A former Norwalk official has been hired as CEO of the Bridgeport Downtown Special Services District, with the formidable challenge of transforming the neighborhood into an economically and culturally vibrant regional center.
Mike Moore, previously a development project manager with the Norwalk Redevelopment Agency, lives in Danbury. His arrival at the district comes as Mayor Bill Finch faces a bruising election challenge from Mary Jane Foster, vice president of university relations for the University of Bridgeport and former owner of the Bridgeport Bluefish minor league baseball team.
Bridgeport”™s office vacancy rate of 9.4 percent is enviable by Fairfield County standards and in the second quarter bested those of Greenwich, Stamford, Norwalk and Westport among others, according to Cushman & Wakefield. But the city”™s unemployment rate topped 14 percent in July, the second worst in the state after Hartford, and Bridgeport”™s image continues to suffer from a relatively high number of brownfield sites and blighted neighborhoods.
For his part, Moore said he likes what he sees in the “Teardrop” section of downtown, which he will work to improve.
“From the Bridgeport perspective, we are very fortunate we have major corporate entities like (Royal Bank of Scotland) and People”™s United,” Moore said. “Through the thick and thin of the recession, they stayed. What we are seeing now is a number of entrepreneurs, a number of trend-setting retailers, that have come into downtown.”
First and foremost, Moore says he sees Bridgeport”™s public transportation featuring train, bus and ferry service as among the city”™s best assets. He also cites ongoing events such as the Downtown Thursdays concerts at McLevy Green, the Bridgeport ArtsFest, a swath of new restaurants and the refurbished Bijou Theatre, which Finch showed off last month for the Northeast Mayors Conference.
The theater held its grand re-opening this summer; it is one of multiple historic buildings and lofts Moore sees as drawing an increasing number of artists and businesses focused on creative arts. For a model, he need look no farther than his former stomping grounds in Norwalk, whose SoNo district features enclaves of galleries and eateries, bolstered by the nearby Maritime Aquarium and the annual Oyster Festival in mid-September.
“We want to have someone to come in for dinner and say, ”˜Listen this is an attractive setting, I feel safe here, I”™ll bring my family here.”™” Moore said.
