Fairfield Hills Plans Struggled For Footing In 2007

By Kendra Bobowick

Fairfield Hills development plans began the year under attack, and the opposition grew into the most divisive campaign topic of the November municipal elections.

From late November 2006 until early December of 2007, as plans for leasing buildings and renovating municipal space progressed, objections swelled, beginning with resident and business owner Matthew DeAngelis.

He filed a civil action suit questioning, for one, the master plan of redevelopment for the former state hospital campus. Weeks before advertisement began to appear in The Bee touting insidenewtown.com, a website filled with critical commentary on Fairfield Hills. By signing his name to the lawsuit in federal court in Bridgeport in November, Mr DeAngelis emerged from the original anonymity of the website for a barrage of Freedom of Information requests aimed at then-First Selectman Herb Rosenthal’s office.

What prompted the sudden scrutiny of a project unfolding since 1991? The Bee posed questions to Mr DeAngelis early in the year about his scrutiny of the former state hospital campus, for one. He claimed that the Fairfield Hills plan contained elements citizens did not want. “We are asking a judge to compel them to put together a valid master plan and order a machine vote on it…” he had said.

Authority members continued with business as usual, however, and as 2006 waned ideas for marketing the vacant brick buildings soon brought the group into 2007. They called it a draft, just a draft — a document subject to revision, but a tentative step toward shaping future commerce within the beckoning vacant buildings had begun. Fairfield Hills Chairman Robert Geckle was referring to a 16-page packet with pages splashed generously with photos of the buildings, and topographical overviews of the campus’s proximity to main routes, including Interstate 84. Stepping into a key role in drafting the package aimed at developers was North American Realty President Robert Barclay. The advisor worked regularly with the authority on plans to lease buildings for renovation.

By late January a political edge to Mr DeAngelis’s Fairfield Hills criticisms sharpened his arguments. Jabbing his own party, he had said, “As surprised and pleased as I am with the people of Newtown, I am equally disappointed and disheartened by the politicians, particularly in my party, the Republicans. I don’t fault the GOP for approving the master plan [the document outlining Fairfield Hills’s future redevelopment]… It’s now years later and they were clearly asleep at the switch while the train was veering off the tracks,” he stated in an e-mail.

With this, his campaign criticizing Fairfield Hills took on political overtones. His intentions caught the interest of residents, in particular school advocates, and by February several hundred people stood at a Legislative Council meeting — primarily parents — and argued that spending money on current school expansions was a priority over spending taxpayers’ dollars on renovations for a new town hall at Fairfield Hills.

At this point confusion arose regarding school funding and Fairfield Hills expenses. School expansions and Fairfield Hills plans never fought for the same tax dollars. In fact, residents voted in 2001 to appropriate $21 million in bonded funds to finance work at Fairfield Hills. School expansion needs, which arose in the years following 2001, are covered by capital improvement funding. Mr DeAngelis conflated the two by arguing a town hall is not as important as school needs. Many residents agreed with that. Resident Po Murray, a We Care About Newtown (WeCAN), proponent, had confirmed that she urged those concerned about schools to attend a meeting before the Legislative Council regarding Fairfield Hills. Mr DeAngelis also rallied residents to attend. Ms Murray later in the year ran for and won a Legislative Council seat, still questioning Fairfield Hills throughout her campaign and after election to the council.

Authority’s Work Continues

Despite the suspicions promoted by Mr DeAngelis and a growing number of residents who stepped forward during political season at the year’s end, the authority continued its pace of work and soon had architectural rendering of a new town hall in hand. During a meeting in December, all eyes had turned to a movie screen displaying an image of a multiwinged, $10.5 million renovated Bridgeport Hall that is on campus. By late 2007 those renovations began to take shape with heavy machinery at Fairfield Hills.

Mr DeAngelis made another move earlier this year as he filed forms to establish a political action committee. Also at the time he removed any lingering doubts that his Fairfield Hills criticisms had a political bent. He said, “There were two ways to go — one, was that town officials would listen, and two, that town officials need to be replaced.” He said he believed voters needed choices.

The November elections found two members of education advocacy group WeCAN running for the Legislative Council under a new party they helped to establish. Ms Murray and Gary Davis of the new Independent Party of Newtown would become successful political contenders in 2007, slipping into politics on the fault-lines of uncertainty running through Fairfield Hills. Plans for the former state hospital campus became the primary issue of their run at council seats. Mr Davis and Ms Murray are among Independent party members who, like Mr DeAngelis, believe voters needed a choice, and even more, a change.

In the background of the political match were discussions for the 90-foot baseball diamond in the planning for the Fairfield Hills campus. By late February the field was still a vision on paper, but a schedule was clear. Field construction filled the calendar from May to August with a finish date at the end of that month. As the calendar stretched toward the end of the year, field completion was only several weeks late. Residents walking through Fairfield Hills can find the new ball field in place of where Fairfield House once stood. The structure was the first marked for demolitions that would clear the way for reuse.

Filling the temporary political lull was one private resident who announced his plans to personally invest in a sports complex, which would stand adjacent to the planned baseball field. Peter D’Amico proposed the Newtown Youth Academy. In early March Mr D’Amico of SCB office park and Bulk Materials International had offered to finance and build a facility that would create indoor recreation space for the town’s children. He had contacted the town regarding these intentions at a time when the Parks and Recreation Department especially faced space and recreation needs.

As the year unfolded, both the recreation department, seniors, possibly others, began to make joint plans for a community center in proximity to Mr D’Amico’s facility. His space could alleviate some of their recreation space needs.

By the end of March, authority chairman Robert Geckle spoke words he could not have imagined would be challenged drastically by the year’s November elections. During an authority meeting he had said, “I think we reached a few milestones.” The authority had been working with advisors to draft a proposal soon posted on the town website, which essentially introduced the campus to prospective developers, describing the economic possibilities among the buildings and acreage.

And, developers were interested, indicated North American Realty’s Robert Barclay. But political contentions later in the year would loosen the mortar binding real estate deals to the campus. Some Independent party members questioned the one campus element upon which much of the real estate appeal hinged — a new town hall. The central municipal building was an anchor for real estate deals. As Mr Barclay and Mr Geckle both expressed, no one would want to be a tenant alone on the campus.

By summer, plans for a municipal building, Mr D’Amico’s sports complex, and discussions with potential developers continued. Residents walking through the quiet Fairfield Hills streets and glancing toward the old brick façades may have seen the tops of trees drop from view as early as June 29. Trees were removed to make way for the Fairfield House demolition in the area that would soon hold a new 90-foot baseball diamond.

The steel teeth of backhoes scratched the earth around Fairfield House and the brick building’s roof and walls felt the measured bite of machinery in August.

With the new school year within sight, the authority worked out terms with Mr D’Amico. A lengthy executive session in the last days of August yielded a swift decision to recommend a lease agreement bringing the Newtown Youth Academy a step closer to opening at Fairfield Hills. The initial term of lease is 40 years. The town will lease the parcel of land encompassing Bridgewater Hall to the academy at a value of $1.2 million with a $600,000 credit to the NYA for its demolition of the former state hospital building and property cleanup. Mr Geckle explained that the lease would be structured so that Newtown’s Parks and Recreation Department “gets a discount on prevailing market rates” for using the facility. According to the lease summary, “Payment under the lease takes the form of $25 per hour reduction for 1,400 committed hours of court use over year by the town.” The NYA will finance its construction costs.

Lease Agreements

By late September, early October, the proposals the authority had carefully scripted with Mr Barclay began to unfold. Locally residents and businessmen and women approached the authority with Letters of Intent, which meant they were interested in entering a lease agreement for properties to renovate office space, open a boutique or restaurant, and more that would follow. Political rumblings against town hall continued, however.

During October, the Board of Selectmen held hearings and moved that the town attorney commence drafting lease agreements. At the time few knew that elections, which unseated Fairfield Hills supporter Herb Rosenthal, would bring Joe Borst to the top seat. Mr Borst was supported by the Independents — a party which loudly disagreed with the Fairfield Hills redevelopment plans. Mr Borst campaigned on a promise to review the plans.

By November came news that one developer was interested in renovating space for Danbury Hospital, which would expand services to Newtown. This deal, too, would soon be in limbo.

Along came elections that ultimately shook the confidence developers’ had in their Fairfield Hills ventures. Mr Borst unseated Mr Rosenthal, bringing to the selectmen’s board a new and questioning attitude toward Fairfield Hills.

Immediately following elections the redevelopment plans encountered cold scrutiny. Without making any promises, the newly elected Republican team of First Selectman Joseph Borst and Selectman Paul Mangiafico said they were committed to a full review of all activities at Fairfield Hills. Mr Borst spoke words that developers heard clearly. The future first selectman said he would honor his promise to scrutinize the status of a town office project to determine if it can be stopped or put on hold. He added, he said he was never happy with the idea of Bridgeport Hall housing town offices, and that he “liked the idea” brought forth by Independent Party of Newtown contenders. The party members proposed using bonded funds to demolish buildings slated for removal first. In addition to his nomination by local Republicans for the town’s top administrative job, the Independent Party of Newtown also cross endorsed Mr Borst.

Without assurances that a town hall was in the plans, developers had second thoughts. “A couple of real estate negotiations, particularly on the duplexes and a restaurant, have concerns relative to the change in town leadership, just to let everybody know,” Mr Geckle told authority members at a late November meeting.

Another turn-around was ahead, however.

A Setback For Borst

The new Board of Selectmen had its first meeting, which was a defeat for Mr Borst.

Plans that were nearly stalled by doubts among the Independent Party of Newtown members, for one, changed swiftly in December when Selectmen Paul Mangiafico made a motion enabling the project to move forward without further delay.

Immediately seconded by Selectman Herb Rosenthal, the two favorable votes were met with a terse “No” from First Selectman Borst.

Before making the motion to proceed with plans on hold since the early November change in leadership, Selectman Mangiafico had noted, “This is not a win/lose situation.” Fairfield Hills is a divisive topic, however, as became clear when Mr Mangiafico acted to move ahead because, for one, he saw no prevailing reason to stop, he said.

The two-to-one vote outnumbered Mr Borst’s determination to wait. As he had stressed during the meeting and in past interviews with The Newtown Bee, he was not telling anyone to stop the project.

Mr Mangiafico felt that with developers quickly looking for an exit since the change in town leadership, time was of the essence.

He said, “We will continue moving along the present plan regarding the use of Bridgeport Hall in Fairfield Hills and encourage the commercial use of the duplexes, Stratford, and Newtown Halls as currently planned.”­ This position may be the affirmation of the town’s devotion to the project that developers need to see. Mr Geckle said, “The town showing commitment was an important part of the process.”

As December inched toward January, pens stilled before signing a lease agreement had begun to loosen. Although as of December 14, just one lease had been signed — Peter D’Amico’s. The Newtown Youth Academy was firmly moving toward occupying Fairfield Hills and opening to the public. Mr Geckle said other leases were being drawn up between the town attorneys and developers’ lawyers. With only a couple weeks of 2007 remaining, he anticipated that at least one lease by a developer interested in renovating space for Danbury Hospital would be signed. Following that lease would be another with an individual interested in converting space for restaurant use.

As lawyers worked to finalize leases, one stipulations was written in. “They are contingent on the town hall going in,” Mr Geckle said. He did look toward 2008 with optimism. “I think we can create momentum again. I think we can recover.”

Earlier in the year the legal attack form Mr DeAngelis faltered. As election season approached and the lawsuit sat in the legal system, Mr DeAngelis eventually withdrew his claims from court.

On the brink of a new year, developers may renew and commit to their interests in Fairfield Hills. On a campus standing vacant for years since the state closed the psychiatric hospital in the 1990s, the brick buildings and sprawling parklike setting have been nothing more than scenery and recreation space. Without development the possibilities include demolition, remediation, or preservation of buildings for potential future use, which will cost money, as real estate advisor Mr Barclay had said in December.

But with the municipal offices playing a central role in further development, Fairfield Hills can soon be a place for recreation, shopping, and dining with a favorite wine and appetizer while glancing out a window as shoppers slip into a boutique for a gift or new shoes.