FLASHBACK: Mayor Mark Boughton on marketing Danbury/recruiting businesses to the area, July 2007.

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Since Mayor Boughton hasn't filled the position of Economic Development, several major businesses have overlooked coming to the Greater Danbury area for other places in the state.

One of the rationales behind Downtown Danbury being the host for the Connecticut Film Festival is because of it's location in the state (i.e., close to NYC) and it's relatively easy accessibility (Metro-North, Airport, I-684, etc). The office of economic development, played a key role in recruiting the festival to the area and in the two years of the event, most people would agree that (for teh exception of a few problems which should be worked out in time) the festival was a success.

In the last several months, several major television studios have set up show in Connecticut. For instance, NBC studios have set up shop in Stamford where talk shows The biggest factors in NBC establishing themselves in Stamford are the same rationale used by the promoters of the CT Film Festival: Proximity to major cities (such as NYC, New Haven, and Boston area) accessibility to transportation (airports, light rail, highways, etc).

Although I wouldn't call these programs "must-see TV" these shows being with them something that's very much needed in Danbury...J-O-B-S.

Now, keep that in mind, and the fact that the city is still without a Economic Development director whose primary responsibility is to highlight the positive qualities of the city to potential businesses, when you read this article that describes what's happening in South Windsor in today's Hartford Courant:

An assessment of the potential economic impact of the proposed Connecticut Studios project concludes the development will benefit both the local and state economies by creating jobs, attracting investors, building an industry, and boosting tax revenue both in town and in Hartford.

The Connecticut Economic Resource Center Inc. believes the project's development and construction phase alone will create 1,530 jobs and add $108 million to personal incomes, according to an analysis it presented to the town council. The developer's plan calls for developing an area of 750,000 square feet, roughly 17.2 acres, at a cost of $276 million.

The analysis, outlined by Dale Shannon, senior economist at CERC, estimates ongoing economic activity of the proposed studio and related businesses will create 4,590 jobs, lead to $786 million in sales, $623 million of that from film production alone. It is also expected to add $275 million to personal incomes annually, Shannon said.

Included in the construction phase is $60 million for the studio; $50 million for retail; $18 million for a hotel; $2.7 million for restaurants; and $10 million for infrastructure. The study also suggests the project will lead to the creation of 4,600 jobs in the areas of film and post-film production, studio offices, and hotel, retail and restaurant sales. And, Shannon said, those figures are "very conservative."

"It's a very substantial project," Town Councilor Kathryn Hale said. These are "bigger numbers and better numbers than I was assuming."

State Sen. Gary LeBeau, chairman of the commerce committee, assured the council that the state considers itself a partner in the development. "This is a tremendous project," LeBeau said.

[...]

[Town Manager Matthew] Galligan said many of those employed directly or indirectly by the studio project will live and work in town and "pay their taxes here." The town will also benefit from the increased value the project brings to the town's list of taxable property.

LeBeau said he views the Connecticut Studios project as just the beginning.

"My hope is this is the first of many studios to come to the state of Connecticut," LeBeau said.

Here again is a situation where another MAJOR production studio has set up shop in Connecticut and the city of Danbury was overlooked (for South Windsor!)

As more and more companies are deciding to put Danbury in their rear view mirrors, it's safe to assume that one of the reasons companies that ARE coming to Connecticut are overlooking the potential of doing business with Danbury is because we don't have a person at the office of Economic Development selling the viability of the city to businesses.

Keep this in mind when you hear the political rhetoric over the state of the city's economy and job creation under the Boughton administration over the next couple of weeks.

For instance, form his recent local access interview, listen to Danbury's last honest man talk about economic development.