Commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development Catherine Smith talks about the state jobs bill during the Naugatuck Economic Development Corporation's annual meeting Nov. 28.

NAUGATUCK — Some small businesses are flocking to the borough, thanks to the efforts of the Naugatuck Economic Development Corporation.

Noel Rutherford, sales engineer at Vitek Research Corporation, said the NEDC played a crucial role in the company’s recent move to the borough’s industrial park.

“We’re glad to have moved up here. All (the NEDC has) done to help us has been critical for the future growth of our company,” Rutherford said at the NEDC’s annual meeting Nov. 28.

Rutherford said tax incentives offered through the state Enterprise Corridor Zone Program in the borough and guidance from the NEDC convinced his company to make the move from Derby last month.

At the meeting, Mayor Robert Mezzo said it’s hard for people to understand how difficult it is to get businesses into the enterprise zone.

“It’s very easy to say times are bad, let’s sit on our hands and wait for things to get better,” Mezzo said.

However, the NEDC has worked hard to bring businesses into town.

Once Vitek finishes moving its medical and aerospace coating equipment to its new location, the company is looking to expand, Rutherford said. He said Vitek, which currently has 15 employees, plans to hire four to six new employees in the next six months. The NEDC expects the company to continue adding 20 jobs over the next two years.

Vitek is one of four borough companies that qualified for Enterprise Zone benefits, which include a five year, 80 percent tax abatement. The state reimburses Naugatuck for half of the abated taxes.

The other companies that qualified for the program in the borough are Chemtura Corporation, YoFarm Company, and Vivax Medical Corporation.

Chemtura invested $10 million to renovate two chemical laboratories totaling 60,000 square feet. The company has relocated 70 employees to the borough from Middlebury.

YoFarm is expanding its main plant on Spring Street with an additional 21,000 square foot space in the industrial park which will create 21 new jobs, according to the NEDC.

Vivax has relocated 10 employees from Torrington and plans to create another 10 to 15 jobs over the next two years. It is leasing a 9,000 square foot space in the industrial park.

The four new and expanding companies in the borough put Naugatuck among the leaders in the state for Enterprise Zone benefits. The cities of Waterbury and Bridgeport each hosted eight projects and New Haven also has four.

The NEDC continues to work with companies considering expanding their operations in the borough. NEDC staff hopes recent changes to zoning regulations will encourage smaller businesses to come to the industrial park. The zoning changes, which went into effect Nov. 1, allow five- and 10-acre lots to be subdivided into two-acre parcels.

Tom Hill, reality broker for the NEDC in the industrial park, said he is currently dealing with a company that needs 50,000 square feet, another that needs 10,000 square feet of office space, and a third that needs 65,000 square feet for a high-tech building.

“There’s something to do every day because it’s a nice industrial park,” Hill said.

He said that markets are starting to adjust to the new economic realities.

“If the tenants or the landlords adjust to today’s market prices, there’s business to be done,” Hill said.

Besides the businesses in the industrial park, several other new businesses, including the Phoenix Stage Company and Bellissimo restaurant have opened in the borough over the past year.

More perks for small businesses will be available soon, explained Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development Commissioner Catherine Smith, who gave the keynote speech at the meeting.

A recently-passed state jobs bill will make it easier for small businesses to apply for loans and grants, Smith said.

She said Connecticut is 44^th in creating startups in the United States, a position she said was not enviable. However, Smith said she hoped the changes to regulations and workforce development in the bill would help spur growth in the state.

“I view this piece of legislation as a building block for the future,” Smith said.

She said a small business express package will make it easier for businesses with fewer than 50 employees to apply for loans with a one-page application and quick turnaround time.

After hearing about the program, Rutherford of Vitek said he would be looking into applying for it.

“Being a small business, you don’t have the upfront cash to buy equipment so funding through loans and grants is the only way to get money to grow,” Rutherford said.

Smith explained other state programs, including “STEP UP,” which will offer subsidized training and employment, and job creation tax credits, which will offer employers $500 per month for each new job they create.

The overview of the bill got a positive review from local business leaders.

“It sounds very optimistic so I hope it helps small businesses because that’s where the lifeblood of our new job creation is coming from,” said Dave Prendergast, CEO of the NEDC.

“I think it’s a positive step,” added John Famiglietti of Drubner Commercial. He said he hoped the economy would continue to pick up and spur some development in the industrial park and Renaissance Place.

Ralph Calabrese felt it’s too early to analyze whether the jobs bill will work.

“I think they’re taking a creative approach to economic development. Obviously, we’re all rooting for them,” Calabrese said.

The original meeting was postponed due to the October snowstorm.

The guest speaker will be Catherine Smith, commissioner of Department of Economic & Community Development.

Cocktails and hors d’oeuvres will be served.

To attend, RSVP by Nov. 23 by calling (203) 723-4411 or Lbourassa.nedc@sbcglobal.net.

More businesses could move in to the Naugatuck Industrial Park if some of the parcels are subdivided.

With the recent demolition of the Peter Paul building, one of the last remnants of Naugatuck’s industrial past, borough leaders are looking for other ways to keep Naugatuck’s manufacturing tradition alive.

The Naugatuck Economic Development Corporation (NEDC) is recommending the revision of zoning regulations to allow some of the larger lots in the Naugatuck Industrial Park to be subdivided, paving the way for new businesses to come in and existing businesses to expand into new buildings.

Smaller lots could mean more tax revenue and jobs for the town, according to Dave Prendergast, NEDC president and CEO.

“It would mean some flexibility and additional opportunity to accommodate businesses looking to relocate to the borough,” Mayor Robert Mezzo said.

Ten new lots with a 20,000 square-foot footprint could mean 200,000 square feet of new construction and taxable space in Naugatuck, according to Prendergast.

“It’s not the 500 to 1,000 employee companies that were a part of our community for the better part of a century, but the smaller manufacturers still find Naugatuck a good place to do business,” Mezzo said.

Mezzo said there’s no better tax revenue for a municipality than companies that create products and technology. Plus, Mezzo added, the quality of the jobs those companies bring in is greater than many jobs in the retail and service industries.

Whether owners of current lots would want to sell or lease part of their property once subdivided it up to each business, but the possibility would be there.

“It’s obviously going to be controlled by the people who own the property,” Prendergast said.

Prendergast said he’s talked with several property owners in the park who have expressed an interest in such a change.

One wants to put a second building on their property to lease and another is thinking of relocating to a larger building and selling their current building, Prendergast said.

The NEDC has met with Naugatuck’s land use staff and Economic Development Commission to discuss the changes.

The next step is to discuss the idea with the Zoning Commission at their April 20 meeting, Prendergast said. It will probably be referred to the Planning Commission, and possibly Inlands-Wetlands commissions as well.

“I don’t know why any of the land use boards would not want to do it,” he said.

Prendergast said the boards must make sure that the changes still provide for the quality and integrity of the industrial park as it was originally developed, with nicely landscaped buildings and appropriate setbacks from the road.

“We want them to be assets,” he said.

Any changes to the zoning regulations would have to go to public hearing.

“We’re talking about hopefully moving this through over the next several months,” Prendergast said.

He said the NEDC hoped to conclude the process by the end of the summer.

The town still owns three undeveloped lots in the industrial park, but those lots are topographically challenged, Prendergast said.

“There would be a significant amount of site work in order to create a building pad for those sites,” he said.

Companies regularly approach the NEDC to ask if there’s any space available in the industrial park, but the NEDC is not able to accommodate those requests, according to Mezzo.

“Our industrial park has been nothing but a success story throughout its history. It provides approximately $1.8 million in tax revenue on an annual basis. But it’s primarily full in terms of developable lots as it currently exists,” Mezzo said.

Prendergast said the town doesn’t have the money or the space to start from scratch with a new industrial park. Plus, the infrastructure is already in place at the current industrial park.

“This would be a more economical way to expand our tax base and create job opportunities for our residents,” he said.

Mezzo said that Industrial Park companies have done a tremendous job remaining financially viable through the past few years.

“I think that the park itself goes unnoticed in many cases, but even through the recession, it remains strong,” Mezzo said.

He said it’s not an accident that the park is still strong—citing the NEDC and borough Economic Development Commission’s work to maintain strong relations with existing businesses and bring in new ones.

“Locally, we’ve made great strides over the past 10 years to be more responsive to the needs of our small manufactures,” Mezzo said.

NEDC was created in 2003 based on recommendations from a Mount Auburn Associates study which found Naugatuck didn’t have capacity to respond proactively to economic development.

The $40,000 cost of the study was a minimal expense, considering the town’s return on the investment, Mezzo said.

“Take 1.8 million dollars out of our budget annually and you’ve got a big mess on your hands,” he said.

Anomatics recently announced they will be investing about $1.2 million and 17 new jobs into their Naugatuck facility.

Chemtura has also indicated they plan to expand operations at their plant, bringing with them about 70 jobs from their office in Middlebury.

“It bodes well for the thought that perhaps better times are coming,” Prendergast said.

With the unemployment rate in Naugatuck hovering around 12 percent, those better times couldn’t come too soon.

Building 25, which was built in 1895, was at one time the central office for Goodyear’s India Rubber Glove Manufacturing Co.

The Maple St. building known as Building 25 still sits empty and neglected despite efforts by the Naugatuck Historical Society to raise money for its restoration.

Threatened to be torn down during Mayor Tim Barth’s administration in the 1990s, the Historical Society managed to raise $600,000, with $500,000 coming from a state grant. The Society used part of the money to stabilize the building and prevent its destruction.
However, this was not enough to pay for the museum the society hoped to construct in the building.

To some, the building is an important historical landmark, but to others, it’s an eyesore.

The building, built in 1895, was once the central office for Goodyear’s India Rubber Glove Manufacturing Co., which began in Naugatuck in 1847.

“After the United States Rubber Co. was founded, the building served as the Central Office for the entire facility in Naugatuck, and subsequently, Uniroyal, until that company closed in 1979,” according to an article by Martha Ann Simons, Past-President Naugatuck Historical Society.

The rubber industry once dominated Naugatuck’s landscape.

“When I was a kid, there were buildings like that all around downtown,” Naugatuck Mayor Bob Mezzo said.

Some people think building should be taken down. It was mentioned as a blighted building in debates over Naugatuck’s new blight ordinance, Citizen’s News previously reported.

Mezzo disagrees.

“I do think that our past is important. If there’s any way to restore that building and also create some jobs in the process, I think we should exhaust those possibilities,” he said.

The money from state is still sitting in an account, waiting for the borough to come forward with a plan to restore the building, according to Mezzo.

He said the building will probably cost $1.5 to 2 million to restore.

Building 25 will be part of the plans for Renaissance Place, a mixed-use development meant to revitalize downtown Naugatuck along the Naugatuck River. The building sits on Parcel C, an empty industrial site currently undergoing a remediation process to clean the contaminated soil to residential standards. The cleaning, now in its third attempt since the 1990s, should be completed by the end of the year, according to Mezzo.

“We’re going to do it right this time,” he said.

The borough and Naugatuck Economic Development Corporation (NEDC) are currently trying to tailor application to U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) to seek funding to restore building 25, Mezzo said.

The borough’s plans for the building, in conjunction with plans for Renaissance Place, meet EDA standards for responsible economic development, Mezzo said.

They hope to revitalize building and investigate the creation of incubator office space with a medical theme to complement the proposed medical office building that would be built next to it by Conroy Development, Mezzo said. The incubator space would create offices with shared common areas for fledgling businesses to get off the ground. Restoring the building would created jobs and improve infrastructure, qualities the EDA likes, said Mezzo.

Such a renovation would also include the relocation of the historical society and the NEDC into Building 25. That would free up the borough-owned railroad station at 195 Water St., where Historical Society is currently located, for private development.

“That’s been our intention since day one to make the building the real home for the historical society,” said Charles Marino, president of the Historical Society.

This is one of several proposals over the years, including a plan for the Historical Society to have two museums, with Building 25 concentrating on the rubber industry, and some interest by the Seven Angels Theater to reconstruct part of Building 25 into a black box theater capable of seating 200 people, the Citizen’s News previously reported.

“Our primary goal has always been the restoration of Building 25,” said Mezzo.

He said that doing something with the building is essential because once Conroy Development completes the brand new state of the art medical office building on Water St., blighted Building 25, right next to it, will stick out even more in contrast. With plans for Renaissance Place moving along, plans for Building 25 must as well.

“We’re getting to a point where we can talk about construction in the near future for Renaissance Place,” said Mezzo.

Unlike other towns, which have canceled or postponed similar projects because of the economy, the borough, NEDC, and Conroy Development are working in partnership to make sure this project comes to fruition, Mezzo said.

Although some residents are frustrated with the pace of the project, which was passed in referendum in 2007, just as the recession hit, the fact that the project is still alive is an accomplishment, Mezzo said.

“We haven’t been simply waiting for better days. We’ve been doing a lot of work,” Mezzo said.

He said they were doing all the work necessary to prepare before the project moves into its construction phase. The development agreement outlining everyone’s obligations was approved by all three partners, Mezzo said.

“If we want to do a project of this size and complexity, it does take time,” Mezzo said.

Mezzo said the extra time such a big project takes is worth the economic benefits it will eventually bring. Whereas big box stores might provide a more immediate economic benefit, Renaissance Place will provide spill-over benefits to surrounding businesses and bring up property values in Naugatuck.

“People will want to be there,” Mezzo said.

A presentation was given to the commission by Dick Herald and Dave Prendergast, CEO of the Naugatuck Economic Development Corporation, outlining the different phases of the Naugatuck Municipal Development Plan and the commercial, public and private improvements slated for borough’s core.

The pair described the “new urbanism” movement and the transit-oriented changes that they hope can improve Naugatuck’s economic foundation in great detail.

Prospective buildings with commercial uses on first floors and residential uses on upper floors, as well as the negotiation of properties were both topics discussed by the Regional Planning Commission.

Herald and Prendergast expressed their desire to return the borough to its once-sprawling past.

“What we’re trying to do is bring back to downtown Naugatuck the vitality that was once there,” Herald said.

According to state statue, local economic development plans must be sent to regional municipal councils to see if standards are in accordance with standing regional plans.

To be in accord with the plan of development for the region, the Naugatuck Municipal Development Plan had to involve several aspects the regional plan is based upon.

Some of desired aims of a municipal plan, according to the COGCNV, are:

• Aggressively pursue economic development for the region
• Coordinate economic development agencies
• Promote growth with expansion of development
• Guide the location of development to a regional center
• Encourage development in locations compatible with highways
• Make infrastructure and transportation improvements
• Incorporate with regional transportation center

After the presentation Martin Cobern chairman of the Regional Planning Commission of the COGCNV, commended the presentation of the details and gave his personal approval of the plan.

“It seems, in my mind, the Naugatuck Municipal Development Plan is very well in accord with these objectives put forth in the regional plan,” Cobern said.

Other commission members commented on the plan, acknowledging how important the Renaissance Place project is, not only to the borough of Naugatuck, but the entire Naugatuck Valley region.

The vote was passed unanimously and the plan was ruled to be in complete accordance with the regional economic plan. The vote marked the completion of yet another step on the ladder to allowing the borough to act on and carry out its economic development plans.

Among orderly protocol—including the reseating of NEDC Chairman Jay Carlson, Secretary Rebecca Zandvliet and Treasurer Terry Barber—the meeting was punctuated by presentations from NEDC CEO Dave Prendergast and Commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD) Joan McDonald.

NEDC CEO Dave Prendergast said the Renaissance Place project, site pictured above, is "making strides" despite red tape and developmental hang-ups.

Prendergast said, to date, the NEDC can claim a hand in the creation of 426 new jobs and the retention of 289 others in the borough.

Perhaps most importantly, cleanup on Parcel C has finally begun, and talks with Saint Mary’s about the development of a healthcare facility there are “moving along very well,” Prendergast said.

Additionally, the Riverwalk project is approved for final design, and construction on Phase 1 should begin next summer.

Details on the long-stagnant Renaissance Place project, however, were scarce. Prendergast offered only that the Renaissance was “making strides,” and that the new municipal development plan was “well on its way” to completion.

The NEDC, he said, has worked with 44 companies over the years, and there’s plenty of development coming down the tube.

This year, those companies included MJM Eyelet Manufacturing, Northeastern Communications, and Pennsylvania Steel. YoFarm Yogurt and RAM Welding are also expanding—and inflating the tax base along with them.

Prendergast said the NEDC also influenced the development of new stores on Bridge Street, including the new Dunkin’ Donuts.

One NEDC project in coming months will be to host a “business-to-business expo,” where companies, especially ones in the industrial sector, would be able to meet and establish business relationships.

McDonald, the state DECD Commissioner, presented her plan for the ongoing growth and development of business in the state.

“We get to set the stage and talk about policy,” she told business owners, “but the rubber really meets the road in what you do every day.”

McDonald addressed the disparity between perceived economic growth and unemployment, saying, “The economists say we’re coming out of the recession, which means we’ll have two [consecutive] quarters of economic growth … but if you’re in that 8.8 percent [of unemployed], those two quarters don’t matter.”

McDonald said the state’s economic strengths, such as strong healthcare and technology industries, an educated workforce, and a competitive international business presence were offset by its weaknesses—among them a lack of affordable housing, an “insufficient” mass transit system and frequent demographic shifts.

She mentioned the ongoing national crisis in consumer and credit confidence, saying, “We have become a debtor nation, a consumer nation. People realize they’re overleveraged … they’re contracting and not spending.”

In spite of dire circumstances, McDonald said the economic forecast from the Connecticut Business and Industry Association (CBIA) is “brighter,” and the state may be looking at recovery in 2010.

She quoted Chairman of the Governor’s Council of Economic Advisors Don Klepper-Smith, saying, “We will come out of this, but it will be inch by inch as opposed to yard by yard.”

The DECD’s recovery plan comprises 65 initiatives divided into three categories—talent and technology, cultivating competitiveness, and responsible growth.

Highlights of these initiatives are a $100 million student loan pool, which would offer some loan forgiveness to Connecticut graduates who remain in-state, a boosted tax credit for start-up companies, a $65 million per year state marketing fund, the creation of a Connecticut Port Authority to link the three city ports, and the expansion of Bradley Airport.

McDonald and the DECD will hold four public hearings throughout the state in January and February to get feedback on and prioritize their many initiatives.

Visit www.ct.gov/edc for more information about the DECD’s plan.

The forum was ostensibly held to determine what types of non-emergency services might be made available at the new facility. St. Mary’s announced in August that it would consider expanding and moving the Health and Wellness Center currently located in Crosspointe Plaza.

Joe Connolly, Chief Marketing Officer at St. Mary’s, said the new facility could possibly incorporate, in addition to a walk-in clinic, diagnostic services, wellness programs, and offices for doctors and specialists.

NEDC CEO Dave Pendergast speaks at Monday night's forum. Joe Connolly (right), marketing officer for St. Mary's, said a new facility at Parcel C would be "advantageous to the community."

But rather than getting a sense of the community’s health needs, Conroy’s Mike O’Connor spent about an hour fielding questions he often couldn’t answer.

Many asked about the size and scope of the project—the exact parameters Conroy, the NEDC and St. Mary’s were hoping to determine.

“Exactly what those [new services] are … I don’t want to be predisposed to, because I think it’s important that you as the customer, the end-user, tell the hospital and us—prior to going through a facilities plan—of what your thoughts are,” O’Connor said.

One resident asked about financing and pricing, which also cannot be determined until a plan is drafted.

But Dr. Robert P. Matusz, who owns Naugatuck Podiatry Associates on Meadow Street, took the opportunity the express his concern that practitioners already in the borough might be sold down the river by the development of a brand new, state-of-the-art facility that might eventually outcompete local doctors’ offices.

“[A development] would put practitioners in a pickle,” he said. Some practitioners in the borough have “already invested in the community for 30, 35, 40 years.”

While not openly dissenting, Matusz implored the trio of corporations to bear his concerns in mind as they draft their plans.

O’Conner said he felt the development, a much-needed jolt to the long-stagnant Renaissance Place project, would be beneficial to local business owners and the community at large.

The facility, which O’Conner estimated roughly at five stories high, would create an “ancillary business draw” of at least 23,000 people per year (the number served by the current facility on New Haven Road) throughout the borough’s downtown district—and past local stores and restaurants, many of which were struggling even before the economic recession began.

The expanded facility would likely increase downtown patronage and draw residents from affluent nearby communities like Bethany, Woodbridge, and Cheshire.

In addition, the facility might foster a sort of one-stop medical convenience.

“The idea of consolidation and proximity is good for patients,” said Connolly, the St. Mary’s officer.

“Having this facility in a central downtown area will be advantageous to the community,” O’Connor added.

When prodded on the future of Renaissance Place, which has been forestalled during the recession due to wary banks and investors, O’Connor indicated Conroy was not going to stop at the new medical facility, saying “We would like to be farther along than we are … Parcel B is intended to be a retail and residential component, and we’re moving along with that … I can tell you we’re not here just to build a medical building. We’ve been here a long time, and quite frankly, on the business model, [leaving after the St. Mary’s project] wouldn’t be a good one for us. The rest of the plan is moving forward.”

Mezzo spoke at a Chamber of Commerce luncheon at Leary’s Crystal Room, sponsored by Naugatuck Ambulance and Where the Heart Is. He outlined some of his achievements as mayor, especially those relevant to the interests of entrepreneurs and business owners.

Mayor Bob Mezzo, pictured here at his inauguration in May, spoke to the Chamber of Commerce and borough business owners about the future of commerce in Naugatuck Tuesday.

Mezzo said even though the Renaissance Place project hasn’t found its financial footing as wary investors aren’t yet ready to dive into a potentially risky new venture, “behind the scenes” work is ongoing.

“Is it easy?” Mezzo asked rhetorically. “Absolutely not. [Renaissance Place] has been one of the most complicated events since we learned to vulcanize rubber in the borough.”

Mezzo also indicated his approval of the Naugatuck Economic Development Corporation (NEDC). Before the NEDC, he said, the borough lacked the “central focus” for economic development that would attract new business, and in turn tax revenue and more local jobs.

“When it comes to economic development,” Mezzo said, “we’re going to speak with one voice.” The NEDC has survived four different mayors across both parties. The non-partisan, quasi-public organization is “exactly what Naugatuck needs,” he said.

He commended the Naugatuck Chamber of Commerce for its efforts to similarly provide a sense of unity for local businesses.

Though various merchants’ associations have sprung up throughout the years, the Chamber, Mezzo said, has the resources and know-how to organize these loosely-knit cells into a cohesive unit.

“There’s a perception that the Chamber doesn’t care about some businesses,” Mezzo said. Some people might think “all they’ll do is hold a lunch for me.” But Mezzo, who was a member of the Chamber for years, said that isn’t the case at all.

It seems no recent municipal function would be complete without some mention of the Board of Education; in his opening comments, Mezzo reiterated his proposal to arrange quarterly tri-board meetings to facilitate oversight between the branches of government. Pinpointing the business community, Mezzo mentioned that the quality of education directly affects property values and the future worth of the local workforce.

He glossed over some other points of his career as chief executive so far, such as a push to streamline public works operations, an effort to revise the decades-old code of ethics, and the newly-formed Blight and Beautification Committee.

Once Mezzo opened the floor for questions, attendees speculated about the possibility of a second industrial park in the borough. Mezzo and NEDC CEO Dave Prendergast said development has been discussed and will be looked into further once the economy turns around.

Former Connecticut Governor John G. Rowland, who attended the event, asked Mezzo if manufacturing in Naugatuck could diversify to adjust to a growing trend toward green industries—“can we go from bending steel to making solar panels?” he asked—and Mezzo said he thinks “adaptation is needed … it’s very difficult to do business in manufacturing in this state and even in New England,” he said, adding that if manufacturers adapt to changing markets and economic needs, they will have an easier time doing business.