Anthem Pursuing Sale Leaseback of 100 Acre Regional HQ in Connecticut

Conntact.com - August 31, 2006

The 100-acre Anthem Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Connecticut headquarters at 370 Bassett Road is for sale, a company official confirms. Jones Lang LaSalle, a major player in property and corporate facility-management services, will be "officially" posting the listing in the next few weeks, according to Karen A. Nobile, Anthem's director of corporate communications.

In a statement, Nobile said the decision to sell the property and pursue a long-term lease arrangement stems from a comprehensive company evaluation, underway since 1999, "to evaluate the pros and cons of owning versus leasing real estate; and specifically looking at a sale lease-back arrangement along the lines of what a growing number of national firms have implemented as a financial best practice."
The property contains four commercial buildings totaling 574,748 square feet.

Nobile says Anthem "intends to lease back on a long-term basis 100 percent of the office space it is currently occupying, which represents approximately 80 percent of the office capacity" at the site. The selling price will be based on competitive bidding, she adds. Sphere: Related Content