The Bellavance Farm, which straddles the border between Plainfield and Sterling, has been put on the market for $15 million. The property’s brokers and owners believe it could be developed for housing, a large distribution center or other uses.

It’s one of the largest pieces of land to hit the local sales market in a while, and its owners and brokers hope it may rival another nearby piece of land that has attracted attention from developers hoping to build theme parks and movie studios.

The Bellavance Farm, which straddles the border between Plainfield and Sterling, went on the market last Friday. Its owner, the Bellavance family, is asking $15 million, according to broker John McCormick of CB Richard Ellis.

The family – which has owned the farm for more than 50 years – decided to sell for several reasons, said Tom Bellavance, spokesman for the family.

“As we approach retirement, we intend to cash in some of our property holdings, which we consider to be equivalent to our IRA or 401(k),” Bellavance wrote in an e-mail. “The market timing is excellent with great demand and historically high prices.”

The eastern Connecticut farm is located about 20 miles northeast of the Norwich Hospital site, which is currently owned by the state. The former mental health facility straddles the border between Norwich and Preston and the two towns are considering taking up the state on a deal in which they would buy the 470-acre site from the state for $1. But they first need to find a developer, a quest the state has been engaged in for years.

There has been some interest in the hospital site from groups like Utopia Studios, which would build a theme park similar to Universal Studios and a movie studio. Other potential developers have also considered renovating the 80 buildings on the land – most of which have fallen into disrepair – and converting them for commercial and residential uses.

Bellavance Farm could provide similar opportunities, McCormick said. The land could even be better for some uses because of its lack of run-down buildings.

“It’s created opportunity for people to develop raw land,” he said.

The Bellavance Farm owners and brokers have been monitoring the progress on the Norwich Hospital site, according to McCormick. The farm also could accommodate a large distribution center, residential development, age-restricted housing or recreational activities like a golf course or theme park, he said.

The owners also decided to sell because of the development activity going on in eastern Connecticut. There is a lot of growth there and many people are moving into the area, mainly because of the two nearby casinos, McCormick said.

‘Hotbed’ of Activity

There is notable growth going on in Plainfield. Lowe’s Home Improvement is constructing a 30-acre regional distribution facility and town officials hope that might spur some additional growth.

“We’re kind of hoping that along with that, there’s some smaller industrial growth,” said Plainfield Town Planner Lou Soja.

A company called New England Raceway is also proposing new development in Plainfield, Soja said. The company want to build a 140,000-seat domed stadium that would house auto racing and other events. The company was scheduled to go before the Planning and Zoning Commission last night.

“Eastern Connecticut is a hotbed of development activity with casino expansion, the proposed Utopia Studios and theme park and proposed New England Raceway’s domed stock car track,” Bellavance said. “Our 400-plus-acre site, situated in the pro-development towns of Plainfield and Sterling, can provide an ideal site for large-footprint projects, with additional acreage available for present and future growth.”

Sterling also has a fair amount of industry. It is home to an industrial park that houses a uniform company and a soap factory, among other industries, said Board of Selectmen Administrative Assistant Judy Lincoln.

Town officials in Plainfield aren’t looking for any sort of development in particular, Soja said, but would like to see more solid commercial and industrial development in their town that would help balance residential growth.

The Bellavance family has owned parts of the farm, which is located on Route 14, since 1944, according to Bellavance.

“Over the years we have reinvested in additional contiguous properties to build a large-acreage site,” he wrote. “It operated as a dairy farm until 20 years ago. Since then [members of the family] have operated it as a hay farm, providing top-quality hay products to horse owners. We have diversified into harvesting hardwood timber and architectural stone.”

The property consists mostly of open, grassy fields and mixed hardwood-and-pine forest and is one of the largest contiguous blocks of available land in southern New England, according to a release from CB Richard Ellis. The 400 acres are spread almost equally between Plainfield and Sterling.

The Bellavances have lived in Sterling for generations, according to the release.

“We recognize the land’s value as a highly developable, large acreage site, which is a rare commodity in the state of Connecticut,” Bellavance said in a prepared statement. “Growth is a vital component of a healthy economy and development of the site will generate much-needed jobs and tax revenue for the community.”

CB Richard Ellis’ marketing team consists of McCormick, Pat Mulready, Anna Hilbrecht and Bill Bronson, who will be working directly with the Bellavances and their attorney, Jim Wakim of Wakim, Merlin & Randich, on the disposition of the property.

There are about a half-dozen parties interested in the property so far, McCormick said.

The land in Plainfield is zoned residential/agricultural and has a minimum lot size of about an acre and a half.