Finance bigs circling as Greenwich property hits market

Real Estate Weekly,  Oct 17, 2007  

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The Staubach Company has announced the sale-offering of 600 Steamboat Road in Greenwich, Connecticut, a 210,000 s/f Class A office building, owned by General Reinsurance Corporation.

The property is expected to break commercial price records in the area, currently in the region of $1,150 plus per square foot.

The building is situated on a 4.2 acre waterfront site in Greenwich Harbor, adjacent to the luxurious Delamar Hotel and the prestigious Indian Harbor and Belle Haven residential communities.

Located on the waterfront-edge of Greenwich's Central Business District, within short walking distance of the upscale Greenwich Avenue retail boutiques and the Greenwich Metro-North Railroad Station, the property served as Gen Re's corporate headquarters until the early 1980s, when Gen Re relocated its headquarters to a leased location in Stamford, Connecticut.

The property offers over 350 linear feet of floating dock space--and direct access to the Atlantic Ocean through Long Island Sound--and contains parking capacity for over 600 cars in a below-grade valet parking garage.

RBS Greenwich Capital, an affiliate of the Royal Bank of Scotland, has occupied the facility since 1995. The 2009 expiration of the RBS Greenwich Capital lease provides the nearterm opportunity to position the property as one of the most prestigious single-occupant headquarters facilities in the metropolitan New York area or as a boutique office location for financial sector firms--including hedge funds, private equity firms, and prime brokerage operations.

Initial market discussions indicate strong demand from the private equity and hedge fund sectors is expected, as those firms position to secure the most prestigious Greenwich headquarters for their investment activities. It is no surprise that the principals of several leading hedge funds and private equity firms reside in the upscale neighborhoods surrounding 600 Steamboat Road.

Over the last 18 months, Gen Re has carefully evaluated its metropolitan New York area real estate holdings and is seeking to align its real estate asset base with the long term operating requirements of its core business.

With the 2010 expiration of Gen Re's headquarters lease in Stamford, the company is currently searching for a headquarters location in Fairfield County, Connecticut, including its existing leased headquarters at 695 East Main Street in Stamford, or Westchester County, New York.

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"The sale of 600 Steamboat Road and Gen Re's search for a corporate headquarters facility is the culmination of an 18-month evaluation of the company's real estate asset base and operating facility requirements," said Jay Koster, managing principal of Staubach Capital Markets.

"600 Steamboat Road has served Gen Re well throughout the years, both as the company's former headquarters and as a real estate investment, but Gen Re is now focused on consolidating those holdings into one long-term headquarters facility that satisfies the company's operating objectives." The Staubach Company's engagement team is led by Brian Higgins, Chris Krause and Jay Koster.

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