Stark Office Suites paid $4.3 million for a prominent, 17-story office tower in downtown Hartford in 2017, marking the company’s first property acquisition and pushing its small office suite leasing business beyond New York.

In the Empire State, Stark leases space, fits it out and subleases it to small companies. The 130,547-square-foot office tower at 750 Main St. — originally built in 1922 for the Hartford Trust Co. — was the company’s first, and so far only, venture into ownership.

Adam Stark, president of Stark Office Suites, said the building’s historic character and central downtown location were key factors in the purchase. Then COVID-19 hit, accelerating remote work and battering office markets nationwide. Occupancy at the Stark Building fell from 78% to below 60%.

In the years since, the building has regained ground, with occupancy climbing from 58.5% to 72.5% over the past two years. The recovery, Stark and other experts say, reflects a narrower slice of today’s office demand: smaller tenants seeking flexible, move-in-ready suites, even as much of Hartford’s downtown office market continues to face elevated vacancies and weak demand for larger blocks of space.

NAI Lexington Commercial, which handles leasing at the Stark building, has helped secure 18 tenants, including a security firm, law offices and nonprofit organizations, most occupying less than 2,000 square feet, said Kevin Kenny, president of the brokerage. “There are just so many folks who had larger office footprints who were looking for something centrally located where they could downsize a bit,” Kenny said.

Stark said leasing momentum has been supported by the building’s quality condition, flexible suite sizes and lease terms, as well as brokerage efforts. “There’s all of these different factors that come into play,” Stark said……. Click to continue reading.