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June 26, 2024

Developer planning apartment conversion buys former United Way HQ in Hartford for $1.5M

COSTAR United Way of Central and Northeastern Connecticut’s former headquarters at 30 Laurel St., in Hartford.
By Greg Bordonaro

Efforts to redevelop a 33,000-square-foot office building near the northern edge of Hartford’s Pope Park into 47 apartments are gaining momentum.

The developer, New York-based Spectra Construction & Development, has purchased the office building at 30 Laurel St. for $1.5 million, property records show.

Spectra bought the three-story building built in 1930 on June 7 from the United Way of Central and Northeastern Connecticut. The building currently hosts a handful of nonprofits, whose leases expire this year.

The purchase came on the same day the state Bond Commission approved $3.5 million to provide a low-interest loan for Spectra’s $9.8 million redevelopment of 30 Laurel St. That loan will be provided through the Capital Region Development Authority. 

Other financing will include a $3.9 million senior loan, $1.8 million in equity and $534,609 in deferred developer fees.

Spectra CEO Daniel Klaynberg told the Hartford Business Journal in March he was talking with banks to get the best terms, but an approved CRDA loan would make the project a certainty.

Klaynberg said the redeveloped property will include a mix of studio and one-bedroom apartments featuring high ceilings and exposed brick. It could also include some affordable units. 

Klaynberg said he was attracted to the building’s location between downtown Hartford and the Parkville neighborhood, which has been growing in vitality.

Eric Harrison, president and chief executive officer of the United Way of Central and Northeastern Connecticut, told HBJ in March that the sale of the organization's Hartford headquarters has been a priority since he took over as CEO in late 2021. 

In fact, the building was put on the market a few months after he started his current job, he said. 

Harrison said the United Way needs far less space given that staff have embraced a more flexible, remote work model and perform much of their duties out in the community. Additionally, selling the building will remove United Way’s burden of being a landlord.

Harrison said United Way aims to downsize to about 10,000 square feet of leased "vibrant and open" space on a single floor in Hartford.

In a statement provided on Wednesday, Harrison said “We are excited and pleased with the final sale of our building. It is a beautiful space and really intended to be residential at this point in its history. I'm excited for its future residents and the Parkville community. We will soon be able to share some news about our new home in Hartford, but in the meantime we are excited to have increased capacity to support community impact in the 860 region." 
 

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