business | GROWTH & DEVELOPMENT T
ALEX MCINTYRE Tatman Business Park is located along Diamond Valley Drive in Windsor May 25, 2021.
GROWTH & DEVELOPMENT: WINDSOR HAS REMAINED OPEN FOR BUSINESS, OPERATING AT FULL CAPACITY, EVEN THROUGH THE WORST PARTS OF THE PANDEMIC BY BOBBY FERNANDEZ
T
he town of Windsor and its director of economic development Stacy Miller don't claim to have anti-pandemic repellent.
What they do have, though, is an extremely rare and unique situation. They have a town that has grown from about 10,000 people in 2000 to nearly 19,000 people in 2010 to close to 40,000 people today. And, as quickly as the population has expanded, so has Windsor's economic, residential, industrial and commercial development. Developers continue to build in Windsor. And, they've continued to build 16 | mywindsor | JUNE 2021
right through the pandemic, even while so many other municipalities experience a sharp slowdown in growth for much of the past year, especially during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Via everything from restaurants to new homes to industrial sites, Windsor continues to grow, exponentially. "Nothing ever really seemed to slow down — residentially or commercially," said Miller, who has worked in economic development for 22 years, the past 10 in Windsor. "I started off in January with, I think, six prospects in the first week of the year. And, I've done about a half a dozen tours of Windsor so far already this year. Those are a big deal, meaning the prospect is elevated to actually coming to town to look at the site." Michelle Vance became the executive
director of the Windsor Area Chamber of Commerce in June of this past year. In most places, there couldn't be a less ideal time to run a chamber of commerce. But for Vance, her phone began ringing off the hook and her inbox was filling up with messages from the moment she stood in her office for the first time. "Since June, we've grown by 140 new members," Vance said. "In just April, we grew by 24 new members. That kind of shows you the momentum. I have a grand opening every single week, all the way through July." Like Miller, Vance has a 20-plusyear history in economic development. She chose to pursue the chamber of commerce position and become less a developer and more a promotor of
