GREENWICH TIME
June 1, 2009

Saugatuck to Market Harbor Point Sites

By Richard Lee
Staff Writer

While the nation grapples with the stumbling economy, Building and Land Technology, the developer that took over the 7.6-million-square-foot Harbor Point project in Stamford from Antares Investment Partners, is forging ahead with plans to market the project's retail sites by naming Saugatuck Commercial Real Estate as the retail leasing broker.

When completed, Harbor Point, an 80-acre mixed-use development, will have two neighborhoods, Yale & Towne and The Square, bordering the city's harbor.

Harbor Point will encompass 350,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space, 350,000 square feet of Class A office space, a hotel with meeting, spa and fitness facilities as well as 4,000 residential units, a new school, marina, boardwalk and seven acres of park land.

The extent of the project should entice retailers seeking to gain a presence in a community-transforming development, said Penny Wickey, principal of the Westport real estate brokerage.

"We're excited about the opportunity to educate the world about a new community of residential, retail and office use," she said, noting that the developer has signed Fairway Market, majority-owned by Westport-based Sterling Investment Partners, as the first retail tenant with a scheduled mid-2010 opening. "It's very significant."

Howard Glickberg, chief executive officer of Fairway Market, said the 80,000-square-foot grocery and liquor store, which will employ 350, will draw customers from the neighborhood and outside the area, benefiting other retailers.

"The demographics there are wonderful, as is the access to I-95," he said.

Carl Kuehner III, chief executive officer, of Building and Land Technology, said he was impressed by Saugatuck Commercial Real Estate's reputation and attitude toward the project.

"I think they're a hard-working, dedicated group that's committed to our project," Kuehner said.

Saugatuck Commercial Real Estate has distributed information about Harbor Point to national and regional retailers and led tours of the site for several potential tenants.

"It absolutely helps that we're in the metro-New York area and that a project of this magnitude is on the water with easy access from the Stamford Transportation Center and I-95," Wickey said.

Wickey and her staff will be challenged as they try to lure retailers during one of the worst economic periods since the 1930s, but Stamford offers some advantages, said Michael Freimuth, the city's economic development director.

Stamford's zoning regulations make the city more welcoming toward substantial retail developments than other towns, he said.

Noting that the city is at the center of an impressive high-income demographic, Freimuth said that offering space in a new vibrant commercial and residential community should interest retailers.

"New facilities will have more success than older, more tired ones," he said.

Recognition in trade publications also helps the marketing process, Wickey said. The development was "Project of the Month" for May in the New England Real Estate Journal and also was featured in Dealmaker magazine.

Yale & Towne is on the site of the old Yale Lock factory,where restaurants with outdoor dining, convenience services and shops are planned.

The Square, a waterfront community, will combine retail, office and residential development, featuring boutiques, art galleries, waterside dining, cafes, a 131-room hotel with 50 condominiums, marina, boardwalk and a park.

Harbor Point was designed by Sasaki and Perkins Eastman.