HK Group

Bridgeport Landlords Offering Steals on Rent to Sweeten Deals – Discounts, Free Months’ Rent Entice Tenants and Fill Buildings

hkgroupadmin — Tue, 14 May 2013 12:34:45 +0000

The Commercial Record – With landlords offering office tenants six months of free rent, along with a monthly rate far lower than most comparable space, an outside observer may think those commercial property owners are getting desperate.

But to hear Kerry Wood tell it, it sounds like it could be one of the best moves downtown Bridgeport landlords could make.

Wood, chief operating officer for the Westport-based HK Group of brokers, represents the owner of 1023 Main St., smack in the middle of downtown Bridgeport. The 30,000-square-foot property is owned by Golden Hill Realty of Bridgeport and was completely vacant when the new landlord purchased the building.

Golden Hill is offering potential tenants six months of free rent on five-year lease. Not only that, but the owner will pay to have the offices fit-out for the new occupants. The icing on the cake? Rents are about $15 per square foot. Compare that with nearby buildings, where asking rates are 35 to 57 more expensive.

“Filling up these buildings is to the owners’ own benefit,” Wood told The Commercial Record. The landlord wants to do anything possible … to entice potential tenants. We feel the building is worth more and will spawn other growth,” being filled up at a discount rather than allowing to let it sit vacant.

The 1023 Main St, property is located at what has been the epicenter of the city’s growth in the last five years. There’s more retail moving into the downtown. right next door to the 1023 Main building, a 7,500-square-foot butcher, seafood and meat market will soon open. The shop will be owned by Clyde Ripka, who runs Bull’s lead Market in Stamford. The store is a smaller version of “a Whole Foods-type market,” according to HK Group’s Wood.

Supporting The Populace

It’s doubtful whether that type of market would never have considered moving downtown before the slow rebirth of that neighborhood that has occurred in the last five years. Much of that is an influx of new residents to the city. The 2010 census showed Bridgeport’s population grew for the first time in 60 years, said Elaine Ficarra, the city’s director of communications. And it wasn’t just a few more souls — the population grew to 144,229, a 3.4 percent increase from the 2000 census.

And companies are taking notice of the changes downtown. Law firm Zeisler & Zeisler is moving its 30-person office downtown, and Forestone Capital recently signed a 10,000-square-foot lease with Bank of New Canaan at 855 Main St. And engineering and design firm Fletcher Thompson will be moving back to its hometown once construction on its new home in the Mechanics and Farmers building on Main Street is complete. The company was founded in Bridgeport in 1910, but left for Shelton in 2002.

“All these things, compiled with new office tenants, are driving a new exciting market downtown,” Wood offered. “In Bridgeport, the downtown is constantly improving itself. And business owners and landlords are very committed to turning around the downtown.

Email: jcronin@thewarrengroup.com

Real Estate Weekly – On The Scene

hkgroupadmin — Fri, 03 May 2013 18:20:47 +0000

Bill Simson of HK Group brokered the sale of the 8,024 s/f property at 247 Ash Street, Bridgeport, CT, to Golden Hill Custom Cabinetry. Golden Hill will move its existing manufacturing facility to its new location on 247 Ash Street. The expanded facility will enable Golden Hill to streamline its production facility and expand its business in the future.

http://www.rew-online.com/2013/05/01/on-the-scene-7/

Simson of HK Group broker sale of 8,024 s/f at 247 Ash Street to Golden Hill Custom Cabinetry

hkgroupadmin — Fri, 03 May 2013 18:05:19 +0000

NEREJ – Bridgeport, CT Bill Simson of HK Group was the sole broker for the $230,000 sale of 8,024 s/f on .36 acres at 247 Ash St. to Golden Hill Custom Cabinetry. Golden Hill will remain in town and move its existing custom cabinetry manufacturing facility to its new location. The entrance and shipping dock are on Dewey St. The expanded facility will enable Golden Hill to streamline its production facility and expand its business in the future.

HK Group is a full service commercial real estate firm started in 1988. It has grown steadily from a local Westport business to one which today encompasses an operating area of New York, Connecticut and New Jersey. The firm follows client led transactions into other states. It has expanded its vision from local leasing to larger and more sophisticated leasing transactions, investment sales transactions, national client retail leasing, and consulting and brokerage services for the health care and hospitality industries.

Bill Simson, HK Group

http://nerej.com/62724

HK Group Sells Industrial Building In Bridgeport

hkgroupadmin — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 12:32:12 +0000

The Commercial Record – Golden Hill Custom Cabinetry has purchased an industrial property at 247 Ash St. in Bridgeport.

The company will remain in Bridgeport and move its existing cabinet manufacturing operation from Harral Avenue to the new location.

Westport-based HK Group brokered the sale of the 8,024-square-foot property. Bill Simson of HK Group was the sole broker for the deal.

The expanded facility will enable Golden Hill to “streamline its production facility and expand its business in the future,” according to a statement from HK Group.

http://www.commercialrecord.com/article.php?RF_ITEM[]=Article$0@154725;Article&css_display=print

HK Group Sells Industrial Building in Bridgeport, CT

hkgroupadmin — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 12:29:44 +0000

Bill Simson of HK Group was the sole broker for the sale of 8,024 SF on .36 acres on 247 Ash Street, Bridgeport, Connecticut to Golden Hill Custom Cabinetry. Golden Hill Custom Cabinetry will remain in Bridgeport and move its existing custom cabinetry manufacturing facility to its new location on 247 Ash Street. The entrance and shipping dock are on Dewey Street. The expanded facility will enable Golden Hill to streamline its production facility and expand its business in the future.

New owner pumps life into Fairfield commercial building

hkgroupadmin — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 12:21:50 +0000

Connecticut Post – The opening of the Fairfield Metro Center train station has created a surge of retail activity in the area, and now a longtime Fairfield company has added itself to the mix by renovating a nearby former office/manufacturing building.

Japanese Products Corp., which designs brushless electric motors, purchased the building at 1525 Kings Highway East in Fairfield for $2.1 million and moved its headquarters there from 120 Fiske St. The 16,000-square-foot building has been converted to allow for office use.

Thomas McLaughlin, chief executive officer of JPC, would not disclose how much it spent in renovating the property but said Tuesday that he now considers it Class A office space. The company, which has enjoyed a 40-year partnership with Nidec of Japan, installed an elevator to service the two-story building as well as a new heating, ventilating and air conditioning system.

“It’s all-electric and very high efficiency. We plan to put in solar panels so that it will be a carbon-free footprint,” said McLaughlin, who is asking $25 per square foot. “I think it will fill up very quickly. It’s an unbelievable location. It’s literally less than 100 yards from the new train station (Fairfield Metro Center).”

The proximity to the station is a key attraction for potential tenants, said Franco Fellah, executive vice president of Westport-based HK Group, who represents the building in the search for tenants. Terms are being finalized with a business that will take 1,200 square feet.

“The whole building is being upgraded because of the proximity to the station. It’s a whole new area going through redevelopment,” Fellah said, adding that his brokerage firm has the assignment of representing the repositioned property which counts Whole Foods Market, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Five Guys Burgers, Chase Bank and Sleep Number as neighbors.

JPC occupies about 2,800 square feet of second-floor space while most of the remainder is available for lease, Fellah said.

“The building is slowly being transformed,” said Mark Barnhart, Fairfield’s director of community and economic development. “The fact that they have a tenant is welcome news.”

The timing is right for JPC to upgrade the property because of the neighborhood’s potential, according to Patricia Ritchie, president and chief executive officer of the Fairfield Chamber of Commerce.

“That area is going to be a boom area, and it’s all because of that train station,” she said. “We expected it to boost economic development. I’m not surprised that the company (JCP) went there.”

Richard Lee
Published 10:29 pm, Tuesday, April 23, 2013

HK Group Brokers Nine Leases, Sales In Fairfield County

hkgroupadmin — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 16:59:53 +0000

The Commercial Record – Franco Fellah, executive vice president at the Westport-headquartered HK Group, recently brokered several new sales and leases in Fairfield County.

The transactions are as follows:

With Ralph Michel of HK Group, the sale of the 2,000-square-foot Pho Garden restaurant to Pane Bene, LLC, an Italian restaurant. The space is located at 1620 Post Road East in Westport.
A lease of 1,407 square feet of office space at 64 Post Rd., also in Westport, to David X. Manners. DJ Smith of Rand RE represented the tenant.
The lease of 4,100 square feet of retail space to JoyRide Cycle Studio, a spin studio, at 1200 Post Road East in Westport. Adam Klimek of Cushman & Wakefield represented the property.
The office lease of 830 square feet to Edward Jones at 1869 Post Road East, Westport.
The sale of a 2,000-square-foot building at 33 Miller St. in Fairfield for $725,000 to Alfred Sofer, a plastic surgeon. Tommy Febbraio and Vince Byrne of Coldwell Banker Commercial represented the seller.
With Kerry Wood of HK Group, the lease of 1,350 square feet of office space at 105 Rowayton Ave., Rowayton to Turnstone Capital Management, LLC.
Again with Kerry Wood, the lease of 700 square feet of retail space at 135 Connecticut Ave., Norwalk to Zacarias Lara for a barbershop.
The lease of 1,400 square feet of retail space to First Ray, LLC at 1139 Post Rd, Fairfield, for a Kumon Learning Center.
The sale of a 16,000-square-foot office/flex building at 1525 Kings Highway East, Fairfield, to JPC for $2.1 million.

http://www.commercialrecord.com/news154694.html

Landlords doing deals to lure prospective tenants

hkgroupadmin — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 18:44:37 +0000

Connecticut Post – Across Fairfield County: Landlords offering free rent, build-outs as part of incentive packages to lure tenants

Richard Lee

Published 9:57 pm, Wednesday, April 17, 2013

With Class A office vacancy rates hovering at more than 23 percent, Fairfield County has become a tenant’s market. That’s forcing landlords to out-do each other, offering businesses incentives that include packages with free rent, luxury amenities and customized fit-outs.

Since the recession took its toll on businesses and the office buildings they called home, John Hannigan, a principal in Stamford-based Choyce Peterson, sees clients having the opportunity to shop around for the sweetest deals.

Peterson represents businesses seeking at least 5,000 square feet and five-to-10-year leases.

“A building at the Stamford train station that’s 95 percent leased isn’t going to offer the same inducement package as a building in the center of Stamford that’s 5o percent occupied,” Hannigan said. “The larger the deal and as the length of the deal increases, the package of inducements grows. Landlords are willing to start the rent out lower than advertised.”

At times, an owner may offer several months of free rent, but Hannigan said businesses should research the property and the landlord before they sign a lease.

Because the recession hit some landlords hard, their credit worthiness could have suffered, causing delays or fewer space improvements than were promised.

One of Hannigan’s clients, David Lewis, chief executive officer of human resources firm Operationslnc, was enticed by several landlords’ offers, and decided to move from Stamford to 535 Connecticut Ave. in Norwalk because it offered a deal that was too good to refuse.

“I wanted to be a little closer to Norwalk or Westport because so many of my employees are commuting from near the center of the state. When John came back to me (about 535 Connecticut Ave.), I told him we weren’t able to afford it. We walked through the beautiful lobby and saw the concierge front desk and covered parking. It was a significant upgrade from what we were in,” Lewis said.

Hannigan negotiated with the building owner, a joint venture of KABR Real Estate Investment Partners and Blackpoint Partners, and came back with an offer that convinced Lewis to sign a seven-year lease.

“They gave us some free rent and a building allowance to carpet, paint and replace the lighting. We also got enough to reconfigure the office and the kitchen with new counters and appliances. My rent is less than my rent in Stamford which was established in 2006-2007 — pre-crash numbers,” said Lewis, who also has free access to a 2,00o-square-foot meeting room outfitted with all the latest electronic gadgetry. “There is an incredibly great opportunity out there for people looking for commercial real estate (office space).”

Offering free rent to prospective tenants has paid dividends for Kerry Wood, chief operating officer of the Westport-based HK Group, which is representing a commercial building in downtown Bridgeport.

She and representatives of Bridgeport-based Navarino Capital Management, new owner of 1023 Main St., decided to offer six months free rent to prospective tenants as a way to stimulate interest in office space in the three-story building, constructed in 1956. Qualified applicants must sign a lease of five years or longer to receive the free rent.

“In the past 6o days, we’ve signed leases with people coming in from different locations. The 5,000- to 10,00o-square-foot tenants are hard to find so we cater to smaller businesses,” Wood said, adding that Navarino has made improvements to the building. “Office is not active at all right now. Six months free rent is obviously attractive to people. I don’t know of any building offering that. We have floor plans as small as 66o square feet.”

The owner, which acquired the building in July 2012, is asking $12 per square foot, but the building has no private parking.

The ground level of the building is filled with stores, a recently arrived dental office and a community youth organization, but the upstairs office space had been vacant. But now 10,500 square feet is leased, and 18,012 square feet remains available, Wood said, adding that having some office space filled should attract other businesses.

“We know that Bridgeport is up and coming,” she said.

Offering incentives to prospective tenants or to keep a solid company in a building is a logical decision for landlords as they compete in the race to increase occupancy levels, said Steve Blank, a senior fellow at the Urban Land Institute, based in Washington, D.C., noting that the alternative is an unproductive vacancy.

“I think there are instances of this in plenty of markets,” said Blank. “It is one of the last offensive weapons that a landlord has. It improves curb appeal of a building.”

That’s why landlords are continually monitoring office rental rates and packages that nearby building owners are offering their tenants, said Jon Angel, president of Angel Commercial in Fairfield.

“If a landlord has a good, reliable tenant, the astute ones will step up to the plate and do what they can to retain them as their leases are ending,” he said, adding that it often means dropping the rent to the prevailing level or below it.

The first quarter average rental rate for Class A office space in Fairfield County was $37.21 per square foot, more than a dollar lower than the $38.30 average a year ago during the same period, reported RHYS Commercial, a Stamford-based commercial real estate brokerage firm. The average overall rental rate in the first quarter of 2013 was $32.96, lower than the first quarter of 2012 when it was $33.14.

But compared with the fourth quarter of 2012, landlords’ efforts may be having some effect across Fairfield County.

“Net absorption was back in the black (in the first quarter of 2013) after being negative for all of 2012, while leasing activity was at its highest level since 2011,” RHYS reported. “Net absorption finished at plus 70,803 square feet, an improvement of over 450,000 square feet from the negative 387,956 mark set at the end of 2012.”

But there is still about 190,00o square feet more available space in the first quarter of 2013, compared with the same quarter a year ago, according to RHYS.

The Stamford and Greenwich submarkets account for 48 percent of the total available space in the county, and they also saw reductions in the combined Class A and Class B office rental rates, comparing the first quarter of 2012 to the first quarter of 2013, RHYS reported.

Office rents in Greenwich fell from $66.98 per square foot in the first quarter of 2011 to $66.83 in the same period this year, while in Stamford they fell from $36.29 in the first quarter of 2012 to $35.92 in the first quarter of this year.

Danbury and Wilton also experienced drops in office rental rates between the first quarter of 2012 and the first quarter of 2013, while rental rates in Bridgeport and Norwalk saw an uptick.

Some Class A office buildings in Greenwich command rental rates that exceed the prevailing rate in a town where the address still offers cachet for many businesses.

One of them is the refurbished 600 Steamboat Road, the former General Reinsurance headquarters, offering panoramic views of Greenwich Harbor. Space there is being offered for $1oo per square foot, but it comes with the same variety of inducements offered for many Class A buildings across the region.

Free rent offerings range from six to 12 months, along with allowances for office build-outs, according to Brian Higgins, managing director at Jones Lang LaSalle, adding that RSR Partners, Bessemer Trust and General Atlantic Partners are the three tenants in the 180,000-square-foot complex.

“They all signed to-year leases. It’s about one-third occupied,” said Higgins, who hosted an open house for brokers last week. “We’re averaging about to 12 prospect tours per week. They’re generally from Manhattan, Westchester County and Fairfield County — mostly financial services companies, banks hedge funds and home offices. We pride ourselves as being the best building among all the buildings in the trophy category in Greenwich.”

Incentives will continue to be offered to prospective tenants at 600 Steamboat Road, Higgins said, but they may change as the market strengthens and the building fills

Two New Tenants Moving To Downtown Bridgeport

hkgroupadmin — Mon, 25 Mar 2013 15:57:02 +0000

Commercial Record – Two leases were signed recently at 1023 Main St. in Bridgeport.

The space – next to the state courthouse and across from the Holiday Inn – is currently undergoing remodeling for each tenant.

One lease was signed with Samson Dental, which is moving to a former office space on the first floor. Save our Youth, a nonprofit, will occupy the remaining first floor space.

HK Group was the sole broker for both leases.

“Office leasing is still slow, but the ownership has been open to creative marketing and affordable lease rates to get these deals done. As a result, beautiful office spaces have been created for each tenant with long-term leases in place,” Kerry Wood, chief operating officer with HK Group, said in a statement.

1023 Main Street is offering six months of free rent and a complete office fit-out to tenants signing five-year leases.

http://www.commercialrecord.com/article.php?RF_ITEM[]=Article$0@154355;Article&css_display=print

Two New Tenants for Downtown Bridgeport – Samson Dental and Save Our Youth

hkgroupadmin — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 12:59:22 +0000

Two leases were signed at 1023 Main Street in Bridgeport, CT. 1023 Main Street is currently undergoing remodeling for each tenant space and offers beautiful views of Main Street and Baldwin Plaza. The location is in the heart of Bridgeport’s downtown – next to the state courthouse and across from the Holiday Inn. A new 7,000 SF market and deli will be opening next door called Ripka’s Market.

The leases were signed with Samson Dental which occupies a former office space on the first floor that the landlord converted into a dental office. This is Samson Dental’s third location, the other being in Hartford and Old Saybrook. Save our Youth will occupy the remaining first floor space which will be used for office. This is Save our Youth’s first Bridgeport office location and they plan on expanding in the near future.

HK Group was the sole broker for both lease deals. “Office leasing is still slow but the ownership has been open to creative marketing and affordable lease rates to get these deals done. As a result, beautiful office spaces have been created for each tenant with long term leases in place.” said Kerry Wood, Chief Operating Office with HK Group. 1023 Main Street is offering six months of free rent and a complete office fit out to tenants signing five year leases.