SkyREM Keeps a Full House at Connecticut Warehouse

November 17, 2022

With the assistance of Cushman & Wakefield, the landlord signed a lease renewal for 126,800 square feet.

550 Research Parkway. Image courtesy of SkyREM

SkyREM has signed Fosdick Fulfillment Corp. to a lease renewal at 550 Research Parkway, the real estate investor and developer’s 358,000-square-foot industrial asset in Meriden, Conn. Fosdick committed to staying put in its space of approximately 126,800 square feet, where it has made a home since 2016.

Located on roughly 25 acres midway between Boston and New York City, 550 Research occupies a prime position to provide regional access in the Northeast. The property first opened its doors in 1968, but has maintained its luster through various upgrades, including a capital improvement program in the years before 2018, when SkyREM, then Sky Management Services, acquired the asset in an $18 million transaction.

Since taking ownership of 550 Research, SkyREM has taken the property to new heights. In 2019, the company—which places sustainable, value-add improvements at the core of its ownership strategy—upgraded the logistics facility with the installation of a 1.5-megawatt rooftop solar installation as part of a previous lease renewal with Fosdick. The multimillion-dollar renewable energy project not only decreased the property’s carbon footprint, it also transformed the site into a completely sustainable facility.

SkyREM relied on Timothy D’Addabbo of Cushman & Wakefield for representation in the lease transaction at the property which has Medline as lead tenant. Medline renewed its lease at 550 Research in 2019 as well.

No place to go

The Central Connecticut industrial market changed quite a bit quarter-over-quarter, with the vacancy rate decreasing 30 basis points to 4.9 percent in the third quarter of 2022, according to a report by Cushman & Wakefield. And even with 600,000 square feet of new space having delivered, overall absorption totaled 1.2 million square feet, marking the highest absorption level since 2020 and an about-face from the negative absorption of the second quarter of 2022.

Looking forward, the market fundamentals indicate a good time for owners and a daunting future for hopeful tenants. “With over 4.2 million square feet of leasing activity year-to-date, demand for industrial space is at an all-time high,” the report shows.