Growing Neighborhoods

State looks to partner on transit oriented development

No town is without an economic development plan—but several are set to receive help from the state through the newly created Connecticut Municipal Development Authority. The burgeoning state partner looks to help “municipalities from across the state to grow their neighborhoods by expanding housing around transit hubs and in downtowns.”

Just a few months after the official launch, the CMDA already has ten official partners with more on the way. These towns and cities are joining with the promise that they will receive help in not only renovating downtowns, but getting back to the roots of what made Connecticut so great in the past—abundant walkable neighborhoods with thriving economic centers. (The Authority is so new in fact, the website as of publication still only has a form for you to sign up for more information.)

In a report from the CT Examiner, the Executive Director David Kooris said that the goal of the Authority was to provide a “carrot without sticks” in downtown revitalization plans. From the same article, they say that “Authority has been tasked with stimulating economic growth in ‘development districts.’” Tools to accomplish this include acquiring property, entering into contracts, and providing financial and administrative support. The municipalities include Derby, New London, Seymour, Waterbury, Torrington, Old Saybrook, Enfield, Norwich, Manchester, and Bridgeport, according to the CT Examiner article. The first municipality to join was Naugatuck, which was written up in a news piece for the Hearst papers. In that article, Naugatuck grant writer Danielle Goeway noted that it was free to join CMDA and that the funding and technical support that was pledged would be helpful for projects in town.

Naugatuck Mayor Hess was quoted as saying that “the funding can apply not just to the municipality but to our development partners as well or for that matter anyone within a half-a-mile radius of the train station downtown.”

Kooris said that he had hoped to sign up at least a dozen municipalities in the first year, but a later article in the Hartford Business Journal suggested that the goals were already increasing—with two dozen municipalities in its sights. Importantly, the authority is non-binding. While towns must join to receive the benefits, there’s nothing holding any municipality to join.

Transit oriented development, or TOD, has been a hot button theme going on nearly a decade now. People— especially millennials and younger—like being able to walk their neighborhoods without having to own a car. Going to a market and the café, hopping on the train or bus to get to work isn’t a farfetched idea, it’s just the way things used to be. For towns and cities that are interested in growing their TOD, perhaps the CMDA is something you should be looking into.