July 30, 2025

CT Construction Digest Wednesday July 30, 2025

Early plans for former MassMutual site in Enfield calls for several public, private amenities

Eric Bedner

ENFIELD — After a failed attempt to convert the former MassMutual site into a sprawling sports complex fell through, new developers are detailing their early plans for the property, including a variety of new housing, and indoor and outdoor dining for both residents who would live there and the rest of the public.

Developers floated their initial proposal to the Planning and Zoning Commission on July 24.

The vision is to convert the property into a residential community that maintains and adds to the attributes that exist on the campus, said Eric Zuena, founding principle of ZDS Architecture and Interiors out of Washington, D.C., and Providence.

Plans call for converting the office buildings into one- and two-bedroom apartments, as well as between 150 and 160 townhouses to maximize the "vast amenity package that this campus will have," he said.

There are currently several structures on the property, including the office buildings with about 400,000 square feet designed for 2,200 MassMutual workers.

While they are not necessarily ideal for conversion into residential units, parts can be used to build various frills, such as a pet wash and gyms, Zuena said.

For one building, an early proposal calls for the creation of an internal courtyard with an outdoor patio that would be used as a communal space for both tenants and the public, he said.

Townhouses would also have their own designated clubhouse with an outdoor pool, and apartment renters would have their own amenities as well, Zuena said.

The conversion of the office buildings into apartments would coincide with the construction of the townhouses, and later phases would include building a five-story apartment building on the property. 

Some members of the commission were concerned about the height of the new building, but developers said it would likely be as high as the existing buildings due to lower elevation and construction differences between office and apartment buildings.

Specifics will come before the commission in the future.

A massive 20,000-square-foot food court that was intended for MassMutual employees would remain, albeit cut to about 12,000 square feet.

Zuena anticipates food and beverages being served in the space, which would be available to both residents and the public.

He also floated some ideas for tenants, such as a sundry shop, hair salon, or small dry-cleaning service.

The goal is to create as many on-site amenities as possible while ensuring the project is still viable, Zuena said.

Many amenities designed for employees can be maintained, including landscaping, "parking for days" in the parking garage, and the day care, Zuena said.

While the parking garage is a bit of a walk from the office buildings, one idea Zuena floated is valet service for residents.

The day care facility is "an amenity that is going to be a differentiator for the people that are going to inhabit this property," he said. "We think the current campus has all the bones to do something special and smart with what is already there."

Carl Landolina, who spoke on behalf of the developers, said while it is typical for a purchaser of a property this size to come before the commission before buying it, the new owners are confident they can see their vision come to fruition. 

He noted developers are proposing to carve out sections of the property into four separate lots to make zoning changes and financing easier to obtain.

"We're not going to get one lender to go all in," Landolina said.

Developers are expecting to have to go before the Inland Wetlands and Watercourses Agency before developing a master plan, and then a site plan for the Planning and Zoning Commission.

Last week's presentation was "the first step in many steps," Matt Baldino, assistant project manager for Solli Engineering, said.


Sections of WWII-era plant in New Britain to be restored, repurposed with help of $2M state grant

Michael Puffer

Deteriorating sections of a sprawling, World War II-era factory complex in New Britain will undergo a major renovation, thanks in part to a $2 million state brownfield grant aimed at advancing industrial redevelopment.

The grant, awarded to the City of New Britain, will support an $8.5 million cleanup and renovation of roughly 123,000 square feet of long-vacant factory space in a five-building, 551,218-square-foot industrial complex that straddles the New Britain-Berlin town line.

The complex sits on 57.2 acres and is owned by Los Angeles-based Industrial Realty Group (IRG), which acquired the property in 1997.

IRG has gradually restored portions of the facility over the past two decades, securing tenants piece by piece. Today, 12 companies operate within the site, employing more than 100 people, IRG staff said.

This $2 million grant helps make the next phase of cleanup financially feasible, Stuart Lichter, IRG founder and president, said Tuesday during a news conference held amid rusting beams and dry-rotted wood inside one of the buildings slated for renovation.

“We’re highly confident well get a manufacturer with a decent number of jobs and that is going to be a huge, huge asset for the community,” Lichter said.

The grant is part of a larger $18.8 million package of brownfield remediation funds announced in June by Gov. Ned Lamont. The funding supports pollution cleanup projects across 19 municipalities and is intended to pave the way for new housing and commercial development.

Deputy Commissioner Matthew Pugliese of the state Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD) noted the broader impact of the state’s brownfield efforts, which have totaled $170 million in grants since the program began, resulting in the remediation of more than 2,200 acres of polluted land.

IRG’s New Britain project will prepare three spaces within two buildings for future tenants. The company’s national portfolio spans more than 100 million square feet of industrial space in 32 states. In Connecticut, it controls eight properties.

The South Street complex had once hosted the New Britain Machine Co., a manufacturing outfit that emerged from the merger of a manufacturer of railroad engines and a company that made woodworking machines, according to Connecticutmills.org.

The company expanded with a second plant on the southern outskirts of New Britain during World War I, making fuses, machine gun tripods and other wartime goods. More buildings were added during World War II as the company began making aircraft parts and employment jumped from 950 to a peak of 4,100, according to Connecticutmills.org.

After the war, the company returned to making hand tools, mechanics tools, office furniture and precision machine tools. The New Britain Machine Co. later merged with a California-based conglomerate and then closed the New Britain plant in 1990, according to Connecticutmills.org.