The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Realtors raise thousands for Journey Home
HARTFORD — The Greater Hartford Association of Realtors held its second annual Simsbury Stroll for Charity on April 25 to raise funds and awareness for Journey Home, whose mission is to end chronic homelessness in the greater Hartford region, according to a news release.
Attendees enjoyed food and beverages from three Simsbury restaurants: Metro Bis, McLadden’s and Maple Tree Cafe. The event included prizes donated by sponsors and area businesses.
The GHAR Foundation was proud to present Journey Home with a check for $2,088 in support of its important work in finding sustainable solutions to the barriers that create cycles of homelessness.
“As Realtors, we are thrilled to support such a worthy cause,” Bobbi Mathues, 2018 GHAR West Region chairwoman and one of the event’s organizers, said in a statement.
“The event would not have been a success without the generosity of sponsors, attendees, committee volunteers and the area Simsbury businesses.”
GHAR extended a special thank you to the event sponsors: Sherwood Inspection Services; Leader Bank; Daley Moving & Storage; Murphy, Laudati, Kiel & Rattigan LLC; and Webber & Meyers.
The Greater Hartford Association of Realtors is the largest local real estate trade association in Connecticut, serving over 4,000 members in the 57-town Greater Hartford real estate brokerage community.
The association provides technology, training, networking and business support to members, and supports a healthy real estate market by upholding high professional and ethical standards through a code of ethics, ongoing education and certification programs.
For more information, call 860-561-1800 or visit www.gharonline.com.
Journey Home is a team of innovative problem solvers founded in 2007 as the agency responsible for implementing Hartford’s 10-Year Plan to End Homelessness.
Visit www.JourneyHomect.org.
South Coast Improvement renovation completed
TORRINGTON — South Coast Improvement Co., a design-build general contractor serving New England and the Mid-Atlantic states, finished the final phase of renovations at the Brookdale Litchfield Hills senior living facility at 376 Goshen Road, Torrington, according to a news release.
The Marion, Mass.-based company began construction in May 2017 and finished in February.
The $2.125 million renovation took place on the patio- and second-floor levels of the facility. The patio-level renovation featured the conversion of a large multi-purpose space and some auxiliary offices into six new resident bedrooms, each with private bathrooms.
It also included a redesign of the multi-purpose room to accommodate a new smaller common space used by the community for events and activities.
The second-level renovation featured demolition of five unit apartments, which were converted into one large communal dining room, activity offices and a commercial serving kitchen.
“Renovations at active senior living facilities always come with challenges as you want to minimize disruption to daily routines,” said Tom Quinlan, president of South Coast Improvement Co.
“This project called for the replacement of the HVAC units, add new electrical panels and new plumbing. That required whole building shutdowns that had to be carefully coordinated with the community and staff in advance to ensure minimal disruption and no loss of heat to the residents, since this work took place during the winter.”
Noted Quinlan, “Thankfully, we were able to complete this work with minimal disruption to routine and nobody, literally and figuratively, was left out in the cold.”
Brookdale Litchfield Hills is owned by Brookdale Senior Living Solutions, which offers assisted living, skilled nursing, memory care, independent living and continuing care retirement communities across the U.S. For more information, visit www.brookdale.com.
Based in Marion, Mass., and with an office in Reading, Pa., South Coast Improvement Co. is a recognized leader in providing building and renovation services to a client base of senior living, health care, institutional and retail clients. For more information, call 508-748-6545 or visit www.southcoastimprovement.com.
Single-family home sales, median price stumble in May
BOSTON — Single-family home sales in Connecticut decreased in May and the median sale price edged lower on a year-over-year basis, according to the latest report from the Warren Group, publisher of The Commercial Record.
A total of 3,094 singlefamily homes were sold in Connecticut last month, compared to the 3,301 homes sold in May 2017 — a 6.3 percent decrease.
Meanwhile, the median single-family home price declined for the first time in eight months on a yearover-year basis, falling 1.2 percent to $250,000. Despite the year-over-year decline, the price was unchanged from April 2018. Year-to-date, single-family home sales totaled 11,692 transactions, with a median sale price of $245,000.
“This is the first time the median sale price declined on a year-over-year basis since September 2017,” said Timothy Warren, CEO of the Warren Group, in a written statement. “The stumble in May seems to be part of the the pattern we are seeing in Connecticut for the past year or two. It is a bumpy road with ups and downs, none very large. The good news is that when we compare the first five months of 2018 with the same period last year, we see a 4.3 percent gain in the median price.”
The number of condominium sales in Connecticut also decreased, falling 4.9 percent in May with 834 transactions, down from 877 transactions recorded in May 2017. The median sale price for condos increased, rising 2.9 percent on a year-over-year basis to $170,250, up from $165,000 a year earlier.
Year-to-date condo sales totaled 3,282 transactions, with a median sale price of $160,000.