JV Acquires Mass Mutual Building

The property, built in 1925 as the corporate headquarters for Connecticut Mutual Life Insurance, was the home of Massachusetts Mutual since 1996 when the firm acquired Connecticut Mutual. The building features office space on four above ground floors, a concourse, basement and sub-basement levels. Including the parking facilities, the campus encompasses approximately 16.3 acres. In 1994, Mass Mutual acquired 100 Bright Meadow Blvd. in Enfield and has been relocating employees from its Garden Street property to that location and its Springfield, MA campus for some time.

Cushman & Wakefield's Capital Markets Group's Robert E. Griffin, Christopher T. Griffin and Richard E. Putprush who are based in Boston, along with Stuart I. Romanoff, EVP, of C&W's New York City office and Jonathan K. Putnam, a leasing specialist with the firm's Hartford office, exclusively represented the seller and procured the buyer.Putnam says Mass Mutual completely vacated the 140 Garden St. property earlier this month. Putprush adds that the Calare/Hackman joint venture turned out to be the "best combination of price and terms" among the five finalists for the property. Cushman & Wakefield is working with the new ownership on the future use of the property.

Putnam says the ownership is "going to look at all opportunities" in terms of the property's future use. Although 140 Garden St. has been used as an office complex, the property is zoned to allow for hotel and multi-family development as well. Since the property has its own central steam and water-chilled plant and a full-service cafeteria, C&W officials add that the site "is well positioned to be converted into a mixed-use business center, drawing on the area's residential flavor, demand for retail space and overall accessibility."