About 30 years ago, it would be extremely rare to find someone living full time in one of the units at 18 Old Ridgebury Road in Danbury.
The 10-story property was once home to a Crowne Plaza hotel, but the operation struggled to fill vacancies in the early 2000s. That's when local developer Dan Bertram purchased the building in 2001 for $8 million. Bertram has now converted the hotel into a mixed-use building with apartments called Innovation Studios.
It took Bertram years to complete the project, partially over concerns about an increase in traffic. Danbury leaders called the plan not pedestrian friendly because of how close the building is to Interstate 84. City officials eventually approved Bertram's plans because, they said, Danbury is in desperate need of affordable housing.
The hotel-to-apartment strategy was particularly clever and creative, which is one of the reasons why it earned a CoStar Impact Award, as selected by an independent panel of local industry professionals.
Those who praised the project say Innovation Studios is one of several projects bringing hundreds of new apartments to Danbury.
Waterbury businessman Fritz Blasius has plans to build a 225-unit apartment building on Saw Mill Road, while another 208 units are slated for a former office building on Main Street.
About the project: Innovation Studios is a 10-story, 200-unit apartment complex in a mixed-use building on Danbury's west side. The building also has a 20,000-square-foot makerspace, co-working areas, an art gallery, a coffee shop, a fitness center and a 96-seat gastropub. The property comes with a 314-spot surface parking area.
Bertram said the 473,705-square-foot building "fuses residential comfort with collaborative spaces that nurture creativity, entrepreneurship and community."
The apartment section of the building features 160 micro-studio spaces and 40 one-bedroom homes. The Danbury Planning Commission gave the OK for this conversion in May 2025.
What the judges said: "I like the description of the adaptive reuse of the property," said Carl Russell, senior commercial broker at H. Pearce. "Assuming this is true, the project has a very strong impact on the community."
"The developer did a great job with the retail and amenities in a tough market,” Jonathan Gordon, CEO of Admiral Real Estate Services, said.
"This was innovative, impactful, and there were challenges galore that had to be overcome," Hal Kurfehs, executive vice president at Scalzo Commercial & New Development.
They made it happen: PJ Prunty, director of development; Liz Coleman, regional director; Angel Michel, Tim Medina, Susan Filosa and Dan Bertram — of all Bright Ravens Development — served as developers.
CoStar Market Manager Jay Grant contributed.