It’s never too early to parse Connecticut’s commercial realty-development opportunities as was the case for a recent ideas/networking exchange sponsored by law firm Pullman & Comley LLC.
More than 70 realty brokers and developers, land-use engineers and municipal leaders joined P&C attorneys on Halloween morning for their “Tobacco Valley Development Forum” at Windsor’s Marriott Hotel.
Tobacco Valley refers to the swath of Connecticut towns, stretching from Bloomfield north to Enfield and beyond the Massachusetts border, where thousands of fertile acres that once yielded the cash crop now sprout office and industrial buildings and single- and multi-family housing.
Attendees got an overview on transit-oriented development opportunities and financing for potential projects in the corridor from state transportation czar Jim Redeker and incoming Connecticut Business & Industry Association CEO Joe Brennan, as well as officials from the state Department of Economic and Community Development, the Department of Housing, and the Connecticut Airport Authority, which manages Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks.
Also present for the three-hour session were economic-development officials from the host town of Windsor, as well as neighboring East Windsor and Enfield.
Later, participants broke into groups to parley over the best means to access state, municipal and private land and environmental databases, as well as procuring funding through public and private sources. They also provided towns with suggestions for streamlining their land-use procedures to foster development.
P&C attorney Diane W. Whitney, the session moderator whose practice focuses on environmental matters, labeled it a success.
“Our aim was to promote information about the development potential of the Tobacco Valley towns, particularly those along the rail line, and to share information about development incentives available through state agencies …. We think that we did achieve those goals.”
