Pratt Announces Sale of Rentschler Airfield Land To Developer

EAST HARTFORD — Pratt & Whitney Monday announced a sale agreement involving its 300-acre on-campus former airfield known as Rentschler Field to National Development, which plans to use the site for "future commercial development."

The sale price was not disclosed.

The site offers more than 280 developable acres near Interstates 84, Pratt & Whitney and officials from brokerage CBRE said.

The site includes the Cabela’s 185,000 square foot retail store and sits adjacent to the 40,000-seat football stadium also known as Rentschler Field, which is home to the University of Connecticut football program. CBRE officials said the site is the "largest and most convenient development site available between New York and Boston."

"This brings tremendous opportunity for economic development to Rentschler Field, which could have a very positive impact on the overall Greater Hartford area," said Shane Eddy, the senior Vice President and chief operations officer at Pratt. "With neighbors like Pratt & Whitney, Cabela’s and UConn football, the site offers an attractive place to do business with incredible access to major highways as well as the estimable talent available in the region's job market. We are pleased with the work CBRE has been able to do and look forward to an exciting next step for this historic piece of property."

National Development is "very enthusiastic" about the "potential" for the next phase of development at Rentschler Field.

"The combination of the central location, the immediate highway accessibility and the access to a densely populated labor pool is unparalleled and we are already hard at work evaluating possibilities for the site," said Edward Marsteiner, managing partner at National Development. “We have a long track record of partnering with communities to deliver best-in-class projects, and we look forward to collaborating with local and state agencies to finalize the sale and bring economic development to this currently underutilized parcel."

CBRE Executive Vice President John McCormick Jr. said, "We are pleased that we could bring two great companies together on a positive economic development opportunity to the Town of East Hartford. It is always exciting to work on a project that you believe will have tremendous, positive, long-term impact to a community."

State House Deputy Majority Leader Jeff Currey (D – East Hartford, Manchester, South Windsor) said of the transaction, "As a decommissioned airport since the '90s, this centrally located, undeveloped land, has sat waiting for a legitimate investment that benefits not only the residents and the Town of East Hartford, but the entire region. I welcome today's news that National Development, with a track record for success here in New England, will begin to transform this area in East Hartford, bringing long awaited jobs and opportunity to our community and potentially propelling future development and bolstering East Hartford's grand list. Residents and state and local officials have always known and highlighted that this property's location between Boston and New York make it an attractive prospect for development that could have long-lasting positive impacts on our area and state. Thank you to Pratt & Whitney and CBRE for their partnership in making this sale and future development a reality."