Matthew Mandell, a longtime Westport resident and newly appointed executive director and president of the Westport-Weston Chamber of Commerce, said he has a passion for stimulating economic growth while preserving the historic character of Westport.
Mandell, who has been in his role for a month, said the chamber plans to promote greater interactivity among residents and business owners in the town.
“In Westport, we”™re seeing that the Chamber of Commerce can”™t just focus on business-to-business relationships,” Mandell said. “There has to be a business-to-community and community-to-business aspect, too. The community and business working together will make Westport more unique than what it already is so that people will want to come here, shop here and spend time here.”
Mandell started a festival called the Slice of Saugatuck in 2011, where activities such as concerts, food tastings and store promotions attracted residents to Westport”™s commercial district. The festival, which raises funds for the Gillespie Center Food Pantry, will continue to receive donations this fall when the Chamber of Commerce hosts the event for the third time.
“I created the Slice of Saugatuck event and promoted restaurants and retail establishments,” Mandell said. “It really took off. There”™s a renaissance of the area due to the redevelopment that”™s occurred and due to promotion by the festival.”
Besides the annual festival, Mandell said strip malls along Post Road are struggling to get businesses, and there are stores and services the community doesn”™t know about. He said one of his goals this year is to have what he calls the “hidden gems” become more noticeable by promoting gatherings and festivals surrounding these low-traffic areas.
As Westport town representative, Mandell said he promotes all things historic and business-related in the quaint town bordering the Saugatuck River. One notable historic preservation effort he undertook was putting together a deal to move the Kemper-Gunn House, a 140-year-old historic building, to an existing parking lot on Elm Street. He said the plan is to rent it out to small businesses at a below-market price.
In April, he helped get town approval to preserve the house for adaptive reuse instead of demolishing it for a new economic development project.
“The process of moving the house went on for a year and a half,” Mandell said. “We got the backing of the town to do this. It both preserves the character of the downtown and provides more opportunities for commerce. We want to create diversity in the downtown, especially since there are large national chains coming in alongside small businesses.”
Mandell, in his fifth two-year term on Westport”™s Representative Town Meeting, calls himself a “cheerleader” for open space and historic preservation, having a hand in saving the 22-acre Patrick Wetlands in Westport, six acres at the White Barn Theater and 11 acres at the Norden property in Norwalk.
He said one of his unique gifts is making videos. He plans to create small documentaries about events in Westport and upload them on the chamber”™s website.
“Now I have a platform to work with to further cheerlead,” Mandell said.
He added that despite wearing a new hat, “I”™m the same guy who wants to make sure the town is developed the way residents want it and that we maintain the small-town character. That doesn”™t mean businesses can”™t thrive here, but they drive what”™s within.”
