Grunberg Realty of New York City bought part of the Glastonbury Corporate Center in Glastonbury for $19.65 million from Dallas-based Lincoln Property Co. in June. The sale involved two buildings at the Class A office park, which is located at 628 Hebron Ave.
In Hartford County, it’s all about the suburbs. At least when it comes to the office market.
Vacancy rates in the central business district have been steadily dropping over the first six months of this year, going from 20.62 percent in 2005 to 19.78 percent in the first quarter of 2006, and dropping further to 16.56 percent at the end of the second quarter, according to a report from Colliers Dow & Condon’s Hartford office.
In addition, the sublease market in the city has all but disappeared, according to Nick Morizio of Colliers Dow & Condon.
“That’s a big plus for everybody,” he said.
But mostly, the market in Hartford has not seen too much change. Nothing new has been built, and rental rates have been stable for decades.
“Nothing has changed in 20 years,” Morizio said.
‘Circling Around’
Expenses have gone up, which can push businesses to the suburbs and make it difficult for downtown landlords. But the good news is that residential prices in the city are rising, so more commercial space is being converted to residences.
“There’s a market for that,” Morizio said.
Most of the activity in Hartford’s office market has been centered around companies either relocating within the city or expanding.
“It’s still just people circling around,” Morizio said.
Day, Berry & Howard moved from CityPlace, which is located at 185 Asylum St., to 242 Trumbull St. – also known as Trumbull Place – a move that will reportedly save the law firm some money.
The suburban market, meanwhile, is thriving. Space totaling more than 140,000 square feet was absorbed in the first half of the year, and the vacancy rate is about 13 percent, according to CB Richard Ellis.
ING last year announced plans to build a 400,000-square-foot facility in Windsor.
There have been several large investment sales there, as well.
Grunberg Realty of New York City bought part of the Glastonbury Corporate Center in Glastonbury for $19.65 million from Dallas-based Lincoln Property Co. The sale of the 160,330-square-foot property was brokered by John McCormick and Pat Mulready of CB Richard Ellis/New England. That deal closed in June.
The Glastonbury Corporate Center sale involved two buildings at the four-building, Class A office park, which is located at 628 Hebron Ave. The sale also included a ground lease for a third building, which is considered to be one of the highest-quality suburban office properties in Hartford County, according to CB Richard Ellis. Tenants include MetLife, Travis Mortgage, Strategic Technologies and the U.S. Department of Transportation. The Glastonbury Corporate Center was approximately 88 percent leased at the closing of the sale.
Lincoln Property is one of the nation’s largest diversified real estate companies, with a client base extending throughout the United States, Mexico and Europe. The company was founded in 1965 as a developer and manager of high-quality residential properties and now owns some 50,000 residential units and manages more than 100,000 throughout the United States. Its commercial division provides management, development and brokerage services for industrial, office, retail and mixed-use real estate.
