Cushman & Wakefield represented Unilever. C&W's executive vice president, brokerage services Jay S. Hruska, executive vice president Andrew Merin, senior managing director Larry Wilks and Patrick R. Colwell, senior director of C&W's Capital Markets Group, were involved in the marketing and procurement of the purchaser. The property, which first went on the market in March, went into contract in May. No specific terms of the lease deal with Unilever were released.

The acquisition is Willett's third in the Greenwich market within the last six months or so. In December, a Willett partnership purchased 55 Railroad Ave., which totals 131,630 sf, for $97.8 million. In addition, a Willett venture acquired the Tiffany Building at 140 Greenwich Ave. several months ago.

"The offering attracted a substantial amount of interest from regional and national private and institutional investors," C&W's Hruska says. In fact, he notes that there were about two dozen "serious" offers for the building. C&W's Merin terms the Unilever sale-leaseback deal as "by far the most significant transaction of the year in Fairfield County."

Frank Kenny of Willett says the size and location of the Unilever building were attractive. "I think there is very little supply of class A office buildings in Greenwich," he says. In addition, the strong performance of its 55 Railroad Ave. property since its purchase late last year also prompted the Willett firm to make the deal.

Kenny says that his firm is currently looking at a number of development projects and opportunities in Westchester County and Connecticut, and is also projecting to "put our toe in the water in New York City" sometime this year. In addition, Kenny says the firm is in the midst of an acquisition of an office property in Long Island worth in excess of $50 million.

Instant Insights /

Unilever Completes $87M Sale-Leaseback of North American Divisional HQ

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