60 new stores, businesses expected to open in downtown Hartford this year

HARTFORD, CT (WFSB) - Sixty new stores and businesses are expected to open this year in downtown Hartford.

Mayor Luke Bronin spoke to business leaders Thursday morning at the Metro Hartford Alliance annual breakfast.

Bronin said the biggest challenge cities face is how to support businesses without the foot traffic of in-person workers. He said working from home has become a lasting trend.

To combat that, Bronin said he believes the city should keep building apartments.

“If you don’t have as many people in office buildings, you need that energy, the activity, feet on the street coming from residents,” Bronin said. “We have been tremendously successful in doing that. We’re going to keep our foot down an go as fast as we can.”

The mayor said that between the 2010 and 2020 census, the population living in Hartford rose 50 percent.

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