Hartford Business Journal

HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | AUGUST 7, 2023 7 DEAL WATCH: BUYERS & SELLERS The company that builds and installs the critical systems in virtually every type of facility is the same company you can rely on to maintain them. For over 50 years, our clients have trusted us to provide sustainable, more effi cient, greener facilities. Experts in: Design/Build, Pre-Construction Service LEED Capabilities SINGLE SOURCE DESIGN/BUILD EFFICIENT. QUALITY. COST-EFFECIVE. 860.871.1111 Toll Free: 800.741.6367 nemsi.com MECHANICAL | ELECTRICAL | PLUMBING | SHEET METAL | BUILDING AUTOMATION | FACILITIES SERVICES License #'s: E1-197483 S1-406020 P1-290301 SM1-975 MC-1134 Amazon buys former Lowe's plaza in Orange for $14.5M E -commerce giant Amazon has purchased two vacant retail plazas along the busy Boston Post Road in Orange for more than $14 million. The site was the subject of a 2020 redevelop- ment proposal to turn the former Lowe's center into a 129,000-square-foot delivery station. It wasn't immediately clear what Amazon's plans are for the property. The two properties, at 48 and 50 Boston Post Road, were bought in July for $14.5 million by Amazon.com Services. Lowe's shuttered its Orange location in 2018, as part of a broader nationwide closure of underperforming stores. The property at 48 Boston Post Road includes more than 128,000 square feet of space and was built in 1998. The adjacent plaza at 50 Boston Post Road contains 65,000 square feet of retail space and had been home to an Edge Fitness Club and Guitar Center. It sits on 7.5 acres. Amazon has purchased this former Lowe's retail property at 48 Boston Post Road in Orange. PHOTO | COSTAR NEWINGTON A planned 225-unit luxury apartment development in Newington is regaining momentum after the withdrawal of a court challenge and a $2.3 million land sale. In April 2022, Newington's Plan & Zoning Commis- sion approved a special permit allowing Pennsylva- nia-based multifamily developer A.R. Building Co. Inc. to build luxury apartments on a roughly 26-acre site along the Berlin Turnpike. A neighbor appealed that approval, claiming the commission acted contrary to local regulations. That appeal was withdrawn on June 6, court records show. Meantime, Culver Street Apartments LLC, an affil- iate of A.R. Building Co., recently paid $2.3 million for undeveloped parcels at 35, 67 and 69 Culver St., as well as a 1,152-square-foot, 1936-vintage house on 0.76 acres on Deming Road. Newington-based Reno Properties Group, the sole broker of the deal, said the buyer plans to move ahead with the Class A luxury apartment complex, which will include a pool, fitness center and other amenities. HARTFORD A downtown Hartford parcel that's been vacant for more than a decade — and previously considered for a new office building, apartment development and even a park — has been put up for sale. The property, at 3 Constitution Plaza, has been listed for sale as a "redevelopment opportunity" with no asking price. It was formerly home to WFSB Channel 3's broad- cast center headquarters for over 40 years, before it was purchased in 2008 and subsequently knocked down to make room for a modern, 12-story, metal- and-glass-sheathed office tower. The planned 100,000-square-foot office building was going to be the new corporate headquarters of Middletown-based AI Engineers, whose CEO, Abul Islam, purchased the property for $700,000. But obtaining financing to build the office tower proved difficult, especially amid the 2008 financial crisis. Islam eventually abandoned the office building concept, but did come forward with other develop- ment ideas, including a mixed-use apartment project and even a park. Those plans never materialized. As a result, the property has sat vacant for years. CBRE is the listing agent. The real estate advisory firm said the 0.55-acre property, located on the corner of State Street and Columbus Boulevard, benefits from a zoning designation that permits a wide variety of potential uses, including mixed-use office, experiential retail, residential, R&D, munic- ipal/government and education. OLD SAYBROOK A Taiwan-born bubble tea and wholesale food distribution business has leased an 8,510-square- foot industrial space in Old Saybrook. Yu Cha Corp., which also has offices in Queens, New York, is leasing a portion of a 20,160-square- foot building at 8 Custom Drive, in Old Saybrook, near Exit 66 off I-95. Terms of the lease were not disclosed. Brokers Frank Hird and Will Braun, of O,R&L Commercial in Branford, represented the landlord, ZZZ & I LLC, and procured the new tenant. Yu Cha launched as a family-owned business in Taiwan in 1999, and has grown into a bubble tea and wholesale food distributor serving the New York metropolitan area. The Old Saybrook site is the company's New England regional distribution center.

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