VOLUME 24 NUMBER 18
OCTOBER-DECEMBER 1994
OFFICE
225 HIGH RIDGE ROAD
STAMFORD, CONNECTICUT
PROJECT TYPE
A 221,630-square-foot two-building office
complex located one-half mile north of
downtown Stamford, Connecticut. The
buildings are secluded in the heavily wooded
terrain of the property yet offer all the
amenities of a major urban center.
SPECIAL FEATURES
Distinctive architecture reminiscent of
the large estates once in the area
Efficient, flexible interiors that are
easily subdivided and capable of
accommodating small and large
tenants
Full-service dining facility, 1.1-mile
fitness course, and fitness center
DEVELOPER/MANAGER
Gerald D. Hines Interests
2800 Post Oak Boulevard
Houston, Texas 77056-6118
713-621-8000
ARCHITECT
Skidmore, Owings & Merrill
220 East 42nd Street
New York, New York 10017
LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT
The SWA Group
Boston, Massachusetts
CIVIL ENGINEER
Allan Davis Associates, Inc.
Norwalk, Connecticut 06851
GENERAL DESCRIPTION
The 225 High Ridge Road office complex, a 221,630-square-foot two building facility, is
located one-half mile north of downtown Stamford, Connecticut, in Fairfield County. With
more than 40 million square feet of office space, 5,000 hotel rooms, and the corporate
headquarters for 25 Fortune 500 firms, Fairfield County has become a nationally recognized
office location. Unlike most other suburban locations in the metropolitan New York area,
Fairfield County has largely retained its suburban character and natural beauty. The site at
225 High Ridge Road was the last one available for development in the north Stamford area.
Developed by Gerald D. Hines Interests at a total cost of $53 million, the first phase of 225
High Ridge Road opened in the spring of 1990, 15 months after the start of construction. The
second building was completed three months later. Currently fully occupied at top rental
rates, these buildings were 97 percent leased at completion—a striking contrast with the 20
percent vacancy rate for Class A office space that Stamford has averaged over the last four
years.
THE SITE AND PLAN
The 225 High Ridge Road complex sits on a 14-acre parcel within a 30-acre master plan
developed in conjunction with Waldenbooks, whose recently expanded headquarters building
is located just to the south. In December 1986, Waldenbooks acquired a 23-acre site adjacent
to its seven-acre headquarters property to accommodate its expansion requirements.
Concurrently, Hines and Waldenbooks agreed to seek approval for a unified master plan of the
30-acre parcel and stipulated that Hines would subsequently purchase that portion of the
property not required for the Waldenbooks expansion.
The New York office of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill designed both the master plan for the
coordinated development and the two Hines buildings. Following an extensive review process
involving complex environmental remediation, approvals required to develop the master plan
were obtained, and the property was subdivided in late 1988.
The three low-density office buildings and connecting roadways on the 30-acre site blend into
the secluded parklike setting of the property. The master plan achieves a consistency in
design through common treatment of outdoor lighting, landscaping, and signage. Though
compatible in design and similar in scale, the Waldenbooks and 225 High Ridge Road
complexes have distinctive identities. The mature vegetation in the center of the property and
the shared main entry drive from High Ridge Road separate and define the two areas.
A 1.1-mile fitness course with ten exercise stations curves through the woods. This heavily
used amenity is open to the public as well as project tenants and has been the staging area
for community-sponsored events such as the Stamford Marathon.
The site's frontage along High Ridge Road is opposite an established residential area. To
minimize any disruption to the neighborhood, the buildings are set back on the property and
entry signage is unobtrusive. The 225 High Ridge Road complex is completely separated from
a residential neighborhood at its northern boundary by a massive berm and thick buffer of
trees. The eastern section of the site is heavily wooded, contributing to the sense of privacy
and place.
DESIGN
The site plan for 225 High Ridge Road is an oval shape set into the wooded landscape. At the
center of the site is an oval-shaped courtyard, which is the focal point of the project and
across which the East and West Buildings face each other. A curved arcade connects the two
buildings and provides access to services such as a cafeteria and a fitness center.
The oval shape of the courtyard is repeated in the landscaping around the buildings and in the
arrangement of the parking areas, where 339 parking spaces are distributed evenly around
the two buildings to minimize walking distances. To preserve the existing vegetation,
designers included an additional 332 parking spaces in an underground garage, for a total
ratio of more than three spaces per 1,000 square feet of office space. Traffic circulation within
the project is facilitated by a ring road. From the main entry drive, visitors approach the two
buildings through the central courtyard, which features a stand of birch trees more than 20
feet in height.
The classical masonry style architecture of the two buildings employs brick, precast concrete,
and clear glass, reminiscent of the large estates that once dotted the area. David Childs,
senior architect for the project, says, "The idea was to create a sense of arrival at important
buildings, akin to what is found at a college campus."
Unified through siting and symmetry, the buildings achieve individuality through separate
entrances marked by central pavilions. Incorporating a distinctive brick pattern, the entrance
pavilion for each building terminates in a barrel vault that is repeated on the outer entrances,
providing a strong architectural identity when viewed from either the courtyard or High Ridge
Road.
TENANTS
The buildings have been designed to achieve a maximum of efficiency and flexibility in tenant
office facilities. Within the buildings, large rectangular floors offer the opportunity to
consolidate operations in a single comprehensive plan, providing an advantage for tenants
anticipating continued growth. Ranging in size from 35,000 to 40,000 square feet, the floors
have been configured to optimize usable space and to accommodate either open office or
partitioned layouts. Oversized windows, more than seven feet tall and six feet wide, offer
natural light and views of the outdoors. A central core, two major entrances on the ground
floor, and regular column spacing at 30-foot intervals allow the flexibility to plan smaller to
medium-sized units.
Two years into its ten-year lease, Chrysler Capital Corporation, originally the only tenant in
the East Building, subleased nearly 60,000 square feet of its 115,000 square feet to
Bristol-Myers Squibb Company. The space proved so easy to subdivide that there was no
disruption in the rental stream.
Learning International, the largest tenant in the West Building at 225 High Ridge Road,
occupies 55,000 square feet. U.S. Trust Company of Connecticut and Centerchem each lease
10,000 square feet of space. Six other tenants range in size from 2,000 to 8,000 square feet.
EXPERIENCE GAINED
The planning and design for a business location must focus on the occupancy
experience. The developer should concentrate on providing services that will make the
space work from the tenants' perspective and on making the space efficient and flexible
in layout and operation.
A well-conceived project combines form and function. Hines was faithful to its design
concept of creating a stately, tradition-inspired sense of place that also provides its
tenants with technologically advanced systems and a wide array of amenities and
services.
PROJECT DATA
LAND USE INFORMATION
Site Area: 14.63 acres
Gross Building Area (GBA): 240,000 square feet
Net Rentable Area (NRA): 221,630 square feet
Average Floor Size: 35,000 square feet
Floor/Area Ratio: 0.38
Total Parking Spaces: 671
Structured: 332
Surface: 339
LAND USE PLAN
Acres
Percent of Site
Buildings
1.60
10.9
Paved areas (surface parking and roads)
2.40
16.4
Landscaped areas
6.01
41.1
Other
4.62
31.6
14.63
100.0
Total
OFFICE TENANT INFORMATION
Percent of NRA Occupied: 100 percent
Average Annual Rent: $17.71 per square foot
Length of Leases: 3 to 10 years
Typical Terms of Lease: Tenant improvements, $10 per square foot; 5-year lease
Average Tenant Size: 50,000 square feet
Tenant Sizes: 1,156 to 58,249 square feet
ANNUAL OPERATING EXPENSES (1993)
Taxes
$572,000
Insurance
32,000
Services (cafeteria, van
service, building management
services)
514,000
Maintenance
175,000
Janitorial
226,000
Utilities
617,000
Management
241,000
Total
$2,377,000
DEVELOPMENT COST INFORMATION
Site Acquisition Cost $10,606,629
Site Improvement Costs (On- and Off-Site)
Excavation
$450,000
Grading
312,500
Sewer/water/drainage
375,000
Paving
314,105
Curbs/sidewalks
249,000
Landscaping/irrigation
902,500
Miscellaneous
480,600
Total
$3,083,705
Construction Costs
Superstructure
$11,106,206
HVAC
1,857,720
Electrical
1,333,500
Plumbing/sprinklers
1,523,000
Elevators
463,200
Fees/general conditions
2,030,330
Finishes
1,586,238
Graphics/specialties
Change orders and tenant
work
Total
55,760
5,879,620
$25,835,574
Soft Costs
Architecture/engineering
$ 2,193,000
Project management
3,070,000
Leasing/marketing
6,570,000
Legal/accounting
240,277
Taxes/insurance
415,000
Title fees
57,094
Construction interest and fees
475,000
Miscellaneous
600,000
Total
$13,620,371
Total Development Cost $53,146,279
Development Cost per Gross Square Foot: $221
Development Cost per Net Square Foot: $240
DEVELOPMENT SCHEDULE
Site Purchased: November 1988
Planning Started: March 1987
Construction Started: January 1989
Leasing Started: March 1987
Phase I Completed: April 1990
Project Completed: July 1990
DIRECTIONS
From Westchester, New York, Airport: Take northbound Merritt Parkway; exit at High Ridge
Road (Exit 35). Turn right on High Ridge Road and proceed approximately two miles. Building
is on the left.
Driving Time: Approximately 40 minutes in nonpeak traffic.
The Project Reference File is intended as a resource tool for use by the subscribers in improving the quality of
future projects. Data contained herein were made available by the Development team and constitute a report
on, not an endorsement of, the project by ULI - The Urban Land Institute.
Copyright 1994, 1997, by ULI - the Urban Land Institute
1025 Thomas Jefferson Street, N. W. Ste. 500w, Washington, D. C. 20007-5201
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