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8 HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | JUNE 29, 2026 DE AL WATCH DE AL WATCH good condition. Planned improvements include building-wide Wi-Fi, cellular signal boosters, upgraded conference tech- nology, a reopened fitness center and the return of full-service food opera- tions in the cafeteria. Greenberg also sees redevelop- ment opportunities on excess land surrounding the Windsor building. Concepts under consideration include adding about 200 apartments, a 110,000-square-foot industrial building and a self-storage facility. "I'm working on the design as we speak, and we're going to have a meeting with town staff within a month," he said. Greenberg financed the $7.5 million acquisition with a $5.62 million mortgage from Jewett City Savings Bank and $1.78 million in proceeds from the December sale of a vacant office building at 20 Security Drive in Avon through a Section 1031 tax-deferred exchange. Meantime, the Griffin Road acquisi- tion is one of several major projects Greenberg is pursuing in Windsor. He said he is nearing final approvals for a redevelopment of two vacant office buildings at 1 and 10 Targeting Centre into 201 apartments in three buildings, along with retail space anchored by Starbucks, Chipotle and Jersey Mike's. Greenberg is also partnering with Massachusetts-based Condyne Capital Partners to redevelop the former Konica Minolta campus at 500 Day Hill Road. Approved plans call for the conversion and expansion of the existing office building, construction of three residential buildings containing 300 apartments, and 18,417 square feet of retail space. By Michael Puffer mpuffer@hartfordbusiness.com A massive Windsor office building that cost roughly $150 million to develop less than two decades ago has sold for just $7.5 million, a striking example of how far suburban office values have fallen in the hybrid-work era. But buyer Mark Greenberg, a Litch- field-based real estate investor and developer, believes the same market forces that crushed the property's value could ultimately help revive it. Greenberg recently purchased the 457,396-square-foot office building at 1 Griffin Road North and its nearly 73-acre campus from The Hartford. In 2022, when the property-and-casualty insurer announced plans to vacate the property, Windsor's assessor valued it at $63.3 million. The Hartford announced in 2022 that it would relocate hundreds of employees from the Windsor building to its downtown Hartford headquar- ters and seek either tenants or a buyer for the property. The sale follows a turbulent period for suburban office properties across Greater Hartford. Large corporate campuses and smaller office buildings alike have struggled with rising vacan- cies as employers embraced hybrid and remote work arrangements in the wake of the pandemic. Police responded to 32 calls at 174 Willow St. during the first five months of 2025, ranging from burglary and domestic disputes to drug complaints. During the same period this year, with the residential units vacant, officers responded only twice. Pernerewski and Police Chief Fernando Spagnolo recently met with Stein and Opuszynski to discuss establishing a permanent citizen service center in one of the Willow Street building's three vacant storefronts, giving police and other city departments a more perma- nent neighborhood presence while providing residents easier access to municipal services. Pernerewski said private invest- ment will be critical to sustaining the neighborhood's progress. "You look at investors like this who are willing to come in and redevelop these properties," Pernerewski said. "It has a cascading effect, right? Other people will see the same thing, and they start to be willing to make the investments as well." In response, Windsor rezoned several corporate campuses and surrounding districts to encourage residential and mixed-use redevelop- ment. Greenberg was a leading advo- cate for the changes and has since advanced several office-to-residential projects in town. But Greenberg said he sees a future for 1 Griffin Road North as an office building. As older office properties are converted to housing, he expects demand to concentrate in newer, higher-quality buildings. "This will always be the best building in the north market," Greenberg said of his newly acquired property. "Another building like it will never be built. Certainly not on spec." Greenberg estimated the building was about 22% occupied when he acquired it. Insurer Aflac leases roughly 32,000 square feet, while WM, formerly Waste Management, occu- pies about 60,000 square feet. He said global insurer Chubb is under contract to lease 53,000 square feet at the property, a deal that would significantly increase occupancy. Securing Chubb as a tenant required Greenberg to purchase the insurer's 126,889-square-foot office building at 82 Hopmeadow St. in Simsbury, he said. He completed that $250,000 acquisition June 10. Greenberg said he hopes to attract enough tenants to fill at least half of the Simsbury building within two years. If that effort falls short, the property could eventually be redevel- oped into housing. More Windsor investment At 1 Griffin Road North, Greenberg said relatively little major capital investment is needed because the roof, mechanical systems and other core infrastructure remain in Mark Greenberg stands outside 1 Griffin Road North in Windsor, a 457,396-square-foot office building he recently acquired from The Hartford. HBJ Photo | Michael Puffer Greenberg bets big on Windsor office campus as values remain depressed Continued from page 7 Vanguard expands beyond brokerage roots By Michael Puffer mpuffer@hartfordbusiness.com T he acquisition of a troubled mixed-use building in Waterbury is part of a broader evolution underway at New Haven-based Vanguard Private Client Group. The nearly six-year-old company is preparing to rebrand itself as Vanguard PCG, reflecting its shift from a traditional brokerage firm with an investment portfolio into a full-service real estate investment and advisory company, according to Vice President Andrew Stein. "The difference between us and many other firms is we control every aspect of the asset, from the acquisition to capital deployment to management of it," Stein said. "We have so much control, there is not an area we have to rely on a third party." The revamped company will be built around four busi- ness lines — acquisitions, capital deployment, operations and construction — while expanding its role as both a real estate investor and lender. Vanguard also plans to connect outside investors with development projects. The company is beginning to offer employees equity stakes in projects based on their level of involve- ment. Stein, for example, is an equity partner in the Waterbury redevelopment. Vanguard currently owns and operates about 300 apartment units in Connecticut. Over the past 18 months, it has sold roughly 100 units, shedding many of its smallest holdings, including duplexes and apartment buildings with six units or fewer, Stein said. Going forward, Vanguard plans to focus on multi- family and mixed-use properties valued between $2 million and $25 million, targeting projects where active management and redevelopment can create addi- tional value. The company is also expanding beyond Connecticut into other Northeast markets, including western Massachusetts. Vanguard has steadily grown its development port- folio in recent years. In 2024, the company completed a ground-up, four-story mixed-use development in New Haven with 17 apartments above office space that serves as its headquarters. That same year, it paid $8 million for an 84-unit apartment complex in New Britain, a deal Stein said marked the company's first acquisition involving outside investors. Last year, Vanguard completed the conversion of a former plumbing warehouse in New Britain into 30 apartments, including 10 affordable units. The company is also preparing to break ground on new apartment proj- ects in New Haven on Lennox and Humphrey streets.