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Postmaster: Please send address changes to: Hartford Business Journal P.O Box 330 Congers, NY 10920-9894 T he former Red Lion Inn in Cromwell that abruptly closed last year recently sold for $2.55 million, records show. M360 Berlin Land Holdings LLC of Ladera Ranch, Ca., bought the property at 100 Berlin Road from 100 Berlin Land LLC, whose principal is Joseph Gillespie of Ormond Beach, Fl. It's not clear who controls M360 Berlin Land Holdings LLC; the company is registered in Delaware. The $2.55 million sale price is a far cry from the $6.72 million that 100 Berlin Land paid for the property, including 9 acres, in July 2017. 100 Berlin Land LLC was one of several entities related to Gillespie that declared bankruptcy in July 2019. State tax regulators abruptly shut the hotel six months later in January 2020, suspending its sales and use tax permit and suspending any sales. Fifty workers lost their jobs. At the time, the state said the hotel owed more than $200,000 in outstanding taxes and fees. The three-story hotel was built in 1968 and renovated in 2005. It has 263,000 square feet and 215 rooms. The former Red Lion Inn at 100 Berlin Road in Cromwell. Shuttered Cromwell hotel sells for $2.55M PHOTO | COSTAR Massive warehouse proposed in South Windsor A proposal to build a 359,000-square-foot warehouse in South Windsor is pending before two town land-use boards. The site plan application of property owner UW Vintage Lane II LLC of Glastonbury calls for building the warehouse on 30.3 acres bordered by Talbot Lane and Governors Highway. The project, including building and parking, would occupy 5.3 acres and have 54 loading docks, 118 parking spaces for trailers and 269 car spaces. The owner has yet to say who would occupy the warehouse, but a fiscal impact report on the project from Donald Poland of brokerage firm Goman & York points to an e-commerce distribution site. Apartment complex with 225 units proposed for Newington A Pennsylvania company wants to build an apartment complex in Newington with 225 units spread across five buildings. The A.R. Building Co. of Seven Fields, Pa., proposed the development for 26 acres at 258 Deming St., and 35, 67 and 69 Culver St. The property is owned by RD Three LLC, whose principals are Russell Drachenberg of Bristol, Ronald Drachenberg of Prescott Valley, Az., and Robert DiNello of Lummi Island, Wa. The five apartment buildings would each have four stories. The project is still awaiting town approval. Hartford HealthCare buys Willimantic's Immaculata Retreat House for $2.8M; treatment center planned Hartford HealthCare has purchased the 38,605-square-foot Immaculata Retreat House in Willimantic for $2.8 million and will use the facility as a treatment center for individuals with substance use disorders. HHC purchased the 38.1-acre property — located at 289 Windham Rd. — on June 16 from Oblate Real Estate Trust, the previous owners, according to property records. HHC said the timeline for opening the center will be the spring or early summer of 2022. HHC representatives said they plan to renovate the 63-year-old building, but declined to say how much will be invested. Orange-based Planet Fitness franchisee acquired An Orange-based Planet Fitness franchisee has been acquired by international investment management firm TowerBrook Capital Partners. TowerBrook officials said they recently completed the purchase of ECP-PF Holdings Group from Boston private equity firm Exaltare Capital Management. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed. ECP-PF is one of the largest Planet Fitness franchisees in North America, with 108 locations in Connecticut, New York, Arizona, Georgia, New Mexico, Tennessee and western Canada. It was formed by Exaltare, which invests in lower mid-market, differentiated businesses in the franchise and consumer sector. The Hartford to start bringing employees back to office Dec. 6 Property-casualty insurer The Hartford Financial Services Group will start bringing workers back to its offices in Connecticut's Capital City Dec. 6. Senior leaders at The Hartford will start returning to the office in early December, and "substantially more employees" will begin working out of its headquarters by Jan. 18, according to Suzanne Barlyn, a company spokesperson. About half of The Hartford's employees worked remotely before the pandemic and will continue doing so, Barlyn said. Other workers will operate on a hybrid model, spending some days in the office and others remote. The insurer, which employs more than 6,000 people in Connecticut, had previously planned to return workers to the office by Oct. 4, but postponed that indefinitely amid a spike in COVID-19 transmission stemming from the delta variant. East Windsor warehouse sold for $12.3M; will become distribution facility Plans are in the works to transform a vacant warehouse in an East Windsor industrial park into a major shipping and distribution facility, the latest in a slew of projects aiming to capitalize on Greater Hartford's proximity to Interstates 84 and 91 and Bradley International Airport. Wharton Industrial, a subsidiary of New York City-based real estate investment firm Wharton Equity Partners, announced it has acquired for $12.3 million the 279,256-square- foot warehouse at 18 Craftsman Road in a joint venture with Boston's Long Wharf Capital. The buyers are seeking tenants focused on regional and last-mile distribution. The partners plan to undertake immediate renovations. 18 Craftsman Road in East Windsor. PHOTO | CONTRIBUTED