An East Hartford auto dealership property that electric car maker Tesla was eyeing for its first Greater Hartford location, before the town pulled the plug on the deal amid a legal challenge from Hoffman Auto Group, has sold for $3.15 million, property records show.
The buyers of the 30,000-square-foot showroom and service center at 300 Connecticut Blvd., were business partners Kenneth Wilson and Lindy Bigliazzi. Wilson is the former and Bigliazzi is the current owner of East Hartford-based Freightliner of Hartford Inc., a seller of heavy-duty trucks and parts.
In an interview Monday morning, Wilson said Freightliner of Hartford will use the property to open a new engine and parts retail and distribution center. The company will continue to sell heavy-duty trucks out of its existing East Hartford location at 222 Roberts St.
Freightliner of Hartford, which has about 160 employees, is experiencing significant growth and has run out of room at its Roberts Street location, Wilson said.
The property made sense because its in close proximity to its existing location and it already has areas for sales, parts and service, which Freightliner of Hartford needs.
Wilson said they are currently giving the property, which was formerly owned by Gengras Motor Cars and used as a Volvo dealership, a face lift.
Wilson said he was the original owner of Freightliner of Hartford, before he recently sold his shares to Bigliazzi. They continue to partner on real estate deals, including the Connecticut Boulevard purchase. The duo will lease the building to Freightliner of Hartford, he said.
The 300 Connecticut Blvd. property was in the spotlight over the past year after Tesla quietly tried to purchase it to open its first Greater Hartford service center.
That potential deal raised some eyebrows as Tesla has been fighting for years to change state law to allow direct sales of electric vehicles to consumers in the state, a system that would bypass dealers. So far, the state legislature has not approved such a change.
The town of East Hartford originally approved Tesla’s plan to open its service center in town, before Hoffman Auto Group filed multiple lawsuits against Tesla, accusing it of wanting to use the site to illegally sell electric cars directly to consumers.
The town of East Hartford earlier this year revoked Tesla’s permit for the property.
