If Stamford is to truly become the “City that Works,” as signs proclaim on light poles and street corners, then it needs the likes of Conor Horrigan — a 31-year-old who’s breathing new life into an abandoned factory and creating 21st century manufacturing jobs.

Ever since the 1960s, when local developers recast much of the city’s downtown as high-end office space, Stamford has been a magnet for big business: Thomson Reuters, Ernst & Young, and banking giants UBS and RBS, which built their North American headquarters here during Malloy’s 14-year stint as mayor.

Recently, the wealth has spread into the South End peninsula. Today, the Harbor Point development project — one of the country’s largest — is rapidly transforming 80 acres of abandoned factories and low-income neighborhoods into a modern cityscape of six million square feet, including 4,000 luxury apartments, office units and retail space.

But the South End also offers a stark picture of the income inequality for which Fairfield County leads the nation. The new, upscale developments are crowding out many long-term residents and corner stores, and even making homeless shelters feel out of place.

These days, when city officials think of Stamford’s future — and when state officials consider the businesses that might actually reduce the gap between rich and poor — they look to smaller entrepreneurs.

“I’m not saying we need six more breweries,” says Laure Aubuchon, Stamford’s economic development director. “But we need six more Conor Horrigans.”