Processing Your Payment

Please do not leave this page until complete. This can take a few moments.

June 24, 2024 / 2024 Power 25 Real Estate

2024 Power 25 Real Estate: Sami Abunasra

Check out the other 2024 Real Estate Power Players
More Information

West Hartford businessman Sami Abunasra isn’t a household name in Connecticut’s commercial real estate circles, but he’s been an active investor lately.

He and his brother and business partner, Dr. Nazeeh Abunasra, operate three Ashley furniture stores in Newington, Manchester and Waterbury, and have been increasingly involved in commercial real estate investment and development.

The two are trying to advance a major 150-unit, transit-oriented apartment redevelopment in West Hartford, one of the region’s hottest markets for new multifamily investment.

In July 2023, they paid $3.3 million for a 161,744-square-foot vacant section of Waterbury’s Brass Mill Center mall, where they recently opened a new Ashley furniture store as part of a broader redevelopment plan.

Separately, Sami Abunasra has been pursuing a residential subdivision development in Southington.

Despite a general slowdown in real estate activity over the past year, Abunasra said he sees opportunity in the market.

“There are always opportunities,” Abunasra told the Hartford Business Journal in January. “When it slows down, it’s the best time to buy. You just have to get the right deals and the right location, which is essential.”

The brothers opened their first Ashley furniture store in Manchester in November 2013. It was a roughly $1 million investment to lease the site, buy inventory and set up shop.

They followed up with a $2.91 million purchase of a closed Newington bowling alley in early 2017. They refurbished the 42,586-square-foot building, at 56 Costello Road, and opened their second Ashley store.

In August 2020, Sami and Nazeeh Abunasra paid $1.12 million for adjacent New Britain Avenue commercial properties totaling nearly 3 acres in West Hartford’s Elmwood neighborhood. That’s where Abunasra is pursuing an estimated $34 million mixed-use apartment redevelopment, located across from a CTfastrak bus stop.

Check out the other 2024 Real Estate Power Players

Sign up for Enews

Most Recent

Most Recent

0 Comments

Order a PDF