![]() New Haven wanted to bridge the gap, pairing artists in need of space with space in need of tenants. ![]() In their efforts to revitalize the area and attract potential tenants, the city knew they first needed to increase foot traffic and make the area more active. These were particularly present in the downtown area, and the city worried this lack of commercial vitality would create a negative impression of the district and would have the potential ability to introduce other undesirable activities to the area. The national recession exacerbated what was an already a sluggish local economy, leaving many storefronts around the city empty. The city estimates that creative industries employ more than 5,600 people, or 7.3% of the workforce, spread across 440 different firms. For a city the size of Hartford, the downtown area is dense and diverse, with more than 7,500 residents in the immediate area. While the residential components of this redevelopment proved to be quite successful, the retail elements languished, leaving a series of vacant storefronts throughout this central area. Originally laid out as a nine square grid, the historic city center underwent redevelopment in the 1980s, introducing 311 apartments with ground floor retail. An active arts community and several arts organizations thrive in the local creative community. With over 125,000 residents, 11,000 university students, and a greater metropolitan population of 850,000, the city supports several commercial districts, both downtown and dispersed across the city. New Haven-home of Yale University-is Connecticut’s second largest city and known as the “Creative Capital” of the state. So, with Project Storefronts, the city connected the dots by helping to secure space for artists and arts-related businesses in the vacant storefronts. The city also noticed that while arts activities were thriving across the city they lacked permanent spaces. When New Haven, Connecticut, assessed its commercial landscape, it noticed an issue - too many empty storefronts in the Ninth Square, one of its central districts. Photo courtesy of Project Storefronts New Haven How can artists make empty storefronts become catalysts for economic revitalization?
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