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6 HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | SEPTEMBER 30, 2024 DEAL WATCH Voya Financial put its 470,000-square-foot Windsor office building, at 1 Orange Way, up for sale in August 2022. PHOTO | COSTAR officials said. Creating separate zoning for each potential development would be time-consuming for the applicant and the town. "We're trying to be responsive to private-sector interests," said Windsor Town Planner Todd Sealy. Sealy said community engagement sessions will give the consultants an idea of where residents want to steer development in that area. Office abundance Officials expect a portion of the study to focus on repurposing office space, as Windsor has an abundance of corporate parks and one of the state's highest office vacancy rates. The Windsor market suffered significant setbacks in 2022, when corporate insurance giants Voya and The Hartford put up for sale massive office buildings they owned and significantly reduced their presence in. Both companies cited an embrace of remote work that lessened their need for space. Voya Financial put its 470,000-square-foot Windsor office building, at 1 Orange Way, up for sale in August 2022, seeking a buyer that would allow it to lease back 85,000 square feet. The building was constructed for Voya (formerly ING) at a cost of $100 million in 2007. The building is now valued at $13 million, according to town records, and remains for sale without an asking price. In June 2022, The Hartford announced plans to sell or lease its 457,396-square-foot Windsor office building at 1 Griffin Road North, as it reassigned 500 workers to offices in Hartford. The property, which sits on 72.9 acres, is currently valued at $18.9 million, and remains listed for sale. More than 59% of Windsor's 3.16 million square feet of office space was vacant at the end of the first quarter of 2024, according to real estate firm CBRE. The town's 13 Class A office buildings, with 1.9 million square feet, had a 75.7% vacancy rate. Landlords and developers state- wide are repurposing office space into residential, commercial or mixed uses, and McMahon said there is interest for similar projects in Windsor. Landlord and developer Mark Greenberg owns several Windsor office buildings with high vacancy rates and has been mapping out plans for potential multifamily conversions, including for a 46,093-square-foot, three-story office building at 10 Targeting Centre that is completely vacant. McMahon said the study's goal is to ensure the Day Hill Road corridor remains an economic engine. "We have office products with manufacturing, some recreation uses, small-scale retail, and it's beneficial to have those various types of uses," McMahon said. "If one particular market goes down and another one is going better, it helps us create long-term resilience, and that's the point of the study." Building Ideas That Work... Building Ideas That Work... © 2011 BlueScope Buildings North America, Inc. All rights reserved. Butler Manufacturing ™ is a division of BlueScope Buildings North America, Inc. For more than 80 years, Borghesi Building & Engineering Co., Inc. has provided quality and reliability with design and energy efficient construction. 860.482.7613 | BorghesiBuilding.com 2155 East Main Street, Torrington, Connecticut 06790 With an attractive design, it presents to your customers a comfortable relaxing environment to help promote sales. PROJECT SPOTLIGHT: COUNTER WEIGHT BREWING When quality finishes and an attractive functional interior are required, our fine craftsmen provide the ultimate details. Windsor Continued from page 5