Valley entering an era of change

4/16/07
Just how much money is there? How far will it spread?
It starts, of course, in New York City, and spirals out from there. Westchester County in New York, northern New Jersey and most of Fairfield County were subsumed years ago. Now the tentacles of wealth are working their way into Bridgeport and northward up Route 8.
Development in the state’s largest city is well documented — downtown and its environs have so many plans on the drawing board that the area could be unrecognizable in a few years. But just as active are the towns and cities just to the north, along the long-neglected Naugatuck River. The Valley is hot, and development dollars are pouring in.
Formerly a manufacturing mecca, the Naugatuck Valley has seen the majority of those jobs disappear, through closures, outsourcing and attrition. An entire way of life for scores of years has faded away, leaving empty storefronts and vacant warehouses. And those jobs show no sign of coming back.
But keen-eyed investors recognized that the raw materials of a sought-after location remain intact — the river (cleaner than it’s been in decades); the tightly packed downtowns; the brick buildings, which look authentically worn because they are authentically worn; and the easy access to transportation (Route 8 and the much-maligned Metro-North Waterbury Line).
So in flows the money. High-end condos on the river, wholesale downtown makeovers, even luxury towers — the face of the Valley is changing as an in-depth series of articles that began in Sunday’s Connecticut Post and continue today illustrate.
Local officials couldn’t be happier; some communities have struggled for decades to spark an interest among developers and investors, and something to fill the hole in the tax base can only be considered a boon. But amid the celebrations, leaders need to keep a few things in mind, including:
l What about the people who already live here? Much of the housing and retail slated to come to town is slanted toward the higher tax brackets. It’s up to local governments to make sure current residents aren’t shut out of the potential bonanza or, worse yet, forced out.
l Can the infrastructure handle it? Route 8 can’t be allowed to go the way of Interstate 95; that road’s perpetual traffic crawl is in large part what prompted the money’s move north. If Route 8, which has fewer lanes to work with, is similarly swamped, it will be a short-lived boom for the Valley — mass transit alternatives must be in the forefront of regionwide planning. Waiting until everything has been built and everyone has moved in will be too late.
l Will it last? That’s the biggest question. The Valley has seen flashes of change in the past, but it’s been a long time since the stars have lined up like this. With every community from Fairfield to the state line out of most people’s price range (tried to rent an apartment or buy a home in southwestern Connecticut lately?) the Valley has a real opportunity to fill a niche.
Time to jump on that money train.