While attending the University of Hartford, Julie worked as an intern for Upper Albany Main Street MDC Clean Water Project.  She was recently promoted to Assistant Project Manager at Diggs Construction.

Ophthalmologist, Medical Director: Richard A. Fichman, M.D.,

“God fortunately has given me a gift…the gift of microsurgery. Eyesight is one of the most precious gifts I can think of. That’s why it gives me great personal satisfaction to give the gift of sight to my patients through the latest surgical techniques.”

“When it comes to specialized eye care, time is often as important as skill. We’re ready to handle emergencies anytime—24 hours a day, seven days a week. Because we know that sometimes quick action can keep a trauma from becoming a tragedy.”

Click here to view Dr. Fichman’s credentials and bio.

Visit Connecticut Main Street Center to view Dr. Fichman’s award announcement.

Click to watch this video

www.paychex.com

ldaly@paychex.com

The Upper Albany Main Street (UAMS)/Micro-Business Incubator (MBI) is excited to present today’s guest speaker to the current MBI class, Mrs. Nadine Francis West. Mrs. West is the Vice President and Chief Administration, Finance and Governance for the Metro Hartford Alliance. The information that Mrs. West provided had the students on the edge of their seats. Listening with interest the class learned of new initiatives that the Metro Hartford Alliance is executing currently. The Graduate!CT, (http://www.metrohartford.com/initiatives/graduate-ct) were professionals can seek guidance on furthering their education. Also, the Hartford Young Professionals and Entrepreneurs (HYPE) initiative was mention and of course many questions were asked. One such question was asked by Monique Smalls “Mrs. West how does one become a member of HYPE?” Mrs. West of course explained the process of contacting the Executive Director of HYPE and as a University of Hartford student membership is free; the main purposes of HYPE is attracting and retaining talent in the Hartford region, for further readings please visit the HYPE website (http://www.metrohartford.com/initiatives/hype). Mrs. West also spoke of the Strategic Plan 2012-2013 titled “Sustain the Core Seize New Opportunities”, further information can be found at, (http://www.metrohartford.com/initiatives/strategic-plan). Finally Mrs. West finished this most enlightening presentation by speaking about the many other programs and initiatives at the Metro Hartford Alliance such as the; Micro-Business Incubator, BusinessLINC Connecticut, and the newest initiative called LiveHartford. LiveHartford (http://www.livehartford.org/) is an initiative to help professionals stay and live in Hartford, which is a very diversified and Historic city. We thank Mrs. West for her time and most exciting presentation.

D. Mr. Hashmi is a very successful serial Entrepreneur. He spoke with the student that currently in the Micro-Business incubator program about his organization “Pure foods Management”. The different issues that franchisees face on a day to day basis and what to look for if someone wants to become a franchisee. Some of the points that were talked about were How do you start a franchise, Advantages/Disadvantages, Location’s and Buying or leasing. Everyone was very enthusiastic and there were many follow up questions asked.

The Development Services Department, under the leadership of the Mayor Pedro E. Segarra and under the direction of Thomas E. Deller, AICP, in collaboration with the residents of Connecticut’s Capital City, oversees the development of the City. The Development Services Department is charged with helping to craft an action plan that is consistent with the Mayor’s vision for future infrastructure improvements and job development opportunities and working to make that vision a reality. The Department is comprised of six divisions: Administration, Economic Development, Licenses & Inspections, Housing & Property Management, Planning, and Marketing Events & Cultural Affairs. Each of the divisions work together to ensure the improvement of quality of life in our neighborhoods and community by focusing on high quality public spaces, ensuring building and occupant safety, increasing homeownership, supporting the business environment, maximizing job retention, providing residents and visitors with enjoyable opportunities through public arts and events.

Vision:

The Development Services Department vision is: To create a vibrant, livable, and sustainable City

Mission:

The Development Services Department mission is: To improve the quality of life in our neighborhoods and community by focusing on high quality public spaces, ensuring building and occupant safety, increasing homeownership, supporting the business environment, maximizing job retention, providing residents and visitors with enjoyable opportunities through public arts and events.

Values:

The Development Services Department values are: Excellence, Integrity, Collaboration, Accountability, Efficiency, Commitment, and Respect.

Strategic Plan Initiatives for FY 2012-2013

• Implement “One City One Plan” through the integration of planning grants, livable sustainable neighborhoods initiatives and the i-Quilt

• Implement & develop the comprehensive housing strategy to maximize homeownership & affordable housing opportunities

• Implement online permitting system

• Foster Small Business Development and Entrepreneurship

• Provide residents and visitors with enjoyable opportunities, improve quality of life and promote City of  Hartford as a destination city through arts and culture.

The Development Services Department is working with many different projects which are in diverse stages of completion and ongoing at this time. We regularly update a Current Projects List, which provides information about development within the City limits. For specific questions or more details, please contact the project managers listed in the Project Updates Report. Click below to download a copy of the Current Projects Updates.

Current Project Updates

Working together, we will improve our neighborhoods, grow jobs and expand Hartford’s economy. Here are several of immediate goals that we hope to address:

• Making our permitting process more predictable and reducing the time it takes to get a permit.

• Working with the Department of Public Works to accelerate the neighborhood streetscape projects funded through our capital improvement program and aggressively implementing the Intermodal Triangle funded by the recently awarded TIGER IV grant.

• Collaboratingwith the Livable and Sustainable Neighborhoods Initiative team to focus resources in a manner that is consistent with individual neighborhood development plans and make our many diverse communities great places to live and raise a family.

We look forward to working with you to make Hartford the Capital City that not only every resident in Hartford and in the region is proud of, but the entire state sees as progressive leader in economic development and increased opportunity.

Sincerely,

(January 30, 2013) – Over the next several days, Mayor Pedro E. Segarra will be joined by representatives of the Urban Land Institute, planners and urban design specialists from across the country and officials from the cities of Tacoma (WA), Louisville (KY) and Austin (TX) to inspect and tour the Albany Avenue corridor in order to develop suggested development strategies at four node points, including at the critical intersections of Woodland and Homestead. The tour culminates on Friday with a full presentation of the findings at the Artists Collective, located at 1200 Albany Avenue, from 9am to 11am. Last year, Mayor Segarra was selected by ULI as a Daniel Rose Fellow, which involves a year-long program centered on innovative urban development.

[View the group's full presentation (PDF, 7.1MB)]

“We used Albany Avenue as the case study because it has a significant volume of traffic every day, serves as a connector to Hartford from surrounding areas and has all the essential components for a vibrant commercial corridor.  It needs to be a destination, not a place one simply drives through.  Strategic planning from professionals of this caliber that costs the Capital City absolutely no money will leverage that traffic, drive retail and business development and create a thriving and vibrant corridor,” said Mayor Segarra.

The Rose Fellows team from the City of Hartford includes:

• Thomas Deller, Director of Development Services
• Brandon McGee, State Representative for the 5th District
• Steven Bonafonte, Partner at Pullman & Comley and Chairman of the Hartford Redevelopment Agency

For more information on the City of Hartford’s study, please visit the study’s page on the Urban Land Institute website. Biographies of all site review participants attached.

The Daniel Rose Fellowship is the flagship program of the ULI Daniel Rose Center, established in 2008 by the ULI Foundation Governor Daniel Rose.  The Center aims to empower leaders in the public sector to envision, build and sustain successful 21st century communities by providing access to information, best practices, peer networks and other resources to foster creative, efficient and sustainable land use practices.

About the Urban Land Institute:

The Urban Land Institute (www.uli.org) is a nonprofit education and research institute supported by its members. Its mission is to provide leadership in the responsible use of land and in creating and sustaining thriving communities worldwide. Established in 1936, the Institute has nearly 30,000 members worldwide representing all aspects of land use and development disciplines. Hartford is within the ULI Boston/ New England District Council.