Mystic Aquarium paid $6.1 million to acquire a 44,400-square-foot office building near its campus from a limited liability company connected to Litchfield-based developer and investor Mark Greenberg.
According to a deed recorded Jan. 14, the aquarium paid $6.1 million to ROXRIV Realty Associates LLC for the 47-year-old office building on 6.39 acres at 23 Clara Drive, in the Mystic Village section of Stonington.
Greenberg helms ROXRIV Realty.
Greenberg, on Monday, said he had previously leased parking space to the nearby aquarium for special events, and that the aquarium approached him seeking to buy the property outright.
“It was a wonderful experience top to bottom,” Greenberg said. “I think it’s good for them and good for me, and I’m happy to contribute to the aquarium.”
In an email to the Hartford Business Journal, Jennifer Sherman, vice president of marketing for the aquarium, said the purchase is a “strategic investment in the aquarium’s future, the animals in our care and the communities we serve.”
The property provides flexibility to meet the aquarium’s potential future needs, Sherman said. There are no immediate plans for its use, however, and it will continue to be rented to existing tenants, she said.
“As a nonprofit organization, Mystic Aquarium is committed to careful stewardship of resources and planning for animal care, guest experience and conservation work,” Sherman said.
As a nonprofit organization, Mystic Aquarium is committed to careful stewardship of resources and planning for animal care, guest experience, education, and conservation work.
As part of the deal, Greenberg donated $1.1 million back to the aquarium, he said, netting him $5 million and a tax write-off, as well as helping the aquarium.
A Greenberg-linked company first acquired the office building at 23 Clara Drive as part of a $10 million deal that also included a 37,407-square-foot office-and-retail building at 12 Coogan Blvd. The property at 23 Clara Drive accounted for about $3.5 million of that deal, Greenberg said.
The building at 23 Clara Drive is about 70% occupied by two medical offices, Greenberg said.
