Winstanley Enterprises purchases two million s/f
J.C. Penney facility in Manchester, CT for $70 million

Manchester, CT Winstanley Enterprises, LLC of Concord, MA has acquired the J.C. Penney distribution warehouse facility located at 1339 Tolland Tpke. The property was purchased for $70 million from J.C. Penney. The two million s/f facility features visibility and convenient interstate highway access, connecting future tenants to the largest metropolitan hubs in the Northeast.  

Winstanley Enterprises plans to renovate the interior and exterior of the facility and transform the location into a bulk warehouse and distribution center. 

“This facility is one of the largest distribution warehouses on the Eastern Seaboard, and we are very excited to breathe new life into the property,” said Adam Winstanley, a principal of Winstanley Enterprises. “We look forward to working closely with the community, creating new local jobs and offering distribution tenants a top-tier facility centrally located here in Manchester.” 

Winstanley Enterprises is one of the largest owners and operators of warehouse and distribution space on the East Coast, bolstering their portfolio to over 10 million s/f with this acquisition. The landlord-developer brings a track record of local success and experience from recent acquisitions and projects in Connecticut, having transformed both warehouse-manufacturing and commercial retail spaces into vibrant contributors in their communities. 

In addition to the location of the warehouse facility, Winstanley Enterprises is excited about the adaptability of the building and plans to make investments in the property including a new roof, building exterior enhancements, site and signage improvements, LED lighting, updated mechanical systems and a new EFSR sprinkler system. The improvements are estimated to cost $40 million.

“The existing building has some very marketable layout features, access to rail and a centralized location,” said Winstanley. “We feel strongly that the capital infusion our team is committing to this property will draw high-quality tenants to occupy portions of the warehouse.”  

J.C. Penney has operated at the Manchester distribution center since the early 1980s, and as part of the acquisition will continue to operate in their existing footprint in the short-term, until downsizing to a 600,000 s/f portion of the building to better fit their needs.  

Detailed plans for the facility are not yet available, but the development team of Winstanley Enterprises shared several existing interior features of the warehouse, including 40-foot by 40-foot column spacing and 28-feet of height clearance, making it an ideal location for large distribution or manufacturing tenants seeking over 500,000 s/f of space.   

Winstanley Enterprises, LLC is a vertically integrated commercial real estate investment firm headquartered in Concord, Massachusetts.  The firm owns/ operates 10 million square feet of industrial & logistics, biotech, R&D, retail, multifamily, and office properties.