hartford courant story 8/21/07

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provides an update on former Ct sites and even a map.  In the business section of today's paper.  Can't get the URL to work.  Help?

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When Rocky Hill-based Ames Department Stores closed five years ago and left 22 vacant stores in Connecticut, there were worries that the properties could turn into deteriorating, empty storefronts.

National retailers such as Kohl's, Wal-Mart and Target typically use bigger buildings than those occupied by Ames, so communities were concerned that they'd be left with outdated buildings that would be ignored because of changing retail business models.

But most of the former Ames stores were in locations that were in demand, real estate brokers and community economic development officials said. Today, all but four are occupied by new tenants or have been demolished to make room for new construction by Lowe's and Home Depot.
The stores initially posed a challenge to occupancy because they were built for another era, when department stores were smaller and more narrow and deep. But a mixture of flexibility and creativity on the part of property owners and municipal officials has resulted in reuse of the commercial space.

"Retailers have size requirements that they don't necessarily deviate from," said Tim McNamara, a commercial real estate broker with SullivanHayes Companies Northeast, a Farmington-based firm that specializes in retail properties. "A lot of times, retailers want to build their own store from scratch."

The typical Ames store, generally 60,000 square feet to 90,000 square feet, was too small for "big box" retailers and too large for companies like Marshalls and Bed, Bath & Beyond, McNamara said. "There're not a lot of 60,000-square-foot retailers out there," he said.

An alternative for larger stores is to knock down the old building and start fresh. That has been the case for five former Ames stores that are being replaced by Lowe's, Home Depot or Price Chopper stores.

Real estate brokers said they're not surprised that the few remaining vacant Ames stores continue to stay that way.

"None of the locations are so great that a retailer wants to make a substantial sacrifice to its square footage," McNamara said. "They don't have the visibility or access they need, or they're too small or are in areas retailers don't want to enter into."

One of the former Ames stores that is still vacant, in East Hartford near the Glastonbury town line, is the wrong size for some potential tenants or too close to existing stores for others, its listing agent said.

"That building is only 88,000 square feet. That size is too small for any of the big boxes," said Mark D'Addabbo, president and co-founder of New England Retail Properties, based in Wethersfield. "It's all about the volume. When a tenant is deciding upon a location, they have to see how they're going to cannibalize a different store."

Large retailers draw from several areas, so they don't want to put their stores too close to each other.

Still, D'Addabbo said there has been interest in the East Hartford store and that he is in negotiations with two potential tenants. He declined to elaborate.

The vacant Seymour store is the focus of discussions with two prospective retailers who would each occupy some of the space, said broker Frederick Petrella, a principal in the New Haven office of Sperry Van Ness. He's marketed the space to retailers of all sizes, he said, but the town lacks the population density, income and projected growth that retailers want.

Where smaller retailers have chosen former Ames stories, usually two of them create stores in a single Ames building. Out of the 12 stores renovated and now occupied by other retailers, only four are occupied by a single tenant.

"There are enough tenants out there looking for space. It's a matter of finding the right tenant," D'Addabbo said.

Ocean State Job Lot occupies several former Ames stores. Tractor Supply Co., Dick's Sporting Goods or dollar stores all have found space in former Ames stores. Two spaces are being reused for other purposes, a Backus Outpatient Care Center in Norwich and, this fall after renovations are completed, Porter & Chester Institute in Rocky Hill.

Real estate brokers and economic development officials say the stores in desirable communities were quickly adapted for reuse. But there are always exceptions.

There's a store in the popular Elmwood section of West Hartford that's remained vacant for five years because the parking lot is in a flood plain, according to a town official. Although the area is "just exploding with redevelopment," the owner of the former Ames store, built in the 1960s, is considering a self-storage facility because retailers haven't been interested, said Rob Rowlson, the town's business and community development officer.

"It's an older building," he said. "It would be very costly to reinvest in that."

Another store that remains vacant, in the Dayville section of Killingly, is across from a brownfield site that is being cleaned up and redeveloped, a town official said. Plans call for a Lowe's, Stop & Shop and Staples at the other site, once a glass manufacturing plant, said Elsie Bisset, Killingly's economic development coordinator.

The owner of the former Ames building across the street is waiting to see who the other tenants are before finalizing deals with his own tenants and doing the necessary façade improvements and site work, she said. So the folks of Killingly, who have to drive 8 miles to buy a shower curtain, have to wait a little longer.

Theresa Sullivan Barger is a free-lance writer living in Canton.



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