When you hear the word Ansonia, do you think “The Spirit of Yankee Ingenuity”?
You may soon if Richard Stoltz has anything to say about it.
The city hired Stoltz to develop a “master plan” of economic development for the city, and a new brand for Ansonia was one of the recommendations he revealed to the city’s Economic Development Commission last week.
“Calling this the ‘Copper City,’ while at one time it had some meaning for Ansonia and other people, it’s not going to attract people these days,” Stoltz said. “So we wanted something that combined what a lot of people described as the community spirit of Ansonia, something that was energetic, and something that tapped into historic authenticity.”
Click the play button on the video to see Stoltz talk about the concept.
Stoltz said a new slogan will help attract new businesspeople, residents, and developers.
“It smacks the right note in their minds for what they’d like to see Ansonia represent,” he said.
Rolling out the re-branding would include a marketing campaign with a number of specific suggestions, including hanging banners on Main Street with the new brand.
Stoltz talked to members of the commission for about 45 minutes Thursday going over the information he’s gathered and his initial recommendations.
He’ll deliver a comprehensive report next month but last week reviewed with commission members about 60 pages of drafts he’s written so far.
In addition to suggesting a tagline to attract new business to the city, Stoltz reviewed exactly what kind of businesses Ansonia should be targeting.
Addressing The ‘Retail Gap’
To do so, he said his firm reviewed a host of historical information and analyzed current trends and data that showed a “retail gap” in certain sectors that showed money “going out of Ansonia for people who want to buy things but they can’t buy it here.”
The firm then used that data to see how much retail space could be added in Ansonia.
“We take those dollars in the retail gap, by category, look at what a typical business in that category generates in terms of dollars per square foot, which allows us to get a handle on how many square feet you can accommodate in Ansonia,” Stoltz said.
In terms of retail, he recommended the city look to add restaurants, as well as stores specializing in home furnishings, electronics and appliances, toys and games, building materials and supplies, specialty foods, clothing and shoes, jewelry and luggage, office supplies, and pet supplies.
“A lot of them are going to be boutique types of businesses,” he said. “When we’re talking about restaurants, I’m not talking about bringing a Friendly’s into town. We’re talking about unique restaurants like Crave, things that are going to draw people into town, that people are going to talk about, that have a unique cuisine or a unique vibe that people want to go to.”
The document embedded below has some additional details on the business sectors the city should try to attract, as well as a review of the proposed new brand. Article continues after the document.
Ansonia – Highest and Best Use Analysis
Stoltz estimated the city could add about 50,000 square feet between nine new businesses in the first year after putting the plan into effect.
In Stoltz’s projections, the new businesses would give the city’s economic development positive momentum.
“As you start to get more businesses coming in, more businesses want to come in after that,” he said.
Click the play button on the video below to see Stoltz talk about attracting businesses to the city. Article continues after the video.
Over the course of the firm’s five-year projection, about 500,000 square feet of new business would come into Ansonia, Stoltz said.
The document embedded below contains the full details of Stoltz’s projections. Article continues after the document.
Ansonia – Five-Year Projection – Most Likely
That would mean more than 800 new jobs in the city, according to the firm’s analysis.
But How?
“How can we target that?” Sal Haniaf, the vice chairman of the Economic Development Commission, asked Stoltz. “How can we bring those people in here?”
“We’ll put together a marketing plan that will talk about how you do that,” Stoltz replied, saying the first step would be to create a brochure showing the attributes and opportunities within town.
“When you actually get to the implementation of the marketing plan, each of these categories will have target companies and businesses identified that you’ll actually go after at that point,” he added.
“So it’s not just saying ‘Ansonia’s terrific,’ and we put a big sign on Route 8 that says ‘Great, come here,’” Stoltz went on. “You go after those specific target companies at that point.”
If city officials so choose, they can hire Bartram & Cochran to implement the marketing plan themselves, he added.
Economic Development Commission Chairman Vinnie Scarlata said Monday that he’s “cautiously optimistic” with regard to Stoltz’s work so far, “because it’s not done and I won’t judge this until I see the final result.”
He said the statistical research done so far is “impressive” but is hoping the final report will include new ways the city can lure in new businesses.
“Tell me something new,” he said of his hopes for Stoltz’s final report. “Tell me something that I don’t already know.”
