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ITBD News
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Articles |
Council members inspired by downtown tour
By RICK GUINNESS
Herald staff
NEW BRITAIN - In order to make better-informed decisions on the Common Council,
the four freshmen members elected last November opted to take a tour of the
Downtown District, starting from the Visitors Center. What they saw impressed
them so much that they are urging everyone to do the same. "People just
need to get out here and see how prosperous downtown Main Street can be," said
alderman Phil Sherwood, who arranged the tour. "This is amazing." He and
Eva Magnuszewski, Greg Gerratana and Roy Centeno had already seen the exterior
improvements of the Andrews and Rao buildings, but they had no idea how nice it
was inside until Thursday's tour of the area, led by Downtown District Executive
Director Donald Courtemanche, who gave them the background on every piece of
Main Street property from West Main to Chestnut streets.
The first-term aldermen were joined by downtown district chairman Gary Friedle
and Mayor Pro Tem Suzanne Bielinski. With manufacturing long gone, it has taken
decades for the city to reinvent itself. Hardware City Tavern honors the memory
of the industrial age, but caters to a new, professional clientele.
Hardware City Tavern owner Raj Patel, bumped into Avner Krohn, president of
Jasko Development, last year while the two were looking to buy downtown
property, and the two hit it off. After the Tavern's successful opening and
Jasko's renovation of the Rao and Andrews buildings, Patel said he wants to rent
out the first floor of the Rao building next door for a restaurant, delicatessen
and lounge, the specifics of which are to be announced, Krohn said.
Mayor Timothy Stewart espouses a plan to make New Britain more like Middletown,
with a police station shrouded in stores and other niceties. New Britain may not
have Wesleyan, but it does have CCSU's Institute for Technology and Business,
and a mass transit bus depot slated for a major expansion.
On the corner of Washington and West Main streets, renovations were under way on
a building that is to be the new home of Subway Restaurant, Courtemanche said.
"There are 85 for-profit properties that pay an additional 3.1 mills in taxes to
generate the $170,000 that drives the downtown district's efforts to beautify
and market the oldest business district in the state. But there are still empty
buildings that must be filled with businesses, restaurants, stores - and people
who will use them," he said.
Krohn explained why he invested in the Rao and Andrews buildings, which required
several million dollars in renovations - not only to bring up to code - but to
become the first over-market luxury apartments in downtown. It's about the
bottom line," Krohn said. "We need above-market housing for the city of New
Britain." The more he can get for rent, the more profit. But the
interesting part is that the way he makes money is not by setting high prices,
but by acquiring buildings for less than half of what he would have to pay in
West Hartford.
The city sold Krohn the building for $1. The Rao Building has nine luxury
apartments: one and two bedroom suites (ranging from $975 to $1,500), a
2,800-square-foot floor available for professional use and a premiere downtown
lounge and restaurant on the ground level. "These are the nicest luxury
apartments in the city," Krohn said. Krohn said he intends to keep buying up
properties "block by block" and filling them with stores. "I am not gearing only
to college students," Krohn told the council members. He stressed, however, that
he wants professionals. "In order to maintain a building with a five-star
facility, we are looking for professional tenants who appreciate prime living
space, and realize that it is still a bargain," Krohn said.
"These are the first above-market rental units in the past half century,"
Courtemanche said at the grand opening, which drew more than 200 people.
Krohn said he was pleased the Common Council recently changed the zoning
requirements for the entire downtown district to make it more conducive to
economic development. He said City Hall was especially accommodating and he
seemed to like the council members, the youngest of whom are about his age.
"It was good to see the hands on things," Gerratana said, as carpenters,
painters, electricians and assorted subcontractors were packing up their tools
and moving out of the apartments they had just finished.
After making their way to the top floor, the council members took turns peering
out at the downtown section of the city, the area that has been targeted for one
of the boldest revitalization efforts in New Britain history.
"Spread the word," Krohn said. "New Britain is an exciting place. It's clean,
safe and affordable."
To learn more about how ITBD can help your business grow by building
relationships and participating in networking opportunities, please call: (860)
832-0700
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