Politics & Government

Open House Stratford [Updated]

The town's new economic development website has compiled a list of all the retail, office, industrial and commercial space on the market in Stratford, which totals 925,000 square feet.

Editor's note: This article has been updated with comments from the town's special projects coordinator. Scroll down to see those quotes.

Take a look at the town's new economic development website, and you'll find that there is plenty of available space in Stratford for prospective businesses to buy or lease.

How much space exactly?

Find out what's happening in Stratfordwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

There's more than 175,000 square feet of retail and office space on the market in town, spread out over 31 locations with 14 of them on Main Street.

And there's about 750,000 square feet of industrial and commercial property in Stratford, which is spread out over 21 locations with 13 sharing an address on Long Beach Boulevard.

Find out what's happening in Stratfordwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The largest property on either list is 255 Long Beach Boulevard, a 200,000-square-foot warehouse available for lease at $5.85 per square foot. The smallest property is 425 square feet and is located near the train station at 2318 Main St.

The most expensive property to buy on either list is 611 Access Road at $2.9 million -- which will get you two suites at 5,000 square feet each. There's also the option to lease at $15 per square foot.

Before clicking on the 'Space Availability' tab where all these properties are listed and updated quarterly, visitors to the new website are greeted on the homepage with a message from Mayor John A. Harkins. The welcome gives a brief history of Stratford and what it can offer potential businesses.

"Recognized worldwide as the birthplace of the American helicopter industry in 1939, Stratford has excellent transportation access that has attracted and sustained economic development over the years," the message goes.

"But more than a transportation hub," the welcome continues, "Stratford is a business-friendly community that attracts highly skilled workers, many of whom decide to live here, too...Our 17 miles of coastline, beautiful parks and recreational facilities, and rich cultural heritage make working and living in Stratford a one-of-a-kind experience."

Special Projects Coordinator Weighs In

'There's a lot going on right now'

After the town , they hired Karen Kaiser as special projects coordinator for community/economic development. At a Town Council meeting earlier this week, Harkins announced that her salary would be $90,000.

"There's a lot going on right now," Kaiser said. "There are several large deals pending [that] should close in a couple weeks."

Though she could not disclose specific information on the deals, Kaiser said there's a wide range of businesses currently looking to set up shop in Stratford, from light industrial and manufacturing to high-end retail chain stores.

"A lot of companies are calling looking to move here from lower Fairfield County," she said.

Kaiser said Stratford is increasingly becoming more well-known as a crossroads, where there's easy access to the Merritt Parkway, Interstate 95 and Metro-North Railroad.

On brownfields

A number of brownfield properties, sites contaminated with oil or industrial chemicals, are included in the online list Kaiser compiled of avaiable space to buy or lease in Stratford.

"[However,] not all the brownfields are for sale right now," she noted.

The town, through a $400,000 grant, hired a consulting company that is currently prioritizing the for cleanup. The list is expected to be finished at the end of the summer, Kaiser said.

--

Bruce Alessie served as the town's special projects coordinator for more than a dozen years before he earlier this year.

Neil Sherman, chairman of the Economic Development Commission, after Alessie's passing that the website would be dedicated to his departed colleague.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here