Hartford Business Journal

6 HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | FEBRUARy 20, 2023 Deal Watch Passero said the Vessel model fits into the "sweet spot between subsi- dized and market rate" housing. New London has three colleges in the city and two more in the area; a hospital and others in surrounding towns; and a nearby major employer, General Dynamics Electric Boat, which is in need of thousands of new workers as it ramps-up production to fulfill a multibillion-dollar contract with the U.S. Navy to build a new fleet of ballistic missile submarines. Electric Boat officials have cited the need for more affordable housing in order to fill those jobs. Vessel also targets leftover or hard- to-develop sites, such as the New London location, Passero said. The Bank Street property has been undeveloped since a fire nearly 40 years ago left it looking like the "missing tooth" in the city's downtown streetscape, he said. Developers shied away from the area because of the economics and logistics of building within that tight space — something Vessel is able to accomplish with its small footprint and modular method, Passero said. Donald Poland, managing director and senior vice president of urban planning at East Hartford real estate advisory firm Goman+York, said modular building concepts aren't new but are less common in Connecticut, particularly for multifamily developments. Vessel's approach, he said, is reminiscent of the 1940s suburban building boom in New York and New Jersey that relied on an assembly-line construction model with scores of trade workers — foundation layers, carpenters, plumbers, electricians and roofers — going from house to house. This prefabricated or manufac- tured approach is beneficial in supplying more housing for work- ing-class households with a fraction of the construction time and cost, Poland said. "It cuts down on cost and that translates into affordability," he said. The post-pandemic rental market also has more one-bedroom renters than ever, with empty nesters and young professionals competing for units. "We've seen a shift in the market toward multifamily over single family and there's a need for housing at various price points, or various income levels," Poland said. "So, even if it's not technically affordable housing, if it's more moderate rate that's more accessible to a middle- class household or a working-class household, then that's a good thing. Any product that can be added to the marketplace will be beneficial." By Hanna Snyder Gambini hgambini@hartfordbusiness.com A n Indiana-based development company that has been an active builder of large Greater Hartford warehouses is eyeing a zone change that will allow more than 1 million square feet of industrial space in Windsor Locks. Scannell Properties has applied for a zone change from business to industrial use for roughly 76 acres of undeveloped land at Old County Road/CT Route 20 in Windsor Locks. The application would also remove the property from the Airport Inter- change Overlay Zone, where indus- trial uses are not permitted. The zone change, according to the application, would facilitate the development of two warehouse buildings: one with approximately 1 million square feet and another 150,000-square-foot building. The plan calls for 175 trailer loading docks and 95 trailer parking spaces This aerial image shows the outline of two proposed warehouses in Windsor Locks along Old County Road/Route 20, totaling more than 1 million square feet. IMAGE | CONTRIBUTED for the larger building, and 30 trailer loading docks and 30 trailer parking spaces for the smaller property. There would also be 675 employee parking spots between four lots throughout the site. The Old County Road property was previously eyed for an All Sports Village complex, a project that never came to fruition. The developer of that sports complex has since proposed a similar project in nearby Enfield. Windsor Locks in its Plan of Conservation and Development "identified this property in particular as suitable for high-end industrial use," Scannell officials said. The proposed zone change and development has received letters of support from the state Department of Economic and Community Devel- opment, MetroHartford Alliance and Connecticut Airport Authority, said Daniel Madrigal, Scannell's senior development manager. "If approved, it will spur economic development by generating significant additional real and personal property tax revenue, as well as one-time development permitting fee revenue, creating many new construction jobs to build the facility, and creating many permanent jobs and increased busi- ness for other local establishments," Scannell said. Scannell has been active in Connecticut in recent years, devel- oping more than 10 distribution centers. Some have been built on spec, including a 403,000-square-foot Cromwell property on County Line Drive that was completed in 2019 and eventually landed Amazon as a tenant. That's not the strategy the company will use for its planned Windsor Locks project, Madrigal said. The development, which is still in the early planning stages, will only go forward once a tenant is secured, he said. "We are pursuing a build-to-suit development with a reputable company," Madrigal said. Don Poland Developer eyes over 1M sq. ft. of new industrial space in Windsor Locks RENDERING | CONTRIBUTED Vessel wants to build this 30-unit apartment building in Rocky Hill.

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