Revitalizing Connecticut’s Downtowns

Funding from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) is helping Connecticut towns revitalize declining central business districts, according to an article from the CT Mirror. According to the article, “Of the more than $615 million in ARPA funds spent so far on addressing the pandemic's ‘Negative Economic Impacts’ in Connecticut, roughly $45 million was distributed directly to businesses and nonprofits, including rehabilitating commercial properties.” 

“Putting a small amount of ARPA funding toward things like helping commercial landlords bring their street-level properties up to code, so as to be ready for new storefront tenants, can be transformational.” The article provides examples from towns across the state such as Norwich, where federal grants funded the renovation of historic buildings, new pocket parks, and public art. “Elsewhere in the state, the town of Windsor used $100,000 in ARPA funds to help launch two new co-working spaces: one in a retrofitted industrial building near the train station downtown and another in a former bank in Windsor's commercial district.”