Riding a wave of successful efforts to keep East Haven an attractive place for businesses, the East Haven Economic Development Commission and Economic Director Michelle Benivegna are looking to keep that current rippling.

The town has already seen many new services flock to East Haven in just the last year, with 64 LLCs registering with the Assessor’s office in 2022, according to Benivegna.

Despite nearby big box stores, Benivegna said support for local businesses has been notable. Benivegna pointed to the longstanding Goody’s Hardware still attracting residential customers.

“It’s that customer service. It’s the investment in that community. They want to support them. Those are the things that set East Haven apart,” she said.

Wanting for local businesses to flourish continuously, Benivegna encourages residents to always ask, “How can I help? How can I help my neighbor?” Her answer? “Always support local [businesses] if you can.”

Benivegna is preparing a “business breakdown” that she will present to the commission. The presentation will show the scale of business development in town since 2019. The purpose is to create an overview “to see the growth in our town of how many businesses have come how many have left and try to get a glimpse of what our economic outlook is for the town: where we’ve been, how we’re doing and then you know what, what are areas that we can work on moving forward,” said Benivegna.

But amidst the successes and arrivals of new and old businesses, challenges are still being faced by the Economic Development Commission.

Challenges and Solutions

Labor shortages across Connecticut have impacted many towns and their industries, including East Haven and its local businesses. In response to that statewide endemic, one of the biggest pushes for economic development in East Haven is the continued collaboration between the town, its industries, and students in career and technical education programming at East Haven High School (EHHS).

Because some students may have no interest in pursuing higher education, they can immediately enter the workforce after graduation with trade and technical skills they garnered in the courses taught in fields such as engineering, hospitality, and media production.

Benivegna said one of the unique development challenges for the town is related to its geography. Specifically, “how the layout of our town affects our economic development,” she specified.

“We’re a long, narrow town. We have two primary areas that people want [for development]: Main Street and Route 80…if you drive up and down Main Street, we don’t have a lot of real estate available,” said Benivegna.

But this presents itself as another positive opportunity “to embrace East Haven for what East Haven is,” rather than look to other towns for what their own individual strengths are.

“Instead of trying to become something we’re not, let’s look at what we have. Let’s look at our strengths, and let’s build upon it,” said Benivegna.

The commission has embraced the town’s layout with beautification projects. Along Main Street, they are looking to partner with businesses along the route in investing and growing plant life. The commission is also determined to complete the final phase of the West End Sidewalk Improvement Project, which will give the town center “a much-needed facelift” with trees, lamp posts, and new brick sidewalks, all with a historic look.

Making East Haven a physically attractive location for business has its financial benefits for the town, according to Benivegna, lowering tax rates for families and keeping it an affordable place to live.

Filling vacant lots that are privately owned presents an additional challenge for the commission. Benivegna said the commission is planning on making some “big announcements” in the next few weeks regarding new retail in the Foxon Road area, which she said will be a “tremendous asset to the town.”

Spreading the Word

Aside from beautifying parts of town, communication and marketing with various media will also play an important role in attracting new businesses. Aligned with the goals of CTE programming, the commission plans to create a “business spotlight” promotional video with students from the technology department at EHHS. The video will feature visits to three businesses, Goodies Hardware, One World Roaster, and the recently opened Transilvania Restaurant.

“We’re going to visit, tour, interview the owners, and talk about why they picked East Haven,” said Benivegna. “[We’ll ask] ‘why do you feel that your business is growing here in East Haven,’ because I think it would help other businesses to relate and see from a business owner’s perspective.”

The video is planned to be completed around the first week of April, while another tourist-based video made with EGGS students is planned for early fall of this year.

Following the EHHS-co-produced video, Benivegna said the town plans to partner with East Haven TV (ETV) following the conclusion of the current academic year for another “business spotlight” video to broadcast on ETV’s channel.

Building the town’s social media is another major goal for the commission in promoting town industry and activities and being more attentive to the needs and wants of residents, from the beach area to the Town Green. Collaboration with the East Haven Chamber of Commerce and its represented businesses will also constantly boost economic activity, craft attraction to the town, and ultimately establish a worthwhile road to follow for a promising economic future.

“We’re going to continue to rebrand East Haven so that people know that this is a town to choose for their business to thrive,” Benivegna said. “East Haven is an amazing community. And it’s unfortunate that, you know, we still have a long way to go. But we’ve definitely made a lot of progress in the last few years.”