The ongoing revitalization of downtown Hartford continues to spur activity as an investment company that already has interests in the area purchased a landmark building for $41 million earlier this week.
Newton, Mass.-based Northland Investment Corp. bought the Goodwin Square Hotel & Office Tower from New Goodwin Square LLC, an entity controlled by Boston-based AEW Capital Management.
Bridgeport also saw significant activity over the past couple of weeks. In one deal, New Jersey-based Hampshire Partners Fund VI bought the office building at 1000 Lafayette Blvd. for $22.5 million.
Jeff Dunne of CB Richard Ellis’ New York Tri-State Investment Team expressed enthusiasm about the Hartford deal.
“Goodwin Square Hotel & Office Tower is the most recognizable tower on the Hartford skyline and one of the most stable properties in the [central business district],” Dunne said in a prepared statement. “Northland Investment Corp. should fare well with this asset.”
Northland Investment Corp. also is developing Hartford 21, a 1 million-square-foot mixed-use project that will feature a 34-story apartment along with stores and restaurants. The development is located downtown and will replace the Hartford Civic Center. The company holds several other properties in and around downtown Hartford.
The Goodwin Square structure is an office building and luxury hotel in downtown Hartford. The 30-story property consists of 330,901 square feet of Class A office space; a 124-room hotel; a 302-space, above-ground parking garage; and an adjacent land parcel where 18 additional cars can be parked. At the time of the sale, the property was 83 percent occupied by legal, financial services and health care companies such as Pepe & Hazard, Halloran & Sage, Ernst & Young, The Hartford and U.S. Bancorp.
John McCormick and Patrick Mulready of CB Richard Ellis-N.E. Partners collaborated with Dunne and Suzanne Hopgood of The Hopgood Group to represent AEW Capital Management. The team was also responsible for procuring the buyer.
Dunne and Steven P. Bardsley of CB Richard Ellis also represented the sellers of 1000 Lafayette Blvd. in Bridgeport. That building was sold by R.D. Scinto Inc. of Stamford.
The Lafayette Boulevard property’s design and construction have made it one of the most prominent in Bridgeport’s central business district. The Class A property is comprised of a 214,444-square-foot, 11-story office building with a connected seven-story parking garage. The building is strategically located at the confluence of Interstate 95 and Routes 8/25 and is within walking distance of the intermodal transportation center, the Probate Courthouse, the U.S. Bankruptcy Courthouse, the U.S. Circuit and U.S. District courthouses and the local post office.
At the time of sale, the property was 100 percent leased to a tenant roster of 75.6 percent investment grade that includes People’s Bank, Zeldes, Needle & Cooper, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Drug Enforcement Agency.
“1000 Lafayette is the premier office building in Bridgeport and is highly visible and well located to Interstate 95 and the Metro-North rail line,” Dunne said in a prepared statement. “Further, it is well situated to the significant residential development planned for Bridgeport.”
Brokers from CB Richard Ellis did not return phone calls by press deadline.