On Track for Further Economic Growth, Stamford Previews 2024 Plans
ChooseStamford site to be renovated to provide additional resources
STAMFORD — The City of Stamford, already home to a bevy of Fortune 500 companies and small businesses, has a lot planned for 2024.
The city aims to remain a top destination for companies — particularly big employers hoping to avoid New York City’s higher taxes, real estate prices, and other costly factors.
“We have such a vibrant downtown where employees can be really happy working here and that’s something that’s been a big focus for our administration,” Director of Economic Development Leah Kagan told The Stamford Current. “We want people to be able to work here and be happy that they’re coming to Stamford.”
Under the leadership of Mayor Caroline Simmons, Stamford established a COVID-19 Small Business Resiliency Grant last year, distributing nearly $1.5 million in funds to 176 businesses. Approximately 120 of these businesses were minority- or women-owned businesses (around 68%) and 34 were Hispanic-owned businesses (over 19%), per her 2 Year Report letter.
The city plans to build an “innovation corridor” in collaboration with UConn Stamford to maximize investments. In 2022, the Mayor also launched the Global Stamford Initiative to promote the city “as a prime location for international businesses to relocate.”
High Impact and New Companies
Kagan provided these key spaces among the many sectors where businesses are moving to or expanding in Stamford.
Financial Services
Viking Global Investors' relocation from Greenwich to downtown Stamford — in addition to other industry titans securing leases here in 2023 — was a strong indication of the city’s appeal for many firms in that field.
Pickleball America
With a Pickleball America facility opening in Stamford Town Center last fall, the city remains at the forefront of one of the fastest growing sports nationwide. It is so popular that pilates studio Art of Control relocated next door.
The Village
Beloved by tenants, The Village –– home to Insight Global, ITV America, The Wheel, and more –– is fully occupied as of January 2024.
Still, as an innovation hub, Kagan noted that it is “a destination we tour and highlight the entrepreneurial environment to companies who are considering moving to Stamford.”
Start-Ups
Beyond the bustling activity at The Village, start-ups of all kinds are sprouting across Stamford.
Building on the Simmons Administration’s commitment to sustainability, the city is forging partnerships with cleantech start-ups, bringing Stamford towards a greener future.
In yet another indication of the flourishing start-up economy here, pop-up restaurant 4th Quarter is serving up a delicious approach of its own.
More than a dozen Stamford-based start-ups are involved with Connecticut Innovations, the state’s venture capital arm helping to foster a community of entrepreneurs that continue to flourish and secure new rounds of funding.
Multifaceted Efforts
Just over two years since Mayor Simmons was inaugurated, making history as the first woman to serve in the role, the city has experienced a consistent level of responsible economic growth. And her administration isn’t slowing down now.
This year, the city will unveil an updated version of the economic development site ChooseStamford.com to better reflect the exciting business environment underway.
The economic development team will implement new strategies to further encourage businesses to move operations to Stamford. Other resources will be provided to highlight many workforce and tourism experiences available.
“One of our goals for early 2024 is to do a refresh for the ChooseStamford site to better reflect the vibrancy of our city,” Kagan detailed. “The website will change slightly to focus more on business attraction, workforce opportunities, and tourism.”
The Big Picture
In October 2023, CTData Collaborative and AdvanceCT released statewide data on top municipal issues and recognized Stamford as the state of Connecticut’s “economic engine” given all the progress achieved lately.
“It’s been a priority for Mayor Simmons to support all businesses, whether they’re start-ups that we’re seeing come to or launch in Stamford or small businesses that are the backbone of our economy,” Kagan said. “We have several Fortune 500 companies and we think that we’ll be able to attract more over the next few years with the transformation of the train station.”

According to the most recent publicly released economic development quarterly report, “during the first six months of 2023, Stamford saw over 900 active business registrations filed with the state.” This value equated to the “second highest in Connecticut, and the highest per capita among the state’s largest cities.”
Ensuring that companies are included, Mayor Simmons convenes biannual meetings with a Business Advisory Council. They met last month at Synchrony, hearing from Daniel O’Keefe of the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development. As well, a community spotlight often recognizes local businesses in the Mayor’s weekly newsletter.
With so much noteworthy progress to date in the last two years, Stamford is on track to have an even greater impact beyond the region or state, perhaps even on a global scale.
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