Novo Labs site hits market

A large former lab building was put up for sale in Danbury, offering the buyer the option to expand the site for additional commercial or residential use.

On a hilltop property totaling 115 acres a few miles south of Interstate 84, Sawmill Farms is at the end of a dead-end street near the Danbury-Ridgefield line, backing up right to the Westchester County border.

Novo Laboratories, the original occupant at 33 Turner Road, developed enzymes for various uses. Current property owner Sawmill Road Property L.L.C. hired CB Richard Ellis to find a buyer for the property, with CBRE”™s private client group handling the marketing.

The building totals 90,000 square feet of space and includes the possibility to add as much as 300,000 square feet of commercial space, or residential units with a hillside view.

The land was originally bought and developed during the same period that saw Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals Inc. begin to build out its massive campus just to the east, where more than 3,000 workers are employed today. Boehringer Ingelheim has continued to expand its presence the past few years, after receiving tax incentives from the state to do so. Rather than buying adjoining properties, however ”“ and there is no shortage to choose from ”“ Boehringer Ingelheim has chosen to build instead.

Northern Fairfield County, including Danbury and Ridgefield, had more than 900,000 square feet of space available in the fourth quarter of 2009, according to CBRE, for an availability rate of nearly 20 percent including both upscale class A office space and middle-of-the-road class B offices. That was below Norwalk”™s availability rate of 27 percent and northern Stamford”™s 26 percent rate.

The market has seen significant arrivals and departures in the last several months. Last year, Penwest Pharmaceuticals Inc. announced it would move its headquarters from Danbury Corporate Center to Putnam County, N.Y. Last month, Purchase, N.Y.-based PepsiCo Inc. leased more than 10,000 square feet of space at Lee Farm Corporate Park.