Omnicom Group, which is currently a tenant at One East Weaver St. in Greenwich, has paid $32 million for the building.
Investor activity has been spotted in Fairfield County, in the form of a major property sale in Greenwich.
A large office complex, technically the newest office property in the affluent suburb, has been sold for more than $30 million to an investment group housed within the building.
The CB Richard Ellis New York Tri-State Investment Team, led by Jeffrey R. Dunne, represented TOHGC LLC in the sale of Osprey House, an 82,303-square-foot Class A office building located at One East Weaver St. in Greenwich. The building was sold for $32 million, or $388.81 per square foot.
Dunne and partner James R. Tully represented the seller in the transaction and were also responsible for procuring the buyer, Omnicom Group.
Omnicom Group is currently a tenant in the building along with Blythe Industries, JWM Partners and RBC Dominion Securities.
Although the property – located directly off East Putnam Avenue – was built in 1987, it is the newest pure office building in the Greenwich market. The sale included the assumption of an existing mortgage on the property at an above-market rate.
‘Strong’ Interest
While discussing the sale, Dunne noted, “As expected, we had strong investor interest in this Class A property. The unique aspect of this sale was the interest in the property shown by multiple existing tenants; this speaks to the quality of the asset and desirability of the location.”
Tully added, “The pricing achieved on this sale, even with above market debt, shows that investors have placed a premium not only on the Greenwich [central business district] near the train, but the entire Greenwich market.”
The CB Richard Ellis New York Tri-State Investment Team specializes in the sale of investment properties in the suburban markets surrounding New York City, as well as select regional markets throughout the country.
The Osprey House property was first put on the market in July of last year. Long-Term Capital Management was among the former owners of the property, but the firm collapsed in 1998, a year after it bought the building. Long-Term Capital subsequently surrendered Osprey House to its lender, Morgan Stanley, which re-leased the building to multiple tenants and sold it to American Capital for $22.3 million in 2000.
Greenwich, an upscale suburb of New York City, has seen only a small number of large office sales in the past few years. In 2002, a partnership led by the Landis Group paid $115 million, or $485 per square foot, for the 237,000-square-foot Pickwick Plaza. American Capital made a separate purchase in Greenwich in 2003, paying $23.6 million, or $236 per square foot, for the 100,000-square-foot office building at 411 West Putnam Ave.
There has been a dearth of new construction during the last decade, particularly when it comes to office buildings. While investor interest is showing signs of increasing, construction speculation remains virtually nonexistent.
Omnicom is a strategic holding company that manages a portfolio of global market leaders. It operates in the disciplines of advertising, marketing services, specialty communications, interactive/digital media and media buying services.
The Tri-State team closed in excess of $1 billion in transactions in 2003, including the recent sales of State House Square in downtown Hartford for $66 million and High Ridge Park in Stamford for $85.5 million. The team also has a number of investment opportunities currently on the market in the Tri-State region, including the Sofitel hotel portfolio, a 398-room hotel in New York City and a 306-room hotel in Philadelphia.
