With development in downtown Stamford showing no signs of abating, the developers behind Atlantic Station are hard at work building a community within the community.
According to RXR Realty Vice President ”” Project Executive Joseph Graziose, expectations for the property at 355 Atlantic St. have altered since the three-building development was first conceived in 2016.
“From a demographics and target market standpoint, we didn”™t necessarily anticipate the number of young families when we were in the design phase,” Graziose said. “We were expecting young professionals and empty nesters.”
By the time Atlantic Station”™s first tower, containing 325 residential units and 15,985 square feet of net rentable retail space, opened in April 2018, however, it was obvious that young families were indeed interested. That in turn led to RXR”™s re-emphasis on making the property more of a multipurpose, family-friendly affair.
With a second residential tower of similar dimensions scheduled to open next March, Graziose noted that Atlantic Station”™s third component ”” the former Stamford post office at 421 Atlantic St., redeveloped for retail ”” recently welcomed its first two tenants: Dogtopia, a canine daycare and boarding facility, which opened in July; and The Learning Experience (TLE), the national chain of preschool teaching centers, which opened earlier this month.
“We wanted to address what was missing for us in downtown and our development in particular,” Graziose said. “And that was the opportunity to extend what we offer outside the four walls of tenants”™ homes.”
He reported that, as of Nov. 6 ”” a week before it formally opened ¬”” TLE was already enrolled at 25% capacity. As for Dogtopia, RXR had anticipated that somewhere around 50% of tenants would own dogs; instead that figure is “well over 75%.”
Such offerings represent “a great way for residents to engage with the community and other renters,” Graziose said.
Another 30,000 square feet remain available in the building, he added, with hopes that a single company will take it as an office space.
As for the residential units, Graziose said that the first tower is 98% leased and 96.5% occupied ”” “the vacancy rate is mostly a factor of monthly turnover,” he said ”” and that pre-leasing activity at the second tower has been strong.
Further playing into Atlantic Station”™s favor is that it is a block from I-95 and downtown”™s Metro-North Railroad station. The walkability of the area and its numerous restaurants and retailers has helped build a community feel, Graziose said, as does the fact that the project”™s three buildings are connected by a double-wide walkway, common driveway and a pair of 12,000-square-foot outdoor spaces for cooking, bocce, and ping-pong alongside a sizable swimming pool.
Having to pivot to social distancing was thus not the problem that it otherwise could have been, he said.
Graziose also noted that a higher-than-expected number of tenants and inquiries have come from New York City, as Covid-19 continues to make its presence felt. Unlike some observers, however, he predicted that, once the coronavirus fades, Atlantic Station and Stamford in general will not experience a reversal of the trend.
“A lot of people, young people in particular, are seeing Stamford as a good alternative to Manhattan,” he said. “They can be close to the train station and easily commute and there”™s a higher quality of living here than maybe they”™d expected, along with a little more space to live at a much more competitive price.
“I think this is a market that”™s here to stay,” he said.
