Grant Funds In Use For Stratford Hall Cleanup

By Kendra Bobowick

Pointing to the oversized representation of a $200,000 check from the Environmental Protection Agency propped on the shelf, Director of Planning and Community Development Elizabeth Stocker said that as of Monday, June 14, the funds are in use.

“I’m excited we’re moving ahead,” she said. The funds will pay for hazardous waste removal in several Fairfield Hills buildings.

Fencing now blocks off areas around Stratford Hall since the cleanup began Monday. Work is now “moving ahead” with Stratford and Duplex 58, which sits behind it. The two buildings are among several of the 1930s structures marked for reuse per the Fairfield Hills redevelopment plans. Officials have been marketing the vacant buildings in the years since the town purchased the campus from the state in 2001. Intending to retain ownership, the town is leasing the sites, which will require remediation and renovation work before a business can move in.

Once lead paint is scraped and mercury, for example, is removed from inside the building, the spacious hall “will be more desirable to a tenant,” Ms Stocker said. The remediation leaves “that much less for a tenant to do, [bringing them] that much closer to the point of occupancy.”

The town awarded work to BestTech out of Ellington, which bid the job for less than the $200,000. With remaining funds and additional cleanup grants from the Valley Council of Governments, Ms Stocker looked ahead: “We hope to proceed to the remaining duplexes.” With Stratford and the duplexes completed, she said, “That whole section of the campus will be clean.”

Regarding the Stratford work, she said, “It’s good to let people know that progress is being made.”

Ms Stocker is also negotiating a renovation grant through the state’s Department of Social Services, which allows her to “continue discussions,” with Kevin’s Community Center staff about settling into one of the former state hospital buildings.