on the market

The Royal Bank of Scotland currently leases the entire building, but plans to move at the end of its lease in 2009 when their new 12-story building on 600 Washington Blvd. is complete. According to JLL, Heritage Realty has said it will renovate the building and separate the space into 20,000-sf to 50,000-sf subdivisions for which it has "a handful of clients". JLL, referring to the size of the space, explains there isn't anyone in this market that "needs this kind of space." The deal, brokered by Brian Higgins, Chris Krause and Jay Koster--with Jones Lang LaSalle--is anticipated to close in Q3 of this year.

This sale is coming on the heels of General Reinsurance's agreement to relocate locally. The reinsurer has decided to move from 695 E. Main St. to 120 Long Ridge Rd., here, with a 15-year lease. General Reinsurance's current lease is up in 2009 and the company had been searching for a new location, either in Westchester or Connecticut. Leasing the entire 310,000 sf of space at the property, they plan to make the move around Jan. 1, 2010. JLL tells GlobeSt.com that the lease was "below market transaction with excellent incentives from the landlord as well as the state of Connecticut." Common incentives are sales tax abatements, corporate tax credits and improvement loans. The company's plans to move after tenant build-out, upgrades and renovations are made to the building. Building and Land Technologies owns the property and represented itself in the negotiations. General Reinsurance was again, represented by Higgins, Krause and Koster at JLL.

Average asking rates for class A office space in Fairfield county are $35.27 per sf, according to research report by Cushman & Wakefield. This is up year-over-year from $33.65 per sf, but down from $35.83 per sf from the first quarter. At the end of Q2, there was a supply constrain on office space, and while these moves help create available class A properties, they will not show until early 2010.