Former Diageo space gets new tenant
Nearly two years after liquor giant Diageo decamped from Norwalk for New York City and Stamford, a major new tenant plans to occupy the vacated space in The Towers in late 2022.
The Financial Accounting Foundation plans to move its headquarters next fall to 801 Main Ave., across the way from its current location in the Merritt 7 Office Park in Norwalk. Founded in Stamford in 1972, the Financial Accounting Foundation has called Norwalk home for more than three decades.
Operating as a nonprofit, the Financial Accounting Foundation oversees the Financial Accounting Standards Board and Government Accounting Standards Board, which are supported by industry fees. The combined organization’s revenue totaled $60 million in 2020.
The Norwalk headquarters operation totals about 160 people, according to a spokesperson, who said the Financial Accounting Foundation elected to stay in Norwalk after considering more than 15 possible locations in Fairfield County and Westchester County.
Led for a decade by Teresa Polley, the Financial Accounting Foundation installed a new executive director last year in John Auchincloss, a Weston resident who was general counsel under Polley.
The Financial Accounting Standards Board will occupy nearly 80,000 square feet of space at 801 Main, one of three buildings in The Towers complex just north of the Merritt Parkway.
Building & Land Technology, which owns The Towers, recently completed The Curb apartment complex on Glover Avenue and is laying the groundwork for the larger North Seven development that could add as many as 11 new buildings.
The state Department of Transportation is building a new Merritt 7 station on the Metro-North Danbury branch that will include a pedestrian footbridge to the Merritt 7 Office Park.
The Financial Accounting Foundation becomes the second major Merritt 7 tenant in the past few years to move to The Towers complex that includes 801 Main, along with FactSet, which offers platforms for financial market research and analysis.
FactSet took over much of Xerox’s former headquarters at 45 Glover Ave., after the office equipment giant relocated to 201 Merritt 7 in 2017. Heavy equipment manufacturer Terex moved its own headquarters last year to 45 Glover from Westport.
Frontier Communications recently reupped at 401 Merritt 7, which it shares with the Financial Accounting Foundation and several other tenants. Besides Xerox and Frontier, other Merritt 7 tenants include data backup provider Datto, Hearst Connecticut Media Group, soda brand Reed’s and convention host Reed Exhibitions.