By Allan Murphy
Sentinel Business Columnist
There was a bit of action, with businesses both coming and going. On balance, the commercial market is about the same as at the start of the year. Central Greenwich near the train favors the owners, and most other areas of town tilt toward the tenant-friendly. That said, we are a small town with limited overall commercial property inventory and restrictive zoning regulations, so a specialized space-type need can be difficult to find and costly. Just because generic office space leases for $35 per square foot in western Greenwich doesn’t mean the same pricing will apply to a need for fitness space that requires high ceilings and lots of parking.
The office space vacancy rate of 9 percent in the central business district and 20 percent outside of downtown provides a healthy balance between landlords and tenants. As with most products, the good stuff sells faster and first, so if one space or building is a clear preference, then act quickly or be prepared to lose it. If you are reasonably indifferent to spaces, then it’s just a bake-off to determine which has the best terms and fit. Either way, speed of transaction execution is always important—the passage of time will eventually kill every deal.
Notable new development in 2015 has included the populating of West Putnam Avenue with the WestMed offices/urgent care facility, Citarella’s market, fancy new showrooms for fancy new cars, and a new bank building across from the library. Also on the west side, there’s a new garage and multifamily housing complex next to Equinox, and the attractive renovation of One Glenville Street (Watson’s Catering) in Glenville.
Downtown has seen the renovation of Pickwick Plaza and 41 West Putnam, a full year of Restoration Hardware, the topping off of the new Fire Department building, completion of the new Greenwich Avenue building that is home to The National restaurant (I hear it’s good), and the new “Gateway” building at the bottom of Greenwich Avenue where Thataway Cafe’s outdoor patio used to be.
Moving eastward, Christ Church and Greenwich High School are completing major restoration projects, the “Corbos building” will soon be redeveloped, multiple new food establishments opened in central Cos Cob, the Greenwich Reform synagogue development is underway, and the Little Pub replaced the long run of Fonda La Paloma—which leaves a tear in my eye, though Little Pub is great.
Moving across the Mianus into Riverside and Old Greenwich, Balducci’s completed its expansion, the J House continues to add a little hipster to the hood, Baang may become a Pet Pantry, Chipotle opened, the Shell station is now a salon/spa/derma clinic, the Patsy Crucitti site has a new building available, and downtown Old Greenwich has several fun new businesses, and almost no availability!
New replaces old, contemporary replaces dated—our town gets renovated and rejuvenated—as it should and as it must to remain relevant and desirable. It’s always fun to have some fresh.
Looking forward, 2016 seems likely to bring more debate on the New Lebanon School location and the Eversource substation, new retail tenants at the very top and very bottom of Greenwich Avenue, the renovation and Houlihan Lawrence’s occupancy of 2 Soundview Drive at the Exit 3 “entry to Greenwich,” a normal healthy turnover of retail spaces on Greenwich Avenue and the Post Road, and a town-wide revaluation for property tax assessments. Lots more rejuvenation to which we can look forward!
In the meantime, warm wishes of the season to all, and for a happy and healthy 2016!
Allan Murphy is a senior managing director at the commercial real estate services firm Newmark Grubb Knight Frank. He has specialized in the Greenwich and Stamford markets since 1996.
