Economic Development

Every business, organization and individual who contributes to the economic success of their community makes an impact on Central Connecticut.

Our city and town administrators, state legislators, business and civic leaders, and ordinary citizens all work together to create regional prosperity and community vitality by providing high-quality police, fire, medical, and social services, a wide variety of attractive business properties, good schools, a strong tax base with very business-friendly tax abatement and grant programs, and an enthusiastic and talented population to work, shop, and dine in those businesses and to make a positive impact on our business communities.

Among the companies making the biggest impact on our region is sports giant ESPN Inc., the largest and most well-known among the members of our business community.

Located on Route 229, one of the main arteries into Bristol, the worldwide leader in sports entertainment and information has been in business for 27 years and reaches 91 million homes or 83 percent of American TV households.

A half billion dollar expansion, including a new state-of-the-art digital broadcast center, has been completed and is now transmitting High Definition Digital television throughout the world. ESPN is now in the process of constructing three 100,000 square foot office buildings to be completed in the coming years, with the first under construction for occupancy in 2007. This latest expansion of ESPN is expected to lead to new related employment in the area, as businesses tend to "cluster" around mega-complexes such as the ESPN campus.

Bristol is also proud to be the home of Lake Compounce Family Theme Park, a 300 acre amusement and water park. Lake Compounce is the nation’s oldest amusement park, featuring Boulder Dash, the longest wooden roller coaster in the Northeast. Lake Compounce attracts 700,000 visitors each year and is planning a major expansion to its water park in the near future.

Our manufacturing communities today number hundreds of businesses - some large and most small to medium-sized industries, many of which have fewer than 200 employees. They manufacture all sorts of things: cabinets and counter tops, custom furniture, coils, springs, glass & matt cutters, jewelry, building products, alarms, cardboard boxes, wire & cables, aircraft components, locks, metal fasteners - the list is a long and very diverse one that has reached a new measure of stability over the last year. Springmaking, tool and dye, eyelets, plastics and screw machine manufacturing especially have made a remarkable comeback recently; and our manufacturers are now making a brand new impact on Central Connecticut.

Bristol has started a major revitalization of its Downtown with the designation of the Enterprise Zone by the State of Connecticut and a new expansion of Route 72 onto Riverside Avenue extension. Our downtown is poised to start redevelopment of the 17 acre Mall at Bristol Centre property. The City has numerous tax incentives and grant programs to assist new and existing business expansion. The downtown is also a target of the Central Connecticut Revolving Loan Fund Program, allowing for support for small business start-up; and the City has completed street and pedestrian improvements on North Main Street and is planning a similar program on Main Street.

The improvements in the Downtown infrastructure are making a positive impact on and are critical to the continued growth of Downtown business and the stimulation of new jobs, housing and entertainment opportunities in Bristol. We expect 2008 to be another good year for retail expansion, with many retail stores and restaurants looking to locate in Central Connecticut. We look forward to welcoming many new retail businesses to the area on a regular basis in the coming years as current successes and our staunch economic development programs invite and encourage other retail and service companies to join us in making an impact on our region.