A Massachusetts developer is targeting nearly 25 acres of prime land fronting the Berlin Turnpike in Newington for a major mixed-use project.
Framingham, Mass-based Grossman Development Group recently submitted site plans and a special permit petition for 3333 Berlin Tpke. to Newington’s planning commission calling for the construction of 269 apartments — ranging from studios to three-bedroom units — and nearly 80,000 square feet of commercial and retail space on the front half of the property, closer to the turnpike.
The town has scheduled a May 12 public hearing for the so-called Meadow Commons proposal.
Proposed uses include a 43,228-square-foot grocery store, 22,780 square feet of general retail, a restaurant/brewpub and a gym, contained within five proposed buildings.
The apartments, planned for the back end of the property, would be contained inside three four-story buildings.
The entire project would be new construction. The property is the former site of a now-demolished training facility that Eversource — which still owns the land — relocated in 2016.
The utility parent and the town have been working since then to find a buyer or developer for the site. A prior purchase agreement between Eversource and Grossman was terminated just over two years ago, after Grossman could not drum up sufficient interest from potential retail tenants, according to town records.
“We have always felt strongly about the location, about the market and about the town of Newington,” Jeremy Grossman, senior vice president and principal at the firm, told HBJ on Friday morning.
He said his firm has the property under agreement once more with Eversource, which confirmed the deal.
“The contract is contingent upon Grossman Development obtaining the necessary approvals for their project from the Town of Newington,” Eversource spokesman Mitch Gross said. “As a major employer and the state’s largest energy provider, we support the continued growth and development of all the communities we serve.”
Grossman declined further comment about the proposed project, which would deepen his firm’s activity in Connecticut.
The firm has developed major retail and mixed-use projects in its home state of Massachusetts, as well as in New York and other states. Grossman Development is involved in a mall redevelopment project in Bozeman, Montana that will bring the first ever Whole Foods market to that state, according to the MetroWest Daily News.
The firm also worked on a Whole Foods-anchored project in Shrewsbury, Mass.
Grossman Development has at least one other Connecticut asset. In 2019, it acquired Middletown Plaza in Middletown for $16.3 million.
Sean Teehan contributed reporting for this story
