Landlord Griffin to convert to REIT, shed two Greater Hartford office buildings – Hartford Business

Major Connecticut commercial landlord Griffin Industrial Realty Inc. said Wednesday it plans to convert to a Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) and shed two of its suburban office buildings in Windsor and Bloomfield as part of a larger strategy to focus on managing and leasing industrial/warehouse space.

The New York-based landlord-developer said it plans to convert to a REIT for federal tax purposes to maximize shareholder value and generate growth opportunities as it continues to expand its industrial/warehouse property portfolio in select markets.

It also intends to sell its two, three-story office buildings at the 600-acre Griffin Center office park. The buildings at 5 and 7 Waterside Crossing total about 161,000 square feet.

The sprawling suburban office campus is comprised of several multi-story office buildings straddling the Windsor and Bloomfield town line.

Griffins two buildings on-site have similar designs, each spanning over about 80,500 square feet, according to Tim Lescalleet, Griffins senior vice president.

Photo | Griffin Industrial Realty Inc.

The Griffin Center office park on Waterside Crossing features green spaces and ponds.

The two buildings owned by Griffin, both built in the mid-1980s, house tenants including The Hanover Insurance Group Inc., Lincoln Waste Solutions, Vertafore and Great American Insurance Co., among others.

After selling the Class A office buildings, Griffin said its remaining office portfolio would include 10, single-story properties in Greater Hartford totaling 272,000 square feet. Griffin may seek to sell those properties over time, it said.

In total, Griffin said it owns 41 buildings totaling 4.6 million square feet, including 4.1 million square feet of industrial/warehouse space, in Connecticut, Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Florida. It also owns more than 3,400 acres of undeveloped land.

Joe Cooperis HBJs web editor and real estate writer. He pens The Real Deal column about commercial real estate.

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Landlord Griffin to convert to REIT, shed two Greater Hartford office buildings - Hartford Business