Once a farming suburb of Hartford, Rocky Hill has become home to executives working in the Hartford area, students studying at local colleges and universities, first time home buyers and their families, and active adults looking for quality homes and a friendly town. Additionally, Rocky Hill has become home to companies like WFSB which built its new headquarters in Corporate Ridge and Sysco Foods so that they can be central when transporting their products. All residents in the town can agree that Rocky Hill's competitive taxes, abundance of services, and most of all - its central location - make it a desirable and convenient place to live, work, and do business.

Rocky Hill is located along I-91 just eight miles south of Hartford and along the Connecticut River. Rocky Hill's neighboring towns are Wethersfield, Berlin, Cromwell, and Glastonbury (across the Connecticut River.) Rocky Hill and Glastonbury are connected by an historic ferry, one of the oldest in the state, and by the Putnam Bridge. The town is easily accessible via Interstates 91, 84, 691 and Rtes. 99, 9, 3, and 2. Locally, Rte. 3 connects Rocky Hill to Glastonbury, Cromwell, and Middletown while Rte. 99 north leads to Wethersfield and Hartford.

Rocky Hill has a population of about 20,000 and offers a diverse range of housing options. Apartments, condominiums, and town homes are available at Century Hill, with over 944 apartments and other housing options located along the town's 9-hole golf course. New single family home developments have come online even when the housing market was doing poorly elsewhere. Developers have also introduced mid-range to luxury adult communities which have sold out in all developments.
In addition to a healthy residential population, Rocky Hill is home to one of the largest corporate parks in central Connecticut called Corporate Ridge. There is over 1.3 million s/f of office space in Corporate Ridge and the immediate vicinity with projections of this expanding to 2.2 million s/f by 2016. While the west end of Rocky Hill has restaurants, hotels, and services, demands on these services are expected to increase with the rising office population over the next five years. More hotels, restaurants, and retailers are destined to fill the gaps along Cromwell Ave. (Rte. 3), New Britain Ave., and West St.

The east side of town boasts a healthy retail strip along the Silas Deane Hwy. (Rte. 99) which heads north into Wethersfield. The Silas Deane Hwy. is home to 295 businesses within a 1.37 mile distance from Exit 24. The Exit 24 area features a vibrant restaurant and retail network of grocery stores, discount stores, both casual and fast food restaurants, and diverse retailers. These include Walmart, Super Stop & Shop, Red Lobster, Wood-n-Tap, Office Depot, Wendy's, and Dakota's.

One of the newest developments in town in called Town Center West. Town Center West will be an approximately 160,000 s/f development visible from I-91 northbound and southbound and located at the intersection of Cromwell Ave. (Rte. 3) and West St. off Exit 23. This development will be the new gateway into the west side of town, which has over 22,000 cars per day on West St. and 24,000 cars per day on Cromwell Ave. Town Center West will offer space for a hotel, retailers, and office users and accommodate growth in the area. The layout of the development is geared to accommodate users running errands with easy access and as well as longer stay users by incorporating outdoor green space and walking trails. The developer's vision is to make it like a town center, with a central meeting space (landscaped lawn and gazebo area) that can be used for seasonal kiosks and events.

Rocky Hill's central location has made it desirable for living, working, and doing business. This is visible in the town's continued growth and its ability to attract companies like Marriott, Burris Logistics, Henkel-Loctite, the State of Connecticut Lottery, CHFA, Veterans Home and Hospital), PayChex, Sysco Foods, URS, United Healthcare, and AT&T Wireless.
Currently Rocky Hill has a total of 13,503 employees.
Rocky Hill is on a continued path of growth which makes it a desirable location for retailers and businesses to expand.

Kerry Wood is chief operating officer at HK Group, Westport, Conn.