 A once vibrant downtown became littered with vacant storefronts, empty lots, weak economy, unsafe and unsanitary housing.The town leaders at the time sought federal and state funding to launch a revitalization effort that would restore the core of the city to a vital urban center.On January 27, 1960 the City of Stamford and its redevelopment arm, the Urban Redevelopment Commission, entered into a contract with the Stamford New Urban Corporation, a subsidiary of the locally based and nationally active construction contractor the F. D. Rich Company that would lead to a dramatic altering of the face of downtown Stamford.