Fairfield County Business Journal: 091619

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PRINT JOURNALISM: BECAUSE IT STILL MATTERS. SEPTEMBER 16, 2019 VOL. 55, No. 37

westfaironline.com

The launch party at last year’s edition of Stamford Innovation Week.

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PURDUE PHARMA PROBLEMS

Stamford Innovation Week becoming major regional event BY KEVIN ZIMMERMAN kzimmerman@westfairinc.com

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ith its inaugural edition having surpassed expectations, Stamford Innovation Week is returning this year with even more ambitious plans, according to founder Jonathan Winkel. “Last year we were looking for about 1,000 people to attend and we ended up sell-

ing roughly 2,400 tickets,” he said. “We’d love to say it was the best idea ever, but a big part of it was that these people and companies were already looking for something like this.” Stylized as SiW, the event evolved from the now-defunct Stamford Technology Week, which for several years primarily pitched itself as a must-attend event for developers and designers. When Winkel took over, the

CBRE SEES RENEWED INTEREST IN OFFICE MARKET, SIGNS OF ENCOURAGEMENT IN RETAIL BY KEVIN ZIMMERMAN

focus expanded to include entrepreneurs of all stripes, along with students and a wider-ranging number of corporations. This year’s corporate partners and participants range from household names such as Deloitte, NBCUniversal, GE Healthcare and Mastercard to Stamford firms Office Evolution, Half Full Brewery and RPM Raceway. And, in keeping with past tradition, “the week” runs for nine days, from Sept. 19-27, at various locations around the city. “We’re hoping for 5,000 to 7,000 people this year,” Winkel said. “The idea is to expand by 20, 30, even » » STAMFORD

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kzimmerman@westfairinc.com

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ob growth, increased leasing activity and slowly improving rental rates are generating renewed interest in office asset investment in Fairfield County, according to CBRE, while the retail market, still struggling in the face of the growing e-commerce effect, is showing encouraging signs of life. The July sales of the Vineyard Vines headquarters at 181 Harbor Drive in Stamford ($33.5 million) and of the Class A office complex at 8-10 Wright St. in Westport ($30 million), featuring all new curtain wall and common areas, reinforce the trend of

well-maintained institutional assets attracting multiple investors, according to the firm. In both cases, pricing exceeded $350 per square foot. High-weighted average lease terms (WALT) are also attracting buyers, as demonstrated by the Wright Street transaction, an off-market deal that CBRE said exceeded seller Marcus Partners’ pricing expectations. CBRE said it is seeing similar interest in 54 Wilton Road in Westport, with a 10-year WALT, and Grand Street Plaza at 150 Grand St. in White Plains, which has a seven-year average. The former property, marketed as Bankside at National Hall, is being redeveloped as a 26,200-square-foot, » » CBRE

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