Fairfield Hills Panel Presents Its Report

By Steve Bigham

The Fairfield Hills Advisory Committee completed a year’s worth of work Wednesday night when it presented its recommendation for the re-use of Fairfield Hills to both the Legislative Council and Board of Selectmen.

Its recommendation: purchase Fairfield Hills from the state in order to ensure control over future development there. The panel also believes the purchase will address major town needs such as a town hall, school site, and fields. It recommends that the costs of developing and maintaining the site be tempered by some economic development.

As Chairman Michael Floros pointed out during his presentation, the recommendation is a unanimous one by the full 14-member board. It is a recommendation that, if accepted, would likely cost the town in the neighborhood of $20 million.

The selectmen and council must now decide how to finance such a massive undertaking and then, when to send it to a referendum. Residents are expected to vote on the purchase of the 185-acre campus with its one million square feet of space by late summer. The council is expected to discuss the issue at its April 5 meeting.

The cost of Fairfield Hills has not yet been disclosed, although First Selectman Herb Rosenthal expects the purchase cost 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.

In its final report, advisory committee states that it believes the purchase of Fairfield Hills provides the town an opportunity to satisfy numerous needs while giving the town control over development at the same time. The Fairfield Hills campus represents roughly 0.5 percent of the land area of Newtown and, according to the committee, will not be able to satisfy every current and future municipal need.

“Taking control of this parcel is the first step for the town to develop a more active role in managing the development of our community,” the report states.

The advisory committee’s recommendation will also suggest that the town create a development authority to oversee the re-development of the land prior to purchase. This would require council approval of a new ordinance creating such a body. The development authority would be similar to the Edmond Town Hall Board of Managers or Water Pollution Control Authority (WPCA) in its autonomy and independence from local political control.

Recommendations For Redevelopment

The advisory committee has split the campus up into six “elements” and has made recommendations for each. They are open space, land for schools, town offices, community center, “entry plaza,” and revenue generation (core campus):

Open Space: The committee is recommending that Norwalk Hall and eight single-family homes and duplexes be demolished. This land, along with the existing open space, would create a total of 125 acres of open space. The use of this space would include 90 acres for passive recreation, including hiking trails, open areas, and woodland. Additionally, 25 to 35 acres should be used for active recreation, including the construction of 5 to 7 (over the next 7 to 10 years) ball fields to meet the needs of Parks & Recreation and local sports groups.

The cost for implementation: $2.4 million ($1.5 million for ball field construction, $632,000 for demolition work, and $300,000 for parking lot construction).

 Land for Schools: Approximately 21 acres should be designated for the construction of a school, the advisory committee recommends. Combined with 19.6 acres at Watertown Hall, the town will have space for two schools. One of these two sites – probably Watertown Hall – will be home to the 5/6 school. The other, at the Cochran House site, could be used for an elementary school, although the Board of Education has stated that it would rather see the new school closer to Sandy Hook.

The cost for implementation: $1.94 million (demolition of Cochran House, including lead and asbestos abatement).

Town Offices: The advisory committee recommends that eight acres and Stamford and Stratford halls be designated for municipal offices. According to the town’s space needs report, the town needs 32,000 square feet. Stamford Hall has 58,000 square feet of usable space. All offices – minus first selectman and town clerk – would be housed under one roof. This plan, according to the report, eliminates the need for an $11.2 million addition at Edmond Town Hall.

The cost for implementation: $3.8 million ($3.3 million for renovation and upgrade, including heat; $262,000 for lead and asbestos abatement; and $166,000 for parking lot construction).

Community Center: The report suggests that Plymouth Hall be designated as a multi-generation community center. The building includes a theater, bowling alley, gymnasium, recreation and art space. The area would allow for the consolidation of all Parks & Recreation programs.

The cost for implementation: $4.3 million ($3.8 million for renovation and upgrade, including heat; $270,000 for lead and asbestos abatement; and $189,000 for parking lot construction).

Economic Development (Core Campus): The committee suggests that 38 acres, including nine buildings, be designated for economic development. It envisions the five largest buildings – Shelton, Canaan, Bridgeport, Greenwich, and Kent buildings – being re-used for corporate use. Fairfield, Bridgewater, Litchfield, and Yale buildings would be demolished to make room for parking.

As the advisory committee points out, the creation of a sustainable economic zone that generates revenues will help to offset the town’s investment to own the property. Newtown would maintain control of the property through the structure of the long-term lease agreement. The developer would assume all renovation and abatement costs and would likely pay the town as much as a million dollars in rent each year.

According to the report, the nine buildings represent more than 900,000 square feet of space. To abate and demolish them would cost the town nearly $15 million.

“The asbestos and lead abatement and demolition costs make it uneconomical to clean the buildings for additional open space,” the report states.

The cost for implementation: Little to nothing.

Entry Plaza: The committee recommends that this showpiece area, which includes Woodbury and Newtown halls, as well as a small green, should be designated for mixed use. The town may need to leave this area open for a corporate tenant, although some committee members doubt a corporation will need this area. Instead, the area might be used for shops, restaurants, offices, walkways, etc.

The committee recommended against using the two buildings for municipal use for three reasons. First, all municipal offices cannot fit in one building. Secondly, municipal offices are closed at night and on weekends, so citizens will not be drawn to the area during those times. Lastly, the committee believes there will be a need for small businesses due to the increased activity in the area.

The cost for implementation: $4.45 million ($3.9 million for renovation of both buildings, $329,000 for asbestos and lead abatement, $194,000 for parking lot construction).

Annual costs in excess of one million dollars for maintenance, lighting, etc., would also need to be considered if the town purchased the property.

Questions From The Council

A handful of Legislative Council members question the wisdom of a corporate park at Fairfield Hills. If the park employs 1,500-2,000 people, where are those people going to live, Melissa Pilchard wondered. She asked, what if a quarter of them live in Newtown and they each have two kids? That’s 1,000 new kids.

“We would have to build a new school. So how is this advantageous to Newtown to have economic development?” she asked.

Mr Floros, an employee of Timex, said only 15 percent of the watch manufacturer’s employees actually live in Middlebury, headquarters for the company. And, he said, IBM has not created an increase in housing in Southbury since moving in during the late 1980s.

Council member Doug Brennan inquired about tax incentives and whether or not the town would need to provide them for a prospective tenant.

It’s not in the plan, committee members replied. “We don’t need to do that. There are firms that are looking for this kind of thing,” noted committee member Walter Motyka.

Several months ago, the Boston real estate development firm of Spaulding & Slye visited the site and was very impressed with the condition of the buildings and their potential in serving as home to a medium to large corporate entity.

The bottom line, according to committee member Al Cramer, is that taxes are up, new houses are going up, and there is little commerce to offset these rising costs.

“Where in our town do we have the opportunity for commercial development besides the area off exit 9 and Fairfield Hills?” he asked.

Committee member Mike Snyder agreed, and pointed out that nothing is “cast in stone.” The committee’s job was simply to say “yea” or “nay” and to come up with possible scenarios for re-use.

“I think the people of Newtown should have a solid idea of what will go up there. It doesn’t have to be cast in stone, but it shouldn’t be as broad as we have it now,” noted Council Chairman Pierre Rochman.

The council chairman also said that vacant land is the most revenue-friendly type of land-use a town can have. Why promote commercial development when you can have open space? he asked.

Council member Will Rodgers reminded his fellow town officials that none of the dialogue about commercial development versus open space will matter unless the town purchases the property. The alternative, he predicted, will be a Fairfield Hills filled with affordable housing.