Business View Civil & Municipal | Volume 2, Issue 11

34 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 2, ISSUE 11 Connecticut T he historic community of Middletown, Connecticut is ideally situated along the Connecticut River and is the only city within Middlesex County. It’s also the southernmost city in the Hartford-Springfield Knowledge Corridor Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) – New England’s second largest metropolitan region. Middletown’s rich past can be traced as far back as 1650, when the settlement first began to build its reputation as a busy sailing port before transitioning into an industrial center. Today, the city is mainly residential with a vibrant downtown housing Wesleyan University. It’s a community full of diversity – from its population and geography to its culture and economics. A special place that befits its tagline: ‘City of Middletown…it’s all here.’ “The way I describe it,” explains Mayor Ben Florsheim, “is Middletown is a place made up of many things but isn’t defined by any one of them. It can feel like a college town, but it’s not just a college town. Our downtown feels like a destination area, but it’s more than that. We have a densely populated downtown neighborhood, “It’s all here”