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12 Hartford Business Journal • May 4, 2015 www.HartfordBusiness.com DEAL WATCH Advance Auto occupying ex-Courant Middletown depot V irginia retailer Advance Auto Parts is taking over a Connecticut newspa- per's former Middletown circulation depot and converting it to accommodate by early June its second parts-house in the city. Advance Auto has owned the Carquest chain since 2013, the Roanoke, Va., retailer's spokeswoman said. It will relocate a smaller Carquest parts counter stationed for years in 5,200 square feet, right around the corner at 311 Main St., to the 7,000-square-foot former Hartford Courant depot at 373 East Main St., across from Stop & Shop Plaza. As part of the move, the Carquest store will be rebranded as Advance Auto, the spokeswoman said. The Main Street loca- tion is leased from landlord A.C. Fonda Enterprises. Once contractor American Jersey Con- struction completes its renovation, the East Main Street loca- tion will have 7,000 square feet to display and store inventory. It will have 10 to 12 employees. There are 74 Advance Auto and Carquest stores in Connecticut. Advance's other Middletown store is at 856 Washington St. • • • Berlin Playcare center Avon's Educational Playcare has opened its eighth Connecticut enriched childcare facility in Berlin, with a ninth Hartford area facility opening this summer. Jane Porterfield and Gerry Pastor, Edu- cational Playcare's wife-husband found- ers who launched their concept in 1986, opened in late March in 11,000 square feet at 9 High Road that previously housed The Learning Experience childcare center. Reno Properties Group LLC brokered the lease with landlord High Road Profes- sional Center LLC. The Berlin facility employs about 20, Pastor said. A grand opening is set for May. The newest EP facility is set to open in late summer, Pastor said, in the Storrs Cen- ter retail-residential development across from the UConn main campus in Mansfield. On Jan. 7, EP opened an East Hampton daycare center in the Edgewater Hill devel- opment on Route 66. The other locations are in Avon, Farmington, Simsbury, Wall- ingford, West Hartford and Windsor. • • • $1.5M Willimantic plaza A more than half-century-old strip shopping center in Windham's Williman- tic section sold recently for $1.5 million, a broker says. 1228 Realty LLC bought the 2 6 , 3 0 0 - s q u a r e - foot retail center at 1212-1228 Main Street from H&P Realty of Stamford, according to broker Marc Gottesdiener & Co. The center sits on 1.5 acres and opened in 1958 to house a Finast supermarket. In the 1960s, it was expanded to accommodate a Midas Muffler repair shop and space was added to house two more retail tenants. However, only two restaurant tenants — China Buffet and Cinco de Mayo — have long-term leases in the plaza, Got- tesdiener said. • • • Collier's sets leases In Newington, Triumvirate Environ- mental Inc. signed a long-term lease for 15,500 square feet at 80 Fenn Road from landlord Fenn Road 80 LLC. Colliers International was the landlord's broker. Berkshire Hathaway Home Services represented Triumvirate. In Vernon, Maclean Mechanical signed for 1,000 square feet at 77 Industrial Park Road. The Mel Pet Realty Co. is landlord. Col- liers was sole broker. n Deal Watch wants to hear from you. E-mail it, along with contact information to: gseay@HartfordBusiness.com. Greg Seay is the Hartford Business Journal News Editor. Gregory Seay DEAL WATCH Make a Statement. SM MEMBER FDIC EQUAL HOUSING LENDER 860-638-2958 liberty-bank.com $8,400,000 permanent mortgage on an apartment building in Harborcreek, PA $465,000 permanent mortgage on multiple residential properties in New Haven, CT $4,950,000 permanent mortgage on two apartment buildings in West Haven, CT for Commercial Real Estate Real Advisors Real Solutions It's An Art 280 Trumbull Street - Hartford, Connecticut 06103 - www.whcpa.com hittlesey & Hadley accountants are different. We care about our clients, not just their numbers. Our insight and practi- cal advice is original and has been etched into the region as leading providers of services to the commerical real estate and affordable housing industry for more than 50 years. Who wants ordi- nary outcomes? Our visionary approach to assurance, compliance, tax and advisory services renders innovative outcomes and meaninful insight to property owners, developers and managment companies. Put your trust in advisors with real solutions. Let our knowledge create your next masterpiece. W Advance Auto Parts is opening a second store like this one in Middletown. Midas is one of several tenants in this recently sold Windham strip plaza. P H O T O | C O N T R I B U T E D P H O T O | C O N T R I B U T E D