Pratt & Whitney Excess Acreage To Be Listed (Updated)

[formerlurker]

They should make a call to the most valuable automaker in the country and see if it is interested in planting a flag in the northeast. Tesla is in the process of expanding, with new facilities coming soon in Austin (plus Germany and China) but they don’t yet have facilities anywhere east of Texas, even though the northeast has lots of people, lots of money, and lots of folks who would be into the idea of electric cars.

Also, I’d check in with elite medical facilities to see if they’re interested in coming here. The Mayo Clinic is an example. With HQ in Minnesota and their other main facilities in Arizona and Florida, I wonder if they’d be interested in having a branch in the northeast.

Thoughts?

I don't think you could have both. All those magnets in Tesla's couldn't be good for nearby medical equipment, right?

 

[pick6s]

I don't think you could have both. All those magnets in Tesla's couldn't be good for nearby medical equipment, right?

The parcel isn’t big enough for both. It would be one or the other.

 

[freescooter]

Honestly this is a very good location for a distribution hub. In the past UTC had visions of:
1. an amusement park. 6 Flags actually did studies and prepared plans but ultimately bought Riverside in Springfield
2. The northeast’s largest indoor mall. The owners of Mall of America looked at it at one point.
3. The outlet mall that fell apart twice.
4. A power plant.
5. an automobile plant. It was pitched as a site for Toyota, iirc.
6. aerospace r&d center


those of us who initially looked at the site believed it was well placed for wearhouse and distribution and r&d. UTC always wanted something shiny on the site. In fact they hired a team of retail guys to run the reuse program.

 

[Exit 4]

The land seems destine to either sit in a holding pattern for a future generation to develop by default (what will we need in 20 or 30 years?) or warehouse space for our ever growing online retail world.

 

[Dooooooomed]

Nice area for a prison.

 

[Da_Aisijimo_Gou]

If warehouses are to dot the RTX land, massive #s of solar panels and wind turbines might be reasonable financial considerations. Hello, RTX, utilities, town and state govt.

 

[Chin Diesel]

I want to smoke what those on here are smoking while suggesting any new large scale manufacturing could be situated there. Not a chance.

 

[Waquoit]

I want to smoke what those on here are smoking while suggesting any new large scale manufacturing could be situated there. Not a chance.

They don't even have any large scale manufacturing in Pratt itself.

 

[UCFBfan]

Let's just build a large COVID vaccine manufacturing factory there. Plenty of government funding and desperate need. Not enough plants across this country creating the vaccine and we all need it. I don't care the company. Heck, let's make them all! (Kidding of course, but not really).

 

[huskymedic]

See post 14 for site map…




-> “This brings tremendous opportunity for economic development to Rentschler Field, which could have a very positive impact on the overall Greater Hartford area,” said Shane Eddy, senior vice president and chief operations officer at Pratt & Whitney. “With neighbors like Pratt & Whitney, Cabela’s and UConn football, the site offers an attractive place to do business with incredible access to major highways as well as the estimable talent available in the region’s job market. We are pleased with the work CBRE has been able to do and look forward to an exciting next step for this historic piece of property.” <-

 

[businesslawyer]

Although it doesn’t own the land, the State of Connecticut should make a call to the most valuable automaker in the country and see if it is interested in planting a flag in the northeast. Tesla is in the process of expanding, with new facilities coming soon in Austin (plus Germany and China) but they don’t yet have US facilities east of Texas, even though the northeast has lots of people, lots of money, and lots of folks who would be into the idea of electric cars. As a bonus, perhaps CT could allow Tesla to use The Rent’s parking lots for free, though I’m not sure exactly how close The Rent’s parking lots are to the parcel that’s for sale. Since most events at The Rent are on weekends or evenings, there should be no issue sharing the parking lots, thus leaving Tesla more room for its facility.

Also, I’d check in with elite medical facilities to see if they’re interested in coming here. The Mayo Clinic is an example. With HQ in Minnesota and their other main facilities in Arizona and Florida, I wonder if they’d be interested in having a branch in the northeast.

Thoughts?

This is such a good idea. Why has no state or municipality ever thought of hiring people to do economic development and planning?

 

[gioff2323]

New location of HCC.

 

[UCDaveD]

Nice area for a prison.

Thought that’s what we were already using Rentschler for on Saturdays.

 

[SubbaBub]

At least they are working with a known developer and not fly by night scammers.

The best use is to move the UConn campus here, give Storrs to ECSU and the School of Agriculture.

 

[Waquoit]

It's the perfect place for an In an Out Burger patty-making facility and distribution center. It's right next to the Interstate, less than a half-hour from the airport. Pittsburgh and Buffalo are well within their vaunted 500-mile radius, nevermind DC, Philly, NYC and Boston.

 

[Get a Job]

At least they are working with a known developer and not fly by night scammers.

The best use is to move the UConn campus here, give Storrs to ECSU and the School of Agriculture.

Now this is the type of out-of-the-box thinking that can change the course of history! To think, all this time we've been assuming the only way to get an on-campus stadium is to build a stadium in Storrs!

 

[F101Voodoo]

Nice area for a prison.

Ok we do need a place to store convicted Yankee fans.

 

[dvegas]

I've done some business With National Development. They run a first class operation.

 

[DoctorWho85]

I still like the idea of outlets and restaurants and maybe a hotel. A place where we can go see a football game, then do some shopping and have a bite to eat afterwards. Really make a weekend out of it. Plus that brings jobs and more tax revenue to East Hartford and the state.

 

[Hurleyman216]

I don’t think this is a good thing for the state at all…this is the beginning of Raytheon planning their exit from CT and getting something for this land before they devalue it by leaving behind all their facilities here. Many on here may not agree with this, but I worked for UTC/Raytheon for over 15 years and do know a good deal about this. Raytheon has plans to slowly move all these jobs down to North Carolina and Florida. For those of you who will say “but P&W just built a new engineering building and RTRC just built a new R&D building” yes this is true, but I don’t think they care. Long-term (10 years from now) that campus is going to have a football field, Cabelas and a bunch of empty buildings. They’re just grabbing some $$ up front before they leave as the land has more value while they are still there.

 

[BlueandOG]

I still like the idea of outlets and restaurants and maybe a hotel. A place where we can go see a football game, then do some shopping and have a bite to eat afterwards. Really make a weekend out of it. Plus that brings jobs and more tax revenue to East Hartford and the state.

I live near Patriot Place in Foxboro and it is exactly like this. Always busy.

 

[Exit 4]

Samsung's new $17B chip factory would have been a welcome announcement.... winner this morning is Taylor Texas....just outside of Austin.

Looks like some prime space for more online parcel handling warehouses/distribution.

Dont think the setting is attractive enough to create a destination shopping experience. And I dont think you can get banks/lenders to fund it given the state of retail leasing.

There is a dearth of large scale suburban housing development in CT....maybe someone makes a bold run to build a master planned community.

 

[Skiblets]

The days of Connecticut being a major commercial player are long gone unfortunately. Weicker and years of legislative mismanagement saw to that. The economic and political conditions hold it back and the culture of the state does not attract true innovation. Restaurants and outlet stores cannot replace corporate and professional income taxes. The math just doesn’t work. It’s a shame but no one in Hartford seems to care

 

[UConnJim]

I don’t think this is a good thing for the state at all…this is the beginning of Raytheon planning their exit from CT and getting something for this land before they devalue it by leaving behind all their facilities here. Many on here may not agree with this, but I worked for UTC/Raytheon for over 15 years and do know a good deal about this. Raytheon has plans to slowly move all these jobs down to North Carolina and Florida. For those of you who will say “but P&W just built a new engineering building and RTRC just built a new R&D building” yes this is true, but I don’t think they care. Long-term (10 years from now) that campus is going to have a football field, Cabelas and a bunch of empty buildings. They’re just grabbing some $$ up front before they leave as the land has more value while they are still there.

One thing that has really changed in recent years is the relative cost of housing and office space in CT which is starting to change the way some companies think about locations. Using the Zillow database, here is the comparison of housing costs in Charlotte, NC, Tampa, FL and the state of Connecticut:

Average home value:

2014: Charlotte, NC: $164k, Tampa: $152k, Connecticut: $246k
2022: Charlotte, NC: $338k, Tampa: $346k, Connecticut: $328k


And, office space is also cheaper in Hartford:

Class A office space:

Hartford: $24.38/ft2
Charlotte: $31.20/ft2
Tampa: $35.77/ft2

Sure, utilities and health care costs are still a problem in Connecticut, but Connecticut is not the ridiculously high cost state that is was even 10 years ago primarily due to economic stagnation. Relative to Boston, NYC, and even Providence, Hartford is a very low cost location.

 

[UC1995]

Connecticut is so backward in regards to growth. I grew up in Barkhamsted and the people up there still fight any type of growth economically, like it is just going to magically appear without any give and take. Even eco-tourism with the Farmington River and trails. So many people are stuck in the past. I agree though Skiblets, if we are hitching our wagon to In-N-Out Burgers coming Connecticut will never move forward.