Fairfield First Selectman Mike Tetreau, Economic Development Director Mark Barnhart and Fairfield Chamber of Commerce President Beverly Balaz were among a group of local officials who traveled to New York City last Thursday to pitch Fairfield County and specifically, the Town of Fairfield, as a choice business location.
The group, billing itself as the “Fairfield County Five,” met with commercial brokers, site selection consultants and business leaders in a first of its kind regional initiative focused on attracting new businesses to Fairfield County. The delegation also included the chief elected officials and the economic development heads of Greenwich, Stamford, Norwalk, and Westport, as well as Commissioner Catherine Smith of the State Department of Community & Economic Development (DECD).
The luncheon meeting, held at the Marquis Marriott in Times Square, provided prospects with an overview of the five towns and highlighted the region’s attractiveness vis-a-vis New York City in terms of cost, quality of life and talent. “Our objective is really quite simple: to encourage companies to locate to, and to expand their operations in, Fairfield County…and to Fairfield in particular,” commented Fairfield Director of Economic Development Mark Barnhart. “We’ve got a great story to tell, and we’re excited to take part in this regional initiative to help get the word out as to why businesses should choose Fairfield.”
First Selectman Tetreau, who made the presentation on behalf of the region, echoed these comments, noting “We sometimes take for granted all of the things that make our region such a great place to live, work and grow a business: great schools, a highly educated, talented and productive workforce, vibrant downtowns and an enviable quality of life. On top of that, we have much lower business costs than New York City—or, for that matter, Boston--without compromising on that sense of connectedness.”
Stated Fairfield Chamber of Commerce President Beverly Balaz, “The Fairfield Chamber of Commerce is pleased to support the Town on this exciting new initiative, and we were happy to take part in this inaugural event to help promote the region and to articulate the many important reasons that a company should consider Fairfield County as a great place to do business. We look forward to partnering with the Town on future events like this,” she added.
The group is planning a follow up event in the spring, as well as site familiarization tours to site selection consultants and business prospects in the coming months.
Click here to view a copy of the Fairfield County Five presentation.
For additional information, please contact: Mark Barnhart, Director of Community & Economic Development at (203) 256-3120 or mbarnhart@fairfieldct.org.
The photo shows l to r: Norwalk Mayor Harry Rilling, Westport First Selectman James Marpe, Greenwich First Selectman Peter Tesei, DECD Commissioner Catherine Smith, Fairfield First Selectman Mike Tetreau, and Stamford Mayor David Martin.