[RunD1987]

Originally Posted by ctguy87

Willow St, Baldwin St? Scary, and you wouldn't want your kid living there.

East Mountain, Waterville, Country Club? Middle class and quiet.

The problem is the reputation, taxes, and schools in attracting middle class people into the city.

Derby and Ansonia are very blue collar, with middle class in the Hilltop neighborhood. They are almost stuck in time with little new development. I'd say they've declined in the last 10 years or so as those who are better off migrate to Oxford/Shelton.

Lived in Waterbury ever since was a young one. Moved out to Naugy for a few year's back now. Waterbury has changed unfortunately really hope one day can improve. Taxes are too high, feel it's an unsafe ciry, and not much going on. If I have to go to the mall I go up to Farmington, Danbury, or Meriden if going to the movies go to Southington. I think they needed to reinvent the green, but that never came to fruition.

There are some great hidden eats in Waterbury as well as two breweries.

[ctguy87]

Originally Posted by NedSage58

It's unfortunate that Ansonia and especially Derby have failed to use their central location to their advantage. Oxford and Shelton, in the 80s to about 2000, have always had similar household incomes. In the past decade, Oxford has gotten far more affluent (HHI at $104k) with Shelton gaining slightly ($81k). Oxford's HHI is double that of Derby and Ansonia, and I'm not sure I'd even put Shelton in the same league as Oxford after seeing the numbers. There are definitely two "Valleys" when it comes to socioeconomics - maybe three!

Oxford had room to grow and was always rural, while Ansonia and Derby were urban/industrial with no room to expand as the 2 smallest towns in the state. Ansonia/Derby were also devastated by the flood of 55, which even 60 years later leaves an impact (The housing projects built on flood destroyed land in Ansonia have only been closed down within the last 5 years.)

Shelton has room to grow outward, and has, but started urban/industrial which still lingers, dragging down HHI. The areas of Shelton closer to Monroe/Trumbull are very desirable (Huntington and White Hills.)

Seymour is a good microcosm of the valley. Still has it's blue collar areas, but has development representing each boom/bust cycle, with the most recent commanding home prices pushing 400K.

[NedSage58]

I agree re: Seymour. It has a little of everything. Working, middle and upper middle class. Not a high level of poverty and not many "upper" class, making it a relatively middle class town. Downtown still needs some work and I'm not wild about the zoning enforcement (or lack thereof), but overall it has gotten better in recent years.

Next project should be re-working route 67 from downtown Seymour to the Oxford line. I think we will see a slight relief once the Oxford town center is constructed, as Oxford residents won't have to burden Seymour with their traffic. Time will tell.

[7express]

Derby needs a lot more help than one, 19 story tall building, to revive the city.

[gmdealerguy]

Originally Posted by 7express

Derby needs a lot more help than one, 19 story tall building, to revive the city.

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I agree.....We do live in Derby but we live in the area behind Lowes/WalMart.......It's like another world compared to the area near city hall. I don't mean that to sound snobby either or that is full of crime......I actually never hear anything major crime related in Derby. I think that whole section needs revitalizing. The area I live in is surrounded by nice homes with friendly, family oriented, working class people. We love where we live. Lots of cities have nice parts and not so nice parts. I am just a few hundred feet from the border of Orange and we do our shopping mostly in Milford and Orange and Shelton. Derby needs something because it is actually a nice place to live. Just clean up the main city a bit.

[BPt111]

Derby’s downtown headed for change

DERBY — As the sun sets on a dreary winter afternoon, the desolation of southern Main Street belies what was once a bustling past — and what is hoped to be a promising future.
“I had three customers today,” said Kathleen Conroy-Cass on a particulary slow day last week. Conroy-Cass operates the St. Anthony Book and Gift shop—one of only three businesses still open on that side of Main Street.
It’s been decades since the factory whistles sounded at the long gone Farrell plant and Hull Dye factory, sending scores of workers onto the street window shopping at iconic businesses like the Howard & Barber department store, Vonetes’ Palace of Sweets or Hubbell Brothers shoes. Their buildings have long been demolished replaced by fenced off vacant lots.
Today, only Conroy-Cass’s St. Anthony’s, Oliwa Home Supply tile and stone, and Calvert Safe and Locks — which bills itself as New England’s largest supplier — remain open on that side of the street.


Derby

[ctguy87]

The rest of the buildings on that side of the street were demolished about a decade ago for development that never came. I'm not sure if 34 needs to be 4 lanes there - it gets reduced to 2 as soon as you hit the Derby/Shelton bridge anyway. Downtown Derby is physically attractive (beautiful old buildings) - but not exactly desirable and faces common urban problems of drugs/crime.

I envision future development to be walled off and anti-urban to make it marketable.

[kidyankee764]

The article makes downtown Derby sound like it's as desolate as an abandoned town in Nebraska. There is regular bumper to bumper traffic snaking through downtown. Lots of vehicle traffic. They just have to make the place visually appealing because once it starts to crumble, desirability fades fast. Broken window theory definitely applies here. Fix it up and it will flourish - the area is ripe for economic development. City leaders and residents alike have to show some sort of progression, and that hasn't been the case in decades.

[Mike 75]

It would also be greatly helped by upgrading the Waterbury line.

[ctguy87]

Originally Posted by kidyankee764

The article makes downtown Derby sound like it's as desolate as an abandoned town in Nevraska. There is regular bumper to bumper traffic snaking through downtown. Lots of vehicle traffic. They just have to make the place visually appealing because once it starts to crumble, desirability fades fast. Broken window theory definitely applies here. Fix it up and it will flourish - the area is ripe for economic development. City leaders and residents alike have to show some sort of progression, and that hasn't been the case in decades.

What do you do with the low income residents who live downtown? It's not as simple as you think. The bumper to bumper traffic is from people trying to get onto Route 8 or follow 34 into New Haven. The only stopping people do downtown is for Home Depot. Fixing it up is a logical first step, but it will take a lot more to make it 'flourish.' The only desirable area of Derby (and neighboring Ansonia) is hilltop - another world compared to downtown Derby.