Hartford Business Journal

26 HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | SEPTEMBER 21, 2026 FOCUS | CONSTRUCTION & DESIGN 12,000 square feet on the former office building's ground floor will be converted into restaurant or other commercial space. Planned amenities include swimming pools and clubhouses serving the apartment and townhouse portions of the development, as well as a dog park, pickleball courts and walking trails. Although the apartments and townhomes will have some separate amenities, Massimino said their design, proximity and shared access to retail and restaurant uses are intended to help tie the community together. "I think we will see families with members in both products," Massimino said. "You may see parents living in townhomes and their kids living in the rental community." Growing pipeline The Enfield project is among several large redevelopments MB Financial is advancing in Connecticut. The company is finalizing construc- tion drawings for a planned $35 million conversion of the former WWE head- quarters in Stamford into 84 luxury apartments. MB expects to close on construction financing within two months and break ground by the end of this year, Massimino said. Construc- tion is expected to take 18 months. MB is also revising its plans for the former Unilever cosmetics campus in Clinton. The company has dropped a previously contemplated indoor sports facility and is now designing a larger mixed-use development with approximately 350 to 400 apartments, Massimino said. Redevelopment Continued from page 25 (Top) MB Financial plans to convert the vacant former MassMutual campus in Enfield into a mixed-use community with apartments, townhomes and commercial space. (Right) An artist's rendering shows a proposed townhome at the development. Photos | CoStar/Contributed Image 3.2M-sq.-ft. Amazon fulfillment center rises on Waterbury-Naugatuck border By Michael Puffer mpuffer@hartfordbusiness.com A 3.2-million-square-foot Amazon warehouse is rapidly taking shape on a hillside straddling the Waterbury-Naugatuck border, with completion expected next year and employment projected to reach about 1,000. Waterbury Economic Development Director Joseph McGrath said the project reminds him of an earlier era, when the city's once-powerful brass mills employed thousands of people at sprawling industrial complexes operating around the clock. Those mills helped form the foundation of Water- bury's past prosperity. McGrath said the Amazon facility will provide a major economic boost by adding to the tax bases of both munic- ipalities, creating jobs that can support households and give young people an entry point into the workforce, and gener- ating new activity for local businesses. "Once they are fully operational, they will start using the local vendors for gasoline, for tires, for oil changes, for lunches," McGrath said. "From an economic development perspective, it's going to benefit the immediate surrounding area, the entire city and surrounding towns." Breaking the impasse At roughly 130 feet tall, the Amazon facility represents Waterbury's largest single development project in terms of jobs and tax revenue since the Brass Mill Center mall opened in 1997. Construction began last October on the 157-acre property, which Amazon purchased from the city of Waterbury for $2.5 million following years of planning and deliberation. Waterbury owned the land, which extends into Naugatuck. Decades of efforts to develop the wooded site had failed because of its steep terrain and limited access. Former Waterbury Mayor Neil O'Leary and Naugatuck Mayor N. Warren "Pete" Hess eventually broke the impasse by agreeing to jointly pursue development A 3.2-million-square-foot Amazon logistics center is under construction on the Waterbury- Naugatuck municipal line. HBJ Photos | Michael Puffer Construction continues on Amazon's Waterbury-Naugatuck logistics center. of the site using access through a Naugatuck industrial park. Waterbury received proceeds from the land sale, while the two municipali- ties agreed to evenly split the develop- ment's property tax revenue. Bluewater Property Group, a privately held industrial real estate company focused primarily on logistics properties in the Northeast, is leading the project. The facility will serve as a "first-mile" fulfillment center, where products are stored and prepared for shipment. The multilevel building will use Amazon's latest robotics technology. More to come The project adds to Amazon's already significant presence in Connecticut. According to its most recent economic impact report, Amazon has invested more than $12 billion in the state since 2010, including spending on infrastructure and employee compensation. The company employs about 15,000 people in Connecticut and estimates that its investments support another 10,000 indirect jobs in construction, logistics, professional services and other industries. Amazon reports operating six fulfill- ment and sortation centers, 10 delivery stations, 13 Whole Foods Markets and seven on-site solar installations in the state. That footprint is poised to grow. Amazon is building a 218,310-square- foot warehouse on about 200 acres at 35 Bacon Road in Enfield, a site it purchased for $20 million last year. Two other Amazon facilities are being pursued in eastern Connecticut. In Killingly, Minneapolis-based Ryan Companies is seeking to build a 1.37-million-square-foot Amazon robotics fulfillment center. That project hit a roadblock in August when the town's Inland Wetlands and Water- courses Commission rejected the devel- oper's application. Ryan Companies has appealed the decision to Superior Court. Bluewater, meanwhile, is seeking land-use approvals for a roughly 1-million-square-foot Amazon distri- bution facility in Norwich's Occum Industrial Center near Interstate 395. Amazon said the proposed Killingly and Norwich facilities would each create about 500 full-time jobs.

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