Berlin retail complex sells for $2.52M amid town center redevelopment

A two-building retail complex in Berlin’s rapidly redeveloping town center recently sold to a Wallingford-based investor for $2.52 million. The nearly 24,000 square feet of space in the buildings at 892-900 Farmington Ave. is fully leased to Dollar General, home systems vendor and installer Cyclone Home Systems and Lava Beauty and Wellbeing. In a deed recorded Sept. 8, the complex sold to a limited liability company headed by Jonathan Gavin, who is also president of Wallingford-based United Concrete Products, a manufacturer of precast concrete structures. The selling LLC’s principal, Jeffrey D. Matson, previously operated a carpet store from the property before retiring and leasing out the space. The 2-acre property includes a 14,937-square-foot, one-story retail building with brick and masonry walls that was completed in 1962, as well as an 8,061-square-foot, two-story concrete and cinderblock building completed in 1999, according to town records. The property sits directly across Farmington Avenue from the recently completed Steele Center development, which includes four buildings with 72 apartments and roughly 17,350 square feet of retail and restaurant space. It is also near Berlin’s passenger rail station, which was completed in 2018 and provides Hartford Line and Amtrak service. “That whole area of town is getting redeveloped,” said O,R&L Commercial Managing Partner Jay Morris, who represented the buyer. “It is really turning around with a lot of good stuff going on.” Morris said the new owner should have little need for near-term capital spending because the property’s roofs, HVAC systems and parking lot were recently renovated. The buyer acquired the property as an investment, he said. O,R&L also handled lease-up of the property prior to its sale. Luke Massirio of O,R&L Commercial represented the seller.