If you’ve been around Hartford lately you’ve probably noticed some buzz stirring around the Capital City.
UConn hockey attracted more than 8,000 fans to the XL Center for its inaugural Hockey East home game against Boston College. It was a raucous hockey crowd not seen since the departure of the Whalers.
The first wave of newly built apartments are now being leased, a major milestone as the city tries to woo Millennials, empty nesters, and others to live downtown.
Hartford Business Journal recently held one of its On the Road events at Infinity Music Hall which drew about 150 people. It was our best-attended On the Road event this year, and the crowd of business and civic leaders was excited to tour the new music hall and talk about the goings on in downtown Hartford. There was a lot of optimism in the room. Many people who live and work in the Capital City sense Hartford could be headed for a rebound.
But there was also a growing concern that Hartford’s maligned reputation could stand in the way of progress. During a recent HBJ reader’s roundtable, several civic and business leaders aired concerns that Hartford’ negative stereotypes — that it’s unsafe and has little to offer in the way of entertainment and leisure — could overshadow many of the positive developments underway that aim to make Hartford a more vibrant place to live, work, and play.
There was agreement that the city hasn’t marketed itself well enough. The media, panelists said, is part of the problem, but the bigger issue is the city’s lack of a coherent voice and message to tell its story.
Hartford faces many challenges, and convincing naysayers that the Capital City is a vibrant place to live, work, and play is certainly one of them. But changing the hearts and minds of people whose negative views of the city have been crystallized from years of bad news and negative headlines shouldn’t be Hartford’s focus. The truth is those people aren’t likely to give Hartford a second chance. And spending precious time and money to reach them probably is not worth the effort.
Instead, Hartford’s focus must be on wooing young professionals, empty nesters, and others who crave an urban live-work environment. Many of the developments currently underway — the minor league ballpark, UConn’s downtown campus, Front Street, apartment conversions — aim to cater to that customer base.
Now the challenge is convincing that cohort of people who don’t currently live in Hartford to give the city a try. It’s a tall task considering Boston and New York City are right next door, serving as magnets to the state’s top young talent.
But it’s not just a messaging strategy that will do the trick. Beyond bricks-and-mortar development and a fancy new marketing campaign that puts Hartford in the best of lights, what the city needs most is new jobs. A growing, vibrant economy is the best way to attract young talent, as well as further retail-residential-entertainment development. For that to happen consistently, the city will have to confront some of its big issues, including its exorbitant commercial property tax rate and a budget plagued by structural deficits.
The stakes are high because it’s not just about building a city but also a future workforce to replace Connecticut’s aging Baby Boomer population heading toward retirement over the next five to 10 years. This is a serious concern among employers in the city and state because if they can’t recruit talent, they won’t be able to stay here.
So, as Hartford continues to take steps in the right direction, it will be important to develop a stronger, more coherent marketing strategy. But there will be no better positive message than employers announcing plans to add new jobs here.
