Date: Fri 15-Aug-1997

Publication: Bee

Author: ANDYG

Quick Words:

Fairfield-Hills-Nuclo-Andersen

Full Text:

State Hires Firm To Help Decide Best Use Of Fairfield Hills

BY ANDREW GOROSKO

The state has hired a consulting firm to help it decide the best uses for the

650-acre Fairfield Hills campus.

Richard Nuclo, head of state assets management for the state Office of Policy

and Management (OPM), said Tuesday Arthur Andersen & Company, SC, a major

consulting firm, has been hired to help determine the "highest and best use"

of the sprawling property.

In December 1995, the state Department of Mental Health (DMH) ended operations

at Fairfield Hills

Fairfield Hills formerly served as a state psychiatric hospital that housed

about 3,500 patients at its height. The state closed the hospital as the DMH

pursued its policy of patient "deinstitutionalization."

Since the closure, state and town officials have been pondering the best

long-term uses for the facility, which holds more than 100 buildings that

enclose 1.65 million square feet of space. Of those buildings, 7 are listed in

excellent condition, 58 in good condition, 39 in fair condition and 7 are in

poor condition.

The state wants to sell Fairfield Hills, Mr Nuclo said. If that's not

possible, it would lease it. A third choice is some combination of selling and

leasing sections of it, Mr Nuclo said.

OPM mailed out more than 100 "requests for proposals" to consulting firms

seeking an organization that can effectively help decide the best future uses

for the property, Mr Nuclo said. OPM narrowed down the responses to those from

six firms. Of the six firms which were interviewed, Andersen Consulting was

selected to do the job, he said, adding that the firm will be paid $148,500

for the study.

Because the state isn't in the business of studying the best future uses for

real estate and buildings it no longer needs or wants, it decided to hire a

firm that's able to do such work, Mr Nuclo said.

In starting its study, the consultants will review environmental concerns,

mapping, water resources and sewage disposal, among other matters, he said.

Factors such as the condition of the many buildings at Fairfield Hills and the

site's location over the area's sole source aquifer will be taken into account

in planning potential land uses.

After sufficient information on the property is collected and organized, the

consultants will perform a "highest and best use analysis," Mr Nuclo said.

It's expected the consultants will produce three or four options for future

uses of Fairfield Hills from which the state and town will decide which

direction to take.

A property marketing strategy will be developed and an implementation plan

formulated, Mr Nuclo said. A preliminary report is expected by next spring.

Andersen will use the services of a property reuse planning subcontractor.

The consultants will consider the practicality of various future land uses,

keeping in mind uses which are economically viable, Mr Nuclo said.

"Fairfield Hills is a fairly large campus.... There are a lot of options for

us out there," he said.

The state Department of Transportation (DOT) is interested in building a road

salt storage shed somewhere on the Fairfield Hills campus, Mr Nuclo noted.

In its 1994 report, the Fairfield Hills Task Force recommended preserving open

space at Fairfield Hills, expanding recreational uses, reusing certain

buildings for administrative office space, using existing buildings for

economic development, encouraging an educational presence there, providing

affordable housing, and expanding the local stock of housing for the elderly.

After the task force completed its study, the Fairfield Hills Implementation

Oversight Committee was formed. That committee's work led to the hiring of

Andersen.

The town has accepted more than 22 acres and two buildings at Fairfield Hills

from the state as part of a 1991 legal settlement stemming from the town suing

the state over the construction of Garner Correctional Institution.

Currently, the town uses Canaan House at Fairfield Hills for the town offices

formerly housed at Town Hall South. Also, the Booth Library is temporarily

housed in Shelton House. Addiction Prevention Therapy (APT), a private drug

and alcohol treatment program, is housed in Greenwich House. The private

Merryhill Child Care Center is located on state property at 49 Queen Street.

The state plans to sell more than a dozen small houses it owns on the

Fairfield Hills grounds. About 200 acres at Fairfield Hills has been reserved

as state-owned open space.