Fairfield Hills Master Plan Set For Public Hearing

By Andrew Gorosko

Residents will have an opportunity to voice their views on the future uses of the town-owned Fairfield Hills core campus, when the Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) holds a public hearing on the proposed Fairfield Hills Master Plan on Thursday, February 17.

The hearing is slated for 7:30 pm at the Newtown Middle School auditorium at 11 Queen Street.

The voluminous master plan, formulated during the past several years for the town by Harrall-Michalowski Associates of Hamden, is designed to guide the future redevelopment of the 189-acre core campus. The town purchased the former psychiatric hospital and grounds from the state last August for $3.9 million. Fairfield Hills, which once housed more than 4,000 mental patients, closed in December 1995.

The main campus holds 16 primary buildings on 185 acres south of Wasserman Way, plus four acres on the north side of Wasserman Way at Trades Lane. Fairfield Hills was principally constructed in the 1930s, with additional construction occurring in the 1940s and the 1950s.

Fairfield Hills lies above the federally designated sole source aquifer for the region, known as the Pootatuck Aquifer. The aquifer is the source of two public water supplies.

In 1999, the state sought private redevelopment proposals for Fairfield Hills, three of which were submitted for consideration. Under state law, the town, however, had the right of first refusal to purchase the property, and in 2000, the town exercised that right, submitting to the state a letter of intent to buy Fairfield Hills. The state then suspended consideration of the three private redevelopment proposals.

A town study panel reviewed the three private redevelopment proposals, which largely consisted of housing construction projects, and decided against pursuing any of them, instead deciding that the town should acquire the Fairfield Hills core campus.

In August 2003, voters at referendum turned down an initial version of the Fairfield Hills Master Plan. The plan to be aired at the February 17 P&Z public hearing revises that initial document.

The complete Fairfield Hills Master Plan is available for review on the town’s website, www.newtown-ct.gov/Home/.

Revisions

The most recent revisions to the evolving master plan concern affordable housing, town office space, plus building renovations and building demolition.

The master plan revisions recommend that the eight existing single-family houses at Fairfield Hills, which had been proposed for demolition in the August 2003 version of the plan, now instead be kept intact for possible use as “affordable housing.” Affordable housing, as defined by state law, is designated for families that fall under certain annual income limits. Fairfield Hills workers formerly lived in the eight white, wood-frame houses.

The plan revisions include a recommendation that a new town hall be created at the site of the 100,000-square-foot Shelton House. Such a town hall would either be a reuse of Shelton House in some form, or be a newly constructed building based on a detailed architectural study to be performed for the town. Shelton House formerly was a state office building.

Also, Stamford Hall, a 58,000-square-foot building, which had formerly been proposed for reuse as a dormitory-style hotel for conferences, would now instead be demolished, with the land lying beneath Stamford Hall being preserved as a “land bank.” Stamford Hall was an employee dormitory building for the state hospital.

The master plan revisions recommend that Plymouth Hall, a 66,000-square-foot structure, be renovated, or alternately, be demolished and replaced by a new building, based on the results of a reuse and architectural study. Plymouth Hall was a recreation building in the past.

Future Uses

The master plan recommends what should happen to each building on the core campus, be it reuse, demolition, or partial demolition. The plan assumes that those buildings slated for reuse would be reused within five years of the master plan’s approval. If a building’s reuse is not determined within five years, then demolition would be scheduled for that structure.

The land lying beneath the various Fairfield Hills buildings would remain under town ownership. The option of leasing a building to a private party would hinge on the specifics of a building reuse plan.

The plan suggests that Plymouth Hall and Bridgeport Hall (46,000 sf), be used for various community needs, such as a senior center, cultural center, recreational programs, and for special community events, such as the annual Friends of the Library Book Sale. Bridgeport Hall formerly was the central kitchen and main dining facility at Fairfield Hills.

Depending on how campus redevelopment proceeds, there might be opportunities for new construction on the sites of demolished buildings, according to the master plan. Some redevelopment may involve the partial demolition of existing buildings.

The future of Canaan House (232,000 sf) and Kent House (238,000 sf) would determine the extent of potential new construction at the site.

Future Uses

The master plan provides general plans for 31 buildings on the site.

The plan recommends that the town demolish seven buildings to create an area where athletic fields would be constructed. The buildings proposed for demolition and their approximate square footages are: Fairfield House, 63,000 sf; Bridgewater House, 73,000 sf; Litchfield House, 63,000 sf; Yale Laboratory, 8,000 sf; Greenwich House, 100,000 sf; Danbury Hall, 21,000 sf; and Cochran House, 194,000 sf.

The plan recommends that two buildings be demolished and that their sites be preserved as a “land bank.” They are Norwalk Hall, 34,000 sf, and Stamford Hall, 58,000 sf.

The proposed master plan also suggests that Kent House be demolished, with its site reserved for use as a public high school annex, or be retained for some private use, or be demolished with its site reserved as a land bank.

The master plan recommends that Woodbury Hall (42,000 sf) be retained for private office or educational use, and that Newtown Hall (22,000 sf) be retained for private office use. The plan suggests reusing Canaan House for private office space.

The master plan suggests that Stratford Hall (9,000 sf) serve as a private restaurant or office space.  

Five masonry duplexes, which formerly served as residences for Fairfield Hills workers, would be used for private offices and stores. The former administrator’s house on the campus could be used as a museum.

 

Academy

The master plan recommends that if the town decides to create a high school academy, that the area now occupied by Kent House be the first site considered for an academy. “Most likely, the best approach would involve demolition of Kent [House] and new construction of an academy,” it states.

The site’s advantages include its closeness to proposed athletic fields and its relative closeness to Newtown High School. Also, construction work there would not affect other components of the master plan, the plan adds. The site could have shared parking facilities with nearby athletic fields.

“It is important for the Board of Education to make the policy decisions as to the purpose, size and design of such an academy,” according to the plan, which states that details should be provided to allow public dialogue on such a project.

The master plan suggests that school officials analyze the space needs of an alternative high school program in determining a location for such a facility at Fairfield Hills, or elsewhere in town, adding that an alternative high school should not be located in the proposed new town hall.

The alternative high school formerly was located in town office space at Canaan House. In April 2004, a fire there caused the alternative high school to relocate to Newtown Middle School on Queen Street.

According to the proposed master plan, the new buildings that would be constructed at Fairfield Hills for office space or for municipal purposes: should be architecturally compatible with other campus buildings, should be no taller than three stories, and should have as much shared parking as possible. The plan suggests that new buildings be limited to a maximum size of 50,000 square feet, except for a high school academy, which might be larger.

Redevelopment

The master plan generally calls for 22 of 31 existing buildings at Fairfield Hills to be retained, after nine buildings are demolished.

There is the potential for the construction of three new buildings, including a town hall, a high school academy, and a building designated for parks and recreation use, plus cultural uses.

The core campus would hold three community-use buildings, plus 18 private-use buildings. Private-use buildings would include housing, office space, and stores.

As the site is redeveloped, there would be a need to increase parking areas. Such parking could grow from the existing 645 spaces to as many as 1,425 spaces.

The open space area on the 189-acre site would increase from 112 acres to 140 acres.

Also, individual buildings at Fairfield Hills would require their own heating sources because the central steam plant at Fairfield Hills no longer operates. The chiller plant, which formerly cooled Canaan House and Cochran House, may again be used in the future.

After reviewing the master plan, the P&Z will either accept, reject, or modify the schematic for the redevelopment of Fairfield Hills. The P&Z’s Fairfield Hills Adaptive Reuse (FHAR) zoning regulations provide a mechanism through which an approved master plan could later be modified, as needed.