above: The façade of the building at 50 Pine Street was given a fresh look, but has basically remained unchanged.
When New Canaan’s Tom Burger co-founded the private equity firm Gridiron Capital in 2005, he ran it out of a small office on Grove Street. Burger had spent the better part of a decade commuting into New York and was looking for the quality of life that working close to home would afford. Twenty years later, quality of life remains a top priority for Burger and the Gridiron team.
The interior, however, was taken down to the studs and rebuilt to meet the firm’s needs.
GROWTH STRATEGY
As Gridiron expanded from its original four employees, they moved to a larger office space across the street from Walter Stewarts on Elm Street. But as the headcount exceeded 50, they were bursting at the seams.
“There wasn’t a lot of Grade A office space in town,” explains Burger. They toured surrounding towns, looking at options in Norwalk and Stamford, but kept coming back to the charm and central location of New Canaan. “We have the best aspects of the city, but none of the negatives,” adds Burger. Ultimately, they decided to purchase an existing building in New Canaan and find an architect to transform it to meet their needs.
LOCATION INTELLIGENCE
Just steps from the train station and downtown New Canaan, the three brick buildings along Pine Street had the charm Gridiron was looking for: low profile, green space in front, parking tucked back behind the buildings. It was recommended they buy all three buildings and knock them down to build anew. “But we didn’t want that to happen,” says Burger. “So many of us live here, it was important to maintain the scale and value of our town.” They settled on 50 Pine Street, the old Beval Saddlery building, and called CPG Architects in Stamford to breathe life back into the space.
“The building was in dire straits,” remembers Karen Lika, principal at CPG. “The systems in the building were way beyond their end of life.” But CPG was accustomed to this type of challenging project. The company is known for repositioning existing buildings and transforming them into something new.
FAST TRACK
When construction began in April 2021, the country was dealing with COVID restrictions and most of the Gridiron employees were working from home. The firm hoped to turn the project around as quickly as possible, so when employees came back to the office, it would be in the new space.
“We wanted it to be more modern and lighter, to create energy and an openness that promotes teamwork,” says Kevin Jackson, managing partner at Gridiron. “We also wanted to be thoughtful about how we were going to use the space.” That included creating an outdoor area out back for employees where they could get fresh air and congregate.
CPG managed to complete construction in September 2022. The result is a state-of-the-art workplace with a modern, industrial interior housed inside a refreshed but original exterior façade. The open layout allows for tons of natural light but also provides ample office and conferencing space. The lower-level pantry seamlessly connects to the outdoor area, which Gridiron also uses for entertaining—including bringing in food trucks for employees.
CLIENT CONNECTIONS
The new headquarters has made day-to-day operations easier for the growing company, but has also allowed Gridiron to retain that small-town character that is appealing to their clients.
As investors in middle-market companies that are based in places like Ohio and Arkansas, Burger and Jackson emphasize how valuable it is to bring clients to visit them in a warm, welcoming community. “We value relationships, which is obvious when these teams come in to see us,” says Jackson “When we walk into town and bring clients to lunch, they see us interact with people and places in town that we frequent because we live here.” That connection is something the clients can relate to, and it makes them feel more comfortable.
EMPLOYEE RETENTION
When asked if keeping the company’s headquarters in a small community has affected Gridiron’s ability to recruit employees, Burger says it has been quite the opposite. “Being in New Canaan has been a big draw,” he explains. “We have been able to attract and bring in the very best people.” Beyond the location, a big part of Gridiron’s appeal is that they are known for their emphasis on mentoring and training.
That they also prioritize quality of life for themselves and their employees speaks volumes about the culture of the firm and its executive team. Being close to home allows employees to be a part of the community in ways they wouldn’t be able to if they were spending hours commuting to New York each day. Burger and Jackson, along with COO Scott Harrison, all help coach their kids’ sports teams and volunteer at local nonprofits.
The firm’s motto, “Winning Together,” inspired “Winning Together Day,” which gives employees a day off to give back to programs in their community. They also work as a team to support organizations like Person to Person, the Boys & Girls Club, Malta House, Haymakers for Hope and more—with a focus on women’s, children’s and veteran’s organizations. “We work hard but balance it with family,” says Jackson. “It’s definitely one of the attractions of working at Gridiron. We can be much more engaged.”
