Hartford’s ‘Gold Building’ inks another lease, further strengthening leasing in iconic downtown tower [Hartford Courant]

Hartford Courant (CT)

A Florida-based insurance and employee benefits broker is expanding its lease at downtown Hartford’s One Financial Plaza office tower, the “Gold Building,” and will relocate employees from an office in Rocky Hill early next year, it was announced Wednesday.

AssuredPartners’ lease comes just two weeks after the Gold Building inked a major lease with Sun Life Financial, a major life insurer, to relocate its regional office in Windsor to downtown Hartford.

With the addition of the AssuredPartners lease, the Gold Building will have a high, 90% occupancy. The number of AssuredPartners employees in Hartford and Rocky Hill could not immediately be determined.

“This new lease is a strong sign that our economy is rebounding from the pandemic and that interest in downtown Hartford is on its way back and poised to attract amazing talent,” Alan Lazowski, founder of Hartford-based parking giant LAZ Parking and principal owner of LAZ Investments, said, in a release.

LAZ Investments and Brooklyn, N.Y.-based Shelbourne Global Solutions, downtown Hartford’s largest commercial landlord, co-own the Gold Building. They bought the 26-story office tower for $70.5 million in 2019.

AssuredPartners has occupied 10,000 square feet in the office tower at the corner of Pearl and Main streets since acquiring People’s United Insurance Agency last year, which had a lease for the space. The insurance and benefits broker has now signed a seven-year lease for 17,800 square feet that begins in February.

In addition to LAZ Parking, other tenants in the Gold Building include Travelers Cos., Inc., Virtus Investment, Global Atlantic, KPMG and Conning & Co.

Founded in 2011, AssuredPartners is a partnership of independent property-casualty and employee benefits brokerage firms with offices in 38 states and two countries, according to its website.

Two weeks ago, the U.S. arm of Toronto-based Sun Life announced plans to lease 47,000 square feet and create a regional hub in the Gold Building. Sun Life said it would create a hybrid workspace where its workforce of 300 would work either full- or part-time when the space is ready next fall. The lease covers enough space, Sun Life said, that it could accommodate up to 450, allowing for anticipated future growth.

Kenneth R. Gosselin can be reached at kgosselin@courant.com.