Fairfield Hills Heads Into 2011

After A Year Of Changes, Slow Progress

By Kendra Bobowick

Passing another year undisturbed, many of the former state hospital buildings at Fairfield Hills remained vacant through 2010 while plans to either occupy or raze them lingered. Opposite those dark, closed-up façades was activity that continues in 2011: demolition in some locations is visible outside the new Newtown Municipal Center’s windows, where personnel spent their first full year in the renovated location. Since October of 2009, various town departments have staffed the former Bridgeport Hall, relocating from the Edmond Town Hall on Main Street.

Demolition has always been a part of the Fairfield Hills long-term planning. With several buildings razed in the past few years, another came down in 2010: Yale Laboratory, with Litchfield Hall currently succumbing to abatement and demolition.

In August, heavy machinery labored to bite off hunks of brickwork and roofing tiles at Yale Laboratory. A backhoe’s jaws widened then clamped down, ripping apart the former state hospital’s morgue. Although Litchfield Hall was soon to follow, unforeseen hazardous material abatement delayed the project, which is now taking place.

 

Master Plan Review Committee

As winter waned in March, the Board of Selectman cast its net in search of volunteers to form a Fairfield Hills Master Plan Review Committee. As written in an initial draft, officials sought a panel to “review the master plan [of 2005] and make such recommendations as the committee deems appropriate for revisions or modifications in that plan.” The master plan for reuse at Fairfield Hills is a planning and zoning document pertaining to the redevelopment of the roughly 180-acre parcel that the town purchased from the state.

Mid-April saw a list of 14 names emerge following a call for volunteers. Mrs Llodra had explained, “There is always good news and bad news. The good is that 14 people have come forward …” They have diverse skill sets and backgrounds, she said, then offered the bad news. “But, 14 people — the size may prohibit effective processes.”

She would later clarify, “Not all 14 will be identified [for the committee]. My guess is that 14 might be too large a number. The Board of Selectmen will have to grapple with that at the next meeting.”

Now serving on the review committee are Paul Lundquist, Nancy Roznicki, Ben Roberts, Chairman Michael Floros, Alan Shepard, Robert Maurer, Michael Mossbarger, Deborra Zukowski, and Gary Steele. Dennis Kyle is serving as an alternate. The members come from diverse backgrounds, and represent the three major political parties in Newtown — Republicans, Democrats, and Independent Party of Newtown members. As of early December, the review committee had met with selectmen to report its progress, but had not supplied a final report to the board.

A Sole Real Estate Broker

Authority members and town officials last year had sought a single real estate broker to market the Fairfield Hills property. Bethel-based Advantage Realty broker Michael Struna got the job.

Authority Chair John Reed had made a motion to offer the exclusive right to the commercial realty owner and broker. Mr Struna conducts a lot of work in Newtown, Mr Reed had told the authority. “If you look at Route 6 or even South Main Street you’ll see a lot of Advantage signs …”

Mr Struna was one of three agents to come forward as the authority began its search for an exclusive broker.

Housing

The words housing and apartments sparked much discussion starting mid-2010.

With the impending start of work by the Fairfield Hills Master Plan Review Committee, questions about the possibility of housing at the Fairfield Hills campus arose. In early June, Mrs Llodra took pains to put the issue into perspective.

“No formal proposal has been made [regarding housing developments for Fairfield Hills] so I cannot comment on what may or may not transpire,” she said. She cautioned, “We should not prejudge any concept, especially now that the Master Plan Review Committee is just beginning its work. It is equally important, however, to not allow a project proposal to rush us to judgment — positive or negative.” Mrs Llodra said she supports a “fair and balanced review,” which “is necessary.”

“All ideas should be evaluated in terms of what that group ultimately considers to be in the best interest of Newtown,” she said.

The committee should be “free to assess/evaluate concepts for Fairfield Hills development without the pressure of a specific initiative,” she had stressed.

Mr Struna advised the committee in October to “think really hard about residential.” Based on his contacts, he said, “Developers are saying that nothing is going to be sustainable without a residential component.” He would soon reveal that one developer had a serious interest in Cochran House for apartments.

Just days before Halloween, however, Mr Struna told the committee that such investment possibilities for Cochran House “will be toast” by April. “Toast?” asked then-subcommittee member Steven zVon. Mr Struna offered this information as he learned that the committee’s review process would not be completed by the end of 2010, which the developer had anticipated.

Mr Struna explained, “We were operating under the theory that the review was happening in December.” He did not feel his developer would wait four more months without an idea if the Fairfield Hills Master Plan Review Committee and other town officials will revise the 2005 master plan to include housing. Housing is currently not on the list.

With a warning, Mr Struna had said, “There might be another guy by then, but it’s not going to be this guy.” The year ended without a bid on Cochran House.

New Chairman

Announcing his retirement in early May, longtime Fairfield Hills Chairman Bob Geckle stepped down as of May 31. He had spent nearly ten years with the appointed body of volunteers overseeing the former state hospital’s plans for reuse. He had been part of the process to redevelop the buildings and grounds since the state purchased the more than 180-acre core portion of the state’s land in 2001.

He had said, “I am moving into my tenth year and I decided that it is time to move on and do something else. This will open a slot for new eyes and ears.” With less than 30 days remaining in his tenure as the authority chair, he said, “I need a little time off for now. It’s been a labor of love.”

In the weeks to follow, member John Reed would step in as the authority chairman.

The former authority chairman’s family and friends gathered at the Newtown Meeting House October 28 to thank Mr Geckle for his many years on the authority.

Mr Reed, First Selectman Llodra, former authority member Don Studley, and past first selectman Herb Rosenthal spoke briefly. Mr Reed presented a plaque that will be placed on a small boulder near the entrance to the campus.

What About Edmond Town Hall?

As the town clerk, tax assessor, finance office, and others moved out of the Edmond Town Hall, the historic 1930s building on Main Street had many vacant suites. In January, the town hall Board of Managers faced the subject. “We’ve had to be caretakers” for the Edmond Town Hall, “and now its [future] is a wide open palette,” said Board of Managers member Mary Fellows.

As residents stepped into the vaulted front foyer throughout 2010 and approach the movie theater’s ticket window, they passed closed doors to the left where the town clerk’s office staff once bustled. Town historian Dan Cruson now uses the space.

A second closed door had once opened on a hallway leading to the tax assessor, tax collector, and judge of probate’s offices. To the right is another suite now locked, lights off, where the first selectman’s and human resources director’s offices sit vacant.

The theater, Alexandria Room and adjoining kitchen, lower gymnasium, and renovated spaces now welcoming Lathrop’s School of Dance are in use, but many of the empty former town office areas are still a source of concern for the managers.

Building Manager Tom Mahoney had walked the echoing halls in late summer, explaining reuses for the space. Considering the town employees who once arrived at the building for work each day, he said, “I miss them all.” A sign on the front door directed residents with municipal business to the Fairfield Hills campus. “It’s very quiet,” he said. “Not to my liking…”

Lathrop’s School of Dance had renovated space for its workshops and programming in 2010, while the Newtown Chamber of Commerce has also relocated to an empty suite. The downstairs gymnasium has continued to serve as the venue for craft fairs, dog training, basketball, and other annual or regular activities.

Up two flights is the building’s main level and the theater, still in full use for movies and performances. “The theater won’t change,” he said.

Across the hall from Mr Cruson’s location, the Mary Hawley Room is still designated as a meeting space.

The Alexandria Room, kitchen, and stage are still in regular use. The Board of Managers is currently working to refill the building’s rentable space within the constraints of permissible uses per borough regulations and uses stipulated in Mary Hawley’s will. Ms Hawley, the town’s benefactress, bequeathed several buildings and accompanying trusts to the town.