Newport Realty Group LLC has completed the fourth and final building at its Steele Center development next to the Berlin Train Station, adding 52 apartments to the mixed-use project near the Hartford Line.
The three-story building at 55 Steele Blvd. was completed at the end of August and has since received its certificate of occupancy, according an announcement by the town of Berlin. The building has a mix of studio, one- and two-bedroom apartments, with both market-rate and affordable units priced at 60% and 80% of area median income.
Thomaston Savings Bank was the primary lender for the overall Steele Center development, according to the town. Financing for the 55 Steele Blvd. building also came from Build for CT, a Connecticut Housing Finance Authority lending program, and the Capitol Region Council of Governments’ Brownfields Revolving Loan Fund, which operates under an agreement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Steele Center is a mixed-use redevelopment of a former industrial rail property near the Berlin train station, developed by Newport Realty Group LLC. The project includes four buildings along Steele Boulevard with 72 apartments and roughly 17,350 square feet of commercial space, including retail and restaurant space.
Berlin selected Newport in 2018 through a request-for-qualifications process to redevelop the town-owned parcels, and the project was initially estimated at $18 million. Developers Tony Valenti and Mark Lovley led the project.
The three other Steele Center buildings are already occupied.
A mixed-use building at 9 Steele Blvd. has about 8,500 square feet of ground-floor commercial space, an outdoor patio and 16 market-rate apartments. A second mixed-use building at 10 Steele Blvd. has about 7,200 square feet of commercial space and four apartments. The third building is a 1,650-square-foot coffee and bagel shop with a patio.
“The Steele Center project has helped rejuvenate our downtown and bring new energy and investment to the heart of Berlin,” Berlin Mayor Mark Kaczynski said. “Our partnership with Newport Realty Group is a testament to what can be accomplished when local government and the private sector work together.”
Newport is also building 10 two-bedroom apartments in an oversized parking lot at 848 Farmington Ave. The units are expected to be completed in the fourth quarter, with five designated as affordable at 80% of area median income. The project was funded by a grant from the state Department of Economic and Community Development.
A ribbon-cutting event marking the completion of 55 Steele Blvd. is scheduled for noon Sept. 16.
