STAMFORD — When Charter Communications moved its headquarters to Stamford in 2012, it brought about 75 employees to work on a couple of floors in a downtown building at 400 Atlantic St.
Today, its offices tower over the city center in a new complex, which covers more than 900,000 square feet and serves as the base for approximately 1,700 employees.
The new, glass-sheathed hub at 400 Washington Blvd., next to the downtown Metro-North Railroad station, was built because the Fortune 500 company outgrew its previous headquarters at 400 Atlantic. On Monday, about 300 Charter employees gathered with elected officials including Gov. Ned Lamont for an event to celebrate the opening of the new headquarters, whose construction has been supported by an approximately $100 million company investment.
“When we started this construction project, we didn’t really know that we were going to get what we got. But we got it,” Charter CEO and Chairman Tom Rutledge said at the event. “It reflects the success we’ve had, but (also) the opportunity that we still have. I look forward to working with everyone in this room, going forward in this facility, to build a greater company.”
Local and state officials have enthusiastically supported Charter’s growth. Through the First Five Plus corporate-incentives program launched by the administration of former Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, the company received loans of $10 million and $6.5 million, up to $10 million in tax credits and a $2 million grant.
For the $6.5 million loan, the entire principal balance was forgiven in 2015. For the $10 million loan, $7 million of the principal balance was forgiven last year — and the remaining $3 million could be forgiven if the company meets certain job goals. So far, it has earned $2 million of the tax credits.
In addition, Charter could receive up to $8 million in non-First Five Plus tax credits.
“If I learned anything over these last couple of years that I shouldn’t have had to learn, it’s that cable, telecommunications, broadband and IT is not a ‘nice to have,’ it’s a ‘got to have,’” said Lamont, who founded a cable company focused on the college market, before he was elected governor in 2018. “When we were stuck with COVID, people were not going to be able to continue to educate their kids, if it wasn’t for broadband. We weren’t going to be able to continue a lot of health care without telehealth… I’m so proud that Connecticut is one of the most connected states in the country — and how vital that was over the last two years and what that means going forward.”