The Hartford Redevelopment Agency has issued a request for proposal on an 11.7-acre parcel of vacant land on New Road in northeast Hartford.
The due date for bids is Aug. 7.
The property on New Road is located in section known as North Meadows, which is bisected by Interstate 91. The neighborhood is surrounded by the town of Windsor to north and the Connecticut River to the east.
Most of the developments in North Meadows are commercial, New Road is also home to the Connecticut Expo Center.
The purpose of the request is to create an industrial or commercial development. Prospective bidders will have to show how their development would attract new industry and business to strengthen the city’s tax base and increase local employment. The bidder must also show that the development would be completed in a timely fashion.
The Hartford Redevelopment Agency will select a developer.
Insurance Broker Moves Downtown
S.H. Smith & Co. has signed a lease in the “Stilts Building” in downtown Hartford that will shift about 75 employees from the insurance brokerage’s existing offices in West Hartford.
The move to the 15th floor of the office tower at 20 Church St. is scheduled for October.
MetLife’s move from downtown to the suburbs has created a glut of office space in the city, which in turn has dropped the average asking rents per square foot downtown several dollars below average rents in the West Hartford Center.
BKM Sells 7 E. Hartford Buildings
Nearly 400,000 square feet of industrial space in East Hartford has been sold as part of a seven-building deal.
The Urban Strategy America Fund purchased the industrial building portfolio from BKM Enterprises, a privately-owned office interior company based in East Hartford. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.
As part of the deal, BKM Enterprises will lease back six of the buildings representing 92.3 percent of the space for 10 years, according to USA Fund officials.
The seven buildings involved in the deal are in three East Hartford locations. There are two contemporary manufacturing buildings — 300 East River Drive and 60 Meadow Road — that are part of the Founders Plaza business park. A building at 71 George Street is part of an industrial concentration.
The other four properties — 33 and 47 Leggett Road, 59/69 Leggett Road and 22 Rumsey Road — are abutted by similar warehouse and distribution buildings.
Kirk Sykes, USA Fund president, said the portfolio is well-located in a stable market.
USA Fund chief investment officer John Dragat said the acquisition further diversifies the fund’s holdings and will bring “a strong cash flow” to the fund.
Sean Duffy of Cushman & Wakefield brokered the sale on behalf of BKM Enterprises.
Properties Changing Hands
A 48,046-square-foot office building at 10 Griffin Road in Windsor has been sold for $2.5 million. The building is part of the 600-acre business community known as Griffin Center.
The buyer was 10 Griffin Park North LLC and its manager is Jon Laeger, of Washington. The seller was the California-based Professors Fund V LLC.
The previous sale price for the property in June 2005 was $1.6 million.
In Glastonbury, the commercial building at 293 Oakwood Drive was sold for $1.63 million. Oakwood Associates LLC, managed by George Cavedon of Glastonbury, bought the property from Sealco LLC, also based in Glastonbury.
The building is home to several companies, including Big Sky Naturals, a food and beverage distributor.
Sean O’Leary is a Hartford Business Journal staff writer.
