WINDSOR/HARTFORD, CT — The Hartford Insurance Co.’s massive office building in Windsor will soon be mostly empty and town officials are scrambling to see what happens next.
The Hartford Insurance spokesman Matthew Sturdevant confirmed Thursday morning the company’s intention to leave the building it owns in Windsor and base about 500 workers there to the main Hartford headquarters, though many still work remotely.
He said the pandemic’s impact on where people work and that relation to company real estate holdings played a role in the decision.
“We regularly assess our real estate portfolio to ensure the ongoing needs of the business are being met efficiently and effectively. As part of that process, and to optimize the use of our Connecticut office buildings, we are transitioning our Windsor-based employees to Hartford ,” Sturdevant said in a statement.
“Most of our employees who worked in the Windsor office before the pandemic are now working remotely and continue to do so. Others who have a hybrid schedule will be going to the Hartford office.”
While it doesn’t necessarily mean an influx of workers into the The Hartford’s Asylum Avenue address, Sturdevant said the company remains committed to the city it calls home and is the company’s namesake.
“As we consider our real estate portfolio, we continue to maintain a strong presence in the City of Hartford, where we have been headquartered for more than 210 years,” he said.
Meanwhile, Windsor town officials are scrambling to ascertain the next steps regarding the situation, with a large, mostly empty office building never desired by any municipality.
Windsor Economic Development Director Patrick McMahon said late Thursday morning he is monitoring the situation regarding what happens next.
“We’ll be reaching out to The Hartford officials and determining what the next steps are,” McMahon said Thursday.
Regardless, McMahon said the town has no interest in the site and filling the four-story, facility is always a local priority.
The Hartford’s Windsor property is at 1 Griffin Road North and, according to the Windsor tax assessor’s office, it is assessed at more than $44.3 million.
Given that an assessed value is 70 percent of market value, the actual value of the building, according to the assessor’s office, is $63.3 million.
Sturdevant said The Hartford will either lease or sell the Griffin Road site.
“We will be exploring opportunities to further lease or sell the Windsor building,” he said.
Sturdevant said about two-thirds of the building would be empty, with a third of the site already leased out to other companies.
He said there will be 250,000 square feet available and tenants occupy approximately 150,000 square feet and there is about 50,000 square feet of common.
Talcott Resolution, Waste Management and Aflac lease space in The Hartford’s Windsor building, Sturdevant said.
For information on The Hartford’s 1 Griffin Road North site in Windsor, visit this link.
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