Down on Shippan Point in Stamford, one of the big waterfront office buildings is on its way to becoming somebody's home with a view of the Sound. Sun Homes, a New York and Connecticut homebuilder, and its partner Hudson Bay Capital have begun construction on The Caspian, an office-to-condo conversion at 70 Seaview Avenue that will hold 63 luxury residences.
The building is seven stories and about 241,000 square feet right on Long Island Sound. Multi-Housing News put the site at 1.38 acres. The developers say it's close to downtown Stamford and express Metro-North trains to Grand Central. Sun Homes says every residence will have its own private outdoor space, and buyers will get access to an on-site 57-slip marina.
Re-skinning an existing building
From a builder's point of view, this is a re-skin job. The architect, New York firm ODA, is keeping the building's existing structural form and adding a new, modern envelope designed to open up views of the water and bring in more natural light, according to the developers' announcement. Private outdoor space is being worked into every unit, which is no small detail when you're starting from an office building.
Multi-Housing News has reported that the residences will include one-, two- and three-bedroom homes plus townhouse-style units, along with private rooftop terraces and structured parking. The building was finished in 1986, once housed corporate tenants like XL America and Fraser Papers, and has been vacant for several years.
Getting here took some work. According to Multi-Housing News, the project was first approved in 2023 for 52 condos, then stalled when the Federal Emergency Management Agency raised concerns that the plan didn't meet its rules for coastal flood zones. The fix was to cut off the part of the building that didn't comply, which the outlet said would add $3 million to $4 million in costs. Sun Homes then won approval to raise the count to 63 units. The same report said the developer won't include affordable units on site and will instead pay about $1.8 million into Stamford's Affordable Housing Trust Fund.
Financing and schedule
Sun Homes says it has secured all the financing for the project. Walker & Dunlop arranged a $74.5 million loan for the acquisition and redevelopment, and Multi-Housing News reported the money came from an affiliate of Apollo Global Management.
"With its setting on the Long Island Sound, the residential character of Shippan Point, and a site that simply could not be recreated today, we saw the potential to create something truly distinctive," said Guy Mazzola, CEO and senior managing partner at Sun Homes. "By pairing adaptive reuse with ODA's transformative architectural approach, we are creating a boutique waterfront residential community uniquely suited to this setting."
Zachary Cion, a managing director at Hudson Bay Capital, said the project reflects the firm's "conviction in high-quality submarkets within commuting distance of New York City." He added, "With construction underway, we are thrilled to see this exciting next step for the Shippan Point waterfront come to life."
Sun Homes' own project page pitches it as a chance to "own a piece of the harbor," which tells you who the buyers will be and what they'll expect from the finish work. Multi-Housing News had reported over the summer that construction would start this fall, and the developers have now confirmed it's underway.
The Caspian's sales gallery is expected to open in spring 2027. The developers haven't publicly named a general contractor or given a completion date.
Sun Homes isn't new to this. The company says it has developed more than 10,000 homes representing over $2.6 billion in development value.
Why it matters for Contractors
The Caspian shows two things that are going to keep coming up along the Connecticut shoreline. First, empty office buildings are being turned into high-end for-sale housing, not just rentals, and luxury condos come with a finish level and a punch list to match. Second, flood rules can reshape a waterfront project before a single wall goes up. Here, FEMA's coastal requirements cost the developer a chunk of the building and millions of dollars in changes. Contractors working near the water should know the flood-zone rules as well as the building code, and price the extra time and engineering that come with them. Envelope, glazing, waterproofing and high-end finish subs will have plenty to do on a job like this.