$200M Greenwich office complex sale among Connecticut’s largest in decade
GREENWICH — A major financial services firm is buying a downtown office complex for approximately $200 million in one of Connecticut’s largest real estate deals in the past decade.
Alternative-assets manager Apollo Global Management confirmed in a statement Tuesday that it is purchasing the approximately 155,000-square-foot property at 100 W. Putnam Ave., which stands across the road from Greenwich Library and yards from Greenwich Avenue.
The acquisition follows Apollo’s signing last year of an approximately 43,000-square-foot lease at 100 W. Putnam. Within the four-story building, the firm plans to occupy the first floor and part of the third level, with those offices now being built out.
“Apollo is opening additional offices as part of a broader strategy to continue to attract and retain top talent,” the firm said in the statement.
A message left Tuesday for Rockpoint Group, which acquired 100 W. Putnam for $130 million in 2018, was not immediately returned.
100 W. Putnam represents one of the small number of properties in the state to change hands for more than $100 million in the past few years. Among recent transactions, the sale amount appears to rank behind only the office complex at 200 Elm St.-695 E. Main St., in downtown Stamford, which sold late last year for $235 million.
“Any time we see a business such as Apollo arrive here in town, that’s something we always welcome,” Greenwich First Selectman Fred Camillo said in an interview. “We look forward to seeing them grow and prosper here for many years.”
Apollo officials described 100 W. Putnam as the “preeminent office building” in Greenwich. The property is fully leased with a number of other financial services tenants, including AXA, JPMorgan, Strategic Value Partners and UBS.
Overall, Greenwich ranks as one of the most-active office-leasing markets in the tri-state area. In the fourth quarter of last year, the town’s central business district posted the lowest availability rate, 7.4 percent, among submarkets in southwestern Connecticut, according to commercial real estate firm CBRE.
In addition to Greenwich, Apollo’s other new office locations include Miami and West Palm Beach, Fla. The firm also has offices in a number of other cities in the U.S. and abroad, including New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Toronto, London, Hong Kong, Tokyo and Delhi.
The firm employs more than 2,000 worldwide, including more than 550 investment professionals.
In company documents, Apollo said with its asset management business, “we seek to provide our clients excess return at every point along the risk-reward spectrum from investment grade to private equity with a focus on three business strategies: yield, hybrid and equity.”
In January, Apollo completed its merger with retirement-services provider Athene, bringing the firms together into one publicly traded company under the Apollo name.
At the end of 2021, Apollo had approximately $498 billion in assets under management.
[email protected];twitter: @paulschott
