Sterling Buys 263 KSF Connecticut Shopping Center

January 6, 2026

The asset is under new ownership for the first time in 30 years.

Sterling Organization has acquired Bristol Plaza, a 263,000-square-foot shopping center in Bristol, Conn., in a $44 million deal. Federal Realty Investment Trust sold the asset.

The acquisition was completed through Sterling Value Add Partners IV, a $600 million institutional value-add fund.

Anchored by a Stop & Shop supermarket, Bristol Plaza is 93.1 percent occupied, with 25,000 square feet available for lease. Other national tenants include T.J. Maxx, Burlington, Five Below, Dollar Tree, GameStop and Jersey Mike’s.

Bristol Plaza opened in 1962, and Federal Realty acquired the property in 1995 for $17.3 million, according to Yardi Matrix.

The site is located at 641 Farmington Ave. on U.S. Route 6 and serves 107,000 people within a five-mile radius, according to JLL. Downtown Hartford is about 16 miles away.

JLL Capital Markets’ Investment Sales and Advisory team, led by Managing Director Chris Angelone, Directors Zach Nitsche and Alex Quinn and Associate Sam Wiesman, represented Federal Realty Investment Trust in the deal. Managing Director Henry Schaffer provided financing assistance.

Recent Sterling activity

In prepared remarks, Sterling reported that Bristol Plaza increases the number of assets owned by the firm and its affiliates to 82, comprising 14 million square feet.

In December 2025, Sterling sold Park North Shopping Center, a 635,000-square-foot property in San Antonio, for $115 million, nine years after acquiring it for $81 million. Dhanani Private Equity Group purchased the property.

Also last month, Sterling sold Pompano Citi Centre, a 571,000-square-foot retail center in Pompano Beach, Fla. CTO Realty Growth Inc. acquired that property for $65.2 million. Sterling had owned the asset since buying it for $15.4 million in 2012, according to Yardi Matrix.