Author Archives: Mary Brodeur

New development commissioner visits Norwich, New London, Groton

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THE DAY (May 21, 2019) — In a two-day tour of southeastern Connecticut, the state’s newest Department of Economic and Community Development commissioner focused on growing cities, capitalizing on the state’s natural assets and leveraging Opportunity Zone status.

David Lehman, a former Goldman Sachs executive the state Senate confirmed as commissioner in March, visited New London and Norwich on Monday, and Norwich and Groton on Tuesday.

His second day included a meeting with the Southeastern Connecticut Council of Governments at its Norwich office, meetings at Electric Boat and the University of Connecticut’s Avery Point campus, and a tour of the Naval Submarine Base.

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Haitian heritage, history fill Norwich’s streets

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NORWICH BULLETIN (May 18, 2019) — Revelers outfitted in red and blue packed several downtown sidewalks and streets Saturday as the city’s first official Haitian Flag Day event roared to life.

Along Bath and Franklin streets, that flag, with its parallel red-and-blue bars, was waved in hands, draped over shoulders and tied into bandanas by residents who danced, hugged and laughed to a soundtrack pumped out from nearby speakers.

Under a tent overhang, Mirlande Daniel, owner of Norwich-based Mommy’s Delicious Food restaurant, set up serving trays filled with black rice, fried plantains and jerk chicken. Daniel, a Haitian emigrate, said she hoped the street festival would give attendees a better sense of her native country.

“Not a lot of people know about Haiti or even where it is,” she said. “We have a beautiful history.”

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Hotel developer purchases former Norwich Elks Club on Main Street

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THE DAY (May 15, 2019) — A Cromwell hotel developer purchased the former Elks Club building, more recently the Majestic Rose restaurant, at 352 Main St. on Wednesday and plans to complete renovations aborted several years ago to create a boutique hotel.

RCN Capital LLC, which took over ownership in 2016 of the vacant 1843 former mansion home of mill mogul John F. Slater, sold the building Wednesday to Ganesha Hospitality LLC for $400,000, according to land transaction records filed in the Norwich city clerk’s office.

Developers Amit Maran and his uncle, Harry Patel, have been looking at the building for several months after they saw it listed on a website featuring business properties for sale, Maran said.

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Norwich receives top Chinese artwork as appreciation gifts

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THE DAY (May 2, 2019) — A welcoming gesture to help a new downtown business owner open a new Chinese market and tea café sent ripples across the globe, and on Wednesday, 14 top professional artists in China stopped by to donate artworks to city leaders in a cultural exchange and act of appreciation.

The artists are in the Northeast touring and hosting art seminars at Yale and Harvard universities, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and an exhibit in Manhattan.

The Norwich stop was added when Sharon Chu, executive director of the North American Chinese Culture Foundation, based in Mansfield, learned how Norwich officials and volunteers with Global City Norwich assisted business owner Mei He, also of Mansfield, in her plan to open A&S Marketplace, a Chinese market in the Thayer Building at 16 Franklin St. The market will open in mid-May.

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A Sit Down with Claire Marchand

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Q: What do you love most about Norwich?

Claire: I love the energy in Norwich. My studio is Downtown in Foundry 66, so I feel as if I am in the heartbeat of [the City’s] rejuvenation. I can feel it when I walk into businesses here and I can feel it in speaking with the owners. I love being able to talk about the various places and movements in Norwich, like Global City Norwich, with my out-of-town clients, who can’t wait to come back. Even when there are disagreements or slightly different visions, we are all working towards the same goal of revitalization. There’s definitely an energy here and I think everyone can feel it.

Q: If you had to give someone advice about freelancing, what would you tell them?
Claire: Charge your worth. At the same time, you should always, always be striving to improve what you do and what you offer. You are your business’s charismatic leader, so no matter where you are or who you’re with, you are your brand and you have to carry it well.

Q: What are you currently passionate about right now? 
Claire: I’m really passionate about my job. I think it ties into what I love about Norwich and why I want to be a part of what’s going on here – when I walk down the street, I’m passionate about the things I’m seeing and the people I’m seeing. I love being able to provide a unique experience for my clients while simultaneously providing them with the highest level of service that I can.

Rose Arts Festival is also coming up on June 29 and I’m looking forward to coordinating the photography coverage and marketing the event!

Q: What are you most looking forward to within the next year?
Claire: Being able to continue photographing a wide range of people, with a focus on headshots and branding. It’s amazing the kinds of people I’ve had an opportunity to work with, the things I’ve learned, and the challenges I’ve faced. I want to continue to be challenged!

See Claire’s work atwww.csmarchand.com

 

Long-vacant downtown Norwich building on track to get occupants

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NORWICH BULLETIN (March 10, 2019) — A long-vacant downtown office building is being renovated and will be returned to use after being sold on March 1.

Gregory Page, a psychotherapist, bought 60 Main St. for $115,000 from its previous owner, Chelsea Properties LLC.

Page said he is renovating the 4,650-square-foot three-floor building built in 1900 to contain five offices. “Our goal is to be open by May,” he said.

Page will occupy one of the first-floor offices himself for the practice he has with his mother called Mind Management Services Inc.

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Parade gives Norwich a chance to shine

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NORWICH BULLETIN (March 3, 2019) — There’s always been a way to get a beer on Broadway during the St. Patrick’s Day parade. Green Budweiser bottles and shots of Jameson at Billy Wilson’s Ageing Still are already as essential a part of the 6-year-old event as the bagpipes and politicians.

But as Norwich’s empty storefronts slowly fill in with businesses, the crowd filling downtown streets Sunday had a few other options.

Beverly Jones stood close to the door of Craftsman Cliff Roasters Coffee & Cacao, clutching a hazelnut latte that owner Matthew DuTrumble made for her. The coffee shop, not usually open on Sundays, was packed for its first St. Patrick’s Day parade after it opened last spring.

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Officials take a look at Norwich’s evolving priorities

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NORWICH BULLETIN (February 9, 2019) — City officials, along with education and community leaders, met Saturday to review the status of short- and long-term priority goals, including issues related to economic development, traffic and the location of the police department.

The session, held at Foundry 66, was the third such forum and the first held this year, said City Manager John Salomone who sketched out the framework for the day.

“Building on what we did last year to see where we are on previous items,” he said. “Obviously, plans evolve and don’t stay static. And they shouldn’t.”

For the first portion of the meeting, attendees reviewed the results of a March 2018 goal-setting priority sheet which listed a host of short-term economic development and infrastructure goals, including the reconfiguration of downtown parking patterns.

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Norwich receives $400,000 grant to redesign Franklin Square

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THE DAY (January 24, 2019) — City officials might not like the state’s idea of installing several roundabouts along Route 82-West Main Street, but city officials were pleased to learn they have received a $400,000 grant to design a roundabout at Franklin Square that would allow two-way traffic in all directions at the key downtown junction.

The State Bond Commission approved funding for the Community Connectivity Program grant at its Dec. 11 meeting, “so your application for the Community Connectivity Grant Program has been approved,” said a Jan. 18 letter from state Department of Transportation Assistant Planning Director Colleen A. Kissane to Mayor Peter Nystrom.

The project calls for eliminating the confusing current traffic arrangement, which has vehicles entering Franklin Street heading north from Main Street along two one-way strips, one from the east and the other from the west.

But southbound traffic on Franklin — opened to two-way traffic in May 2017 — must stop and turn right onto Bath Street and wind its way back to Main Street along lower Broadway.

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Norwich to hold Saturday workshops on economic development

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January 16, 2019 — In his State of the City address two weeks ago, Mayor Peter Nystrom asked aldermen to keep Saturdays open for promised workshops on economic development issues.

The first of those sessions has been scheduled for Saturday from 9 to 11 a.m. at the Foundry 66 headquarters of the Norwich Community Development Corp., 66 Franklin St. The second session will be held Feb. 23, also at Foundry 66. The workshops are open to the public.

Saturday’s agenda starts with a review of key economic development issues, including information from economists, followed by a discussion entitled “We are surrounded by HUGE Developments.”

Discussions on revitalization of “an old city” and blighted, vacant buildings and a review of the city’s infrastructure also are on Saturday’s agenda…. CLICK HERE to read more.