SoNo Property Finally Hitting its Stride

NORWALK, CT-The ownership of the 50 Washington St., building in South Norwalk has not only significantly increased its occupancy levels since it completed a $5-million renovation program, but is now looking to present an expansion plan to the city for approval.

Lloyd Amster, manager partner for the joint venture that owns the 190,000-sf, 12-story building, says that its multimillion-dollar renovation program has paid tremendous dividends. The partnership–SoNo Equities LLC and 1122 Associates LLC–acquired the property for approximately $7 million in February 1999. At that time the building was about 50% occupied. Since then, the ownership conducted upgrades on the building’s HVAC system, common areas, roof and waterproofing operations and also brought fiber-optic technology into the building. Today, the building is 82% occupied.

He acknowledges that the 50 Washington St. property had experienced its share of troubles and has gone through a host of ownership changes since it first opened its doors in the early 1970s. However, the introduction of high-speed communications infrastructure at the building has been one of the keys to its recent turnaround.