Norwalk Hospital eyes move
The Greenwich Time
Friday, March 30, 2007
By Richard Lee, Assistant Business Editor

Norwalk Hospital is looking to lease 100,000 square feet at the former Perkin Elmer facility on the Norwalk-Wilton line that is being converted into a Class A office complex called iPark.

A spokeswoman for the developer confirmed that the hospital is considering the complex as the future home of its administrative offices.

Lease negotiations between Norwalk Hospital and National RE/Sources, a Greenwich-based commercial developer, are at an advanced stage, said Lynn Ward, vice president of leasing.

"We are on the 5-yard line. We're very close to an agreement," she said. "They'd move their administrative offices and various medical offices, which would free up space for hospital beds. They'rerunning at 100 percent occupancy."

The Greenwich developer is accustomed to working with hospitals. National RE/Sources provides 500,000 square feet of office space for Northshore Long Island Jewish Hospital at its Lake Success, N.Y., iPark complex, Ward said. Her company contacted Norwalk Hospital about its interest in a similar arrangement, she said.

The arrival of the hospital at the 300,000-square-foot building could set a trend for the property, said Robert Caruso, senior managing director at CB Richard Ellis. He told an audience of more than 200 real estate professionals Wednesday, at the firm's annual Westchester/Fairfield Market Forecast Breakfast, that talks for the space were under way.

"It could attract other tenants that want to be close to a hospital," he said, adding that the first tenants often set a profile for a building. "When you start to do deals, it creates momentum (for more tenants)."

Norwalk's old industrial space is lending itself to several office conversions, he said. Ellis cited NordenPark, which houses tenants including Norden Systems, Tauck World Tours and Gibbs College, and the former Vectron building on Glover Avenue, recently bought by Building & Land Technology for development as Class A office space.

When the hospital's lease is signed, the space at iPark would be built out immediately, Ward said, predicting that construction would take no more than six months. She would not comment on the length of the lease, saying that it would be a long-term agreement.

Hospital spokeswoman Maura Romaine confirmed that negotiations are under way with National RE/Sources, but she would not comment on the hospital's plans for its facility at Maple and Stevens streets.

Noting that National RE/Sources has signed LA Fitness as a tenant for a 48,000-square-foot building on the 30-acre tract on the west side of Main Avenue, Ward said tenants could mix with the hospital's wellness practices.

The Norwalk iPark is being touted as a "green" project because the $50 million in renovations make both buildings comply with LEED standards set by the Washington, D.C.-based Green Building Council.

LEED stands for leadership in energy and environmental design.