Dairy Farmers of America is seeking approximately $15.5 million for the former Guida dairy processing plant and seven other New Britain properties, a portfolio that has already attracted offers from prospective buyers.
The eight properties have been on the market since early August through brokerage firm Newmark. Spanning 19.18 acres, the portfolio includes the 123,403-square-foot former dairy plant at 433 Park St., two apartment buildings and several industrial properties.
Newmark Executive Managing Director Matt Armstrong said the brokerage has conducted tours and received inquiries and offers from prospective buyers in Connecticut and elsewhere.
“We’ve had some very encouraging responses,” Armstrong said.
The former dairy plant, which sits on 5 acres, is being marketed primarily to food and beverage manufacturers because of its existing tanks and production infrastructure, Armstrong said. Another dairy processor could operate there because the property has no restrictions against that use, he said.
The building could also be converted for another light industrial use.
Dairy Farmers of America closed the Park Street plant this summer, eliminating 205 jobs and ending nearly a century of dairy-processing operations in the city. The facility traced its history to Guida’s Milk, which brothers Frank and Alexander Guida Jr. founded in 1932.
Dairy Farmers acquired the family-owned company in 2012.
The portfolio also includes properties at 200 Whiting St., 777 Stanley St., 24 and 42 Dwight St., 387 and 393 Park St., and 1000 Commerce Circle.
Newmark is seeking to sell two groups of three contiguous properties together. One group includes the former dairy plant and two nearby apartment buildings. The second comprises 777 Stanley St. and 24 and 42 Dwight St.
The remaining properties are industrial outdoor-storage sites. The 200 Whiting St. property is a 2-acre industrial lot, while 1000 Commerce Circle is a 10-acre site that could also support commercial development, Armstrong said.
Armstrong described the former dairy plant and the Commerce Circle property as the portfolio’s two primary sites.
Newmark hopes to complete the sales by the end of the year. Armstrong said interest has come from local businesses considering properties for their own operations and out-of-state investors exploring reuse or redevelopment opportunities.
The brokerage said the portfolio is being offered for sale for the first time in nearly a century. Armstrong and Newmark representatives John Shaunfield, Kyle Jett and Christian Reenstierna are marketing the properties on Dairy Farmers’ behalf.
The sites are near routes 9 and 72 and interstates 84 and 91, with access to CTfastrak and passenger rail service.
