Farmington-based Konover Development Corp. has nearly completed construction of a new Walgreens store in Windsor Locks.
The 14,820-square-foot building, located at the corner of Main and Elm streets, is expected to be finished by the end of the month. Plans are to open the store this winter, possibly before the end of this year.
Konover officials said they worked in tandem with town officials to ensure the new structure fits with the Windsor Locks downtown redevelopment scheme by making it pedestrian friendly and retaining trees along Main Street. The building has been set back from the street so it does not detract from two neighboring buildings: the century-old Memorial Hall and the Congregational Church of Windsor Locks.
KDC has a strong relationship with Walgreens. The Windsor Locks project is the fourth Walgreens store Konover has completed and it is currently developing three more in New York and Massachusetts.
The Walgreens project is located on the site of the former Dexter Corp. office headquarters, which has been unoccupied for four years, according to Deborah Kern, vice president of project development for Konover. Previous attempts to renovate the space were unsuccessful due to high costs.
“They realized it was going to be too expensive for them to bring the building up to current building codes and the office market was soft,” Kern said. “This gave Konover Development the opportunity to building a new Walgreens and put the site back on the tax rolls.”
Green Grand Opening
Wallingford-based Strain Measurement Devices recently celebrated the completion of its new corporate headquarters at 55 Barnes Park North.
Its grand opening ceremony focused on the green aspects of the new facility, as company officials described the building as “one of the greenest buildings” in the state.
SMD’s new 14,000-square-foot headquarters includes a design that could provide the company with recurring cost savings, thanks to eco-friendly building techniques. For example, there is a geothermal heating and cooling system as well as prominent skylights and exterior glass to maximize natural light in the offices.
There is also a water conservation system in which water from the roof is routed into a 3,000-gallon cistern and into a man-made wetland planting area that spans the entire front of the building.
“From the first visit to the site, we realized that we had the opportunity to do something special in terms of constructing our new headquarters,” said SMD president Fred Jackson. “We have successfully demonstrated that it is possible to construct a building which is friendly to the environment and at the same time lowers operating costs.”
SMD, which produces medical sensors, built its headquarters with additional space to allow for expected growth over the next decade, Jackson said.
UConn Clean Room
The University of Connecticut has put the finishing touches on a $2 million Nanobionics Fabrication Facility, which will allow scientists to develop devices for uses in defense, industry and medicine.
The 1,000-square-foot “clean room” — called that because it is constructed to be dust-free — is the third on the UConn campus. It is part of UConn’s $7 million investment in support of nanotechnology research facilities.
More than 40 state companies use UConn staff and facilities for research and developmental efforts in nanotechnology.
“The possibilities of nanotechnology are innumerable with the potential to revolutionize every face of applied science and modern technology,” said UConn president Michael Hogan.
Sean O’Leary is a Hartford Business Journal staff writer.
