CBRE arranges sale of office bldg. for conversion into 286-unit M7 lofts residential community

Norwalk, CT CBRE has completed the sale of 101 and 201 Merritt 7, two Class A office buildings totaling 511,318 s/f on 6.48 acres on behalf of seller Merritt 7 Venture LLC. A joint venture of Saber-Hightower LLC, Granoff Real Estate & Wind River Holdings, the purchaser plans to convert the two buildings into M7 Lofts, a 286-unit amenitized luxury apartment community with over 55,000 s/f of amenity space. CBRE vice chairman Jeffrey Dunne, first vice president Eric Apfel, investment sales director Travis Langer and senior financial analyst Eric Greenberg represented the seller in the transaction and procured the purchaser. Bank OZK provided a $75.5 million senior construction loan to support the conversion of the buildings into M7 Lofts.

Built in 1980 and 1982, the two buildings sit within the broader Merritt 7 office park at the confluence of the Merritt Pkwy. and Rte. 7. Under Norwalk’s 2023 comprehensive rezoning, the site carries an as-of-right residential density of up to 564 units; Saber-Hightower’s plan for 286 units will preserve a substantial share of the property’s existing parking structure while supporting large outdoor gardens, pool and deck as well as several outdoor amenity areas. M7 Lofts will offer loft-style layouts with open floorplans, interior dens in nearly every home, 11-ft. ceilings and wall-to-wall glass, along with industrial-inspired finishes. More than 55,000 s/f of indoor and outdoor amenity space is planned within a private park setting, including two fitness centers, a yoga studio, co-working space, a podcast room, a children’s playroom, a pet spa, an exclusive tenant lounge complete with a demonstration kitchen and sports bar (game room), an outdoor pool deck with lounge seating, private gardens, two dog parks, a playground and a central community green.

The property is adjacent to the Merritt 7 Metro-North train station, which provides express access to Grand Central Terminal in just over an hour, and sits minutes from the Merritt Pkwy. and I-95. The surrounding office park is home to the headquarters or major offices of Xerox, Datto, Emcor, Factset and other companies, placing future residents steps away from a dense employment base and retail across the street. The sale follows CBRE’s sale earlier this year of the neighboring 301-601 Merritt 7 buildings, a 945,033 s/f office portfolio, to Argent Ventures, completing the repositioning of the full Merritt 7 complex under new ownership.

“While the redevelopment could have supported nearly twice the number of units, we felt the smaller, more ‘boutique’ approach within a heavily amenitized and landscaped community was appropriate for the market. Working with Granoff Architects was absolutely the best decision, given their expertise in office-to-residential conversions along with their high-end residential experience,” said Martin Berger, managing member of Saber-Hightower. We thank Bank OZK and Wind River Holdings for their support of the project and its sponsorship.”

“We are pleased to have represented Merritt 7 Venture LLC in the sale of 101 and 201 Merritt 7,” said Jeffrey Dunne, vice chairman at CBRE. “Few sites in Fairfield County combine this scale, this location and this level of transit access, and Saber-Hightower’s vision for M7 Lofts will bring much-needed new rental housing to a submarket that has struggled to build at scale. We expect this to be one of the more closely watched conversions in the region.”

“This transaction is important,” said Eric Apfel, first vice president at CBRE. “Saber-Hightower is proving out a structure and design approach that finally makes sense for large office buildings, not just the smaller, easier-to-convert assets we’ve seen succeed elsewhere. This is in part thanks to their partnership with Granoff Architects, known for their exceptional office-to-residential conversions including The Mill in Greenwich, CT — another CBRE sale. Fairfield County has millions of square feet of aging suburban office sitting next to transit, and until now, most of it has been stuck between owners waiting for tenants who aren’t coming back and lenders unsure how to underwrite a conversion. M7 Lofts gives the market a real, executed data point.”

The CBRE Institutional Properties team is currently marketing for sale a number of multifamily communities throughout the Northeast: Crossings at Raritan Station, a 276-unit unit community in Raritan, NJ; The Hartlan, a 234-unit community in Linden, NJ; The Archive, a 166-unit apartment community in New Haven, CT; Brookside Gardens & Lynn Apartments, a 179-unit portfolio in Bridgeport, CT; 51 South, a 134-unit community in White Plains, NY; and The Grand Ryefield, a 90-unit townhome community in Bloomfield, CT.