WESTPORT —
en divisive. The town shot down Bedford Square Associates’ initial request to rezone Church Lane to accommodate more residences, and the developer is now proposing to build just 30 residences, but including a full 60,000 square feet of retail and commercial space. Bedford Square Associates partners include Waldman; Paul Brandes and Daniel Zelson, co-founders of Charter Realty Development Co.; and B. Lance Sauerteig, president of BLS Strategic Capital. All have offices in Westport. Even as Bedford Square Associates pushes ahead with its sweeping vision, a Downtown 2020 committee continues to vet consultants to deliver an as-yet unknown vision of their own – but one with the
similar goal of drawing more foot traffic to downtown, and so, vitality. Last year, the town took a major step in that direction, adjusting its ordinance to allow more outdoor seating at eateries – and just as critical for the hospitality sector, more liquor permits. That has paved the way for new establishments in closer proximity, most recently to include the new Spotted Horse Tavern on Church Lane, across narrow Church Lane from the Westport Weston Family Y. The restaurant was launched by Tommy Febbraio, Kevin McHugh and Peter Mennona. Westport residents have long lamented the overall direction of downtown, which despite boasting a wide range of independent businesses also has no shortage of chains that some believe rob downtown of its distinctive character. Ironically, in a recent interview with the Westport News, Febbraio cited the establishment next door of an Urban Outfitters store for helping bring more diners to the Spotted Horse Tavern. Waldman would deliver more yet, though with plenty of demolition and construction in the interim. “We can’t turn back the clock on downtown or Main Street,” a planning committee wrote in a 2011 document. “The Remarkable Book Store, the Fine Arts movie theaters, the former moms-and-pops aren’t coming back. Many of us now have ‘Fairfield envy,’ noting how our neighbor’s downtown has flourished, in striking contrast to Westport’s trend.”
“They’re more productive because they can ask for the tools they need,” Donahue said. “Before they were waiting for their friend who speaks Spanish to tell them what they need to do.” The course was the first highlycustomized language program SSG has developed since forming a year ago. With the success of the training program, SSG hopes to be able to do similar projects with additional company workforces. Discussions with three separate businesses are already in the works. To increase the state’s workforce skill level and competitiveness, the Department of Labor’s 21st Century jobs skills training program spent $425,000 statewide last year on workforce development projects. DOL has had discussions about funding more language training programs and helped fund Lex’s language course. By eliminating language barriers, companies and employees are able to communicate more effectively and without relying on an interpreter, said Joseph Jenecaro, an SSG organizational consultant who designed the course. Then there is more time to dedicate to production and increas-
ing the quality of service and products. Before the course started, 19 employees who participated in the program were ranked on a four-level scale in four categories: comprehension, speaking, reading and writing. At the end of the course each employee showed at least a one-level improvement in each category measured, Jenecaro said. Now that the program is complete, many of the employees who took the class are more comfortable starting conversations with management and more confident in their jobs, he said. The top student in the class, who had shown the most improvement, is now being groomed for a promotion as well. But beyond the workplace, Donahue said the program also improves the employees’ lives outside of work as well. They’re able to speak English with their kids while they’re learning in school and communicate while at the hospital and in other situations. “It was incredibly valuable for the individuals to participate and hopefully grow with the company and enhance their potential,” she said.
From page 1
If Bedford Square Associates gets its way, Church Lane in downtown Westport will be transformed into an enviable, pedestrianfriendly stretch of brick buildings with a mix of residences, retail shops and commercial offices. Designed by renowned Centerbrook Architects, the development would draw its architectural influence from the Bedford House Tudor mansion. Westport’s historic district commission and architectural review board were scheduled after press deadline to issue their recommendation on the Bedford Square proposal to the town’s planning and zoning commission. As such, Westport is getting a rare opportunity to remake three full blocks of its downtown – and the process has prov-
LANGUAGE — From page 1
its employees, however, the company has seen an uptick in its employees’ efficiency and confidence. “They’re able to communicate much better with their direct supervisors and managers,” said Patty Donahue, Lex operations manager. “They have a lot more confidence and are more willing to communicate than they were prior to this class.” The training course included 80 hours of classroom time and 18 hours of individualized lab time. The course was designed by Strategic Solutions Group (SSG), which is a workforce development team associated with Housatonic Community College. What’s unique about the course is that in addition to using a traditional English as a second language (ESL) textbook, SSG used a customized workbook it created that was specific to Lex’s machinery and products. SSG took photos and videos of the manufacturer’s processes and developed the course material to be relevant to the employees’ jobs.
HIMES — From page 1
were thought through as intelligent cuts,” Himes said. “They were designed to be precisely what they are, which are brutal hammers hanging over the head of Congress.” Those hammers, Himes said, combined with the expiration of the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts, “make a toxic package that is the one thing that will cause my very polarized House of Representatives and a polarized Congress in general to do the deal that needs to be done.” Himes said the most likely outcome is for Congress to pass a temporary extension of the tax measures set to expire and a temporary postponement of the sequestration cuts, with a hard deadline sometime in 2013 for a legislative package to be assembled and approved in order to avert a new global economic meltdown. Jeff Kummer, a director of tax policy at Deloitte’s Washington, D.C., office, echoed Himes, saying he thought Congress would, at the very least, enact a temporary measure between the elections and the end of the 2012 session. However, Kummer warned, allowing the tax cuts to expire and the sequestration measures to take effect would have a significant impact on consumer spending “right away.” “If rates expire, even if just temporarily – even if congressional Republicans, the White House, congressional Democrats all get together and say, sometime in 2013, ‘We’re going to fix this and retroactively make everybody whole again’ – you’re still going to have people with less purchasing power in their pockets the first biweekly pay period in January,” Kummer said. In a report released Sept. 27, Fitch Ratings, based in London, said a worst-case scenario of allowing the tax cuts to expire and allowing the defense and spending cuts to take effect would result in 2013 global gross domestic product (GDP) growth of just 1.3 percent, versus Fitch’s current projection of 2.6 percent global GDP growth. “The dramatic fiscal tightening implied by the fiscal cliff could tip the U.S. and possibly the global economy into recession,” Fitch wrote. “At the very least it would be likely to halve the rate of global growth in 2013.” While Himes reinforced his opinion that Congress would act on the challenges ahead, he left the door open for the opposite. “The reason I give that a 30 percent probability is because it’s just such an easy thing to do,” he said. “If we give into our worst instincts to make ourselves and everybody else feel good, it will require capital markets to ultimately force us to govern ourselves. I think our leadership is better than that.”
6 Week of October 8, 2012 • Fairfield County Business Journal a division of Westfair Communications, Inc. • www.westfaironline.com