Hartford’s CT River Plaza sells for $6.7M

Connecticut River Plaza, a one-time showcase office property in downtown Hartford, has a new owner from New York City who paid $6,666,667 for the property, city records show.

Connecticut River Plaza LLC bought the two buildings on 1.7 acres at 450 Columbus Blvd. with 556,000 square feet from Boston's U.S. Bank N.A., according to papers filed with the Hartford City Clerk's office.

According to Jones Lang LaSalle, the buildings' leasing broker, FBE Limited and Cammeby's International, owner of State House Square in downtown Hartford, are investors in the limited liability corporation that bought them.

July 23 date stamps on conveyance tax records and deed papers filed with the clerk's office indicate the deal was closed late last week. Records indicate this may have been a cash transaction. No mortgage document tied to the property was filed with the clerk's office.

UnitedHealthcare recently moved its Hartford operations and about 2,000 workers from Connecticut River Plaza to CityPlace, 185 Asylum St., in the heart of the city's central business district.

The sale completes one of the most anticipated transactions in the recent history of downtown Hartford's commercial office market.

Realty insiders say the sale will likely trigger a round of millions of dollars invested by the new owner to continue sprucing up the 25-year-old twin towers to accommodate new tenants.

Jones Lang LaSalle spent more than a year shopping the property on the market. The firm says the lobby space and elevators have been updated. The property also has 800-space parking garage and access to 1,500 more in the city's Morgan Street garage.

The property built by Connecticut developer Richard Gordon over the years has had Travelers, Smith Barney and Citigroup among its tenants.

The new owner could not be immediately reached for comment.