The former Better Brands food-distribution facility in Windsor has sold for $3.75 million to a Waterbury investor spending “a substantial sum” on improvements targeted at filling its remaining vacancy, brokers say.
An affiliate of Cornerstone Realty Inc. bought the 355,000-square-foot industrial building on 55 acres at 1 Market Circle, off Exits 39 and 41 on I-91, from Performance Food Group, of Centennial, Colo., said CBRE/New England broker Chris Metcalfe, part of the team overseeing lease-up of available space in the building. A separate CBRE broker-team represented PFG in the sale.
The facility is now The I-91 Logistics Center.
PFG acquired former Better Brands, which bought the building in 1995. PFG remains a tenant under a short-term lease for a portion of the building.
The single-story was built in 1974, and expanded in 1992. Much of its acreage is devoted to tractor-trailer parking and access.
Cornerstone Realty, owner of commercial properties in the Waterbury area and mid-Atlantic region, has pumped a “substantial amount of money” to recast the building to accommodate single- or multi-tenants. Upgrades included new loading docks and doors, and areas of new paving, Metcalfe said.
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SBA’s Hartford relo
The Small Business Administration has relocated its downtown Hartford office two blocks south, to Trumbull Street.
SBA for years had been in what spokeswoman Moraima Gutierrez described as “an outdated” building at 330 Main that lacked security.
SBA’s Hartford office footprint shrank from 6,400 square feet at 330 Main, to 5,200 square feet on the fourth floor of One Commercial Plaza, 280 Trumbull St. Grunberg Realty is landlord.
One reason for the smaller space is that SBA’s Hartford office numbers only 10 employees, with one slot vacant, down from 17 in 2005. In 1987, SBA’s Hartford office had 35 employees when it was still doing underwriting of small-business loans.
Starting in 2006, SBA handed off underwriting chores to banks and other SBA-approved lenders.
“Being smack in the middle of downtown is great,” Gutierrez wrote in a recent e-mail. “We’re right in the heart of the business community!”
The Hartford SBA also has a satellite Bridgeport office, which houses a single SBA staffer.
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Glastonbury parcel
A two-lot, 5.79-acre commercial parcel in Glastonbury is for sale at $875,000.
Located on a cul-de-sac on Sequin Drive, next door to Projects Inc. and abutting Heico Inc., this parcel is close to the highway and is zoned for a variety of uses, including office, manufacturing and warehousing.
The Estate of Geraldine Depersia and the Estate of Janet Beckmann are the owners. Sentry Commercial has the listing.
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Brewer’s Hamden space
Microbrewer No Worries Brewing Co. has signed on for 7,200 square feet in Hamden to produce craft beers starting in 2015.
The space at 2520 State St., to be divided under one roof, will include on-site brewing; tasting room; and corporate offices. Pearce Commercial brokered the lease.
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Avon’s E&D Pizza lease
Restaurant startup E&D Pizza Co. is set to open in early December its first pizzeria at 210 W. Main St. (Route 44) in Avon.
Owner/founder Michael Androw said he signed for 900 square feet that previously was home to The New England Pasta Co. DP1 LLC is the landlord; Windsor Management is property manager.
E & D Pizza is in the process of building out the restaurant, where 10 to 15 employees will serve salads and premium pizza, including a traditional, hand-stretched, Neapolitan pie, Androw said.
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Enfield High tops out
Construction of the new Enfield High School topped out recently.
Town and local education officials joined construction manager Gilbane Building Co. to mark the project milestone six months after the start at the building site, 1264 Enfield St.
The project consists of a 147,700-square-foot addition, plus a 165,000-square-foot renovation of the existing school building where classes continue amid the work.
Gilbane broke ground in May of this year and construction will be completed for the 2016 academic year.
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