Benjamin Schlossberg’s New York-based real estate investment and development company Shelbourne Global Solutions has had the biggest impact on downtown Hartford’s commercial real estate market over the past eight-plus years.
Schlossberg’s firm since 2014 has bought hundreds of millions of dollars in real estate downtown — including major class A office towers — becoming the center city’s most dominant landlord.
Its portfolio includes the iconic Stilts Building at 20 Church St., which it bought in 2014 for $44.4 million; the blue-windowed office tower at 100 Pearl St., purchased in 2015 for $36.9 million; and the Metro Center at 350 Church St., purchased in 2015 for $36.9 million. It also bought the Gold Building in partnership with LAZ Parking CEO Alan Lazowski.
Shelbourne has also branched out to other property types. For example, last year it paid $4.3 million for the former Fuller Brush Co. property in Hartford’s North End at 3580 Main St., which it hopes to upgrade to a better office/flex/warehouse space.
Last June, Shelbourne and Waterbury-based Axela partnered to acquire downtown Hartford’s Red Lion hotel for $22 million, and they plan to spend another $8 million converting the remaining guest rooms at the property into market-rate apartments.
Finally, Shelbourne is one of the partners in the ongoing mixed-use, $100 million redevelopment of Hartford’s Pratt Street corridor, which will add hundreds of new or refurbished downtown apartments.