Downtown Moving Up
Why Stamford Downtown in Stamford, Connecticut, is a model for small cities seeking retail and a live-work-play atmosphere.
Sandy Goldstein

Goldstein

But first, some background. Stamford Downtown is less than an hour from midtown Manhattan, a 24/7 active center with over 70 chic restaurants, luxury high-rise condominiums priced between $375,000 to $3 million, its own symphony orchestra and performing arts center and a dynamic office population, drawing more than 28,000 workers daily. Residential development downtown is on the rise.

“Residents from professionals to empty nesters are finding the urban living style easily attainable in Stamford,” says Thomas L. Rich, president and CEO of F. D. Rich & Company, developers in Stamford for almost 100 years. The current base of 3,300 residential units downtown is anticipated to increase by 2,500 units within the next 6 years. “People are the lifeblood of the downtown and Stamford has all the conveniences in place — parks, recreation, education, leisure activities,” Rich adds.

Stamford is the fourth largest city in Connecticut with 121,000 residents. Within 5 miles of downtown, there are 63,200 households with average income of $117,700. Potential retail expenditures are lost from the consumer trade area because there are not enough desirable retailers to capture these dollars.

“Downtown has a retail occupancy rate now of 93 percent, but we are looking for more boutiques and neighborhood stores to include in the tenant mix. Young professionals are dining downtown and we want them to leave with shopping bags full of retail offerings,” says Jacqueline Wetenhall, director of retail development for the Stamford Downtown Special Services District (DSSD). “We are now actively pursuing retailers who we feel would add value to the downtown’s retail mix through our Retail Advancement Program, which offers a one-time DSSD grant of up to $50,000 to qualified retailers.”

Taubman Company plans a $50 million redesign of the entrance to Stamford Town Center, a 814,000-square-foot regional mall in downtown Stamford. Joining the center soon are Barnes & Noble, H&M and seven new restaurants.

Helping to address this retail gap is Bloomfield Hills, Michigan-based Taubman Company, which will complete a $50 million redesign of the southwestern entrance to its 814,000-square-foot regional mall in 2007. Located at the business nexus of Stamford Downtown, Stamford Town Center will soon be home to a new 40,000-square-foot, two-story Barnes & Noble bookstore combined with H&M, a fashion anchor. Seven new restaurants including P.F.Chang’s, California Pizza Kitchen, The Capital Grille, Mitchell’s Fish Market, Kona Grill, Famous Dave’s Bar B Que and Cosi, will be located in a piazza-style outdoor courtyard surrounding the new entrance, drawing even more shoppers and consumer activity to Stamford Downtown.

Why are these retailers so bullish on Stamford Downtown? According to Mike McAndrews, general manager of Taubman’s Stamford Town Center and a member of DSSD’s board of commissioners, “The overall growth in Stamford Downtown relative to housing and job growth — as well as a very attractive demographic — continue to fuel the growth of retail. Recognizing this opportunity, Stamford Town Center is replacing the former Filene’s Department store with a mix of quality retailers and restaurants that will invigorate and revitalize the mall and cater to the growing residential and office population.”

The Landmark is being developed by Reckson Associates, with exclusive representation through Staubach Retail.

Stamford’s central business district contains a total of 1.5 million square feet of retail space. The resulting high confidence of investors will soon support an additional 214,800 square feet of new retail space currently under construction. According to Patrick A. Smith, executive vice president and principal of Staubach Retail, a major broker of retail leasing transactions, “The reemergence of Stamford as a regional retail destination has dovetailed with the explosive growth in the community of both upscale residential and first-class office developments,” Smith says. “That, combined with strong retailer performance, vibrant streetscapes and diverse customer draws, has solidified Stamford as a retail hotspot.” The Landmark, developed by Reckson Associates, with exclusive representation through Staubach Retail, is a new 36,800-square-foot retail development located at the major intersection with the highly visible Landmark Square office complex in the heart of Stamford Downtown.

Two years ago, Target opened its first vertical, urban prototype on the East Coast in Stamford

Accessibility is a primary key to retail desirability. Downtown parking is plentiful both on the street and in the three public parking garages, with a combined total of 3,200 spaces. The new Summer Street Parking Garage opened this summer adjacent to the Majestic Theatre and Target with a 482-car capacity. More than adequate parking availability clearly enhances the retail draw of the CBD.

Stamford’s residential boom is attributed to such companies as the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), which in August 2006, recognizing an attractive downtown office environment, began construction of its 400,000-square-foot North American Banking Center, located directly across the street from UBS’ East Coast headquarters.

Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) began construction on its East Coast headquarters at Stamford Downtown in August 2006.

“After looking at various sites throughout the Northeast, we felt Stamford presented us with a number of unique opportunities and advantages — an appropriately-sized redevelopment site located at a major transportation hub, a well educated labor pool, and the city’s reputation as a burgeoning financial services center,” said Ben Carpenter, co-CEO of RBS Greenwich Capital. “Its relative proximity to our current employee base in Greenwich and New York was also a factor.”

RBS’ new facility will house a 100,000-square-foot financial trading floor, one of the nation’s largest. When completed in fall 2008, RBS will support 1,850 new jobs in Stamford, expected to increase to 3,000 employees in just a few years. UBS employs 5,000 workers in its complex directly across the street. Office development in the CBD has transformed the area into the third largest financial capital in the Northeast after New York City and Boston. No wonder a plan by Tom Rich and Lou Capelli encompassing a new, 200-room Ritz-Carlton hotel and luxury condominium tower complex with street level retail space will be embraced by the corporate community as well as lure foot traffic around the office headquarters complex. Additionally, Lowe Enterprises Real Estate Group, a California development company, recognizing Stamford Downtown’s upside potential, has recently proposed a 1 million-square-foot mixed-use development having 835 rental and condominiums, along with a 180,000-square-foot grocery store, retail shops and restaurants in the center of downtown.

One unique factor persuading investors and developers alike to choose Stamford Downtown is the work of the Stamford Downtown Special Services District, which was established in 1994 to transform the central business district into a vibrant 24/7 environment. With an annual budget of $2 million and a dedicated board of commissioners composed of prominent downtown property owners and retailers, the DSSD maintains clean, safe and attractive streets adorned with permanent outdoor public art displays attracting both the young and old once more to downtown.

On warm days in Stamford Downtown, Bedford Street cafés are overflowing with residents lending a European ambiance to the downtown neighborhood.

Steven Hoffman, chairman of the board of directors of DSSD, believes that the most critical component of the DSSD’s mission is to ensure that development in the downtown and its environs enhances the sense of place that makes Stamford Downtown distinctive. In 2004, the city was named the safest city in America in the annual ranking published by Morgan Quitno Press. Retail, restaurant and entertainment venues thrive because of zoning regulations which allow outdoor cafes to proliferate and flourish. On warm days, Bedford Street cafés are overflowing with residents lending a European ambiance to the downtown neighborhood. The DSSD continues to successfully sponsor popular outdoor entertainment events and concerts attracting residents and visitors from the region.

It’s now clear that Stamford’s CBD is poised for rapid retail penetration. “Today new investment has been triggered by the city’s mixed-use zoning strategy, its capitalization on its potent transit system with its CBD train linkage to New York City and the community’s overall strong demographics,” says Michael Freimuth, director of Stamford Office of Economic Development. “Whether you call it ‘New Urbanism’ or simply smart economics, Stamford’s 24/7 downtown is poised for even further growth.”

Sandy Goldstein is executive director for the Stamford (Connecticut) Downtown Special Services District (DSSD), a business improvement district dedicated to the improvement and development of the central business area of Stamford, Connecticut. She can be reached by e-mail at sandyg@stamfordowntown.com.