Date: Fri 11-Dec-1998

Publication: Bee

Author: ANDYG

Quick Words:

Fairfield-Hills-developers

Full Text:

Prospective Developers Get A Closer Look At Fairfield Hills

(with photos)

BY ANDREW GOROSKO

On a balmy day last week that seemed more like May than December, several

dozen developers walked through the corridors of Fairfield Hills, inspecting

parts of the million-square-foot former mental institution which the state is

marketing for private redevelopment.

Erik Torkelson of Tunxis Management Company provided tours December 4 to those

interested in the putting the institution to new uses. Tunxis manages

Fairfield Hills for the state.

A tour led participants through Canaan House, a 209,000-square-foot former

patient residence; Plymouth Hall, which contains a basketball court, chapel,

theater, and bowling alleys; Newtown Hall, a former administration building;

Shelton House, a former patient residence; and Bridgeport Hall, a cavernous

kitchen and dining hall.

Other tours showcased Fairfield House, a former patient residence hall which

the state later converted into a minimum-security prison; Cochran House, a

patient residence hall; and a large chiller plant which was built several

years ago for central air conditioning at the campus.

Developers and real estate people toting cameras and notebooks walked across

the sprawling campus snapping pictures and scribbling down details about the

massive masonry complex as tour guides described the scene.

Participants peppered Mr Torkelson and other tour guides with many technical

questions about Fairfield Hills' infrastructure, concerning heating, cooling,

plumbing, and electrical facilities.

The state has received about 250 inquiries on the redevelopment of Fairfield

Hills, explained Richard Nuclo, the state Office of Policy and Management's

(OPM) director of assets management. Mr Nuclo is overseeing the state's

disposition of the Fairfield Hills 185-acre core campus in an era of patient

"deinstitutionalization." The mental institution closed in December 1995.

For sale as a unit are 16 major buildings, including one million square feet

of enclosed space, which occupy about 100 acres of the 185-acre parcel being

marketed. The remaining 85 acres have forests and fields. That land is

available for new uses.

Solicitation

The Fairfield Hills developers conference followed a nationwide solicitation

by the state seeking potential buyers for the property.

"We are very encouraged in the response to date to the Fairfield Hills

solicitation process. We are particularly pleased with the number of responses

from what we consider to be major developers and end users from over 20

states," Mr Nuclo said.

Most developers who took the tour haven't disclosed their potential plans for

the site, he said. "We have not, at this point in time, asked them to tell us

what their ideas are," he added.

But those on the tour mentioned the residential, retail, and educational

possibilities of the site.

"I'm pleased by the number of responses we got. I'm pleased by the turnout. I

want to move this (marketing process) along," he said.

First Selectman Herbert Rosenthal told the assembled developers the town views

redevelopment as a local economic development project.

"The sensitive reuse of Fairfield Hills is of paramount importance to the

future of Newtown and we look forward to the process of reviewing

qualifications and proposals on this property," he said.

The town wants Fairfield Hills' redevelopment to generate new property tax

revenue, the first selectman said. But the town doesn't want redevelopment to

cost it more in governmental services than it produces in property taxes, he

noted.

Fairfield Hills has environmental problems including the presence of asbestos

and lead paint in buildings. The state has hired a private contractor to

analyze Fairfield Hills' environmental hazards. That report is due in January.

The private firm that redevelops Fairfield Hills probably can resolve the

environmental problems more simply than the state, Mr Nuclo said. The need for

such private environmental work would be factored into the property's sale

price, he said.

Of potential new uses for Fairfield Hills, Mr Nuclo told the developers, "We

need to hear from you people what you think is doable or is not doable."

Asked by a developer about the price for the 185 acres, Nr Nuclo said, "I

think we'll get there. I don't have a set price in mind. We're going to look

at what comes in. Then we'll negotiate."

Mr Rosenthal told the developers many residents would like to have the

significant architectural details preserved, such as the campus green

including Shelton House, Newtown Hall, and Woodbury Hall.

Specifics

OPM states that while the sale price of the property is a consideration,

greater weight will be given to evaluating redevelopment proposals based on

their economic impact on the town and state, as well as the proposals'

sensitivity to environmental and historical issues.

Although preference will be given to redevelopment proposals that are

sensitive to historical aspects of Fairfield Hills, including reusing some of

the buildings, there is no requirement that all buildings be kept intact.

A consulting firm has recommended a variety of potential new uses for the

property.

Arthur Andersen, LLP, of Hartford, the consultants retained by the state,

suggests new uses including: health care, office space, retail sales, housing,

educational facilities, a hotel, resort, spa, conference center, golf course

and recreational facilities. In seven mixed-use redevelopment scenarios,

Andersen proposes various combinations of those land uses.

The consultants suggest seven mixed-use scenarios all of which involve a

mixture of partial demolition, rehabilitation, and new construction.

Possible uses suggested by Andersen include: a shopping center, elderly

multi-family housing; single-family housing; a hotel/conference center; an

executive golf course; corporate business park; educational facility;

retail/commercial complex; pitch-and-putt golf course; ice skating rink;

wellness/fitness center; technology research and development center; assisted

living facilities; and an age-restricted single-family housing complex.

In engineering a resale of the property, Andersen is seeking new uses of

Fairfield Hills which: have a minimal economic effect on local spending for

public education; have a low impact on the environment; create positive

economic effects on the town, and have the existing buildings and campus at

Fairfield Hills used to the greatest extent possible.

Last April, the Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) approved the Fairfield

Hills Adaptive Reuse Zone. That zone would regulate permitted land uses at

Fairfield Hills when the property is privately owned.

Permitted uses in that zone include: retail sales, shopping centers and

wholesale businesses, all limited to a maximum 40,000 square feet of floor

area; educational facilities with accessory housing; light manufacturing; bulk

storage; warehousing; office space; medical and dental offices; laboratories;

corporate headquarters; printing establishments; laundry services; dry

cleaners; publishing establishments; restaurants; commercial or public

recreational facilities; fitness centers; museums; libraries; theaters; movie

theater complexes; houses of worship; banks and financial institutions;

hospitals, multiple family dwellings which include affordable housing; adult

congregate-living complexes; assisted-living complexes for the elderly;

multiple-family housing for the elderly; parking structures; hotels; motels;

conference centers; nurseries and greenhouses.

The Fairfield Hills Selection Committee, a panel composed of state and town

officials, is scheduled to select a firm in June to redevelop Fairfield Hills.

In evaluating developers for Fairfield Hills, the selection panel will

consider: the projects which the firm has done, its financial strength, its

experience with large scale projects and historic reuse projects, its success

in completing projects, its organizational structure and key personnel.

State law requires that the state offer to sell the core campus to the town

before selling it to a private firm. An advisory panel to the first selectman

has recommended that the town not acquire the property, but no final decision

on whether the town should buy the property has been made.