Vacant Office Building To Be Demolished For New Warehouse

STAMFORD, CT — A 70,000 square-foot vacant office building at 419 West Ave. in Stamford has been approved for demolition, paving the way for a new 75,000-square-foot high-bay warehouse as part of an overhaul of the property by real estate developer and owner V20 Group.

Additionally, a new tenant, ABCO HVACR Supply + Solutions will be moving into the other building at 419 West Ave. 5th Avenue Auctions will be leasing a subterranean space for storage at the third building on the property, listed at 650 West Ave. LaserShip, a last-mile delivery company for e-commerce, already leases on the ground floor.

The property was purchased by V20 Group for $20.5 million last August from Robert Martin Company.

Demolition of the office building is expected to take place within the next few weeks. Construction on the warehouse is expected to last a year to 14 months, according to Joe Vaccaro, partner at V20 Group.

V20 Group is currently working on finding a tenant to occupy the new warehouse.

Vaccaro said interested tenants have run the gamut from traditional storage or last-mile delivery services, to sports and even entertainment.

Vaccaro said he expects a tenant for the warehouse to be in place well before construction is finished.

There has been increased demand for industrial spaces ever since the COVID-19 pandemic began, Vaccaro noted.

While Stamford has had a large industrial presence in southern Fairfield County, most of that property has been redeveloped into large high-rises and apartment buildings, Vaccaro said.

"When we saw this come on the market, it was exciting to us because you could actually have a decent amount of square footage that you could put into the area because it's zoned appropriately," he said.

Also, the industrial market, especially in lower Fairfield County, has been filled with antiquated buildings.

"There's just not much in this area of the state that can service the need for potential tenants," he said.

The warehouse is appealing, Vaccaro said, because of the proposed ceiling height and the ability for it to house heavy vehicles and forklifts. It's also located conveniently to I-95.

"It has the potential to draw some really nice tenants," Vaccaro said. "I'm hoping it will have a positive effect on the city."