FAIRFIELD COUNTY
BUSINESS JOURNAL YOUR ONLY SOURCE FOR REGIONAL BUSINESS NEWS | westfaironline.com
September 1, 2014 | VOL. 50, No. 35
Bridgeport on a roll
FCBJ this week BANKING ON AN ANCHOR The shopping center in Banksville has lacked a lead tenant for several years … 5
WITH ADAPTIVE REUSE AND CONSTRUCTION COME MILLENNIALS AND STARTUPS
GLASS CURTAIN The new Stamford Hospital building is less breezy these days … 8
BY CRYSTAL KANG ckang@westfairinc.com
than 60 municipal, educational and research entities, has embraced EQ as a teachable mental health strategy accessible through music, art and literature. Stepping Stones, which dates to 2000, is available to rent for business events. Its conversation starters include a storybook look by
Bridgeport’s downtown is flourishing with economic activity. Businesses are setting up shop, multimillion-dollar construction projects are breaking ground and consultants are finalizing designs to develop the city’s second train station. Over the past several years, Bridgeport’s downtown has become the gateway to bringing developments, tax dollars and jobs to the entire city, Bridgeport Mayor Bill Finch said. “The proof is in the pudding,” Finch said. “We have five investment teams investing in downtown buildings. John Morris is opening up Bass Pro Shops, and we have Gary Flocco at Corvus Capital, U-Haul, Rem-Grit, GE and DuPont all working with us. We have a very cooperative attitude when it comes to our administration working with investors.” The projects the mayor cited are: • Bass Pro Shops is building a retail store at Steelpointe Harbor; • Corvus Capital Partners is renovating several derelict factory buildings along Interstate 95; • U-Haul is reusing and operating out of an old factory in Bridgeport; • RemGrit is the site of the former Remington Arms factory that will be demolished and turned into a second train station. DuPont has spent millions of dollars to clean up the site; and • General Electric Co. has a factory site that could be turned into a school. One recently completed construction project downtown is Landmark, a residential and office building on State Street.
» MUSEUM, page 6
» BRIDGEPORT, page 6
ECO EFFECT Andi Gray addresses the green-office issue … 11 BUZZ AND STING The county arts scene welcomes the Guerrilla Girls … 14
MEDIA PARTNER Kim Kuta Dring, director of learning and experience at Stepping Stones Museum for Children. | Photo by Bill Fallon
SECRETS OF THE HAPPY AND THE SUCCESSFUL
MUSEUM NURTURES EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE BY BILL FALLON Bfallon@westfaironline.com
T
he Stepping Stones Museum for Children in Norwalk wants to improve your emotional quotient. The old way of thinking — that you either have a high EQ or you don’t — has faded. The museum, acting in concert with more
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