real estate services
Adaptive reuse of pre-1936 historic buildings & structures
Parker Benjamin, a privately held boutique investment banking firm, was founded in 1983 to provide financial and real estate advisory services to middle market companies with revenues of $3 to $150 million. The firm’s transactional activities include mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, venture capital, and the private placement of debt and equity financing. We are also actively engaged in developing real estate, both for clients and our own account. Parker Benjamin’s non-transactional assignments include business valuations/appraisals, broker price opinions, solvency & fairness opinions, financial advice, and expert testimony.
Parker Benjamin's PROJECTS:
Upson Market Place.Work Here. Play Here. Live Here!
Completed
Sometime around 1860 Andrew S. Upson built his nut and bolt factory in the heart of Unionville, CT. At the turn of the 19th century the Upson Nut and Bolt Factory had become the country’s largest manufacturer of nuts and bolts. The Company’s product lines branched out to rulers (the department later was sold to Stanley Works), belt hooks, and finally ball bearings, as the Pioneer Steel Ball. The property is listed on the CT Historic Register, offering both architectural and historical significance, as the remaining nineteenth-century industrial complex in Unionville, and has close ties with the development of industry in Farmington, CT.
Today, the buildings at Upson Market Place have been re-purposed and restored into luxury residences, shops, galleries, restaurants, and Lifestyle Business Offices™. National tech companies, financial firms & insurers, and an international software developer populate the Upson Market Place, located in downtown Unionville, alongside the majestic Farmington River.
Federal tax credits were used to help fund the restoration.
UMP received CT Main Street Center’s 2017 Keystone Award of Excellence.
Winsted Edge Works(WEW)
Completed/Current
Welcome to the Edge! An exciting new location for shops, galleries, food & beverage, and Lifestyle Business Office™ space in the northwest corner of Connecticut. Prominently located at the corner of Main Street (Route 44) and Lake Street (Route 263), along the Mad River, our project is the repurposing of the c1852 mill complex and restoring its structures.
The Little Red Barn Brewers became Winsted Edge Work's first tenant in June 2019, opening a 4000SF brewery and tasting room. The spigots have not turned off and The Little Red Barn Brewers has enjoyed enormous patronage and significant critical acclaim. The brewery is undergoing an expansion that will more than double its size. Build-out is underway for additional spaces of experiential and service tenants.
Federal tax credits were used to help fund the restoration.
Greenway
Completed
Once the home to the United Negro Welfare Council and the Business Service Bureau, with its agent/secretary/director, Sadie (Dillon) Harrison Fulford (1889-1949). Sadie co-wrote a precursor to the famous Green Book, Hackly and Harrison’s Hotel and Apartment Guide for Colored Travelers, published in 1930 and 1931. Another significant early tenant was R.G. Dun & Company, the local branch of what would soon become Dun & Bradstreet.
Located in the heart of Downtown New London, CT, the c1920 structure has been converted into upscale micro-loft apartments and a photography studio. Construction commenced Summer2021. The project was completed and occupancy sold-out in 2022. Located in Enterprise and Opportunity Zones, Greenway offered significant tax benefits to its investors.
Greenway received state & federal historic tax credits from the CT State Historic Preservation Office and National Park Service.
Manwaring
Completed
One of the most iconic buildings in New London, Manwaring underwent a complete restoration and conversion to luxury apartments and townhomes in 2022. The c1913 building, a three story commercial block structure designed in the Second Renaissance Revival style, sits in the heart of downtown. Its large format Palladian windows, fluted pilasters, window hoods, concrete lintels, and keystones offer architectural facets of a bygone era.
Construction commenced January 2022 with a 12 month build budgeted. In May 2022 Connecticut College approached the developers, looking to lease the building for student housing. The construction schedule was pushed up and delivery was made to the college in August 2022. Today 65 students occupy 21 luxury apartments and townhomes.
Manwaring received state & federal historic tax credits from the CT State Historic Preservation Office and National Park Service.
New London Landmarks presented Manwaring with its 2022 restoration of the year award.
Riverbank
Current
Three adjacent landmark historic buildings have been assembled to create Riverbank, a mixed use development offering 32 luxury apartments, a brewery, restaurant, and retail store located in the middle of Bank Street, New London, CT.
The buildings feature high-end amenities such as private roof-decks, parking, storage lockers, a bike room, a mail room, and a fitness gym. Riverbank is opening its doors to residents during the summer 2023.
State & federal historic tax credits were approved for this project.
Garfield Mills
Current
Constructed in 1920, the “Edward Bloom Silk Mill” is located near downtown New London, with New London itself being Southeastern Connecticut’s major city, and a vibrant coastal community overlooking Long Island Sound. Currently in the design and HBM remediation phase, these 2-story buildings of approximately 95,000-SF, "Garfield Mills" will be converted to 90 market rate apartments, featuring community rooms, laundry rooms and a gym.
The State of CT DECD has awarded the property a $900k Financial Assistance Proposal. State & federal historic tax credits were approved for this project.
Phoenix on Main
Current
The Phoenix Building is a cornerstone of the Danielson Main Street Historic District, which is located in Killingly, CT. Constructed c1896, the two-story 20,800SF brick building is of the Renaissance Revival style, retaining a 4-bay façade, with bays separated by stone-banded brick piers. Windows with jack-arch heads, recessed-brick crosses in frieze, projecting cornice with dentils and mutules are contributing factors of its historical status. Storefronts offer original cast-iron columns and sheet-metal cornices, with tin ceiling interior finishes.
Phoenix on Main repurposes this historic town center building into 1st floor experiential retail & dining, along with 2nd floor creative co-working environments by Work Slots™. Raveis Realty occupies one of five retail storefronts on the 1st floor, with additional tenant spaces being available Summer 2023.
State & federal historic tax credits were approved for this project.
Scovil Hoe
Coming Soon
The former D. and H. Scovil Company’s Mill No. 4 complex is comprised of two c1867 red brick mill buildings, standing parallel to one another along the north side of Candlewood Hill Brook. The buildings are typical of forge and foundry buildings built during the late 19th century and are characterized by their comparatively long overall length and gable roofs with clerestory monitors.
A historical adaptive re-use and restoration of the Scovil Hoe Building Complex at 11 Candlewood Hill Road, Higganum, CT has been approved for conversion to shops, galleries, Lifestyle Business Offices™, a full-service restaurant, and winery/brewery.
Parker Benjamin has contracted with the State of CT DOT and Town of Haddam to acquire and restore the historic mill buildings. Nomination to the historic register is in the works. The State of CT DECD has awarded the property a $1.8mm Financial Assistance Proposal for environmental and HBM remediation.
State & federal historic tax credits were approved for this project.
AWARDS
- 2017 CT Main Street Keystone Award – Upson Market Place, Unionville, CT
- A Look at a Successful Historic Preservation Project in Unionville, CT
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