Stamford, CT. Seeks New Identity

by erica ~ May 7, 2009

In the midst of the financial crisis, Stamford, CT is getting hit just as hard as Wall Street. Known as “Wall Street North,” Stamford is the home of some of the major financial companies including Thomson Reuters Corp., General Re Corp. and a slew of hedge funds and smaller companies that sprouted up in the last 15 years.

Instead of turning to banks or the government for a bailout, the city of Stamford is reaching out to Hollywood. The state will offer a 30% tax credit on production and a 20% tax credit on infrastructure costs exceeding $1 million. Shows like “The Jerry Springer Show” and “Maury” are making the move to Stamford, which will create around 150 jobs for locals.

Although the city has been used as a location for scenes in films including “Rachel Getting Married” and “Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2,” they are seeking more input from Hollywood in order to be more “visible.”

Stamford is reminding companies of why they chose to do business in their city in the first place; they are a low-cost, accessible location, just a 45 minute commute from Manhattan.

But not everyone thinks that Stamford has anything to worry about. “I’m seeing companies not leaving Stamford so much as other places where they had back-office operations on shorter-term leases,” said Roger Ferris, whose Westport-based firm is the architect of the RBS building, among other properties in the region. “That’s why I think this downturn won’t hurt Stamford as much.”