The Cities Project, Sara Bronin to be Honored by CT Main Street Center

Connecticut Main Street Center (CMSC) has announced plans to honor a first-time collaborative journalism initiative in Connecticut, along with the efforts of a local educator, attorney, and architect who has worked at the local, state, and national levels on policy reforms to improve and enhance main streets and revitalize communities. 

The recipients are The Cities Project, a journalism collaboration that explores the challenges and solutions for revitalizing Connecticut's cities, to receive the CT Main Street Founder's Award, and Sara C. Bronin, who was named the recipient of the Jack Shannahan Award for Public Service

CMSC annually presents the Founder's Award in recognition of individuals and organizations who dedicate themselves to promoting an awareness of the necessity of a comprehensive management approach to the revitalization of Connecticut's historic downtowns and neighborhood commercial districts. This year, CMSC selected The Cities Project, a collaboration between seven leading Connecticut journalism organizations who publish periodic articles exploring challenges and solutions related to revitalizing Connecticut's cities. 

Members of the collaboration are CT Mirror, Connecticut Public Radio, Hearst Connecticut Media, Hartford Courant, the Waterbury Republican-American, Hartford Business Journal, and Purple States. Together these seven media companies describe the key challenges our cities face, identify solutions that other cities around the country have implemented to address similar challenges, and explore the feasibility of implementing those solutions in Connecticut, CMSC officials explained.

"It's been rewarding to see the work we do with our member communities mirrored in the articles presented by the collaborating journalists from The Cities Project. From identifying obstacles to sharing nationwide best practices, The Cities Project has brought a statewide spotlight to the impact - good and bad - that investment and planning have on our downtowns," said Patrick McMahon, CMSC CEO. "In doing so, they've highlighted why it's important to keep doing our work, so that all of our downtowns - rural, suburban and city - can enable prosperous economies and citizens.

Hartford resident Sara C. Bronin is a Mexican-American author, attorney, and architect who has worked at the local, state, and national levels on policy reforms to improve and enhance our main streets and revitalize communities. She has earned the organization’s Jack Shannahan Award for Public Service.

As Chair of the City of Hartford's Planning & Zoning Commission, she has led collaborative efforts to draft and adopt the capital city's Form-Based Zoning Code, its first Climate Action Plan, and its 2035 City Plan, which has a compelling vision to create connections, attract people, improve opportunity, and make the city fun, CMSC officials pointed out.

As the Board Chair of Preservation CT (formerly the CT Trust for Historic Preservation), Bronin has advocated for the historic preservation tax credit and worked to align preservationists and environmentalists.  She also sits on the Board of Latinos in Heritage Conservation and serves as an Advisor to the National Trust for Historic Preservation and the Sustainable Development Code.

"Sara Bronin is a brilliant, articulate and passionate advocate for Main Streets. She understands and promotes the critical connections between historic preservation and economic development, between environmental sustainability and food security, and between public parks, affordable housing, and transit. Ms. Bronin is one of Connecticut's leading voices in weaving together our physical assets to ensure thriving communities,” said Michael Andreana, Chair of the Board of Directors of CMSC.

Established in honor of Jack Shannahan, the former director of the Connecticut Historical Commission and State Historic Preservation Officer; and a founder and first Board Chair of CMSC, the Jack Shannahan Award for Public Service recognizes public and private sector individuals and organizations that exemplify a high standard of leadership with a deep commitment to the success of Connecticut's Main Streets.

Sara Bronin also holds the Thomas F. Gallivan Endowed Chair in Real Property Law at the University of Connecticut, and she teaches and writes about property, land use, historic preservation, and renewable energy law. In addition, she consults for cities, state agencies, and private firms throughout the country.  As an architect, she has won several awards for the design and rehabilitation of her downtown Hartford brownstone. She is married to Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin.

The award winners join CMSC's recently named 2020 Awards of Excellence winners, which are presented annually to recognize outstanding projects, individuals and partnerships in community efforts to bring traditional downtowns and neighborhood commercial districts back to life.

Upon the debut of The Cities Project in March 2019, longtime reporter Tom Condon, previously of the Courant and now with CT Mirror, wrote: "We will look at renewal efforts of the past and present, examining what worked and what didn't. We will travel to cities in other states that are dealing with the same issues Connecticut cities face, to compare notes and see if there are ideas that might be useful here." Condon continued: "And we will pay particular attention to the challenge of inclusive recovery - how a city can share downtown prosperity with struggling neighborhoods and build a local economy that provides opportunity for all residents."

According to The American Press Institute, "Journalism is storytelling with a purpose, and its purpose is to provide citizens with the information they need to make the best possible decisions about their lives, their communities, their societies, and their governments. In an era when we are flooded with information, The Cities Project provides us with information necessary to influence policies and practices that positively affect the economic and social vibrancy of our main streets.”

Eversource, CMSC's Founding Sponsor, commended The Cities Project for its ”formidable reporting and in-depth look at revitalizing Connecticut's cities. This initiative has served as a critical assessment of what's working and where we can change, which can help inform local leaders and companies like Eversource who are committed to supporting strong, vibrant communities," said Theresa Hopkins-Staten, President of the Eversource Foundation.

CMSC's mission is to be the catalyst that ignites Connecticut's Main Streets as the cornerstone of thriving communities. CMSC is dedicated to community and economic development within the context of historic preservation, and is committed to bringing Connecticut's commercial districts back to life socially and economically.

CMSC is supported by its Founding Sponsors, the CT Department of Economic & Community Development (DECD) and Eversource Energy. CMSC is also supported by its Growth Sponsors, UIL Holdings Corp. and the State Historic Preservation Office.

More information about the CT Main Street Founder's Award, Jack Shannahan Award for Public Service, and the 2020 Awards of Excellence winners is available on CMSC's website.