From StamfordPlus.com
Take a meeting
By Bill Squier
Feb 25, 2008 - 10:22:29 PM
“What is this about?” asks the wary voice on the other end of a Tuesday morning telephone call. The question comes from one of the handful of beleaguered individuals assigned the task of scheduling use of Stamford’s “community rooms.” And the tone the voice adopts suggests that the person on the other side of the line knows exactly what the call is about — and sort of wishes that they didn’t.
Back in the late 1970s, Stamford began experimenting with what was known at the time as “incentive zoning.” What the plan amounted to was an offer of bonus floor space to commercial builders who agreed to include public amenities, such as landscaped plazas, ground-floor retail and day-care facilities in their proposed office towers. This “special exception” to the zoning board’s district regulations applied to the city’s Central City, Limited Business and General Commercial Districts, which lie north of I-95 in an area roughly bordered by Mill River Street and Washington Boulevard to the west, Glenbrook Road to the east and Hoyt Street to the north. The idea was to prevent Stamford’s downtown area from turning into a soulless urban canyon that encouraged little foot traffic.
Several developers opted to include a community meeting room (a.k.a. “community room”) in their design. This was defined by the zoning board as being a 1,500- to 2,000-square-foot space on the first or second floor with flexible seating for 50 or more people. It was to be made available free of charge, to quote Regulation S-8, “to responsible civic organizations or associations for the conduct of community affairs programs, arts and crafts exhibits, or educational programs.” In exchange, the developers could build an extra two square feet of commercial floor space for every square foot of usable space in the community room. So they jumped at the offer, perhaps without envisioning that 25 to 30 years later the public would still be pestering them for access to their buildings.
Today, six such spaces still exist. Some of the more popular spots host a busy schedule of meetings, classes and seminars — though I was hard-pressed to find any place that had housed an art exhibit. And so, armed with a list of addresses provided by the Planning and Zoning office, I went on a whirlwind tour of the downtown area’s community rooms to determine where they are, what they’re like and who can use them and when.
My first stop was the Nine West Building at 9 West Broad Street, just north of the Mill River Park. This nine-story commercial office building has changed hands several times since it opened its doors in 1982. But the current management continues to honor the city’s agreement with the original owners.
The designated “community room” is in a pleasant, plaza-level space right off the main lobby. It’s clean and brightly lit by large windows that look out over the parking lot at a short stretch of the Rippowam River. And since the room doubles as a cafeteria for the workers in the building, there is plenty of seating at round tables that are scattered about the space.
As with all of Stamford’s community rooms, access is limited to tax-exempt civic organizations or associations. The space is typically available from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. when classes such as English as a Second Language are taught. But given the room’s dual use as a cafeteria, it also hosts the Stamford Business Group’s weekly breakfast networking meetings. For more specifics or to inquire about scheduling, contact the building manager’s Office at 203-325-3929.
From Nine West, I drove east on Broad and south on Greyrock Place to One Stamford Plaza, which is located at either 263 or 281 Tresser Boulevard, depending on whom you ask. At any rate, it’s one of the four interconnected office buildings that fill the block to the east of the Stamford Marriott.
The community room at One Stamford Plaza is a second-floor aerie in the terraced glass atrium the crouches at the property’s northwest corner. It is an unadorned space with white walls and acoustical ceiling tile that screams “college classroom.” And, in fact, it’s occasionally used by UConn for overflow classes, as well as by civic groups such as the Jack and Jill Club and Junior Achievement. The room seats 75 and is available from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m., Monday through Friday.
The building management is careful about asking for proof of nonprofit status before a group is allowed to book the room. And the ProPark garage beneath the complex charges for parking. Interested parties should telephone Mimi Lucas at 203-328-3600.
About a half a block east of Stamford Plaza, I was ushered into the gleaming aqua-colored Financial Centre, which sits at the point where Route 1 turns from Tresser Boulevard into East Main Street — officially 695 East Main. The community room is on the ground level in the lobby that fronts the street. This is, perhaps, the grandest of the bunch with an impressive double-door entryway that’s actually emblazoned with the words “community room” in snazzy chrome lettering.
Inside, the décor includes dark wood paneling and indirect lighting reminiscent of the boardroom on television’s “The Apprentice.” (I half expected Donald Trump to step out from behind a column to tell me I was “fired.”) It is outfitted with seating for upwards of 75 people and, when I dropped by, was set up schoolroom style: two chairs per worktable faced a presentation area at one end of the rectangular room.
The room is limited to tenant use during the business day, so outside organizations can only get into it between 4 p.m. and 9 p.m., Monday through Friday. The groups Kids in Crisis and the Stamford Partnership already meet there.
Scheduling time in the room is more involved than for most of the other rooms. Nonprofit groups that are interested in gathering there must begin the process by filling out an application form and providing proof of tax-exempt status, such as a 501(c)(3) certification. The contact person is Thelma Davis-Lyde at Aramark, the Financial Centre’s facilities management company, and her telephone number is 203-328-5325.
Just up the hill from the corporate towers of the Financial Centre and Stamford Plaza is comparatively quaint 750 East Main Street. The 11-story office building has been standing watch from a hill that overlooks the heart of the downtown shopping district since 1986. So, I was a bit taken aback to find the building empty and the driveway covered with a large sheet of ice. But then I noticed a banner that read “New Ownership.”
“Change in ownership doesn’t change the requirement,” Stamford’s Land Use Bureau Chief Robin Stein emphasized when asked if this meant the address would be dropped from the community room list. “It goes with the land, so to speak,” he said. “[The new owners] may not have a clue, so we have to remind them.”
A quick trip down to 350 Bedford Street brought me to the People’s Bank Financial Plaza. I discovered that not one but two spots have been designated for community use.
The original room is a very large, square conference space on the second floor that has clearly seen a lot of action. The Stamford Chamber of Commerce holds seminars there, Stamford Downtown Special Services District members meet there and People’s Bank uses it for training employees. There is seating for only 50 people. But because of its size and shape, the space is very flexible. For example, when I dropped by, the room’s rectangular and semi-circular tables had been arranged into a big donut that looked as if it could comfortably seat a G8 summit.
A few steps away from the first space, there is a second, smaller conference room with a single oval table and seating for 10. The conference room hovers over the front entrance in what must have been midair when the building was erected and, I was told, featured a two-story atrium. Though the room wasn’t a part of the building when the original deal was struck with the city, Peoples Bank has opted to also make it available for smaller gatherings.
Both rooms are accessible during normal 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. business hours, Monday through Friday. Call the Regional Administration Office at 203-359-6000 and ask for the meeting coordinator. One of several people there can assist you.
The last name on the list was also the most surprising: The Sheraton Hotel at 2701 Summer Street. Surprising, of course, because the hotel’s business depends on filling its meeting, conference and ballroom spaces with paying customers. “But I have 37 different meeting rooms,” the director of sales, Ed Pickert, explained. “So, there’s always something available.”
The rooms on the facility’s second and fifth floors range from enormous, with more than 2,000 square feet of space, to intimate, at around 200 square feet. And then, of course, there is the lobby-level maze of spaces in a variety of shapes and sizes. All of the rooms are great condition, and every imaginable setup of tables and seating is available. And, for the usual fees, the Sheraton can, obviously, provide your meeting with food, beverages and audio/visual support.
Like most of the other downtown community rooms, the Sheraton’s are available for nonprofit use weeknight evenings from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. However, there is also a limited amount of space available on Saturday and Sunday. Another unique feature of the Sheraton is that the hotel prefers that civic groups inquire about space as close as possible to the meeting date — ideally about a week away from the event. So, for example, it’s ideal for a last-minute committee meeting.
Interested organizations should contact Ed Pickert at 203-978-5618 and be prepared to show proof of 501(c)(3) status.
There are, of course, a few things that you can do to make sure that you are a welcome guest regardless of the community room you approach.
Bear in mind that most of these buildings schedule the use of their rooms far in advance, sometimes as much as a year at a time. So, other than the Sheraton, the more advance warning that you give them, the better chance you have of getting into the community room you want. Plan on a minimum of three weeks.
Remember that even if your event takes place after hours, you’re still meeting in a place of business. So, urge your attendees act in as quiet and professional a manner as possible when entering and exiting the building. And, finally, treat the space as if it were your own and leave it in the same condition that you found it.
And as for you artists in town, there’s talk of turning the first floor of the Old Town Hall into a community room. So, maybe you’ll finally get that exhibit space! ■
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