Issue link: https://nebusinessmedia.uberflip.com/i/1336381
HartfordBusiness.com | February 8, 2021 | Hartford Business Journal 5 DEAL WATCH What Can We Do For You? 860.871.1111 www.nemsi.com 55 Gerber Road East, South Windsor, CT 06074 For over 50 years, clients have counted on NEMSI for: HVAC, Plumbing and Process Piping | Electrical Services Energy Management Systems | LEED Certification Programs Design-Build Construction | 24/7/365 Emergency Response Comprehensive Preventive Maintenance Programs NEMS's Recent Awards Include: » ABC Platinum Safety Award » ABC Accredited Quality Contractor (ABC-AQC) » ABC Excellence in Construction Award » ABC Specialty Contractor of the Year » Contracting Business First Place Design/Build Award License #s: E1-0125666 • S1-302974 • P1-203519 F1-10498 • SM1-192 • MC-1134 Offices in: New London | Trumbull | Pawtucket, RI Palmer, MA | Manchester, NH | Albany, NY So You Can Focus On Your Business We focus on your facilities ES_NEMSI HBJ Hlf pg_201221.indd 1 ES_NEMSI HBJ Hlf pg_201221.indd 1 12/21/20 5:05 PM 12/21/20 5:05 PM $36M Japanese-owned R&D hub floated for Windsor's Great Pond development Town Spotlight: Windsor By Matt Pilon mpilon@hartfordbusiness.com O ne of the larger undeveloped parcels in Windsor's Great Pond business park may soon be transformed into a major biotech research and development hub, the Hartford Business Journal has learned. A recently-formed New Haven early-stage biology research company called New England Cell Therapeutics wants to spend about $36 million to construct and outfit a 50,000-square-foot facility at 2195 Day Hill Road, which is currently farmland bordered by Route 187 and across from property-and-casualty insurer The Hartford's Windsor campus. Formed in 2019, New England Cell Therapeutics is owned by Japan- based Nipro Group, which makes pharmaceutical packaging and other products, and counts U.S. locations in New Jersey, Indiana and Virginia. NECT President David Kolstad, a medical device executive who led the $90 million sale of Massachusetts-based LightLab Imaging in 2010, declined comment for this story. The company did not yet have a website as of press time. But it's development application to Windsor's Economic Development Commission last month sheds some light on its real estate hunt and aspirations. If NECT is successful in winning a four-year tax abatement deal from the town of Windsor, which will review the matter this month, it intends to start construction at the site this year. Between now and 2025, NECT says it would hire 45 full-time employees at the site, with combined payroll exceeding $5 million by the fifth year of operations. NECT said it investigated 20 properties in its search for a hub location. If built, the new facility would be right up the road from Amazon's massive warehouse facility, which was constructed several years ago and is in the midst of a recently begun expansion. "It does show that this area is kind of a prime spot," said James Burke, Windsor's economic development director. Burke said that NECT officials, in discussions with the town, noted the nearby Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks, as well as the presence of UConn and Yale, as pluses. NECT's presence would build on other nearby medical and pharmaceutical players in town, including Scapa, SCA Pharmaceutical and Protedyne. "It helps us diversify from our base in financial technology, and more recently, distribution and specialized medical manufacturing," Burke said. Windsor's Key Demographics Population 28,474 Median age 44 Median household income $89,565 Unemployment rate 7.70% Major Employers The Hartford, Amazon & Walgreens Co. Actual mill rate 33.11 Grand List $3.2B Median home sales price $245,000 Avg. rent $1,337 Source: AdvanceCT HBJ PHOTO | MATT PILON 2195 Day Hill Road, which is being considered for a new R&D facility, is currently farmland bordered by Route 187 and across from The Hartford's Windsor campus.