By Suzanne Carlson
Journal Inquirer
Published: Thursday, May 26, 2011 12:14 PM EDT

Ticket resale software firm TicketNetwork Inc. has purchased the 194,000-square-foot former Gerber Scientific property in South Windsor for nearly $6.8 million after months of speculation that the company might move its headquarters out of Vernon.

“South Windsor has been highly accommodating and we are very pleased with our decision,” TicketNetwork CEO Donald Vaccaro said in a statement today.

South Windsor Town Manager Matthew Galligan called it a “win-win” for the town.

Acting under the firm TicketNetwork Campus Realty LLC, the company purchased one 13.76-acre parcel with several existing buildings at 83 Gerber Road West for $6.5 million, according to South Windsor Assistant Town Clerk James Krupienski.

The sale also included a second undeveloped parcel of 32.79 acres — 17.93 of which is in South Windsor and 14.68 in Manchester. The second parcel cost $273,500 and the purchase was conducted under the company TicketNetwork West Realty LLC, Krupienski said.

To fund the purchase, TicketNetwork has obtained a revolving credit note for $5 million with a maturity date to April 27, 2014, and a line to term note of up to $10,000, with the same maturity date, Krupienski said.

Gerber Scientific disclosed in an April filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that it had signed an agreement to sell its South Windsor facility for net proceeds of approximately $6.8 million. The company, which is moving its South Windsor operations to a factory it owns in Tolland, did not disclose the identity of the buyer.

The transaction is expected to close by July 1, according to the SEC filing.

“The company plans to enter into a one-year lease with the new owners of the facility for a portion of the facility in which Gerber Scientific Products operations are currently located,” the filing adds.

Gerber officials said the net proceeds from the sale will be used to reduce its outstanding debt.

Galligan said today that Gerber would remain in the facility for approximately a year while TicketNetwork gradually moves its 325 employees into the offices.

Vaccaro founded TicketNetwork in 2002 with two employees and it has expanded ever since, outgrowing its Vernon location at 137 Bolton Road.

It was thought that the company was expanding into a vacant facility across the street and Vernon Town Attorney Harold Cummings said today that TicketNetwork had received Planning Department staff approval to begin moving employees into the building at 101 Industrial Park Road.

But property records show owner TighitCo Inc. sold the facility to Green Energy Realty LLC for $779,500 on March 16.

Cummings said he was not aware of TicketNetwork’s purchase of the Gerber property or its intentions to leave Vernon.

Vernon Economic Development Coordinator Shaun W. Gately — who was hired just over a week ago to fill the vacant position — did not return requests for comment.

“The very first question I asked them when we sat down eight months ago was, ‘Have you done all that you can to work with Vernon?’” South Windsor Mayor John P. Pelkey said today. “We have a policy that we will not entertain back and forth bartering of incentives. …We’re not going to get into a bidding war, that’s not how we operate.”

But after TicketNetwork made it clear that its frustrations in Vernon could not be resolved, Pelkey said he and Galligan met with TicketNetwork government relations spokesman Daniel Pullium and Sen. Gary D. LeBeau, D-East Hartford, to work out arrangements.

Galligan said the town signed a confidentiality agreement barring officials from discussing the pending deal.

“They were looking for a building in town, coincidentally about that same time the Gerber folks had announced they were doing their reorganization,” Pelkey said.

Pelkey and Galligan said they showed TicketNetwork representatives several buildings in the area but the Gerber location’s highway exposure and vast facility sealed the deal.

“They’re going to be bringing some equipment into the building, they’re going to do some beautification of the grounds. I think they’re going to be a good neighbor to South Windsor,” Pelkey said. “This was a real positive for us because the last thing you want is a vacant building.”

The rapidly expanding company is looking to grow to around 1,000 employees, Pelkey said, and many of those new jobs could go to South Windsor residents.

“We did talk to them about the education level of the people in town. We have a highly educated workforce and potential workforce. It’s certainly a good place for companies to draw from,” Pelkey said. “I think they just saw that it was a perfect fit for them.”

No tax incentives were given to TicketNetwork and, “I think the thing that impressed them with South Windsor was our willingness to work with them and guide them through that process. Hats off to town staff,” Pelkey said.

Vernon Mayor Jason L. McCoy said he was not aware that TicketNetwork had sold its property at 101 Industrial Park Road and had not known about the pending Gerber sale.

“I wish Don had come to me earlier and spoke with me,” McCoy said, blaming a breakdown in communication with town staff, specifically the Building and Planning departments and the fire marshal.

“Our people that work here in these departments don’t communicate well and they don’t explain themselves. They just give people a hard time,” McCoy said. “I’m incredibly disappointed. … It is what it is and it’s very unfortunate. The only positive thing is at least we’re not losing jobs in Tolland County.”

TicketNetwork began encountering friction in Vernon when the company proposed building a 2,000-seat outdoor concert venue adjacent to its Bolton Road headquarters.

The application was denied March 11, 2010, on the grounds that it would create hazardous public health and safety conditions, would not be compatible with neighboring uses, and would create a nuisance.

Though opponents of the concert venue said they supported TicketNetwork’s desire to expand its offices and add jobs, McCoy said the amphitheater’s critics caused a negative chain reaction and singled out Pineview Drive resident Jennifer Roggi.

Roggi “was absolutely obnoxious during that whole thing,” McCoy said. “Sometimes people don’t always appreciate what the residual effect is and I tried to explain it to people.”

Pelkey said his town has suitable sites for a concert venue along the Interstate 291 corridor but, “I’m not sure whether that’s something that’s still in their plans. Right now, I know their direction is to expand their base of employees and to be in a building that will allow them to do that quickly and that’s the exciting part.”

Journal Inquirer staff writer Howard French contributed to this story.

Copyright © 2011 - Journal Inquirer