Mayor: Downtown Danbury ‘needs to be refreshed’
Sidewalk construction, first phase of $12M project set to begin in the spring
DANBURY — The long-awaited plan to liven the city’s downtown faces new urgency and challenges as the local business struggle during the coronavirus pandemic.
Construction is expected to start in the spring on the first phase of a roughly $12 million project to upgrade the sidewalks and install amenities to make the downtown more pedestrian friendly and appealing to shoppers, diners and developers.
“It just needs to be refreshed,” Mayor Joe Cavo said. “If we want to have an active, bustling downtown, we have to have it so it looks right and people will want to come here.”
The project comes as local businesses face challenges, including fewer office workers in the area, due to the pandemic.
Most downtown businesses have held on through COVID-19, but beautifying the area could attract people, said Angela Wong, executive director of CityCenter Danbury.
“Hopefully they’ll bring in some new eyes and ears and customers to the businesses,” she said. “Really, now more than ever, it’s a great opportunity and it’s a very positive change.”
‘Catalyst’ for development
Downtown’s sidewalks have not been upgraded in about 30 years and heave in places, said Sharon Calitro, city planner.
“The improved infrastructure of the streetscape is a catalyst for future development,” she said. “In order to incentivize people to invest in the downtown, in the heart of the city, we need to continue our commitment to improve what that area looks like and feels like.”
Developers are building 150 apartments at the former NewsTimes building, while the 374 luxury apartments in Kennedy Flats have been popular.
The idea is to connect places like the library and historic buildings to the bus and train stations, Calitro said.
This will be beneficial for existing businesses, too, Wong said.
“Having more foot traffic for the local businesses and accessibility is going to be key for them,” she said.
The first phase includes redoing the Danbury Green and installing streetscape on Delay Street, National Place, Railroad Place, Ives Street and parts of White Street and Post Office Walk. Construction — delayed last year due to COVID — is
expected to take about four months.
The city is evaluating four bids to do that phase for under $2.2 million, Calitro said
“We’re just excited to break ground,” she said. “It will be beautiful when it’s done.”
Grants and money approved by City Council last year cover the
cost.
The more complex second phase upgrades sidewalks on both sides of Main Street from the Connecticut Institute for Communities to the Kennedy Flats area. Patriot Drive, Independence Way, Liberty Street and Kennedy Park are included. Main Street is a state road, so this requires more complicated
state approvals, Calitro said.
A river walk on Crosby Street along the Still River is also envisioned, but will be constructed separately, she said.
COVID’s impact
A new business — Gomez Bakery on Main Street — opened during the pandemic, while Empire of
the Incas upgraded its facade thanks to a $10,000 city grant.
“There has actually been some really great wins, despite COVID,” Wong said. “It’s actually been really beneficial in terms of they’ve [businesses] banned together to help one another in the downtown.”
Cavo anticipates COVID will bring “profound changes” to how people work and more, but that the city must stick to its long-range plan for the downtown.
“We have to be ready because eventually we will come out of COVID,” he said.
The vaccine could hopefully bring some workers back to their offices soon, Wong said. Regardless, residents will still want to come to downtown for dining, retail and eventually a return to concerts on the green, she said.
“People will still be seeking out other aspects of downtown,” she said.
Calitro said she expects the downtown to succeed in the long term because COVID has shown people how important getting outside can be.
“During COVID and post COVID, the urban centers are going to thrive,” she said. “People want to live in a place where they can walk and we’re creating an environment to improve pedestrian accessibility.”
The project’s focus on accessibility to transportation hubs remains, despite the decline in train ridership during the pandemic, Calitro said.
“We can’t sustain this autodependent society forever,” she said.