SOUTHINGTON — The new couches, chairs and tables between Rosie’s Royal Chocolates and Perkatory Coffee Roasters in Factory Square began filling up in the late morning.
Decorated with holiday lights, the space connects to shops, a brewery, an ax-throwing experience and a bar and arcade. For now it’s called The Living Room at Factory Square, although owners are considering other names as well.
Mat Florian Jr. of Florian Properties said the community space has always been part of the vision in bringing the Factory Square building back into use and returning retail to Southington’s downtown.
“The concept was to get the community in here,” he said.
Mat Florian Sr. bought the factory in 2015 when it still had a few manufacturing tenants in it. As with other buildings he’d bought in Southington’s downtown, his plan was to renovate it and move in retail and office tenants that would bring life to the area.
Mat Florian Sr. died this summer at age 60. His son and Christian Dietz of Florian Properties credit him with taking a chance on the building and selling the vision of Factory Square to the first tenants.
Witchdoctor Brewing
Josh Norris, a founder of Witchdoctor Brewing Co., considered a spot in Factory Square before Florian purchased it. Florian knew a brewery was interested, Norris said, which helped encourage the sale.
Norris liked the old factory even before renovations began and has been operating from there since opening in 2017. He’s heard from other tenants that the brewery helped attract them to Factory Square as well. Traffic has picked up since other businesses have moved in and Norris was glad about the addition of The Living Room area connecting portions of the sprawling factory. He credited Mat Florian Sr. with bringing that about.
“He had the vision for what’s happening,” Norris said.
Simone DelBuono, a downtown property owner, said the development of Factory Square had a noticeable impact on area visitors until the pandemic started earlier this year.
“He had a knack for grabbing properties and developing them, beautifying them,” DelBuono said of Mat Florian Sr. “It’s definitely helped the other surrounding businesses.”
DelBuono also called him the “frontrunner” of downtown’s comeback.
“He forged the way for downtown Southington, the revitalization of it,” DelBuono said. “He’s done a wonderful job with all his properties.”
Florian Fine Jewelry
Mat Florian Jr. said his father ran a jewelry store and started in real estate buying land for speculation. A drop in the market during the 1980s plummeted the value of his acquisitions and Mat Florian Sr. turned to income-producing investments such as the Abbey Park property at 51 N. Main St. That brought together Mat Florian Sr.’s development interests as well as his experience with the jewelry store.
“It was very much a retail operation going on. I felt they always liked the idea of bringing more retail to Southington,” Mat Florian Jr. said. “He was a good salesman and the energy of real estate worked for him.”
Building projects since then have been similar, starting with one tenant and improving things from there. Business owners who’ve bought into the vision for Factory Square are motivated to stay, Mat Florian Jr. said, and the building has been able to weather the economic downturn this year.
“They can see the building is supporting the traffic,” he said. “Everybody’s contributing to the effort.”
Growth in the future
The third and fourth floor of the factory are primarily offices with the retail on the main level. Mat Florian Jr. is working to get tenants for the basement floor that in some locations has ground-level windows looking out onto the nearby Farmington Canal Heritage Trail.
The company recently added an entryway directly from the trail into the building and Mat Florian Jr. is considering more as tenants fill the basement. Right now, it’s being used for parents of Mount Southington Ski Area students who are waiting for lessons to finish.
Mat Florian Jr. said they’ll continue to add features to The Living Room, possibly a patio or exposing a massive boiler that used to heat the factory. He’s also considering other names for the gathering spot, such as Brick Lounge, Factory’s Den, the Trail Den or Florian’s Den.
The former Ideal Forging property lies just across Center Street from Factory Square. Mat Florian Sr. had tried to buy it but the forging plant went instead to a New York-based company that’s now trying to sell the project. Rather than reusing the building, owners tore it down and have plans for a mostly residential development.
“I get a feeling in my stomach thinking about that building drop,” Mat Florian Jr. said. He hopes that Florian Properties could take on the challenge of turning the nearly vacant lot into an asset for the downtown.
DelBuono wished that Mat Florian Sr. had been able to acquire Ideal Forging.
“If Florian did it, there probably would be something going up by now,” he said.
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Twitter: @JBuchananRJ
