Business View Magazine | December 2019

323 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE DECEMBER 2019 Fairf ield .edu • Connecticut is home to 20,000 alums • Nearly $2 Billion economic impact in Fairfield County • Over $1 Billion in direct spending in Fairfield County • Over $150 Million in direct spending in the area • Over 14,000 jobs created in the region • Over the last five years, over 98% of graduates secured full-time employment, enrolled in graduate or professional school, or participated in volunteer service program within 6 months after graduation. about 20, 000-sq.ft of retail/commercial space with structured parking. The Fairfield Metro Center site, itself, is being planned for about a 350-unit residential, mixed-use development with a hotel and office, as well as ancillary retail on a 12-acre site. So there’s great potential around the Metro Center train station.” In addition, at the Downtown Fairfield station, which also serves as a transfer point for the Fairfield University Shuttle, 200 new residential units are being constructed on a two-acre site. “You can walk out of your apartment and get to the train station in a matter of minutes,” Barnhart announces. Two demographic cohorts are also being targeted by the town and housing developers – seniors and Millennials. “There’s another project within our downtown core; we are seeing a proposal for 150 units of independent senior living,” says Barnhart. “Our senior population is very vibrant and active and we want to make sure that we provide those opportunities for our seniors, so they can maintain roots in the community they’ve grown up in.” “The trend, a few years back, was for Millennials to move to bigger cities, specifically New York City,” Tetreau explains. “Now, we’re seeing a trend of Millennials moving out here. They’re looking for a modified city life, and we have a vibrant downtown with restaurants, shops, and entertainment. Fairfield, itself, is the one town in the state where you can walk to the beach, walk to downtown, and walk to the train. So a lot of our neighborhoods are very attractive to Millennials who are looking for a walkable town to reside in. And as Millennials have aged and gotten married and started to have kids, we’re seeing a new focus from that segment on education. And what the suburban towns out here in Fairfield County sell is education - high quality school systems. That is what has always drawn people here – it’s part of our culture, our value set. When you look at Fairfield, 65 cents out of every tax dollar goes to support our THE TOWN OF FA I RF I ELD , CONNECT I CUT