CityTrust offers downtown promise

3/9/07

With downtown Bridgeport awash in redevelopment projects, none stands as large as the Citytrust apartments, where the landmark former bank is undergoing conversion to living spaces. With the future of the city resting in no small part on the outcome of various downtown, development projects the success of these apartments will go a long way toward making Bridgeport, once again, a destination.
The development team, Urban Green Builders, says apartments will be ready for occupancy by April 15. Last year, word was they would be ready by the start of the new year. That goal was missed; there’s no one living there yet. But the team behind the project must be careful not to rush to meet any artificial deadlines — it is far more important to get everything right, and make sure as little is left to chance as possible than to push too quickly and maybe cut corners.
The city obviously has high hopes for the project. At the corner of Main and John streets, the building is a sight for anyone venturing downtown the first time, and the idea of having the structure come to life again, with people coming and going at all hours, must have officials dizzy with anticipation. Together with the Arcade property, the former Read’s department store and a bevy of other projects either completed or well on their way, downtown may actually see its long-predicted comeback over the next few years.
As a template for urban growth, Bridgeport basically has it all. There are the aforementioned historic buildings, the dense downtown grid, easy access to transportation (highway, rail and air), walkable streets and, most importantly, a waterfront. Cities attempting a rebirth in other locales would give half their annual budget to get everything Bridgeport has going for it. But none of that, obviously, guarantees success — despite all the upside, downtown has been mostly barren for more than a generation.
The Citytrust project aims to change that. Once the people are there, new businesses will follow and existing markets will thrive. The public’s No. 1 city concern, safety, gets its biggest boost not through more police or tougher sentencing or longer incarcerations, but simply by having people around. Eyes on the street are the best crime deterrent in history.
And with so much riding on these projects, it is essential they are done right. Everyone wants to see people living in the landmark building, but developers can not miss anything in a rush to meet an invented deadline.