Crompton Corp. World HQ Changes Hands in $30M Deal

MIDDLEBURY, CT-CB Richard Ellis has brokered the sale of 199 Benson Road here, the world headquarters of Crompton Corp. for $30 million. The 320,000-sf building was sold by Winstanley Enterprises LLC to an affiliate of the Hampshire Cos. of Morristown, NJ, for approximately $93.75 per sf.

Tim Fegan, Steve Inglese, Bill Bronson, John McCormick and Patrick Mulready of CB Richard Ellis along with Jeffrey Dunne of the firm’s Tri-State Investment Team represented the seller and also procured the buyer.

The three-story 199 Benson Rd. property is a combination office/laboratory facility that is set on a 106-acre campus along Interstate 84. CBRE officials note that Crompton Corp. is undertaking capital improvements to its world headquarters property. The campus includes a 38,000-sf power plant that produces steam and hot and chilled water for the main building. The area is known as Corporate Woods and is home to such firms as IBM, Duracell and Bayer.

Commenting on the sale, CBRE’s Dunne notes, “199 Benson Rd. offers a good, long-term stable investment backed by Crompton Corporation’s solid credit and their 100 years in the chemical business. Hampshire should fare very well in the long term with this investment.”

CB Richard Ellis’ McCormick adds that the property offers Hampshire “a stable cash flow and development potential.”

The sellers were also represented by Carter and David Winstnaley of Winstanley Enterprises. Leslie Olear, a partner with Cohn Birnbaum & Shea provided legal services to the seller.

Crompton Corp., which posts annual sales of approximately $2.2 billion, is a producer and marketer of specialty chemicals and polymer products and equipment. The Hampshire Cos. operates through commingled discretionary real estate investment funds. The funds are value-added investment vehicles, according to the firm, that target industrial and retail properties in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast. The company also operates a diverse portfolio of more than 15 million sf of space.