THE DAY (October 11, 2019) — Jason Vincent’s planning career will take another U-turn along Route 2 next week, when he returns to the Norwich Community Development Corp., days after his resignation as Stonington planning director.

NCDC President Robert Mills announced Friday that Vincent has been hired as senior vice president at NCDC, rejoining the Norwich economic development agency he left in January 2016 to become director of planning in Stonington. Vincent is a professional planner with more than two decades of experience in the public and private sectors, including four years at NCDC previously. He starts in the new position on Tuesday, Oct. 15.

“Many of us in Norwich always hoped that Jason’s career path would return him to our community,” Mills said in a news release announcing Vincent’s hiring. “Without a doubt, Jason has a personal, vested interest in the future of Norwich and we fully expect him to bring his array of exceptional skills and incredible passion to this position.”

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THE DAY (October 2, 2019) — At the Eastern Connecticut Chamber of Commerce’s Business Breakfast on Wednesday, Robert Mills, the president of the Norwich Community Development Corporation, expressed interest in the Connecticut Port Authority’s (CPA) plan for expansion on the deepwater port in New London, and he wanted to see if any of those insights are applicable to Norwich.

Mills is interested in development of land along the Thames River basin, including land in Norwich.

The speaker at the breakfast was David Kooris, acting chair of the CPA and the deputy commissioner of the Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD). The focus of the CPA portion of the talk was the State Pier in New London, and how they plan to make New London a hub for assembling, and eventually manufacturing, offshore wind turbines.

Mills said that the land will “remain underutilized until the issues you’re addressing at the pier can be applied elsewhere.”

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THE DAY (September 26, 2019) — The Lofts at Ponemah Mills, located in the Taftville section of Norwich, is finishing the second phase of construction, to be completed sometime in October. It will make 121 more units available for leasing.

Richard Perez, property manager at Ponemah, saidthe units will include 1, 2, or 3 bedrooms. Some of the new apartments will be affordable housing. Perez said that a lot of interest in the space comes from people who drive by the property.

“We’re expecting a lot of leases,” Perez said. “we’re expecting to move in a lot of people in October.”

Perez said the apartments are “gorgeous”. They feature vaulted ceilings and new appliances.

Robert Mills, president of the Norwich Community Development Corporation (NCDC), likes that the developer of the project is able to keep the historic character of the building.

“The artistic value is far superior to the buildings you can get today,” he said, referring to Ponemah Mills’ vaulted ceilings.

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THE DAY (September 20, 2019) — Breakfast and coffee were provided by two of the recent new downtown Norwich businesses at Friday morning’s State of Norwich presentation by the Greater Norwich Area Chamber of Commerce, proving one point on the session’s theme: that creative entrepreneurs bring vibrancy to the city.

About 70 business representatives, residents and city employees gathered at City Hall to hear updates from Mayor Peter Nystrom, schools Superintendent Kristen Stringfellow and Norwich Community Development Corp. President Robert Mills on the successes, challenges and future plans for the city.

Mills called the current times “the Age of Disruption,” picking up his cellphone to demonstrate the main driver. For example, he said, Norwich has more than 100 AirBnB unregulated room rentals that have hurt local hotel business while not contributing to the city services they might require. Manufacturing jobs nationwide have plummeted in the past 20 years, with the use of robots up 35 percent. Workers find themselves in “co-bot” situations, essentially overseeing the robots doing the more repetitive tasks.

But Norwich has benefited from the recent economic upswing, and Nystrom pointed to the breakfast table in the City Hall meeting room as proof. Breakfast by the new Café Otis, located across from City Hall in the former Norwich Human Services office building, and coffee by neighbor Craftsman Cliff’s Roasters on lower Broadway, graced the table.

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THE BULLETIN (September 20, 2019) The city and schools are starting to do more to tell others about good things happening here and to work with others to make improvements.

Mayor Peter Nystrom, Superintendent of Schools Kristen Stringfellow and Norwich Community Development Corp. President Robert Mills addressed about 50 residents at a City Hall gathering Friday morning hosted by the Greater Norwich Area Chamber of Commerce.

A key part of Stringfellow’s plan is to “communicate the great work of our schools.” Without money to pay for marketing, she said, instead “we’ve taken to Twitter,” with an increase of accounts belonging to teachers and administrators growing from two to 200.

A second key is to “strengthen the partnership with the City of Norwich and NFA.” Stringfellow, Nystrom and Norwich Free Academy Head of School David Klein are meeting monthly, Nystrom said.

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THE BULLETIN (September 8, 2019) — Two long-vacant Main Street buildings will be back in business within six months if all goes according to local developer Asaf Cohen’s plan.

Cohen in August purchased the circa 1847 Main Street Fire Station as well as a two-story neo-classical building next door that had its start as Merchant’s National Bank in 1924. Assessor’s records show he picked up the buildings for $335,000 each from Wang’s Investment Corp., of Stamford, which had owned them since 2002.

The two buildings are part of the Downtown Norwich Historic District, according to National Register of Historic Places documents.

Norwich Community Development Corp. Vice President Jill Fritzsche said the early 20th century building at 65-69 Main St. had been empty for “well over 10 years” following the departure of City Perk coffee shop. The former fire station at 71 Main St. was being used as an artisan’s cooperative before it went dark two years ago.

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THE DAY (August 21, 2019) — Norwich — Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz gave frequent thumbs-up Wednesday during an hourlong visit to downtown businesses, delighted to hear from young professional business owners opening new stores and restaurants in their hometown or home state.

She followed that walk during a warm, muggy afternoon with a tour of the Atlantic City Linen Supply, a large commercial laundry facility in the Stanley Israelite Norwich Business Park. ACLS Norwich handles laundry for both the Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods Resort casinos, numerous hotels and resorts throughout Connecticut and Rhode Island, and some as far away as Boston.

Facility founder and Chief Administrative Officer Dan Goldberg said the New Jersey-based company chose Norwich after a joint deal with the two tribal casinos, who co-signed a loan and became its “anchor” customers. The facility brings in bundles of laundry — sheets, pillowcases, towels and table linens — from customers in bar-coded bins. The items are sorted by size and type, dumped into large coded canvas bags hanging from overhead conveyors, each bag weighing about 150 pounds.

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NORWICH BULLETIN (June 19, 2019) — At a conference Wednesday in the city’s downtown, Chelsea Groton Bank President and CEO Michael Rauh explained that redevelopment efforts often have been stymied by a Catch-22.

Businesses are reluctant to open here because there aren’t enough customers, and customers are reluctant to shop here because there aren’t enough businesses.

Then the problem is compounded by a supply of old deteriorated buildings that may need expensive renovation work that can’t be profitably paid for.

“We knew the building owners were struggling,” Norwich Community Development Corp. President Robert Mills told about 80 people at the conference held in the ballroom of the Wauregan. “We recognized part of this market’s weakness is lack of feet on the street.”

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NORWICH BULLETIN (May 26, 2019) — A large and happy filled Franklin Street on Sunday afternoon to celebrate at the first Cape Verdean Festival.

Tents selling a wide variety of food and other goods and others staffed by local nonprofit organizations filled the block in front the building where organizer Global City Norwich is headquartered.

A stage was set up in a parking lot at Franklin and Bath streets, and children and their parents flocked to a pair of bounce houses in another parking lot.

“I think it’s great, it’s awesome,” said Cheyenne Campbell of Norwich, who came with her three children as well as other relatives. “It’s definitely a good turnout for the first time, that’s for sure.”

Members of Cape Verdeans United, a Norwich-based charity, had a tent at the festival, where they were selling Cape Verdean food, including bacalhau — salted cod — rice and beans, and pastel de peixe, which is a pastry containing fish.

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NORWICH BULLETIN (May 23, 2019) — Apollo Ziembroski opened his first bicycle shop, in Danielson, for $200. He is moving to downtown Norwich – and says he got a better deal.

Apollo Cycles is expected to open at 56 Broadway in June. Ziembrowski was at the shop on Thursday, and said electrical work, drywall and inventory are the big things on his list before opening. The artificial turf on the first-floor outdoor walls of the building will be removed.

Ziembroski, 26, is going all-in for Norwich. He will live in an apartment just above his store.

He said the Norwich Community Development Corporation reached out to him to come to Norwich.

“I had no intention of moving,” said Ziembroski, who closed his shop on Furnace Street in Danielson last month.

NCDC’s package for him to move included, he said, a grant for outdoor signage, a low-interest loan and partial lease reimbursement for seven years.

Ziembroski says Norwich is a great cycling area. He says Camp Moween in Lebanon has about 15 miles of trails.

“It’s a good place,” he said. “It’s really well thought-out.”

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