Hartford’s iconic Gold Building is headed for sale, realty sources say, continuing the recent wave of downtown office tower horse trading that has picked up steam in recent years.
The 26-story, Class-A office tower at 755 Main St., which is owned by Talcott Realty Investors, will hit the market by the end of March, said Patrick Mulready, senior vice president of CBRE-New England’s Hartford office.
The 625,000-square-foot building is currently 90 percent occupied, but more space will become available by the end of this year as United Technologies Corp. moves its corporate headquarters to Farmington. UTC currently occupies about 11 percent of the building, Mulready said. When they leave, Gold Building’s five top floors, encompassing 120,000 square feet, will be vacant.
“It will become the best block of available space in downtown Hartford,” Mulready said.
Travelers is Gold Building’s largest tenant and the insurer has been increasing its footprint in the office tower in recent years. Mulready said he doesn’t think UTC’s departure will have a significant impact on the property’s market value.
Talcott Realty Chairman Kevin North said he expects the building “will be very well received by the market,” because most of its leases are long-term and staggered. It also has been drawing “excellent” traffic from interested tenants looking to fill vacant space.
Talcott, which has made significant building improvements in recent years, including converting it from heat to gas, re-doing the parking lot, and refurbishing the lobby, has owned Gold Building for about 10 years.
The downtown Hartford office market has seen considerable activity lately. On Thursday, Brooklyn-based Shelbourne Global Solutions LLC completed its $36.85 million purchase of 100 Pearl St. Last July, Shelbourne shelled out $45 million for a 95 percent equity stake in the Stilts Building, two blocks away at 20 Church St.
Meanwhile, the iconic Goodwin Square office tower could hit the auction block in May, realty sources say.
