Wesleyan University recently paid $3.1 million for Liberty Bank’s former corporate offices in Middletown.
Wesleyan purchased the nearly 44,000-square-foot office building at 55 High St., near a corner of the campus, in a deal recorded by the city on Feb. 18. The 60-year-old building sits on a 2.6-acre property.
It had served as Liberty offices until 2018, when the bank moved its administrative offices, according to a broker involved in the deal. Liberty announced in October 2018 an imminent move of nearly 300 employees into a newly renovated, 90,000-square-foot, corporate headquarters on a 23-acre property at 245 Long Hill Road in Middletown.
O,R&L Commercial represented Liberty in the sale.
Luke Massirio, an O,R&L broker, said the property had seen significant interest in the two months it was listed. It is set amid a pleasant residential neighborhood in an up-and-coming city, he noted. There was interest in purchase of the property for continued office use as well as potential conversion to housing, he said.
Other offers were, however, “just not anywhere near as competitive as Wesleyan,” Massirio said. “Also, it practically sits on their campus, so if you ask me, it’s a no brainer for them.”
Attempts to reach a Wesleyan representative were not immediately successful Wednesday.
