CityPlace II’s lengthy time on the for-sale-market ended recently, but not before at least one of its long-time office tenants emerged with a sweeter lease for more space and a better view.
Real estate law firm Mayo Crowe LLC cemented its 10-year presence in the 18-story tower at 185 Asylum St. with a 10-year renewal of its lease that added a couple thousand extra square feet in a move from the sixth to the 15th floor.
A portion of that space, principal and co-founder William “Bill” Crowe said, had been offices for Hartford attorney R. Bartley Halloran and his Halloran & Halloran firm, which is now housed around the corner, at 9 Lewis St.
Webster Bank, too, confirmed a 10-year renewal of its lease for 49,000 square feet in the building. In addition to a street-level branch, Webster houses the rest of its 150 downtown workers on three upper floors at CityPlace II.
Crowe said he re-signed his lease, not with the New York owners who in August bid $21 million to buy CityPlace II at a foreclosure auction, but with the servicing agent representing the building’s previous investors.
Crowe said he worked out a new lease deal with servicer LNR LLC, through its leasing agent, Cushman & Wakefield’s Hartford office. Crowe declined to reveal terms he described as favorable.
Mayo Crowe, which recently added a young attorney to its roster of real estate counselors to local, national and international clients, never really looked at locations beyond downtown, he said.
“We believe in Hartford,” he said. “We believe in this building. We’re looking forward to the next decade.”
Joel Grieco, Cushman’s Hartford executive director, said the tower is about 65 percent leased.
Grieco recently announced that the building’s Lower Hudson Valley, N.Y., owner, CityPlace II LLC, hired Cushman to oversee an ambitious program to fill the 25-year-old Class A tower’s remaining vacancies.
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Toasted’s Asylum space
Spouse-chef duo Debra and Khen Raviv, who serve up specialty toasted and pressed sandwiches on good-weather days from their food truck in Hartford’s Bushnell Park, have chosen an indoor retail site abutting downtown’s XL Center for their newest eatery.
Work is underway on 500 square feet at 188 Asylum, next to Spiritus, for their first permanent location since the husband-wife chef-entrepreneurs launched their Toasted food truck in May 2013.
The downtown venue is set to open in early November, with eight to 10 employees serving breakfast sandwiches along with other new and existing sandwich items, plus pastries, salads and fruit smoothies, Debra Raviv said.
“We wanted a fixed location for our headquarters, home base,” she said. “It allows us to do more … catering, volume. And we’re not affected by weather” as they are with Toasted’s fire-engine red, 17-foot catering truck that will continue its weekday curbside food-service.
Indeed, architect Michael Bezrudczyk designed the Asylum Street space, including service counter, food-preparation area and storage, to resemble a food truck, Raviv said.
It also will feature the same menu as the food truck, except the indoor eatery will offer two new sandwiches. Debra Raviv said she will manage the eatery.
The indoor location will operate 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays, and be open anytime there is event at XL Center.
Northland Investment Corp. is the landlord.
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Greg Seay is the Hartford Business Journal News Editor.
