Connecticut Main Street Center

CHDT May Update

christinectms — Fri, 17 May 2013 18:06:52 +0000

The CHDT Team has been very busy developing the Program’s Downtown Development Audits, Urban Design Audits and Model Building Analyses. We’ve also been meeting with the building owners and other downtown stakeholders. For a sneak preview of the project outcomes, see the powerpoint presentation of the Model Building Analysis that Bill Crosskey developed for Torrington.

Next week we are meeting with the Advisory Teams in Middletown and Waterbury. In all three communities, we are gearing up for public meetings later in June to share the results of the consultants work and get feedback from the larger community.

Downtown Update – May Edition

christinectms — Thu, 16 May 2013 13:06:31 +0000

Check out the May edition of CMSC’s e-newsletter, Downtown Update.

CT Main Street Center recognizes Storrs Center project – Mansfield Today

christinectms — Wed, 08 May 2013 17:40:31 +0000

The Mansfield Downtown Partnership announced in Mansfield Today that it has received the 2013 Award of Excellence: Economic and Business Development from Connecticut Main Street Center. The MDP was recognized for its efforts in retaining and relocating Mansfield businesses affected by the development of Storrs Center. When development of Storrs Center began, there were 25 existing tenants (both commercial and university uses) in the buildings slated for demolition. Today, 17 remain in Mansfield, with eight businesses now located in Storrs Center.

Calling the project a “true collaboration” MDP Executive Director Cynthia van Zelm expressed appreciation for the recognition and said, “We are very proud and happy to be honored with this award after working with all of the different businesses for almost ten years.”

CT Main Street recognizes Storrs Center project

CMSC On WDRC’s Talk of Connecticut

christinectms — Fri, 03 May 2013 19:39:28 +0000

CMSC’s Associate Director, Kimberley Parsons-Whitaker spoke with WDRC’s Mary Jones about the Main Street program on Talk of Connecticut yesterday. Kim provided an overview of the program and how CMSC works with towns large and small to meet their revitalization goals. As part of that discussion, Kim described how the Come Home to Downtown program, a partnership between CMSC and the Connecticut Housing Finance Authority, is encouraging people to once again live in our downtowns and village centers.

CMSC’s Kimberley Parsons-Whitaker on Talk of Connecticut with Mary Jones

CMSC 2012 Annual Report Now Available

christinectms — Fri, 03 May 2013 15:28:57 +0000

Connecticut Main Street Center (CMSC) is proud to share its accomplishments its 2012 Annual Report. This report summarizes the highlights from Fiscal Year 2012, a pivotal year in which we expanded our programs and staff . This document provides information on the technical assistance provided to CMSC member communities, educational workshops and programs we administer as well as information on CMSC’s finances and funding sponsors.

2012 Annual Report
(Files are large and may take a few moments to download. Thank you for your patience.)

2013 Connecticut Main Street Award Winners Announced

christinectms — Wed, 01 May 2013 15:16:13 +0000

CMSC announced the recipients of its 2013 Awards of Excellence today. Click on the link below to see the press release and full list of award winners.

2013 Awards of Excellence Winners

CMSC Welcomes Annah Perch, New London Main Street’s New Executive Director

christinectms — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 21:00:23 +0000

CMSC is thrilled to welcome New London Main Street’s new Executive Director, Annah Perch. Annah has extensive experience in nonprofit management and community development, having most recently run The Stepping Stones Foundation in Katonah, New York for the past 6 years. Annah started in her new position on April 22^nd. Read more here.

Gold Recognized For Urban Vision, Advocacy – Hartford Courant

christinectms — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 13:30:23 +0000

The Hartford Courant wrote an editorial praising Toni Gold as winner of this year’s CL&P award from CMSC. Speaking of Ms. Gold the Courant wrote, “Like the legendary New York urbanist [Jane Jacobs], Ms. Gold has been a transformative thinker in city planning and been involved in many of the measures, large and small, that have made the city and region a better place to live.”

Read the full editorial here.
To read the announcement of Toni Gold as 2013 CL&P Award Winner, click here.

Torrington Follow-up

christinectms — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 18:23:06 +0000

Thought you might be interested in this article from The Register Citizen, which provides a nice overview of last night’s meeting.

Connecticut Main Street Center Studying Middletown Building For Urban Housing – Hartford Courant

christinectms — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 17:48:44 +0000

CMSC is studying a building on Main Street owned by the Amato family for its potential to add residential housing downtown, reports the Hartford Courant. The study is being done as part of the “Come Home Downtown” project, a pilot program that is also being done in Waterbury and Torrington. The project will help building owners turn empty downtown spaces into market-rate housing.

Connecticut Main Street Center Studying Middletown Building for Urban Housing