What a difference a year makes. The debate was about economic development in March 2008 when the town’s Economic Development Commission (EDC) was pushing a $2.8 million plan to achieve “maximum utilization” of former state land off Commerce Road as a commercial Technology Park. Now, in March 2009, the discussion has turned to economic survival, and the EDC is back with a dramatically scaled-back plan for commercial condos. The estimated cost to the town: $700,000. Fortunately, this is not one of the painful adjustments this economy is forcing on us. The previous incarnations of the Tech Park seemed to have only critics. This plan appears to have only fans. Perhaps in this instance, less truly is more.

Newtown’s conservation officials, the harshest critics of the previous Tech-to-the-max Park, were particularly concerned about how that proposal co-opted and overwhelmed 34 acres of contiguous land set aside by the state as open space for the town. The so-called open space was woven in and around as many as nine massive commercial buildings. The largest, an 80,000-square-foot, two-story building with a sprawling parking lot, was located just upslope from the pristine and environmentally sensitive trout stream, Deep Brook. The six buildings in the new commercial condo configuration range in size from 8,000 to 28,500 square feet and are separated from Deep Brook by both distance and topography.

The EDC, to its great credit, took its consultations with the Conservation Commission to heart and came up with a development plan more proportionate to its site and, as it now turns out, to the economic climate. The concept should have great appeal to firms looking for alternatives to the white elephant facilities they are now trying support with diminished work forces and soaring energy and maintenance costs. Newtown’s good idea could well end up being a neighboring town’s vacancy.

There is a long road between a concept and a ribbon cutting, so Newtown needs to put some muscle on this bare bones idea so it can start the trip. That will require basic design and engineering and expedited environmental and land use reviews. The Legislative Council also needs to restore funding for the Tech Park to the town’s capital improvement plan. Whether we are talking about economic development or economic survival, the crux of the conversation is opportunity, and the EDC’s latest Tech Park proposal represents an opportunity we should seize quickly.