East Hartford’s Planning and Zoning Commission on Wednesday unanimously approved two applications on a planned development of a 300-acre site on the former Rentschler field.
Boston-based National Development filed applications for a zone change to facilitate its master plan for the site, which includes two warehouse buildings totaling 2.5 million square feet and two 100,000-square-foot buildings for high-tech manufacturing and research and development.
The master plan divides the site into five parcels. The two larger parcels designated for light industrial logistics, totaling 263 acres, would be used to build the two warehouses.
Ed Marsteiner, managing partner at National Development, said it is in negotiations with “influencer tenants,” household names that would bring credibility to the developer and the town while fueling further development.
Marsteiner added that the company has a deal “essentially done” with a tenant for the planned 1.2 million-square-foot warehouse on the east side of the lot and are confident they will have a lease for the 1.3 million-square-foot building on the west side.
An 18.35-acre parcel, occupied by Cabela’s, is designated for non-specific retail and mixed use developments. A 2.36-acre parcel would be used for a vehicle service and repair facility, now used by Cabela’s for its operations. One 17.58-acre parcel, bordering Cabela’s on the north end of the site, would have the high-tech manufacturing buildings.
Marsteiner said there are no plans to affect the Cabela’s store, but the developer has prepared a contingency plan.
“Cabela’s has been doing well here so there’s, in the foreseeable future, no motivation to get them to move on,” Marsteiner said.
Marsteiner said if Cabela’s were to leave, the developer would plan to build additional phases of high-tech facilities on the site to create a campus.
Paul Vitaliano, director of land development with VHB Connecticut, a firm that helped prepare the master plan, said the proposed development would have 941 passenger-car parking spaces and 1,314 trailer-truck parking spaces, which is subject to change.
Vitaliano said the developer plans to have a sidewalk system on the site, but specifics are still being planned.
“Other means of access and transportation are something we should consider,” Vitaliano said.
Benefits to the town stated in the developer’s presentation include about 2,000 permanent jobs and over $4 million in annual tax revenue to the town after stabilization.
Marsteiner said one aspect of the development he’s excited about is tying the Rentschler Field site into the East Coast Greenway, a near-complete 3,000-mile walking and bike trail from Maine to Florida with a “missing tooth” in the area.
“Every project we do, we try to have some component to it that’s for everyone, and that will also be here for many generations to come,” Marsteiner said.
Marsteiner said a major aspect that potential tenants look for in a site is whether they can find a workforce in the area, and East Hartford presents such an opportunity, with the town’s lower employment rates and programs such as East Hartford CONNects and Goodwin University’s job training.
“It’s hard to find talent and employees today to occupy these buildings,” Marsteiner said.
The developer said at a Town Council meeting Feb. 8 that the positions created by the warehouse development would pay $20 an hour or more and provide a number of benefits, and jobs from the high-tech facilities would be generally much higher.
