The Electric Boat hiring surge is already in full effect, and with thousands of people making their way into the southeastern part of the state, surrounding communities are benefiting from the spillover.
The company is planning to increase its workforce from 14,500 to 18,000 by the year 2030.
The new EB hires need a place to settle down, a good school district and things to do. Leaders in East Lyme said these new employees are looking to them, and already the town is feeling the "EB effect."
The extra money in her register and the extra people at her tables this winter makes Tabatha Miranda realize Electric Boat’s hiring push is upping business at Café SoL.
"I've noticed a lot more kids at the bus stop from when my kids used to be at the bus stop," Miranda said.
"They've hired many over the last couple of years but so many more are coming," said Town of East Lyme First Selectman Mark Nickerson.
According to Nickerson, the town is already reaping the benefits. East Lyme even opted to keep an elementary school open that was on the chopping block.
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"All of a sudden we've gone up 150 kids," Nickerson said. That kind of growth took about three years. It's the school district's reputation that helped, he added.
But he said the town felt the loss of Pfizer. Several families moved out of East Lyme.
Now real estate agents said they're coming back.
"We are starting to see people from EB come in and purchase homes and actually renting in the area," said Amanda Lewis of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices New England Properties.
So far this year, the agency has sold around 10 percent more homes and condos in New London County compared to the same time last year.
While more people are moving into town, the housing market it just now leveling out, according to Lewis. She said the town felt the hit when Pfizer employees moved out over the last few years.
There aren't too many homes on the market, but when houses are, they're snatched up quickly, Lewis said.
People strolling the Niantic Bay Boardwalk said the fact East Lyme is a beach town also helps.
"It's obvious that it's picking up just by the looks of our town, especially around Christmas time, and the traffic in town," said East Lyme resident Larry Richardson.
