Founded in 1646, New London is a small historic waterfront city located in southeastern Connecticut. The city’s population is a mere 27,500 however there was a time when New London was well known because it had the second busiest port in the world after New Bedford, MA. Today, New London is known for submarines and the coast guard. The city is home to the Naval Submarine Base at New London, the US Coast Guard Academy, and Electric Boat which is the nation’s primary producer of submarines. The city is home to a charming and historic downtown full of shops, restaurants, and galleries, a cruise ship terminal, and has a train station serviced by Amtrak and Shore Line East.
The defense industry is the true economic force in southeastern Connecticut. A 2005 study by the CT Department of Economic and Community Development determined that the Naval Base and Electric Boat contributed approximately $3.3 billion dollars to the state’s Gross State Product and are responsible for 31,500 direct and indirect jobs in the state. If you live in the area more likely than not you know someone who is associated with the navy base.
Every couple of years the dreaded words Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) are brought up and southeastern Connecticut residents sit on edge. This year Pentagon chief Leon Lanetta and President Obama are working to shrink the Army, push off several equipment purchases, and possibly close bases and that could include New London. My Connecticut readers must surely remember the fight to get base off the list in 2005. Last week US Senators Joseph Lieberman (I-CT) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) as well as US Representative Joe Courtney (D-CT, 02) released a statement calling any plan to close the base “dead on arrival” in Congress.
New London on a BRAC list is nothing new and it will probably happen again. It’s time for the region to start planning on what to do if the base is closed. New London survived after its demise as a whaling city and even though the loss of the base would be catastrophic the city will keep on chugging. New London is centrally located between New York and Boston and is only 30 minutes from Providence and 40 minutes from Hartford. Besides its location, charming quaint streets, and small town feel the city of New London is extremely affordable and has an unemployment rate just below the national average (8.2% in November, 2011). The potential for the continued revitalization of New London with or without the base is great. There is no reason why New London cannot become a hub for starts ups similar to the way in which Providence is working to become a technology hub with their new Knowledge District.
With the proper incentives and marketing New London, Groton, and nearby Norwich could all become home to a plethora of small and mid-sized start-ups. The Connecticut General Assembly passed a bipartisan jobs bill in 2011 that creates tax credits for employers who create new jobs which can help attract new businesses and help current ones expand.
For far too long eastern Connecticut has put all of its eggs into one basket and this has been a recipe for failure and will continue to result in failure unless their economy is diversified. The nation’s two largest casinos (Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun) were built in southeastern Connecticut and now due to the economy revenue is down significantly. In the small town of Preston a developer promised to turn the vacant Norwich Hospital site into a movie studio theme park with 4000+ hotel rooms, a performing arts school, and a movie studio. The site along the Thames River still sits completely abandoned within eyesight of the 34 story Mohegan Sun Sky Tower. In New London itself drug giant Pfizer threw a punch to the city in 2009 when the company announced it would take 1400 jobs out of the city and move them to neighboring Groton to cut costs. They will leave behind the city’s largest office complex and an adjacent swath of open land that was cleared of homes to make room for development. Pfizer was lured to New London with tax incentives to build a headquarters for its research division. Pfizer spent $294 million on a 750,000-square-foot complex that opened in 2001.
As an example for New London I am now going to turn to Brooklyn, NY. The Brooklyn Navy Yard was decommissioned by the government in 1966 and although it has taken a number of years the navy yard has been transformed into a bustling industrial park that has brought much needed jobs to the community and serves as an economic catalyst for the entire city. According to the Brooklyn Navy Yard Corporation, Mayor Bloomberg and BNYDC “have announced an eight-building expansion including over 1.7 million square feet of new industrial space, 2,000 new jobs and $250 million in private investment. Plans to develop an additional 40 acres are under way.” The yard is home to Steiner Studios which opened 2004 on a 15-acre site at the yard. The 310,000- square-foot complex provides New York City with its first Hollywood-style production and support facility. The navy yard can serve as a blueprint for how to reinvigorate the economy in southeastern Connecticut and how to reuse large abandoned spaces. Connecticut has a set of film tax credits that have already drawn some major shows to relocate to the state.
If New London avoids closure this year the state of Connecticut as well as neighboring Rhode Island cannot ignore the base until the next BRAC list comes out. Unfortunately, this is what happened in 2005. Ways to diversify the economy must be examined and implemented. I’ll continue to monitor the BRAC discussions and decisions. It will be interesting to see what leverage the current Congressional delegation from CT as well as the Executive Branch in CT will be able to pull in these talks.
And if you don't believe me about how cool New London is take a look at some pictures I took back in the fall.
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