South Windsor Town Manager: 'Possibility' for Business to Move Into Hi-G Building

The property at 85 Nutmeg Road in South Windsor - better known as the Hi-G building - has sat vacant for the better part of 20 years.

During that time, several deals to put a long-term tenant in the 109,000-square-foot building that once housed a defense contractor have fallen through or failed to materialize.

But a spate of recent activity concerning the property has raised hopes that the building will once again become an active part of the town’s tax rolls.

Indeed, a redevelopment agency meeting is scheduled for March 13, and the only item of new business on the agenda is “85 Nutmeg Plan and Discussion.”

Town Manager Matthew Galligan declined to comment, other than to say, “There’s a possibility after all these years to get a business in there.”

But anyone familiar with that parcel knows that nothing is simple.

On Feb. 27, an entity called 85 Nutmeg Road LLC recorded a committee deed with the town stating that it acquired the property from Hi-G Company through a foreclosure proceeding for $700,000. The alleged transaction is dated Nov. 12, 2010.

According to the Secretary of the State’s office, Jan Exman, a developer, is listed as the principal of 85 Nutmeg Road LLC.

It’s one more episode in the convoluted history of the Hi-G building, which was abandoned in 1994 after the tenant went bankrupt just months after receiving $3.5 million in grants and loans from the state to grow its business in South Windsor.

Once that tenant - Hi-G - went bankrupt, dozens of liens were filed against the property, encumbering it for over $1.5 million. What’s more, the site was designated by the state as a “brownfield” because Hi-G generated hazardous waste in manufacturing film circuits and timing and relay components.

Fast forward to January 2010, when the town and 85 Nutmeg Road LLC (“Nutmeg”) entered into an agreement in which the town assigned its Hi-G tax liens to Nutmeg.

Under the agreement, one of the ways Nutmeg could obtain marketable title on the property was by acquiring it through a committee deed by a foreclosure action instituted by Reoco, which handles the town’s delinquent tax liens.

Once it obtained title, Nutmeg was to clean up the property - there were some environmental issues - and sell or lease it to “an appropriate user.”

In exchange, Nutmeg, pursuant to the agreement, would receive the first $300,000 from the sale and the town would receive the rest of the sale price. In addition, the property would be assessed at $1 from October 2009 through the 2016 grand list, “provided that Nutmeg is maintaining a redevelopment effort and is marketing the Property.”

Reoco foreclosed on the property in November 2010, according to court records. Whether - and when - Exman acquired the property for $700,000 is unclear.

However, in January 2011, a deal was announced that developer Constantinos Constantinou and his father-in-law were acquiring the Hi-G property for $415,000. Under the terms of the deal, Exman would receive $300,000, while the town would receive $115,000.

The town council approved the sale via a tax lien conveyance and assessment agreement on Jan. 24, 2011. But the deal has not been finalized.

In a telephone interview Wednesday, Constantinou said that he was no longer interested in pursuing the purchase because of the environmental issues.

Constantinou said that he did not know that Exman had allegedly acquired the property via a committee deed.

“That is news to me,” he said.

Town officials, including Mayor Tom Delnicki and Galligan, declined to comment on Exman's recording of the committee deed or who the prospective tenant is for the Hi-G building.

A message left for Exman at his listed telephone number was not returned.