🔒Key parcels in West Hartford Center for sale

The coronavirus pandemic impacted merchants in West Hartford Center as much as anywhere.

“Businesses were hit particularly hard due to the lack of consistent foot traffic,” said Kristen Gorski, West Hartford’s economic development coordinator. “We also have a large number of restaurants and eateries whose customers took an extended period of time to come back, especially with indoor dining.”

But the potential sale of three key commercial buildings in West Hartford Center underscores the popular district’s continued rebound from the pandemic.

LaSalle Road Partners LLC recently put up 977 Farmington Ave., 52 LaSalle Road and 76-78 LaSalle Road, for sale in a package deal at an undisclosed price.

LaSalle Road Partners bought them, plus a building at 991 Farmington Ave., for $17.6 million in Dec. 2015.

It sold 991 Farmington Ave., home to Zohara Mediterranean Kitchen, for $6.7 million in Feb. 2020 and is now selling the three remaining properties.

LaSalle Road Partners is an investment group led by Corridor Ventures of Avon.

“We always want to consider what the best options are for ourselves and our investors,” said Corridor Ventures Principal Dan Joseph. “We accomplished everything we set out to accomplish in our business plan — we physically improved the properties, improved them managerially — and, as is our practice, we want to consider our options.”

“I think the sales prospects are excellent,” he added. “But I also think that holding onto them” is a good option.

Joseph declined to disclose the asking price but said they hope to make a good return on their investment.

Downtown rebound

The pandemic hit West Hartford Center as hard as other downtowns, but businesses adjusted as the town allowed restaurants to expand outdoor seating and municipal officials worked with the chamber of commerce to help merchants.

“I think the town did a very good job responding to the needs in all five of our business districts,” said Christopher Conway, executive director of the West Hartford Chamber. “We spent a lot of energy trying to connect our businesses with the proper resources at the local, state and federal levels and tried to figure out creative ways to get the word out.”

“It was important to disseminate relevant information in real time to businesses,” Gorski said. “Over the course of the pandemic, our joint outreach stretched to about 4,000 business owners/managers and property managers, which we continue today.”

Gorski said the town didn’t see that many COVID-related closures because the community supported businesses.

Joseph said he and his partners believe in West Hartford, as evidenced by their recent investment in the $70 million conversion of a former nunnery on Park Road into a 292-unit multifamily community.

“West Hartford is an exceptional area with a great track record and strong demographics,” he said.

Although Corridor Ventures typically invests in apartments, its involvement in West Hartford Center was one of its first forays into commercial real estate.

“We saw it as an opportunity to invest in our backyard,” Joseph said. “Most of the principals in our group live and work in West Hartford and surrounding areas. We saw an opportunity to enhance West Hartford’s downtown.”

The properties

LaSalle Road Partners put over $2.3 million in capital expenditures into the properties.

Cushman & Wakefield, the broker in charge of the sale, in a marketing brochure said the offer “provides the opportunity to acquire a critical mass of irreplaceable real estate in one of New England’s premier communities. West Hartford Center boasts one of the region’s strongest retail submarkets with a current retail vacancy of only 4.1% and net rental rates ranging from $30 to $50” per square foot.

Among the tenants at 977 Farmington Ave., is a Westfield Bank branch. The LaSalle Road properties feature several businesses, including an AT&T store, Harvest Wine Bar, Freshii and Restaurant Bricco.

The property at 977 Farmington Ave., was built in 1900 and is 34,200 square feet; 52 LaSalle Road was built in 1947 and is 18,000 square feet; while 76-78 LaSalle Road was built in 1953 and is 11,200 square feet.

The properties have 14 storefronts and are 94% leased with national, regional and local retail outlets as well as office tenants, Joseph said.

He declined to speculate whether the sale earlier this year of the nearby 450,000-square-foot Blue Back Square mixed-use development at the bargain price of $40 million — after it sold for over $100 million in 2015 — could affect Corridor Ventures’ asking price.

Blue Back Square has been impacted by some pandemic-induced vacancies, including the closure of New York Sports Clubs.

One Park Road

Meanwhile, the redevelopment of the St. Joseph’s Chambèry in West Hartford is progressing, Joseph said, and should be completed within two years.

The redevelopment project is a partnership of Corridor Ventures and Lex-Laz LLC. Lex-Laz is a partnership of Marty Kenny, founder and principal of Lexington Partners, and Alan Lazowski, the Hartford-based parking magnate.

The project, known as One Park Road, will have a mix of two-bedroom, one-bedroom and studio apartments with 10% set aside for renters earning less than 80% of the area’s median income. It will have other amenities as well.

While One Park Road moves forward, Corridor Ventures continues to pursue real estate acquisitions, including in Florida and Texas, Joseph said.

“And we’re always looking in our local market — always looking in West Hartford and surrounding towns,” he said.