Town Hall Options And ‘Diamonds’ In The Rough Highlight Fairfield Hills Planning Session

By Kendra Bobowick

Demolition is in the mix of Fairfield Hills Authority members’ swift decisions Tuesday as they favored options for a new town hall. Two new 90-foot baseball fields may also make the final round of planning, depending on costs.

First up were plans A through D, which provided a combination of demolition, renovation, additions, and new construction all focusing on buildings Shelton House and Bridgeport Hall. Whit Iglehart, with project architectural firm Tai Soo Kim Partners, ran through the possibilities, concluding with the recommendation to raze Shelton. Although that building “has a front portico and could suggest a town hall, there are quite a few negatives. Its general condition is not too good,” Mr Iglehart said. “Our recommendation is that the Shelton option not be pursued, but it should be demolished to open the space to Bridgeport [Hall].”

After he ran through the options, authority members took little time narrowing their preference.

“With B and C you have large spaces, meeting space, can also accommodate departments in sections, and I think there are ways to make programs fit,” said member William Lavery.

Walter Motyka said, “I think C is the most viable option.”

Leaving no misunderstandings as to option A, which pointed to renovations to Shelton Hall, Chairman Robert Geckle Sr said, “Clearly, you can take Shelton off the menu.”

Making it official, Mr Lavery said, “We should recommend to the Board of Selectmen to demolish and not use Shelton for the town hall.”

Removing Shelton House leaves a sweeping entrance and view of Bridgeport Hall, which appealed to member Andrew Willie.

The two options eliminating Shelton House and resurrecting Bridgeport Hall for a town hall include a mixed use of its space between the municipality and the public, and also a combination of renovation, additions and/or new construction.

Tuesday’s decisions will rely in part on an appropriation made by a town meeting in 2001, which saw an approval of a $21.8 bonding package for the purchase of Fairfield Hills and associated projects including demolition, renovations, remediation, playing fields. and general infrastructure improvements. This week, the authority moved to request cost estimates for the town hall options.

Authority member Donald Studley has an idea about how much of the $21 million will be needed for a town hall.

“In the back of our minds we have the number, $10 million, that we think we can spend,” he said.

 

Clear Reasoning

Mr Iglehart listed Shelton House’s drawbacks from the roof to the ground floor. “Shelton has a lot of damage in the wings and other serious problems with looking at it for use.”

He described the floor plan as less than ideal with its narrow, 40-foot widths, which “limit the options.” Mr Iglehart continued dissecting interior problems, saying, “All partitions may need to be removed and inside Shelton they’re all block and terra cotta — that’s major demolition.”

Ceilings also topped the list counting against Shelton Hall. “They are not necessarily high; that’s a problem for new electronics, for example,” Mr Iglehart said.

“As someone said, ‘A River Runs Through It,’” he quipped. “There is water is in the basement.”

Explaining that Shelton House’s location and elevation were essentially perfect for collecting water, Mr Iglehart said it would literally make a better site for a pond. One of the two scenarios for which the committee opted involves developing a pond in front of Bridgeport Hall.

Offering the most compelling reason for his firm’s recommended options, Mr Iglehart said, “Bridgeport is in better shape than Shelton, it has large open spaces inside, and there are not a lot of inside partitions to remove.”

He also liked the ceiling height, explaining, “It’s good for conference space and for meetings.”

Also, Bridgeport Hall does not have Shelton House’s water problems.

Stepping back from the building’s plusses, he then discussed the problems with Bridgeport Hall.

“The flat-roofed areas show heaviest water damage,” Mr Iglehart said. Many of the roofing materials are “historically difficult to work with, but we have some strategies,” he concluded.

The architects, along with project manager O&G Industries, represented by Preconstruction Manager Scott Baillie Tuesday night, are still awaiting decisions from authority members regarding the building’s specific future use.

“We need to sit with the town or community and confirm which departments will be part of the town hall and which will stay elsewhere in town.”

Nonetheless, the building’s spacious interior gave the architects some ideas. Mr Iglehart detailed thoughts on programming.

“As far as Bridgeport Hall, how does the town feel about an open office environment and meeting and community room?” he asked.

Bridgeport Hall also possesses other factors as far as resources, which tip the scales.

“There is potential future use for some of the spaces, how much space do you want to use, and how?” he also asked.

In Play

Gary Sorge with Vollmer Associates, the landscape architect, discussed field locations and walking trail concepts.

He was clear about constraints, saying, “We have to look at the constructability with an eye on how much it’s going to cost.”

He outlined placement for two 90-foot fields located centrally in the Fairfield Hills campus, and outlined advantages for building one before the other.

Mr Studley again brought cost into the equation, saying, “They proposed two [fields] in two phases and will price each phase.” Costs may permit just one field but, “it’s conceivable that two” could be budgeted. The board is just waiting to hear about costs, Mr Studley said.

Mr Iglehart said the options highlight “two 90-foot fields” and both are sited to fall within the “footprints of four buildings.” He explained two potential plans, saying, “Phase one includes a 90-foot diamond and would require demolition of Litchfield House.” This phase incurs risks, including water build-up.

Mr Sorge said, “Consequences are a little accumulation of water.” Parking also would accompany the diamond.

His plans also place the fields in the campus center. “In case of lighting they are tucked away,” he said.

Depending on how demolition and/or construction work evolves from the town hall project, authority members questioned which field to build first.

Mr Geckle recommended that “Vollmer move forward on looking at costs and options and continue doing work on the options. Go forward and develop costs,” he said.

Another element of the campus development has attracted interest lately. Developing the trails winding around the campus drew the crowd this week. Many residents wearing the jackets and carrying brochures for the Newtown Bridle Lands Association Inc filled Town Hall South’s conference room. They wanted a look at architectural plans outlining possibilities for the trails winding along the campus outskirts.

“Trails focus on the perimeter and are not conflicting with areas of future work,” Mr Sorge said. “You’ll have a nice network of paths and a variety of experiences.”