A $750 million proposal to construct an 850,000-square-foot office building that would house a hedge fund company at Stamford’s Harbor Point is now off the table.
On June 27, would-be prospective tenant Bridgewater Associates notified Michael Pollard, the Stamford mayor’s office chief of staff, of its decision to back out. The project had never received final approval from the city’s planning and zoning departments.
Westport-based Bridgewater, which manages more than $150 billion in global investments, decided to back out because of the time restraints and cost factors of completing the project at Stamford’s waterfront, according to Bridgewater spokeswoman Ryan FitzGibbon.
“After careful examination and reflection surrounding the challenges, time, energy and resources needed to bring the proposed Stamford project to completion, we have decided not to proceed with the move,” FitzGibbon said. “We are particularly thankful to Gov. Malloy for doing his utmost to make this opportunity possible.”
When asked if Bridgewater plans to expand into other parts of Connecticut, FitzGibbon said that it’s “exploring other options.”
Bridgewater’s hesitation to fully commit to the project was reported early in the process, but it was only recently that it officially revoked its interest in Harbor Point. The multimillion-dollar project was highly supported at the city and state level, but that it fell to the wayside was not a complete surprise, said David  Bednarz, deputy press secretary for Gov. Dannel Malloy, since Connecticut has had a history of being unable to retain “good-paying jobs.”
“For a long time, our state failed to compete for the kinds of good-paying jobs with good benefits that will grow and sustain our economy,” Bednarz said. “Working as a partner with our business community, we can make sure that Connecticut businesses can do what we need them to do: grow good-paying jobs here in Connecticut. We will continue working with employers ”“ both large and small ”“ in our efforts to regain Connecticut”™s economic competitiveness.”
Pollard said most of the project negotiations with Bridgewater took place under the previous administration. When Mayor David Martin entered office in December, the primary goal was to attempt to understand what caused Bridgewater to stall and eventually stop the project, Pollard said.
“There was no additional progress,” Pollard said. “We tried to reassure Bridgewater we were receptive and wanted them to come to Stamford and inquired what would be required from the city’s standpoint to make this happen. What we have been doing is working with them to accommodate the kind of work population they anticipated. We had consistently been echoing to them the importance of them coming to Stamford, but they were going through their own internal discussions.”
The 14-acre former boatyard site that was targeted for the project ”“ which according to many accounts could have created thousands of jobs in Stamford ”“ will remain vacant until Building and Land Technology, the developer of Harbor Point, brings in a new tenant.
