2019 Annual Review: Christopher Edge of the Town of Berlin (CT)

What was your greatest professional accomplishment in 2019?
Bringing in a Newport Realty Group (based in Southington) to be approved for and construct a $15 million mixed-use development on a town-owned parcel by the train station. This project will include 76 market rate apartments and 19,000 s/f of medical office, retail and restaurant space.
This will be the first mixed use project with market rate apartments in over a decade in Berlin.

What are your predictions for commercial real estate in 2020?
We will see the growth of our newly formed Main Street Program to provide our businesses opportunity to have a voice in Berlin and to inform residents of the great products and services available here. Care of commercial real estate, I forsee continued absorption with industrial and flex space largely due to the large amount of defense spending which is coming from Washington into Connecticut, much of which is in the aerospace arena. I expect retail being more active in the area around the Berlin Train Station, but retail overall being stagnant if not seeing more vacancies coming up.