A water company that provides public water to customers in a little more than a third of Connecticut’s municipalities recently paid $4.7 million for a 38,206-square-foot office building in Cromwell.
The Connecticut Water Co., based in Clinton, purchased the two-story, 2006-vintage building on 7.4 acres at 55 Sebethe Drive from LDNA LLC in a deed recorded Oct. 18.
The Middletown-based seller’s principals are David Roman and Craig Cleasby.
The Cromwell building previously hosted i-Health, a subsidiary of global health and wellness company dsm-firmenich.
Connecticut Water spokesman Richard Rathsack said the Cromwell building will now house about 45 engineering staff, including water safety, quality and facilities management employees.
These staff travel throughout the state daily, putting a premium on a centralized location with good highway access, Rathsack said. The new “operations center” replaces a smaller, leased office about two miles away on Smith Street in Middletown, he said.
“Our preference is always to own buildings when we can because it lowers costs for us and for our customers,” Rathsack said.
The plan is to complete renovations and move staff by this coming spring, he said.
Connecticut Water, according to its website, employs more than 200 staff and provides water service to more than 107,000 customers in 60 Connecticut towns, as well as wastewater services to 3,000 customers in the town of Southbury. It was acquired by San Jose-based SJW Group in a $1.1 billion deal that closed in 2019.
Nicholas Morizio, president of Colliers in Hartford and New Haven, represented the water company in its search for a new area office. Philip Gagnon, a principal of Colliers, represented the seller.
Morizio said Connecticut Water’s new office is a big improvement over its currently leased space because it comes with a modern layout and amenities. It has laboratories that can be used for water testing, a cafeteria, walking trails, easy access to Interstate 91 and enough excess land to provide ample storage for vehicles and materials.
The property was listed about three months ago and went under contract within a month, Morizio said.
“It was a nice move for them, a flight to quality,” Morizio said. “It’s a great looking building with great access.”
Connecticut Water will occupy the building’s entire first floor. The water company has engaged Colliers to find a tenant for the second floor, about 18,000 square feet.
The owner is asking for $18 per square foot, Morizio said.
