Hartford Business Journal

www.HartfordBusiness.com • January 22, 2018 • Hartford Business Journal 5 CBRE: Area industrial realty still a pacesetter Industrial-space demand will remain strong for Greater Hartford this year but downtown office and suburban space will continue facing headwinds until sustained job growth resumes, commercial broker CBRE New England says. The global commercial-investment real estate brokerage and advisor with a major Hartford presence shared its 2018 forecast for central Connecticut real estate recently at its annual Hartford Market Overview briefing at the Hartford Marriott Downtown. According to CBRE market specialists, grocer Trader Joe's and other high-volume retailers, including a major online retailer that CBRE says it cannot name because they have a client-broker relationship, have built to lease or are building huge distribution facilities to accommodate their "last-mile'' and same-day delivery ambitions. Trader Joe's is erecting a 750,000-square-foot distribution facility in Bloomfield. Also, Amazon is underway with an 800,000-square-foot fulfillment facility on the former Pratt & Whitney plant site in North Haven. The Hartford region's industrial market ended 2017 with an 8.8 percent vacancy rate and positive net absorption of 757,958 square feet, CBRE data shows. Asked rents during the year averaged $5.15 per square foot. Meantime, downtown Hartford's 2017 vacancy rate was 17.2 percent, despite the continued conversion of older office space into apartments, CBRE data shows. Rents for Class A space averaged $20.95. UnitedHealthcare in CityPlace I and Nassau Re, parent of Phoenix Life Insurance, in One American Row, better known as the "Boat Building,'' were among tenants who ceded space back to their landlords last year, CBRE said. The suburban Hartford's office market had a 17.9 percent vacancy rate last year, with rents averaging $20.04. Investment fund buys stake in Hartford Steam system A New York-based energy and transportation investment fund said it's acquired a joint stake in the Hartford Steam Co.'s district heating and cooling system. Financial terms of the deal between Basalt Infrastructure Partners and HSC parent DCO Energy were not disclosed. Basalt's stake covers four district heating systems in DCO's portfolio. Besides Hartford, those systems are located in Delaware and New Jersey, where DCO is headquartered. The systems that are part of the deal will be owned by a newly created entity called DB Energy Assets. HSC's district system serves some of the largest properties in downtown Hartford, as well as the South End. CT, NY: EPA is failing to control smog from other states Connecticut and New York are suing the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and its administrator, Scott Pruitt, over the agency's failure to control ozone pollution from other states that negatively affect these two states' air quality. In the lawsuit, which was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, the states allege that EPA failed to perform its mandatory duty to develop federal plans that fully address requirements for upwind states, Attorney General George Jepsen said. Those requirements can be found under the Good Neighbor Provision of the federal Clean Air Act for the 2008 ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS), he said. The Clean Air Act requires that states be "good neighbors" by refraining from emitting air pollution in amounts that cause other states to fail to meet air quality standards. EPA determined in 2015 that Illinois, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia had failed to submit adequate plans to meet this requirement with respect to ozone. The EPA was required by Aug. 12, 2017, to issue federal plans to bring these states into full compliance with the Clean Air Act, but by its own admission, has failed to do so, Jepsen said. Hartford kitchen-cabinet company opens 12th store Hartford kitchen-cabinet retailer Express Kitchens has opened its 12th store at 1280 East Main St. in Torrington. Owner Max Kothari said the company plans to double in size in the first half of 2018. The business maintains more than 30,000 cabinets in 10 door styles in-stock as well as granite, quartz and laminate countertops and a selection of hardware, faucets, sinks and accessories. The firm has locations throughout Connecticut and in West Springfield, Mass. Hartford region's '17 home, condo sales rise The Hartford region's home and condos sales rose in 2017, but median prices held flat, Realtors say. Single-family sales for all 12 months of 2017 rose 2.8 percent to 12,303 units vs. 11,971 units sold in 2016, the Greater Hartford Association of Realtors said Thursday. Median price for those units last year was $221,000 vs. $220,000 the previous year, GHAR said. In the condo market, sales rose 5.9 percent to 2,799 units sold in 2017 vs. 2,642 sold in 2016. Median price dropped year over year was unchanged at $145,000. 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. Valenti Chevrolet Dealership | Wallingford, Connecticut PDS Engineering & Construction served as design/builder for this 16,888 SF addition to the existing dealership. Design elements included civil, structural, and MEP. Project Features: • Showroom and offi ces • Service department • Detailing area • Technician space • Storage Highly recommended, competitive, straightforward ... on-time and on-budget. – David Valenti, President, Valenti Auto Sales 107 Old Windsor Road, Bloomfi eld, CT 06002 (860) 242-8586 | Fax (860) 242-8587 www.pdsec.com DESIGN BUILDERS • GENERAL CONTRACTORS • CONSTRUCTION MANAGERS SPOTLIGHT ON: C PDS ENGINEERING & CONSTRUCTION, INC. THINK • PLAN • BUILD Our products and services were designed with your growing needs in mind. Visit chelseagroton.com/growthatbusiness or call 860-448-4203 to learn how we can grow that business of yours together. When you have the right bank for your business, you'll never have to grow alone. BUSINESS BANKING & COMMERCIAL LOANS • CASH MANAGEMENT SOLUTIONS Trader Joe's 750,000-square-foot distribution center under construction in Bloomfield. PHOTO | CONTRIBUTED

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