EAST HARTFORD, Conn. (WTNH) — A Massachusetts development company wants to build two massive warehouses in East Hartford to keep up with the rise of e-commerce.
Pratt and Whitney’s former airfield off Silver Lane is the town’s latest economic development interest.
“People remember this as a manufacturing facility,” Mayor Mike Walsh said. “That being said, we have to reinvent ourselves. E-commerce seems to be the wave of the future.”
The surge of online retailers has National Development wanting to build two mega warehouses on each runway near UConn’s football stadium.
The town council voted unanimously in support of the plan.
“This is a field yielding no jobs, very little in terms of tax revenue,” East Hartford Town Council Chair Rich Kehoe said. “As a result of this development, more residents will have access to good-paying jobs.”
The 270-acre site would create 2,000 skilled and entry-level jobs at the warehouses and tech park that could generate an estimated $4 million in tax revenue for East Hartford.
The town’s proximity to I-84 and I-91 was a major incentive. Walsh said this would be the largest warehouse development in the state thus far.
Walsh said he was told by National Development that Amazon would not occupy the warehouses.
As for what’s next, National Development still needs to acquire zoning and wetlands permits before purchasing the property and building out the warehouses, which the mayor says could begin this fall.
