The town’s plan to preserve several but not all the buildings at Fairfield Hills, while demolishing others, may have hit a snag.

The Connecticut State Historic Preservation Office recently notified the town that all buildings on the Fairfield Hills campus must be preserved in order for WinnCompanies of Boston, Mass. — a potential developer — to benefit from historic credits to offset the expense of renovating Kent Hall and Shelton Hall for mixed commercial/residential re-use.

First Selectman Dan Rosenthal told The Newtown Bee March 14 that the historic preservation office said the “relevance of the campus is the whole campus; they are not supportive of any abbreviated plan.”

Rosenthal said the historic credits, which could mean as much as $10 million each for renovation projects estimated at $50 to $60 million, could be in jeopardy if the town continues with its plan to demolish aging buildings such as Cochrane House and Norwalk Hall. Rosenthal believes since there was little interest in re-developing Fairfield Hills buildings over the last 18 years, it is unlikely future re-use projects will materialize without the historic credits.

“The economics on these projects are very close,” said Rosenthal. “There is no project if there are no credits, that’s for certain.”

Rosenthal noted, however, that while the state has made its position known, the National Parks Service has ultimate authority and is the agency that would approve the town’s application. Rosenthal posited that it “may be worth applying the way we want,” using the current plan to demolish some of the most deteriorated and unsafe buildings just to see what happens.

“It costs the town nothing to apply,” Rosenthal said. “I’d like to hear what the National Parks Service thinks.”

If the state’s Historic Preservation Office position is upheld, the town could be pressed to choose between getting the credits and keeping the proposed mixed use development project on track while also preserving all other campus buildings, or possibly leaving all the campus buildings vacant and eventually demolishing them.

Rosenthal noted that the town has been actively trying to do something with the buildings for 18 years and was only required by terms of the purchase to keep the buildings up for eight. Some of the buildings were built in the 1930s, and most of the vacant buildings had not been maintained by the state since the ‘90s.

Additionally, those buildings have been unheated, and many of them have been partially or fully exposed to the weather and vandals since the town purchased the property nearly two decades ago.

Still Marketing

“We haven’t stopped marketing the property,” said Rosenthal. “The odds [of getting any of the buildings renovated and developed] will become more grim absent the historic credits.”

Rosenthal said that in reviewing the buildings, a number of them are “unlikely to see use,” such as Cochrane, Norwalk, Stamford, and Plymouth. The town was looking at a phased demolition plan over a number of years, with the latest Capital Improvement Plan allocating $7.5 million for remediation and demolition of Fairfield Hills buildings in four of the next five years.

Rosenthal said he would also like to know the implications of leaving the buildings, particularly if a roof collapses, or they suffer some other structural compromise. He said that the historic credits would be paid to the town over three years, and beyond that, the town would have to keep the buildings intact for five more years.

The first selectman noted that the remaining buildings are “solidly built” and most of the roofs have been holding up, but he couldn’t predict whether or not any of the buildings would hold up for eight more years virtually untouched.

“That represents a challenge we all need to weigh,” Rosenthal said, noting that he’ll be bringing the matter to the town’s elected bodies, the Board of Selectmen, the Board of Finance, and the Legislative Council for deliberation. “This is one of those things that requires input from more than just me.”

FHA Favors Preservation

Fairfield Hills Authority (FHA) Chairman Ross Carley said preserving the buildings is in the town’s best interests, and expressed a belief that once Kent and Shelton are developed, it will kindle interest in developing the other buildings.

Carley said the current developer Winn’s plan for mixed use includes both residential apartments as well as some shops, and that once those apartments are built, it will provide an instant customer base for more businesses that may want to occupy other buildings. He also pointed out that seniors moving into any of the on-campus apartments would have the Senior Center right next door.

“It’s a benefit to the town,” said Carley. “The financials are incredible. Seniors are champing at the bit [for the affordable housing].”

Carley said Winn’s projects would create “inspiration” for further development.

“The idea to take the buildings down because it is too hard to bother is bad,” said Carley.

Carley estimated that taxes could bring $500,000 into the town per year, with another $100,000 for land leases. Under the town’s current agreement with Wynn, the company would own the buildings but the town would still own the land.

Carley also noted Newtown is “behind state requirements” for affordable housing stock, which Winn’s projects would help offset.

A ‘Safety Valve’

According to Carley, the state Historic Preservation Office has said it “won’t bend” on the town not being able to take down buildings. However, there is a “safety valve” should one of the buildings suffer catastrophic damage.

“If one building is falling down, it will allow us to have a third party examine the building and potentially apply for demolition,” said Carley. “It’s not an ironclad ‘love it or leave it,’ there is a way out.”

However, Carley believes that the buildings are unlikely to fall down on their own.

“Those buildings could get hit by a howitzer and still be standing,” said Carley.

When thinking about what the Fairfield Hills campus would look like if all the buildings were torn down, Carley likened it to a “wasteland.”

“It would be nothing but big, empty fields,” said Carley. “As a history-minded kind of guy, I appreciate what the campus looks like with the buildings.”

Carley believes others also appreciate the buildings, noting that when car shows happen on the property, participants seem reluctant to leave the property and often tour it.

Associate Editor Jim Taylor can be reached at jim@thebee.com.