16 replies to this topic

[Theophrastus Bombastus]

I'm usually on the Hartford board but I thought I'd post this good news:

http://money.cnn.com...stinvest/3.html

[ctman987]

Intresting article...It is quite true though. When you think about Bridgeport can be made right. It is in a perfect location which connects it very easily by car and train with New York City....even farther away New Haven benefits from NYC.

[MadVlad]

ctman987, on Oct 25 2006, 10:48 AM, said:

Intresting article...It is quite true though. When you think about Bridgeport can be made right. It is in a perfect location which connects it very easily by car and train with New York City....even farther away New Haven benefits from NYC.

The problem with Bridgeport has always been city management.  It is positioned to be an awesome city and has squandered almost every chance it's had in recent memory.  No city does less with more than Bridgeport.  It could surpass Stamford money-wise, it just never takes advantage of it's opportunities...

[HartfordTycoon]

Yeah, I saw this coming a while ago. I knew it wouldn't be undiscovered forever. They will start seeing a slew of development anyway and this article will put that fact in a lot of people's minds today.

[fivedayrental]

The reason why it is affordable is because the tax rate is one of the highest in the country.  A modest 3 ed, 2 bath colonial will sell for about $165,000 but taxes are almost $3000 a year, while in Danbury a property worth about $300,000 would have about the same tax bill.

[drc72]

fivedayrental, on Oct 25 2006, 12:43 PM, said:

The reason why it is affordable is because the tax rate is one of the highest in the country.  A modest 3 ed, 2 bath colonial will sell for about $165,000 but taxes are almost $3000 a year, while in Danbury a property worth about $300,000 would have about the same tax bill.

It's good to see Bridgeport on the rebound, but fivedayrental makes a good point. Big cities generally have higher tax rates than the suburbs.

[Afro Saxon]

Bridgeport desperately needs development, rehab and something cultural. It does has many upsides. Its median income isn't especially low and it housing prices even at this depressed level are higher than many suburbs in Greater Hartford.

[doz180]

Bridgeport has some good cultural things going on. Harbor Yard Arena has all kinds of events, from concerts to sports(hockey, baseball, basketball). The former Read's Department Store has been converted to live/work space for artists. Don't forget Beardsley zoo, captain's cove, and Barnum Museum.

The port has a sizeable West Indian population and they put on reggae/soca/calypso shows every weekend, often with international artists. They mostly go down at the Yellowbird Social Club, but there are other clubs in the area that have them as well. Plus the city is over 40% Latino so you can find everything from Spanish rock to Mexican to Colombian music on the weekends. Don't let me forget Brazilian, there are many restaurants and stores in the city that organize events. It was just a few months ago they had Ms Brazil Connecticut at a restaurant on Capital Avenue.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying Bridgeport is the greatest, I'm just saying it isn't devoid of anything interesting.

The number one priorty for Bridgeport is attracting more employers and keeping the streets safe. I think once that happens everything else will fall into place.

Here is a site with some projects, I can't wait for them to finish the Arcade Hotel, that is going to be great for downtown:
www.bportliving.com

[HartfordTycoon]

doz180, on Feb 20 2007, 04:17 PM, said:

Bridgeport has some good cultural things going on. Harbor Yard Arena has all kinds of events, from concerts to sports(hockey, baseball, basketball). The former Read's Department Store has been converted to live/work space for artists. Don't forget Beardsley zoo, captain's cove, and Barnum Museum.

The port has a sizeable West Indian population and they put on reggae/soca/calypso shows every weekend, often with international artists. They mostly go down at the Yellowbird Social Club, but there are other clubs in the area that have them as well. Plus the city is over 40% Latino so you can find everything from Spanish rock to Mexican to Colombian music on the weekends. Don't let me forget Brazilian, there are many restaurants and stores in the city that organize events. It was just a few months ago they had Ms Brazil Connecticut at a restaurant on Capital Avenue.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying Bridgeport is the greatest, I'm just saying it isn't devoid of anything interesting.

The number one priorty for Bridgeport is attracting more employers and keeping the streets safe. I think once that happens everything else will fall into place.

Here is a site with some projects, I can't wait for them to finish the Arcade Hotel, that is going to be great for downtown:
www.bportliving.com

Great post and that link you posted is very nice. We don't even have anything like that for Hartford in my opinion. It's so straightforward and attractive it kinda made me want to move to BPT!

[Afro Saxon]

doz180, on Feb 20 2007, 04:17 PM, said:

Bridgeport has some good cultural things going on. Harbor Yard Arena has all kinds of events, from concerts to sports(hockey, baseball, basketball). The former Read's Department Store has been converted to live/work space for artists. Don't forget Beardsley zoo, captain's cove, and Barnum Museum.

The port has a sizeable West Indian population and they put on reggae/soca/calypso shows every weekend, often with international artists. They mostly go down at the Yellowbird Social Club, but there are other clubs in the area that have them as well. Plus the city is over 40% Latino so you can find everything from Spanish rock to Mexican to Colombian music on the weekends. Don't let me forget Brazilian, there are many restaurants and stores in the city that organize events. It was just a few months ago they had Ms Brazil Connecticut at a restaurant on Capital Avenue.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying Bridgeport is the greatest, I'm just saying it isn't devoid of anything interesting.

The number one priorty for Bridgeport is attracting more employers and keeping the streets safe. I think once that happens everything else will fall into place.

Here is a site with some projects, I can't wait for them to finish the Arcade Hotel, that is going to be great for downtown:
www.bportliving.com

Good post. I especially enjoyed the link. I have been in that area many times, but didn't notice all the attractions. BPT also has a sizable Italian population which gives the some good Italian restaurants.
I still think BPT lacks culture; in the order of The Wadsworth, Bushnell , Hartford stage, the Yale museums in New Haven and the like.
Sometimes I think BPT might have the most potential out of CT's three cities, it does have the wealthiest population and their suburbs makes Hartford look poor.

[HartfordTycoon]

Afro Saxon, on Feb 20 2007, 09:33 PM, said:

Good post. I especially enjoyed the link. I have been in that area many times, but didn't notice all the attractions. BPT also has a sizable Italian population which gives the some good Italian restaurants.
I still think BPT lacks culture; in the order of The Wadsworth, Bushnell , Hartford stage, the Yale museums in New Haven and the like.
Sometimes I think BPT might have the most potential out of CT's three cities, it does have the wealthiest population and their suburbs makes Hartford look poor.

Bridgeport doesn't have suburbs. Fairfield county is a suburb. Not really trying to bash Bridgeport but culturally that's how I percieve the mentality down there.

[Afro Saxon]

HartfordTycoon, on Feb 21 2007, 08:07 AM, said:

Bridgeport doesn't have suburbs. Fairfield county is a suburb. Not really trying to bash Bridgeport but culturally that's how I percieve the mentality down there.

Your probably right. Probably is one the reasons the cities down there are so unevenly developed.

[Lowerdeck]

Trumbull, Easton, Fairfield are part of the Fairfield County suburban conglomerate, not of Bridgeport

Stratford and Milford are eerily similar, they are nearly self-sustaining suburbs.

Shelton is part of the Valley, more related to Derby than Bridgeport.

Bridgeport is really on it's own.

[doz180]

Check out this article about Phil Kuchma, one of BPT's developers.

His vision includes a downtown where arts and entertainment are of greatest value, where
arts organizations work together for profit and retail and restaurants are favored over chain stores. The casual onlooker strolling Bridgeport's downtown today may not recognize the many seeds Kuchma has planted that have begun to take hold: the neon Bijou sign outside the under-renovation theater and the new Italian restaurant, Café Roma, next
door; the art exhibits at City Lights Gallery; and the poetry readings inside the Rainy Faye
bookstore. The changes may feel small now, but they are beginning to alter the character of
the downtown. They are becoming the framework around which the larger
development--the retail and residential--will be structured, and it is a framework built in large part on Kuchma's belief in the necessity of the arts.

I haven't heard anything lately about Two Boots, I hope they are still coming to BPT.

It was Kuchma's vision, as well as his ties to the East Village in New York,
where his parents lived before moving to Bridgeport, that lured Phil Hartman of
Two Boots pizza restaurant to embark on a new project in Bridgeport's
downtown.

www.bijousquare.com/PhilKuchma-TheManInBlack.pdf?oid=oid:89279

[HartfordTycoon]

doz180, on Feb 22 2007, 04:16 PM, said:

Check out this article about Phil Kuchma, one of BPT's developers.

His vision includes a downtown where arts and entertainment are of greatest value, where
arts organizations work together for profit and retail and restaurants are favored over chain stores. The casual onlooker strolling Bridgeport's downtown today may not recognize the many seeds Kuchma has planted that have begun to take hold: the neon Bijou sign outside the under-renovation theater and the new Italian restaurant, Café Roma, next
door; the art exhibits at City Lights Gallery; and the poetry readings inside the Rainy Faye
bookstore. The changes may feel small now, but they are beginning to alter the character of
the downtown. They are becoming the framework around which the larger
development--the retail and residential--will be structured, and it is a framework built in large part on Kuchma's belief in the necessity of the arts.

I haven't heard anything lately about Two Boots, I hope they are still coming to BPT.

It was Kuchma's vision, as well as his ties to the East Village in New York,
where his parents lived before moving to Bridgeport, that lured Phil Hartman of
Two Boots pizza restaurant to embark on a new project in Bridgeport's
downtown.

www.bijousquare.com/PhilKuchma-TheManInBlack.pdf?oid=oid:89279

Very interesting, but try not to post so much of the article. It's frowned upon here at UP. I got a few of my posts deleted for this before I was a mod.

[drc72]

Will Brideport ever get anymore skyscapers? Not to bash Bridgeport but for a city it's size the skyline seems to be woefully lacking.

[penetcostal_iglesia_faith]

drc72, on Feb 23 2007, 07:56 PM, said:

Will Brideport ever get anymore skyscapers? Not to bash Bridgeport but for a city it's size the skyline seems to be woefully lacking.

I agree, they do need more taller buildings in the downtown but the cool thing about B-port is that I like how there characters and the streetscapes looks and around the community and has nice density and I think is pretty cool and when I was there the city had things going on at night like around 10 something at night and it was close to 11 so it was some night live going on over in b-port, I mean you can see a lot of cars and some few people around and plus you don't see much like that in Hartford even I live in New Britain but New Britain at that night looks  pretty dead at night..