Hartford Business Journal

www.HartfordBusiness.com March 20, 2017 • Hartford Business Journal 5 REPORTER'S NOTEBOOK Apartment sales dominate Hftd. commercial property deals The apartment investment market appears to be red hot in Greater Hartford. Of the 30 largest commercial property sales recorded in Greater Hartford last year, 20 deals involved apartment complexes trading hands, according to Hartford Busi- ness Journal's largest commercial sales list, which appears on PG. 10. And of those 20 sales, investors paid a combined $522.8 million for 3,879 apart- ment units, according to HBJ's list, which was put together with help from CBRE/New England. The average unit sales price was $129,364.82. The largest apartment deal was the $70 million sale of the 374 unit Squire Vil- lage Apartments in Manchester, whose purchaser was Jonathan Rose Cos. TIAA- CREF. Other major deals included the sales of Bloomfield's Hawthorne At Gillette Ridge (246 units, $52 million), and the Chestnut Hill Apartments (314 units, $47 million) and Norwoods Apartments (336 units, $46.4 million), both in Middletown. The most active buyers included M a s s a c h u s e t t s - based Hampshire Properties, which purchased three apartment complex- es, all in Middletown, for a combined $125.1 million. Meantime, Bridgeport's Nava- rino Capital Man- agement LLC bought five properties (one in Vernon, Elling- ton, and Enfield and two in Newing- ton) for a combined $65 million. Demand for multifamily housing remains strong both regionally and nationally, accord- ing to Victor Nolletti, managing director of Institutional Property Advisors and Eric Pentore, a senior associate of brokerage firm Marcus & Millichap in New Haven. "Multifamily housing is and has been a consistent performer within the real estate investment spectrum for decades," Nol- letti and Pentore said in a joint statement. "Shifts in renter demographics continue to support strength within this sector. Renters by choice, specifically Millennials, mobile professionals and young empty nesters have shed the constraints of owner-occu- pied housing." The national homeownership rate remains at historical lows, currently 62.9 percent, the lowest since 1965; as a result, occupancy and demand for rental housing remains strong, they said. Currently, within Hartford County, there are approximately 3,000 apartment units in construction or lease-up, they said. – Greg Bordonaro Proximity to depositors, venues sold United Bank on downtown United Financial Bancorp Inc. and its flag- ship, United Bank, had a few other options, bank officials say, for relocating away from its cramped Glastonbury office quarters, aside from choosing downtown Hartford. But Chief Executive Officer William (Bill) H. W. Crawford IV and his aides, after closer research and a lack of success locating suitable suburban space, made what to some looks like a bold choice: To relocate the $6.5 billion-asset bank's administrative headquarters, along with a few hundred staff and bankers onto several upper floors of downtown Hartford's Goodwin Square skyscraper. The bank is retaining Rock- ville Bank's original Vernon headquarters at 25 Park St. to house some of its operations. United's desire to consoli- date some of its spread-out office outposts was a key reason for the relo, scheduled to take place by summer, Crawford said. "It's a chance for us to be the signature tenant in Goodwin Square," United's CEO said recently. "It's an opportunity to raise the visibility of our bank and the visibility of our brand.'' Among its research findings, Crawford noted that Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. bank-deposit data shows about 38 cents of every $1 of bank deposits is held by Hartford area insured lend- ing institutions. Those deposits, and their commercial and resi- dential accountholders, are an enticing lure to United and its peers, he said. Also, since its May 2014 birth from the merger of former Rock- ville Bank and United Bank of West Springfield, United has recruited a number of commer- cial bankers from its area rivals. Many of those bankers still have relationships with customers based downtown, so locating there puts them in closer proximity, Crawford said. Meantime, United was among those signing on as a corporate sponsor of the Yard Goats minor-league ballclub. "It will be a good opportunity for us to enter- tain customers down there,'' Crawford said. – Gregory Seay PDS has been meeting the needs of the construction industry since 1965. Our dedicated team of design and construction professionals welcomes the challenge of serving its past and future customers on their most demanding projects. Webster Bank | Bridgeport and Norwalk, CT PDS Engineering & Construction served as General Contractor for two new free standing bank facilities for Webster Bank in Fairfield County. The Bridgeport branch included mechanical, electrical, plumbing, millwork, ceramic floor & tile, metal fabrication, rough carpentry, doors & hardware, aluminum framed entrances, and gypsum board. The Norwalk branch required heavy site work and demolition to remove the original apartment building maintained on the property. Combined Project Size: 9,000 SF 107 Old Windsor Road, Bloomfield, CT 06002 (860) 242-8586 | Fax (860) 242-8587 www.pdsec.com DESIGN BUILDERS • GENERAL CONTRACTORS • CONSTRUCTION MANAGERS SPOTLIGHT ON: Banking & Finance PDS ENGINEERING & CONSTRUCTION, INC. THINK • PLAN • BUILD MEMBER FDIC EQUAL HOUSING LENDER Find your [ Done Deals ] place. 860-638-2958 liberty-bank.com $17,700,000 permanent mortgage on an office building in Glastonbury, CT $1,500,000 permanent mortgage on a multifamily portfolio in Derby, CT $3,900,000 permanent mortgage on an industrial complex in North Haven, CT William (Bill) H. W. Crawford IV, Chief Executive Officer, United Financial Bancorp Inc. The 374-unit Squire Village Apartments in Manchester sold for $70 million in 2016. P H O T O | C O N T R I B U T E D

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