Hartford Business Journal

6 HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | APRIL 21, 2025 DE AL WATCH delivery by year-end — the most since CBRE began tracking that data in 2016. This year is expected to be even more active, CBRE said, with 279 conversions either underway or planned/announced. Nearly half of Fairfield County's vacant office space may be turned into other uses over the next decade to attain a "healthy" vacancy rate of 12% to 14%, said Tom Pajolek, executive vice president of commercial real estate broker CBRE. "There's a debate as to whether we're overbuilt, or we're underdemolished," Pajolek said. Repurposing build- ings into new uses is the best way to bring new life — and lease revenue — for what would otherwise remain vacant office space, he said. "If there is a particular market sector (that's in higher demand), whether it's retail or health care or multifamily or industrial, for example, then those become the highest and best uses for those properties," Pajolek said. Cahill agreed, adding that most Fairfield County municipalities are seeing proposals to repurpose vacant office buildings into multifamily housing and/or retail locations. Stamford, in particular, will be a hotspot for converting office space into multifamily uses, due to the city's urban appeal, which has been enhanced in the wake of the pandemic, Cahill said. "There is a nightlife," he said. "Back in the '80s, things closed at 5 o'clock." He added: "One could speculate that in two to three years, the tide may change and the removal of the weakest office buildings will leave the strongest-performing buildings." VACANT OFFICE BUILDINGS IN FAIRFIELD COUNTY SLATED FOR CONVERSION INTO MULTIFAMILY HOUSING 800 Long Ridge Road, Stamford: Building and Land Technology to turn 275,000 square feet of office space into 354 apartments; approved in December. 900 Long Ridge Road, Stamford: Monday Properties to convert a 164,300-square-foot office building into a 463-unit apartment building; approved in December. Thorndal Office Park, Darien: TC NE Metro Development Inc. to turn five office buildings with a combined 108,000 square feet into 175 apartments; approved in February. 101 and 201 Merritt 7, Norwalk: 511,318 square feet of office space owned by New York State Teachers' Retirement System; proposed for conversion into 564 apartments. 3191 Broadbridge Ave., Buildings 1 and 2, Stratford: 145,250 square feet of office space; proposed for conversion into 234 apartments. Two vacant Windsor office buildings part of larger mixed-use redevelopment plan An early sketch of the Windsor mixed-use multifamily development proposed by Mark Greenberg and Citicore. By Michael Puffer mpuffer@hartfordbusiness.com T wo vacant office build- ings just off Interstate 91 in Windsor are the focus of a planned development of around 201 multifamily units, a Starbucks and 9,200-square-foot commercial building. Litchfield developer Mark Green- berg has teamed up with Flori- da-based retail real estate developer Citicore Development Group on the proposal. The plan is centered on redeveloping two empty office build- ings — at 1 and 10 Targeting Centre — and a neighboring vacant lot. The total area covers 11.6 acres. "This is a great location right off the highway," Greenberg said of the properties. Greenberg owns one of the office buildings and is under contract to buy the second through a court-appointed receiver, although the current owner has objected in court to Greenberg's $2.3 million offer. The 0.64-acre vacant lot is under contract to be purchased by Citicore, Greenberg said. The project would be done in phases. The first would include construction of a single, crescent-shaped building with about 100 multifamily units Fairfield County Continued from page 5 Source: Cushman & Wakefield | PHOTOS | COSTAR Tom Pajolek located between the existing office buildings. There would also be a Starbucks pad site built at the corner of an Interstate-91 off-ramp and Bloomfield Avenue. Later, the 97,256-square-foot, four- story office building at 1 Targeting Centre, and the 51,778-square- foot, three-story office building at 10 Targeting Centre, would be converted into multifamily units. A 9,200-square-foot commercial building would also be constructed. The multifamily units could be apartments or sold as condo- miniums, Greenberg said. Greenberg said he partnered with Citicore on the commercial build- ings. For now, he plans to tackle the multifamily development alone, but that could change. The proposal is before Windsor's Planning and Zoning Commission, which could sign off on the site plan as early as May 20. The project would also need approval from the State Traffic Administration. Greenberg said he hopes to break ground on the first residential building at some point in 2026. Once the first building is occupied and financially stabilized, conversion of the office buildings would get underway, Greenberg said. The entire project could be built out in three to five years, he said. Court battle Greenberg acquired 10 Targeting Centre for $2.94 million in 2012, but the property has been vacant for several years. The larger building at 1 Targeting Centre is also vacant. It's owned by a Brooklyn, New York-based limited liability company managed by Shaul Sprung and Joseph Thurm, according to court records. Last May, Minneapolis-based U.S. Bank, as a trustee for holders of a $7.17 million mortgage on 1 Targeting Centre, asked a Hartford Superior Court judge to appoint a receiver for the office building. U.S. Bank made the request after it said the borrowers failed to pay off the owed balance when the loan matured on Feb. 1, 2024. In late February of this year, a court-appointed receiver and U.S. Bank petitioned the court to sell the property to Greenberg for $2.3 million. However, the Brooklyn-based owners of 1 Targeting Centre objected, and are seeking a higher sales price. Greenberg said he's confident the court will eventually accept his offer because he agreed to close on the sale immediately, with no contingencies.

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