In The Hollow neighborhood in Bridgeport, developers have transformed something old into something new.
GreenPort Flats, an apartment complex made from an abandoned building, will bring in new residents and potentially more development, said Carmelo Foti, managing director of developer Caritas Capital Partners.
Coleman Street Developers LLC, a subsidiary of Caritas, a real estate investment firm based in New Haven, recently held the grand opening of the apartments. About two years ago, the developers started the $5 million construction project, which turned the 42,100-square-foot building at 62 Coleman St. into 39 apartments.
- The exterior of GreenPort Flats. Photo courtesy GreenPort Flats
“We thought that it might be a good opportunity to make a statement and take on something significant,” Foti said. “(The building) was an eyesore and a problem for the neighborhood, and we thought we had an opportunity to clean it up and help the neighborhood rebuild.”
The building was originally a mansion built in 1890 and later expanded to a nursing home in 1957. It was last used as a 142-bed convalescent home called Golden Hill and has been abandoned for several years. Foti said it was vandalized and was a site for illicit activities.
Foti said the firm could have built apartments from scratch, which in some ways is easier, but chose to renovate the building.
“There”™s something satisfying and green in a way in taking an abandoned building and transforming it; it”™s like recycling,” Foti said. “It”™s a really good thing for the neighborhood. It could be a slightly more expensive way to add to the housing stock, but we”™re hoping it turns out to be financially rewarding as well.”
GreenPort Flats includes one- to four-room units with three different floor plans. Rents range from $850 to $2,400 per month. Apartment features include Energy Star appliances, energy-efficient windows, and a courtyard with a magnolia tree and gardening plots for residents”™ use. SEEDnh, a New Haven-based firm that specializes in turning blighted buildings into spaces with modern architecture and eco-friendly features, designed the building.
The apartments will open Aug. 1 with 22 rooms available, with the remaining units under construction and slated to be ready Sept. 1.
Tyisha Toms, the listing agent from Bridgeport-based Altieri Realty, said potential tenants have applied and some have signed leases. She said the building targets young professionals, empty nesters, people who garden and those who are willing to enter “uncharted territory.”
“It”™s the first new development in The Hollow,” she said. “So they (the developers) did take some risk here. Most of the comparable buildings are inside of the downtown corridor.”
Toms said GreenPort Flats is among other similar adaptive reuse projects, like the Lofts at Lafayette and Lofts 881. GreenPort Flats is the first development outside of downtown, she said.
Foti said there are quality apartments in downtown that are mostly sold out, which proves there is a demand for the newly built housing.
“What tends to happen is when someone makes an investment in your block or your neighborhood, others often follow suit, so it”™s not just one project; you end up seeing lots of other investments,” Foti said. “And I like to think that might encourage others to open new businesses or invest in new businesses. I think all these things are cumulative.”
