COVER STORY, JANUARY 2007

POISED FOR RETAIL SUCCESS
Why is Stamford Downtown poised for retail emergence?
Sandy Goldstein

Goldstein

Just 2 years ago, the Target Corporation opened its first vertical, urban prototype on the East Coast just across from University of Connecticut’s campus in Stamford Downtown. The Stamford Courtyard by Marriott, the best performing hotel in Fairfield County, opened its 115-room facility a block away a year later, and recently, Tom Rich and Lou Capelli, residential developers, formed a joint venture to construct Trump Parc, a 37-story luxury condominium high-rise within a short walk of these cutting-edge developments. This sequence of explosive growth is a striking example of the momentum transforming Stamford’s Central Business District. It is clearly a city on the move and ready for the next step — retail emergence.

But first some background. Stamford Downtown is less than an hour from midtown Manhattan, a 24/7 active center with more than 70 chic restaurants, luxury high-rise condominiums priced from $375,000 to $3 million, its own symphony orchestra and performing arts center and a dynamic office population that draws more than 28,000 workers daily. Residential development in Stamford’s downtown is on the rise.

“Residents from professionals to empty nesters are finding the urban living style easily attainable in Stamford,” notes Thomas L. Rich, president and CEO of F. D. Rich & Company, developers in Stamford for almost 100 years. The current base of 3,300 residential units downtown is anticipated to increase by 2,500 units within the next 6 years. “People are the lifeblood of the downtown and Stamford has all the conveniences in place — parks, recreation, education and leisure activities,” adds Rich.

Stamford is the fourth largest city in Connecticut with 121,000 residents. Within 5 miles of Downtown, there are 63,200 households with average income of $117,700. However, potential retail expenditures are lost from the consumer trade area because there are not enough desirable retailers to capture these dollars. “Downtown has a retail occupancy rate now of 93 percent, but we are looking for more boutiques and neighborhood stores to include in the tenant mix. Young professionals are dining downtown and we want them to leave with shopping bags full of retail offerings,” says Jacqueline Wetenhall, Downtown Special Services District’s (DSSD) director of retail development. “We are now actively pursuing retailers who we feel would add value to the downtown’s retail mix through our Retail Advancement Program, which offers a one time DSSD grant of up to $50,000 to qualified retailers.”

Stamford Town Center is replacing the former Filene’s department store with a mix of quality retailers and restaurants.

Helping to address this retail gap, the Taubman Company will complete a $50 million redesign of the southwestern entrance to its 814,000-square-foot regional mall in 2007. Located at the business nexus of Stamford Downtown, Stamford Town Center will soon be home to a new 40,000-square-foot, two-story Barnes & Noble bookstore combined with H&M, a fashion anchor. Drawing even more shoppers and consumer activity to Stamford Downtown are seven new restaurants including P.F.Chang’s, California Pizza Kitchen, The Capital Grille, Mitchell’s Fish Market, Kona Grill, Famous Dave’s Bar B Que and Cosi,which will be located in a piazza style, outdoor courtyard surrounding the new entrance. 

Why are these retailers so bullish on Stamford Downtown? Mike McAndrews, Taubman’s Stamford Town Center general manager and a member of DSSD’s Board of Commissioners explains, “The overall growth in Stamford Downtown relative to housing and job growth, as well as a very attractive demographic, continues to fuel the growth of retail. Recognizing this opportunity, Stamford Town Center is replacing the former Filene’s department store with a mix of quality retailers and restaurants, which will invigorate and revitalize the mall and cater to the growing residential and office population.”

The Landmark, a new 36,800-square-foot retail facility being developed by Reckson Associates, plans to draw shoppers from the Landmark Square office complex in the heart of Stamford Downtown.

Currently, Stamford’s Central Business District (CBD) contains a total of 1.5 million square feet of retail space. The resulting high confidence of investors will soon support an additional 214,800 square feet of new retail space, which is currently under construction. “The re-emergence of Stamford as a regional retail destination has dovetailed with the explosive growth in the community of both upscale residential and first-class office developments. That, combined with strong retailer performance, vibrant streetscapes and diverse customer draws, has solidified Stamford as a retail hotspot,” explains Patrick A. Smith, executive vice president and principal of Staubach Retail. The Landmark, developed by Reckson Associates, with exclusive representation through Staubach Retail, is one new development that promises to draw shoppers from the surrounding office and residential developments. The new 36,800-square-foot retail development located at the major intersection with the highly visible Landmark Square office complex in the heart of Stamford Downtown.

Accessibility is a primary key to retail desirability for shoppers and developers. Downtown parking is plentiful both on the street and in the three public parking garages that contain a combined total of 3,200 spaces. The new Summer Street Parking Garage opened this summer adjacent to the Majestic Theatre and Target with a 482 car capacity. More than adequate parking availability clearly enhances the retail draw of the CBD.

The Royal Bank of Scotland began construction on its 400,000-square-foot North American Banking Center in August 2006 in Stamford Downtown.

Stamford’s residential boom can be attributed to such companies as the Royal Bank of Scotland, which in August 2006, recognizing an attractive downtown office environment, began construction of its 400,000 square foot, North American Banking Center, which is located directly across the street from UBS’ East Coast headquarters. “After looking at various sites throughout the Northeast, we felt Stamford presented us with a number of unique opportunities and advantages — an appropriately-sized redevelopment site located at a major transportation hub, a well-educated labor pool and the city’s reputation as a burgeoning financial services center,” says Ben Carpenter, co-CEO of RBS Greenwich Capital, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Royal Bank of Scotland Group. “Its relative proximity to our current employee base in Greenwich and New York was also a factor.” RBS’ new facility will house a 100,000-square-foot financial trading floor, one of the nation’s largest. When completed in fall 2008, RBS will support 1,850 new jobs in Stamford, a number that is expected to increase to 3,000 employees in just a few years. In addition, UBS already employs 5,000 workers in their complex directly across the street from this new development.

Office development in the CBD has transformed the area into the third largest financial capital in the Northeast after New York City and Boston. Capitalizing on that ranking, developers Tom Rich and Lou Capelli anticipate that a new 200-room Ritz-Carlton hotel and luxury condominium tower complex with street level retail space will be embraced by the corporate community as well as lure foot traffic from around the office headquarters complex. Additionally, Lowe Enterprises Real Estate Group, a California-based development company, recognizing Stamford Downtown’s upside potential, has recently proposed a 1 million-square-foot mixed-use development. The proposed project will contain 835 rental units and condominiums, along with a 180,000-square-foot grocery store, retail shops and restaurants in the center of downtown.

One unique factor persuading investors and developers alike to choose Stamford Downtown is the work of the DSSD, which was established in 1994 to transform the CBD into a vibrant 24/7 environment. With an annual budget of $2 million and a dedicated board of commissioners composed of prominent downtown property owners and retailers, the DSSD maintains clean, safe and attractive streets adorned with permanent outdoor public art displays attracting both the young and old to the Downtown area. Steven Hoffman, chairman of the board of directors of DSSD, believes that the most critical component of the DSSD’s mission is to ensure that development in the Downtown and its environs enhances the sense of place that makes Downtown distinctive.

In 2004, the city was named the safest city in America in the annual ranking published by Morgan Quitno Press. Retail, restaurant and entertainment venues thrive because of zoning regulations that allow outdoor cafes to proliferate and flourish. On warm days, Bedford Street cafés are overflowing with residents lending a European ambiance to the downtown neighborhood. The DSSD continues to successfully sponsor popular outdoor entertainment events and concerts attracting residents and visitors from the region.

It’s now clear that Stamford’s CBD is poised for rapid retail penetration. Michael Freimuth, director of the Stamford Office of Economic Development summarizes, “Today new investment has been triggered by the city’s mixed-use zoning strategy, its capitalization on its potent transit system with its CBD train linkage to New York City and the community’s overall strong demographics. Whether you call it the new urbanism or simply smart economics, Stamford’s 24/7 downtown is poised for even further growth.” Clearly, now is the time for major premium retailers to take a serious look at Stamford Downtown.

Sandy Goldstein is the executive director for the Stamford, Connecticut, Downtown Special Services District (DSSD), a business improvement district dedicated to the improvement and development of the central business area of Stamford.

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