Bob Scinto
Chairman, R.D. Scinto Inc.
Age: 75
Industry experience: 47 years
In stark contrast to many of the larger corporate landlords in Fairfield County, R.D. Scinto Inc. maintains a distinctly personal approach to operations of its commercial portfolio. Founder Bob Scinto remains the face of the company, now in its 47th year, overseeing a staff of 60 employees including in-house property managers and maintenance people. A Bridgeport native, Scinto followed his father’s footsteps into the plumbing trade while attending night school at Sacred Heart University before entering the development world at age 28, building a 22-unit apartment building in Bridgeport. He developed his first office building at 30 Lindeman Drive in Trumbull in 1980, renting it to an engineering company for $4.17 per square foot.
Today the company has a portfolio of more than 50 commercial buildings totaling 4.2 million square feet. This spring, the firm signed a 90,000-square-foot lease with sandwich chain Subway, which cited the Shelton property’s “extraordinary amenities” in its decision to relocate from its longtime Milford headquarters in 2023. While Fairfield County office vacancies have risen since the pandemic, with recent CBRE data placing the country-wide availability rate at 28 percent, R.D. Scinto’s portfolio is approximately 96 percent leased.
Q: Has R.D. Scinto Inc. achieved most of its growth through development or acquisitions?
A: I did very few acquisitions: bought only three buildings my whole career. Shelton has been a great location physically, because you can get to Shelton in every direction with no traffic. It’s still a Fairfield County address, and the wonderful thing about Shelton is it’s 30 percent less [rent] because people are coming from the Valley: Derby and Naugatuck, and they can get a house for $182,000, so you can pay them $40,000 and they’re happy to have a job. You can’t get anything in Westport for $182,000.
Q: What’s the history of the Enterprise Corporate Park, soon to become the new location of Subway’s new headquarters at 1 Corporate Drive?
A: I bought 40 acres in 1978 and another 25 acres in 1982. I built my first building in 1981 and the last building 18 years ago. There are 16 buildings in the park.
Q: How do amenities fit into the marketing and leasing strategy?
A: We created an amenity package like you’re still in college. We have a basketball league and 16 teams. We had a Labor Day party with 7,800 people one year. We built a tennis court and we give free tennis lessons. We have an actor who comes from New York City and he does Shakespeare on Tuesday nights. The daycare center is a real plus, and the beauty salon, having a restaurant in almost every building. When you have as many square feet as we have, we can give these amenities and not charge for them. If you have only 100,000 square feet, you can’t do any of this, but if you have 4.3 million square feet, you can do anything. We provide tickets to Yankees games and hockey in Bridgeport. We have a farmer’s market, and free lemon ice on Thursdays.
Q: What was the key to executing the lease with Subway Corp.?
A: The amenity package. Where they were located in Milford, they couldn’t get people to come back. The guy who owned the company, [Subway founder] Fred Deluca, the very first time he rented any [corporate office] space was from me on High Street in Milford in 1976.
Q: Does R.D. Scinto do its own property management?
A: We run a very good operation. We have experienced people: eight HVAC mechanics and 28 trucks, and we do all the property management in-house. We have three electricians and two plumbers on the payroll. All you have to do is ask any of our tenants about our service. We do a survey and the higher we score, the more bonuses my people get. So now, there’s a direct relationship between the way they treat my tenants and their pay.
Q: How does R.D. Scinto maintain a high occupancy rate in its portfolio given the struggles in the country-wide office market?
A: Service, service and capital improvements. We constantly make our buildings better: put in new elevators, new AC systems. If you make a call to us, we have somebody there within five minutes. Most tenants will appreciate that. We’re not the cheapest, but we’re the best value. I have letters from people saying they love to come to work in our buildings.
Scinto’s Three Favorite Books
- “How to Win Friends and Influence People” by Dale Carnegie
- “The Road Less Traveled” by M. Scott Peck
- “Seven Habits of Highly Effective People” by Stephen Covey
