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December 29, 2022

Renovation eyed for historic Keeney building in Newington

Photo | CoStar The Keeney complex at 1170 Main St., Newington.
By Hanna Snyder Gambini

The new owners of a historic Newington building are seeking a change of use from industrial/office space into retail and office space to revitalize the central downtown landmark.

The 109,200-square-foot complex of three buildings at 1170 Main St., formerly known as the Keeney manufacturing site, was purchased for $3.1 million by Omni Broussard Two LLC in December 2021.

The owners signed a lease in February with Data Mail Inc., which has been in business in Newington for 50 years and employs nearly 1,000 people in its facility on Hartford Avenue. 

Data Mail is growing, the applicants said, and the Keeney 42,500-square-foot high-bay warehouse “was the perfect space for them to expand into while staying close to home in Newington.” 

The owners submitted a petition for the change of use to the town Planning and Zoning Commission with plans for Data Mail and other tenants to occupy the space once it is renovated.

Other potential uses include a brewery/tap room, restaurant, coffee shop or hair salon, along with green spaces in the Main Street front yard and north alley near Market Square, the petition application says. 

The lower-level is at parking-lot level and “offers a second option of retail, which could operate more like showroom spaces with light manufacturing or maker space adjacent,” according to the application. 

“A good example would be a kitchen cabinet manufacturer who produces in the rear of their space but welcomes customers into the front showroom of the store,” the document says. 

Upper level and lower-level spaces have delivery access and would be ideal for industrial, light manufacturing or start-up company space. 

Once renovated, the building will become “an attractive multi-use property and hub in the center of Newington for residents and visitors to shop, dine, drink, work and congregate,” according to the application.

Renovation plans to the 6.8-acre parcel include work to the exterior of the building, which would restore the original art-deco-inspired facade.

Town officials said this will make the building look less like a factory, and therefore be more appealing to future tenants and a more attractive centerpiece in the downtown area.

“This application has the ability to further enhance future development within the Business Town Center,” and enhance foot traffic within the downtown business center, town officials wrote in a report supporting the application.

They applauded the owner’s intentions to preserve the history of the building in its new use and appearance.

The Keeney Manufacturing Company was founded in 1923 in New Britain, producing residential plumbing and heating fittings. 

In 1925, the company moved to its current Newington location, where the building was expanded numerous times from the 1950 to the ‘80s and took on production, sales and distribution. 

Operations stopped in 2019 and the building sold in 2021. 
 

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