New England Cold Storage (NECS) has secured debt financing with Rockland Trust Company for its first cold storage warehouse facility. The $22.9 million loan will go towards their new 120,252-square-foot public refrigerated warehouse that will provide cold storage and logistics services to food producers, processors, wholesalers, and importers. 

Site work began this month on the facility in the Sturbridge Industrial Park. Centrally located in New England, and two miles from the entrance ramp to both I-84 and I-90, the facility will offer one-day round trip access to/from New York City and the New England ports, as well as an ideal distribution location for the Boston, Providence, Hartford, and Springfield markets.

The building will feature three temperature-controlled rooms, and fifteen dock doors opening into a sixty-five foot deep refrigerated loading dock. With a fifty-foot top of product and an automated mobile racking system, NECS will have easy access to its 25,000 pallet positions. The eighteen acre site will feature a one way loop traffic pattern, ample area for truck maneuvering and parking, and a convenient trucker lounge for drivers. In addition to developing the project from the ground up, NECS will also operate the facility. Industry veteran Vernon Rose is leading the operations team. 

NECS is entering a demand-driven market sector in which modern, efficient cold storage space is at nearly full occupancy nationally, while food companies’ increasing storage requirements are expected to continue to outpace supply growth for the foreseeable future. “We recognized a need in the cold storage sector several years ago and we believe this facility, in this location, is an ideal solution,” says NECS President Chris Bailey, “We saw two major barriers to entry: big ticket real estate development and food logistics expertise, and we’ve assembled a team that excels in both areas. We’re proud of the flexible design of our facility, and the operating company we’re putting together to service our customers.”

Atlanta based ARCO Design-Build has been a crucial contributor to that design, and will lead the construction process. 

About New England Cold Storage

New England Cold Storage, LLC (NECS) is a real estate development company and a third-party logistics company, founded by three partners Robert Chamberlain, Jeffrey Eklund, and Chris Bailey. They thoroughly researched the industry opportunity and chose Sturbridge for their first facility because of its broad appeal to several different types of customers. They are assembling a team with the experience and expertise necessary to provide consistent service at a fair price. NECS intends to develop and operate additional facilities in the next few years.

About ARCO Design Build

ARCO Design/Build is a leader in the industrial construction industry with hundreds of associates across the nation and offices in all major markets. ARCO offers the strength, presence, and resources of a $2.5 billion national builder but with the responsiveness of a local company. The Atlanta team specializes in the design and build of industrial warehouses/distribution centers, cold storage facilities, light industrial manufacturing, self-storage, as well as office and tenant improvement projects. With a team of project managers, superintendents, engineers and in-house architects, their Southeast office delivers an enhanced design-build construction process with turnkey centralized project management.