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"These companies are growing
because of access to markets,"
said Gene Goddard, chief
business investment officer at
MetroHartford Alliance, an eco-
nomic development organization
supporting growth in Hartford,
Tolland and Middlesex counties.
Goddard credits Connecticut
Gov. Ned Lamont for supporting
public infrastructure including
roadways, rails and high-speed
broadband.
The sustained growth of
ecommerce, meanwhile, has
fueled interest in distribution
space in Greater Hartford, given
its proximity to Boston and New
York, said Christopher Metcalf, a
first vice president at real estate
firm CBRE in Hartford.
"Large tracts of land are becom-
ing hard to find," Metcalf said.
The vacancy rate for existing
warehouse space, meanwhile,
was 8% at the end of 2020, down
from a peak close to 10% in the
third quarter of 2019, according
to CBRE.
Metcalf predicts the appetite
for more space will promote
reuse of "functionally obsolete
real estate."
This "new wave" could be the
next phase of distribution space
"when green land dries up,"
Metcalf said.
TWO EMPLOYEES OF WILLIAM B. MEYER INC. have a discussion in the
company's Windsor warehouse facility.
STEVEN
LASCHEVER
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