Hartford landlord Larry Gottesdiener, once one of the city’s most prolific property owners and boosters, is diversifying his portfolio with a new type of asset ‒ a WNBA franchise.
The Atlanta Dream WNBA team announced Friday that Gottesdiener, founder and chairman of Northland Investment Corp., is the lead investor in a three-member group that purchased the women’s professional basketball club for an undisclosed price.
The ownership group also includes former UConn women’s basketball star and Dream player Renee Montgomery and Northland President and Chief Operating Officer Suzanne Abair.
“It is a privilege to join a team of inspiring women who strive for excellence on the court and equity off the court,” Gottesdiener said. “I would like to express my gratitude to Commissioner Engelbert, Commissioner Silver, and the WNBA and NBA Boards of Governors for the opportunity.”
IT giant HCL Technologies officially makes downtown Hartford home
HARTFORD, Connecticut (HBJ) Though the region’s office market has mostly been in a holding pattern since COVID-19 hit Connecticut more than 10 months ago, there have been some bright spots.
One of the largest and most recent examples is a new downtown lease signed by IT outsourcing giant HCL Technologies, which this month followed through on its Feb. 2020 pre-pandemic promise that it would plant its flag downtown in order to serve its client Stanley Black & Decker.
HCL recently signed a lease for nearly 16,700 square feet of Class A office space at 10 State House Square, the Hartford Business Journal has learned.
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The Greater Hartford office market opened the first quarter of 2020 with more than 220,000 square feet of positive absorption, welcome news for a market that saw over 250,000 square feet of Class A negative absorption in 2019.
In March, the COVID-19 pandemic hit the United States, abruptly freezing market activity.
Sales and leasing transactions in process continued to fruition with little interruption as stakeholders on all sides attempted to keep business as usual amidst the uncertainty of COVID-19. In the summer months, landlords and tenants became increasingly more creative under the unprecedented global market disruption.
Tenants considering big moves focused on work-from-home strategies and a reevaluation of space needs. Landlords began offering attractive tenant improvement packages and lease terms with additional rent concessions. They also revised price offerings, resulting in downward pressure on average asking rental rates, which continue to soften into year-end.