It is time to allow ourselves to get excited. And motivated. Connecticut’s recovery from the Great Recession has been agonizingly slow and the recovery in our corner of the state slower still. Now, finally, it appears we are emerging from our long economic winter, with green sprouts promising to become full blooms.

Submarine production and the resultant job growth at Electric Boat, with operations in Groton and New London, will provide a strong fertilizer for that economic growth. EB expects to reach a workforce of 18,000 by 2030, compared to the 14,000 workers it has now, due to Virginia-class submarine construction and design of the ballistic missile-firing submarines that will replace the Ohio class.

The hundreds of contractors that feed into the submarine production program will create thousands of additional jobs.

Meanwhile, at a town meeting in Preston on Thursday, residents gave their overwhelming approval for town officials to conclude negotiations for the sale of the Preston Riverwalk — formerly the Norwich Hospital campus — to the Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority. The nearly 400-acre property is located across the Thames River from the Mohegan Sun Casino complex.

In response to increased casino competition in the Northeast, the Mohegan gaming authority has diversified and expanded its portfolio. In late April it signed a contract to manage the Tunica-Biloxi Tribe of Louisiana’s Paragon Casino Resort in Marksville, La.

It also operates the Mohegan Sun Pocono in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., and manages and has an equity stake in Resorts Casino Hotel in Atlantic City. It has development and management contracts with the Cowlitz Indian Tribe, which is building a $500 million casino in La Center, Wash.

Most impressive is its partnership with KCC Corp., a South Korean company, and with the Incheon International Airport Corp. there, to build a major resort at the airport. Plans there call for a luxury hotel complex with 1,350 rooms, more than 20,000 square feet of retail space, a 15,000-seat arena, an amusement park, and a 20,000-square-foot casino, a $1.6 billion development.

The Mohegan Tribe has the connections, means and motivation to continue its diversification efforts through the development of Preston Riverwalk property, in the process attracting visitors who will find their way to the neighboring casino, even as gaming competition grows.

The Mohegans are holding off details while discussions with development partners continue, but the authority hints at a mixed-use approach, with entertainment venues, retail, hotel space, upscale camping and potentially offices and housing.

It will result in construction and permanent jobs.

A September opening approaches for the 14,000-square-foot Thompson Exhibit Building at Mystic Seaport. The building, with a striking and somewhat controversial contemporary design that evokes a breaking wave, will allow the Seaport to exhibit more of its collection, attract traveling exhibits, and make the Seaport more competitive in colder months.

All signs point to tourism growth for the region.

Leaders in our urban centers, New London and Norwich, need to focus on how to best benefit from this progress.

New London must do what it can to make the National Coast Guard Museum a reality as soon as possible; find ways to tap into that EB job growth by getting workers into the city and into homes; and finally realize the development potential of Fort Trumbull.

Norwich Public Utilities will be providing utility services to any new development at Preston Riverwalk, boosting revenues for the city. The redevelopment of the Ponemah Mill complex into apartments is underway at an opportune time. Norwich officials should continue pushing an incentive program to encourage downtown development.

While challenges remain — the increased casino competition, relatively high property taxes in the urban centers, an overreliance on service jobs — the sun is shining brighter than it has in a while. It feels good.