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January 21, 2020

Potential buyer eyes Hartford's Front Street Lofts apartments

HBJ Photos | Joe Cooper HB Nitkin Group is in talks to sell the Front Street Lofts apartment complex in downtown Hartford, officials say.
By Joe Cooper

The developer of downtown Hartford’s Front Street District is looking to sell a key residential piece of the mixed-use development, officials say.

Greenwich-based HB Nitkin Group in 2015 debuted the $35.7-million Front Street Lofts residential project with 121 studio, one- and two-bedroom apartment units. The Lofts are adjacent to the UConn Hartford campus.

Just over four years later, Nitkin is currently in negotiations with an unnamed investment group interested in buying the six-story apartment building, according to Michael Freimuth, executive director of the Capital Region Development Authority (CRDA). 

The potential sale would mark the prospective group’s first investment downtown, Freimuth said.

“I think it’s a milestone in some ways because it’s investor interest coming into town,” said Freimuth, who declined to discuss the potential buyer and terms of the deal. “From what I know about the numbers it’s a very nice pricing point.”

Nitkin’s potential deal became apparent last week when CRDA’s board of directors voted unanimously to approve a tax-fixing agreement for the interested buyer. CRDA uses funds received through the tax-fixing agreement to operate and maintain Front Street.

Nitkin’s existing tax-fixing agreement on The Lofts was slated to expire in 2030. However, at the request of the potential investor group, CRDA’s approval would allow the buyer to extend that agreement for an additional five years through 2035.

The apartments have a current fixed mill rate of 32.21.

Nitkin, Freimuth said, has indicated it's also interested in making additional investments downtown.

Front Street is part of the larger Adriaen’s Landing revitalization project that also includes a number of shopping and entertainment options, in addition to the Connecticut Convention Center, the Connecticut Science Center, Hartford Marriott Downtown and the 81 Arch St. apartments.

The Lofts, which marked the second phase of Front Street, houses 15,000 square feet of street-level retail space and five stories of apartment space. Retail space is occupied by Starbucks and UConn’s Barnes and Noble bookstore.

The building features market rate apartment units and a fitness center, roof-top deck, pet bathing station and balconies in select units. 

The Lofts have consistently had an occupancy rate of more than 90 percent, according to CRDA.

The project was partly funded by a $13.5 million state grant provided by CRDA's predecessor, the Capital City Economic Development Authority (CCEDA).

Completion of the 53-unit, 81 Arch St. apartments last summer marked the fourth and final phase of the Front Street project.

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