BLOOMFIELD, CT-The Hawthorne at Gillette Ridge apartment complex here has been traded for what a CB Richard Ellis official says is a record $213,415 per unit. A joint venture of Cigna Realty Investors and the Bozzuto Group of Greenbelt, MD, sold the 246-unit luxury development on Francis Way for $52.5 million to Fairfield Residential LLC, which acquired the property on behalf of an overseas pension fund.

CB Richard Ellis first vice president Michael Stone of the CB Richard Ellis/Northeast Multi Housing Team represented the seller and procured the buyer in the transaction.

He tells GobeS.com that the property generated significant investment interest and Grand Prairie, TX based Fairfield Residential bested 10 finalists in the sales deal.

"This was the highest price per unit sale price in the state outside of Fairfield County," Stone, who works out of the brokerage firm's Hartford office, notes. The previous high watermark in the region was set in January of this year when the Newbury Village Apartment Homes complex in Meriden sold for $168,056 per unit.

The Hawthorne development was built in 2004 as part of the master planned development within the Cigna corporate campus. The luxury rental community was 97% leased at time of sale and features 19 different unit styles. There are 126 one-bedroom units, 108 two-bedroom residences and 12 three-bedroom apartments. Monthly rents range from $1,100 to $2,400, CBRE's Stone says.

The Gillette Ridge property includes an Arnold Palmer designed golf course, condominiums, restaurants, retail space and 1.5 million sf of office space primarily occupied by Cigna.