NYC Developer Bets on Bridgeport, CT
In a statement released to Globest.com on the deal, GDC stated the company determined “the Bridgeport properties do not align with GDC’s strategic focus on development in its primary market, which is Westchester County and the Hudson Valley.”
BRIDGEPORT, CT—Time Equities Inc. has purchased three mixed-use properties here in a deal with Westchester County, NY-based real estate development firm Ginsburg Development Companies for approximately $21.7 million.
The deal involves the addition of 176 rental apartments and approximately 100,000 square feet of mostly retail space. The transaction was announced by brokerage firm HFF, which marketed the property exclusively on behalf of the seller, Ginsburg Development, and procured the buyer, New York City-based Time Equities.
The portfolio consists of three recently restored early 20th century buildings, including the City Trust Building at 955 Main St., an 11-story 135,544-square-foot building. The property features 117 apartments and 43,222 square feet of retail space. Retail tenants at the City Trust building include Citibank and 4 Corner Billiards.
Time Equities also now owns the four-story Arcade Mall at 1001 Main St., which consists of approximately 52,355 square feet. The building is made up of 23 apartments and 32,046 square feet of retail space. Retail tenants at the Arcade building include Artstock, Burger Joint, and Boys and Girls Village.
The third property to change hands is the eight-story, nearly 52,000-square-foot Golden Hill building at 144 Golden Hill St. that features 36 apartments and 22,751 square feet of retail space that is currently available for lease.
HFF’s Stephen Simonelli, Jose Cruz, Michael Oliver, Kevin O’Hearn, Steven Rutman and JB Bruno, along with Dana Brome represented GDC in the transaction. The TEI acquisition and asset management team led by Max Pastor and Brian Soto spearheaded the purchase for TEI.
In a statement released to Globest.com on the deal, GDC stated the company determined “the Bridgeport properties do not align with GDC’s strategic focus on development in its primary market, which is Westchester County and the Hudson Valley.”
GDC is very active with multiple multifamily projects in development in Yonkers and Peekskill, as well as the redevelopment of a portion of the Westchester Financial Center complex in Downtown White Plains into rental housing. The project, which was originally a partnership between GDC and Robert Martin Co., is now being undertaken solely by GDC.
Pastor, director of acquisitions and senior counsel at TEI, says of its new Connecticut holdings, “We are enthusiastic about this opportunity to add to our expanding Bridgeport portfolio and look forward to making strategic improvements to the vacant spaces and other portions of our new acquisitions. We plan to leverage our investment and repositioning expertise to add to the vibrancy of the downtown area, while continuing to recognize the importance of keeping future plans consistent with Bridgeport’s historical and existing characteristics.”
Pastor notes that the retail vacancies at the Arcade and City Trust properties could serve as “canvasses for Bridgeport’s future entrepreneurs.”
HFF’s Simonelli adds that with Downtown Bridgeport undergoing what he terms as a dynamic revitalization, “The premier downtown location, along with the scale and upside potential, made this a very attractive investment for Time Equities.”
Founded in 1966, Time Equities states on its website that it currently holds in its own portfolio approximately 31.1 million square feet of residential, industrial, office and retail property, including more than 4,000 multi-family apartment units. In addition, TEI is in various stages of development and pre-development of constructing approximately 1.4 million square feet of various property types which includes at least 1,447 residential units.