The 33-acre Danbury Road property consists of two office buildings along with along with vacant land approved for development of up to 200,000 sf. Davis Cos. has applied to the town of Wilton for approval to develop an additional 25,000 sf on the site.

According to Davis Cos. senior vice president and director of Connecticut operations David Fiori, the firm hopes to build two additional office buildings on the property. One structure would be roughly 75,000 sf, while the other would range from 125 to 150 sf, Fiori tells GlobeSt.com.

While he would not confirm reports that there is a tenant in place for a large portion of the new space, Fiori says there are serious negotiations under way. "We have a prospective tenant," he tells GlobeSt.com. "By no means is it a signed deal or a guaranteed transaction. But we have one that is at a serious level."

Fiori adds that while he hopes to prelease 70% of the development before breaking ground, "it depends on the lead tenant." A long-term commitment from a high-credit tenant could see construction begin with a 50% commitment, he says. No dirt would be turned before next year at the earliest, Fiori notes.

Prudential's structuring of the $38-million refi has been crucial to expanding the Danbury Road development. Loan originator Scott Miller tells GlobeSt.com that a primary goal of the transaction was to give Davis maximum flexibility with regard to its undeveloped land.

"One of the bigger issues is that the loan was structured as a condominium instead of fee interest," he says. "The parcel of land has one existing property in addition to the property that we financed." Given the Davis Cos.' desire for "the ability to develop additional office buildings in the future" on that site "we wanted to leave [the remaining] parcels unencumbered. The condominium structure adds complication to the transaction but provides added flexibility for the borrower."

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