Date: Fri 17-Apr-1998

Publication: Bee

Author: STEVEB

Quick Words:

Gordon-Fraser-Rosenthal

Full Text:

Town Considers Purchase Of Former Gordon Fraser Facility

(wtih photo)

BY STEVE BIGHAM

First Selectman Herb Rosenthal and a handful of town officials gathered

outside the Gordon Fraser building Wednesday afternoon. They were not there to

buy greeting cards or gift items, however. The store has been closed for four

months.

The men were there to get a better look at the building itself. The former

Gordon Fraser, Inc, property at 173 South Main Street in Newtown is on the

market for $2.4 million and some town officials believe it might just be the

answer to all Newtown's municipal office space woes.

The Gordon Fraser building could become the next home for the town's land-use,

building, parks & recreation and health departments. Currently, those town

agencies are all temporarily located in a building at Fairfield Hills after

being forced out of a rapidly deteriorating Town Hall South 14 months ago. The

town's lease with the state runs out next February, meaning the town must find

another home -- quickly.

The Gordon Fraser building is spacious enough also to house the offices of the

first selectman, finance department, town clerk, tax collector, tax assessor

and social services, which are all currently located at Edmond Town Hall.

"I'm kind of excited about the potential of the building," said Legislative

Council Chairman Pierre Rochman Thursday morning. "Cost-wise, it's very

appetizing. Gordon Fraser seems pretty ideal."

However, while some town officials believe the town needs to "act quickly," Mr

Rosenthal isn't ready to jump into anything just yet.

"The building is for sale, and I've gotten pressure to look at it from a few

members of the Legislative Council," Mr Rosenthal said. "They want to go

faster than I do. The building has some attributes, but there are also some

minuses. Just because the building is on the market doesn't mean we should

jump at it right away.

The Gordon Fraser property lies nearly three miles from the flagpole.

"I'm not opposed to it, but I want to do things properly and not rush into

it," Mr Rosenthal said. "Whatever we do this time, we should make sure we do

it right."

The building features 10,000-square-feet of office space and 32,000-square

feet of modern warehouse/industrial space with 13-foot ceilings, some of which

has both heating and AC and could be transformed for offices. The property is

set on 8.7 acres. The building also has two loading docks, plenty of room for

storage and is wired for computers.

The building was built in 1974 so it is far from new. Mr Rosenthal called on

his experts to determine what it is this building can and can't provide for

the town.

Joining the first selectman on Wednesday's tour were: Town Engineer Ron

Bolmer, Public Works Director Fred Hurley, Building Official Tom Paternoster,

Public Schools Building & Grounds Supervisor Dom Posca, Fire Marshal George

Lockwood and Sandy Hook Volunteer Fire Chief Bill Halstead.

Jeff Ryer of Ryer Associates Commercial Real Estate in Danbury is the

exclusive selling agent.

Bill Brimmer, chairman of the town's Municipal Space Needs Committee, said his

committee has requested that the engineer who conducts the town's space needs

study take a close look at Gordon Fraser. The deadline for firms to reply to

the town's request for proposals was Monday. However, only one firm replied.

Longtime council member Melissa Pilchard said the town's space woes have

become an emergency situation.

"We desperately have to look at it very soon because we urgently need a

facility to house the employees now at Town Hall South," she said Thursday.

"It's unfair that our employees have to work in such deplorable conditions."

Council members say the building will not be on the market forever and feel

the town should act quickly if it does decide to purchase it. They say the

town could always turn around and sell the building if repairs are made to

both Town Hall South and Edmond Town Hall.

"This provides an immediate solution to a very bad situation," Mrs Pilchard

said.

Mr Rochman said he'd like to look into purchasing the building if there is

enough interest. Of course, there is some sentiment for keeping the seat of

government at Edmond Town Hall, an issue that may have some legal overtones

since Mary Hawley requested that certain offices remain at town hall.

Before the Gordon Fraser operation closed, Geoffrey D. Baldwin, president and

general manager, said he thought the Newtown property would be leased rather

than sold.

But Mr Ryer said the British owner of the property decided to sell because it

would be easier than being a landlord.

"But if anyone came in with a proposal to lease, I'd certainly present that

proposal to the owners," he said.

Gordon Fraser closed its warehouse and gift shop in December after Hallmark

Cards, the Kansas City, Mo., corporation that owned the company, decided to

market all of the Gordon Fraser greeting cards, wrapping paper, stationery and

gift items under its British subsidiary, Hallmark Cards Limited.

The Newtown facility, which employed 27 people, had served as the distribution

center for Gordon Fraser products in the United States. The property is owned

by Golden Oak Investments, Ltd, a British consortium which includes Andrew

Bronsword. Mr Bronsword began his own greeting card company in Bath, England,

in 1971 and purchased Gordon Fraser in 1989. The British group became a

Hallmark subsidiary in 1993.

When the Newtown facility was built in the mid-1970s in a wooded tract along

Route 25, an article in The Newtown Bee noted its "attractive wood siding,

beamed ceilings in the gift shop and private offices, and a suite for Mr

Fraser complete with a kitchen and floor-to-ceiling fireplace in the living

room."

Last June attorney Gregory F. Gervodidio of Pullman & Comley LLC of Hartford,

representing Golden Oak Investments, filed a lawsuit in Danbury Superior

Court, appealing the $1,566,550 tax assessment placed on the property by the

town of Newtown. The property had been re-assessed in the townwide revaluation

done in 1996.

The suit contended that the tax assessor had over-valued and over-assessed the

property and that an appeal to the town's Board of Assessment Appeals was

unsuccessful. The suit asked for a reduction in the assessment plus damages.

Tax-assessed values are set at 70 percent of a property's estimated full

market value. A $1,566,550 tax assessed value would place the estimated full

market value at $2,237,929.