Felix Reyes
Title: Director of Economic Development and Planning, City of New London
Age: 37
Industry experience: 18 years
Steve Adams
New London is Connecticut’s second-smallest city by land area, but its location at the mouth of the Thames River provides opportunities to tap into the growing clean energy sector. The city is seeking proposals from developers for marine industrial facilities near the State Pier, and rezoning areas to encourage housing development in what’s already a compact, walkable community. Felix Reyes returned to his hometown in March as its new director of economic development and planning. Reyes previously worked as a project manager for JLL and Citizens Financial Group, overseeing the build-out of Citizens Bank branches and a capital improvement program at the Merritt 7 office park in Norwalk.
Q: What did the mayor indicate should be your top priorities when you took your new position?
A: We didn’t have an economic development director on staff for about three months, so he was filling in the role: just building relationships, penciling out some of the key players and projects that were going on. With project management, it all has to do with relationships: with developers, banks, equity partners, anyone who was interested in the city, business – and real estate-wise, getting to know them, why they’re in New London and the resources and support they need.
Q: What are developers saying about why they’re interested in New London?
A: People always say, “Why New London? Why now?” Each developer came with different goals – they’re all financial – but there’s a need in New London they felt they could fill.
One of them in particular was interested in historic restoration. The cost of real estate in downtown New London is extremely low, and he thought he could make an impact restoring historical buildings.
Others are fulfilling housing needs. We’re in a bit of a housing crunch because of the defense industry (growth) and there’s a need for market-rate housing. We’ve got plenty of affordable and subsidized housing, but they were looking to fill a niche in the market-rate housing in the city. The other reason is the amenities: the transportation, the waterfront, the proximity to the casinos, the historical charm.
Q: How healthy is the retail market downtown and what are typical rents?
A: It’s very different from space to space, and every building owner has a different relationship with businesses. Some rents are subsidized upfront because they’re interested and eager to get a tenant in there, and some are more interested in office space. We’ve seen rents in the $15 to $20 per square foot (range) but the storefronts vary.
The big one is restaurants. We’ve had seven restaurants open in our tourism season. That’s a big spike. During the winter, it’s a little bit dormant because of the weather. Bank Street’s occupancy rate is very high on the main corridor. State Street is a little bit behind, especially upper State Street.
Q: How active are developers in housing production?
A: We’re hoping to break ground this year on parcel J on Bank Street, with a 98-unit, 4-story complex by a developer out of Pennsylvania. This will be their second 100-unit building in the city. It’s a city-owned property and we’re closing in the next (four to six) weeks, if not sooner. That’s right on the corner of Bank and Howard streets, which is the gateway to the Electric Boat campus. That’s market-rate apartments for middle management for the Lawrence and Memorial Hospital, Electric Boat and Connecticut College work staff.
Right now, we have about 500 units of housing in the queue, all rentals. The condo market didn’t do well in New London so the developers are creating condos at a later date, but right now they’re starting with apartments. The good thing is they’re not looking to sell them off, they’re here to manage them and partner with the city.
Q: The city recently sought proposals to redevelop the Crystal Avenue public housing complex property, with a concentration on marine industrial development. How did the vision for the property emerge?
A: East New London is where the state pier is, and the Connecticut Port Authority is putting together a master plan to do some heavy renovations for offshore wind. Deepwater Wind won the bid in July and they’re going to be building portions of those offshore turbines, and back in the port they are putting $15 million in (improvements) that will not only house offshore wind, but possibilities for future industrial use. That’s adjacent to Crystal Avenue’s 15 acres of land, and we’ll be changing the zoning from residential to (commercial).
Q: Are you looking to rezone other parts of the city to encourage development?
A: We’re talking about parking requirements, number of stories, housing in certain waterfront areas. It’s a once-in-a-generation opportunity. Some of the parking requirements are antiquated and we’ve got to rethink them, and we’re looking at neighborhoods and economic development as a whole.
Q: Which neighborhoods have the most short-term economic growth potential?
A: The sleeper right now is Hodges Square. It’s the gateway to the new port. Once that port is redeveloped, industry is put back in place in that area. That whole commercial district, we’re hoping to see some new development, with connections to Connecticut College and the Coast Guard Academy. Another location is along Eugene O’Neill Drive, where the municipal parking lots are.
Reyes’ Five Favorite Buildings/Structures Visited:
- Eiffel Tower, Paris
- Roman Coliseum, Rome
- Hoover Dam, Nevada/Arizona
- Wind turbines off the coast of Block Island
- Sagrada Familia, Barcelona
