BY ANDREAS YILMA
Citizens News
BEACON FALLS — A downtown apartment complex with a historic past has been sold for $32 million.
Beacon Mill Village, an eight-building, 185-unit complex on 8 acres at 2 North Main St. along the Route 8 corridor, initially was a historic mill before it was transitioned to living spaces in 1988, according to Institutional Property Advisors, which brokered the deal.
Beacon Mill NCM Limited Partnership and Golden Vaal BMV, both of Shelton, sold the residential buildings to Beacon Mill Holdings of Brooklyn, N.Y. The closing date was April 26, according to the town clerk’s office.
The apartments, initially conceived as “for sale” housing, retain their original condominium ownership structure. The property is operated as a 100% market-rate apartment community, according an IPA news release that announced the sale in late May.
“Properties along the lower Route 8 corridor are poised to benefit from revenue enhancement upgrades,” said Victor Nolletti, IPA’s executive managing director of investments. “A review of comparable rents suggests that by upgrading common areas and enhancing amenities, the buyer can achieve significant upside.”
Nolletti and IPA’s Eric Pentore and Wes Klockner represented the seller, Navarino Capital Management, and procured the buyer, Beacon Mill Holdings. The townhome-style and loft apartments contain original brick exteriors, high ceilings, exposed brick interior walls and heavy timber beams. The average unit size is 809 square feet. Residential amenities include a swimming pool, fitness center and sauna.
The complex is listed on the National Register of Historic Places because it was converted from the former Home Woolen Co., which began to manufacture fancy cassimere fabrics in this location in the 1860s. In 1870, the water-powered mill employed 155 men, 67 women and 44 children using 3,700 spindles and 70 broadlooms, according to the Connecticut Mills website, a Preservation Connecticut project.
First Selectman Gerard Smith called the site “a nice little complex.”
