Two Boston-based real estate investment firms came together as NPV/Direct Invest LLC bought four Hartford region office buildings from another Boston firm.
The New Boston Fund Inc. sold the four-building portfolio for an undisclosed figure.
Jon Gillman, senior vice president for asset management with New Boston, said the sale is part of the company’s strategy to sell off assets when a profitable opportunity presents itself.
“We felt that it was an appropriate time to sell at an attractive cap rate in a softening sale market,” he said, adding that the properties’ values had been increased by strong leases.
The portfolio, according to New Boston, is 98 percent leased to a roster of tenants that includes the Computer Sciences Corp., Ikon Office Solutions, Wells Fargo Financial, Affiliated Computer Services and Mutual of Omaha Insurance Co.
Three of the office buildings are located in East Hartford, including the Riverbend Executive Park. The park, located at 55 and 77 Hartland St., consists of two, four-story Class A office buildings totaling 154,629 square feet.
The other East Hartford building is located at 60 Hartland St. in the Founders Plaza area, about a half-mile from downtown Hartford. The four-story office building is 40,812 square feet.
The fourth building — a five-story, 98,821 square foot office building — is located within Glastonbury’s Salmon Brook Corporate Park.
New Boston had purchased the buildings separately between 1998 and 2000. The company cited their locations — within minutes of Interstates 91 or 84 — as strong selling points.
Cushman & Wakefield’s Capital Markets Group represented New Boston in the sale and procured the buyer.
David Pergola, senior director at Cushman & Wakefield, said the capital markets are experiencing a “challenging period of time” due to the economy.
“The transaction experience of both New Boston Fund and the buyer was critical to the success of this sale,” Pergola said in a statement. “My hat goes off to both of them for their ability to execute right now.”
Winstanley Strikes Again
For the second time in two months, Massachusetts-based Winstanley Enterprises has made a multimillion dollar acquisition in the area.
Colliers Dow & Condon announced that Winstanley purchased a 153,000 square foot warehouse at 115-127 Park Ave. for $3.525 million from the Park Industrial Development Corp. The firm also acquired a 154,500-square-foot manufacturing facility in Chicopee, Mass., paying $3.9 million, which it plans to lease.
In June, Winstanley bought a commercial building on Newington Road in West Hartford on 15 acres of land for $3 million with the intention of developing a shopping center.
Leasing Activity
Colliers Dow & Condon has also been busy with leasing activity. In Enfield, Community Health Resources leased 1,020 square feet of space in the Hazard Trade Center at 155 Hazard Ave.
West of Hartford, the firm handled three new leases in Farmington, including Liberty Mutual Insurance move to 2 Bridgewater Road at the Greenbriar Office Park. Liberty Mutual will be leasing 3,581 square feet.
At 30 Waterside Drive in Farmington, Standard Insurance Co. will now make its home after signing a lease for 4,788 square feet within the Waterside Office Park.
The Waterside Office Park has another new tenant as State Farm Insurance has moved into 10 Waterside Drive after signing a lease for 2,945 square feet. It is the second State Farm operation to have a presence in the office park.
The four leases brokered by Colliers Dow & Condon totaled more than 12,000 square feet and $1 million.
Sean O’Leary is a Hartford Business Journal staff writer.
