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August 7, 2020

On tail-end of longtime HQ lease, CT Lotto assesses realty options

Photo | Connecticut Lottery Connecticut Lottery's headquarters at 777 Brook St. in Rocky Hill.
By Matt Pilon

With the 15-year lease on its Rocky Hill headquarters three years away from expiration, the Connecticut Lottery Corp. is assessing its options.

Lottery management is currently reviewing proposals solicited from real estate brokers and intends to select one soon to help it evaluate area real estate.

The agency’s current lease for 777 Brook St., inked in 2008, expires in May 2023.

Lottery spokesman Peter Donahue said Friday that hiring a broker merely means the lottery is doing its due diligence, not that there is any dissatisfaction with the 93,000-square-foot property, nor that it won’t necessarily negotiate a renewal with its current landlord.

The lottery is currently paying $87,000 a month for its headquarters lease, according to its 2019 annual report.

The COVID-19 pandemic, which has led to many Connecticut employees working remotely, could impact market conditions in a positive way for the lottery. 

“People will probably be a little bit more interested in giving us a favorable rate,” Donahue said. 

In another lottery real estate development, CEO Greg Smith informed board members in July that management was discussing with its regulator, the Department of Consumer Protection, potential future alternatives to live broadcasts of daily drawings, which are conducted in leased space at the Fox61 studio in Hartford. At the time, the lottery was in lease negotiations with Fox61.

Donahue couldn’t provide an update on those talks Friday, and live broadcasts continue as normal. However, he said the lottery recently signed a one-year extension with Fox61 for the draw studio space.

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