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A ‘Spec’ on the Horizon
Beckerman gets a rise out of One Audubon gamble
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CONNTACT.COM
10/14/2002
By: Mitchell Young
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NEW HAVEN - At an unusual (for New Haven, at least) September 30 "topping off" ceremony, the last steel beam was raised into place atop of the six-story One Audubon, a 60,000-square-foot building. The building is the first new office building to be constructed in downtown New Haven in more than a decade.
The project is being developed by the Acorn Group, owned by former Starter Sportswear founder David Beckerman.
One Audubon is attached to a garage with 328 spaces as well as Granite Square, a 48,000-square-foot office building at 700 State Street. Built in 1990, it is likewise owned by Acorn.
According to project architect Jerry Kagan of Kagan Co. Architects & Planners, One Audubon will echo the glass-and-granite block construction of Granite Square, also designed by Kagan.
"We're putting this up without any bank financing or committed tenants,” said Beckerman. “I believe in the renaissance that is taking place in this city, and that is why I made the decision to begin construction of One Audubon.”
Added Beckerman: "We're currently developing three distinct properties - One Audubon, 370 James Street [the former Starter headquarters] and land off Derby Avenue in West Haven.
Of the properties, Beckerman said: “370 James is a fantastic environment; more than $22 million was originally invested in that building. In our Derby Avenue land [off Route 34 in West Haven] we've started putting in roads and drainage and have already had to turn away potential tenants that didn't fit the tenant mix of an office/technology park.
“With these three properties being developed,” Beckerman added, “we think we're in a unique position to help a [tenant] company across a wide variety of needs.”
General contractor Giordano Construction was abetted by a dry summer to push the building ahead of schedule. Completion, originally scheduled for next fall, may come as early as the summer of 2003, according to Beckerman.
Said Carl Traub of the commercial real-estate firm Traub & Co., leasing agent for One Audubon : "The vacancy rate for Class A office space in New Haven is just five percent - far below the rates elsewhere in Connecticut and the nation. While such a low rate of vacancy is a sign of economic health, it can be a hindrance to economic growth.”
Added Beckerman, “Without modern office space to grow into, the new companies emerging in New Haven are going to leave the city.”
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