Photo courtesy of Torrington Properties
The Boston-based developer that recently finished construction on Portsmouth’s new West End Yards development has purchased a major retail property just across the city line in Newington.
Torrington Properties bought the 102,000-square-foot Newington Park Shopping Center from Connecticut-based investor Urstadt Biddle Properties Inc. for $13.35 million.
“We have owned Newington Park since 1979, when we were still known as HRE Properties. Originally a light industrial development property, we converted it into a mixed use, primarily retail, complex, and it has since been a solid investment for us,” Urstadt Biddle President and CEO Willing L. Biddle said in a statement at the time of the June sale. “We sold the property because it no longer met our ideal investment parameters, as it is not grocery-anchored and is located outside of the suburban neighborhoods surrounding New York City. The Company intends to deploy sale proceeds, as opportunities arise, into regional properties to which our team can add greater value.”
Torrington plans to transform on the 15-acre site, it said, although a company spokesperson told Foster’s Daily Democrat that the company will not be proposing any industrial uses for the site.
“We are excited to acquire Newington Park Shopping Center and embrace the opportunity it brings to the town and the surrounding Seacoast region,” Torrington CEO Jay Bisognano said in a statement posted to the company’s LinkedIn page. “Newington Park has tremendous potential to become a destination that will enhance this already bustling commercial and retail environment.”
Construction on West End Yards finished this summer and leasing began in August. The complex, mixed-use project includes 250 apartments, 23 townhouse condominiums, 22,000 square feet of office space and 22,000 square feet of retail space, including a space designed for a food or beer hall.
Less than a mile from downtown Portsmouth, the project also included pedestrian and cycling upgrades to area infrastructure.
The company is also proposing to convert a former movie theater site in southern Portsmouth into condominiums.
