Hartford Business Journal

10 Hartford Business Journal • September 11, 2017 • www.HartfordBusiness.com FOCUS: Real Estate/Architecture T ake a drive down New Britain Avenue in West Hartford toward Westfarms Mall and you'll run into a retail boulevard. The mall and its nearby shopping centers are home to dozens of retailers and restaurants aiming to woo shoppers from central Connecticut and beyond. They're also competing with retailers and eateries less than five miles away in West Hartford Center and Blue Back Square. Soon, the competition will get even more intense. Next spring, West Hartford's Corbins Corner will become the Corbin Col- lection, a new shopping center at 1445 New Britain Ave. across from Westfarms mall. Construction on the $27 million project is well underway as crews transform Sears' former home into a modern shopping plaza. The most noticeable construction currently underway is work updating the building's facade, which dates back to the 1960s. The developer, Seritage Growth Proper- ties of New York City, has already lined up several big tenants for the approximately 185,000-square-foot property. They include names like Saks Fifth Avenue Off 5th, milk- shake and burger chain Shake Shack and food bazaar Cost Plus World Market. Out- door retailer REI, which is relocating its store in Blue Back Square, will also be a tenant. But with retailers like Sears, Kmart and J.C. Penney closing nationwide and more people shopping on their electronic devices, it begs the question: How can another brick- and-mortar shopping center succeed in an already crowded marketplace? Seritage offi- cials declined to be interviewed for this story, but in a writ- ten statement the company said: "While e-com- merce is certainly a factor that we take into consideration when developing our retail destinations, we work vigorously to promote a mer- chandise mix that matches consumer needs from a local perspective." Westfarms and West Hartford town officials downplayed the notion that the market is oversaturated, arguing the addition of more, complementary retailers will simply bring ad- ditional shoppers to the area, and benefit all. Town Community Development Director Mark McGovern acknowledges that online sales are increasing, but he insists "they are not going to replace brick-and-mortar retail." "Retail follows retail," McGovern said, "and that's becoming a very strong retail area. It's an ideal location off of I-84. Customers at Westfarms are going to bring customers to Saks on 5th and vice-versa. Westfarms is performing very well; so, putting some top tenants into Corbin Collection is a plus for everybody." Westfarms Gen- eral Manager Kevin Keenan said West- farms "welcomes Corbin Collection to the neighbor- hood. We hope that its addition to this already vibrant re- tail area will benefit all the surrounding businesses. Retail- ers announced for this project complement those in the exist- ing shopping centers, including Westfarms. They further enhance the area as a premiere shopping destination." That being said, there will be some overlap. For example, Shake Shake will be Realty pros show housing-market optimism; pessimistic about office/retail space Q&A talks about the state of the commercial realty market with Erron Smith, associate director of business development at the Connecticut Economy Resource Center. Q. The Connecticut Economic Resource Center recently unveiled its semi-annual online survey of the state's commercial real estate conditions, which found that realty professionals are generally optimistic about the real estate market. There was, however, pessimism about conditions in the office and retail markets? Why do you think that's the case? A. The pessimism about the condition of the office and retail markets is a result of the transition that we all have been experiencing over the past eight to 10 years. The internet and advancements in a variety of communication tools (ie. Skype, GoTo- Meeting, WebEx, mobile phones, etc.) has eliminated many barriers of peer-to-peer engagement. These new methods of com- munication have allowed many employees that would otherwise need to be physically in an office to fulfill their daily obligations, to work from home or other non-office locations without losing accessibility or productivity. With Wi-Fi becoming more widely avail- able, employees can just as easily complete and submit a proposal to clients and col- leagues from a local café, train, or rest stop on an interstate highway, as they would from an office. As a result, fewer people are required to be in a traditional office setting, which has re- sulted in decreased demand for office space. Q. There is a major threat of funding cuts to cities and towns, which could lead to higher property taxes for many municipali- ties. Yet, 71 percent of survey respondents said they were enthusiastic about the resi- dential market in their primary geographic market place. Is there a disconnect there? A. There are two main reasons there is still optimism in the residential market. First, interest rates are still reasonably low. Second, as Baby Boomers begin to sunset their careers and reach retirement, they are beginning to search for smaller housing op- tions (i.e. moving into condos/apartments) with less maintenance responsibilities. At the same time Millennials are begin- ning to start families, or have plans to grow their existing family, which would require larger space (i.e. moving out of apartments or condos). These circumstances make for fitting solutions for both sellers and buyers. Q. In the survey, you said the "data sig- nals the shift from brick-and-mortar to click-and-order." What does that mean and what impact is it having on the real estate market? A. Retail markets are experiencing a similar transition as the office market — the difference coming by way of a change in consumer spending methods and retail Erron Smith Associate director, business development, Connecticut Economy Resource Center Shoppers Delight Westfarms' retail boulevard preps for new competition By Scott Whipple Special to the Hartford Business Journal Renderings of Corbin Collection in West Hartford, whose tenants include burger joint Shake Shack and outdoor retailer REI, which is moving from Blue Back Square. Construction crews are working to renovate Corbin Collection's facade. RENDERING | CONTRIBUTED PHOTO | GREG BORDONARO

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