Danbury on upward trajectory, but key challenges remain
Danbury, which has long been one of western Fairfield County”™s prime movers, today stands at a number of crossroads, including those related to its economy, its business development and its civic leadership.
Arguably the biggest challenge is represented by its Plan of Conservation and Development (POCD). Released last month, the updated POCD (a document required by the state government to be prepared or amended and adopted at least every 10 years, lest the municipality become ineligible for discretionary state funding) is designed to address such issues as housing, economic development, transpiration and infrastructure, among others.
The last POCD was adopted in 2013, with the update expected to continue through this year and culminate in a 2023 plan.
Danbury Planning Director Sharon Calitro said that input from residents will play a key role “as we establish a vision for the future and develop goals and recommendations to address Danbury”™s needs moving into the future.”
The schedule and format of community engagement events are still being developed as the city navigates the ongoing pandemic.
Meanwhile, Danbury has continued to grow steadily; according to the U.S. Bureau of Statistics, its population has increased over the last 50 years at an average rate of 1.4%, and now stands at 84,619, a 4.6% rise from 2010”™s 80,893.
P.J. Prunty, president and CEO of the Greater Danbury Chamber of Commerce, said that key to the city”™s ongoing growth is the influx of “a number of young people who are making a conscious decision to come here and raise their families here. That bodes well for us not just in the immediate term but in the long-term as well.”
Younger and diverse
According to the latest data, from 2019, the median age of a Danbury resident is 38.3 years, compared with 40.6 for Fairfield County and 41 for the state. Most of its population growth through 2040 is expected to occur in the under-55 cohort, with a concurrent decline anticipated for age groups between 50 and 74. (Those projections came from the state Department of Economic and Community Development in 2017, and therefore do not include such variables as Covid-19).
Driven in part by that trend, the Greater Danbury Chamber launched a Young Professionals Council last summer.
“We also have a great balance of many different assets in place, which we believe will help draw more employers here,” Prunty said.
Among those is diversity: With 64.6% of its population classified as nonwhite, the city is approximately twice as diverse as Fairfield County (37%) and the state (31.7%).
While there have been no major new business announcements in recent months, both Prunty and Mayor Joe Cavo acknowledge that developments at The Summit at Danbury ”” the former Union Carbide headquarters at 39 Old Ridgebury Road ”” will remain a focus.
That complex will ultimately consist of 600,000 square feet of Class A office space; 75,000 square feet of conference and event space; 30,000 square feet of core services and amenities, including Market Place Kitchen & Bar, Platinum Fitness, conference space and pool; and up to 400 residential apartments.
According to Michael Basile, project manager of Summit Development, which acquired the complex for $17 million in October 2018 when it was in foreclosure and just 15% occupied, tenancy now stands at about 41%.
That figure was boosted considerably when, in the biggest office space lease deal of 2020, Nuvance Health Systems signed on for 220,000 square feet, allowing it to consolidate offices in Connecticut and bring 500 jobs from locations in New York.
Still being worked out are the details of the proposed $90 million Danbury Career Academy at the site, which under present plans would house 1,400 middle- and high-school students as a means of addressing classroom overcrowding.
Prunty noted that Danbury has a higher share of residents with only a high school diploma ”” less than both the county and the state ”” and that it also lags both the county and state when it comes to the attainment of college and professional degrees.
In February, Cavo told the Business Journal that Cavo said the school will prove to be cheaper to build than a new brick-and-mortar facility, and that “the best part is that 80% of the cost of building the school will be reimbursed from the state, which comes out to be about $75 million. That”™s a great deal.”
The mayor also has high hopes for the proposed Danbury Prospect Charter School, which would have 550 students and recently received a $25 million donation from an anonymous philanthropist.
But that sum is dependent upon approval from the state legislature, which at the moment appears to be a dim prospect. Its location has yet to be determined.
Uncertainty over train plan
Also up in the air is a decision on establishing a train connection between Danbury and Brewster, New York, ”” something that would presumably make Danbury a more attractive option for commuters, though Prunty admitted that no one knows what shape post-pandemic commuting will take.
A $1 million New York Metropolitan Transportation Council study of the proposed 14-mile reconstruction of what was the Maybrook Line is underway, though opponents question the costs of rehabilitating tracks that have not been used since 1974. They also doubt former Mayor Mark Boughton”™s prediction that the revitalized Maybrook Line would cut commuting time from Danbury to New York City by as much as an hour.
Yet another issue to be determined is who will be Danbury”™s mayor heading into 2022. Cavo was sworn in on Dec. 16 following Boughton”™s decision to resign to become commissioner of the state”™s Department of Revenue Services. Previously president of the City Council, Cavo has repeatedly demurred when asked if he plans to run in November, though he has said he could make an announcement by next month.
The campaign of City Council Member-at-Large Roberto Alves (D) has raised over $75,000, while businessman and political newcomer Sedeaka Lawrence (D) has yet to begin fundraising. Another Democrat, Councilman John Esposito, is considering a run as well.
On April 6, Cavo proposed a $267 million budget that for the third straight year does not include a tax increase. It represents a $5 million (1.9%) increase in general fund spending; Cavo said that the plan cuts spending requests by nearly $14.4 million and provides “sufficient funding to address the City”™s priorities and to achieve its goals and objectives.”
Also for the third consecutive year, the mill rate will remain unchanged at 27.6.
The Oct. 1, 2020 taxable grand list grew by $83.6 million or 1.1%, generating about $2.3 million in additional tax revenues. The next revaluation of real estate properties will not occur until Oct. 1, 2022.
The city has been allocated approximately $32 million from the American Rescue Plan, which it plans to use to stabilize funds to pre-Covid levels by estimating losses based upon 2019 revenues. In the meantime, Prunty maintains that Danbury”™s future looks bright, regardless of who may be running the show.
“We”™re the largest city in a 30-mile radius, basically on the New York border, which isn”™t going to change,” he said. “When you look at everything that”™s happening here, I think we”™re in a great position.”