From time to time I will be turning over this blog to someone in the community, a department head, or a community activist to share their thoughts about Danbury, or to discuss future projects or plans for our city.
Todays guest is Andrea Gartner, Director of CityCenter Danbury.
Andrea, the floor is yours:
Thanks Mayor!
Danbury has always been a place about community and nowhere can the community celebrate better than downtown. At CityCenter, we are working hard to create our downtown as a destination for arts, culture, entertainment, and more.
And it’s working!
This month, the Connecticut Film Festival from June 2-7 brought in a flurry of activity and thousands of attendees and filmmakers and while data is not yet complete, expectations are that the 4500 number of participants from last year will be exceeded. On May 25th, Memorial Day saw throngs of people lining the streets of downtown with police stating it was the largest attendance in years. In February, the Chili Winter Warm-Up in partnership with the Westerners Baseball Team and the Danbury Arena brought in over 650 attendees! CityCenter Danbury is on the map in a way it hasn’t been for decades.
My staff and I welcome the challenge of continued growth even in these uncertain economic times and we feel now, more than ever, that CityCenter Danbury is an important place for the residents of our community to visit and enjoy. Our programming is interesting and affordable – with many events family-friendly and free to the public. Through our varied calendar of events, we are bringing people to our great city.
Encouragement and support from the community has helped to give us the resources to heighten our visibility and take initiatives to a new level in downtown Danbury. Asked to serve on the Mayor’s Task Force for Downtown’s Redevelopment Plan, I’ve been engaged in discussions on the future plan for downtown. CityCenter recently participated in a grant proposal to the CT Historic Trust for a feasibility study on the Palace Theater. We are receiving more calls of interest from people curious about downtown. CityCenter’s elevated profile has gotten the ball rolling: we have reached out to city officials, property owners, business sponsors, non-profit organizations, civic groups, university students and administration, local artists and musicians to broaden the discussion about the importance and necessity of creating a vibrant downtown life and how to do get there.
And the dialogue continues to expand. As the metropolitan area for the Housatonic Valley, we want to know what does the community want its city to deliver? It’s not just up to CityCenter Danbury property owners or the City of Danbury to reshape the region’s downtown. What do the residents of the Greater Danbury area want to see in their city? Come visit us this summer for our free Concerts on the Green Summer Series every Friday and Saturday night beginning July 10th. Try one of new restaurants in town. Share your thoughts with the Mayor’s Main Street Redevelopment Task Force. Explore the diversity which truly makes Danbury an interesting city to visit and a great place to live….and let us know what you think! As always, your comments are welcome………. andreagartner@citycenterdanbury.com
