Christopher K. O’Hara
Christopher K. O’Hara, senior vice president of Coldwell Banker Commercial NRT in Norwalk, recently represented BIC USA in the acquisition of 1 Research Drive in Shelton. After more than 40 years in Milford, BIC USA acquired the 2-story building at to house 350 administrative employees. The 155,571-square-foot building cost BIC $13.9 million. The building was formerly owned by Greenwich-based ATC Group.
The relocation grew out of the consumer product maker’s decision to consolidate its blade shaver and ballpoint pen operations. Plants in Europe and South America will take up the Milford facility’s shaver production, and Mexico its production of ballpoint pens. Production of the company’s lighters will remain in Milford.
BIC will be vacating its 630,000-sqaure-foot facility in Milford and workers will begin occupying the new facility in stages over the next 18 months. BIC’s Milford facility, also represented by O’Hara, is for sale at $18 million or lease at $5 per square foot. Currently, tenants ranging from 50,000 square feet to 300,000 square feet are considering leasing the facility.
“We have been very happy in Milford for more than 40 years and it was our sincere hope to stay here,” said BIC Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Bruno Bich. “Unfortunately, we were not able to find available space for our needs, which is a tribute to the growth and success of the city of Milford today.”
Coldwell Banker Commercial NRT, a subsidiary of Cendant Corp., is the nation’s largest real estate brokerage company. NRT has more than 900 offices and 52,000 sales associates operating in more than 30 of the nation’s largest metropolitan markets.
North Haven Facility Sold
Steven Inglese, principal of New Haven Group, recently negotiated the sale of a 98,000-square-foot, single-tenant industrial property located at 75 Old Broadway in North Haven. The property was sold on Oct. 14 to 75 Old Broadway Holdings for $3.3 million. The buyer was a California-based investor who used proceeds in a 1031 tax exchange to complete the transaction. The seller was 75 Old Broadway Partners, a Hartford-based partnership led by Lexington Partners that had owned the building since 1997. New Haven Group represented the seller and procured the buyer.
The building is a single tenant warehouse distribution facility leased by Xpect Discount to distribute to its Connecticut-based retail stores. The company has six stores in the region. The improvements to the North Haven building were constructed in 1974 and the property consisted of 6.6 acres.
The sellers originally purchased the property on Old Broadway in 1997 for $1.6 million. The property was vacant at that time and was in need of various improvements that occurred prior to Xpect leasing the property.
The deal represents the third industrial investment property sale brokered by Inglese in North Haven this year. Other properties included 57 Dodge Ave., an 80,000-square-foot multi tenant facility, and 60 Dodge Ave., a 116,000-square-foot multi-tenant facility. New Haven Group is an investment brokerage and advisory firm based in New Haven. The firm markets income-producing property throughout Connecticut.
Partnership Sells Darien Green
Jeffrey Dunne, leader of the CB Richard Ellis Tri-State Investment Team, and Steven Bardsley recently represented Fairfield Darien Green Associates Limited Partnership, an entity led by Peter and Anthony Malkin, in the disposition of Darien Green for $19.2 million, or $236 per square feet. Dunne and Bardsley also were responsible for procuring the buyer, Normandy Real Estate Partners.
Under W&M Properties, Darien Green was the winner of the 1999 BOMA Office Building of the Year award for a suburban office park and provided a premier corporate setting along Post Road in Darien with immediate access to Interstate 95. The 81,280-square-foot, Class A, two-building office campus is currently leased to two tenants with a third occupant under sublease. Officials said Darien Green is an ideal choice for small to mid-sized companies and holds a distinct advantage over comparable office buildings due to its floor plate size, on-site amenity, ample parking and convenient commuting access.
