The Nature Conservancy is moving from headquarters on High Street in Middletown to new headquarters in New Haven.
The Nature Conservancy employs 25 people.
According to an email response to a Middletown Eye correspondent, Nature Conservancy representative Lise Hanners explained that they were forced to find new offices when Liberty Bank, which owns and occupies most of the building where the Nature Conservancy is headquartered, told the non-profit that they would not be renewing their lease.
Hanners writes:
New Haven works very well for our business because The Nature Conservancy, as an international conservation organization, is located in every state and quite a bit of business happens along the metropolitan corridor from Washington to Boston. We wanted a location that would be easily accessible by rail, easy for commuter access to decrease our staff dependence on cars, and centrally located close to business services. New Haven fills all of those requirements very well and we are excited to launch a new beginning in our new location.
So, this organization is leaving our city in part due to the better transportation links offered elsewhere. This story is a great example of how adding useable passenger rail links to Middletown could improve our economy.
ReplyDeleteok, considering the nearest passanger rail is Amtrak in Meriden, and that can hardly be considered ideal, and metro north wont be going to Hartford for at least 10 more years, where do we start ???
ReplyDeleteThe Midstate Regional Planning Agency (MRPA)is one place to start!
ReplyDeleteIt is easy to look for and want short-term solutions but building any transportation infrastructure is a long-term process. Yes, getting a train that runs through Middletown may take years. I believe it is important to do so and I believe it can be done. First there must be a commitment for change, and the patience to see it through. The city alone cannot make this happen. Middletown and the Midstate Regional Planning Agency should be doing a better job of working together on transportation planning issues. This agency is a federal mandate of the USDOT to states to create regional planning agencies, with a primary function of getting regions (not towns) within each state to plan for transportation infrastructure for all modes of travel. To date I have seen little evidence that our regional planning agency functions as well as it could. I do not know if they are not doing their job, or if they are effectively cut out of holding any leadership role because city and commerce have done a good job of keeping them at arms length. Perhaps the state is just not funding the agency well enough. One of the best examples of regional planning in the country comes from Portland, Oregon’s regional planning agency known as METRO. http://www.oregonmetro.gov/ I encourage you to visit their website to see how a functional planning agency works and to consider how we might better make use of our regional planning agency MRPA http://www.midstaterpa.org:index.html
Without doubt, transportation infrastructure within our state, region, and town is the single most important factor that will contribute to the future health of Middletown’s economy and livability.
Lady Cyclist (Beth Emery) posted regarding MSRP. Sorry I thought I had posted it with my name, but it came up as anonymous.
ReplyDelete