Hartford Business Journal

6 HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | SEPTEMBER 22, 2025 a surge in multifamily conversions, with 1.4 million square feet of office space taken off the market just last year, helping lower the region's vacancy rate, which stood at 23.2% at the end of the second quarter of 2025, according to Newmark's midyear office market review. Five office buildings in Stamford and one in Norwalk were converted to apart- ments last year, according to Newmark. The region now has about 35.4 million square feet of office space. Leasing activity did slow in the first half of 2025, dipping nearly 25% from both mid-2024 and the 10-year midyear Carcaterra said today's office tenants expect more than just space, with services and ameni- ties playing a larger role in leasing decisions. Ritman has been with Newmark since 2002, and serves as an executive vice president and managing director of the firm's Connecticut and Westchester markets. Newmark has five brokers in its Stamford office. Ritman said Fairfield County's office market remains resilient, and the region as a whole benefited from the pandemic as people and companies relocated from New York City. Fairfield County is also experiencing Deal Watch Brian Carcaterra James Ritman An aerial view of Stamford's skyline. Stamford has been at the center of an office-to-apartments conversion trend that has taken hold in Fairfield County. Photo | CoStar NOTABLE MIDYEAR 2025 LEASE DEALS IN FAIRFIELD COUNTY TENANT BUILDING LOCATION DEAL TYPE SQUARE FEET Cummings & Lockwood 6 Landmark Square Stamford Renewal 55,643 Stamford Health Integrated Practices 292 Long Ridge Road Stamford Renewal 46,392 Commonfund 601 Merritt 7 Norwalk New Lease 39,730 Newell Brands 301 Merritt 7 Norwalk Renewal 31,217 DATTO (a Kaseya Company) 501 Merritt 7 Norwalk New Lease 27,500 North Mill Equipment Finance 601 Merritt 7 Norwalk Sublease 24,988 Morgan Stanley 4 Landmark Square Stamford Renewal 23,062 First County Bank 3001 Summer Street Stamford Renewal 19,683 UBS Financial Services 8 Wright Street Westport Renewal 19,217 Information Services Group 400 Atlantic Street Stamford New Lease 17,552 Source: Newmark Market Movers Veteran brokers reunite at Newmark with Fairfield County office sector in transition average, as tenants became skittish amid broader economic uncertainty and quality space became scarce in core business districts, according to Newmark. Leasing totaled just under 1.2 million square feet, down from the historical midyear average of 1.6 million. Suburban areas — especially Green- wich's non-central business district and Norwalk — saw the most activity, Newmark said. The average asking rent was $37.57 per square foot, down from $38.35 in 2024, according to Newmark. However, the real estate firm expects leasing activity to pick up during the rest of 2025, with deal volume ending the year closer to historical norms. Here's what else Ritman and Carca- terra had to say. The Q&A was edited for length and clarity. Q: How would you describe the current state of the Fairfield County office market compared to pre-pandemic? Ritman: Post-COVID, the Fairfield County market is stronger than it was before the pandemic. All of these companies that came out from New York City or New York state that took space have grown. They've taken more space and have done longer-term deals. More and more employees are coming to Fairfield County as a result, which has a trickle-down effect with renting apartments, going to the retail services and medical services. The employers are here, the decision makers are here. More companies continue to take space out here and grow their current footprint. Q: Which sectors are driving the most leasing activity right now? Ritman: It's legal, it's financial services, real estate companies, hedge funds, private equity, and then you have a lot of very large Fortune 500 companies that are based in or have offices in Fair- field County, or Westchester County. Carcaterra: While the blue chip insti- tutions and industries have grown, there's also the media explosion between WWE, NBC Sports, Charter Communications. If you look at WWE and Charter alone, they sort of bookend the Stamford train station, which is now being evaluated for a massive redevelopment. I think the next three, five and seven years will look very different, because established companies with dynamic workforces have determined that this is where they're going to be, and this is By Michael Juliano mjuliano@hartfordbusiness.com T wo familiar names in Fairfield County's commercial real estate scene are back on the same team. Brian Carcaterra has rejoined Newmark Group, working alongside longtime colleague James Ritman. The pair first partnered at the firm between 2003 and 2012, representing tenants and landlords across Fairfield and Westchester counties. Carcaterra, now an executive managing director in Newmark's Stamford office, left more than a decade ago to co-found Homewood Real Estate Partners, a New York-based affordable housing investor. He later held senior roles at CBRE and most recently served as executive vice president at Stamford-based Building and Land Technology (BLT), the developer behind some of the city's most high-pro- file office and residential projects. Carcaterra said he returned to Newmark because it allows him to handle leasing while also offering clients access to capital markets, property management and project management services. His time at Building and Land Tech- nology, he added, gave him a sharper perspective on how landlords can deliver value to tenants, crediting BLT Chairman Carl Kuehner III with teaching him the importance of building community and creating a sense of belonging in office environments.

• Cover