Hartford Business Journal

HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | APRIL 29, 2024 7 DEAL WATCH RENDERING | CONTRIBUTED A rendering of Pratt & Whitney's new planned office building. Pratt & Whitney eyes new 313K-square-foot office building in East Hartford Pratt's deep roots In 1929, a booming Pratt & Whitney moved its operations to a new plant on an 1,100-acre site in East Hartford, which included an airfield for engine testing, according to Connecticuthistory.org. Portions of the property have since been carved off for other uses. Most recently, in January 2023, Pratt sold 300 acres to Massachusetts-based National Development, which has since built two logistics warehouses on-site with a combined 2.5 million square feet. The buildings have been fully leased to Lowe's Home Improvement and online retailer Wayfair. National Development also has approval to build two smaller research and devel- opment buildings on-site. In 2014, Pratt & Whitney parent company United Technologies Corp. — which is now known as RTX Corp., following its 2020 merger with Raytheon Technologies — agreed to invest up to $500 million over five years to upgrade and expand its East Hart- ford research and development and manufacturing facilities. In exchange for that investment, state lawmakers — led by then Gov. Dannel P. Malloy — voted to allow the company to cash in up to $400 million in previously earned but unused tax credits to finance the construction projects. The largest project was a new 425,000-square-foot engineering and technology building that debuted in 2017. Meantime, Pratt & Whitney also continues to invest in facilities in other states. Earlier this month, Pratt announced it will invest $20 million to expand a key plant in West Palm Beach, Florida, to increase main- tenance and repair capacity for its GTF engines. By Michael Puffer mpuffer@hartfordbusiness.com A erospace manufacturer Pratt & Whitney could build a new 313,000-square-foot office building in East Hartford. The new building would be part of a longer-term investment by the jet-engine maker in its East Hartford headquarters campus at Rentschler Field, which currently includes 4.8 million square feet of manufacturing, warehouse, laboratory, office and other space in several buildings. The five-story office building, which recently received town approval, would cover a 16.6-acre portion of Pratt's 251.2-acre campus. It's designed to replace an existing 249,847-square-foot office building, which houses design and engineering staff and would be demolished. The footprint of the former building will be used for parking, after it's torn down. Between the new building and demolition, the project would result in a net gain of 63,143 square feet of office space for Pratt & Whitney, according to the company's site-plan application. No timeline has been placed on the project, and the town's approval doesn't guarantee it will happen, Pratt & Whitney said in a statement. "We continually assess our Connecticut campus and options to improve on our current footprint to meet the needs of our business," Pratt & Whitney said in a statement. "This site plan review in no way signals a commitment to build. Any plans and investments in our East Hartford campus will make Pratt & Whitney more competitive for recruiting and retention, ultimately benefiting Connecticut." Mass. food manufacturer eyes purchase of Carla's Pasta's S. Windsor production plant; plans $71M in upgrades By Andrew Larson alarson@hartfordbusiness.com A Massachusetts food manu- facturer is planning to expand to South Windsor, with a proposed $71 million upgrade to the sprawling Carla's Pasta production facility, which is slated to close "immi- nently," a town official said. Home Market Foods, based in Norwood, Massachusetts, produces frozen meatballs and other foods, including hot dogs sold at conve- nience stores and movie theaters. The company is planning a 28,000-square-foot addition to Carla's Pasta's 148,083-square-foot food production plant at 50 Talbot Lane. The parent company of Carla's Pasta, which was acquired through a bankruptcy auction in 2021 for $26.3 million, put the company's South Windsor facility up for sale at the end of last year. The South Windsor Town Council recently approved a seven-year tax abatement for Home Market Foods' planned expansion, contingent upon the company's completion of the project, its creation of 210 jobs and payment of all other real estate taxes on the property. Under the deal, Home Market Foods would purchase the property from its current owner, Wiscon- sin-based Tribe 9 Foods, which is the parent company of Carla's Pasta. Carla's Pasta filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in February 2021, citing tens of millions of dollars in debt and the adverse impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on its sales. Carla's Pasta's 148,083-square-foot food production plant, at 50 Talbot Lane and 280 Nutmeg Road in South Windsor. PHOTO | COSTAR South Windsor Town Council member Michael Buganski said Home Market is expected to offer jobs to all current Carla's Pasta employees, in addition to creating new positions. The tax abatement would total approximately $70,000 a year for the first three years, and then would decrease, Buganski said. The 50 Talbot Lane property is appraised at $15.96 million, Officials from Home Market Foods said they expect the project to be finished by the end of 2027. Megan Overdorff, director of talent acquisition for Home Market Foods, said the family-owned company will become involved in the community. She said the 60-year-old business takes care of its employees, offering perks including an employ - er-matching savings plan and no-in- terest loans to employees facing financial challenges.

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