Fairfield Hills Panel Recommendation Due

The Fairfield Hills Advisory Committee will present its recommendation next week for the re-development of Fairfield Hills to the Board of Selectmen and Legislative Council. The meeting will take place in the Newtown High School cafeteria Wednesday at 7:30 pm.

Earlier this month, the advisory committee voted unanimously to recommend that the town go ahead with the purchase of the 185-acre property and its one million square feet of building space.

Two weeks ago, First Selectman Herb Rosenthal contacted state officials to inform them that Newtown was interested in purchasing the Fairfield Hills property.

Newtown residents are expected to vote on purchasing the former state mental health hospital by the spring. The cost of Fairfield Hills has not yet been disclosed, although Mr Rosenthal expects the purchase to be about $5.5 million. The biggest costs facing the town would be re-development of the campus. That figure could reach $17 million.