Fairfield County Business Journal 091718

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CAFFEINATED SPIN

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SEPTEMBER 17, 2018 | VOL. 54, No. 38

YOUR ONLY SOURCE FOR REGIONAL BUSINESS NEWS

westfaironline.com

Danbury’s Workspace Collective focuses on sustainability

A rack of the fashions at Workspace Collective. Photo by Joseph Purayidathil.

BY KEVIN ZIMMERMAN kzimmerman@westfairinc.com

S From left: Mayor Joe Ganim and Francisco Gomes, project manager at Fitzgerald and Halliday.

Two master plans underway in Bridgeport RETURN OF COMMERCIAL SERVICE TO SIKORSKY AIRPORT POSSIBLE

BY KEVIN ZIMMERMAN kzimmerman@westfairinc.com

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pair of master plans could, when implemented, significantly change the Bridgeport landscape in the coming years. The first — the 10-year Master Plan of Conservation and Development (POCD) that, by state law, each municipality must prepare or amend and adopt every decade — is being put together with what is hoped to be a higher rate of participation by residents than ever before. It is also taking into consideration such issues as building and maintaining socially equitable communities, improving transportation while addressing environmental concerns, and fostering a healthier lifestyle. The second, potentially more

intriguing effort is an in-depth study of what can be done to improve Igor Sikorsky Memorial Airport — which could ultimately lead to the return of regular commercial airline service for the first time since the mid-1990s. Such a move could revolutionize air travel in Fairfield County, whose only significant airport is Danbury Municipal, limited to charter and private planes. Otherwise most travelers go through Bradley International in Windsor Locks; Tweed-New Haven, whose only airline is PSA, a wholly owned subsidiary of American Airlines; Westchester County Airport in White Plains; or LaGuardia and JFK International in New York City. But customers looking to start booking flights from Sikorsky » BRIDGEPORT

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ustainability is the byword at Danbury’s Workspace Collective — and not just because it’s in the midst of observing its second anniversary. “It’s something I was always interested in,” said Meagan Neville, founder and creative director of the design and retail co-op in the Cultural Alliance of Western Connecticut building at 287 Main St. “And now I’m in a position where I can do something about it.” The shop features an array of fashion and lifestyle designers, ranging from artisan workshops in rural countries to designers and manufacturers in local communities and around the U.S. Each maker focuses on sustainable design, sourcing and utilizing natural fibers and fabrics, upcycled materials, and preserving cultural traditions in their design work. “My first job was at Macy’s, where I worked in product development,” Neville recounted. “As part of that I worked directly with factories, and my job was to get the lowest cost on jewelry.” To realize those low costs, she said, the factories — many of them overseas — would cut their own » WORKSPACE

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