Ganim praises waterfront boom, housing pipeline and record school funding in State of the City

Mayor Joe Ganim used the Bridgeport Regional Business Council’s State of the City address to frame a rapid turnaround for the city, pointing to waterfront redevelopment, a series of housing projects, historic school funding increases and a large property tax cut as evidence that Bridgeport has moved from recovery into growth.

“Bridgeport is home to some of the largest waterfront developments on the entire East Coast of the United States,” Mayor Joe Ganim said, highlighting the demolition of an old coal-burning plant and ongoing remediation on a 33-acre site where Steel Point (the speech called that phase “the August”) will include 420 waterfront units, retail space and public access to the water.

Why it matters: The mayor said the waterfront projects are already attracting investors and new residents and that the city aims to use that momentum to expand housing and opportunity across neighborhoods. He framed the development program as including substantial workforce housing and local hiring.

Ganim described housing as central to the city’s strategy. He said he signed an executive order setting an ambitious target of 5,000 new housing units by 2030 and reported “over 1,000 new units under active development” citywide. He listed recent and planned projects by name — Congress Plaza (100 units), Soundview Apartments (120 units), a conversion at the former Connecticut Post building (40 units), a rooftop project at the AT&T building (77 units), a Golden Hill Street development (70 units, described as an $11 million project with 20% set aside as workforce/affordable units) and additional conversions and smaller infill projects across neighborhoods.

On workforce housing, Ganim singled out Steel Point’s mix, saying 160 of the project’s 420 units are designated as workforce housing and stressed that local and minority contractors, single parents and re-entry program participants have been employed on the development.

Education and students were another focus. Ganim said Bridgeport public schools will receive $35 million in new funding in the next fiscal year, calling it the largest single-year increase in the city’s history, and listed state-authorized construction projects including new and replacement elementary and special-education schools.

Public safety and fiscal health: The mayor told the audience that violent crime and property crime have trended down and that 2025 had the lowest homicide rate in Bridgeport in half a century. He also reported a citywide revaluation that raised the grand list from about $8 billion to $13 billion and said the City Council approved his 11th consecutive balanced budget and a residential mill-rate cut from 43.45 mills to 27.95 mills.

Energy, environment and parks: Ganim announced a planned 10 MW fuel cell project to deliver heat and domestic hot water to several South End customers — including the University of Bridgeport and the new Bassick High School — and described a solar array with battery storage at Remington Woods that he said is intended to produce revenue to preserve the urban forest and open it to the public. He also said the city is partnering with the Trust for Public Land on a 15-mile continuous seawall to link parks and waterfront assets, and announced that park stickers and entry are now free for Bridgeport residents.

What was based on the speech: Numbers and project names in this article are drawn from the mayor’s address as delivered. Where the mayor stated or listed figures (for example, unit counts, dollar amounts and project descriptions), this article attributes them to his speech and related remarks at the BRBC event.

The address concluded with the mayor urging continued investment and partnerships, closing with, “Bridgeport's best days are yet to come.”