Ridgefield Medical Building Sells for $7M

RIDGEFIELD, CT-Ridgefield Professional Office Complex LLC and its principals Richard Lipton MD and Jay Clearfield MD acquired the 205,000-sf 901 Ethan Allen Highway property here for $7 million. ASML USA Inc. was the seller.

The deal also included the surrounding 50 acres of the property. CB Richard Ellis’ Sean Cahill, Michael Dillon and Greg White represented the seller and procured the buyer.

The new ownership plans to split the building into two separate structures, one of which will measure 100,000 sf and will house a 25,000-sf ambulatory/surgery center for outpatient care for Ridgefield Surgical Center LLC, a newly formed joint venture between Danbury Hospital and local physicians. The hospital will also lease 8,200 sf of space for a comprehensive radiology center pending approval from the Connecticut State Office of HealthCare Access, CB Richard Ellis officials report.

Another tenant that has signed on at the property is Advanced Specialty Care PC, which will relocate its offices in Ridgefield to 7,620 sf of space at the building for its multi-specialty surgery practice. The remaining 50,000 sf of space in that building is available for lease.

A zoning change was required to allow the hospital and other medical service provider uses at the building. The hospital expects to open its operations at 901 Ethan Allen Highway by the summer of 2006.

The South Building, which will total approximately 60,000 sf of space, will retain its original research and development/laboratory use, but will be upgraded to accommodate high-end tenants, CB Richard Ellis officials say. Cahill notes that the new ownership displayed creativity in converting an industrial building into a medical facility.

“For a period of time, no one could see the potential of 901 Ethan Allen Highway,” Cahill says. “It took a developer with vision and a forward-thinking tenant to realize the opportunity presented by the building and its location near a large residential population.”

Dr. Lipton adds, “The local community, in fact, will benefit greatly from the Danbury Hospital installation. Making healthcare convenient is a growing trend in the medical world, and building a facility like the one planned for 901 Ethan Allen Highway will take outpatient care in Ridgefield to another level.” Drs. Lipton and Klarsfeld also own and manage Professional Office Park, a four-building medical office complex off of exit 8 of I-84.