Thompson is poised at the threshold of opportunity.

For more information, contact
Tyra Penn-Gesek, Director of Planning & Development
860-923-9475

Economic gardening is an entrepreneurial approach to economic development based on a strategy of helping local entrepreneurs grow their companies.

The Town of Thompson Department of Planning and Development has been awarded funding from the USDA Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production (UAIP) grant program to develop a small business support center with a focus on food system and agriculture business start-ups at the Town-owned building located at 65 Main Street in the North Grosvenordale neighborhood. The property was once designated housing for the superintendent of the public schools, later serving as the Town’s public library, and then as the headquarters of Thompson Ecumenical Empowerment Group, Inc. (TEEG), the regional social services agency. After TEEG outgrew the space, the Town sought new uses for the property for years, eventually seeing an opportunity to help facilitate business growth with a special emphasis on agriculture and food business start-ups.

The conceptual plan for the entire property includes a “Food Forest,” to be located behind the renovated building and along the French River, incorporating outdoor learning areas, forest restoration, outdoor seating, and more. Once fully-renovated, the building itself will house the small business support center where the town will provide shared office space for local micro-entrepreneurs, incubator programming and services, and a direct pipeline to student interns enrolled in the various career-path programs at Tourtellotte Memorial High School.

Despite the challenges faced by so many post-industrial communities in New England, Thompson has high-quality assets and opportunities. The community has an agricultural history that has always run parallel to the boom-times of the mill era and has since outlived those industrial giants. Several family farms persist within the town, which is designated by the Connecticut Department of Agriculture as a Farm-Friendly Community. At the same time, the bones of the mill district remain and are ripe for redevelopment to meet 21st century needs. The future facility at 65 Main Street will capitalize on these traditions and local resources.

A key component of the planning process under the USDA grant has been a year-long public workshop series to determine the specific needs of Thompson’s small business community, identify deficits in local food security, and imagine ways in which the future facility at 65 Main Street can show the highest community utility.