Recent economic activity in Newtown is encouraging and the Economic Development Commission and I are optimistic for business expansion in Newtown over the next two years.

Exciting new projects: Hawley Construction Company out of Danbury is busy constructing the 68,000 s/f Plaza South shopping center located on Rte. 25. The fact that this project is almost fully leased and the tenants are anxious to see the construction moving forward fuels our optimism for growth potential in Newtown. The Union Savings Bank will be opening a new branch office in the first building. The new branch will be 3,400 s/f. The Learning Experience which is a child day care center will occupy a 10,000 s/f building. The third 12,500 s/f building is close to being full with two leases signed (Subway and 77 Nails) and two more in process. Phase II will be comprised of two buildings and leasing is well on its way. As is typical of the Newtown community, Plaza South was designed in the "life style center" fashion with five buildings surrounded by adequate parking, lush landscaping and areas for shoppers to gather. The largest building in Plaza South is about 24,000 s/f and may be occupied by one or more tenants.
Brom Enterprises, Inc. is developing a new 17,000 s/f medical office building. A 5,000 s/f urgent care center is planned for the first floor and 12,000 s/f of office space is available for private doctor offices. The building is located in Hawleyville on Rte. 6 and borders the Bethel/Newtown line. The medical building is one of several new commercial projects that have been approved for this corridor of Newtown over the past two years. Commercial activity in this area of Newtown was very active a year ago and only slowed marginally during the recession. This activity was partially the result of three age restricted communities that were approved for this area of Newtown and similar activity over the town line in Bethel.

New Business Openings: LMT Communications, Inc. recently moved from Monroe to South Main Street. LMT is a publisher for the dental laboratory trade and employs twelve people. Two historic buildings on the site were renovated for office/retail tenants and space is available in the renovated former farmstead. Impact Business Technology recently moved into an industrial condo in the Curtis Corporate Park in Sandy Hook. Impact Business Technology is a provider of computer networking and technical support services specializing in IT services with customers from a wide range of industries including law, finance manufacturing and construction. Farming 101 is a new venture for the husband wife team who are in their second year operating a low-impact sustainable farm in Newtown that sells produce to restaurants in Westchester County and at Fairfield County Farmer's Markets. Caraluzzi's Markets celebrated their first year of operations in their newest market in the Borough of Newtown Village. Caraluzzi's is family run business that has markets in Bethel and Wilton. Caraluzzi's is well known for their fresh and varied specialty food products from nearby and from around the world.

Fairfiled Hills Campus: Newtown's Municipal Center is finished and municipal employees are busy setting up their new offices. The new center is open and ready to provide Newtown residents with one stop for all of their municipal needs. Work on the campus has been non stop for the past few years and the first phase of a multi-phased project is close to complete. The Newtown Municipal Center along with the Newtown Youth Academy (NYA) which is a private sports and fitness center are the anchors for the campus redevelopment. There are additional buildings targeted for reuse and others for redevelopment and private occupancy. A lease agreement for one reuse building has been approved, clean up of another is underway and is available for lease. Five duplex buildings that surround a green have also been targeted for reuse. Details for renovating one duplex for a free medical clinic are being worked out. Developers and businesses interested in learning more about leasing opportunities on the campus should visit www.FairfieldHills.org

Located in northern Fairfield County, Newtown has much to offer business tenants and investors. Newtown's Economic Development Commission is ready to help existing businesses expand and provide assistance to new companies who seek an exciting, attractive community. We are ready to help you get your business up and running as quickly as possible in a Newtown location. A listing of available business properties and local data is available on the commission's web site at www.newtown.org.


Elizabeth Stocker, AICP, director of economic and community development, Town of Newtown, Conn.