M&T Bank has approved a $900,000 small business loan for international design firm BassamFellows to help fund the restoration of the Philip Johnson-designed building at the former Schlumberger property in Ridgefield.
The loan will provide the final piece of funding needed to restore the building to its original detail and prepare the space for offices, a showroom and studio for BassamFellows, now located in New Canaan. BassamFellows has already begun work on the building and hopes to move in later this year.
The company will lease the property from the town for a $1-a-year contract for 13 years; rents will then rise from $8,495 per month in 2030 to $10,780 per month in 2046.
“We are committed to modern architecture preservation with completed projects both here in the U.S. and in Europe,” said Scott Fellows, co-owner of BassamFellows. “The former Schlumberger administration building was Philip Johnson”™s first commercial building and one of the first executive office buildings to mark the shift from urban to suburban living. It is an important building and an inspiring space to work and showcase our furniture and lifestyle collections.”
The loan was made through M&T”™s commercial and business banking office at Merritt 7 in Norwalk. M&T also has nine retail bank branches in Fairfield County.
