Bridgeport Hall—

Plan Revamps Former Hospital Building Into Municipal Suites

By Kendra Bobowick

All eyes turned to the movie screen displaying a rendering of a multiwinged, $10.5 million renovated Bridgeport Hall that is currently sitting quietly and in slight disrepair within the Fairfield Hills campus.

Collectively seeking a better view and understanding of where their future offices would be in the proposed renovation of the former state hospital hall were a mix of town officials including selectmen, Board of Education members, Fairfield Hills Authority members, and representatives from Parks and Recreation.

The group came together during a presentation before the Building & Site Commission — a handful of nonpartisan building professionals that oversee projects — where figures such as First Selectman Herb Rosenthal, Schools Superintendent Evan Pitkoff, Fairfield Hills Authority Chairman Robert Geckle, and Parks and Recreation Chairman Edward Marks joined the larger crowd of various board members who viewed architect’s drawings together for the first time.

Beyond the building’s vaulted ceilings and brick façade is the role officials believe the new town hall plays.

Member of the design/build team O&G Industries Inc, Director of Development Jeffrey Cugno had also detailed the new town hall’s importance.

“We believe this is a great project…Bridgeport Hall is going to be tremendous,” he said. “We think Bridgeport Hall is the right location and will set a nice tone for overall development.”

Mr Geckle said, “I fully support this as a centerpiece; I am in complete agreement that it’s the essential centerpiece to the execution of the entire master plan.”

Under the master plan, the Fairfield Hills Authority is preparing lease agreements for potential developers to consider occupying space at Fairfield Hills, lending the campus a broader economic purpose than simply becoming a municipal hub.

Mr Geckle explained, “If others see the town has invested in it and the site with the people and activity going on, it will go a long way toward marketing it to others.”

Mr Cugno said, “If you’re going to put the town hall here it’s the focal point of the community and any private interest will know that.”

Bridgeport Hall will house the Board of Education and town hall offices specifically, while Parks and Recreation will remain in Town Hall South. Mr Rosenthal explained, “Parks and Rec never planned on being part of the town hall and w ill be [at Town Hall South] until such a time as a recreation/community center is built.” Recently Commission on Aging representatives met with the Parks and Recreation Commission to talk about a multipurpose building to be located at Fairfield Hills.

The Selection

Bridgeport Hall is the unexpected result of a lengthy selection process.

“We saw a lot of back research and were involved in a lot of planning…we went through a lot of scenarios,” said Mr Cugno.

In a document described as an architectural narrative, to which Mr Cugno referred while making his presentation to the Public Building and Site Commission, he explained, “Bridgeport Hall offers great potential…the building is in better condition than most other buildings on campus…it has large span interior spaces that are well suited to assembly space and to open office environments…”

By choosing Bridgeport Hall, officials deviated from the master plan. In the last year the Fairfield Hills Authority has asked O&G to assess all the buildings’ structural integrity, for example, and discovered degrees of water damage, especially in Shelton Hall, which the master plan had originally targeted as the new town hall site.

Partner Whit Iglehart with Tai Soo Kim Partners, an architectural firm, said, “We looked at Shelton Hall and we thought it was worth considering but found issues that reduced the usefulness.” He noted the significant water issues, size of the rooms, and amount of demolition all as deterrents. His firm also investigated new construction at the Shelton site.

“There were still some issues and that was the most expensive option,” he said.

Although Shelton House is the heart of the campus, its potential as a renovated structure ended there.

Mr Rosenthal said, “All the water on the campus flows through Shelton. We had conversations about developing a pond and drainage.” The pond idea was outside the scope of the Fairfield Hills project, however.

Because Shelton was named as a prospective site for relocating town hall in the master plan, Mr Rosenthal said, “We will have to go shortly to the Planning and Zoning for modification of the master plan because we had talked about renovating Shelton House [for a new town hall] but that doesn’t appear to be feasible.”

Timeline And Costs

O&G Preconstruction Manager Lorel Purcell offered the group a direct and concise timeline saying that if plans are met for going out to bid, moving through a design development phase, proceeding to construction documents, then “hitting the street for hard bids,” then construction could start as soon as May 2007. She said that the construction would last roughly ten months and municipal offices could move in during March 2008.

With reassurances, Ms Purcell said, “You’ll be totally involved in the whole process.”

O&G Preconstruction Manager Scott Baillie spoke up regarding the estimated $10.5 million price of the renovations.

Cost summaries include construction costs, “soft costs,” contingencies, fees, insurance, bonds, etc, all totaling $10.5 million. Broken down further are detailed costs including site improvements at $212,000, building construction and renovation for $7.3 million. Fees, contingencies, and general conditions reimbursables all came in at between $400,000 and $500,000. A total of soft costs that include security systems, architects fees, hazardous material consulting, furniture and equipment, inspections and more totaled $1.6 million. Building & Site Commission member Peter Samoskevich asked, “What if we go beyond the $10 million?” Mr Baillie explained, “The $10 million is based on a detailed review. We feel very confident we can have that building rehabilitated.”

Mr Rosenthal has plans to offset some costs. He said, “There is a good chance of getting grants.”

Also in the estimate’s favor is a short build time, said Mr Cugno. He noted the smaller chance of costs rising in the less than one year estimated for the renovations. Also, he noted, “You’ve got a shell without an escalating factor…it’s an existing building and we know what we need to do.”

Now empty, the large brick building that has stood vacant since the state closed its psychiatric wards at Fairfield Hills in the late 1990s will again see a bustle of work inside its walls — most specifically, town business among various departments including the tax offices, assessor’s office, registrar, the building inspector, director of health, finance, and the Board of Education. In Mr Cugno’s summary he states, “The plan…accommodates most of the program requirements for the town hall offices and the Board of Education.”

O&G will act as the construction manager at risk.“We’ll hold all the contracts,” Mr Cugno said.

Reactions

Superintendent Evan Pitkoff said, “I am glad we’re included in the town hall, we’ll have to work out some things.”

The Public Building and Site Commission Chairman William Furrier, said, “I have heard several iterations of the project but this is the first time I have been exposed to the plan. I am in favor of using the current buildings. I am in favor of using Bridgeport Hall.” He is satisfied with the O&G firm, he said. Also, provided the Board of Selectmen recommend the commission oversee the project, Mr Furrier confirmed that they would. Also of concern for member Anthony D’Angelo was complying with the current budget and timelines. “I hope we will see figures that correlate to what we saw tonight,” he said.