A View of the Valley Economy - Ansonia

Bill Purcell, President, Greater Valley Chamber of Commerce

The third stop on our Economic Development Tour of our Valley is Ansonia. 

The City of Ansonia enjoyed a remarkable year of success under the leadership of Mayor Dave Cassetti and his Development Team.  With a population of 18,000 residents and a land area slightly larger than Derby at 6 square miles, Ansonia has focused on redeveloping its downtown area from its former role as an industrial center to a mixed-use commercial center.  Among the projects of note are the following:

Ansonia Copper & Brass site was partially demolished in 2015 under a unique tax-forgiveness agreement that the City struck with the owners, creating a pad-ready site to receive a new development opportunity in the new year.

Wakelee Avenue businesses & residents will benefit from a $3.5 Million upgrade announced in 2015.  The project will include utility upgrades, street repaving and new sidewalks along this 1-mile gateway into the City of Ansonia as well as neighboring Derby.

R.D. Scinto announced plans to construct a new headquarters, manufacturing and design center for Farrel-Pomini at the Fountain Lake Industrial Park.  The company is the successor to the 160 year-old Farrel Corporation, whose sprawling complex of buildings dominated the North Main Street area of downtown along with Ansonia Copper & Brass for the last century and a half.  The project was made possible by a unique partnership between the City, the State DECD and the federal Economic Development Administration who together contributed a total of $1.5 Million to construct an access road along with underground utilities to this 40 acre site.  In addition to the Farrel project, the project will provide access to four additional site pads for future development.

North Main Street is undergoing a dramatic renovation project by developers Jerry Nocerino and Charlie Smith who together purchased the block formerly owned by the Ansonia Housing Authority.  The project includes ground level retail and market-rate, one and two bedroom apartments on the 2nd level. New tenants include Copper City Bar & Grill and Anam Cara Center, a newly opened Holistic Day Spa.

ATP & Palmer Buildings in downtown Ansonia were offered for sale by the City in a Public RFP process in 2015, with the Nocerino/Smith team noted above proposing a mixed-use development similar to the North Main Street block. At the other end of Main Street, Spector Furniture & Home Decor celebrated their 125-year as a family-owned and operated furniture store.

---