With landlords offering office tenants six months of free rent, along with a monthly rate far lower than most comparable space, an outside observer may think those commercial property owners are getting desperate.

But to hear Kerry Wood tell it, it sounds like it could be one of the best moves downtown Bridgeport landlords could make.

Wood, chief operating officer for the Westport-based HK Group of brokers, represents the owner of 1023 Main St., smack in the middle of downtown Bridgeport. The 30,000-square-foot property is owned by Golden Hill Realty of Bridgeport and was completely vacant when the new landlord purchased the building.

Golden Hill is offering potential tenants six months of free rent on five-year lease. Not only that, but the owner will pay to have the offices fit-out for the new occupants. The icing on the cake? Rents are about $15 per square foot. Compare that with nearby buildings, where asking rates are $5 to $7 more expensive.

“Filling up these buildings is to the owners’ own benefit,” Wood told The Commercial Record. “The landlord wants to do anything possible … to entice potential tenants. We feel the building is worth more and will spawn other growth,” being filled up at a discount rather than allowing to let it sit vacant.

The 1023 Main St. property is located at what has been the epicenter of the city’s growth in the last five years. There’s more retail moving into the downtown. right next door to the 1023 Main building, a 7,500-square-foot butcher, seafood and meat market will soon open. The shop will be owned by Clyde Ripka, who runs Bull’s Head Market in Stamford. The store is a smaller version of “a Whole Foods-type market,” according to HK Group’s Wood.

Supporting The Populace

It’s doubtful whether that type of market would never have considered moving downtown before the slow rebirth of that neighborhood that has occurred in the last five years. Much of that is an influx of new residents to the city. The 2010 census showed Bridgeport’s population grew for the first time in 60 years, said Elaine Ficarra, the city’s director of communications. And it wasn’t just a few more souls – the population grew to 144,229, a 3.4 percent increase from the 2000 census.

And companies are taking notice of the changes downtown. Law firm Zeisler & Zeisler is moving its 30-person office downtown, and Forestone Capital recently signed a 10,000-square-foot lease with Bank of New Canaan at 855 Main St. And engineering and design firm Fletcher Thompson will be moving back to its hometown once construction on its new home in the Mechanics and Farmers building on Main Street is complete. The company was founded in Bridgeport in 1910, but left for Shelton in 2002.

“All these things, compiled with new office tenants, are driving a new exciting market downtown,” Wood offered. “In Bridgeport, the downtown is constantly improving itself. And business owners and landlords are very committed to turning around the downtown.

Email: jcronin@thewarrengroup.com