A 300-acre plot of land adjacent to Rentschler Field and Pratt & Whitney’s East Hartford headquarters is on the market as a potential logistics hub space.
CBRE announced Tuesday that Pratt parent Raytheon Technologies Corp. has retained it to advise on selling the land, which consists mainly of a former airfield as well as outdoor retailer Cabela’s ground lease interest.
There’s no asking price listed.
It’s the same site where a developer previously pursued construction of a $105 million, 70-store shopping outlet center for about five years before abandoning the project in 2018.
CBRE is billing the property as the largest and most convenient development site available between New York and Boston, able to accommodate 2.3 million square feet.
In the age of COVID-19, ownership this time around appears to have settled on marketing the property for distribution purposes, rather than for retail, which has taken a major hit during the pandemic. CBRE is calling “the Logistics Center @ Rentschler Field.”
The distribution and warehouse market has been a bright spot during the pandemic, led by Amazon’s development in Windsor.
“We are excited about this opportunity and believe there will be significant interest from both developers and end users due to the site’s excellent central Connecticut location, immediate highway accessibility and access to a densely populated labor pool,” John McCormick and Chris Metcalfe of CBRE’s Hartford office said in a statement. “The site’s unique history as a former airfield will add an additional layer of character and attractiveness to the site.”
