Hartford Business Journal

16 HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | JUNE 10, 2024 This rendering shows the proposed redevelopment of the Enfield mall site, which would include retail, recreation and multifamily housing. CONTRIBUTED A New Purpose With major projects in the queue, Enfield could finally find its economic development 'stride' fields and courts, a hotel, family entertainment center and restaurants and bars on nearly 70 acres. If approved, the development will be located at the vacant MassMutual office complex site, which has 430,000 square feet of mostly office space that will be partially torn down; some fields will be built over existing parking lots. Andy Borgia, of Fast Track Realty, said it's a complex project and his team is continuing to work through land-use approvals. It has won inland wetlands approval and is now moving to the planning and zoning process. Once completed, the development will create hundreds of jobs and generate economic growth for the area through taxes and potential new developments around the sports complex, Borgia said. Aaron Marcavitch, Enfield's director of economic and community develop- ment, said a main draw for the project will be the hotel and restau- rants, which will have "a ton of impact on visitors as well as job creation and attracting new residents." He said there is a big focus in the state on tourism through sports and attractions. "The town is favorable to anything that's going to bring in a really great project, to keep us on the map and show some great progress," Marcavitch said. Enfield train station Enfield also has a new train station project on tap, with construction targeted to begin in the spring of 2025. The state Department of Transportation-led project is in the design phase with a targeted completion date of 2027. The $45 million train station, funded through state bonding and federal grants, will be the newest stop on the CTrail Hartford Line, By Hanna Snyder Gambini hgambini@hartfordbusiness.com W ith several large-scale devel- opment proposals in the works, the town of Enfield could be in store for an economic resurgence that leads to grand-list growth and spurs additional activity. Four major projects would bring a combination of housing, recreation and mass transit to the town of about 42,000 residents, while repur- posing properties whose uses are becoming obsolete. The proposed $250 million Enfield Square Mall redevelopment is the largest planned project with the greatest potential economic impact, said Donald Poland, senior vice president of urban planning at East Hartford commercial real estate advisory firm Goman+York. Poland helped draft Enfield's plan of conservation and development and is currently working to update town zoning regulations. Nebraska-based Woodsonia Real Estate Group Inc. recently announced plans to buy the 570,000-square-foot mall, which is 85% vacant, and turn it into a mixed-use development with retail, housing and recreation. The purchase agreement, the details of which were not disclosed, is contingent on approvals from the current mall owner, New York-based Namdar Realty Group. The proposed "Enfield Market- place" project would create 450 residential units, two hotels, and retail and restaurant space. Also moving through the land-use process is a plan to turn the former MassMutual office campus into a large-scale recreational facility with fields, hotels and restaurants. Efforts are also underway to build a new Hartford Line train station in town, and convert a religious campus into senior housing. "Malls, large corporate parks, religious facilities, they're all obso- lete, and they have to find a way to repurpose," Poland said. Enfield has suffered some economic setbacks in recent years, including from corporate relocations. MassMutual left its sprawling Enfield campus to consolidate its local oper- ations in Springfield, Mass. Toymaker Lego Group by the end of 2026 is relocating its North American headquarters and 740 employees to Boston from Enfield, where it had been located for a half-century. Efforts to redevelop large and obsolete real estate parcels have been slow-moving, while the town is also facing budgetary pressures that recently led to education-related cuts, including the elimination of nearly 130 school system positions. Despite that, Enfield's grand list, or the value of its taxable property, has gradually increased over the past decade to $3.7 billion in 2022, up 30.4% from 2013. And with several major projects on tap, the town could be "finding its stride," Poland said. A mix of new uses Fast Track Realty LLC has submitted plans for a multibuilding sports complex, called All Sports Village, at 85 and 100 Bright Meadow Blvd. It would have indoor and outdoor Don Poland Aaron Marcavitch Developers are looking to turn the former MassMutual campus in Enfield into an All Sports Village recreational center. CONTRIBUTED

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