Hartford Business Journal

112 Doing Business in Connecticut | 2015 Overall, he said, "we're confident that the city is getting better every day. We're see- ing folks from throughout the region taking an interest in investing in our city. Not only is the market and economy rebounding but the eight years of strong and consistent lead- ership by Mayor [Bill] Finch toward sustain- ability and prosperity and equity has made it clear to private and civic partners that their investments here will be rewarded." Stamford As in other Connecticut cities, a big part of Stamford's building boom relates to new housing — in particular, apartments and condos downtown. e new housing market is "absolutely huge," says Tom Madden, director of economic development for the City of Stamford. "e funny thing is, our occupancy rate is 96 per- cent. ey can't build these things fast enough." He said much of the demand is com- ing from young people returning to the city to work. Because of Stamford's affordability compared to other major centers, "we're able to attract a lot of Millennials into the city and it has changed the workforce dynamic. We are causing a brain drain from all over New York, Connecticut, Pennsylvania and New Jersey. A lot of people who grew up here are returning from university, and they can afford the apartments in the area." Empty nesters are another key demo- graphic. A major portion of the city's new units are located at Harbor Point, a $3.5 billion mixed- use development set on 80 acres in the heart of Stamford's south end, close to the city's train station and Stamford Harbor. Once complete, the development will include 4,000 housing units; it also offers retail stores and restaurants, more than 20 acres of parks, a mile-long water- front boardwalk and three marinas. "Two thousand of the 4,000 apartments are constructed and opened," said Madden. "ey're about to undertake the next 2,000 and they will be finished over the next 36 months. at will finish up Harbor Point." Other housing projects underway include: • Phase II of 66 Summer St., a 15-story, 209-unit luxury building with 6,600 square feet of retail • e Summer House at 184 Summer St., a 22-story, 226-apartment tower with 2,200 square feet of retail space • Park Square West, Phase IV at 1055 Washington Blvd., a 16-story, 207-unit luxury building • Atlantic Station at Atlantic and Tresser Boulevard, twin 21-story towers with 650 apartments and 40,000 square feet of retail and restaurants • Bedford Hall at 545 Bedford St., with 82 apartments • Rippowam Place on Washington Boulevard., a six-story building with 122 apart- ments, 1,500 square feet of ground floor retail and 4,200 square feet of restaurant space. Also in the works is URL Stamford (dubbed Parcel 38 or "Hole in the Ground") at Tresser Boulevard and Greyrock Place. e 11-building complex, with 672 apart- ments and 5,090 square feet of ground floor retail and restaurants, is expected to open in August 2017. Madden said Stamford has become more attractive as a university town with the expansion of the University of Connecticut's Stamford campus. "at has helped immensely," he said. e campus already generates more than $25 million worth of economic activity every year. Plans to increase UConn's science, tech- nology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) offerings, and to introduce digital media programs, is expected to double enrolment. He expects Sacred Heart University's new Gradu- ate Center in Landmark Square — near the transportation center as well as restaurants, shopping and businesses — will also hike inter- est in living in the city. Madden said the changing demographic of Stamford has prompted a lot of new restaurants and stores to open — particularly near, or in, the new mixed-use housing proj- ects. Existing business are benefiting as well. "It really helps out our restaurants and all of our shopping venues. Young people eat out a lot more, and do a lot more social events outside the apartments. It really does add to the vitality of the city," he said. "A lot of the corporations are taking notice of this. We've got this workforce, and we've got the schools, educating the students and retrain- ing employees, so we're really starting to have a complete picture here." Madden expects to see new growth in office construction. "During and aer the recession, our vacancy rate did go up, with companies downsizing. But we're on a really big rebound now and we're really happy about it. Our vacancy rate in commercial space has been going down over the last 12 quarters and we've got several commercial office buildings in the pipeline, so as the vacancy rate declines, we expect to see some of those [being built] as well." A major selling point for many of the city's new housing and commercial projects is proximity to Stamford's transportation center, which is getting a boost through a transit- oriented development collaboration with the state. Improvements include new parking structures, a pedestrian bridge from the west side of Washington Boulevard to the north- bound railway platform, and replacement of the Atlantic Street bridge. Madden said a private developer is building a new hotel with residential units next door. Another bright spot for the city is the $450 million expansion of Stamford Hos- pital. A new 11-story, 640,000-square-foot medical center — a replacement for its main building on Shelburne Road — is expected to be complete in the spring of 2016 and open in the summer. e state-of-the-art facility will feature an expanded emergency department, an intensive care section, and the hospital's Heart and Vascular Institute. Another 100,000-square-foot medical build- ing is set to open this year. Stamford will also get its first extended- stay hotel this summer, with the opening of the 131-room Marriott Residence Inn at 35 Atlan- tic Street by developer Seaboard Properties. ❑ Cities on the rise Construction & Real Estate > Continued from page 23 ' Our (apartment) occupancy rate is 96 percent. ey can't build these things fast enough. ' — Tom Madden, director of economic development, City of Stamford

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