Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin, Sen. Richard Blumenthal and some of the biggest names in Hartford development will cut the ribbon today on the recently completed Sage Allen Apartments.
The $9.1 million conversion of 42 rental townhouses created 89 units, mostly apartment flats but with a handful of loft-style units.
A partnership of Martin J. Kenny of Lexington Partners LLC, landlord Shelbourne Global Solutions and LAZ Parking CEO Alan Lazowski paid $20 million for a 9-story, 78-unit apartment tower and the townhouses in late 2019.
According to Kenny, renovations to common areas of the tower are in the works and the partnership recently completed a “re-imagining” of the townhouses. A previous owner had leased the townhouses to the University of Hartford as dormitories. Interest in the townhouses was lacking, however, after that lease expired, Kenny said.
“Even before the pandemic, student housing wasn’t working,” Kenny said during a recent interview. “The previous developer had a 10-year lease with the University of Hartford. That burned off and what we found was the only time those were really full was summer, when interns were working with Travelers. But dormitory-style living is just not something that the young folks were excited about.”
Kenny and Lazowski have partnered on developments for decades. Shelbourne, the city’s largest landlord, joined the pair in an ongoing $100 million redevelopment of the historic Pratt Street district.
Kenny, Lazowski and local officials will gather Thursday morning on Temple Street to celebrate completion of the project.
