The Yale-New Haven Shoreline Medical Center is the result of the Yale-New Haven Hospital’s recent leasing of an additional 80,000 square feet of space in Guilford.

After very successful first and second quarters this year, the commercial markets in both New Haven and New London counties have slowed down a bit due to a seasonal slump, but on the whole the market in both areas has remained stable and industry professionals are optimistic.

According to commercial brokers, New Haven recently has experienced pockets of property movement in both sales and leasing, while builders and developers in New London have had to suffer through a rise in red-tape hassles, although activity in both locations has been fairly steady.

“Things have been a bit slower than the first and second quarters, but that’s kind of normal for this time of year,” said Bill Clark, senior vice president of Branford-based The Geenty Group Realtors, which has done business in New Haven, New London, Hartford, Middlesex and Fairfield counties for nearly 20 years.

“I’m always optimistic; you have to be in this business. It’s normal to have this sort of slowdown and we’ll see what happens, but I expect it to be very good again next year, although maybe not as good,” said Clark, who conceded his expectations are fairly high following an incredibly successful start to the year.

“I had the best business of my life this past year – three times better than any other year,” he noted. “But I’m still optimistic that the one coming up could be better.”

With the presidential election decided and the national economy on the rise, the proper atmosphere for the kind of year that Clark is hoping for is growing more and more likely.

‘Steady Leasing’

Rich Guralnick, a senior broker with H. Pearce Real Estate Co.’s North Haven office, shares Clark’s enthusiasm.

“There’s been scattered leasing in office, industrial, medical and retail throughout [New Haven County]. Activity has really been area-specific,” said Guralnick. “There hasn’t really been a strong surge or an uprise, but there has been steady leasing in those markets, although there tends to be a flight to quality, meaning that buyers are looking to purchase the better buildings on the market.”

Guralnick attributes that sort of market activity to an increasingly stable economic environment.

“As the economy is recovering, people who are apt to be thinking about moving are moving toward better properties because, even though it’s getting better, the market is still a bit soft,” said Guralnick. “In all sectors the buildings that are newer, better and in good positions are tending to capture the market.”

The Connecticut shoreline has been one sector that has recently attracted a lot of commercial transactions, rather than the traditionally strong areas in or surrounding cities.

“Out on the shoreline there’s a lot of things going on in retail, medical – everything, really,” said Guralnick. “Larger retailers like Anne Taylor and Chico’s understand that [those who live in] fairly rich, upscale communities like Branford, Guilford and Madison buy their products. Shoreline towns are destination places and they’re beginning to recognize the growth and are coming out this way, looking at properties from New Haven right out to the Rhode Island border.”

A recent expansion of the Yale-New Haven Hospital to an additional 80,000 square feet of space in Guilford, called the Yale-New Haven Shoreline Medical Center, has attracted many members of the medical community to New Haven County’s shores.

“When Yale-New Haven expanded, it prompted other physicians to be out on the shoreline because of increased population growth. They’re less inclined to want to be in New Haven, so they’re establishing outposts to meet demands,” said Guralnick.

One big third-quarter deal bucked this trend – Griffin Health Care Services leased 6,500 square feet at 129 Church St. in downtown New Haven for market-rate prices, a transaction fueled by a long-term government grant.

The third quarter also has been affected by the outcome of the recent presidential election, according to both Garulnick and Clark.

“Bush getting back into office is a relief,” said Clark. “Economically I think when you get into the holidays, people are busy doing other things than moving or expanding, but at least with this president in line again, they know the bottom won’t drop out.”

Garulnick added, “Whether you agree with the president’s reappointment or not, there was a market rise immediately after the election and I think those in this area are very positive about the fact that the Republicans won. There were a lot of tax incentives on the board that people were afraid would be swept off the table. It’s a good thing for the industry.”

Although there is hope that the federal government will positively contribute to the commercial real estate world in the future, local government and regulations have been making business in New London County a bit more difficult in the third quarter.

“As each quarter goes by, the more difficult it becomes to get [permitting] approvals done, especially within any sort of specified time frame. Each quarter it just gets worse and worse,” said Ken Bondi of Bondi Commercial in Norwich.

An increase in the amount of resustance that developers and builders are experiencing has not greatly affected sales and leasing, but in the third quarter the effects of governmental restrictions have been felt more fully.

“I would say that the market has been pretty steady in the past quarter, just like it was in the first and the second,” said Bondi. “The market has been pretty good, actually … but sooner or later, if towns don’t begin to recognize the need to fast-track properties, developers will turn away and leave. It’s just that simple.”

Bondi himself is eyeing two major closings in the next few weeks, but said he fears local regulations may curtail business in the future. For those involved in the development world, it’s not just an issue of getting frustrated or having to deal with bothersome bureaucratic business issues. It’s an issue of losing money, sometimes without being able to build at all.

“The government has put so many layers in the approval process that you’re talking about it taking months and months. The whole infrastructure of towns and their departments – fire, health, zoning, traffic, environmental – you’re looking at over a year or two years,” said Bondi. “It’s a long time, and time is money, but not only is that the case, but the money spent by developers is near the hundreds of thousands of dollar marks and then they could get a ‘no’ and not be able to build at all. The fact is that things keep getting worse in the approval process and it’s making it more and more difficult to do deals. We definitely felt that in the third quarter.”