Date: Fri 05-Jan-1996

Publication: Bee

Author: ANDYG

Quick Words:

Sand-Hill-Plaza-D.R.A.

Full Text:

Sand Hill Plaza Sold For $20 Million

B Y A NDREW G OROSKO

Sand Hill Limited Partnership has sold Sand Hill Plaza, the town's biggest

retail property, to a real estate investment organization for $20 million.

D.D. Newtown Partners, a limited partnership chartered in the state of

Delaware, bought the shopping center through its financial arm known as D.R.A.

Advisors, Inc. of Manhattan. D.R.A. is in the business of owning commercial

real estate, including shopping centers.

F.D.P. Newtown, Inc, a Connecticut-chartered corporation, is a general partner

of D.D. Newtown Partners.

Attorneys concluding the deal filed paperwork on the transaction in the town

clerk's office on December 28. The magnitude of the transaction is indicated

by the $222,000 in real estate conveyance taxes levied by the state and town

in the sale. The sale price works out to rate of $125 per square foot at the

160,000 square foot facility.

From his Manhattan office, Andrew Peltz, D.R.A.'s managing director, said

January 3 "We think it's a good location for a retail investment." D.R.A.

invests pension fund money, he said.

Mr Peltz said the company hopes to open a planned expansion wing at the plaza

this year. He declined to identify the tenant or tenants who will occupy the

expansion wing, terming such information "confidential."

Mr Peltz said the new owners don't expect any significant changes at the plaza

in terms of its mix of tenants, other than the normal turnover of tenants that

occurs at shopping centers.

D.R.A. hopes to bring more national companies as tenants to Sand Hill Plaza,

he said.

D.R.A. is evaluating the mini-mall section of the plaza to find ways to

attract more shoppers to it. The mini-mall is an enclosed section of the plaza

which contains small stores. It has had a relatively high turnover of tenants

in recent years.

The Hutensky Group of Hartford will be managing Sand Hill Plaza for D.R.A.

Brad Hutensky, the group's president, said the organization will strive to

meet the needs of the community in running the plaza.

"We're very excited in being involved in this fine project," he said. The

management organization will cooperate with members of the community to ensure

that the plaza runs well, he said.

"This is a great project," Mr Hutensky said.

Sand Hill Plaza changed hands through the work of Matthew Keefe, senior vice

president of H.T. Hampe Associates of Westport. Mr Keefe, a specialist in

retail investment properties, served as an intermediary in the transaction,

representing both the buyer and the seller in the deal.

The sale took place just before the buyer's self-imposed, year-end deadline

for the transaction. Earlier difficulties had resulted in the cancellation of

a previously-scheduled December 15 closing on the sale.

According to deeds filed with the town, the buyers of Sand Hill Plaza took out

a $15 million mortgage on the property with Schroder Mortgage Investment

Trust, Inc, in New York City.

Sand Hill Plaza opened in 1990 as the town's first large, modern shopping

center. The South Main Street complex has about 30 stores. Chief tenants

include a Super Stop and Shop supermarket, T.J.Maxx, and Toy Works. Since the

plaza's opening, it has been managed by Brian Corson, a general partner of

Sand Hill Limited Partnership.

In recent months, Mr Corson's real estate company, ERA Advanced Real Estate,

has operated out of offices located in the mini-mall section of then plaza.

Mr Corson has explained the partnership had set out to refinance the plaza

several months ago, after which it was approached by the buyers about selling

the shopping center.

Sand Hill Limted Partnership received approvals from the Planning and Zoning

Commission (P&Z) in July to build a 21,450-square-foot addition to the north

end of the plaza. Access to the expansion wing would be provided by an

improved section of Washbrook Road extending to the plaza from South Main

Street, thus providing the plaza with three access points. The right to build

the expansion wing has been transferred to the property's new owners as has

permission to operate the facility's small-scale sewage treatment plant.

Mr Corson has said it will be easier for the new owners to acquire the capital

needed to build the expansion than it would have been for Sand Hill Limited

Partnership.