Hartford Business Journal

8 HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | APRIL 20, 2026 DE AL WATCH product type, and it's helping valua- tions," Hayes said. Retail vacancy rates remain low nationwide. Shopping center vacancy was about 5.7% at the end of 2025, near historic lows and below pre-pan- demic levels of roughly 7%, according to an analysis by real estate services firm Cushman & Wakefield. Developers have added little new space in recent years, keeping supply tight. At the same time, retailers have moved quickly to fill openings, helping drive 3.4 million square feet of net leasing activity in the fourth quarter — the strongest since late 2023, according to the Cushman & Wakefield report. In Connecticut, conditions vary by market. The Hartford area posted a retail vacancy rate of about 7.1% at the end of 2025, roughly in line with pre-pandemic levels, while New Haven remained higher at about 9.2%. Still, both markets showed signs of leasing activity late in the year, according to Cushman & Wakefield. In-person shopping Not all retail property types are performing equally. Enclosed malls continue to struggle, while open-air and strip shopping centers have rebounded "in a big way," said Mike Goman, a principal at East Hartford-based real estate services firm Goman+York. He said the shift is being driven in part by changing consumer behavior, with shoppers returning to physical stores after years of e-commerce growth. For younger generations raised on online shopping, in-person retail can feel more novel, he said. Goman also pointed to a broader shift toward experience-driven retail, particu- larly in food and service categories. "The reality is online retail growth has really plateaued," Goman said. "People have come back to stores." A 7,701-square-foot, three-unit retail plaza (shown right) completed by Krown Point Capital in Ellington last year includes a Starbucks (left). Contributed Images Winstanley plans to redevelop aging Enfield warehouse, currently home to LEGO and Coca-Cola, into modern logistics hub By Greg Bordonaro gbordonaro@hartfordbusiness.com W instanley Enterprises is proposing to redevelop a more than 540,000-square- foot warehouse in Enfield into a modern logistics facility, with plans to significantly reconfigure truck access, loading areas and parking. The proposal was outlined in project application materials submitted to the town. Massachusetts-based Winstanley, which owns the 49-acre property at 100 Print Shop Road, is seeking to modernize the aging building to better compete in today's industrial market as existing tenants, including LEGO Systems and Coca-Cola, are expected to vacate by January 2027, according to project materials. The site contains a 541,076-square- foot warehouse built in 1975 that has long been used for distribution operations. Adam Winstanley, a principal of Winstanley Enterprises, previ- ously told the Hartford Business Journal that he was planning a multimillion-dollar renovation of the 51-year-old building upon LEGO's exit. Plans call for removing about A rendering of a redeveloped industrial building at 100 Print Shop Road in Enfield. 96,000 square feet from the rear of the building and reconfiguring the site to improve truck access and safety. The redevelopment would consoli- date loading operations at the rear of the building, eliminate front-facing loading docks and add 21 new docks, according to a project narrative. The proposal also shifts the site's parking layout to accommodate modern logistics needs. Passenger vehicle spaces would be reduced from 550 to 280, while 133 dedicated trailer parking spaces would be added to replace what the applica- tion describes as unorganized truck parking that currently interferes with circulation. The redevelopment is intended to attract one or two tenants and extend the viability of a site that no longer meets current logistics standards, according to the project application, which still requires town approval. Historic downtown New London commercial block hits market with retail, office, housing potential 153-165 State St., New London. Photo | CoStar nine ground-floor commercial spaces, along with office space and apartments. The listing is being handled by Paul Bongiorni of Springfield-based Pioneer CRE. He said the owner is in the process of subdividing the buildings. The smaller building, which will carry the address 12 Masonic St., includes four nearly completed apartments on its top two floors and four commercial spaces at ground level. It is being marketed for $2.17 million. The larger building includes ground- floor retail and office tenants, with office space on the upper floors. Those upper floors could be converted into 26 apartments, Bongiorni said. It is being marketed for $2.8 million. Bongiorni said the properties — which have been upgraded over the past three decades — drew seven inquiries in the first week of listing, reflecting interest in their location, historic character and relative afford- ability compared to Boston- and New York-area properties, as well as proximity to Electric Boat. "It speaks to the interest in New London and the quality of the building," Bongiorni said. The buildings are owned by a limited liability company whose principal is George H. Waterman III, founder of the Visual Arts Library, a nonprofit arts collection and archive housed in the Harris Building. Waterman plans to sell the property and lease back space for the library, Bongiorni said. Mike Goman Krown Point Continued from page 7 By Michael Puffer mpuffer@hartfordbusiness.com A large mixed-use property in downtown New London, with retail, office and potential resi- dential space, has been listed for sale. The property includes the five-story Harris Building, a late-19th-century Romanesque Revival structure, along with an attached masonry-sided building, together totaling roughly 70,000 square feet at 153-165 State St. The properties were listed earlier this month and are being offered together or separately. They are located next to New London City Hall, within walking distance of a passenger rail station and about a block from the Thames River waterfront. The Harris Building contains about 50,000 square feet, completed a decade after the close of the Civil War, with an attached building adding roughly 20,000 square feet. The combined properties include

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