Despite the economic slowdown, Farmington is thriving due to our strong business base. We have over 2,000 businesses in town ranging from one-person outfits to large Fortune 500 headquarters. Even with our strengths, we are always looking for opportunities to partner with good developers to maintain our 27% commercial/83% residential balance. We support commercial development through our one-stop development process, our consistently low tax rate and our willingness to work with you to succeed.
Here is a snapshot of what is currently happening in business and development in Farmington.
Unionville Revitalization
The area of town known as Unionville was traditionally the factory town along the Farmington River.
* Recently, the Stop & Shop was redeveloped into a 52,000 s/f brand new grocery store with an industrial façade of brick and wrought iron. Sidewalks were added and a new riverwalk extends down to the water.
* The town used STEAP grants to put a new roof and improve the façade on the historic firehouse restoring the brick and windows.
* The Riversedge Plaza is getting a new façade to match the industrial setting. The owners plan to extend the riverwalk, allowing patrons to enjoy the river as part of their shopping and dining experience. Additional parking is planned and a sidewalk will be extended along the front of the building.
* Unionville businesses can take advantage of additional STEAP funds by applying for a façade grant through the town.
* The town and the state DOT have worked together to design a new streetscape along South Main St. to the intersection with Rte. 4. The design work was funded through the STEAP grant money and work is expected to commence this summer.
* Future plans include improvements to the bridge to address safety and traffic concerns as well as cleaning up some priority development sites.
Connecticare Headquarters
Connecticare recently completed its 65,000 s/f headquarters on Scott Swamp Rd. This facility will consolidate area offices and house over 500 employees. The health plan recently won Metro Hartford Alliance's Business Champion Award in the Workforce category.
Hampton Inn
We welcome the opening of a brand new 124-room Hampton Inn on Scott Swamp Rd. The hotel will be a great place for visitors as well as for hosting local meetings and events.
Trumpf Inc.
Last year, Trumpf developed a 90,000 s/f laser manufacturing facility on its site - one of the largest of its kind in the United States.
Parson's Chevrolet Site
At the old Parson's site on Rte. 4, the state has cleared the property, will build a backage road for safety purposes and will work together with the town to determine the development opportunities for the future use of the site.
Medical and Health Development
The UCONN Health Center continues to be an important partner with the Town of Farmington. In recent years, a local developer, Metro Realty, has built a medical office campus nearby. Thirteen of Hartford County's premier medical practices have established locations within the medical campus. Two of the buildings are complete and contain 125,000 s/f and the third, a 42,000 s/f building, is completing construction. The campus also includes a new Kindercare Learning Center.
UCONN is in the process of constructing its stem cell center, the only one of its kind in the region. The Stem Cell center's overall mission is to contribute to advancing stem cell therapies for human disease. This highly technical industry complements the medical center nearby and will likely draw additional support services to the Farmington area.
Schools & Universities
In addition to the UCONN medical and dental schools, Farmington is home to a wide variety of high-quality educational institutions including Tunxis Community College, the only Connecticut branch of Gibbs College and the recently re-opened Connecticut School of Broadcasting.
Looking Ahead
Like all communities, Farmington has struggled in the last year as we lost some long standing local business, most notably the Parsons Chevrolet dealership; but we have been fortunate to maintain a strong and diverse business base and even attract some new ones. We have kept our tax rate low, our grand list up and our quality of life high.
Farmington is in the heart of the Farmington Valley 10 minutes outside of Hartford with superb highway access: I-84 serving as an east/west axis and Rte. 9 serving the south. For more information about our community and development opportunities, contact [email protected].

Courtney Hendricson is the economic development director for the Town of Farmington.