Mold Remediation in Stamford, CT

National book seller Barnes & Noble will continue its expansion in Connecticut, adding a store in Stamford's High Ridge Shopping Center next spring.

Janine Flannigan, the company's vice president of store planning and design, said the new store would be located at 1145 High Ridge Road in a space formerly occupied by the shoe retailer DSW. The High Ridge Road location will be Barnes & Noble's second in the city — the retailer also has a location in the Stamford Town Center mall.

Flannigan said the store is tentatively scheduled to open in May 2025. The new store will be spread across two levels, she said, and include a cafe.

The addition of a second Stamford store is the latest inclusion in Barnes & Noble's expansion plans in Connecticut.

The chain has a store under construction at the Shops at Stonebridge in Cheshire, the retail component of a mixed use complex being developed at the intersection of Route 10 and Interstate 691. Barnes & Noble is also planning to open a new store in the Southbury Green Shopping Center.

All three stores are scheduled to open next spring, according to Flannigan.

There are currently 13 Barnes & Noble locations around Connecticut. The company opened a new store in Meriden's Townline Square Shopping Center on Route 5.

Barnes & Noble closed about 150 store nationwide in the 2010s, including a Connecticut store in Norwalk. But in 2019, the company was acquired by a British hedge fund, Elliot Advisors Ltd. for $683 million. Flanigan said Elliot Advisors has been investing heavily in expanding Barnes & Noble's physical footprint.

Burt Flickinger, managing director of the New York City-based retail consulting firm Strategic Resource Group, said the stores Barnes & Noble is currently opening average about 18,000 square feet, which is smaller than stores they were opening a decade ago.

"It's a sweet spot in terms of gross leasing area," Flickinger said. "It allows them to pick up space in retail centers where other business have failed. Doing that means they don't have to go with new build locations.

"Connecticut is an attractive market for them because the state has an inordinately high degree of education and literacy," he said. "The state has some seriously thoughtful consumers."

Stamford will receive $6.8 million for improvements to Boccuzzi Park, Cummings Park and West Beach.

Richard Kaufman, Patch Staff

Stamford will receive $6.8 million for Boccuzzi Park, Cummings Park and West Beach.

According to an announcement from Lamont's office, $1.8 million will be put toward Boccuzzi Park, which will include the addition of a splash pad, the creation of a new multi-use field and event space, as well as a new dog park and basketball court. The city will also upgrade its existing children’s playground, create additional parking and install new landscaping throughout the park.

Find out what's happening in Stamfordwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

State Rep. Corey Paris (D-145) said "investing in the health, well-being, and future of our communities."

"The funding for Boccuzzi Park and Cummings Park in Stamford will transform these spaces into vibrant hubs for recreation and connection, while addressing the lingering effects of Superstorm Sandy," Paris said in a news release. "I’m proud to support this critical investment in our city’s infrastructure and quality of life. I want to thank the Land and Water Conservation Fund and DEEP for their commitment to ensuring all families have access to safe, modern outdoor spaces."

State Sen. Patricia Billie Miller (D-27) said the city's parks "dramatically improve our quality of life and they are a big reason why our city is among the fastest-growing communities in our state."

"It is critical that we invest in preserving and enhancing these spaces for future generations," she added in a news release. "I’m thrilled to see this $6.8 million investment, which will support significant improvements like new playgrounds, sports courts, and much-needed repairs. This funding will ensure that our parks remain valuable resources for Stamford families to enjoy for years to come."

The funds are provided through the Land and Water Conservation Fund – Outdoor Recreation legacy Partnership grants program (LWCF-ORLP), a nationally competitive program that provides matching grants to cities for park projects in underserved communities.

The Department of Energy and Environmental Protection partnered with each of the municipalities to secure the awards.

"Investing in urban parks is a no brainer," U.S. Rep. Jim Himes (CT-4) said in a news release. "They provide places for families to gather and children to play, as well as help improve air quality and lower temperatures in our cities. This nearly $8 million investment will tangibly impact people’s lives in Stamford and Bridgeport by transforming these public lands into beautiful, accessible areas of recreation where communities can come together and rejoice in all the outdoors has to offer."

U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) said he "will continue fighting for federal investments to reinvigorate and develop Connecticut’s outdoor spaces."

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More from Stamford

As an Opinion editor, I argue for a living.

But I’ve seldom enjoyed an argument as much as one I had when I was city editor, debating the merits of a story over a certain Alive@Five concert act in Stamford in 2003.

The concert series — which will not return in 2025 — was hitting its stride in its eighth summer two decades ago. Some of the name acts had local connections. Southside Johnny lived in Stamford for a spell. Former Saturday Night Live bandleader G.E. Smith was once a New Haven resident and been married to comic icon Gilda Radner, who resided in Stamford. Tom Tom Club featured longtime Connecticut residents Tina Weymouth and Chris Frantz of Talking Heads.

But on this day I was challenging the promotion of the summer 2003 lineup, specifically “ABBA: The Music.”

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Lynne Colatrella, who produced the Alive@Five shows for the last 25 years, was trying to see my point. Our stories in the Stamford Advocate branded the headliner as a cover band. She countered that the act included ABBA touring members.

I humbly disagreed, since said musicians were saxophonist Ulf Andersson and guitarist Mats Ronander.

“ABBA is an acronym from the singers’ names,” I explained (though I still don’t own any ABBA albums). “Agnetha, Benny, Bjorn and Anni-Frid …

“You don’t have any of them. You don’t have ABB. You don’t have BA. You don’t even have A.”

I was starting to sound like a Seussian rapper. It seemed appropriate that Ulf and Mats produced “UM.” You can’t promise ABBA and deliver UM. If Benny or Bjorn had signed up, they could be billed as “BUM.” (I always thought they should have stuck with Anni-Frid’s nickname, Frida, and dubbed themselves the FABB Four.)

Lynne acknowledged she could see my point (because debates were more affable 20 years ago).

At the show, our coverage leaned into the “Fake ABBA” theme, interviewing attendees who believed one of the best-selling music acts of all time was returning after two decades for a free gig in a Connecticut suburb.

“I didn't know, but I don't particularly care," one fan commented. "If they said it was the Rolling Stones and it wasn't Mick Jagger up there, maybe I'd be a little upset."

The Stamford Downtown Special Services District crew did not give a standing ovation to the article’s snarky tone. A meeting was requested, as the newspaper was not only a member of the DSSD, but a sponsor of the concert series.

It wasn’t that I feared this would be my (ahem) “Waterloo.” I just dreaded having to go to more meetings.

Longtime DSSD impresario Sandy Goldstein made it clear to my peers and superiors that she didn’t blame me for the article, since a freelancer wrote it.

“Actually, he’s on staff now,” I informed her.

Sandy slapped the table like whatever member of real or fake ABBA banged the drums. “You hired him after that article!” she exclaimed as only Sandy could.

“Mamma Mia,” I internally muttered.

ABBAgate passed. Longtime Advocate Sports Editor Bob Kennedy kept making wisecracks that we better not spoil the Drifters’ show that would conclude the series a few weeks later. I didn’t raise the volume that only one member of the Drifters remained from the band’s heyday (though a features department colleague wrote that the band had “a history so complex you'd need to be a genealogy major to get an accurate picture of everyone who has come and gone”).

Alive@Five went on to host increasingly bigger acts, including Third Eye Blind, the B-52s, Shaggy, Boyz II Men, Wynonna Judd and Hootie and the Blowfish. That’s quite an ascent from a series that launched in 1997 with the Next Door Café Jam Band covering James Brown and Wilson Pickett. That was so long ago it was called Alive at 5. (Fun fact: @ is called a “snabel a” in ABBA’s native tongue. “Snabel” translates to “elephant’s trunk.”)

Our first Alive at 5 story featured a photo of an 82-year-old literally kicking up her heels … because there was plenty of spare space in Columbus Park in those days. But the audiences would come. The series moved to Mill River Park across the street four years ago, and long ago outlived its original intent of drawing the daytime population to Stamford’s downtown. There have been far more serious controversies than ABBAgate — including underage drinking — but DSSD’s team has reliably responded with remedies.

Much of the credit for the series’ success belongs to Lynne Colatrella. I also can’t really claim victory in our 2003 debate. These days, most concert venues in the area thrive on faux bands. Ridgefield Playhouse’s calendar includes tributes to the Beatles, the Stones, Billy Joel, the Bee Gees, Johnny Cash and Genesis. The Palace in Danbury offers salutes to the Eagles and a joint Foreigner/Journey Tribute Show. It’s getting harder to tell the original performers from the pretenders at the Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, N.Y., but I’m pretty sure that’s not the real Taylor Swift on the bill.

Even Agnetha, Benny, Bjorn and Anni-Frid got into the act, licensing computer-generated “ABBAtars” to perform in their name at a London residency. That hasn’t stopped ABBA: The Music, either, as they’ve remained on the road decades longer than the band that inspired them.

If fans keep showing up, who am I to argue? Eventually, all music can only endure live through tributes. Send in the clones.

John Breunig is editorial page editor. jbreunig@hearstmediact.com; twitter.com/johnbreunig.

Dec 8, 2024

Editorial Page Editor

John Breunig is an editorial page editor with Hearst Connecticut Media Group. Having worked as a reporter, photographer, city editor, managing editor, page designer and sports editor, John has started work at every hour of the day at one time or another. His wife cracks wise that as a Jesuit-educated Libra, John weighs all sides and takes far too long to make any decision. Naturally, that has led to his current gig as editorial page editor for the Stamford Advocate and Greenwich Time. As a columnist, he has written about poverty, sexual assault and gun safety, but inevitably gets the most reader feedback to lighter fare about raising The Kid.

The new program provides an array of mental health and well-being services for adults 18 years or older

Richard Kaufman, Patch Staff

|Updated Fri, Dec 6, 2024 at 1:36 pm ET

STAMFORD, CT — Stamford Health on Friday announced the opening of its first adult outpatient behavioral health office, a major step in the organization’s multi-year strategic plan to grow behavioral health programs and services in the community.

Located at the Tully Health Center, the new program provides an array of mental health and well-being services for adults 18 years or older including psychiatric evaluations, psychiatric medication management, individual psychotherapy and group psychotherapy.

"Our new office provides our patients with the tools and resources needed to build and maintain better mental health and wellness," said Stamford Health Chair of Psychiatry Dr. Raviv Berlin. "By increasing these services in our community, we hope to further reduce the stigma associated with mental illness and offer treatment for the mind the same way we prevent and treat physical ailments."

Stamford Health’s most recent Community Health Needs Assessment identified behavioral health as the number one unmet community health need. In response, Stamford Health said it is taking a multifaceted approach to expanding access to mental health care and annually hosts a community-wide behavioral health stakeholder retreat to create action plans for those unmet needs.

In July of 2021, Stamford Health Medical Group (SHMG) and Stamford-based Liberation Programs initiated a collaboration to allow for the co-location of outpatient medical services with behavioral health services at clinics in Stamford and Greenwich.

Find out what's happening in Stamfordwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Presently, Stamford Health offers psychiatry services in its Bennett Cancer Center, Women’s Specialty Center and its geriatric program provided by Dr. Marco Michael and Kristen Browne, LCSW. Future plans also include expansion and modernization of acute care psychiatric services for patients in crisis.

"Our vision is to be the most trusted health care provider for the communities we serve," added Stamford Health President and CEO Kathleen Silard in a news release. "The addition of this program will make care more accessible for our patients and help address the global mental health crisis beginning on a local level."

Stamford Health’s outpatient behavioral health office operates Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. by referral-based appointments only and is staffed by SHMG psychiatrist Dr. Jordan Kurtz and psychotherapist Ishara O’Carroll, LCSW.

Referrals are being accepted from Stamford Health medical providers and clinicians can treat conditions such as anxiety disorders, depressive disorders, bipolar disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorders, personality disorders, trauma and stressor-related disorders, and schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders.

Learn more about Behavioral Health & Psychiatry Services at Stamford Health.

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V20 Group Darien CT

V20 Group Acquires Industrial Property In Stamford, CT

We are excited to grow our industrial portfolio in Stamford, CT, as demand for industrial space continues to rise in the area.”

— Joe Vaccaro

DARIEN, CT, UNITED STATES, December 5, 2024 /EINPresswire.com/ -- V20 Group is pleased to announce the acquisition of a strategically located industrial-zoned property at 120 Hamilton in Stamford, Connecticut. This acquisition represents a significant expansion of V20 Group's industrial presence in Stamford.

Joe Vaccaro, President and Partner of V20 Group, commented, "We are excited to grow our industrial portfolio in Stamford, CT, as demand for industrial space continues to rise in the area. Our success with the West Avenue industrial park has been tremendous, and we are eager to seize this new opportunity in Stamford."

Previously, the property was home to WWE, who utilized the site as their film studio. The property spans nearly 7 acres and is ideally situated less than a mile from I-95.

V20 Group plans to develop a new high-bay warehouse and reintroduce the property to the market. The site will continue to be used for industrial purposes, and V20 Group is actively exploring leasing opportunities while working closely with potential tenants.

About V20 Group V20 Group is known for its strategic investments, developing commercial real estate properties and unlocking value while bringing the properties to their highest and best uses. V20 Group’s portfolio includes industrial properties, mixed-use properties, and offices and continues to expand into the retail sector.

For more information about this acquisition or to inquire about leasing opportunities, please contact: joev@v20group.com

Gregory Soltesz Noble House Media +1 203-903-1225 email us here Visit us on social media: Facebook X LinkedIn Instagram

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