Malloy: Stamford Bridgewater Associates Campus Will Create Up To 1,000 Jobs

STAMFORD — Governor Dannel P. Malloy announced August 15 that Bridgewater Associates, one of the world’s leading hedge funds, intends to build a state-of-the-art corporate headquarters in Stamford. The $750 million project will be built along the waterfront in the Harbor Point development.

To fully maximize the benefits under the agreement, Bridgewater will create up to 1,000 high-level jobs within ten years and also retain its current workforce of 1,225 employees. The company is the third of Gov Malloy’s “Next Five” program. To date, eight companies are taking part in the governor’s signature economic development initiative.

“For a long time, our state failed to compete for the kinds of good-paying jobs with good benefits that will grow and sustain our economy,” said Gov Malloy in a statement. “The jobs we are announcing today have the potential to grow our economy in a profound way because the spin-off effect of these positions will drive growth in other sectors. To have a company of Bridgewater’s stature make the business decision to invest $750 million in our state and significantly increase its workforce is not only an extraordinary economic ‘win,’ but signals to the rest of the world that Connecticut is strengthening its leadership position in the very competitive financial services sector.”

Increasing the number of high-income wage earners in the state positively impacts the economy in many ways. Their spending creates greater demand for products and services, which ultimately spurs job creation across a wide variety of sectors.

Bridgewater manages approximately $130 billion in global investments for a wide array of institutional clients, including corporate and public pension funds, university endowments, charitable foundations, foreign governments, and central banks.

Greg Jensen, co-CEO of Bridgewater Associates, said the project will transform an industrial site into a “spectacularly beautiful forested campus that will be seamlessly integrated into the natural surroundings.

“The proposed campus will house all of our employees and be designed to facilitate creativity, collaboration, and help reinforce Bridgewater’s distinct culture which has been so instrumental to our success,” Mr Jensen said.

In both 2010 and 2011, Bridgewater ranked as the largest and best-performing hedge fund manager in the world.

Bridgewater is currently based in Westport, where its 1,225 employees are spread among five office buildings in and around the town. Construction on the company’s new, approximately 750,000-square-foot facility is expected to be completed by 2017, and is subject to customary approvals and additional due diligence on the site.

Plans are to reforest the land to create a parklike campus and construct two energy-efficient, sustainable buildings that will open toward the water. Public access will be created by way of an esplanade along the water.

State support for the project will come from the Next Five program, which is administered by the Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD). The assistance includes:

*A $25 million forgivable loan at a rate of one percent for a term of ten years to be used for the construction of the new facility

*A job training grant of up to $5 million

*A grant of up to $5 million for the installation of alternative energy systems

*Up to $80 million in Urban and Industrial Sites Reinvestment Tax Credits