Danbury Hospital Balks And Newtown Hall Is Back On The Market

By Kendra Bobowick

& John Voket

Newtown Hall is one of the best-preserved buildings available for lease at Fairfield Hills, but unfortunately Danbury Hospital has cancelled plans to provide medical services there. Hawley Realty, a division of Hawley Construction Corporation of Danbury, the development firm that often does work for the hospital, legally stepped away from intentions to lease and renovate space as a result.

Already town officials are making new plans.

What about similar medical practices? Director of Planning and Community Development Elizabeth Stocker hinted that other medical facilities might want to locate offices at Fairfield Hills. “We’ll see if they are interested,” she said. “We’ll pursue all we can at this point.” Wednesday morning First Selectman Joe Borst’s sentiments were similar. “Other hospitals appear to have an interest,” he said. He has spoken with residents and town officials who have ties to either St Vincent’s Hospital in Bridgeport, or Bridgeport Hospital, asking that they contact the facilities.

 

What’s Next?

Recent changes leave Newtown Hall waiting in line for tenants with other vacant office space in buildings available for lease, a position it had not been in before. While no other prospects had been turned away as Danbury Hospital and Hawley Realty eyed the site, Fairfield Hills Authority Chair Bob Geckle explained, “We did not try to market it.” That status has changed.

Past months have found a collective effort to tout the campus and buildings. The Economic Development Commission (EDC), Ms Stocker, local real estate brokers, and the authority could be the right combination to attract attention to the vacant brick buildings — now including Newtown Hall.

Ms Stocker confirmed that she would begin “immediately” to include it in current marketing plans. For one, the campus will be featured for a month at CERC.com, an economic development website.

Several other web addresses point to the property specifically. A visit to the EDC’s website at Newtown.org reveals profiles of available buildings and links to the town and Fairfield Hills Authority sites that offer more information about development, background, the property, and the master plan for reuse. Business incentives also are available. The authority’s website at FairfieldHills.org includes a version of a developer’s package, and more detail about campus activities.

Past and future endeavors with real estate brokers also raise awareness about the possibilities at Fairfield Hills. Last year Ms Stocker and the EDC hosted a reception at the Dana-Holcombe house and entertained realtors and brokers. Mixed with the appetizers and cocktails was a presentation about commercial properties. including the once-bustling state hospital, that could be attractive to prospective developers.

Coming again in the spring is another chance for brokers to hear what Fairfield Hills has to offer.

Mr Geckle is looking forward to the spring’s open house and any selective advertising campaigns with the help of the real estate community, he said. A fee will go to any broker who “brings a client that results in a lease,” Mr Geckle said.

What Went Wrong?

Mr Geckle has not completely crossed Danbury Hospital off his list. “If they come back will they be welcome? Of course,” he stressed. Earlier in the week he had said that the authority would entertain future proposals from the hospital “if and when the hospital is ready.”

A combination of factors changed the hospital’s interest Mr Geckle said Tuesday morning. Along with a struggling economy, the hospital had its own hurdles, and the plans to establish medical offices fell through. “They worked hard to put together practitioners and specialists to locate [at Fairfield Hills], but couldn’t get it together at this time.”

Hospital President Frank Kelly spoke Monday of “good faith” intentions to reimburse Newtown for costs incurred. What does that mean? Mr Geckle detailed reimbursements for attorney fees associated with the negotiations and leasing documents, expenses for engineering analysis, and the costs of adding additional handicap parking slots in anticipation of a medical facility. Despite the pending gesture, Mr Geckle said he was extremely disappointed the hospital was not moving forward with its commitment to Newtown on this project.

Monday, The Bee website posted the news of the hospital’s decision, which left Mr Geckle, for one, frowning. With the hospital’s withdrawal, pending lessee Hawley Fairfield Hills, LLC cannot fulfill a major condition of its contract by guaranteeing to the town a minimum level of occupancy in the facility.

Separate announcements sealing the fate on this protracted lease proposal were presented to First Selectman Borst in recent days from the hospital and the Hawley subsidiary.

In November 2007, the Fairfield Hills Authority made public the likelihood of a 40-year land lease agreement with Hawley Realty. The developer was to complete renovations to what officials described as the “shell” of a former state hospital building known as Newtown Hall, complete all hazardous materials remediation, interior outfitting, and ADA compliance to meet the current state and local building codes.

The finished facility was to serve as a base for several local hospital-affiliated medical care providers, as well as a new home for Kevin’s Community Center, Newtown’s free adult health clinic.

While the town and the authority honored two requests for lease extensions from the Hawley representatives, Danbury Hospital was trying to manage uncertainties related to the Newtown facility’s pending occupancy, according to Mr Kelly.

Mr Kelly told The Bee that the hospital tried to first explore leasing 5,000 to 6,000 square feet in the renovated facility to support “an urgent care-based program.” But Mr Kelly said after canvassing local physicians affiliated with the hospital, who were under consideration as long-term tenants, those doctors eventually came back saying “they could handle growth at their [existing] offices in town.”

The hospital then tried to attract enough affiliated specialty care physicians to the planned facility, who would have, in turn, supplemented the local primary care professionals. Mr Kelly said this initiative was also unsuccessful.

He concluded that these developments, along with an “economic shift, forced the hospital to reallocate capital funding to other areas.” The hospital’s decision was detailed in an embargoed press release that was sent to the First Selectman’s office February 5. On February 3, a law firm representing the Hawley subsidiary sent an eight-line notice to Mr Borst indicating that as of January 30, 2009, the proposed tenant was “unable to comply with section 1A.5 of the lease.”

Dr Z. Michael Taweh, the founder and director of Kevin’s Community Center, said while he had not received formal notice of the project’s status, he was ready to work with town officials and the authority to ensure the clinic would reestablish itself at Fairfield Hills once it is forced to vacate current space in leased town office space on Peck’s Lane.

Subsequent to the clinic’s plan to share office space with the proposed Hawley tenants at Newtown Hall, KCC received a $500,000 state grant that was designated for underwriting development of the leased building. Dr Taweh was unsure about how to move forward, and did not know if the grant would be jeopardized by the recent developments.

“We are still committed to Fairfield Hills, but it will obviously have to be a different building and a different location,” Dr Taweh said. “I hope this doesn’t complicate matters. We still hope to satisfy the conditions of the grant and to use it for a [new clinic] at Fairfield Hills.”