BOMA International”™s southern Connecticut chapter bestowed its building of the year award on 400 Atlantic St. in Stamford, among those that are the largest in Fairfield County, with the facility managed by The Landis Group.
Only 20 or so multi tenant buildings and office parks exist in Fairfield County of sufficient size to qualify for the BOMA award won by New York City-based The Landis Group, not including other large buildings that house single corporations, hospitals or other large organizations.
An acronym for Building Owners and Managers Association, BOMA International”™s awards span the gamut, including historic buildings, those that have undergone renovations, and an “earth” category recognizing environmental and energy measures, among others.
This past week, The Landis Group submitted its application for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification from the U.S. Green Building Council, having already secured the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency”™s “Energy Star” label.
The building at 400 Atlantic totals 500,000 square feet of space on 15 floors, with tenants including UBS and American Express, as well as Harman International Industries Inc., a maker of auto infotainment and sound systems.
Originally built in 1980 as Champion International”™s headquarters, the building was opened up to other tenants after International Paper bought Champion in 2000, then relocated its headquarters in 2006 to Memphis, Tenn.
If a blow for Stamford”™s and by extension Connecticut”™s reputation as a corporate haven, the International Paper relocation also provided a handy pressure valve for UBS, which at the peak of the last economic cycle required overflow space for its main building at 677 Washington Blvd.
With both UBS and 400 Atlantic tenant American Express now scaling back their presence in the building, however, other companies are getting the opportunity to comparison shop 400 Atlantic against other available buildings in downtown Stamford, with CBRE Group, Inc. handling leasing inquiries on behalf of The Landis Group.
Tom Izzo, the senior real estate manager at 400 Atlantic, said inquiries have picked up in the past few months noticeably from earlier this year, and is hopeful companies are becoming more confident in an economic recovery. Izzo himself was named BOMA”™s “member of the year” in 2009.
In Stamford, uncertainty remains over whether Stamford-based Building and Land Technology is reserving its BLT Financial Centre at 695 E. Main St. for a single, large tenant, or whether it will make the building available to smaller tenants.
That decision could have a ripple effect on other downtown landlords including, The Landis Group, RFR Realty, Malkin Properties and even BLT itself, which is still leasing up newly built offices in its emerging Harbor Point development south of Interstate 95. Last month, Westport-based Bridgewater Associates passed up the opportunity to take the ready-built BLT Financial Centre in favor of building a new waterfront facility at Harbor Point, leading some to speculate that BLT has a tenant lined up for 695 E. Main St.
BLT itself was the 2011 recipient of the office building of the year award, which BOMA members nickname TOBY, for its Towers complex in Norwalk.
