By James Lomuscio
UPDATE Gov. Dannel P. Malloy said today he loves Westport, “and we’re going to work with Westport, absolutely,” to help fill the corporate void projected for 2016-17 when Bridgewater Associates, the town’s largest employer with with offices at Nyala Farms and Glendinning Place, leaves for Stamford.
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy addresses today’s news conference in Stamford announcing the Bridgewater move. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com
Malloy made his comments following a noon news conference in Stamford at 15 Harbor Point Road overlooking the 14 waterfront acres where Bridgewater, one of the world’s leading hedge funds, plans to erect a 750,000-square-foot facility.
The project, which Malloy said will create up to 1,000 new jobs over the next decade, will also mean the transfer of most of the company’s 1,225 Westport jobs to Stamford.
“Listen, I love Westport, but we had to keep these people in Connecticut,” said Malloy, noting that Bridgewater officials had been exploring other states, specifically New Jersey. “And a lot of their people work in Westport.”
According to Malloy, Bridgewater is investing $750 million in Connecticut which “signals to the rest of the world that Connecticut is strengthening its leadership position in the very competitive financial services sector.”
Greg Jensen, a Bridgewater Co-CEO, pointed out that the company’s workforce has grown dramatically since it moved to Westport in 1998, outgrowing its Glendinning campus, eventually expanding to Nyala Farms.
“We’ve spread out, but our culture is critical to us, and it’s important we’re all in one place,” he said. “I think our community will work well here.”
Malloy stressed that while he helped woo Bridgewater to Stamford, where he had served as mayor for 14 years, the construction project headed by BLT Harbor Point is subject to local, as well as state approvals.
“This is not a state project, and Stamford will decide,” he said. “I ran this city for 14 years, and I want to be very respectful of my hometown.”
He noted that the project is expected to spark some controversy due to the fact that the boatyard at that site will have to be relocated.
“We have plans, working with the city, to relocate that boatyard,” he said.
In a statement issued later by Bridgewater, the company stressed Malloy’s words that much work needs to be done to make the move a reality.
“We want to echo Governor Malloy’s comments at his press conference today,” it said.
“While we are excited about the prospect of bringing all of our people together under one roof and, in the process helping to restore the waterfront in Stamford, a lot of work needs to be done to see if a move to the Stamford campus can become a reality.
“This work includes exploring both approvals from the City of Stamford and its various committees and boards, as well as conducting additional due diligence about a host of cost, design and community related issues.
“We will continue to work with our team of skilled partners to evaluate and plan the campus and will make our decisions known as we make them.”
Not present at the news conference was Stamford Mayor Michael Pavia. Malloy said Pavia was out of town at the Olympics.
