40 Business View Magazine - April 2016
Meanwhile, while waiting for the station and transit
center to materialize, Bryanton talks about some of
the other projects the town is pursuing. “In conjunc-
tion with the transit center, which happens to be along
the Connecticut River, we’re also trying to do a river-
front recapture project,” he says. “Right now, across
the street from where the transit center will be, there’s
a power plant on about four acres of land that’s out
of service; it’s just chain link and barbed wire. We’ve
been negotiating with our local utility company to get
that property, get it cleaned up and then open it up for
the public. We’re not utilizing our riverfront in the best
way that we could. So, we see that as a way to make
the area more of a destination.”
As an old mill and factory town, Enfield has also seen
its share of companies leaving for greener pastures
and warmer climes. But Bryanton maintains that the
town is “always open for business,” and “very much
open to retrofit the buildings that are here.” For ex-
ample, some years ago, the Danish toy manufacturer,
Lego, which had been one of the town’s largest em-
ployers, moved both its manufacturing plant and its
North American headquarters from Enfield to Juarez,
Mexico, taking many jobs with it. Eventually, the com-
pany moved its headquarters back to Enfield, but its
large distribution warehouse was no longer needed.
The good news is that it was now available for Advance
Auto to come to town and make the former Lego build-
ing its new Northeast Region Distribution Center.
“Just recently,” adds Bryanton, “Hallmark Cards de-
cided that they’re going to consolidate their opera-
tions and move to Kansas City. So that’s over a mil-
lion square feet of space that’s going to be open in
June. We’ve already had some people inquire about
the space and we’re trying to work with them to get
them in. So, we’re very attuned to what’s going on in
the market and we’re very much into recycling and ret-
rofitting what we have.”
