CBRE has completed the sale of 101 and 201 Merritt 7, a pair of Class A office buildings totaling 511,318 square feet in Norwalk, CT, on behalf of Merritt 7 Venture LLC. The two assets are located within the larger Merritt 7 office park and were originally constructed in 1980 and 1982. Following the transaction, a joint venture comprising Saber-Hightower LLC, Granoff Real Estate and Wind River Holdings intends to reposition the buildings from office use to a multifamily community branded as M7 Lofts.
The planned M7 Lofts project calls for 286 luxury apartment units within the two former office properties. In addition to the residential component, the joint venture plans to create more than 55,000 square feet of amenity space to support the new multifamily offering. While the broader office park has historically functioned as a traditional corporate campus, the conversion of 101 and 201 Merritt 7 signals a significant change in the use of these particular buildings.
CBRE vice chairman Jeffrey Dunne, first vice president Eric Apfel, investment sales director Travis Langer and senior financial analyst Eric Greenberg represented the seller in the disposition. The same CBRE team also procured the purchaser, representing the joint venture that acquired the properties and will lead the conversion effort. The involvement of multiple senior-level professionals highlights the complexity of repositioning large-scale office assets into multifamily use.
On the financing side, Bank OZK has provided a senior construction loan of $75,500,000 to fund the conversion of 101 and 201 Merritt 7 into M7 Lofts. The loan proceeds are expected to support the full scope of the adaptive reuse, including the residential build-out and the creation of the planned amenity program. The senior construction financing underscores the role of bank lenders in capitalizing office-to-residential conversions where zoning and project scale align.
The site benefits from Norwalk’s 2023 comprehensive rezoning, which assigns the property an as-of-right residential density of up to 564 units. Despite that higher entitlement ceiling, the joint venture’s current plan is limited to 286 loft-style apartments, well below the maximum density permitted under the updated zoning. The decision to pursue a lower unit count than the as-of-right allowance reflects a targeted approach to reusing the existing office structures while adapting them to multifamily living standards within the Merritt 7 office park.
