Corporate project exudes green The Advocate Friday, October 20, 2006
By Lauren Klein, Staff Writer Download
PDF
Complex boasts its Earth-friendliness
NORWALK - Greenwich based National RE/Sources held an open house last night at the former Perkin Elmer property at 761 Main Ave. for more than 200 corporate real estate brokers from southern Connecticut, Westchester County, N.Y. and Manhattan.
National RE/Sources acquired the property in July and started a $50 million renovation of the sprawling 400,000 – square – foot main building. The project – called i.park Norwalk – is being touted for its environmentally conscious design and amenities.
Lynne Ward, vice president of leasing at National RE/Sources, said the lifestyle features include a health club with a 50-meter swimming pool and an espresso bar. A jogging path made from recycled rubber would run across the Norwalk River, which is next to the building, Ward said. The path would be open to the public, she said.
Ward said the main difference between i.park and other area corporate buildings is its sustainable design, which includes a “green roof” that will purify the air and reduce stormwater runoff, and high-efficiency windows that will lower energy costs in the winter and summer.
But in real estate, the selling point that trumps all these features is its location, said Gerard Lees, senior director at Cushman & Wakefield’s Stamford office, the national commercial real estate broker hired to market the building.
“Six months ago this was not on anyone’s radar,” Lees said. “But now it has what’s become the preferred location in Fairfield County.”
Lees and Ward said they hoped to find three of four major companies to fill the space, which can be subdivided into spaces of 10,000 square feet or more. Ward said rents will be in the range of $25 per square foot.
I can’t name names, but about half a dozen companies are interested in space that is 100,000 square feet or greater,” Lees said. “We are expecting a fast lease-up of this property.”
