Terence Elton, Town of Branford

With a recent grant award by Connecticut’s Office of Policy and Management (OPM) in hand, Branford is preparing to undertake an important planning effort focused on transit-oriented development and the town center.  The planning office is now drafting an RFP to recruit consultants who will best match the town’s needs.  With work commencing in the fall, it’s expected that the plan will take six to nine months to prepare and be ready to submit to the town’s land use bodies in early 2017 for them to  review and adopt. 

OPM’s “Transit-Oriented Development and Responsible Growth Grant” will enable the town to formulate a comprehensive and thoughtful plan for future transit-oriented development, primarily within a prescribed radius of the newly expanded train station.  The plan will allow our land use officials to identify necessary zone changes, resiliency efforts, and infrastructure improvements that to provide for the best development possible.  With the commercial and manufacturing success of Stony Creek Brewery and anticipating a similar experience with the approved development plans to transform the former Atlantic Wire site into a seven-acre mixed residential and commercial site, the grant’s timing is excellent.

This competitive funding award allows the town to develop a plan that will take advantage of transit-based sites and to move forward development that complements the vibrancy of Branford’s town center.  It also provides Branford with an excellent warm up as it gets ready to update its town-wide Plan of Conservation and Development, its ten-year master plan.   

And while this transit-oriented plan deserves our attention, don’t overlook the manufacturing activity across town. Defibtech, a leader in designing and manufacturing automated external defibrillators, has its new production facility on Commercial Street up and running.  It’s an ideal fit with other Branford companies in the medical device field, such as CASMED, Ivy Biomedical and PerkinElmer, and is in the same commercial neighborhood as Cintas, Alcoa Howmet and the expanding Mt. Sinai Genetic Testing Lab. 

Meanwhile, not far from Debitech, Bausch+Strobel is moving forward with its plans to design and construct its new North American headquarters to expand its pharmaceutical packaging products operation.  Similarly, American Polyfilm, Inc. is now running production at its new state-of-the art facility nearby on Rte. 1 close to Branford’s Exit 56.  APi, neighboring Differential Pressure Plus, and other Branford-based manufacturers are frequently recognized as models of advanced manufacturing.      

All of these companies and hundreds of other in town enjoy Branford’s low tax rate, its strategic I-95 location, a skilled workforce, and a business friendly environment that supports growth and expansion.  We offer full utilities and municipal services - town water, sewers throughout our commercial zones, and full-time public safety departments with professional police and fire departments.   

Midway between Boston and Manhattan, Branford serves as both a gateway to New England and as a portal to New York.  Four exits on I-95 provide direct access to the east coast corridor and to nearby I-91 leading up to northern New England.  The town’s newly expanded commuter rail station, with parking for 500 vehicles, offers daily service to New Haven and Yale, connecting to Metro North into New York and Amtrak to Providence and Boston.

And while Branford  may appear very Norman Rockwell-like with its quintessentially New England green – Yale was founded here in 1701 - our business community’s reach is clearly global and firmly in the 21^st century.  We have a burgeoning community of bioscience and high tech companies and advanced manufacturers that are leaders in their fields and strong exporters. Our healthy business climate is based on having some of the lowest property tax rates along the I-95 corridor and a triple-A bond rating, along with a highly skilled and educated workforce -  almost half of our adult residents hold a bachelor’s degree or higher. 

And with twenty miles of shoreline along Long Island Sound - the longest in the state, forty miles of hiking and biking trails, a half dozen parks, two town beaches, a state boat launch, and a robust art and music scene, our quality of life is second to none.

To discover more about Branford and for assistance in finding a site that meets your needs, go to www.branford-ct.org or email [email protected].

Terence Elton is special projects manager for the Town of Branford, Conn.