A Boston-area developer has completed acquisition of a Stamford office building with plans for a 150-unit independent and assisted-living community.

National Development of Newton, Massachusetts paid $12.44 million for 201 High Ridge Road, a 10-acre parcel that contains a vacant 196,000-square-foot office building formerly occupied by GE Capital.

Approximately 110,000 square feet of the existing building will be demolished to make way for Waterstone on High Ridge.

While suburban office parks are suffering from stagnant demand in many markets including Fairfield County, their design makes them ideal for senior living conversions, a National Development executive told The Commercial Record in January.

“The suburban campuses are green, and they were developed by companies that desired to be in a campus-like environment, and that translates well to the type of housing we’re doing,” Managing Partner Ted Tye said.

The property was originally built as world headquarters for Waldenbooks. A separate developer, SW Assoc., will reposition the remainder of the building located on a separate 6.5-acre parcel. 

CBRE’s Jeffrey Dunne, Steven Bardsley, Gene Pride, Jeremy Neuer and David Gavin represented the seller, Steven Wise Assoc.

“National Development’s new independent and assisted living community and Steven Wise Assoc.’s plan to repurpose the remaining 86,000 square feet of office is a classic example of the effective re-use of inefficient single tenant surplus corporate real estate,” Dunne said in a statement.

National Development has completed nearly 30 senior housing projects totaling more than 2,000 units, including the Bridges at Trumbull and Bridges at Norwalk. It’s partnering with Epoch Senior on the senior living community plans, including luxury independent and assisted-living units.