Business owners look to change perceptions of Bridgeport
Contrary to perception, things are changing for the city of Bridgeport’s businesses landscape as developers and officials look to shed its outdated factory business identity.
Remnants of Bridgeport’s industrial and banking past, which peaked in the 1940s and 1950s, have created opportunities for developers to reinvent the Park City, they said. That adjustment has seen an emphasis on the city’s recreational, residential and entertainment sectors with a series of large-scale developments being built or awaiting approvals.
“Bridgeport always got tagged — and rightfully so — as the industrial capital, and in that era, it was,” said Tom Gill, director of economic development. “We had tremendous companies that invented things and produced products that were used all over the world, but times have changed.”
Assets and potential
Despite a reputation for crime and abandoned buildings, Bridgeport has its share of assets that area observers view as marketable.
“Bridgeport has so much opportunity,” said Tom Madden, director of economic development in Stamford. “When you look at the land around the waterfront and where the ferry is and the downtown area, I wish I had some of that land here, so we could continue development.”
Stamford, Fairfield, Westport, Norwalk and Greenwich have recently formed the Fairfield
Business Council of Fairfield County. “They see this as a welcome location, and they can get the talent they need here. The doom-andgloom message we’ve heard about Connecticut’s economy for the last eight years is lifting.”
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