Carlos Mouta doesn’t focus on just one project at a time. The Hartford developer keeps multiple irons in the fire.
Head of Parkville Management, Mouta has been investing in the city since the late 1980s, starting with apartments — which remain a key focus — and eventually transitioning into commercial real estate, mainly in the city’s Parkville neighborhood.
Mouta’s portfolio of revitalized and repurposed properties includes Pope Commons, 360 Main, the Hartford Design Center and the Design Center Lofts. He owns more than 200 apartment units, mostly in Parkville, and is working to add more.
Mouta opened his expansive $5.1 million Parkville Market food hall on Park Street about a year ago in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, after Gov. Ned Lamont eased indoor dining restrictions. Mouta said he was breaking even for a while on the market, but now that warm weather and vaccines are here, it has seen significantly more activity, the Capital Region Development Authority reported this spring.
Now Mouta is working to put together a 30,000-square-foot second phase for the market, envisioned to include a tap room, gaming area, rooftop event space and other amenities.
In May, Mayor Luke Bronin signaled he’d like to use an estimated $4 million in federal stimulus money to support the expansion, calling the market “one of the great success stories of this past year.”
As he works on his food hall, Mouta is also lining up financing needed to revitalize 237 Hamilton St., a mill building that was once home to the Whitney Manufacturing Co.
Mouta, who acquired the property for $3.2 million in early 2019, is planning 187 apartments with commercial and restaurant space on the ground floor.