The Italian Center of Stamford is back up and running after a fire forced it to shut its doors. A ribbon cutting ceremony was held Thursday night to commemorate the completion of the project. The space features new ballrooms, and renovated spaces for events and community engagements.

Executive director Paul Hickey says 80 percent of the building was affected by the 2017 fire. “We put our heads together, sat down with the board of directors, and everyone decided let’s take the opportunity and come back a little bit better and bigger and nicer than we were before," said Hickey. Mayor David Martin also attended the ribbon-cutting.