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South Norwalk, Conn., office building looks to attract new tenants(Hour, The (Norwalk, CT) (KRT) Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) Sep. 10--NORWALK -- Cathy Gorman, office manager for Hughes Design Group in Norwalk, claims with all the confidence in the world: "I'd dare say we have the best views in town." The folks at Circle One Marketing are the only ones who could argue. Hughes Design Group, a packaging design and brand marketing strategy company, occupies the 12th floor of SoNo Corporate Center, otherwise known as 50 Washington Street, in the heart of South Norwalk. Gorman and the rest of the employees at Hughes Design enjoy bird's eye panoramic views of Norwalk from all angles, including water views of Norwalk Harbor and Long Island Sound. One story higher, on the Penthouse level, the advertising agency Circle One Marketing makes its home. Hughes Design is still settling into the building after a long stint in Norwalk near the Westport line. Gorman sits behind a reception desk that holds several examples of the company's work, such as packaging for Smirnoff, Stewart's Root Beer, Stonyfield Farm and Salada Tea. Hughes and Circle One are two of the more than 40 companies located within SoNo Corporate Center, the largest and highest building in booming South Norwalk. Other major tenants include EDGAR Online, a U.S. Passport Service office, Equilease Financial Services, Robert Harris and Co., Steven Winter Associates, and Transystems. The building was completed in 1972 and purchased in 1999 by SoNo Corporate Center, and managed under Prime Locations. In the last seven years the building has undergone several renovations and improvement projects, according to Lloyd Amster, managing partner of SoNo Corporate Center. The more than $8 million worth of improvement projects include: new elevators, new HVAC system, new lobby, retail expansion, additional parking, renovated common areas and new security and fire systems. Amster said a fitness center and dry cleaning service may be amenities the building will soon be able to offer. The building owners also spent nearly $20,000 -- $12,000 worth of flowers alone, according to Amster --this spring beautifying the outdoor courtyard in front of the building facing Washington Street. "It's public space, but we wanted to make it more appealing and comfortable for our tenants and for the community," Amster said. It has 175,000 square feet of corporate and retail space. It is currently about 88 percent leased and CB Richard Ellis was recently named as the exclusive leasing agent. "Hopefully we'll be 100 percent leased by the end of the year," Amster said. "That's our goal. Tenants can get a good value here. We're at about $26 per square foot. Most of the other buildings in Norwalk are in the mid 30s by now." The new owners also launched recently SoNo Corporate Suites, small office offerings on the building's seventh floor. The owner's offices are also on the seventh floor. "It's a great location and convenient to everything," said Mike Antonovich, president of The Space Connection, which leased a suite about a month ago. "There are a lot of places to eat and take clients." The greatest improvements and perhaps the building's greatest assets, according to Amster, are all about power. "We have 100 percent back-up power and redundancy with AT&T, SNET and Lightpath," Amster said while standing in the building's data room. "There's broadband access throughout the building and there's fiber optic lines running from the nearby railroad line." Standing on the roof, Amster points to what looks like a small trailer and says: "That's what really makes this building special." It's the backup generator, a 2 megawatt diesel generator capable of running the entire building -- and then some. "The building uses about 1.2 megawatts on its busiest day," Amster said. "One type of company we're trying to attract are those that require data centers. They require a lot cooling and need power." The generator took about a year to install and has been online since last June. It sits on the roof's helicopter pad. "It was sexy to say that we had a helicopter pad, but I think the backup power is more important," Amster said. The generator is also part of a load response program the building has with South Norwalk Electric Works, said Amster. "When SNEW has high power demand they ask us to turn on the backup power," Amster said. "It helps to prevent blackouts and brownouts. A few days this summer, on those 100 degree days, we ran the building on the generator and sent some excess power to the grid." Lee Lewitt, property manager at SoNo Corporate Center, said the power is a strong selling point to attract tenants. "It's one of the first things we talk about," Lewitt said. "Some buildings don't have sufficient backup and some buildings don't have any backup. Our tenants don't have to worry about losing anything." Amster said perhaps the most significant tenant his company has brought on board since purchasing the property is the U.S. Passport Service boutique office. "It gets about 200 visitors a day," he said. "It brings a lot of activity to the area and is a great addition to the city." Chase Bank and Plaza Delicatessen are other ground-level tenants at the complex. Amster feels SoNo Corporate Center has plenty to offer prospective tenants: a good value, a good view and more power than they would ever need. Its location in the heart of SoNo doesn't hurt, either. "A big attraction is the restaurants. South Norwalk has come a long way. It's become its own little niche," Amster said. "That's the original reason we were attracted to the building." To see more of The Hour, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.thehour.com. Copyright (c) 2006, The Hour, Norwalk, Conn. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News. 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