Fairfield County Business Journal - 081814

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FAIRFIELD COUNTY

BUSINESS JOURNAL YOUR ONLY SOURCE FOR REGIONAL BUSINESS NEWS | westfaironline.com

August 18, 2014 | VOL. 50, No. 33

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FCBJ this week

WCSU OPENS A BRICK-AND-MORTAR HOMAGE TO THE ARTS

ITALIAN DELIGHT A Stamford delicatessen reaches a milestone … 10

BY BILL FALLON Bfallon@westfairinc.com

WING IT AND FLOP Robert Ferrucci advises against ad-libbing … 11

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ACCOUNTING UPDATE Services adapt to the times at Shelton firm … 15 NEWSMAKERS Company news on the upswing, the uptick and the upward … 20

Destination:

NORWALK VISION BECOMES REALITY FOR DEVELOPER

MEDIA PARTNER

Jeffrey Kaplan and Stanley Seligson in Norwalk.

BY BILL FALLON Bfallon@westfairinc.com

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tanley Seligson stepped from a sleek black import beside 145 Main St. in Norwalk recently. It was a bright, breezy summer day and he smiled, shaking hands with a confident grip. The building just reached 100 percent occupancy.

The success of 50,000 square feet of commercial space at 145 Main St. for Seligson is only part of a much larger equation that, as he and Seligson Properties Director Jeffrey Kaplan see it, is helping transform Norwalk into a destination. Among other initiatives, Seligson is the driving force behind the Waypointe mixeduse developments in Norwalk. The first of 480 » DEVELOPER, page 6

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Big-ticket items Andi Gray dissects the buy order

he contradiction of higher education in the arts is that it expands a mind so vastly and broadens a school’s appeal so undeniably while sometimes taking up residence in a former broom closet. Recognizing what Daniel Goble called “the tremendous potential of this building, educationally and economically,” Western Connecticut State University in Danbury, with its $97 million soon-to-open Visual and Performing Arts Center, has taken a bolder tack. The 130,000-square-foot, $97 million building broke ground in October 2011. School President James W. Schmotter will deliver his annual address to faculty and staff in the concert theater Aug. 26, marking the building’s official debut, followed by classes Aug. 28, a ribboncutting Sept. 4 and an opening gala Sept. 28. Goble, whose teaching experience at WCSU dates to 1994, is dean of the School of Visual and Performing Arts. On a recent tour he called the building “a real game changer not only for the university, but for Danbury and the surrounding community.” He said the arts possess the potential to define a community, ticking off renowned regional venues in Hartford, Stamford, Greenwich and Westport that help with that task. More tangibly, he said, “This will be excellent for the businesses nearby and on Mill Plain Road, I can tell you that.” The building was designed by New York Citybased Holzman Moss Bottino and Stamfordbased Amenta/Emma Architects. Subspecialists included Jaffe Holden Acoustics Inc. in Norwalk and New York City theater planning and design firm Fisher Dachs Associates. “Danbury never really had anything like this before,” Goble said, noting there is already » ARTS CENTER, page 4


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