The project is a key step in the medical laundry company’s $21 million expansion.
Unitex has finished raising the roof on its 130,000-square-foot warehouse at 121 Wawarme Ave. in Hartford,
a key step in the medical laundry company’s $21 million expansion.
The roof was hydraulically lifted from roughly 21 feet to 32 feet, creating the vertical clearance needed to install elevated platforms and a mile of gravity-powered track for linen processing. The work converts a former Hartford Courant inserting facility into what Unitex says will be its largest industrial laundry plant, capable of handling more than 1.2 million pounds of laundry per week.
Unitex bought the property in early 2024 for $9 million.
The complex roof-lifting operation was performed by two specialty contractors — Florida-based ROOFLIFTERS and Maryland-based Roof Lift Specialists — which focus on raising existing industrial roofs rather than building new space. The niche construction technique has gained traction as companies look to modernize older warehouses where development sites are limited.
Unitex plans to consolidate three existing Connecticut facilities into the new Hartford operation, which is expected to employ about 220 people once fully staffed. The project, supported by a 10-year city tax-fixing agreement, is scheduled to begin operations in 2026.
