Stamford economy on agenda

At his “state of the city” address in April, Stamford Mayor Michael Pavia outlined the quick-fix steps he had taken to improve the city”™s near-term outlook since taking office in the footsteps of Dan Malloy.

 

Three months later, both men will share their take on Stamford”™s best opportunities for long-term economic development ”“ as will Malloy”™s gubernatorial rival Tom Foley.

On Sept. 8, Stamford gets a mini-referendum of sorts as the University of Connecticut Stamford hosts an economic outlook featuring Foley and Malloy, as well as Pavia and his economic development lieutenant, Laure Aubuchon.

The event is co-sponsored by the Connecticut Business & Industry Association and the Stamford Chamber of Commerce. Speakers also include Steven Cochran, managing director of Moody”™s Economy.com service.

CBIA has scheduled a second economic conference on Sept. 10 in Rocky Hill, and U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman is scheduled to address the Stamford Chamber of Commerce Sept. 20 at the group”™s annual meeting.

Looking to lure from N.Y.
With New York recently tabling tax credits it owes corporations in an attempt to plug a budget gap, Connecticut may have been dealt its best ammunition in years with which to promote its business climate.

The state already outbid New York straight up for Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc., which in the second quarter signed a lease for 270,000 square feet of space at 333 Ludlow St. in Stamford, among the largest deals this year in the tristate area.

Still, Manhattan saw a dozen leases this year measuring at least 200,000 square feet, according to transactions tracked by The Real Deal trade publication. Another dozen measured were at least 100,000 square feet and two dozen more measured in at more than 50,000 square feet.

While many of those deals involved law firms, ad agencies and other companies with no intention of moving out of the city, in theory some may have represented an opportunity for Stamford and Greenwich to draw significant employers ”“ particularly with state assistance in the form of tax credits and other offsets, as was accepted by White Plains, N.Y.-based Starwood Hotels.

With that goal in mind, Aubuchon spent several days in New York City this summer where she had previously worked in the administration of Mayor Michael Bloomberg, focused on selling New York City to companies overseas.

Focusing on improvements
In Stamford, Aubuchon has no shortage of trophy suburban properties to pitch ”“ from the Harbor Point development being constructed by Building and Land Technology, to the former General Re Corp. headquarters on East Main Street, measuring more than a half-million square feet, to the Harbor Drive waterfront building once the home of Time Warner Cable.

Space is plentiful, both for entire office buildings and suites. In the first half of 2010, downtown Stamford recorded a net increase of 71,000 square feet of vacant space, according to statistics compiled by Cushman & Wakefield, a commercial real estate brokerage. Meanwhile, landlords in other parts of the city filled 61,000 square feet of space, bringing the city”™s direct vacancy rate even in both areas at 20.4 percent.

Since the Starwood deal was completed, the focus in Stamford has been more on improvements that could help draw businesses and residents down the road ”“ an Urban Transitway that will create a bus corridor for commuters and a Fairway Market in the South End expected to anchor the residential component of Building and Land Technology”™s ongoing development at Harbor Point.

How swiftly Stamford fills its available offices could well determine how quickly developers like Building and Land Technology are drawn to pursue additional projects.