Community Rebrands as ‘Innovation Corridor’ Despite Corridor Being Mostly State Highway and a Dollar General

Economic development officials in North Haven unveiled a new regional brand Tuesday, formally designating a 14-mile stretch of State Highway 47 as the “North Haven Innovation Corridor.”

The corridor currently includes a Dollar General, two convenience stores, a tractor dealership, several churches and approximately nine miles of undeveloped frontage.

Officials said the name reflects where the area is headed.

“We’re not branding what exists today,” said North Haven Economic Development Director Scott Mitchell. “We’re branding what’s possible.”

The designation was developed as part of a six-month strategic marketing process aimed at positioning North Haven for technology, advanced manufacturing and innovation-driven investment.

Consultants initially referred to Highway 47 simply as “the highway.”

“That wasn’t really telling the story,” Mitchell said.

The breakthrough came during a stakeholder workshop when a participant noted that fiber optic infrastructure had recently been extended through portions of the area.

“That’s when somebody said, ‘This is really becoming an innovation corridor,’” Mitchell recalled.

The phrase immediately gained momentum.

Within three weeks, officials had developed a logo.

The logo features a stylized roadway made of circuit-board lines beneath the words NORTH HAVEN INNOVATION CORRIDOR.

Officials said it symbolizes connectivity, technology and forward movement.

It does not depict the Dollar General.

“We wanted to communicate where we’re going,” Mitchell said.

The corridor’s existing business base includes Thompson Feed & Seed, Ronnie’s Tire & Brake, Quick Stop No. 2 and a climate-controlled self-storage facility currently under construction.

Economic development officials said each contributes to the area’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.

“You have logistics. You have mobility. You have retail. You have small business,” Mitchell said. “When you start looking at it through that lens, there’s already a lot happening.”

The Dollar General serves as the corridor’s current retail anchor.

Officials declined to describe it as an innovation hub.

“For now,” Mitchell added.

Future plans call for attracting advanced manufacturers, technology companies, research operations and professional employers to several large tracts located along the highway.

None have been announced.

But officials emphasized that development corridors take time.

“You have to create the identity before people can see the vision,” said County Commissioner Linda Barrett. “Twenty years ago, nobody would have called this an innovation corridor.”

Asked what residents called it 20 years ago, Barrett said, “Highway 47.”

The county has already approved new gateway signs marking the northern and southern entrances to the corridor. Motorists entering from the south will pass the first “North Haven Innovation Corridor” sign approximately 400 feet before Ronnie’s Tire & Brake.

The second will be installed beside a pasture.

Branding materials also describe the corridor as being strategically positioned for “next-generation industries.” Officials said the phrase intentionally leaves room for a variety of future opportunities.

“We don’t know exactly what the next generation of industry looks like,” Mitchell said. “That’s sort of the exciting part.”

Local leaders believe the new identity will help North Haven compete with neighboring communities that have already branded development areas as technology parks, research districts, innovation zones and advanced manufacturing corridors.

“You have to speak the language companies are speaking,” Mitchell said.

The economic development organization plans to launch a new webpage for the Innovation Corridor later this year featuring available acreage, infrastructure information and conceptual renderings of what future development could look like. Current photography has presented challenges. “There are only so many angles you can shoot the highway from,” Mitchell said. At press time, officials were considering renaming a nearby 180-acre cornfield the “North Haven Advanced Technology Campus.” The farmer had not yet been notified.