CHAPTER 7 – ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Introduction

The economic health of most communities largely depends upon their ability to attract, "grow" and retain business and industry. Commercial, industrial and office developments generate considerable revenues from taxes and fees, provide jobs for residents of the community and the region, and often require fewer public services than residential development. Among the factors that typically influence the location of business and industry are housing and transportation costs, the availability of a suitable labor force, land prices, taxes and even local quality of life (e.g., the quality of a community's schools and the availability of cultural and recreational resources).

This chapter summarizes the key features of Bristol's economic base and labor force, their relationship to the region, and the nature and direction of future economic development efforts in the city.

• Connecticut Department of Labor
• United States Department of Labor
• Cushman & Wakefield
• Bottom Line Report, Year-end 1998, CB Richard Ellis
• 1997 Demographics USA – City Edition, Market Statistics, 1997
• 1990 Census Transportation Planning Package

• If Bristol is to maintain its economic and spatial integrity, it must promote well-balanced development that buffers the city's residents and tax base from the vicissitudes of economic cycles.
• Situated within the western suburban sub-market of greater Hartford County, the city is reasonably well-located with respect to attracting future office development, except for the fact that it lacks direct access to an interstate highway. To date, demand for office space in this sub-market has largely been met by communities closer to Hartford, such as Avon and Farmington.
• Both the mid-1990's relocation of CIGNA HealthCare's back offices to the city and the expansion of ESPN's broadcasting network and production center offer evidence of Bristol's ability to compete for the growing demand for office space. An unmet demand also exists for first-class office space in units of 5,000-10,000 square feet, largely by law firms, accountants and other professionals.
• In 1998, the western suburban sub-market of greater Hartford County contained 8.1 million square feet of industrial floor space, of which 1.6 million square feet (22 percent of the total) was vacant. Bristol accounted for 71 percent of this vacant space, primarily contained in the former New Departure manufacturing plant on James P. Casey Road.
• Some of the city's vacant industrial space is considered outmoded by modern industrial standards. Older, multi-story buildings often have inefficient layouts not conducive to the flexible space needs of smaller manufacturers; in addition, many pre-1970 industrial sites may require environmental cleanup and remediation.
• Bristol contains more than 100 acres of vacant industrial land, already subdivided and serviced with public water, sanitary and storm sewers, gas, telephone and electric utilities.
• The greater Hartford retail market is dominated by large regional shopping malls such as Westfarms Mall in Farmington / West Hartford and by "power centers" and "big box" retailers such as those found along the Berlin Turnpike and in Buckland Commons in Manchester. These contemporary developments provide substantial free parking, a complete range of goods and services, a breadth of convenience items, and coordinated marketing services; their success is also due in part to the maximum exposure offered by interstate highway accessibility. They have largely replaced downtown Hartford as the region's retail center and have eclipsed both smaller downtowns – such as Bristol's – and local convenience centers struggling with smaller buildings and inferior parking or access.
• Bristol contains approximately 2.3 million square feet of commercial floor space, located primarily in strip shopping centers along the eastern portion of Route 6 and in downtown Bristol. Other, smaller retail facilities are scattered elsewhere throughout the city, primarily along Route 72, Pine Street and the western portion of Route 6. Most of the city's newer residential areas lack neighborhood-oriented retail stores and services.
• An analysis of buying power in Bristol and neighboring towns indicates that significant retail demand is generated by local residents and still more is captured by local retail outlets. Forecasts indicate that, for the period 1997-2002, retail sales in Bristol will experience a 16 percent increase, even with a stable population and household market. This suggests that, although the character of the retail market may change, retail vacancies are expected to remain at relatively low levels in the large shopping centers on Route 6 and in the downtown.
• Bristol's economy entered the service-based information age with the structural transformation from manufacturing to service industries that occurred in the mid-1990's, symbolized locally by the closing of the New Departure manufacturing plant – with its remaining 500 blue-collar and managerial jobs – and the expansion of ESPN's network broadcasting and production facility – with its 1,200 white-collar and high-technology telecommunication jobs.
• The traditional manufacturing sector of Bristol's economy has been on the decline since 1979. However, instead of three or four large manufacturers, the city now has a greater number of small manufacturers, who continue to flourish. Numbering some 200 firms with approximately 4,400 employees, manufacturing in Bristol is primarily concentrated in fabricated metals and machinery.
• Total non-farm employment in Bristol reached 19,800 jobs on an annual average basis in 1997. Manufacturing accounted for only 22 percent of that total, down sharply from 44 percent in 1980 and 29 percent in 1987. Employment in the wholesale and retail trade sector remained relatively unchanged over the last ten years; at the same time, the service sector expanded rapidly, adding one third more jobs since 1989. The fastest growth rate occurred in the communications and utilities sector – the number of jobs more than doubling between 1993 and 1997 – while jobs in construction, transportation and, to a lesser extent, financial services and government remained relatively stable. (See Figure 7-1.)
• In 1973, there were approximately 22,900 Bristol residents in the civilian labor force. As of year-end 1998, that number was estimated to be 31,500, of which 30,400 were gainfully employed on a full- or part-time basis. Only 1,100 residents were reported as unemployed, for a jobless rate of 3.5 percent, a historic low for the last quarter-century and on a par with the State of Connecticut as a whole. (See Figure 7-2.)
• The increase in the size of Bristol's labor force has been partially due to demographic changes. Whereas the size of the city's population increased only 9 percent between 1970 and 1990, the number of Bristol residents in the workforce grew 40 percent during a roughly comparable 20-year period (1973 to 1993). This growth can be attributed in part to the dramatic increase in female participation in the labor force and the economic need for a two-worker household.
• In the past, a greater proportion of those persons living in Bristol also worked in Bristol, and a much closer balance existed between the supply of local job opportunities and the demand for those jobs met by the city's resident workforce. In 1980, for example, approximately one-half of all employed Bristol residents worked in the city, while the other half worked in neighboring communities. However, out-of-town job opportunities now play an increasingly important role in meeting the employment demands of Bristol's resident workforce. In 1990, only 39 percent (12,550 persons) of all employed Bristol residents worked in the city, while the remaining 61 percent (19,800 persons) worked elsewhere. (See Figures 7-3 and 7-4.)
• Between 1980 and 1990, the city's labor force experienced the greatest growth in its college-educated workers. In turn, these gains concentrated resident labor force growth in white-collar occupations, particularly managerial and professional roles. Whereas 45 percent fewer city residents were employed in manufacturing in 1990 than in 1980, 59 percent more worked in financial services and 50 percent more worked in other professional services. One result has been a rise in the per capita income of Bristol residents, increasing 25 percent between 1990 and 1998, from $16,909 to $21,174 in current dollars.
• It is important to retain and stabilize the city's existing manufacturing base; in addition, the near-term outlook for growth in Bristol's economy rests upon its ability to attract regional- and national-market service industries (e.g., information-oriented corporate services, financial and business services). The city's advantages lie with its strong work ethic, growing educational and occupational attainment, quality of life as a place to live, and ability to attract and retain skilled white-collar workers.

Maintain and improve the economic base of the city in order to enhance its reputation as a desirable place in which to live, work and raise a family.

1. Encourage a stable, diversified tax base.

2. Re-establish the downtown as a major component of the city's economic base.

6. Prohibit business expansion onto residential side streets.

7. Recognize the southeast section of the city along the Route 229 corridor as Bristol's major industrial area.

9. Encourage the retention and expansion of existing business and industry in the city.

10. Encourage the growth of the office and service sectors of the local economy.

12. Encourage the inclusion of small businesses, arts and crafts, and cottage industry trades as part of the local economy.

13. Where appropriate, encourage the adaptive re-use of older industrial buildings.

5. Improve the gateway entrances into the city.

6. Continue to regulate the size and number of new signs.

Figure 7-2. Comparative Unemployment Rates, 1973-1998, City of Bristol and State of Connecticut