Elevator and escalator manufacturer Otis Worldwide confirmed Monday plans to relocate its headquarters from Farmington to West Hartford in 2027.
Otis has leased 31,790 square feet in an 184,995-square-foot office building at 29 S. Main St. in West Hartford Center, according to CBRE’s second-quarter market report.
The company said the move will not affect its Connecticut operations or employment. Otis has about 1,000 employees in the state.
Otis’ current headquarters is at 1 Carrier Place in Farmington, where the company leases office space housing its CEO’s office and global teams including human resources, sales and marketing, communications, investor relations, digital technology, finance, accounting and legal.
The move will place Otis in one of Greater Hartford’s strongest office markets. Despite broader challenges facing the office sector since the pandemic, West Hartford has maintained relatively high occupancy rates, driven in part by the walkable mix of restaurants, shops and amenities in West Hartford Center and Blue Back Square.
The office building at 29 S. Main St. is owned by West Hartford-based Simons Real Estate Group and has tenants that include CPA firm CLA, Bank of America Private Bank and Merrill Lynch Wealth Management, among others.
Otis said it continues to evaluate its operations as it looks for opportunities to support its long-term strategy, improve efficiency and better serve employees and customers.
The headquarters relocation follows another significant Connecticut real estate move by Otis. In December, the company sold its 188,430-square-foot industrial and office facility at 212 W. Newberry Road in Bloomfield for $16.5 million and leased the property back through 2027. At the time, Otis said it was evaluating ways to optimize its Connecticut real estate footprint to better meet current and future business needs.
