Hartford Business Journal

12 HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | AUGUST 25, 2025 This 1.3 million-square-foot distribution center under construction in Plainfield will be home to Uline, a Wisconsin-based distributor of shipping, packaging and industrial supplies to business customers. Contributed Photo Easy Access From Quiet Corner to mega-warehouse hub: How Plainfield became an industrial stronghold By Harriet Jones hjones@hartfordbusiness.com T he town of Plainfield, located in Connecticut's "Last Green Valley," might appear remote and rural, but it has still attracted a lot of attention from major corporate ware- houses, with a slew of recent deals. The secret — relatively plentiful land and good road connections. "The proximity on 395 is really what it's all about for warehousing," said First Selectman Kevin Cunningham. "You have access to 95. You have access to 295 in Worcester. You have access to Route 6 to get you either going over towards the Hartford area or to Providence. It's easy access to get on and off." A 1.3 million-square-foot distribution center for hardware chain Lowe's has consistently been the top taxpayer in Plain- field since it was built in 2004. That siting was seen as unusual enough at the time that it warranted coverage in the New York Times. It also came at a fairly steep upfront cost to the town, which was on the hook for putting in an access road, water and sewer. But it wasn't until more recently that other corporations saw the Quiet Corner opportunity — and according to Cunningham these newer deals are cash flow positive for the town from the jump, perhaps a factor in muting the sort of opposition that's cropped up in other Connecticut towns over the mega-warehouse trend. An Amazon warehouse, located at 137 Lathrop Road — formerly a greyhound racing track — and first announced in 2021, is finally due to open this October ahead of the busy holiday season. It will be Amazon's 17th distribution location in Connecticut. The building itself has been completed for some two years, and has been yielding $440,000 a year in tax to the town since it got its certificate of occupancy. The opening of the 200,000-square- foot "last-mile" fulfillment center was delayed due to what the company described as industrywide supply chain and inflationary challenges. When it finally opens, Cunningham expects its tax value to the town to increase to over $1 million a year. It also expects to employ up to 200 local workers. Meanwhile, Uline — a Wisconsin distributor of shipping, packaging and industrial supplies to business customers — is in the midst of developing a 1.3 million-square-foot distribution center, which will employ 250 people initially and could grow its headcount to 500. The company says the facility will be completed by June 2026, and it hopes to be fully staffed and operational by October or November of that year. Like Amazon, Uline did not seek a tax abate- ment for the siting, and will also add substantially to Plainfield's grand list. Finally, Plainfield officials expect to announce more details soon about a potential Costco warehouse on a site that straddles the town line with Canter- bury on Norwich Road. That could be as big as 2.5 million square feet. "They're going to do a public informa- tional meeting sometime at the end of this month," Cunningham said. "They also plan to do presentations in front of both towns for inland wetlands and also zoning. So, it's got a long way to go for just the introduction portion of it for sure." Costco would not share more details, saying it does not comment on future warehouse sites. Uline, though, is happy to speak about its budding relationship with this rural Connecticut town. "Plainfield is the area we saw where the puck is going, and so we wanted to be ahead of that momentum of the expansion of the future supply chain," said Dmitry Dukhan, Uline's senior vice president of real estate and construc- PLAINFIELD'S VITAL STATISICS GENERAL LAND AREA (SQ. MILES) 42 MEDIAN AGE 38 POPULATION 15,079 MEDIAN HOUSEHOLD INCOME $75,631 UNEMPLOYMENT RATE 3.4% MAJOR EMPLOYERS • BROOKWOOD LAMINATING INC. • LOWE'S DISTRIBUTION • GRISWOLD LLC • BST SYSTEMS INC. GOVERNMENT MILL RATE 21.36 GRAND LIST (2024) $1,483,891,252 HOUSING STOCK MEDIAN HOME VALUE (2019–2023) $253,100 MEDIAN RENT (2019–2023) $1,224 TOP EMPLOYMENT INDUSTRIES • GOVERNMENT • HEALTH CARE & SOCIAL ASSISTANCE • RETAIL TRADE Source: U.S. Census Bureau/AdvanceCT CENTRAL CT INDUSTRIAL MARKET SNAPSHOT (AS OF 2Q 2025) INVENTORY 142.3M sq. ft. VACANT SPACE 6M sq. ft. VACANCY RATE 4.2% 1Q & 2Q LEASING ACTIVITY 1.2M sq. ft. 1Q & 2Q NEW ABSORPTION -591,756 sq. ft. AVG. ASKING RENT (per sq. ft.) $8.34 Note: The central Connecticut market includes both the Hartford and New Haven regions. Source: Cushman & Wakefield Uline's packaging supplies on a conveyor belt. Contributed Image Kevin Cunningham

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