Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Connecticut announced today that it is moving its headquarters from North Haven to Wallingford next year, where it will lease space in the office building known as the Campus at Greenhill.
The company has signed a 10-year lease with property landlord Workstage-Connecticut, LLC for space in the 300,000-square-foot office building, located at 108 Leigus Road.
In all, Anthem will occupy 217,764 square feet of the campus.Â
That prime office space was built specifically for the now-defunct Mortgage Lenders Network USA Inc.
The relocation plan will be in two phases; the first occurring in Sept. 2011, and the second and final phase in Sept. 2012.
The Hartford Business Journal reported in April that Anthem was stepping up its efforts to search for a potential new home in Connecticut because its lease on its North Haven campus, which is owned by Qunicipaiac University, expires in 2012.
The Hartford Business Journal also reported at the time that the company was leaning toward relocating to the Campus at Greenhill.
“Anthem has been proud to serve the residents of Connecticut for more than 74 years, and we consider ourselves a vital part of the state’s landscape,” said David R. Fusco, president of Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Connecticut. “This new facility represents our continuing commitment to, and investment in, Connecticut’s business community. We will continue to provide our members with quality health care services and be the trusted choice for Connecticut’s residents.”
Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield sold its 100-acre, 570,000-square-foot North Haven campus to Quinnipiac University for an undisclosed price in 2007, and then leased back much of the space.
Anthem initially agreed to remain in three of the four buildings it occupied at the time, but said it would eventually vacate the complex within 10 years.
At the time Anthem said it decided on the sale-lease back arrangement to save money and redeploy capital for other parts of its business, a strategy its parent company, WellPoint, developed for its other facilities.
The lease agreement allows for Anthem to occupy Buildings 2, 3 and 4 until September 2012.
In January, Quinnipiac University announced plans to open a medical school on the North Haven campus, saying it would invest $40 million to renovate the facility and potentially enroll the first class in 2013 or 2014.
“Anthem’s move will enable Quinnipiac to move forward more expeditiously with its plans to open a medical school and relocate its other graduate programs to the North Haven Campus,” said Mark Thompson, senior vice president for academic and student affairs at Quinnipiac University.
Â
