14 | HARTFORD BUSINESS JOURNAL • OCTOBER 2, 2017
be handled by another broker in Chicago, LA, New
York or Boston," he said.
Another big trend in commercial real estate over
the last decade or so is the popularity of working
from home. That could equate to a big decline in
the need for traditional office space or corporate
campuses, but Livingston said he is seeing a
"backlash" against telecommuting.
"There are people who are reluctant to give up
their office," he said.
And while suburban corporate campuses may
be falling out of favor with some big businesses,
Livingston said there are often re-uses. One
example he pointed to was Aetna's Middletown
campus, which was torn down. The property is
now expected to become a hub for FedEx Ground.
In downtown Hartford, many vacant office
spaces in recent years — including 777 Main St.,
formerly home to Bank of America — have been
converted into apartments.
Adriaen's Landing
The Great Recession put the brakes on major
momentum in the real estate development
sector in downtown Hartford, which got its
start in part with the Adriaen's Landing project.
The billion-dollar project — driven in large
part by then-Gov. John Rowland and Robert
Fiondella, then-CEO of The Phoenix Cos. — was
originally designed to lure the New England
Patriots away from Foxboro, Mass. Although
the football team never relocated, the project
moved forward, reconnecting the city with the
Connecticut River and providing mixed-use
residential, office, recreational, entertainment
and convention facilities downtown. Across the
Quality Construction +
Butler Manufacturing =
Repeat Customers
www.borghesibuilding.com
© 2011 BlueScope Buildings North America, Inc. All rights reserved. Butler Manufacturing™ is a division of
BlueScope Buildings North America, Inc.
2155 East Main Street • Torrington, Connecticut 06790
Nufern, East Granby, CT | 1989 | 40,000 sq. ft.
2013 | Addition — 20,000 sq. ft.
Contact us at 860-482-7613 or visit us on the web.
The $165-million Connecticut Science Center was erected in 2009.
Michael Macarilla took residence in 2014 in The Grand at 201 Ann Uccello, one of
the first finished projects of downtown Hartford's latest housing wave.
