For developers like Martin Kenney, success is built on being right more often than wrong when gauging the need in the real estate market and satisfying that demand.
Trumbull On The Park, his two-year-old, 100-unit luxury apartment building downtown, is nearly full, Kenney says. He also offers a fresh occupancy survey in which the landlords for downtown’s four other luxury apartments buildings appear to have read the rental market correctly.
But one thing nags at Kenney: He missed the call when he predicted the demographics of tenants likely to be drawn to Trumbull On The Park, where monthly rents range from $900 for a one-bedroom studio to $3,200 for the largest two-bedroom.
He expected one-third of his tenants to be single 22- to 30-year-olds, older single or divorced professionals and “empty-nesters’’ — middle-aged couples whose children no longer live at home. But it turns out that Trumbull’s tenant mix skews toward those space-conscious singles.
Translated, Trumbull has leased all 54 of its one-bedroom and all 13 studio apartments, and could fill more — if it had them, Kenney said. All but two of the building’s 33 two-bedroom units are also occupied, but filling them has required a bit more effort.
“If I had to point to where we’re short and where the demand is,’’ Kenney said, “the market can stand more one-bedroom units.’’
Indeed, 40 more one-bedroom apartments will be added downtown in June, when the refurbished Hollander Foundation Center opens at 470 Asylum St.
Kenny says he and other landlords — Northland Investment Corp., David Nyberg and Phil Schoenberger — were correct about downtown tenants’ desire to be within walking distance of cultural centers, restaurants, nightlife, even work.
“One thing they don’t want,’’ Kenney said, “is a roommate. They don’t want to share space with anyone.’’
Michael L. Stone, first vice president in the multi-housing group for CB Richard Ellis/New England in Hartford, said Trumbull isn’t alone with its experience.
“I’m hearing the same from the rest of the downtown landlords,’’ Stone said. “The two-bedrooms are harder to lease.’’
Stone displayed a chart at CBRE/New England’s annual real estate outlook forum last week showing an apparent 90 percent average occupancy for the 715 units of housing in downtown’s five newest luxury apartment buildings — Hartford 21, Trumbull On The Park, 55 On The Park, The Lofts at Main and Temple and America Plaza, also known as 915 Main St.
The misreading of the luxury-rental market was understandable, Stone said, given that no one had a real feel for where the starting point should be. There was no market blueprint to follow. So, instead, Kenney and the others built instinctively, he said.
“They were blazing a trail. There wasn’t an inventory to survey to know what to build,’’ Stone said.
One possible but expensive option would be to convert some of those two-bedroom units to singles, he said. A more practical response, Stone said, would be for the luxury landlords to sit tight and let the demand cycle catch up to them.
“They’ll rent up those two bedrooms,’’ Stone said.
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Subtenant sought
Assa Abloy Door Group is offering to sublease two-thirds of its available industrial space at 265 Prestige Park Road in East Hartford.
Sentry Commercial Real Estate Services is the exclusive agent marketing 32,000 square feet of the 47,280-square-foot industrial building.
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Greg Seay is the Hartford Business Journal Web Editor.
