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1 0 C T I N N O V A T O R S , 2 0 2 2 "If you bring in great people from different industries and you introduce them, you see great things happen." – Brent Montgomery Unlikely destination e industrial South End of Stamford was not an obvi- ous choice as the launching pad for a media empire. But the state as a whole has had some success luring media compa- nies since enacting its tax incentive program in 2007. Some — such as NBC Sports and World Wrestling Entertainment — have found homes in the city. State officials had shown the former Stamford factory to other entertainment companies, including studios and sound-stage operators, said George Norfleet, executive di- rector of the state's Office of Film, TV and Digital Media. But they ultimately decided to go in other directions. "We were hopeful that Brent would see the life there, and he did," Norfleet said. Enticed by the entertainment tax credit and the po- tential he saw in Stamford, Montgomery agreed to move Wheelhouse there. Before becoming a destination, the two-story factory itself took some work. It was littered with the remains of its industrial past, as well as the occasional used mattress, and required extensive remediation, Montgomery said. e building is now certified under LEED standards for its envi- ronmentally-friendly features and finishes. e COVID-19 pandemic did not present many obstacles to construction, Montgomery said. In fact, it allowed him and his partners to pour their energy into the project, since the TV business was effectively closed. "We like to joke that while the world shut down, we built e Village," he said. Other tenants now include private equity firm Avesi Part- ners; staffing firm Insight Global; ITV America; executive recruiting company Kindred Partners; and a design collec- tive called MillerKnoll. ere's also a restaurant called e Wheel and a space housing an outpost of Cisco Brewers, a cra brewery based in Nantucket. "It was a win-win situation on all sorts of different sides to have Brent bring Wheelhouse to Stamford," Norfleet said, noting e Village has become part of the "connective tis- sue" of the city. e Montgomerys worked with Mike Geller of Stam- ford-based food company Mike's Organics, for example, to install a garden on the e Village's roof. In addition to providing fresh-grown ingredients for e Wheel, it has become a resource for students at Waterside School, which educates at-risk children in Stamford, who visit the garden to learn about horticulture. Wheelhouse also has invested in Geller's business, a farm- to-home delivery service. "is guy's an incredible local entrepreneur who's build- ing an incredible brand," Montgomery said. Montgomery has never second-guessed his choice of Stamford. But he does acknowledge concerns about safety while planning e Village. "Now you go there and people are walking their dogs late at night, early in the morning. It feels like the safest spot in the state," he said. Montgomery drew confidence from his experience in Brooklyn. e New York borough has experienced an in- flux of residential and commercial development in the years since he landed there in the late 1990s. Stamford also has attracted an influx of high-end condos in recent years. e story of Silicon Valley's rise as a technology capital was yet another source of inspiration. Montgomery's friend, Matt Breitfelder, relayed the story during an early visit to the Stamford factory. "It was about cheap land, and then it was about getting similar, like-minded people who wanted to change the world in the same place," Montgomery said. If it can make the right connections with the world out- side its borders, Stamford can make a similar splash, Mont- gomery said. So far, the work of selling Stamford, Wheel- house and e Village has not been all that different from his experience in reality TV. "For me, it is telling a story and that is what my entire ca- reer has been," he said. "We have been able to tell a good story … and we were able to get like-minded people to be part of the story." I Continued from page 9