City of Stamford 1/8/21: The City of Stamford's Office of Economic Development released its third quarter of 2020 economic development report today. The report features commercial leases and building sales that occurred during the quarter, data on the Stamford residential housing market, current development projects, and updates on the city's employment and population statistics. Highlights include the installation of Stamford's first photo-op sign and a feature on Pitney Bowes' centennial anniversary.

"As the world continues to battle COVID-19, the City of Stamford has not been immune to the economic effects of the virus with some being more positive, and others negative. After containing the virus well over the summer months, we’re beginning to see a resurgence of the virus across the region as we head into the cold autumn and winter months.

Leasing rebounded slightly this quarter compared to last, but a majority of the deals were lease renewals or companies relocating within the city. This is still a positive point, and we continue to see increased interest in Stamford from New York City based companies and residents.

The largest lease was the relocation and expansion of Berkley Insurance which is moving into a 63k SF office at 1 Station Place, followed by the 47k SF renewal of Phillips’ North American consumer goods headquarters at 1600 Summer Street.

Employment activity has improved dramatically since last quarter, but is still very high for Stamford, particularly during the summer months where unemployment is historically low. The quarterly average unemployment rate is 9.4%, which is down from the high of 11.2% seen in June, and the unemployment rate continues to decrease each month. For comparison, the Q3 2019 unemployment rate was 3.1%."

Click here to read the full report, or learn more about Stamford at www.ChooseStamford.com