George Comfort & Sons signs Philip Morris as Stamford tenant

Tobacco company to move Manhattan HQ in 2022

George Comfort & Sons’ Peter Duncan (right), Philip Morris International CEO Jacek Olczak and 677 Washington Boulevard in Connecticut (George Comfort & Sons, Philip Morris, Google Maps)
George Comfort & Sons’ Peter Duncan (right), Philip Morris International CEO Jacek Olczak and 677 Washington Boulevard in Connecticut (George Comfort & Sons, Philip Morris, Google Maps)

Philip Morris International is slated to say goodbye to the Big Apple next year, but will maintain its New York connection through its new landlord.

The tobacco giant recently signed a 12-year lease for 71,500 square feet at 677 Washington Boulevard, a three-building office complex in downtown Stamford, Connecticut. The property has been managed by Manhattan-based George Comfort & Sons since 2018, when the firm joined California-based AVG Partners in the property’s ownership.

In June, the company revealed its plans to move its headquarters in New York City to southwest Connecticut, but didn’t specify a new office location. By late 2022, the company will move its 200 employees from its current space at Global Holdings’ 120 Park Avenue in Manhattan to the entire 11th and 12th floors in the Stamford complex.

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Philip Morris did not comment on the new lease, but CEO Jacek Olczak previously said the move coincides with the company’s transitioning focus from cigarettes to noncombustible alternatives.

The Class A complex at 677 Washington Boulevard consists of a 13-story office building, a seven-story pavilion and a three-story retail and ancillary building. Built in 1998, the property at one point stood vacant after UBS moved its local offices to a building across the street in 2016. The owners repositioned the property and has steadily increased its occupancy.

With the Philip Morris deal, in addition to a 22,000-square-foot expansion lease signed by property and casualty insurance company XL Global Services, the complex is now 95 leased, according to the landlord. Other tenants include World Wrestling Entertainment, KPMG and Perkins Eastman.