May 19, 1997
Paving the way for urban renewal, more than 250 dilapidated buildings have been torn down and replaced with new housing and business development as a result of an anti-blight program initiated by Mayor Joseph Ganim and community leaders in Bridgeport.
Another 100 buildings are slated for demolition this summer, and by the end of 1997, all 450 buildings identified five years ago by the city's Anti-Blight Committee will be knocked down to make room for open space, new housing and revitalized neighborhoods.
"We recognized early in this administration that removing blight from Bridgeport's streets must be a priority in order to reduce crime and make the city attractive for development," Mayor Ganim said. "The team we assembled to identify buildings for removal work is on the front lines of neighborhood growth and beautification of the city." Leaders of the committee, Police Chief Thomas Sweeney and Capt. Robert Kelly, head of Community Services, work closely with the city fire marshal, planning and zoning heads, tax collector, health director and city attorney to pinpoint buildings for removal. "The key to removing blight is cutting through the bureaucratic process that stifles urban renewal," Ganim said. "Bringing key people together streamlines the process and allows work to begin right away."
The success of this program rested on dedicating sufficient funds to it. Since 1991, $9 million has been allocated to acquire the rights to properties, knock down buildings and clean up lots. Another $4.5 million is dedicated in 1997-98 to polish off the remaining 200 units. Clearing an average house costs roughly $15,000; larger buildings cost about $25,000.
Before the anti-blight team was in place, the Bridgeport Police and Fire Departments had to dedicate scarce resources to responding to vandalism, loitering and drug activity complaints at the blighted buildings. In almost all cases, the owners of the properties had fallen behind on tax payments, the values of properties surrounding those lots had plummeted, and the neighborhoods involved had become unsafe.
But perhaps the most debilitating side effect was the drain on the morale of residents and business owners in surrounding neighborhoods and the significant loss of character within the neighborhoods -- a loss the city was not willing to sustain.
Since Bridgeport's anti-blight initiative has been underway, shop owners near the cleared lots report that business has improved because customers are no longer discouraged by the crumbling, unsafe structures. Since 1991, crime has also dropped by 90 percent in the areas that were most severely blighted.
The city's dedication to improving living conditions through neighborhood redevelopment was outlined recently in an agenda signed by Mayor Ganim, members of the state legislative delegation from Bridgeport and Connecticut Governor John G. Rowland. "We want the housing stock to be affordable, safe and attractive for anyone willing to lead a productive life in Bridgeport, where families and businesses can prosper and feel like part of a community," Ganim said.
Part of the success of the initiative is due to private property owners rehabilitating properties, both residential and commercial. Private developers have purchased some of the properties cleared by the Anti-Blight Committee and have erected new residences. In other cases, neighboring property owners have assumed title to once-blighted lots to create larger backyards or bigger driveways.
Through the Department of Housing and Urban Development and Creative Choice Homes, $61 million in scattered-site housing is in the development stages throughout Bridgeport. This housing will largely replace large tenement-style housing that was once a haven for drugs and crime.
Another focus for Bridgeport has been the transformation of 2,200 acres of idle and potentially contaminated industrial properties into useful, development-ready land. Bridgeport received one of the first U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Brownfield Pilot Project Grants. With a $200,000 EPA grant, the city convened a task force to assist a team of planning, environmental, real estate and marketing consultants in screening for environmental contamination and assessing marketability and physical infrastructure needs to determine which properties had the highest redevelopment potential.
The EPA grant not only allowed Bridgeport to target specific properties, it provided leverage for additional funds to support a broader initiative encompassing a number of economic and community development goals. One such goal is to provide clean, development-ready sites throughout the city. One example is the former Bryant Electric site, which was demolished over a six-month period in a coordinated effort involving the state and federal governments. The $5 million demolition cleared the way for the West End Industrial Park, a 15-acre site with direct access to highways and railways, in the center of Bridgeport's West End economic development zone.
Recognizing the success of the Brownfield program, the National Park Service and the EPA are considering Bridgeport for another pilot program, the Groundwork Trust Model, an urban land reclamation program that would help transform Brownfield properties to park, recreational and open space uses.
Mayor Ganim believes that aggressive blight removal is making Bridgeport's neighborhoods safer and cleaner, enabling property owners throughout the city to take pride in their homes, and strengthening the city's goal to be the most development-ready city in Connecticut.
More information on the anti-blight program and related development activities is available from the Office of Planning and Economic Development, (203) 576-7221.
The United States Conference of Mayors
J. Thomas Cochran, Executive Director
1620 Eye Street, NW, Washington, DC 20006
Telephone (202) 293-7330, FAX (202) 293-2352