East Hartford’s Bakery On Main has an option to purchase the larger, leased facility that it will move to later this year down the street from its current quarters as part of a state-backed $10 million renovation/expansion to exploit the trend toward gluten-free foods, officials say.
Bakery On Main is moving in the third quarter from its current 33,000-square-foot home at 375 Park Ave. to an existing 111,000-square-foot facility at 127 Park Ave., said founder-president Michael Smulders.
Massachusetts developer-landlord Winstanley Enterprises owns the building that has been a warehouse over the years. Bakery On Main is leasing the building, with an option to purchase, spokeswoman Lisa Brown said. The price wasn’t specified.
TD Bank is lending BOM $5 million toward the expansion project. Dennis Group is the project’s architect-engineer.
BOM also got a $3 million loan from the state Department of Economic and Community Development to fund the renovation and move, which will involve 59 existing workers.
BOM also pledged to create more than 70 new jobs over the next five years as a condition of the state loan, half of which is forgivable if the company achieves specific performance milestones.
Bakery On Main is the name for a family of products that include gluten-free granola bars and cereal, and instant oatmeal.
“It’s unreal to think we started in that little bakery in the back of my natural foods store [Main Street, Glastonbury] just 10 years ago, yet here we are, poised as a leader in the gluten free food industry,” Smulders said in a recent statement.
In addition to gluten-free baked goods, the state-of-the-art bakery will garner relevant certifications for handling and producing non-genetically modified and kosher foods, he said.
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Hartford Healthcare’s 10th center
Hartford Healthcare opened its 10th area Family Health Center at 406 Farmington Ave. in Farmington.
The 12,500-square-foot facility will provide urgent care for adults and children, primary care for adults and children ages five and older and geriatric care.
Hartford Hospital Rehabilitation Network will begin providing services at the location within the next month.
The center will be open Monday to Friday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Its other centers are in Avon, Bristol, Cheshire, Enfield, Meriden, South Windsor, Storrs, Wallingford and Windham.
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$1M Silas Deane Hwy. sale
Wethersfield Holdings LLC paid $1 million, or $53 a square foot, for an 18,756-square-foot, fully occupied office building on Wethersfield’s Silas Deane Highway.
RM Bradley Brokerage Co. represented seller 449 Silas Deane LLC. Sentry Commercial represented the buyer.
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Ex-Haven facility OK’d for apts.
The former Haven Healthcare nursing home on West Hartford’s Albany Avenue has been approved for conversion to 64 apartments, town officials say.
Developer Geoffrey Sager, of The Metro Realty Group, declined comment.
According to town planners, plans call for adding a third story to the vacant building 2342 Albany Ave.
It’s no secret that the Greater Hartford’s apartment market is red-hot right now, especially for properties located at or easily accessible workspaces, shopping, entertainment.
The former Haven Healthcare site has plenty of that and more. It rests within a stone’s throw of the busy Bishops Corner retail corridor. It’s also next door to a firehouse.
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Greg Seay is the Hartford Business Journal News Editor.
