Fairfield developer Bruce Becker said he expects to have tenants moving into his 777 Main St. high-rise apartment complex in downtown Hartford sometime in the spring.
Becker is undertaking one of Hartford’s highest profile office-to-residential conversions by renovating the former Bank of America building into a 285-unit apartment complex. The redevelopment is part of the strategy by the city and Capital Region Development Authority to add more than 700 residential units downtown.
At the start of the year, Becker planned to have tenants move into his building by Labor Day, with the goal of finishing the entire project sometime in early 2015. The move-in day has been delayed by about six months, but Becker said the entire apartment conversion will be completed in the summer.
“We are almost done,” Becker said. “The first apartments are complete, and we are moving furniture in.”
The 777 Main St. leasing office opened in December, and the apartments already have more than 100 people on a rent waitlist, Becker said.
Once the apartment construction is complete, Becker said he expects to move onto phase two: installing retail tenants in the first floor of the building, including possibly opening up a grocery store.
Becker said he won’t worry about that second phase until the first is complete, although he has talked to several existing tenants — smaller shops like jewelry and eye glasses stores — about renewing their leases. He wants to have a major tenant in the two-story space at the main entrance of the building, but no one has committed yet.
“We haven’t signed a lease with any new tenants, although we are talking to several,” Becker said.
The development also received a special 15-year renewable energy contract this year from Berlin utility Connecticut Light & Power to buy the credits from a 400 kilowatt fuel cell Becker bought from South Windsor manufacturer Doosan.
Despite construction delays, Becker said the market response to the development is strong and that investors are supportive of the project.
“The prospects look great,” Becker said.
