Fairfield Hills Advisory Panel

Brings Its Vision To The Public

By Steve Bigham

The Fairfield Hills Advisory Committee was slated to present its “vision” for the redevelopment of Fairfield Hills at a public meeting Thursday night, but it was not expected that residents would be handed a take-it-or-leave-it scenario.

Instead, the 14-member ad hoc committee, which has been assigned to search for the best re-use of the property, planned to serve up a varied menu of options in the hopes that the public will find something that suits its taste. The advisory committee has identified a multi-use approach as being the most beneficial for the town. Residents would be encouraged to provide feedback on each of those options.

The state put Fairfield Hills on the market more than a year ago. Last month, the Town of Newtown indicated interest in purchasing the former state mental health hospital. It is now seeking consensus on a re-use of the property. There are several options; however, two main visions have emerged in town. The first, which has gained favor with the advisory committee, calls for a corporate-based use, with the key advantage of creating revenue for the town. The second vision, which has also gained support among residents, calls for a campus that addresses municipal needs first and foremost.

This week’s presentation – conducted after The Bee went to press – was expected to focus on a site plan that splits the campus into six different “elements.” Those elements have been identified for inclusion in the redevelopment plan. They are: open space, schools, town offices, sports hall, entry plaza and corporate space.

Each of these six elements include 2 or 3 different options for how to incorporate them in the plan, as well as cost and/or income:

Open Space (126 acres)

Provide open space for active and passive recreation (five sports fields)

Designate areas for future passive recreation development

Schools (18 acres)

Provide land for a school (requires demolition of Cochran House)

Provide building space for alternative education needs

Town Offices (4 acres)

Designate Stamford Hall for future town offices

Land bank Stratford Hall to meet future municipal/multi-purpose needs

 

Entry Plaza (4 acres)

Create plaza for active for active mixed use (restaurants, shops, offices)

Provide buildings and plaza for corporate development

Land bank buildings for future municipal use

 

Sports Hall (3 acres)

Designate Plymouth Hall for community sports facilities

Designate Plymouth Hall for a privately run recreation organization (ie, YMCA)

Corporate Space

(34 acres)

Provide land lease for corporate offices to independent developer (long term lease/$1million per year)

Land bank buildings for future building by building use (to be determined by municipal needs and commercial market)

According to Advisory Committee Chairman Michael Floros, the six elements have been compiled from months of listening to town residents, municipal representatives, special interest groups and private developers.

“We believe these elements reflect the overall needs of the Town of Newtown. The elements of the plan provide a balance between the facilities and land needed by town residents and the need to limit the impact on the tax rate,” he said.

Following the presentation, residents were to be invited to meet in small groups with advisory committee members to discuss the plan. From this input, the advisory committee will formulate its final recommendation to the Board of Selectmen, which created the board more than a year ago.

“Our recommendation will be limited to whether or not the town should purchase the property and what elements should be included in its redevelopment should the process move forward,” he said. “The feedback we get at this meeting is very important to how we formulate our recommendation.”