Even as Building and Land Technology landed Stamford”™s best available office building, some think another major landlord is circling a larger, waterside complex in hopes of getting a deal.
New York City-based George Comfort & Sons Inc. is exploring a purchase of Harbor Plaza, according to multiple commercial real estate brokers, a large corporate office park on Harbor Drive with views of Stamford”™s waterfront and Long Island Sound.
At more than 750,000 square feet of space across six, low-rise buildings, Harbor Plaza numbers among the 10 largest multitenant office complexes in Fairfield County. The property is available following the 2010 death of its managing stakeholder Arthur D. Emil. In 2004, in partnership with a predecessor company of New York City-based AREA Property Partners L.P., Emil secured a $115 million mortgage on Harbor Plaza.
George Comfort & Sons did not immediately return messages left with CEO Peter Duncan and a public relations firm his company has retained in the past.
George Comfort & Sons owns or manages some 11 million square feet of space in the Northeast and California, including the 570,000-square-foot High Ridge Park off the Merritt Parkway in Stamford, to which George Comfort has lured Affinion Group Inc. from Norwalk and before that UST Inc. from Greenwich, before UST”™s eventual sale to Altria Group and relocation to Richmond, Va.
George Comfort & Sons has yet to reveal any tenant for 1 High Ridge Park, which has been empty since MeadWestvaco Corp.”™s own headquarters move a few years back to Richmond. The only larger space available in its portfolio is at 900 King St. in Rye Brook, N.Y., just across the Connecticut border. Only last summer, George Comfort & Sons drew Japan-based Nomura to take 900,000 square feet of space at one of its Midtown New York City towers.
Aside from 1 High Ridge Park, however, no other blocks of space are available at High Ridge Park larger than 6,000 square feet, space for up to 25 employees depending on an office”™s layout.
Harbor Plaza would represent a major opportunity for George Comfort & Sons, though commercial real estate brokers agree the property requires extensive renovations, ranging from replacing windows throughout the complex to an overhaul of its interior to bring it up to today”™s specs.
Still, if not easy to access off Shippan Avenue, the property has an asset few can match ”“ enviable views of the Stamford waterfront, a draw that helped convince Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. to haul anchor in White Plains, N.Y. and set sail for Building & Land Technology”™s Harbor Point development across the water.
Fresh off BLT”™s $30 million purchase of 695 E. Main St. in downtown Stamford (see story on page 11), brokers say they are not aware of any interest by BLT in stretching the Harbor Point label to encompass Harbor Plaza.
Unlike the case with 695 E. Main St., Harbor Plaza has an added asset ”“ existing tenants to provide cash flow leading into any renovations. The complex”™s biggest tenant is CRT Capital Group L.L.C., which provides securities brokerage and research services to more than 1,200 insurance companies, pensions, hedge funds and other asset managers. Harbor Plaza”™s highest-profile tenant in recent years was Time Warner Cable, which leading into its spinout from Time Warner decamped to New York City where Time Warner is based. One remaining Harbor Plaza tenant called KenCast Inc. still references as “the Time Warner building” the offices it uses at 290 Harbor Drive as it sells mobile video technology platforms.
Time Warner reportedly has considered Stamford as a relocation site for its corporate headquarters, though local brokers say they are not aware of any movement on that front. Both Time Warner and Time Warner Cable are based at Time Warner Center in New York City, which is owned by AREA Property Partners.
