Chess touts $1B Point Stratford plan to business community
Originally published by Westfair Business Journal. Reporting by Gary Larkin
Stratford Mayor David Chess fields a question from Stratford Chamber of Commerce Chair Bob David during the Bridgeport Regional Business Council’s State of Stratford luncheon. Photo by Gary Larkin
Speech follows shakeup in town economic development team
STRATFORD – Mayor David Chess has shored up his economic development team as the town undertakes the largest development in decades in the transformation of the former Stratford Army Engine plant known as Point Stratford.
He shook up the town’s Economic Development Department around the same time the Town Council approved a resolution approving a $2 million grant that comes from the proceeds of a state bond for the planning stages of the Point Stratford redevelopment. Ten months into his tenure as mayor, Chess replaced Director of Economic Development Jim Capra and Manager of Small Business Development Anne Gaydos. He named his Chief of Staff Caryn Kaufman as interim director and engaged Mike Freimuth as an economic development consultant.
The transition creates an opportunity to build on the department’s work, maintain continuity for businesses and partners, and strengthen the Town’s long-term economic development strategy, Chess wrote in a release issued on Sept. 28. Kaufman will oversee day-to-day operations, ongoing projects, business outreach, and small business development.
At the time, Chess said the town hired Freimuth to provide strategic guidance, assist with organizational planning, and help ensure the town continues advancing priority initiatives without interruption.
“Economic development remains central to our vision for a vibrant, resilient, and business-friendly community, and growing our economy is essential for providing property tax relief to our residents,” Chess said. “This change gives us a valuable opportunity to assess our needs, reinforce what is working, and create a stronger structure for the future. With Caryn’s leadership and Mike Freimuth’s expertise, we are well positioned to continue building momentum and serving our businesses, residents, investors, and community partners.”
Chess took the opportunity to roll out his new economic development team and goals at a luncheon hosted by the Bridgeport Regional Business Council at Riverview Bistro on Oct. 15. He touted the $1 billion Point Stratford project, which he has helped turn into a proposed mixed-use development from the previous plan to convert the 77-acre former Stratford Army Engine plant into industrial warehouse space.
“This will become a true destination,” the mayor told a packed room of business people. “It will be the single largest investment made in Stratford for many, many decades. It will hold a sports and teen center. It will be a destination waterfront.”
He explained his reasoning for the change.
“When I came in, there was a lot of disbelief in the business community about taking the project from being industrial to being mixed-use development,” he added. “In terms of revenue, it was like night and day. The only the town really has is the space. You can sell your space and get $1 for it or you sell your space and get $100 for it. We want to try to create an economic base to support our community.”
Point Stratford
The former Army engine plant property owner Point Stratford Renewal LLC has advanced a $74 million tidal flats remediation of the property prior to the redevelopment. The Brownfield property needed to be cleared of contamination due to years of industrial use. Developers are planning to submit a master plan by December.
“We acquired the property from the United States Army on April 2, 2024,” stated the developer’s principals Jim Cabrera, Ted Lane, and Executive Vice President Peter Cabrera. “Since then, we have advanced one of the most ambitious environmental remediation efforts in Connecticut while assembling a master planning team capable of delivering a redevelopment worthy of the site’s history and its potential.
“We are working in close partnership with the Town of Stratford, the State of Connecticut, the U.S. Army, and the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection to ensure that what is built here is environmentally sound, economically durable, and genuinely shaped by the community it will serve.”
The development calls for waterfront parks and trails along the Housatonic River, multi-family housing, retail storefronts and restaurants, a potential hotel and conference center and a sports and teen center, according to Chess and Point Stratford Renewal.
The development team includes the following companies and organizations: Cooper Robertson (Corgan) – master planner; fieldoperations – landscape architect; Langan – Civil, environmental, traffic, and lighting engineering; Moffatt & Nichol – coastal engineering; HR&A Advisors – Market, economic, and fiscal impact analysis; Carmody Torrance Sandak & Hennessey – land use counsel; Greenberg Traurig – environmental counsel; Pullman & Comley – tax increment financing district counsel; Sullivan & LeShane – Public affairs and community engagement; Entact – site contractor; and Cumming Group – cost estimator and scheduler.
“The next thing we are going to need from the governor is $8 million to build a destination park on the waterfront that has activities, that has a restaurant,” Chess told BBRC members. “We hope to bring that to the state legislature in the next six months.”
Gary Larkin is the Fairfield County Business Journal editor. He is a veteran journalist, writer, author, adjunct professor, and father of three. He has worked for such dailies as The Bond Buyer, Torrington Register-Citizen, Bristol Press, New Britain Herald and such weeklies as The Hartford Business Journal, Westport News, Darien News-Review, and Riverdale Press.
