Customers enter and exit the Wilton Hardware store on Monday. The business opened a little over a year ago and is part of a growing development movement in town.

Downtown Wilton, seen on Monday, is poised for a development renaissance, local officials believe.

John Black speaks outside the former Wilton Tanning company in September. Black is developing the site into a business park, one of many recent development moves in town.

Wilton town manager Rhonda Irish is optimistic a combination of grant money, programs and community involvement will help boost the town's redevelopment effort. The red building in the background is the former Bass Shoe factory, which now houses a restaurant and other businesses.

Development of the Forester Mill, which is on Depot Road, which links downtown to U.S. Route 2, is one of the town's goals for revitalization.

Town residents hear a presentation and watch a movie recently as part of the Making Headway in Your Community program, designed to get residents engaged in the revitalization effort.