm 6 67% S O U R C E : C A P I T A L R E G I O N D E V E L O P M E N T A U T H O R I T Y

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