Norwalk Hospital is in negotiations to lease 100,000 square feet of space in i.park Norwalk
Fairfield County Business Journal
Monday, March 19, 2007

The first prospective tenant to reveal its interest in the converted laboratory on the Norwalk - Wilton line

Norwalk Hospital is in negotiations to lease 100,000 square feet of space in i.park Norwalk, the first prospective tenant to reveal its interest in the converted laboratory on the Norwalk - Wilton line.

Now called i.park Norwalk, the facility was used for years by the Norwalk based Perkin Elmer Inc. and has had to undergo remediation for minor contamination. Greenwich based National RE/sources is redeveloping the property for a mix of commercial and residential used. The firm has indicated it can subdivide the 350,000 square foot facility in increments between 10,000 and 200,000 square feet.

With National RE/Sources lining up potential tenants for i.park Norwalk, the city appears to be in for a spate of positive tidings on the economic development front.

Xerox Corp. committed this month to relocating its headquarters from Stamford to The Towers just North of the Merritt Parkway in Norwalk; a sister building will be GE Real Estate’s new home. At the intersection of Route 7 and Interstate 95, Spinnaker Real Estate Partners is building 500,000 square feet of offices.

Norwalk Hospital spokeswoman Maura Romaine said the hospital hopes to establish medical offices at i.park Norwalk.

If it takes space at i.park Norwalk, Norwalk Hospital would be the latest Fairfield County health-care facility to undergo and expansion. Danbury Hospital has begun excavation work for a $45 million wing and Greenwich Hospital recently took office space in Rye Brook, N.Y., to free up room at its main campus for medical functions. Across Fairfield County’s eastern border, Griffin Hospital is building a 50,000 square foot facility for ambulatory and cancer care.

With 330 beds, Norwalk Hospital is running at 100 percent occupancy. In the 2005 fiscal year, its emergency room handles 45,000 patients, and 102,000 more people were admitted on an outpatient basis.

In 2004, the hospital completed a $17 million renovation; in 2006 it opened a $3 million, 10,000 square foot outpatient surgical center at 40 Cross St. in Norwalk. At the time, the hospital indicated the new ambulatory surgery center would free up room at the main hospital for neurological, joint replacement and vascular surgery.

The hospital’s revenue exceeded expenses by $4.6 million in the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2005, the most recent year for which the Internal Revenue Service provides figures.

Norwalk Hospital values its current buildings and land at $107 million, excluding depreciation which cuts the book value by more than half.