The ink’s barely dried on a $12.5-million Rocky Hill property deal, but bulldozers and backhoes sit ready to begin construction within days.
Winstanley Enterprises, a major New England developer, has bought 120 acres of undeveloped land from Gardner’s Nurseries in Rocky Hill, and has plans to immediately begin construction of an already-approved, 170,000-square-foot commercial development called Winbrook Office Park.
Plans call for three, 55,000-square-foot, flex space buildings that will mirror those in Winstanley’s nearby Inwood Business Park, said David Winstanley, founder of the firm.
The Concord, Mass.-based developer paid roughly $104,000 per acre for the land, which sits on western end of Brook Street, about a mile from Exit 23 on Interstate 91.
“I have been trying to buy this land for two years,” Winstanley said of the land, which was recently rezoned from residential to commercial.
Phase One
The initial development calls for three, 55,000-square-foot buildings on a 17.8-acre slice of land that sits across from 777 Brook St., a vacant, 100,000-square-foot warehouse.
Winstanley said he expects to have two tenants for the buildings within 60 days. The buildings should be ready by August.
Flex space, which comprises all of Winstanley’s Inwood properties, can be used for any type of commercial venture from office, to research and development, to distribution, to biotech. Like its Inwood facilities, the buildings lacks a common area, making control of utilities less expensive. Winstanley says management expenses are 50 percent lower for flex space than traditional, nearby space.
He submitted plans to the town for approval of another 60,000-square-foot space across the road from that development, as well as an 8,000 square foot building.
But plans for the largest parcel of land – a 92-acre piece large enough for a 500,0000 square-foot building – still remain in the works. Winstanley declined to say exactly what those plans are, adding that it has at least six different schemes to develop it.
Development in that part of Rocky Hill is “primed to explode within the next year,” said Raymond Carpentino, director of economic development for the town. “Everything about that land is perfect. It’s flat, has easy access, and is right next to the highway.”
Prior to the sale, Marshall “Jack” Gardner, the nursery’s namesake, owned roughly 386 acres between Rocky Hill and Cromwell, to the south of Rocky Hill. The sold land comprises roughly the western half of Gardner’s Rocky Hill property.
Gardner “was very impressed with the Winstanley operation, which is why he decided to go ahead with the sale,” said Leonard Jacobs, Gardner’s lawyer.
It’s unclear whether Gardner plans to sell more of his land in the future.
