[Connecticut Post Online Edition, January 29, 2005]

BRIDGEPORT - After a few years of rehabilitating East Side apartment buildings, E/N Properties of New York is moving downtown with plans for a $2.5 million renovation project to convert an office building into 35 condominiums.

Victor Naar, the "N in E/N, said his company purchased the building at 881 Lafayette Blvd. in Bridgeport for $1.1 million about a year ago, and is looking to convert it into condominiums beginning this spring.

The building is located across the street from Housatonic Community College and sits between the Bob's Discount Furniture plaza and the federal courthouse.

Naar said the building has high ceilings, and at least one of the office units has been gutted to let an architect look at the beams and construction requirements for the conversion. It is currently 30 percent occupied, he said. The building appears to be in good condition, according to Naar, and it has plenty of room for parking. E/N may even be able to add more apartments to the building, he said.

"Bridgeport is very exciting, Naar said. He said he and the other owner of E/N, Jason Epstein, have been concentrating on renovating East Side Apartments in Bridgeport, but said there is a market for residential ownership downtown that they can tap into.

He said the other projects that have moved forward in the area, including conversion of the former Read's building, are strictly rental, so this will provide an ownership element to downtown. E/N anticipates charging at least $180,000 for a condominium, he said, with young professionals as the target buyers.

"We're looking at a younger type of crowd that can't find anything affordable to buy in Fairfield County, Naar said.

With more restaurants opening up downtown and the train station just a few blocks away, Naar said the move seems like a good bet. He added that the Lafayette Deli, which occupies space on the ground floor, wouldn't be moving and could also be a draw for tenants because they could grab a cup of coffee or a snack on the way out the door to work.

"It's really going to help the downtown, Naar said.

Nancy Hadley, the city's director of planning and economic development, agreed in principle. She said E/N has not submitted any formal proposal to her office and she wasn't sure what the company will have to do to convert the building yet.

Hadley said E/N's interest is a good sign for the city because it shows that companies are seeing Bridgeport's potential. She wasn't upset about the loss of office space in the area either, because 881 Lafayette isn't considered class A space. Class A space is considered top of the line, and is generally what companies are looking for these days, she said. Those buildings often include gyms and other amenities.

Rob Varnon, who covers business, can be reached at 330-6216.