Panel Focuses on Stamford's Retail Future

STAMFORD, CT-As the city continues to struggle with office vacancies, prime development sites in the Downtown district that were once slated for office construction are now being converted into retail and or hotel use. A recent panel discussion entitled “Trends, Deals and Decisions – Shaping Stamford’s Retail Future,” focused on how the city’s strong demographics and other socioeconomic trends have combined to create a number of deals that have bolstered the city’s reputation as a strong retail location.

Kenneth Narva, a partner in Street Works LLC, a White Plains, NY-based development and consulting group, said that urban retail projects must be developed in a manner that is “intimate” to the consumer and must relate to the surrounding streetscape. He also suggested that downtown districts must attract all type of development: retail, office, commercial and residential.

Scott Columb, senior regional real estate manager for Target Corp., said, “Stamford’s demographics and its ability to fill in Target’s metro New York market to a total of 55 stores are the reasons Stamford was attractive to Target.” Target’s 195,000-sf store is currently under construction on Broad Street in Downtown and is scheduled to be open by the fall of this year.