- Business
- First Hartford Corporation (FHRT) engages in the purchase, development, ownership, management, rental, and sale of real estate properties; it also provides fee-for-service development and management activities as a preferred developer for clients including CVS Pharmacy and Cumberland Farms. The company operates through two primary segments: Real Estate Operations, encompassing rental income from retail shopping centers, multifamily housing, and commercial properties; sales of developed real estate; and Fee for Service, which includes management and maintenance services for third-party properties, construction income, and preferred developer fees earned on project milestones. Core offerings feature strip shopping centers, apartments such as Rockland Schoolhouse Apartments LP, Clarendon Hill Somerville Limited Partnership, and properties used for colleges, restaurants, police stations, and retail tenants like Big Y, Big Lots, and PriceRite; additional revenues derive from other sources including a Bojangles restaurant opened in January 2024. Properties and operations span Connecticut, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Texas, Rhode Island, Delaware, and New York, with management services extended to unconsolidated affiliates like subsidized housing in Claymont, Delaware, and the Bronx, New York. Founded in 1909 and headquartered at 149 Colonial Road, Manchester, Connecticut, the company, through subsidiaries and joint ventures, maintains investments in entities such as Dover Parkade LLC (50% interest in a New Jersey shopping center). Recent developments include the May 2023 buyout of 99.99% limited partnership interests in Rockland Place Apartments LP and Clarendon Hill Somerville LP for approximately $3.1 million, achieving near-full ownership; the October 2024 sale of the Rockland, Massachusetts property for $15.5 million plus debt assumption, generating a $10.6 million gain; a significant legal settlement contributing to fiscal 2025 net income of $11.1 million attributable to the company; and ongoing development activities reflected in $68.4 million in real estate sales revenue for the year ended April 30, 2025.