New England Retail Properties leases 38,600 s/f at Colonial Plaza
New England Retail Properties, Inc. of Wethersfield finalized two leases at the Colonial Plaza Shopping Center. The newest tenants will be Family Dental Center, a 4,100 s/f Boston-based 17 office dental chain which was represented by Brian Zelman of ERA Broder Commercial of West Hartford, and Red, White & Blue Stores, a Calif.-based thrift store which leased 34,500 s/f and was represented by Toby Brimberg of O,R&L of Branford.
Matt Halprin and Nelson Pickering of New England Retail Properties, Inc. exclusively represented the landlord, Thomaston Avenue Associates of Fairfield.
Red, White & Blue Stores was founded more than 30 years ago and partners with the Vietnam Veterans of America with locations in Ore., Calif. Fla., Penn., N.J. and Mich. This will be its first New England location.
Colonial Plaza has other national tenants including Dunkin' Donuts and Wendy's and consists of 220,000 s/f on the West End of Waterbury.
Wallingford, CT O,R&L Commercial has completed the $3.8 million sale of a mixed-use investment property located at 33-39 North Main St. and 24-25 Wallace Ave. in the town center.
Now what? As the year comes to a close, the state of retail is always in the news. The answers vary greatly depending on who in the various related industries you ask, each offering a unique lens on the challenges and opportunities ahead.
This may seem self-serving, and I’ll be the first to admit it. But unlike some of the artificial intelligence tools now reshaping our industry, I am fully aware of my own bias. So, hear me out. The rise of AI in commercial real estate is not a distant threat or a speculative headline.