The Highrailer, a six-story apartment tower at 283 Main Street with a curved-glass facade and amenities including a pet spa, held its grand opening on October 21. Its 114 market-rate apartments bring new housing downtown, but the listed rents are high relative to New Britain’s $57,036 median household income.
The building began leasing in October. Studios were listed for just under $1,500, while a 1,067-square-foot two-bedroom, two-bath apartment was listed at $3,125, according to the Hartford Courant. The New Britain Herald reported a full rent range of $1,485 to $3,575 and a 2023 median household income of $57,036, citing Data USA. Against that annual household-income median, a $3,125 monthly rent is about 66% of median monthly income; the reported rent range is about 31% to 75%. These comparisons use a citywide household median, not the income of Highrailer applicants or tenants.
Nakiya Troth, Terrace Management’s regional vice president of property management, told the Hartford Courant that the company hopes to have the building 15% to 20% leased by year’s end. She said prospective tenants had shown the most interest in the top floor.
A Nearby Comparison
The Highrailer shares a courtyard with The Brit, a 107-unit sister property managed by Terrace Management. Troth told the Hartford Courant that The Brit was 96% occupied, with rents ranging from $1,714 for studios to $2,799 for two-bedroom units. Tila Carter manages both buildings.
Jasko Development proposed The Brit in 2021 and followed with the Highrailer proposal in 2022, according to the Hartford Courant. Together, the two buildings add up to 221 market-rate residential units, according to Jasko Group, which also notes the Highrailer sits adjacent to downtown New Britain's CT Fastrak station — a location the Courant describes as one block from the transit stop. New Britain officials approved 26-year tax incentives for both buildings, part of the push that developer Avner Krohn has said could eventually support more than 220 market-rate apartments citywide.
What Public Data Shows About Affordability, Incentives and Transit
The reporting cited above identifies 26-year tax incentives for The Brit and the Highrailer, but does not specify what the city expected in return. In a separate case, the Hartford Courant reported that East Hartford withdrew a 27-year tax incentive for the proposed 402-apartment Concourse Park project; that is a different development and does not establish the terms or benefits of New Britain’s agreements. Separately, the Connecticut Department of Housing reports 5,991 total assisted units in New Britain, or 19.01%. That total combines multiple assistance categories and is not a count of income-restricted apartments alone. The City of New Britain describes CTfastrak as an exclusive 9.4-mile bus roadway between New Britain and Hartford that also runs through Newington and West Hartford. That system-level description does not establish how Highrailer tenants travel or what access the service provides to individual residents.
What the Buildings Offer
Highrailer apartments include quartz countertops, stainless steel electric ranges, dishwashers, custom closet shelving, smart-home temperature controls, energy-efficient HVAC systems, custom kitchen cabinetry and designer hardware. Some have Juliet balconies, and many include in-unit washers and dryers; each floor also has a laundry room. Shared amenities include a second-floor outdoor terrace, a community room, a fitness center and a pet spa. The New Britain Herald also reported that the building has a gym and outdoor terrace space.
Jasko Group says the building has 6,000 square feet of ground-floor retail and restaurant space. A coffee shop is moving into part of that space, while The Brit has plans for a large-scale destination restaurant at street level.
Downtown Development Beyond the Highrailer
Mayor Bobby Sanchez called the Highrailer’s opening a welcome investment in New Britain’s future. He succeeded Erin Stewart, who left the mayor’s office in 2025 to run for governor.
To assemble the Highrailer site, Jasko Development acquired the vacant Burritt Bank building at Main and Bank streets and later the Amato’s Toy and Hobby building, then demolished both. Krohn sold the Highrailer and The Brit for nearly $62 million to INV360 and Reliant Partners. Jasko also bought properties near the courthouse for $1.5 million this year. In 2023, Krohn told the Hartford Courant that more than 500 new housing units could come downtown within less than 24 months.
Planned Housing and Market Conditions
The Strand, another planned downtown project, is expected to open in 2027 with 100 apartments, including 80 at market rate and 20 priced to state-set affordability levels, the New Britain Herald reported. The project is expected to open in mid-2027 and include about 3,600 square feet of retail space, with movie-themed design features, a theater and a rooftop area with fire pits, according to the Hartford Business Journal.
The Highrailer is opening as demand for newer, amenity-rich market-rate apartments is cooling in Connecticut after years of development, the Hartford Courant reported. In East Hartford, negotiations over the proposed $120 million, 402-unit Concourse Park complex broke down after the Capital Region Development Authority declined to increase its roughly $10 million commitment.
Other downtown New Britain buildings offer a range of asking rents: 222 On Main starts at $1,500 a month, The Study runs from $1,350 to $2,850, and The Brit starts at $1,625, according to the New Britain Herald’s local-market survey. Those listings provide additional points of comparison, though they do not establish what individual households can afford.
