Health care giant Aetna, which is based in Hartford, is selling its 600,000-square-foot office complex in Windsor.
Hartford-based Aetna has put its 600,000-square-foot office complex in Windsor up for sale.
The health care giant is asking $24 million for its 75-acre complex at 575 Pigeon Hill Road, according to Joel Grieco of Cushman & Wakefield, who is handling the sale.
Aetna occupies some of the space in the complex. FleetBoston Financial Corp. and the Albany, N.Y.-based Moore Wallace Publications and Directories Group also have facilities there. In addition, there is some unoccupied space, Grieco said.
Grieco and Cushman & Wakefield are marketing the complex as an investment, he added. The buyer will lease back Aetna’s space to the health care company.
Although the sale of the complex would be one of the largest deals in the area in recent months, it probably won’t impact the rest of the commercial real estate market there, according to Jay Morris, managing partner at the Rocky Hill-based OR&L Realtors.
“I don’t think it will [affect the market] dramatically,” he said.
Since the sale of the complex would be a leaseback transaction, there would not be much change in occupancy and the building would not attract tenants away from other office or industrial buildings in the area, Morris said.
“If it’s sold as an investment, the leases will run with the building and it probably won’t affect anyone else,” he said.
The Price Is Right
Aetna put the complex up for sale earlier last week and Grieco sent out letters to prospective buyers, he said. The $24 million price tag on the complex is suitable for what it offers, he said.
“It’s a very unique and amenity-rich property,” Grieco said.
The complex is made up of three buildings that are connected to each other, Grieco said. There is a 4-story office building, a 1-story office building and a 1-story flex-use/industrial building. The complex also has a separate building where the heating and cooling is handled.
The property also has many amenities. There is a full-service cafeteria with hot and cold food, a convenience store on the grounds, a fitness center with new equipment, men’s and women’s locker rooms and a new aerobics room, on-site security and parking. There are also softball and volleyball fields on the grounds, as well as a jogging track, Grieco said.
The Pigeon Road complex is located just off of Interstate 84 between Exits 37 and 38. Because of its location and the quality and amenities it offers, Grieco thinks the sale of the complex should garner a lot of attention in the area. He also believes the price is appropriate, he said. When broken down, Aetna is asking for about $40 a square foot, Grieco said.
“We think we priced it right,” he said.
The price would constitute a very good deal for any buyer who intends to use the space as well, but is a good price as an investment. The other big-name tenants who have good credit are also a reason to buy the complex as an investment, Grieco said.
Aetna built much of the complex in 1974 and added the 4-story office space in 1980, Grieco said. Because Aetna built the complex for its own use, it was built with very high standards, Grieco said.
“It was built as a corporate property,” he said.
In the 1980s, Aetna occupied most of the building, but has moved out little by little.
“Over time, they’ve occupied less of it,” Grieco said.
Moore Wallace Publications and Directories Group took some space when Aetna outsourced its printing operations to the company. Fleet occupies 112,000 square feet there. With those two companies and Aetna as the three tenants, the building is about 60 percent occupied, Grieco said. There is a mix of office space and flex space available, he noted.
According to Cushman & Wakefield’s Web site, there is a total of 140,000 square feet of first-floor Class B office space available, as well as 104,000 square feet of first-floor warehouse or distribution space.
