A former dentist who immigrated to Connecticut from India in 2006, Amit Lakhotia burst onto the New Britain development scene in 2021.
Lakhotia had previously built-up dental practices with partners and accumulated a portfolio of hundreds of apartments outside New Britain. In March 2021, he began a buying spree with the $2.5 million purchase of a 42-unit mixed-use apartment building at 38 Main St.
Lakhotia has since purchased eight additional properties — a mix of office buildings, apartments and vacant lots he plans to use for residential redevelopment.
Some of these properties are blighted, including the former Stanley Black & Decker headquarters on Myrtle Street that Lakhotia purchased for redevelopment in February for $2.5 million.
Between existing apartments and those under development, Lakhotia is on track to own at least 285 apartments in New Britain. He said he’s been spurred on by a collaborative city administration eager to aid development.
Mayor Erin Stewart honored Lakhotia’s Hindu Indian roots on May 24, when she joined him in smashing open coconuts on a retaining wall, blessing the launch of a $7.5 million effort to transform the 135,000-square-foot former Stanley Black & Decker headquarters into 106 apartments.