Date: Fri 30-Jul-1999

Publication: Bee

Author: ANDYG

Quick Words:

Fairfield-Hills-SBC-proposal

Full Text:

Visions For Fairfield Hills, Part II-- A Special Community & Lifestyle For

Empty-Nesters

(with graphics, line drawings)

(This is the second of a series of stories on the three redevelopment projects

proposed for Fairfield Hills).

BY ANDREW GOROSKO

In its proposal for the redevelopment of the Fairfield Hills core campus known

as "Legacy at Newtown," SBC Associates, LLC, of Greenwich presents a mixed-use

project largely of age-restricted homes, including senior and independent

residences, live/work spaces, neighborhood retail, professional offices, a

country inn, recreational and open spaces, plus public uses.

The firm proposes a children's museum and a library, plus three sites where

the town could construct facilities such as schools, town offices, or

buildings for cultural uses. SBC Associates is also known as Spectrum/Skanska.

Spectrum has designed and will build the project as one master-planned

community in phases and the proposal does not contemplate the subdivision

and/or sale of any components of the site to other developers/builders, nor

the acquisition of additional public or private land for development,

according to the company.

"The housing options focus on seniors, empty nesters, and assisted/independent

living, limiting the impact on the schools and infrastructure," according to

the SBC proposal. SBC officials said this week their housing category called

"assisted/independent living" is what is commonly considered independent

living housing.

The three sites proposed for town buildings in the plan provide the town with

an opportunity to build new, modern facilities instead of adapting older, less

efficient structures for municipal use.

SBC says its design for the project would preserve, renovate and adaptively

reuse six of the best quality buildings on the site -- Newtown Hall, Woodbury

Hall, Greenwich House, Stratford Hall, Stamford Hall and Norwalk Hall. Other

buildings at the 186-acre core campus would be demolished.

SBC's proposal would have positive fiscal and economic effects on the town and

state from real estate tax growth and sales tax growth, as well as from new

employment, according to the firm.

"It is the intent of this park-like plan to serve the general Newtown

community providing lively, active streetscapes and green spaces on which

people can congregate, stroll and shop... The plan also provides cultural and

recreational amenities to be shared by all the townsfolk, which should

contribute to a sense of overall unity and cooperation," according to SBC.

Three Components

The SBC proposal contains three basic components: residential, recreational,

and public uses. There would be a total of 625 residential units, including

425 residences; 150 independent living units; plus 25 rooms at an inn and 25

cottages clustered nearby. More than 75 percent of the housing on the site

would be age-restricted, SBC states.

Residential. The central component of the proposal is a residential community

which combines several different housing types. It includes 425 residences in

four architectural styles. There would be 41 live/work Guild Homes, 89 Village

Mews homes, 205 Cottage and Garden Homes, and 90 Carriage Homes.

"The Spectrum proposal has been developed to provide a stable community of

permanent residents. The proposal does not speak of rental apartments, which

with its transient residents increases demand on schools and infrastructure,"

according to SBC.

The SBC proposal calls for a 150-unit senior independent living complex. It

would include 126 apartments for the elderly within a renovated Greenwich

House, plus 24 villas clustered around it.

A proposed 25-room inn and 25 adjacent villas would encourage light tourism in

the area, as well provide a place for the guests visiting the town and the

complex, according to SBC.

Neighborhood retail and work space would be located in a renovated Newtown

Hall and Woodbury Hall totaling approximately 45,000 square feet of area.

Retail space in the facilities would be geared toward local and smaller-scale

retailers and craft shops. Upper levels of the buildings would be marketed for

professionals such as doctors, accountants and lawyers, plus technology sector

companies.

Recreation. "As with all Spectrum/Skanska projects, bringing the residents

together as a community is a paramount design criteria. Legacy at Newtown

provides a land design that intertwines the residences with recreational

facilities, village centers and open space," according to SBC.

A meeting house in a renovated Stamford Hall would be the project's recreation

center. It would include meeting rooms, exercise areas and an indoor pool,

plus a clubhouse and changing areas for the adjacent outdoor swimming pool and

tennis courts.

A library in a renovated Stratford Hall would be open to residents of the

development and the town.

About 60 percent of the site would be preserved as open space.

Public Uses . SBC proposes creating a children's museum in a renovated Norwalk

Hall to encourage interaction between the generations. The museum would be

open to town residents.

SBC would make sites available to the town. The sites could be used for a

summer and winter Garden, a community theater, and/or a new town hall,

according to SBC. Another site on the property, which would be accessible from

outside the development, could be used by the town for a school, SBC states.

"The plan incorporates significant areas of the project that remain open to

the public and reserves several sites for the town's use, for the town to

determine their ultimate use and build their required facilities, without the

town having to make the fiscal commitment and outlay to purchase Fairfield

Hills," SBC states.

SBC estimates that the project would increase the town's school-age population

by 87 students in grades K-12. The estimate is based upon Urban Land Institute

demographic studies which indicate 0.78 school age children per three-bedroom

household, with 85 percent of those students attending public school.

SBC estimates that Legacy at Newtown would increase the town's population by

1,135 people, including 935 in the private dwellings and 200 within assisted

living quarters.

"The proposal yields a positive fiscal and economic impact to the Town of

Newtown and the State of Connecticut in terms of positive revenue growth from

real estate and sales tax, as well as employment opportunities," according to

SBC.

Economic/Fiscal

SBC estimates its proposal would generate approximately $3.5 million in

additional annual property tax revenue, largely from taxes on residences. The

firm estimates state sales tax receipts would increase by $500,000 annually as

a result of increased spending associated with new residents. SBC projects the

market value of its fully-built project at $178 million.

SBC explains its market rationale in proposing Legacy at Newtown.

"Within a few years, many `baby boomers' from Newtown and lower Fairfield

County will become `empty-nester boomers' and will be ready to scale down from

their large homes and seek a whole new lifestyle. This will fuel a greater

need for intriguing new neighborhoods offering smaller homes with less

maintenance and efficient and exciting designs."

"These buyers will want their homes to blend the best of yesterday, today and

tomorrow -- traditional New England architecture on the outside, contemporary

living spaces inside and state of the art technology in the walls."

"`Legacy,' with its innovative `human' land plan, extensive recreational

amenities and cultural centers, promises to be a neighborhood Newtown will be

proud to call its own," according to SBC.

Purchase Offer

SBC offers to buy Fairfield Hills from the state for $20 million in cash,

based on the state meeting various conditions. Those conditions require that

SBC receive non-appealable land use approvals for the construction work

described in its redevelopment proposal.

The state would be required to remove all environmental hazards from the

property including asbestos, lead paint and underground fuel tanks. SBC also

wants the state to conduct further studies on environmental hazards at

Fairfield Hills and cover the costs of any additional recommended clean-up

work.

The state would have to remove the steam heat distribution system. The state

also would have to totally demolish 13 buildings and demolish the interiors of

the six buildings which SBC would renovate for new uses.

Selection

Members of the Fairfield Hills Selection Committee, an eight-member joint

town-state panel, will be reviewing the proposals from the three firms

competing for the redevelopment of Fairfield Hills.

The selection committee will decide which proposal is a suitable one for the

property, reach some agreement with that development firm, and then offer the

property for sale to the town. The town has the right of first refusal on the

purchase of Fairfield Hills.

Becker and Becker Associates, Inc, of New Canaan proposes the preservation and

refurbishment of all buildings at the Fairfield Hills core campus. It proposes

360 housing units, a public school for grades 5/6, a YMCA, expanded athletic

fields, municipal office space, and medical and corporate offices. It offers

to buy the property for $9 million.

Wilder Balter Partners, LLC, of Elmsford, NY, proposes Renaissance at

Fairfield Hills. That project would be a master-planned golf course community

with residential, recreational and commercial uses. It would have 550

residential units. Wilder Balter offers the state a gross purchase price of

$11.7 million, based on various conditions.

The state closed Fairfield Hills in December 1995 in an era of patient

"deinstitutionalization." The facility once housed more than 3,000 psychiatric

patients.

A public session at which the three development firms are slated to present

their proposals is tentatively scheduled for September 9.

A copy of the three detailed Fairfield Hills redevelopment proposals is

available for public review at Booth Library, 25 Main Street.