Gales Ferry Landing back on the market after potential buyer pulls out
Ledyard — A Southington-based property management company has withdrawn its offer for the town-owned Gales Ferry Landing property, after finding that some tenants were considering leaving.
Florian Properties LLC was one of two companies that submitted offers for the 3.3 acres of land and 20,000-square-foot building at 7 Hurlbutt Road. In July, the Town Council authorized Mayor Fred Allyn III to sign a purchase and sale agreement. Florian offered $260,000 for the property, which became a business incubator in 2013.
The building has seven tenants: Southeastern Connecticut Regional Resource Recovery Association, Pure Fitness, 30 Marketing, Bishop Seabury Anglican Church, Art in the Village, Cycle Shed Stores and Kindermusik. All but two of the organizations have month-to-month leases with the town. Small business owners in the space were offered below-market leases that would allow the business to grow and eventually find a new location in town.
However, Allyn said that Florian wanted to retain a certain number of tenants in the space and had proposed increasing the rent to a market rate, which led some tenants to consider moving.
Jazzercise and All About You Massage, previous longtime tenants of Gales Ferry Landing, already had relocated across the street earlier this year.
Southeastern Connecticut Regional Resource Recovery Authority, which manages waste and recyclables for 12 municipalities in the area, has an office in the Landing, and Executive Director Dave Aldridge said it hasn't decided yet whether it will move.
"We are currently weighing our options ... we haven't made any commitments yet," he said.
However, other tenants, including Cycle Shed Stores, have said they plan on staying.
Several Town Council subcommittees have recommended the sale of the former elementary school, which will need an expensive new roof soon. The school closed in 2001. By state statute, town residents must approve the sale at a town meeting.
The building was listed through Paramount Partners, a commercial real estate company, for about two months.
"It's disappointing, but it happens," Allyn said. "We had one other offer, and our broker is going back to see if there is still interest."
A representative from Florian Properties did not respond to a request for comment.
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