Downtown Hartford Residential Projects

[gtru1981]

Ann Street apartments start to rent next month.  "The Grand" will open (alll one bedrooms) in December.

 

As the article says, it is the first barometer of the appetite for downtown housing.

 

 

http://www.courant.com/real-estate/property-line/hc-downtown-hartford-connecticut-apartments-leasing-20141115-story.html#page=1

I took the tour on Thursday. The ones under black bear I was actually surprised how nice they were. I am not so sure about the grand on Ann street. They are oddly shaped and on the 3rd floor, one of the bedroom windows faces the Russian lady rooftop.

[The Voice of Reason]

The Grand seems a bit expensive for what you get based on what I read in that article.  Now I do think it will rent up by summer, but it is not a fair barometer of the market.

 

179 Allyn is going to be a better barometer as its a larger building and opens just a month later.

 

these 2 are going to compete and I think the lower rents at 179 will prove attractive to many first time downtown residents.

 

lets not forget that its not quite "the place to be" yet.

 

I think that these buildings will help to create the atmosphere that makes downtown the place to live and therefore rents will go up. 

 

 

Timing wise, we have about 100 apartments that will be coming online between December 1 and say February.

these are really tough times to get people to move house.

 

Im not sure what comes next, Constitution plaza or 777 Main

but Im sure those buildings will begin to start kicking the tires in spring.

Lets hope these first 2 buildings are able to do well in the dark of winter.

The bigger buildings will ensure a nice mix of options and competition during the summer months im sure.

 

I am Also hoping that 179 Allyn does well right off tht bat because the owners are prepared to start work at the Lofts on Capitol.  Success will lead to additional investment in my opinion and i want that long vacant building to be redeveloped.  Id hate to see them lease slowly and have that affect their plans for Cap Ave.

[The Voice of Reason]

It has begun.....

 

201 Ann is now open and renting up

Allyn street is seemingly also open for leaving now too... not sure about move in yet though on Allyn

and yes, 777 Main is now leasing.  not yet open for move in though

It will be extremely interesting to hear back as to how they are doing.

 

I am confident that the success of Allyn street is pretty critical.

 

Ann street will be a little slow because its kinda expensive and its funky  but being first it should do well enough...

 

Allyn Street however is in a quiet part of downtown that is honestly a long cold walk to someone working at Travelers Prudential.  Its also in a loud area on weekend nights...

 

If this building does well, first and foremost, i think the owners will move quickly to begin their other project (the Lofts on Capitol)

Also I think it will help other developers to get motivated to push though and begin almost a second phase of development in the city.

 

[The Voice of Reason]

777 Main

http://www.777mainstreet.com

 

 

 

 

 

Coltsville

http://www.coltgateway.com/List/Available-Apartments

 

179 Allyn

http://www.179allyn.com/179-allyn-hartford-ct/contact-us

apparently its targeting bearded white dudes and girls with atheletic butts

 

 

201 Ann   (the Grand)

 

http://www.forrent.com/apartment-community-profile/1000844029.php

[The Voice of Reason]

With this article about 777 Main I guess I might have been premature.

 

it seems taking aplications is different than actually leasing.

 

It will be extremely interesting to see how leasing goes for these first 4 players on the market.

 

Coltsville is pretty unique and different, so I dont think it competes so much with the existing downtown places, or the new places.

 

Ann street is pretty unique too.  I doubt someone is going to leave an existing downtown apartment and move into a more expensive apartment that is not nevessarily better but just more interesting.  either way the 21 units wont hurt anyone else.  and since they are first are likely to be a non issue on the greater market

 

 

179 Allyn and 777 Main absolutely compete with existing products.

 

I am curious to see how 915 Main does with 179 Allyn being nearly identical in concept.  I know there are many at 915 that are unhappy with the old management team there.   Not sure if thats all resolved now, but a year ago it was a big issue.

 

777 will absolutely pull tenents away from Hartford 21, Trumbull on the Park Sage Allen and 55 on the Park.

I hope it takes on the fell of new vacancies taking longer to fill rather than a loss of occupancy for those buildings.

 

On the Plaza will be getting ready this year also, and that will totally blow up the studio apartment and 1 BR market.

 

 

 

If any of you hear any info, even if rumors about the rate of occupancy or absorption of any or all of these buildings, please share it here.

[Siedler von Hartford]

So the February agenda for the CRDA Housing Committee is out.  101/111 Pearl is on there for project updates unfortunately.  What caught my eye however were the new proposals.  370 Asylum Street would be the proposed Hollander II, no?  Also, perhaps more interesting is 1279 Main Street.  This is right across from Capital Prep and very close to where the ballpark is about to break ground.  Is this land that is part of DoNo (the developer asking for CRDA assistance) or is this off-shoot development spurred by the larger project?

 

http://crdact.net/data/Unsorted/2-6-2015-HousingCmte-MtgAgenda-72804-1.pdf 

 

edit: Just confirmed that 1279 is a separate project not related to DoNo.  Still nice to see auxiliary development proposals around DoNo 

Edited February 4, 2015 by Siedler von Hartford

[beerbeer]

So the February agenda for the CRDA Housing Committee is out.  101/111 Pearl is on there for project updates unfortunately.  What caught my eye however were the new proposals.  370 Asylum Street would be the proposed Hollander II, no?  Also, perhaps more interesting is 1279 Main Street.  This is right across from Capital Prep and very close to where the ballpark is about to break ground.  Is this land that is part of DoNo (the developer asking for CRDA assistance) or is this off-shoot development spurred by the larger project?

 

http://crdact.net/data/Unsorted/2-6-2015-HousingCmte-MtgAgenda-72804-1.pdf 

 

edit: Just confirmed that 1279 is a separate project not related to DoNo.  Still nice to see auxiliary development proposals around DoNo 

 

Interesting that 1279 is an empty lot. 

[The Voice of Reason]

It will be extremely interesting to see what kind of secondary development this stadium plan generates

 

According to the city assessors office 1279 is actually 2 parcels

 

http://assessor1.hartford.gov/Default.asp?br=nav&vr=5

 

http://assessor1.hartford.gov/Summary.asp?AccountNumber=14230

this is the structure on one of the lots

 

Owner of both lots is "san Juan Center"

last sold in 1983

that owner is listed with the address at 1293 Main street,

its a little over 10k sf and has 5 apartments in it now

 

 

 

1293 Main is owned by Margarita Torro and is next door.  its a nearly idential building

 

Im thinking this is all one entity

is this the person that Dan Harr interviewed in that summer series he did explore 44 where he walked albany?  it was a ladyt that owned a few businesses and the buildings near the ballpark site and that supported it.

[beerbeer]

This is an amazingly positive article about the apartment building boom with some interesting numbers and projections.

 

http://www.courant.com/real-estate/property-line/hc-downtown-hartford-connecticut-apartments-20150503-story.html#page=1\

 

They (Spectra owners) said they expect the building to be nearly full in a year. Ravetz and Klaynberg say they are looking for new projects in Hartford. So far, they've been outbid on such properties as the recently sold Bushnell on the Park apartments.

 

Bruce R. Becker, the developer of 777 Main, said he expects his first tenants to move in by the end of May. He said the 26-story tower already has 100 deposits, 35 percent of the building's 285 rentals.

 

The Grand — a former Masonic Hall — has leased nine of its 26 units, with two more expected to be occupied by June 1.

 

Allyn Street had 19 of its 63 rentals occupied as of mid-April with move-ins expected for another 18 units by late last week.

 

Downtown Hartford had nearly 1,500 apartments and a vacancy rate hovering between 3 percent and 4 percent prior to this latest wave of building. Vacancy rates at the newest apartment complexes built a decade ago — Hartford 21, The Lofts at Main & Temple, Trumbull on the Park and others — are all in the low single-digits, according to CRDA, making it tough to find an apartment.

Edited May 3, 2015 by beerbeer

[The Voice of Reason]

it was a good article for sure.

Ill be super interested to hear the occupancy numbers come mid june when many of these buildings are actually signing leases.

 

 

from the article the best stuff though are 2 comments.

 

1: Becker said that 777 has the 100 deposits which is better than he expected, and better than 360 state street did.   this makes me think he may be encouraged to do another hartford project..

 

2: the guys who own Spectra said they are more encouraged by hartford than they were when they bought the building and are actively seeking other opportunities in Hartford.   they were out bid on Bushnell gardens

 

 

I would ABSOLUTELY love to see each of these groups invest in an additional project...

further if Becker does well, is it possible he would build from scratch like he did in New Haven?

Imagine a building like the one he did in New haven planted right along Bushnell park?  500 units right on the park.. yes please.

[The Voice of Reason]

alll right..

 

since the last update here on occupency, we have seena few changes to the long term plans in the city.

 

The Near North project added 200 apartments instead of the office space

Northland proposed the YMCA replacement with 200 apartments

Capewell got financing and are moving forward with 72 units

 

Hollander got financing and are building 60 apartments

 

 

 

not many more occupancy numbers, but I did read that for 777 Main 47% has deposits

[The Voice of Reason]

117 units are leased or have deposits at 777 Main

 

32 units leased at spectra

 

17 leased at 201 Ann

 

60 leased at 179 Allyn

 

thats 226 new apartments leased up in the last 6 months or so

 

add in about 70 down at colt also

 

[beerbeer]

Annual effective rent growth for Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford market was 3.2% in the second quarter of 2015. 
The national average is 5.0% but considering Connecticut is an economic basket case, this is a very good number.
The area's occupancy rate is 96.8% which is a very good number, nationally very high.
      

So what does it mean?  Good news. The city seems to be absorbing the new apartments downtown and the market is still rising. These are numbers to watch.

My guess is they are plenty of takers to fill the new capacity. 

[The Voice of Reason]

I totally agree BB,

the numbers above which came from CRDA, and that report bode well for Hartford.

Mind you we might see some slipping as we continue to absorb, but who really cares of the apartments are filled and the developers have actual positive experiences with their money here.  They wont forget it and they will put more money here.

I just hope we can hang on with good numbers for 2-3 more years so we get a bunch more projects completed (mainly the DONO development

 

[beerbeer]

Top amenities desired by downtown landlords/tenants. 

http://www.hartfordbusiness.com/article/20150803/PRINTEDITION/307319973/1196

[Jim Cooper]

Top amenities desired by downtown landlords/tenants. 

http://www.hartfordbusiness.com/article/20150803/PRINTEDITION/307319973/1196

A bike shop?? Here in Tampa, bikes are popular for commuters. Near my condo is a bike shop that been around since 1910...It would be nice to see a bike shop in Hartford.

[The Voice of Reason]

there was one briefly in the location that is now Bears, next to Arch Street Tavern

I suspect with the large number of new residences, there is a much better chance of a bike shop being sustainable.

[beerbeer]

Occupancy of newest downtown apartments outpaces expectations.

http://www.hartfordbusiness.com/article/20151012/PRINTEDITION/310099974/1043

 

Nice article from the HBJ. A very good sign for the apartments coming on line.

 

 "I was surprised at the pace,'' said Robert Arista, co-founder and president of Dakota Partners, the Massachusetts developer who bought and, with CRDA co-funding, renovated 179 Allyn and is converting a second building in the shadow of the State Capitol into apartments. "I wasn't surprised it filled up.''

Occupancy percentages as of Sept. 15, for the other three completed conversions, according to CRDA include: 26-unit Grand on Ann (201 Ann Uccello St.), 77 percent; 286-unit 777 Main St., 65 percent; and 190-unit Spectra Boutique Apartments (5 Constitution Plaza), 44 percent.

 

 

[The Voice of Reason]

I was just thinking about where we are in our march towards a sustainable city center. 

We are not there yet, obviously, but I dont think we are terribly far from it.

Summer of 2016, will see loads of street life as the apartments that are currently open fill up.  this includes Spectra, 777 Main, 179 Allyn, 201 Ann, and Front Street. 

I would imagine that a few new bars/restaurants open up for summer also as that increased population has to bring something with it.  and the baseball stadium will be open bringing some additional foot traffic.

Im not worried about this simple prediction because its essentiall inevitable at this point, but I am unsure when we will see any further significant changes.

 

In theory, the DONO development will be underway near the stadium bringing 180 apartments and a hotel, and the Raddison might be underway to make 150 apartments, but those wont affect the city till 2017 at the earliest.  Also, the Hartford office supply building and Capewell, wont be renting up till fall of 2016 I dont hink, and they are on the peripheral.

Basically, what I am saying is that we have at least 2 years from today with almost no new housing coming to downtown... NONE, (ok, 6 units on Lewis Street)  By 2018, Hollander II, DONO, Hartford Office, raddison, and Capewell will I suppose collectively raise the bar as Uconn opens and the commuter rail is operational, but we still dont have anything solidly on paper for any time inbetween in downtown.

Lets hope AI Engineers can get things at 3 Constitution Plaza moving, and more importantly that 101/111 Pearl can somehow get started..   That Pearl street property is our next big chance at making a difference. since it has 200 units associated with it.  lets hope the developers find money to make it happen. 

am I missing anything... Its kinda sad that there isnt anything else major on the downtown pipeline

 

[beerbeer]

I was in downtown a couple of weekends ago.  There were four significant apartment projects underway. Three conversations and one new construction.

Arch Street -53 units

Pearl Street -258 units

Radisson Hotel -96 units

Asylum - 60 units

All of these should open in 2019. It doesn't seem to matter how many units they build. They fill up fast. Much faster than anyone anticipated. The city is changing very rapidly.

[Michael Madore]

These are all being leased out. 101 Pearl won't open until later this year (2020) but 111 Pearl is already nearly filled as is Teachers Village on Asylum and 53 Arch. The Radisson project is now called 50 Morgan and just started to lease (it's being managed by the people who manage 777 Main). I've been in downtown for ten years now and it really is taking off. More residents, more conversions, more retail, more businesses.

[rancenc]

New development coming to Hartford.

https://www.courant.com/business/hc-biz-hartford-bushnell-south-developer-20221116-owqbspmjzfarddwgd3rbaf4osy-story.html