Diamond Properties Enters CT Market With $19M Buy

The deal marks the entrance into the Fairfield County office market for Diamond Properties, which owns 14 office buildings in Westchester County, NY, consisting of a mix of class A, B and industrial product. CB Richard Ellis officials characterize the nine-story Washington Plaza office building as a class B+ building. Washington Plaza also contains an attached four-story parking garage that can accommodate 561 vehicles.

Jeffrey Dunne and Steven Bardsley of CB Richard Ellis' New York Tri-State Investment Team worked with Al Mirin of the brokerage firm's Stamford office in representing an investment advisor to a pension fund in the sale of the property. CB Richard Ellis also procured the buyer in the transaction.

Jim Diamond, president of Diamond Properties, says of the deal, "It's a great office building with a lot of potential." He adds that his firm is in negotiations on several possible lease deals at the property, which is currently 50.3% leased. Mirin of CB Richard Ellis has been retained as the building's exclusive leasing agent.

"Washington Plaza provides Diamond Properties with an excellent opportunity to reposition the asset for both office and medical use," Dunne comments. He reveals that Stamford Ophthalmology, LLC has become the building's first medical tenant, signing an 8,911-sf lease just prior to closing.

The building's major tenants include: Acxiom Corp., which leases 23,914 sf of space; and Insight Express, Rothstein Tauber, Inc., Computer Sciences Corp. and Computer Associates International, which lease 17,406 sf, 12,957 sf, 9,905 sf and 9,066 sf respectively.

Washington Plaza was built in 1971 and has undergone periodic renovation projects between 1985 and 1990 and received extensive upgrades from 1996 to 1997 and between 2000 to 2004.