Still a destination in demand
Ascot Group’s lease shows Stamford remains popular location for major employers
STAMFORD — Global specialty insurer Ascot Group has leased 24,000 square feet in the downtown office building at 200 Elm St., a deal that offers a vital boost to southwestern Connecticut’s office market.
The property’s landlord, Building and Land Technology, made the announcement last week.
The southwestern corner of the state has seen a significant decline in office leasing activity during the coronavirus crisis, although its vacancy rate has not spiked. The transaction came about two months after another major insurer, Berkley Insurance Co., announced that it would relocate within the downtown and lease about 63,000 square feet in the Metro Center complex at 1 Station Place.
“Connecticut creates a thriving environment for growth companies like Ascot, affording us the opportunity to take advantage of a tremendous talent pool, coupled with convenient access to New York, and Stamford’s dynamic business community — particularly within the insurance and reinsurance industry,” Yvonne Costello, Ascot’s chief operating officer, said in a statement. “We are excited to begin this new phase of our journey in Stamford.”
In response to an inquiry from Hearst Connecticut Media, an Ascot company spokesperson said, “While we have already opened the office, we maintain a limited presence due to COVID, with most employees unlikely to formally attend until a date to be determined in 2021. We look forward to returning in force to this exciting new office in Stamford, with expectations of growing our employee base in the coming months.”
Ascot is owned by CPP Investments, a global investment management firm that invests the assets of the Canada Pension Plan. CPP Investments is the largest pension plan in Canada.
In the U.S., Ascot also has
offices in Manhattan, Baltimore, Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, Dallas and San Francisco.
During the past few years, a number of other major companies have signed leases at 200 Elm and the adjoining office building at 695 E. Main St., which have a combined footprint of about 560,000 square feet, according to BLT.
Last year, beverage giant Diageo announced it will lease 40,000 square feet at 200 Elm and create about 250 jobs in offices complementing its North American headquarters, which relocated from Norwalk to Manhattan.
About two years ago, McDonald’s signed a lease for 14,600 square feet at 695 E. Main, a building topped by a clock tower. It joined professional-services firm Deloitte, which has operated regional offices there since 2014, taking about 120,000 square feet.
Also in 2018, IT firm CA Technologies, hedge fund Tudor Investment Corp. and Webster Bank signed leases at 200 Elm, totaling about 75,000 square feet.
In 2017, Henkel relocated its North American consumer-goods headquarters to 200 Elm, from Scottsdale, Ariz. It occupies more than 150,000 square feet. The same year, professional-services RSM moved its Stamford offices to 200 Elm, taking nearly 30,000 square feet.
BLT acquired the property in 2012 after the relocation of reinsurer Gen Re, which is now headquartered at 120 Long Ridge Road.
Gov. Ned Lamont expressed his support for Ascot’s expansion to Connecticut, although the state is not providing any subsidies for the new offices.
“Connecticut’s value proposition has never been stronger,” Lamont said in a statement. “Under my administration we have taken many measures to create a better business environment in Connecticut, one that attracts new companies, workers and investment to our state—and we are seeing results.”
Ned Burns and Zachary Price, senior vice presidents at commercial real estate firm CBRE, represented Ascot in the transaction, while BLT Executive Vice President Leslie Whatley led negotiations for the landlord.
Stamford-based BLT owns several other office buildings in the city, including the under-construction towers at 406 Washington Blvd., that will house the new headquarters of Charter Communications. In addition, BLT has developed more than 3,000 apartments in the past decade in the Harbor Point neighborhood of the city’s South End.