EDC Reviews Berlin Turnpike Vacancy Inventory

Other Committee 2026-09-10 Part 2 · Meeting of September 10, 2026

Newington's Economic Development Commission reviewed vacant Berlin Turnpike parcels and expanded broker outreach. Staff member Eric walked commissioners through two overlay zones, noting Woodgrain Industries purchased the former Fafner building complex and plans an expansion that will go before the Town Plan and Zoning Commission next month. Commissioner Jim Wilshire, also Newington Chamber of Commerce president, said a working group toured eight Berlin Turnpike properties and found the vacant "Footprint" building listed through Colliers at $3.5 million for 29,000 square feet.

Town Councilman Matt Ploer reported that an informal Market Square walkabout surfaced the same top three priorities as the Town Center Master Plan steering committee: traffic, pedestrian safety and parking. "We don't want more studies just for studies' sake," Ploer said. A resident of 21 Isabel Terrace told the commission the Kiwanis Club's scholarship flea market nearly folded this year before volunteers stepped in.

In the full story:

• Who Was There
• Organizations And Documents Referenced
• The complete report — 2,985 words

Source: the Other Committee 2026-09-10 Part 2 meeting of September 10, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.

Checked against the record: before publication this article was automatically compared with the meeting transcript.

The Full Article

Roll Call And Seating Of Alternates

The meeting opened with a roll call that revealed several regular commissioners absent. Mr. Rupes and Mr. Maitland did not answer when called, and Commissioner Simi was likewise silent on the recording; Mr. Dillon's status was unclear in the audio. Chairman Rennie, Commissioner Lansing, Commissioner Ryu, Commissioner Wilshire, Commissioner Forslini (seated under the name Forslina when formally sworn in), Commissioner Andrews and a commissioner called Morgensbill on the roll but identified moments later as Jennifer Morgenthau all answered present. Commissioner Mike Lucas joined remotely. Because four regular seats were effectively open, the chair formally seated all three available alternates, Lucas, Forslina and Morgenthau, as voting members for the meeting. This is a short procedural matter with no further business implication beyond establishing a quorum.

Chamber Of Commerce Report

The Chamber of Commerce report, delivered on the chamber's behalf, covered the Waterfall Festival on Market Square, scheduled for September 26 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., and the chamber's annual golf tournament on October 5, for which organizers said they are still recruiting golfers. The report noted that Town Council member Kathy Gonzalez briefed the chamber on an "elderly housing opportunity" that has drawn local attention, though no further detail was given at this meeting. It also noted that Chamber Executive Director Leslie Civitillo and Chamber President Jim Wilshire met with Mayor John Trister to discuss reviving two past events, the Taste of Newington and the Newington Business Showcase, tentatively in the spring. Wilshire said the idea grew out of conversations about rebuilding community connectivity after the pandemic. No dates or budget were set; this remains in "very early planning stages," per the report.

Newington Center Business Collective Report

The Newington Center Business Collective, a downtown merchants group, reported plans for a presence at the Waterfall Festival, including branded "townie" stickers, and said its Soar and Explore Newington program will wrap up around the same time. The group is also launching "Pumpkins on the Square," a pumpkin-decorating contest for downtown businesses, with residents invited to vote on winners. Two new downtown retail tenants were announced: AMR Collective, a permanent-jewelry and lash studio on Main Street, and Third Eye Open, a thrift, crafts and vintage shop opening near the hospital end of Market Square in the space vacated by a former watch repair business.

Old Business: Zoning Bylaw Update

Commissioners revisited a stalled effort to update the EDC's own bylaws. No working group had formed since the item was last discussed. After discussion of past precedent, in which a prior three-member group, including then-Executive Director Forslina, updated the chamber's bylaws, no commissioner volunteered to lead the effort. The chair ultimately proposed that Eric send the existing bylaw document to the full commission, with each member expected to review it and bring suggested changes to the next meeting, effectively making the review everyone's shared homework rather than a single working group's task. No vote was taken; this is a holding action pending the next meeting.

Economic Development POCD Review: Area B, Transit Village Design District

Background and stakes: The commission is working through an area-by-area review of opportunity sites identified in the town's Plan of Conservation and Development, intended to give the EDC a current picture of vacant, underused or redevelopable parcels. The question before the body was informational: hear a staff presentation on Area B parcels and flag any sites warranting further commission attention.

Eric presented a map-based review of Area B, which overlaps the Transit Village Design District, an overlay zone created to allow higher-density, mixed-use development near a possible future rail station. He detailed Cedar Point Apartments, which still has a third building planned pending another round of state tax-credit funding; a roughly 170,000-square-foot manufacturing warehouse currently occupied by TRM; a large Beacon Industries parcel with frontage on Maple Hill Avenue; and an adjacent undeveloped site tied to a previously approved but unexecuted Maple Hill Avenue road realignment. Commissioners asked about a vacant, pie-shaped parcel at 7 North Mountain Road where a self-storage project had been approved years earlier. "They failed to pay their engineer the final money's due and it kind of died," Eric said, adding, "it got approved, but it died on the vine."

Discussion also touched on the former Fafner building complex just north of the Cedar Point site. Eric said Woodgrain Industries recently purchased the property, including an additional adjoining parcel, and is already operating and expanding its warehousing and manufacturing use there; the expansion is scheduled to come before the Town Plan and Zoning Commission within the next month. A commissioner asked whether the sale price was roughly $32.4 million, but no figure was confirmed on the record. Commissioners also asked about a brown brick building near Universal Supply on Fenn Road and a long-vacant property at 25 Holly Drive, which Eric said is owned by a Mr. Sulo and has sat empty for several years despite a recent site visit.

Procedural steps and outcome: No vote was taken. Eric said he would continue the area-by-area review at upcoming meetings, moving next to the area around Newington Junction and then opportunity sites one through six.

Implications and what is next: The Woodgrain expansion will come before the Town Plan and Zoning Commission within roughly a month, giving residents a near-term public process to watch. The North Mountain Road and Maple Hill Avenue sites remain unresolved, with no applicant or town action pending on either.

Economic Development POCD Review: Area C, Transit-Oriented Development Overlay

Background and stakes: This segment continued the same parcel survey, shifting to Area C, which falls inside the town's Transit-Oriented Development, or TOD, overlay near the busway.

The question before the body: hear which parcels in the TOD are occupied, vacant or in play, and whether any warrant commission follow-up.

Eric walked through parcels including a CCSU-owned, landlocked parcel fronting the busway where past discussions of future student housing have not advanced; the WPOP radio site, still used as a relay for other local stations; the Spark apartment development, along with Cumberland Farms, Starbucks, Salsa Fresca, Jersey Mike's, Verizon, Hot Haven and Smoothie Tropical as occupied TOD businesses; the busway platform station; a car wash; and a last vacant TOD parcel available for development. He also noted the Stop and Shop Plaza, where the only pad site is occupied by Mooyah, and said a commissioner's question about additional pad-site development was unlikely to be viable because added retail space would push the plaza below required parking counts. Wayside Fence Company, an HVAC business, an empty parking lot, and a privately owned vacant parcel across from a gas station, where an approved site plan from years ago was never built, round out the inventory; several remaining wetlands parcels are state-owned.

Eric said the Spark development is expected to seek certificates of occupancy this fall, and that Mr. Sulo, who separately owns 25 Holly Drive, is weighing options for his TOD-area parcel as well.

Procedural steps and outcome: No vote was taken; this was an informational review.

Implications and what is next: The TOD's reduced-setback incentives remain available to any future applicant on the last vacant TOD parcel, which commissioners did not further act on at this meeting.

EDC Working Group And Broker Outreach

Background and stakes: Following discussion at a prior meeting, commissioners Rob, Todd and Wilshire had informally divided up outreach to commercial brokers along the Berlin Turnpike, an effort reported on for the first time at this meeting.

Wilshire said he personally visited eight available or for-sale properties on the Turnpike and then contacted the brokers handling them, including brokers he identified only by the first names Andy, Joe and Jeff. "All of these guys were excited that the EDC... wants to, you know, look at the inventories," he said, adding that brokers suggested Newington examine how larger economic development offices in West Hartford and Bristol, which employ dedicated economic development directors, structure their broker relationships. Wilshire also relayed that a broker representing the vacant Footprint building, a former sporting-goods store near Church's Chicken, said it is listed through Colliers for $3.5 million for 29,000 square feet, and separately noted a broker's interest in finding tenants for a space near "Joon's Jewelers."

A second, unnamed commissioner reported contacting additional Berlin Turnpike realtors directly, introducing themselves and sharing the town's economic development web page as a resource; three brokers responded, and the commissioner said they planned follow-up conversations about barriers those brokers face moving vacant properties and any active prospects.

Wilshire separately described a Chamber of Commerce task force seeking "boutique style businesses" willing to open secondary Newington locations, citing a recently opened permanent-jewelry and lash studio as an example of the kind of small storefront the effort targets.

Procedural steps and outcome: No vote was taken. Commissioners discussed inviting brokers to attend EDC meetings monthly during public participation to share listings directly with the commission; no formal decision to schedule such visits was made.

Implications and what is next: The Woodgrain expansion aside, this working group's efforts are informal and ongoing; no new broker partnership or incentive program was adopted at this meeting.

New Business: Vacancy Inventory Proposal

A commissioner asked whether the EDC should build a standing inventory of vacant leasable and for-sale commercial space using LoopNet and similar listing data, similar to a list the economic development office reportedly compiled around 2008. Eric said he would review the old format to see whether it remains useful and could forward a template if so. No vote was taken; this is a staff follow-up item.

Newington Business Brief

Staff distributed a four-page roundup of business openings and closings, most of it covered briefly rather than item by item. Confirmed recent or upcoming openings include: Little Plant Shop, opened August 15 at 3277 Berlin Turnpike; Colony Grill, under construction at the former Plaza Azteca site, 3260 Berlin Turnpike; GF Fitness, opened August 15 at the former LA Fitness location, with an attached juice bar; Express Pizza and Scoops at 82 Pane Road; a planned Taco John's; Ross Dress for Less, moving into the former Joann's space, now expected late 2026 or early 2027; Goldfish Swim School and Kids Strong gym at the former Barnes and Noble building that straddles the Newington-Farmington line, with Cold Stone Creamery on the Farmington side; a new McDonald's and Goodwill planned near Deming Street; NV Beauty Studio relocating to 10 Stoddard Avenue; Lauren Hill's Aesthetics and Wellness, open since January at 142 Market Square; Third Eye Open at 140-154 Market Square; Tempered Barber Shop, recently opened at 1086 Main Street under an owner identified only by the first name Heath, previously of the Modern barber shop; Spirit Halloween, opening at 3087 Berlin Turnpike in the former Party City space, with Spooky Town opening nearby next to Walmart; Almost Scary Smoothie Cafe, already open at the former Vacuum Village site, 2394 Berlin Turnpike; and a laundromat reopening at the Twin City Plaza site on New Britain Avenue after a fire, with no firm construction-completion date given. Staff also said they are beginning to monitor the Connecticut Business Registry monthly for new LLC filings as an early signal of coming openings. The Candlewood Park pickleball court at 84 Lamplighter opened roughly two weeks later than planned but is already drawing regular use, including informal pickup play by parents and children.

Town Center Master Plan And Downtown Programming

Wilshire reported that the planning department will again staff a table at the Waterfall Festival to keep the Town Center Master Plan visible, and that the town must still formally apply for a grant already awarded to it, a process now underway. The master plan's steering committee has not met this cycle and is not expected to meet again for another couple of months. Wilshire said a separate meeting with Parks and Recreation's Scott was "very beneficial," with Scott discussing bringing music programming and a farmers market back downtown. On a separate item, staff said the town submitted a brownfield grant application this week, acting as a pass-through applicant, to fund removal of the former dry-cleaning building; if awarded, the project would include a small pocket park behind the firehouse parking lot shared by nearby businesses. A commissioner asked about recent activity at Premier, a separate dry-cleaning property, but staff said they had no new information, having last spoken with that owner roughly 18 months ago. On staffing, Eric confirmed the town planner position has been posted and has drawn some interviews, but no hire has been announced.

Commissioner Walkabout: Market Square Business Input

Background and stakes: Commissioner Wilshire and Town Councilman Matt Ploer conducted an informal walking survey of Market Square merchants to gauge priorities ahead of further Town Center Master Plan work.

The question before the body: report back on what downtown business owners said they would prioritize if given discretionary funding.

Ploer said the pair asked merchants what they would do "if you had two million dollars and a magic wand," focusing on businesses along what Ploer called "hairdresser alley," largely hair salons and a dental office, as well as Newington Pizza. He said responses converged on the same three priorities the master plan steering committee had already identified: traffic mitigation, pedestrian safety and parking. One dentist, identified as Dr. Lekowitz, raised concerns about deteriorating paver stones; commissioners discussed that the original Main Street paver installation dates back roughly 20 years and was completed in phases, with the town's Highway and Grounds division tracking and repairing damaged sections once notified.

"What folks really stressed when we went downtown... is we want to see real things happen. We don't want more studies just for studies' sake." [00:55:15] — Councilman Matt Ploer

Ploer, speaking later during public participation, said the state grant process for the master plan is standard but had faced early difficulty reaching the relevant state agency staff; he said the more significant constraint is hiring enough planning staff, including the pending town planner position, to support the work. He also urged the EDC to formalize its broker and property-owner outreach, suggesting an intake form capturing what owners want for a property and what kind of tenant they are seeking, paired with a dedicated EDC contact.

Procedural steps and outcome: No vote was taken; this was a verbal report with no formal recommendation adopted.

Implications and what is next: The master plan steering committee's next meeting remains undated, pending both the grant application process and the town planner hire.

Public Participation: Kiwanis Flea Market

A resident who gave her address as 21 Isabel Terrace told the commission that the Kiwanis Club's annual flea market, whose proceeds fund scholarships for Newington students, nearly closed this year before a young volunteer couple stepped in to run it. She asked whether the EDC or downtown businesses could help publicize or partner with the event, noting she already distributes QR-code flyers at a local business so people can follow and volunteer with the organizers. Wilshire said organizers are separately planning a "Car and Coffee" event downtown on slow Sunday afternoons and would welcome coordinating with Kiwanis on exposure, but no formal commitment was made.

Scheduling Note: October Meeting Moves To Zoom

The commission announced its October 8 meeting will be held by Zoom only after losing access to its usual meeting room, apparently reserved for registrar-of-voters or early-voting training. No vote was required; invites will go out ahead of the date.

WHO WAS THERE

Chairman Rennie — presided over the meeting. Commissioner Jim Wilshire — also president of the Newington Chamber of Commerce; led parcel, broker-outreach and downtown-walkabout reports. Commissioner Ryu — present, roll call only. Commissioner Lansing — present, roll call only. Commissioner Andrews — present, roll call only. Commissioner Forslini, seated as Forslina — alternate formally seated to fill a vacancy; participated in broker outreach working group as "Rob" or "Todd" is unconfirmed from the transcript. Commissioner Morgensbill, later named Jennifer Morgenthau — alternate formally seated to fill a vacancy. Commissioner Mike Lucas — alternate, joined and participated remotely. Mr. Dillon, Mr. Rupes, Mr. Maitland, Commissioner Simi — called at roll call; none clearly confirmed present on the recording. Eric — town staff member who led the POCD parcel review and business brief; title not stated in the recording. Charlie — referenced once as a colleague of Eric's in the planning department; no further identification given. Town Councilman Matt Ploer — attended to report on a downtown merchant walkabout and spoke during public participation. A resident of 21 Isabel Terrace — spoke during public participation about the Kiwanis Club flea market; name not given. Referenced but not present: Town Council member Kathy Gonzalez, Mayor John Trister, Chamber Executive Director Leslie Civitillo, Parks and Recreation's Scott, and property owner Mr. Sulo.

ORGANIZATIONS AND DOCUMENTS REFERENCED

Newington Chamber of Commerce — reported on the Waterfall Festival, golf tournament and plans to revive the Taste of Newington and Business Showcase. Newington Center Business Collective — downtown merchants group behind Pumpkins on the Square and Soar and Explore Newington. Kiwanis Club of Newington — raised in public comment regarding its scholarship flea market fundraiser. Town Plan and Zoning Commission — will hear Woodgrain Industries' warehouse expansion application within roughly a month. Connecticut Business Registry — monthly resource staff are using to track new LLC filings as an early indicator of business openings. LoopNet — commercial listing service proposed as a data source for a vacancy inventory. Colliers — commercial brokerage cited regarding the Footprint building's $3.5 million listing. Town's Plan of Conservation and Development (POCD) — source of the "Area B" and "Area C" opportunity-site designations framing the parcel review. Town Center Master Plan — downtown planning initiative whose steering committee has not yet met this cycle; its priorities (traffic, pedestrian safety, parking) were echoed by merchants in the walkabout. EDC bylaws — under informal review for updates; no working group yet formed.