Downtown Update
December 2021
Darien Celebrates The Corbin District Groundbreaking
Congratulations to David Genovese and Baywater Properties on the recent groundbreaking of the Corbin District in downtown Darien. This development is notable for its scale, with 11 new buildings and a town green on seven acres requiring extensive demolition and site preparation for new construction.
 
DECD Commissioner David Lehman called the development “transformational” for its impact on the town, saying this is exactly, “what towns all over Connecticut need to have, in terms of investment and bringing mixed use and residential and retail — more vibrancy in downtown.”
 
Recognizing the Corbin Districts potential and Baywater’s other projects in Darien, in 2018 CMSC awarded Mr. Genovese our annual Founder’s Award. He remains the lone private-sector developer to receive this award in its two-decade history. The Corbin District is a great example of the challenges and perseverance needed for downtown revitalization, with Mr. Genovese and his partners changing hearts and minds in Darien that dense mixed-use development was the right thing to do. It took Baywater Properties 16 years to assemble the properties through land purchases or adding landowners to its partnership team for the project, and to win approval from Darien’s planning and zoning department. Photo Credit: Alexander Soule/Hearst CT Media
Main Street America 2022
Course Calendar Available

Access professional development made for Main Street by registering for the Main Street America Institute's Advanced Principles courses to grow your Main Street revitalization toolbox and receive guidance from experts in the field on topics ranging from sustainable organization to leadership development to quality design. These courses – offered throughout 2022 – are open to anyone who would like to attend, though Main Street America members receive a discount on course registration.

Learn more about course offerings, discounts, and registration details here.
Congratulations to the Newest Sustainable CT Certified Towns

Congratulations to the twenty-five communities who were recently celebrated for their 2021 Bronze or Silver Sustainable CT certifications at the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities (CCM) convention at Mohegan Sun.
 
Sustainable CT also introduced two new initiatives: a “Climate Leader” designation, in the planning stages for 2022; and a new Gold level certification expected in 2023.  For the Climate Leader designation, they’ve identified high impact actions that reduce greenhouse gases, and will provide extra support to help towns pursue these actions and special recognition to towns that excel as Climate Leaders. As for the new Gold designation, Sustainable CT will be soliciting the help of CT cities and towns throughout 2022 to design the next level of certification. 
Eversource Continues Its Support of Winterfest Hartford
CMSC’s Founding Sponsor, Eversource, continues its tradition of supporting Connecticut’s communities by once again being a major sponsor of Winterfest Hartford. This annual event brings free ice skating, skate rentals and skating lessons to Bushnell Park in Hartford for the holiday season. Skating began on Nov. 26 and runs through Jan. 9. The outdoor rink is open each day from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., with adjusted hours for Dec. 24, 25, 31 and Jan. 1.
 
This is the 11th year that the temporary rink has been built and is available for skating. Eversource has been a sponsor of the event every year.
Sponsorship is key to CMSC's ability to provide services to our members, and education & technical assistance to CT's downtowns. We proudly thank our many generous sponsors below.
Our Professional Affiliates are Here To Help You!
We encourage you to reach out to them directly by clicking their links.