Torrington
About Torrington
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Torrington is the largest city in Litchfield County, Connecticut and the northwestern Connecticut region. It is also the core city of the largest micropolitan area in the United States. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 35,202, but a July 1, 2004 estimate put the city’s population at 36,248.
Torrington is a former mill town, as are most other towns along the Naugatuck River Valley. It is currently competing with the neighboring city of Winsted to recreate a pleasant Main Street environment. Downtown Torrington is home to the Nutmeg Conservatory for the Arts, which trains world-class ballet dancers and whose Company performs in the Warner Theatre, a 1,700 seat auditorium restored in 2002 to its original 1931 glory. The theater, while originally built as a cinema by the Warner Brothers film studio, has been reborn as a performing arts venue and arts instruction organization, and will serve as a cornerstone of the city’s downtown revitalization project.
The daily newspaper in town is The Register Citizen, a Journal Register Company publication. Mary Dempsey is the editor, Albert Yuravich is the city editor and Mike Wollschlager is the sports editor. The Register Citizen serves Torrington and Winsted, in addition to most of the Northwest Corner. The current mayor of Torrington is 23-year-old Ryan Bingham.
Torrington is planning to revitalize its downtown area in an effort to attract residents and visitors to the city’s shopping and cultural opportunities. These redevelopment plans are still in discussion and are not yet completed.
Torrington hopes to attract a wide variety of merchants into its downtown setting. Empty and abandoned buildings would be converted into a mix of retail, office, and residential space. A potential plan discusses the possibility of a national clothing retailer or bookstore chain constructing a location at the top of Water Street on the site of the Kelley Bus Company. This plan has come under fire by some because it involves the demolition of the former Torrington railroad station, which is considered by many to be historical.
The east end of the city known as Torringford, along U.S. Route 202, has been undergoing a period of non-stop, rapid expansion since 1996, when a shopping complex was built on the corner of Rte 202 and 183 with a Wal-Mart, Price Chopper, Sears Hardware (which has since closed due to competition from nearby Home Depot in neighboring New Hartford) and McDonald’s. Led by the development of multiple shopping centers at that time, the once empty farm land has become home to many chains that are new to the city. Among the current projects are the construction of a new Walgreens drug store, the relocation of a local bank branch and the opening of a new car wash. Expected to begin soon is the construction of a new Stop & Shop supermarket as well as a plaza anchored by a Target department store. Panera Bread and Starbucks Coffee are currently investigating the economic feasibility of building locations in the Target development.