A massive Windsor office building that cost The Hartford Insurance Group roughly $150 million to build less than two decades ago has sold for just $7.5 million, a striking example of how far suburban office values have fallen in the hybrid-work era.
But buyer Mark Greenberg, a Litchfield-based real estate investor and developer, believes the same market forces that crushed the property’s value could ultimately help revive it.
Greenberg purchased the 457,396-square-foot office building at 1 Griffin Road North and its nearly 73 acres for $7.5 million last week, according to town property records. In 2022, when The Hartford announced plans to vacate the property, Windsor’s assessor valued it at $63.3 million.
The purchase price equates to roughly $16 per square foot.
Joel Grieco, Matthew Torrance, Damon Bowers and Patrick Mulready from Cushman & Wakefield represented the seller.
The Hartford announced in 2022 that it would relocate hundreds of employees from the Windsor building to its downtown Hartford headquarters and seek either tenants or a buyer for the property.
The sale follows a turbulent period for suburban office properties north of Hartford. Office buildings of all sizes, particularly large corporate campuses, have struggled with soaring vacancies as employers reduced their office footprints and embraced hybrid and remote work arrangements.
Windsor responded by undertaking an extensive study and rezoning effort aimed at providing greater flexibility for owners seeking to redevelop aging office properties, particularly through multifamily and mixed-use projects. Greenberg was among the strongest advocates for those changes and has since advanced several office conversion and redevelopment proposals in the area.
Greenberg argues the same forces driving office conversions will benefit his newest acquisition. As older office buildings disappear or are redeveloped, he expects remaining tenants to gravitate toward higher-quality properties. He also noted that The Hartford had not actively marketed the building for lease in recent years while pursuing a sale.
“This will always be the best building in the north market,” Greenberg said. “Another building like it will never be built. Certainly not on spec.”
Greenberg estimated the building was about 22% occupied when he acquired it. Insurer Aflac leases about 32,000 square feet, while WM — formerly Waste Management — occupies about 60,000 square feet.
Greenberg said Chubb, a global property and casualty insurance company, is under contract to lease 53,000 square feet at 1 Griffin Road North. The lease would significantly boost occupancy at the property.
Securing Chubb as a tenant required Greenberg to purchase the insurer’s 126,889-square-foot office building at 82 Hopmeadow St. in Simsbury, he said. Greenberg completed that acquisition on June 10.
Greenberg said the newly acquired Simsbury building is in excellent condition and that he aims to recruit enough tenants to occupy at least half of it within two years.
If that effort is unsuccessful, the property could be demolished and redeveloped into multifamily housing, he said.
Greenberg said he is already in talks with Simsbury officials about converting the neighboring vacant office building at 86 Hopmeadow St. into residential condominiums. The proposal calls for about 30 units averaging between 1,200 and 1,300 square feet, with amenities including a fitness center, bicycle room and access to the nearby rail trail. Greenberg acquired that property for $1.9 million in 2008.
Upgrades planned
Greenberg said 1 Griffin Road North requires relatively little major capital investment because its roof, mechanical systems and other core infrastructure remain in good condition.
Planned improvements include building-wide Wi-Fi, cellular signal boosters, a reopened fitness center, upgraded conference and boardroom technology, and the return of full-service food operations in the property’s cafeteria.
Greenberg also sees significant redevelopment potential on the Windsor property’s excess land.
He is exploring several redevelopment opportunities, including about 200 apartments, a 110,000-square-foot industrial building and a potential self-storage facility.
“I’m working on the design as we speak, and we’re going to have a meeting with town staff within a month,” Greenberg said.
Broader pipeline
The Griffin Road acquisition is only one component of Greenberg’s growing development pipeline in the area.
Greenberg said he is nearing final approvals for a project that would replace two vacant office buildings at 1 and 10 Targeting Centre in Windsor with 201 apartments in three new buildings, along with new retail space anchored by Starbucks, Chipotle and Jersey Mike’s. Construction of the retail buildings could begin within two months, he said.
Greenberg is also partnering with Massachusetts-based Condyne Capital Partners on the redevelopment of the former Konica Minolta office property at 500 Day Hill Road in Windsor.
Approved plans call for converting and expanding the existing office building, adding three residential buildings and creating 300 apartments. The development would also include three retail buildings totaling 18,417 square feet along Day Hill Road.
At the same time, Greenberg said he is selling several smaller office properties as he shifts his attention to larger acquisitions and redevelopment projects.
