The Bridgeport, Connecticut Eco-Technology Park is today nothing that anyone would associate with the word “park.”
Spanning parts of the West End and South End, it includes a fuel-cell facility, a mattress-recycling business, a company that makes permeable pavement and more, with a number of other public and private components in the planning stage.
But the effects, officials say, could be felt far beyond Bridgeport. “The maturity of the park is what’s impressive,” said Jay Williams, former mayor of Youngstown, Ohio and current head of the U.S. Economic Development Administration. “The level of commitment and the actual investment on the ground is something that can serve as a model.”
“Bridgeport is a city that some had perceived as a loser,” said Curt Spalding, administrator for the Environmental Protection Agency’s New England region. “Now, with this, it can be viewed as a rising winner. And there are so many cities facing the same challenges.”