50 Washington Street Heliport

The heliport was closed for operational and economic reasons tied to corporate relocation. It was a private facility owned and operated by HEI Hotels & Resorts (HEI Inc.), which was headquartered in the 50 Washington Street building. In 2012, HEI announced its move to a new headquarters at the Merritt 7 corporate park, also in Norwalk. As the new location did not have a heliport and the company no longer occupied the 50 Washington Street building, the heliport became obsolete and was subsequently decommissioned.

The site of the former heliport is the rooftop of the multi-tenant commercial office building known as 'SoNo 50' at 50 Washington Street. The helipad markings have been removed or have faded completely, and the area is now simply part of the building's roof, potentially housing HVAC systems or other standard rooftop equipment. The building itself continues to operate as commercial office space for various businesses.

The 50 Washington Street Heliport (also known by its FAA identifier 11CT) was a private, rooftop heliport located in the South Norwalk (SoNo) business district. Its sole purpose was to serve as a corporate transportation hub for the executives of HEI Hotels & Resorts. The heliport provided rapid, point-to-point travel, allowing company leadership to bypass ground traffic for trips to major regional airports like JFK, LaGuardia, and Newark, as well as for travel to other business destinations in the Northeast. It was a symbol of corporate convenience and efficiency for the company during its tenure in the building. The facility was strictly private, requiring prior permission for use, and was not open to the general public.

There are no known plans or prospects for reopening the heliport. Its existence was tied to the specific needs of a single corporate tenant that has since relocated. Re-establishing a heliport at this location would require a new tenant with a similar need, significant capital investment, and would face a rigorous and likely challenging approval process with the FAA and the City of Norwalk, including addressing modern zoning regulations and potential community concerns about noise.