Stamford Mayor Michael Pavia believes his city is headed in the right direction, even in the middle of a difficult budget season, as he looks at all of the recent and planned construction.
“The interesting thing is the future is now,” Pavia said, pointing to a future map of Stamford’s South End during his State of the City address Wednesday.
The new office and apartment space in the South End will include the Gateway building, which will be by the Stamford Transportation Center, and the Lofts at Yale and Towne in Harbor Point, which has already rented all of its apartments, he said.
The West End of Stamford will also see improvements, Pavia said. Among the changes coming are the addition of Chelsea Piers, which should open late next spring, and the expansion of Stamford Hospital.
The mayor didn't have all the answers on the future look of the city. Pavia could not account for the empty downtown property at Tresser Boulevard and Greyrock Place, better known to residents as “the hole in the ground.” Pavia said the city is considering a few options. “I don’t even know what to say,” Pavia said when asked about the property, “We’re just hoping we get cooperation from the property owner.”
Pavia also is worried about the deterioration of the city’s infrastructure, pointing to the West Main Street Bridge, which has been closed to pedestrians as well as motor vehicles. However, he hopes the capital budget for next year will have funds to upgrade roads and sidewalks. The capital spending proposed by Pavia next year allots for $45.8 million, a total of $34.3 million on the city’s infrastructure alone.
What do you think needs to be improved in Stamford? What would you like to hear the mayor speak about? Share your thoughts and comments below or email them to reporter Anthony Buzzeo at .
A reader wishing to remain anonymous said: "Concerning the jobs the Mayor is creating is all well and great, Unfortunately most of the jobs are going to either out of state contractors or not local contractors. Most of these contractors do not have the proper licensing that is required for this are such as Electrical, Plumbing, etc and also construction safety (min OSHA 10). So were does that leave the local residents in this area, who are unemployed ?. Also I would like to point out, that there is no one checking the the credentials of the employee's of these companies due to lack of man power in the state agencies that are supposed to be doing this. Also the city of stamford building dept. inspectors do not check the credentials either because they say it's not their job to do so. So nobody is really making out here except for the builder Land Technology."