Scannell Signs Coca-Cola for 200,000-SF CT BTS Warehouse in Deal Brokered by CBRE, JLL

January 15, 2019 — By Joe Clements

Rendering: 359 Ellington Rd., South Windsor CT

SOUTH WINDSOR, CT—A fizzled cornfield in this Hartford suburb is providing welcomed pop to the city’s tax base thanks to a regional Coca Cola Corp. distributor signing up for 200,000 sf of distribution and warehouse space being developed by net-leased specialist Scannell Properties. The major agreement was orchestrated by CBRE and JLL which negotiated terms engaging experts from both Connecticut and Massachusetts.

“We are thrilled we could help Coca-Cola execute the right real estate strategy for this distribution facility,” says JLL Senior VP Michael Ciummei in a statement provided Real Reporter, with his firm advising the tenant for the project at 359 Ellington Rd. that is slated to open in November. CBRE was exclusive agent for Scannell, a Midwest firm active in Northeast development circles.

Coca Cola Bottling Company of Northern New England President Mark Francoeur says in a statement that the new plant “will help modernize our operations in Connecticut and position (the company) for sustainable long-term growth for years to come.” Francoeur further explains that, in constructing the building, “we will be able to expand our production capabilities at our existing location in East Hartford and create a stronger distribution system to bring more of our beverages to market.”

Working alongside Senior VP Joseph Fabiano leading JLL’s New England Industrial Practice Group, Ciummei was joined on the Coca Cola assignment by JLL Executive VP Brian Tisbert of Boston and Managing Director Shawn McMahon from Connecticut. Scannell was advised by CBRE First VP Chris Metcalfe and Vice President Kyle Roberts, both veteran professionals in the firm’s Hartford office.

The 24.9-acre site on which the sleek structure is being built is favored for a centralized location and easy access to major highways including Interstates 84 and 91 and I-90 in Massachusetts. In enticing CCNNE, South Windsor sweetened their opportunity by providing a 70 percent tax break for the first seven years of the 15-year agreement, but even then, the community will receive $125,000 annually from the project versus $7,000 it presently receives.

The tenant whose beverage lineup is available globally has operated across New England as CCNNE since 1977 and today has over 3,700 employees staffing two dozen sales centers and a pair of production plants regionally, including another modern facility in Londonderry, NH, whose sustainable constitution is being incorporated into the South Windsor project. Even without the new complex on line, CCNNE is one of the nation’s largest Coca-Cola bottlers.

JLL also has an international platform, its footprint covering over 80 countries and well-represented throughout New England, its denizens here part of a workforce that stood at 88,000 as of Q4 2018. CBRE is similarly active regionally and worldwide with 75,000 professionals doing business in more than 100 countries and operating multiple offices in New England, including Boston and Connecticut.