A prominent Stamford-based apartment and hotel developer has bought a 16-story downtown office building for $13.2 million, according to land records, with plans to convert it into 231 apartments.
RMS 177 Broad Street LLC, controlled by Randy Salvatore, purchased the 197,150-square-foot building at 177 Broad St. in mid-December. Salvatore is founder and CEO of RMS Cos., which owns hotels and apartment buildings throughout Fairfield, New Haven and Hartford counties.
Salvatore said RMS is pursuing the conversion because demand for office space has weakened since the COVID-19 pandemic and the property is well-suited for housing.
“It’s a perfect conversion candidate into residential, and it sits in such a great location, right across the street from the mall and blocks from the major entertainment district in Stamford,” he told the Hartford Business Journal.
The building is also nearly vacant, Salvatore said. Online job site Indeed, the building’s only tenant, plans to move its headquarters out in February to 200 Elm St. in Stamford.
“All the leases were expiring, so it’s a logical conversion candidate,” he said.
RMS has filed an application with the city and plans to begin construction once approvals are obtained.
“As soon as we would get approved, we’re ready to go,” he said. “We’re just finalizing our detailed drawing.”
The seller was 177 Broad Street Owner LLC, controlled by Frank Mangieri, Michael Fuchs, Aby Rosen and Thomas Lavin, all of New York. That ownership group bought the building for $79 million in 2007, according to property records.
Built in 1985, the building was appraised at $39.4 million and assessed at $27.6 million in 2023.
Salvatore said RMS is continuing to look for office-to-residential conversion opportunities in Fairfield County, where experts have said the market has more office space than it needs.
RMS is also developing a 280-unit apartment building at the former Burlington Coat Factory site at 74 Broad St., down the street from 177 Broad St. Salvatore said that project is expected to be completed by spring 2027.
RMS also owns The Asher, a 228-unit apartment building across the street at 148 Broad St. The building, which also houses the company’s headquarters, was completed in 2024.
The Stamford office of the Newmark Group was the sole broker on the transaction.
“Stamford continues to be a dynamic market for new apartments and 177 Broad is a perfect candidate for conversion from office space, based on its location and layout,” Newmark broker Cory Gubner said. “I think we are just scratching the surface of repurposing dated office buildings into modern apartment buildings, which frankly help both the office market in terms of falling vacancy rates while also providing additional housing alternatives”.
