The owner of JCPenney’s former Manchester distribution center has received local zoning approval to expand and upgrade the site to accommodate a new tenant that could add 700 jobs there.
Winstanley Enterprises, which acquired the nearly 2 million-square-foot warehouse last year, received approval Monday from the town’s Planning and Zoning Commission to add 26 loading docks to the distribution hub at 1339 Tolland Turnpike. The facility, on 163 acres, is considered one of New England’s largest warehouses.
Plans also call for improvements to 11.3 acres of land to upgrade landscaping and parking areas. The site currently has parking for 76 trailers and 92 trailer cabs, town records show.
In total, Winstanley plans to invest $45 million to upgrade the distribution center it acquired last year for $70 million.
As previously reported, Adam Winstanley, principal of Winstanley Enterprises, expects to sign a multi-year lease with a new unnamed tenant to occupy at least 1 million square feet of space vacated by JCPenney. The department-store chain ceded about half of its space at the Manchester facility, where it still has a footprint of about 635,000 square feet.
The Concord, Mass.-based company has declined to comment on the potential tenant, but its presence became clearer Tuesday as Winstanley said they could add up to 700 jobs on-site.
“We are currently working on the lease and it’s likely to get signed in the next 30 days or less,” Winstanley said Tuesday. “This would be one of the largest leases completed this year on the eastern seaboard if it happens.”
Winstanley’s project is not the only expansion effort in the area.
In March, the town’s zoning board approved plans for retailer Raymour & Flanigan Furniture to significantly expand its nearby warehouse space on Chapel Road to improve storage and delivery logistics.
