Eight bidders are eyeing CityPlace I even as Hartford’s tallest office tower sits less than half leased amid high downtown vacancy.
Get Instant Access to This Article
Subscribe to Hartford Business Journal and get immediate access to all of our subscriber-only content and much more.
- Critical Hartford and Connecticut business news updated daily.
- Immediate access to all subscriber-only content on our website.
- Bi-weekly print or digital editions of our award-winning publication.
- Special bonus issues like the Hartford Book of Lists.
- Exclusive ticket prize draws for our in-person events.
Click here to purchase a paywall bypass link for this article
Connecticut’s tallest office tower — the 38-story City Place I in downtown Hartford — has attracted eight prospective buyers, despite being less than half leased amid a challenging office market.
Boston-based real estate company Paradigm Properties paid $113.2 million for the roughly 885,000-square-foot building at 185 Asylum St. in 2015, but turned it over to a court-appointed receiver in 2025 after admitting it could not keep up with its mortgage debt.
City Place I receiver Lewis Taulbee, of JLL, engaged CBRE to handle the sale. The real estate services firm contacted a pool of about 65 potential buyers, according to an update Taulbee submitted to Hartford Superior Court Judge Lisa Kelly Morgan.
Eight prospective buyers submitted bids during an initial round in early August, according to Taulbee.
A second bidding round is expected in early September, giving prospective buyers an opportunity to tour the property with their engineers. CBRE anticipates participation by five to seven prospective bidders, court records show.
If the process produces an offer Taulbee considers acceptable, he will seek court approval for a sale.
The level of interest comes as downtown Hartford’s office market continues to contend with high vacancy. City Place I is currently 45.8% leased.
According to Cushman & Wakefield’s second-quarter report on the Greater Hartford office market, downtown Hartford had a 25.1% vacancy rate among its 8.3 million square feet of office space.
Despite City Place I’s relatively low occupancy, Taulbee has reported active lease negotiations and interest from prospective tenants.
One lease has been renewed and another terminated so far in 2026. The receiver said other tenants are actively negotiating lease extensions and that tours by prospective new tenants have been “surprisingly active.”
Eight leases were renewed and one terminated in 2025, according to the receiver.
