Norwalk, CT According to Clarion Partners LLC and Marcus Partners, the tech firm SmartEquip Inc. has signed a lease for 13,340 s/f at Merritt 7 Park. SmartEquip will occupy a new buildout on the fifth floor of the recently-upgraded Building 501, which tech firm Toluna will also occupy in 2022. Building 501 has a new indoor-outdoor multi-purpose center that opens directly to the new 35,000 s/f landscaped plaza. SmartEquip was represented by Paul Kauffman and Marc Jacobs of JLL, while the CBRE team of Tom Pajolek and Ned Burns, along with Marcus Partners’ David Fiore and JoAnn McGrath, represented ownership.
“We are incredibly excited to be relocating to Merritt 7,” said SmartEquip CEO Fernando Pinera. “Staying in Norwalk, with first class amenities, was important to our team members, plus we wanted a business environment built for the rapidly-evolving requirements of today’s growth challenges. Merritt 7 provides an ideal destination for our operations -- new outdoor green spaces, versatile amenity spaces, a modern, collaborative setting that emphasizes wellness. The enhanced productivity, creativity and flexibility made Merritt 7 the obvious choice.”
In addition to the new leases with SmartEquip and Toluna, Merritt 7 was also awarded LEED Gold Certification from the U.S. Green Building Council and WiredScore Gold at buildings 501 and 601, along with a Fitwel Two-Star rating for the entire six-building 1.4 million s/f office. The new certifications are the latest milestones in Merritt 7’s upgrade and innovation plans that prioritize health, wellbeing, and connectivity for its tenants.
“We are delighted to welcome SmartEquip to our prestigious roster of tenants and know they will appreciate, ultilize and benefit from all Merritt 7’s offerings,” said Margaret Egan, Clarion Partners’ senior vice president of asset management. “Our focus on wellness, sustainability and infrastructure certifications helps to create the best possible business environment for tenants as they plan their return to the office. Achieving LEED, Fitwel and WiredScore certifications was a crucial part of our broader effort to create a healthier, greener, and more agile busines environment. Our initiatives have received incredibly positive feedback and are continuing to other areas of the park. Office users appreciate the value offered by versatile indoor and outdoor amenity spaces, in addition to our rigorous health and wellness protocols.
As firms continue mapping out the future of their space plans, they will require a level of comfort, confidence and connectivity in their offices -- and we are actively adapting to be able to provide the superior setting for business needed in the long term.”
Merritt 7 is nearing completion of an upgrade program designed by Gensler at buildings 501 and 601 that includes new and refreshed lobbies at 601 and 501; a new 2,500 s/f multi-purpose center at 501 for a variety of conference, event, meeting and flex space requirements; and a newly landscaped 35,000 s/f outdoor plaza designed by Rick Parisi of MPFP that is directly accessible from both buildings. Additional flex amenity space at Building 601 – including a full-service café, coffee bar, meeting space and direct outdoor access – is currently underway and slated for completion in the second quarter of 2022. In total, Merritt 7 will have over 60,000 s/f of curated outdoor amenity space, more than 10,000 s/f of flexible indoor work and meeting space, and four cafes, providing tenants with a variety of different areas and amenities to utilize without expanding their rentable footprint or seeking additional off-site space.
Merritt 7’s advanced dual air filtration system, which had been in place prior to the onset of the pandemic, is also a highly sought-after feature for office users as they seek to address their long-term occupancy needs. The system utilizes dual MERV-8 and MERV-15 filters, the latter being above and beyond current COVID-19 best practices and superior to most office buildings. MERV-15 filtration is the same grade used in general surgery settings.
Additionally, Merritt 7 can accommodate a wide range of tenant requirements. Current opportunities include move-in ready units ranging from 2,123 s/f, high-end pre-built penthouses and fully built 40,000 s/f office-intensive installations with flexible lease terms. A contiguous four-floor block of up to 158,000 s/f is also available at Building 601.
Located immediately off the Merritt Parkway in close proximity to Fairfield County’s appealing and varied attractions, Merritt 7 also has its own dedicated on-site Metro North station, which is currently undergoing significant upgrades and is slated to open in 2022. Major tenants at Merritt 7 include Hearst, Datto, EMCOR, Financial Accounting Foundation (FAF), Jarden, IPSOS, Mercer, Millward Brown, Aon, Xerox, Frontier Communications, and Siemens.