A nonprofit real estate developer plans to sell off the historic Atlantic Works building at 75 Charter Oak Ave. in Hartford.
In a statement, the Corporation for Independent Living said a variety of factors, including volatile market conditions and high taxes, prompted its leadership to consider unloading the property, which houses around 25 primarily nonprofit organizations and the Connecticut Nonprofit Center, which is operated by the CT Community Nonprofit Alliance.
The organization announced its decision to sell on Thursday, and said the address should be formally listed by next week.
“We are committed to making this transition as smooth as possible for Atlantic Works tenants,” said CIL President and CEO Kent Schwendy. “To that end, we have been working closely with The Alliance and The Hartford Foundation for Public Giving on strategies to support the nonprofit tenants as we move through this process.”
Officials with the Corporation for Independent Living said uncertainty created by COVID-19 and subsequent changes in the commercial real estate market for office space had caused the property to lose some of its value. The address is further burdened by high taxes, they said, as the city does not confer nonprofit status or use on the building.
Further complicating the picture are mounting funding challenges for nonprofits in general. Those hurdles have led to reduced occupancy and demand, the statement said.
“The Foundation has been a supporter of the collective vision that is the Nonprofit Center for many years,” said Jay Williams, president of the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving. “None of us could have predicted the continued impact that COVID-19 would have on local economic conditions and our nonprofit community. We will continue to partner with all of the stakeholders at the Center to mitigate these negative effects on nonprofits and the essential services they provide to their clients.”
The red brick building, situated at the intersection of Charter Oak Avenue and Wyllys Street, was part of a larger factory complex erected by the Atlantic Screw Works in the early 1900s. Though it was converted into office space in the 1980s, it continues to be known locally as the Atlantic Works building.
CIL acquired the property in 2013 with the intent of creating an affordable, campus-like community for nonprofits, with shared resources such as conference rooms and office technology. The organization provided below-market rate rents, and tenants had the option to sign a membership agreement with the CT Community Nonprofit Alliance, which operates the shared amenities.
