Southern Exposure

Once besieged by a slew of problems — from illegal dumping to drug dealing and prostitution — South Meadows’ business owners are touting their cleaned up and improved neighborhood by launching a print and online marketing campaign.

“So many people come in and tell us they had no idea we were here,” said Carrie Ward, design consultant for masonry distributor Stone Depot. “Well, we are.”

Located off Exit 27 on Interstate 91, about 275 businesses call the neighborhood home.

The United Connecticut Action for Neighborhoods Inc., a Hartford-based nonprofit, has been contracted to assist the neighborhood with its marketing campaign.

“The goal of the entire campaign is to give some exposure to the South Meadows businesses,” said Alta Lash, executive director for UCAN. “The key thing is to let people know that it’s an easy place to get in and out of and there are all kinds of businesses here.”

A mix of industries conduct business in neighborhood, including Hartford-Brainard Airport, the Chowder Pot IV, The Golfers’ Warehouse, the Connecticut Lighting Centers, and the United Parcel Service, located on the neighborhood’s main thruways of Airport, Brainard and Murphy roads.

Unknown Territory

“We have all kinds of businesses, but no one seemed to know about it,” said Mark Greco, general manager for Stone Depot on Murphy Road. “I think maybe because it’s not an attraction; it’s sort of an area that people just pass through.”

Greco, new to the area five years ago, noticed how the neighborhood was improving dramatically. He also noticed, like Ward, that many of his customers were unaware of what South Meadows had to offer.

A member of the neighborhood’s problem solving committee, Greco expressed his desire to better market his masonry business with other committee members. “It seemed like everyone had the same goal of bringing more attention to the neighborhood, so it only seemed natural that we would do it together,” said Greco, explaining that it was this common desire that launched the South Meadows Marketplace Alliance.

Keith Santos, with All Waste, a trash hauler located on Murphy Road, said the ultimate goal of the campaign is to attract more customers and businesses.

“We want to have all the businesses on board and working together,” he said. “We’re trying to create a destination instead of a crossroads.”

Recruiting Members

With a print pamphlet in hand, the Alliance is currently recruiting additional members. Membership fees range between $500 and $3,000, which translate into varied levels of marketing exposure.

A key component of the campaign is the development of a neighborhood Web site — www.exit-27.com — to provide a roster of member businesses, maps and updated company information.

Other marketing goals include a highway billboard, media ads and the local distribution of pamphlets and flyers that outline the area with a map of businesses.

The South Meadows has come a long way since the mid-1990s when there were more pressing issues to the business owners in the area. Their first priority was to clean up their neighborhood.

Next, they needed to address public safety issues. There were a number of break-ins. Prostitution was rampant, and street racing was common. Increased surveillance and attention from the Hartford police, fire department and mayor’s office are credited by the business owners for helping to improve the neighborhood.

Neil Fleisher, vice president and general manager at the Connecticut Lighting Centers located on Brainard Road, said the South Meadows Problem Solving Committee, formed in 1995, was instrumental in removing the unsavory elements from the area. The group has spent the past 13 years attacking a variety of pressing problems, many related to public safety.

“We have two hotels that were once drug-infested hooker hangouts and are now totally cleaned up and good anchors in the neighborhood,” Fleisher said. “We also worked on keeping more of the adult entertainment businesses from coming in.”

The group then set its sights on beautifying the South Meadows. Sidewalks were installed on Airport Road and an odor abatement strategy for trucks from the Connecticut Resource Recovery Authority was implemented.

As a result of the improvements, Lash of UCAN said there are few vacancies in the area. The problem solving committee typically meets the third Wednesday of each month at 8 a.m. at the Chowder Pot IV.