After unanimous recommendations from the Fairfield Hills Authority and the Board of Selectmen, a draft lease agreement between the Town and Winn Development for the acquisition of Shelton House will go to the Legislative Council for approval following a 7 pm public hearing being planned for Wednesday, June 17.

The hearing will precede the council’s regularly scheduled 7:30 pm meeting, during which a vote is anticipated regarding the disposition of the lease. The project is already approved with Winn as Newtown’s redevelopment partner.

The council may act following the public hearing exclusively authorizing the Town to accept the lease as submitted. That action will represent the culmination of years of preparation and planning, and hundreds of hours of time spent by volunteers, officials, Town staff, and members of the Winn team.

Endorsement of the lease proposal by the council and its anticipated subsequent signing by First Selectman Bruce Walczak would signal the start of a due diligence period.

During this time, Winn and its representatives will access the buildings to perform all necessary inspections to move the historic redevelopment initiative forward. Following that will be an extensive effort to assemble financing utilizing historic tax credits.

The first selectman said he is optimistic the council will strongly consider the thoughtful and unanimous recommendations already provided by fellow selectmen, and the Authority.

“Here we are in May of 2026, looking back on a process that officially began in July of 2019 when a Fairfield Hills Master Plan Review Committee recommended mixed use development of up to two of the existing buildings,” Walczak said. “Now we are at an exciting point in this long process where work toward achieving that adaptive reuse of Shelton and Kent Houses is ready to break ground.”

Reflecting on key points in the pre-development timeline, the first selectman noted that Winn Development emerged as the leading company to bring the vision of a mixed use residential/commercial project to Fairfield Hills in 2021. Upon its estimated completion by 2030, the development will substantially contribute toward the goal of Fairfield Hills becoming a self-sustaining campus.

In order to make the reuse and redevelopment of these buildings financially feasible, Newtown pursued and achieved a federal historic designation in September 2024. This was another critical milestone toward making this concept a reality for Newtown, because it means Winn will be able to receive Historic Tax Credits to help offset construction costs.

Other milestones along the way included multiple public information sessions still available to view; a public referendum that endorsed a two-building, mixed use development on the campus that would include housing; and the adoption of a special exception to zoning permitting rental residential housing at Fairfield Hills.

While decisions about bringing this project to Fairfield Hills were finalized several years ago, the Legislative Council is now being asked to endorse the Town entering into a lease agreement with Winn Development that has been meticulously refined over the past year.

Members of the public interested in reviewing the many resources related to the project and Fairfield Hills can begin by visiting newtown-ct.gov/fairfield-hills-authority. That page will link visitors to a summary of the lease agreement, as well.

Substantial background and project information is also available in multiple reports produced by The Newtown Bee over the years since this project was envisioned.