Number of housing permits falls across the state
Connecticut isn’t building at the same pace it used to. The number of housing permits issued statewide during the first seven months of the year fell 14 percent from last year, according to the Stamford Advocate.
By the end of July, the latest figures available, 4,155 permits were issued statewide, down from 4,825 in the first seven months of 2006. However, in July 711 permits were issued, up 6 percent from June and up 7 percent from July 2006, according to the Department of Economic and Community Development. The city of Stamford bested the rest of the state in July, issuing 96 permits.
Antares on Stamford buying spree
Antares Investment Partners increased its holdings in Stamford’s South End last month by acquiring, for $53 million, an office building at 2187 Atlantic Street.
The purchase follows Antares’ $128 million acquisition of a 395,000-square-foot office building at 333 Ludlow Street, also in the South End, in May.
Antares also has significant development plans for Stamford. Executives indicate the firm intends to build two buildings downtown containing about 700,000 square feet of office space. Several blocks south, on the waterfront, Antares is at work on a mixed-used project featuring 4,000 residential units, 300,000 square feet of commercial space, 400,000 square feet of retail space and two hotels. These projects will be online sometime in late 2009.
Stamford Old Town Hall finds tenant
Following years of debate, the city of Stamford has secured a tenant for its old town hall. The building’s new tenant, National Realty and Development Corp, owner of a broad array of real estate and retail companies, including Lord & Taylor and Linen & Things, has announced plans to spend $16 million to transform the building into gallery and office space for 80 employees.
NRDC will pay the city about $400,000 in annual rent, which works out to about $20 per square foot.
Connecticut foreclosures rise slightly
Foreclosures in Connecticut edged up around 2.5 percent in August from the month before, according to data released last month from RealtyTrac Inc. The research firm reported 2,170 foreclosures in the state in August, up from 2,118 in July.
In July, the latest month for which detailed data was available, New Haven County had the highest number of foreclosures, at 706, while Hartford County had 450 and Fairfield County had 403, the Connecticut Post reported.
Connecticut’s foreclosure rate in July was one for every 672 households, slightly fewer than July’s national rate of one filing for every 693 households. In the same month, the state ranked 11th overall in foreclosure rates.