Image courtesy of CBRE

A Fairfield-based investment firm co-led by a former linebacker for the New England Patriots has bought a Farmington multifamily project site.

Skala Partners paid $7.8 million for the 10-acre property at 74076 Batterson Park Road. The site is located next to the Pond View Corporate Center and is just over 1 mile from UConn’s School of Medicine.

Permitted but not built, the project’s amenities are planned to include a clubhouse, fitness center with yoga, pool, package lockers, game room, business center, rooftop deck and an outdoor dog walk.

CBRE represented the seller Sovereign Partners, a New York-based real estate investment firm specializing in value-add repositioning of office assets, and procured the buyer, Skala.

Skala is led by Aristides Koutouvides and Niko Koutouvides, the latter of who was a linebacker for the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLVI in 2012 and team captain for the Seattle Seahawks for 2006’s Super Bowl XL. According to a biography on Skala’s website, Niko Koutouvides spent his NFL off-season time interning with an unnamed New York City real estate development firm.

“There was significant interest in the offering due to Farmington’s strong incomes, dense employment base and undersupply of multifamily product,” CBRE’s Jeff Dunne said in a statement. “Residents benefit from access to coveted employment sectors of health care, education and biotechnology as well as one of the top school districts in Connecticut. The buyer will benefit greatly from the strong demand for rental product in Farmington and the Greater Hartford region.”