A ribbon cutting on May 15 marked the grand opening of The Asher, one of the latest buildings to rise up over rapidly densifying Downtown Stamford.
Located at 150 Broad Street, overlooking Landmark Square and around the corner from bar and eatery lined Bedford Street the 228-apartment complex both easy access to both Metro North and Stamford’s urban attractions and a large internal courtyard with a set of amenities that are designed to make a retreat from hustle and bustle possible.
Amenities include a rooftop lounge and pool, an extensive suite of co-working and meeting spaces designed with the post-Covid professional’s flexible work schedule in mind, fitness facilities, a dog run, a sports simulator that can replicate both the fairway and the soccer pitch, grilling stations, a children’s entertainment section, and planned community events.
“We are incredibly proud to unveil The Asher to the Stamford Community,” RMS Companies CEO Randy Salvatore told those gathered for the ceremony. “The Asher features unparalleled luxury amenities in close proximity to everything our incredible city has to offer. We are overwhelmed by the Asher’s initial success with over 55% of the apartments leased since receiving our first certificate of occupancy three months ago.”
“I think it says a lot about what’s happening in the city,” Salvatore said of the quick leasing, which had already filled the 19 below market rate units and many of the two-bedroom floor plans. “It’s one thing for developers like myself to build a building, it’s another for people to want to live there and want to be part of the community.”
He praised Mayor Caroline Simmons for shaping the city and spurring its growth, attracting people to fill the many new developments.
“Stamford’s really, I think going in the right direction,” Salvatore said. “Obviously it has its challenges like any other city, but I firmly believe that either you’re moving forward or you’re moving back. There’s no staying the same.”
Salvatore also confirmed a rumored plan by RMS to develop another Broad Street property, the Burlington Coat Factory site several blocks away on the corner of Sullivan Street. He said that specifics of the plan were still being developed but noted that it will likely be a mixed-use structure with both housing and retail, roughly similar in size to the seven story Asher and equipped with equivalent amenities.
Salvatore extended thanks to First County and M&T Banks, the architects, engineers, and a construction team he noted overcame immense supply-chain challenges to complete the project.
Stamford Mayor Caroline Simmons in turn thanked Salvatore for the continued investment.
“I want to start by thanking Randy and the entire RMS team and the bankers and architects and construction team that brought this absolutely beautiful apartment building to our city which is going to add so much to the vibrancy of our downtown” Simmons said, noting she particularly admired the children’s center.
She also thanked Salvatore and his team for assisting her in her work as mayor, building not only much needed housing but adding attractivelandscaping and improved sidewalks to contribute to the immediate area’s appeal.
While 45 percent of the building’s housing units are expected to lease quickly, the tenants of the office space moved in roughly a month before the ribbon cutting. RMS Company’s headquarters now occupy offices on the second floor of The Asher.
“We’ve been in Downtown Stamford for about 10 years,” Salvatore said. “We were across the street in Landmark [Square] and when the site became available, we knew we were going to build an apartment building. We just loved the location here; I think it’s the best location in Stamford, so we created a spot for ourselves.”
“We knew we were going to build a special project here, so we wanted to be a part of it,” Salvatore said.
The 8,000 square feet of office space works both “tactically” by positioning RMS near some of its latest properties, but also “strategically.”
“This is our home base,” Salvatore, who grew up in Stamford declared. “It really is. There was never a thought about moving our offices but we’re developing throughout Connecticut, into Westchester, New Jersey. This is a great central hub and there’s just so many exciting things happening in Stamford and I’m fully bullish about the future.”
