Shelton, CT Choyce Peterson, Inc,, a commercial real estate brokerage and consulting firm which specializes in representing tenants, has completed the lease negotiations for Sperry Rail Inc., one of the largest providers of Rail Health services in the world, having inspected over 12 million miles of track to date. Sperry is leasing 41,417 s/f at 5 and 9 Research Dr. Choyce Peterson principal John Hannigan represented Sperry.

After Hannigan’s initial meeting with Sperry, their executives quickly realized there was a limited supply of available flex space (office/warehouse/production) in Fairfield County that could accommodate both their headquarters office and production requirements. Once Sperry appointed Hannigan as their exclusive representative based on his tenant representation experience and knowledge of the area market, he spearheaded the initiative to consolidate operations from Sperry’s three Danbury buildings to new space that reflected the professionalism of a headquarters office and production space with high ceilings, drive-in doors and a loading dock.

Per Hannigan’s suggestion, Sperry included architect Monique Delerme, principal of Corporate Design Solutions to work closely with Julie Brewster, director of global project management of Sperry (who served as internal project coordinator for their move) to coordinate optimizing the new headquarters and warehouse designs. After a series of meetings with Sperry executives, she calculated the square footage required in a new building and created concept plans for a collaborative, modern headquarters and efficient production space. Additionally, Becca Nell, managing director of VVA Project Managers and Consultants was added to the Sperry relocation team to provide outside expertise for the coordination of their move. 

With this information in-hand, Hannigan led Sperry on multiple tours of buildings covering a wide geographic area that included Bethel, Brookfield, Danbury, Monroe, New Milford, Newtown, and Shelton. He then orchestrated several rounds of proposals with prospective landlords. Sperry focused on 5 Research Dr. because of its combination of office and high ceiling production space, as well as its proximity to Rte. 8. After Delerme determined that the available space was not enough to accommodate all Sperry’s requirements, Hannigan collaborated with Rob Scinto of R.D. Scinto to evaluate various options in other buildings to satisfy Sperry’s needs. In the end, the best opportunity offered by Scinto on the 5 Research site was to build a brand-new 11,000 s/f building (to be named 9 Research Dr.) specially designed to encompass Sperry’s production specifications. At Hannigan’s request, Scinto also agreed to create an additional driveway entrance to the new building, and redesign the adjoining parking lot to create better traffic flow. Hannigan then negotiated extremely favorable financial and business terms for Sperry’s occupancy including free rent, a competitive rental rate, and a build-out of both spaces funded and constructed by the landlord.

“Over the past few years it has been rare for a new flex building to be built in Fairfield County,” Hannigan said. “I am excited that Sperry is occupying both 5 and 9 Research Dr. with a newly designed build- out in each building, which has provided them with the opportunity for increased collaboration and productivity.”

“John truly outdid himself on this transaction,” said Jamie O’Rourke, president of Sperry. “We presented him with a challenging set of criteria for our new location which included first-class office space to convey the professional atmosphere of our headquarters, and ideal production space. Numerous buildings could not accommodate our requirements. The solution to have a custom-designed structure built to our exact needs had not been top-of-mind, and gives us a tremendous opportunity to streamline Sperry’s operations and take our company to the next level. We are all very thankful to John for negotiating this transaction on our behalf and would whole-heartedly recommend his services to any other company looking to relocate their office or flex space.” Rob Scinto, COO of R.D. Scinto was the in-house representative for the owner, R.D. Scinto.