A large mixed-use property in downtown New London, with retail, office and potential residential space, has been listed for sale.
The property includes the five-story Harris Building, a late-19th-century Romanesque Revival structure, along with an attached masonry-sided building, together totaling roughly 70,000 square feet at 153-165 State St.
The properties were listed last week and are being offered together or separately. They are located next to City Hall, within walking distance of a passenger rail station and about a block from the Thames River waterfront.
The Harris Building contains about 50,000 square feet, completed a decade after the close of the Civil War, with an attached building adding roughly 20,000 square feet. The combined properties include nine ground-floor commercial spaces, along with office space and apartments.
The listing is being handled by Paul Bongiorni of Springfield-based Pioneer CRE. He said the owner is in the process of subdividing the buildings.
The smaller building, which will carry the address 12 Masonic St., includes four nearly completed apartments on its top two floors and four commercial spaces at ground level. It is being marketed for $2.17 million.
The larger building includes ground-floor retail and office tenants, with office space on the upper floors. Those upper floors could be converted into 26 apartments, Bongiorni said. It is being marketed for $2.8 million.
Bongiorni said the properties have been upgraded over the past three decades. He said the listing has generated seven inquiries in its first week.
“It speaks to the interest in New London and the quality of the building,” Bongiorni said.
Pioneer agent and advisor Garrett Heher is also assisting with the listing. He is experienced with development, large scale construction and office conversions, Bongiorni noted.
Bongiorni said the properties have drawn interest due to their location, historic features and pricing relative to properties in the more expensive Boston and New York metro areas. He also cited proximity to Electric Boat.T
The buildings are owned by a limited liability company whose principal is George H. Waterman III, founder of the Visual Arts Library, a nonprofit arts collection and archive housed in the Harris Building.
Waterman plans to sell the property and lease back space for the library.
