From Bradley International Airport on the north to its border with the city of Hartford on the south, Windsor, is experiencing an unprecedented level of development activity. At one point last year, over 2.6 million s/f of new construction was underway as companies invested more than $500 million in new office, distribution, retail and hotel facilities.
In October, ING cut the ribbon on its new 475,000 s/f corporate headquarters and began moving more than 2,000 employees to the Day Hill Rd. area. Earlier, Travelers opened Claim University, its national, state-of-the-art training facility for insurance claim agents. Emhart Glass fired up the pilot glass furnace in its new world-wide glass research and development facility. Other openings and ribbon cuttings were celebrated by the Morris Companies, Walter Surface Technologies, Price Chopper and Buffalo Wild Wings.
At present, work continues on other major projects. The $250 million Walgreens northeast region distribution center in New England Tradeport will be ready for operations later this year. The 450,000 s/f Hartford Life office campus in Griffin Center will be completed for the first of 2,000 employees to begin arriving in mid-September.
This high level of development activity is in large part the result of what could be called The Windsor Advantage.
In most New England towns, the industrial base grew from the past centuries' mills and factories or in pockets along the railroads or highways. The result is often a lack of identity, traffic congestion, conflicts with residential neighbors, and little land for expansion.
Windsor's primary office/industrial area, however, started in the mid-1950s when Combustion Engineering Company, now ABB, moved to a site among tobacco fields on Day Hill Rd. To this large, flat, dry area, visionary town officials applied sound planning principles - direct interstate highway (I-91) access, separation from residential areas, and high quality infrastructure and private development standards. As a result, Windsor now has extensive tracts of land which are well planned to support development of large corporate/ industrial sites while preserving the quality of its neighborhoods and open spaces.
More than 200 companies are now located along Day Hill Rd. and adjoining streets. These companies occupy some 8 million s/f of corporate office, manufacturing, warehouse and flex space. Major employers include ING, Alstom Power, Hartford Life, Konica-Minolta, American Airlines, Bank of America, Westinghouse, Aetna, Sun Life Financial, and Northeast Utilities. In addition, this area contains some 200,000 s/f of retail, professional office, day care and other supporting uses.
The Day Hill Rd./Rte. 75/I-91 interchange (Exit 38) has also attracted significant hotel development to serve corporate area visitors and nearby Bradley International Airport. The Courtyard, Hilton Garden Inn and Marriott conference hotel now provide a combined total of 600 rooms and banquet facilities for 900 persons at this location. This fall, a Hyatt Summerfield Suites which is now under construction will bring the total room count to more than 730.
Bradley International Airport, New England's second largest airport, is another key element of The Windsor Advantage. The New England Tradeport and Kennedy Rd./Hayden Station Rd. developments have more than 700 acres of development-ready land designed for distribution, warehousing and flex space use within 5 miles of Bradley's flight line. Windsor, Windsor Locks, Suffield and East Granby, the towns surrounding the airport have formalized their commitment to promote the economic development potential of the airport by establishing the Bradley Development League, a non-profit joint marketing organization.
Other elements of The Windsor Advantage accrue to the benefit of investors, developers and tenants. There is access to a highly educated workforce from the Knowledge Corridor formed by the Greater Hartford-Greater Springfield region. Windsor also has a customer-focused, high performance local government. We provide a coordinated development review process that can approve a project in as little as six weeks.
The Windsor Advantage most especially includes an outstanding quality of life - beautiful neighborhoods, a range of housing styles and prices, an excellent education system, an historic town center and an extensive park system.
Windsor with its significant corporate/industrial presence and its natural beauty and quality neighborhoods has the very best of both worlds. Good planning and a commitment to quality have made it so. This has been the formula for Windsor's success since it was founded 375 years ago in 1633.
We invite you to come and experience The Windsor Advantage for yourself.
James Burke is economic development director for the Town of Windsor, Conn.