Developers building 58 upscale duplexes in a rental community off Bramble Bush Circle in East Granby had the first units ready for tenants in early January.
Leasing activity started off slowly, but has picked up steam as the weather warms, said Bard Kligerman, CEO of Fairfield-based multifamily developer Connecticut Realty Trust.
Twelve of the duplexes, 26 units total, were completed by mid-April. Four units are occupied and 16 more have signed lease agreements and pending tenants.
“Honestly, as the calendar turned to March, we saw a precipitous pickup in demand,” Kligerman said.
Connecticut Realty Trust is building The Grand Meadows development with Manhattan-based real estate investors Krown Point Capital and KRW Realty Advisors. The units come with three or four bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms and range in size from 1,848 to 2,500 square feet.
The development includes a clubhouse, gym, pool, conference room and outdoor fire pits, among other amenities.
Rents at The Grand Meadows range from $3,500 to $3,900 a month. The owners are currently offering two months of free rent on a 14-month lease.
Now, Kligerman is looking forward to breaking ground on the second phase of The Grand Meadows – 47 single-family rental homes – in July or August.
Kligerman said the recent surge in leasing activity has bolstered his faith in demand. Not only was there a pickup at The Grand Meadows, but a 90-unit rental complex CRT and its partners are building in Bloomfield also signed 10 new leases by early April.
CRT and its partners broke ground in May 2023 on The Grand Ryefield, in Bloomfield. The 90-unit project includes 12 duplexes, with the remaining units spread out in townhouse-style buildings of four or six units. Construction is expected to wrap in June.
About 80% of the development was completed in early April, and was 65% leased at the time.
Connecticut Realty Trust, launched in 2009, owns, wholly or in part, a portfolio of over 800 rental units in 17 properties. Many are older apartments and condos that CRT purchased and renovated.
The company’s first foray into upscale new construction came in 2020, when it partnered with Krown Point Capital on a $33.3 million purchase of the 130-unit Grand Luxury Apartments in rural Granby. The company has focused on upscale new construction ever since.
CRT, working with Krown Point Capital and KRW Realty Advisors, followed up with the $25 million “Grand Luxury Homes,” a rental community of 23 duplexes and 19 single-family homes completed in Granby in 2023.
Kligerman said CRT and its partners are interested in building more luxury apartments in Connecticut, and are hunting for sites in Hartford, New Haven and Fairfield counties.
Finding sites remains a challenge, as sellers continue to expect top dollar despite a steep rise in interest rates and the reluctance of some towns to accept multifamily development, Kligerman said.
