ConnectiCare Expanding In Farmington

ConnectiCare has broken ground on its new office building at 175 Scott Swamp Road in Farmington.

The 64,000-square-foot building is being developed by the Tomasso Group, which owns the property. The project will take most of a year to complete, and the tentative opening is scheduled for the end of next summer.

“ConnectiCare is committed to staying local and growing our business in this area,” ConnectiCare president and CEO Mickey Herbert said in a statement. “We are committed to the region. Hartford is the insurance capital of the nation. There are talent and resources in the region that we need.”

ConnectiCare officials acknowledged that they looked elsewhere for expansion opportunities but eventually decided to stay in the Hartford region.

The estimated cost of the project stands currently at $11.5 million, but there are likely to be additional costs due to design, legal, engineering and developer fees.

The new building will augment the 100,000-square-foot building ConnectiCare already occupies on Scott Swamp Road. The two buildings will be called the ConnectiCare campus. The new building does not yet have an official name.

The initial lease agreement is for 15 years. The building is not expected to be at capacity immediately when employees start moving in next fall.

Oz Griebel, president and CEO of the MetroHartford Alliance, said he was delighted with ConnectiCare’s decision to stay in the area.

“This expansion is yet another confirmation that the region possesses a premier and growing pool of insurance professionals,” he said.

Home Depot Lease

The Home Depot has extended a lease for a Bloomfield warehouse at 170 Highland Park Drive.

KBS Real Estate Investment Trust announced that it has leased the entire 449,000-square-foot warehouse and distribution facility to Home Depot.

The single-building property is part of the KBS/Hackman Industrial Portfolio, which acquired 24 industrial, warehouse and manufacturing facilities for $516 million last year. KBS REIT has leased 967,433 square feet of properties in Massachusetts and Connecticut in 2008.

Home Depot officials confirmed it was a lease renewal and that the company has been in Bloomfield for nearly a decade. The facility serves as the lumber distribution center for Home Depot stores in Connecticut.

ALDI Expanding Again

German-based discount grocer ALDI has opened its 10th Connecticut location and its sixth new store in the state in the past 12 months.

The latest location opened this month in Vernon at 360 Talcottville Road. In April, when ALDI opened a store in Rocky Hill, it announced plans for the Vernon store as well as plans to open four other Connecticut stores in the near future.

The current downturn in the economy plays to ALDI’s strength as a grocery cost-cutter, according to ALDI South Windsor division vice president Bruce Persohn. He said consumers are more likely to seek out cost-saving alternatives.

ALDI claims that its prices are 30-40 percent less than store brands at traditional supermarkets.

Sean O’Leary is a Hartford Business Journal staff writer.