Fairfield Hills Plan –

Becker Gets Cool Reception From Selectmen

By Steve Bigham

Bruce Becker and his staff received what might be generously described as a lukewarm reception from the Board of Selectmen during their presentation Monday night.

Most members of the public in attendance appeared to favor the Becker and Becker plan and greeted the private developer as something of a local hero. They hailed Mr Becker’s plan for the preservation and adaptive re-use of Fairfield Hills as a kind of salvation for Newtown.

Some of those people said they were appalled at the first selectman’s negative “body language” during the first official meeting between Becker and Becker and the town. As they pointed out, the first selectman seemed bored during Mr Becker’s speech – opening his mail, resting his head on his hand, and often looking down instead of at Mr Becker.

On Tuesday, Mr Rosenthal defended his actions, saying Mr Becker’s presentation provided no new information and was the same old speech he had given before.

“All he did was re-hash his original proposal. I thought he was going to talk about creating a process or give us more details,” Mr Rosenthal said. “I can never quite pin him down.”

Last year, Becker and Becker worked hard to win public support for his plan in Newtown. And his proposal to “partner” with the town was discussed widely. Monday’s presentation was more of the same, according to Mr Rosenthal.

“It’s like if we heard it one more time it was going to change our minds,” he said. “We never get to see the fine print and details.”

The first selectman said he was not satisfied with Mr Becker’s explanation for how his proposed “joint closing” would work and felt the New Canaan developer “blew off” another question about whether or not he would accept a land lease if the town owned the land.

Mr Becker has spent the past 18 months trying to convince both the town and the state that his plan for redeveloping the 185-acre campus (currently up for sale by the state) is best for everyone. And there are many in town who believe his plan to “partner” with town and other organizations is the best way to go.

The proposal calls for a “simultaneous” closing between Becker and Becker and the town at the time of the sale. Then, once the smoke clears, Newtown would receive 100 or more acres of open space, a handful of buildings, and no town liability over what could be as much as $14-15 million in environmental cleanup costs. The deed, however, would be signed over to Becker and Becker and the company would charge the town for the construction of municipal offices, etc.

Mr Becker said the utilization of historic tax credits makes his plan possible and provides an immediate return to the investor. This, according to Mr Becker, is why so many big investors [banks] are interested in working with Becker and Becker.

“All the buildings are eligible for historic tax credits, including Cochran House. If it wasn’t for that, we wouldn’t be able to overcome the environmental problems in the buildings,” Mr Becker said.

Under its proposal, Becker and Becker would maintain 43 acres (or 22 percent of the land) and the majority of the buildings. Becker and Becker would use the buildings to create 400,000 square feet of corporate and medical office space, 47,000 square feet of community cultural and arts facilities, as well as some municipal space. Becker and Becker also plans to use 14 percent of the property for senior housing and a significant number of multi-family apartment buildings. The YMCA would also move in under the Becker and Becker plan and the Y’s regional director, Gary Kozak, spoke briefly in favor of Mr Becker’s plan at this week’s meeting.

Mr Becker was granted time to speak Monday after making a request to Mr Rosenthal late last month. And Mr Becker has shown that, given an opportunity, he will make the most of it. So, after nearly an hour’s worth of slides, which provided little new information, Mr Rosenthal said he felt compelled to intervene.

Mr Becker fell out of favor with Mr Rosenthal late last year after he made preliminary moves to nominate Fairfield Hills for placement on the National Register of Historic Places. Mr Rosenthal called it an “underhanded” move that could minimize the town’s ability to decide what to do with the buildings. On Monday, Mr Becker expressed regret over that particular move.

“In hindsight, we should have found a way to let both the town and state in on what we were doing. Once we knew the town’s concerns, we withdrew the initial application,” Mr Becker said.

But the selectmen’s lukewarm reception Monday indicated continued displeasure with the developer. The first selectman believes Mr Becker often “overstates things” and tends to leave important parts out of his explanations.

“I don’t think any of the selectmen felt we got what we expected [from Mr Becker’s presentation],” Mr Rosenthal said.

Selectman Joe Bojnowski agreed. “I was expecting something new. I do agree with Mr Becker’s point that communication and dialogue with the developer are important components.”

However, Mr Bojnowski said, Mr Becker needs to heed his own words.

Nevertheless, Mr Rosenthal said the Becker and Becker firm remains “clearly” in the picture.

The first selectman’s response to the developer Monday did not go unnoticed by some members of the public, including Newtown residents Laura Helmig and Donna O’Connor.

“I’m upset that Herb Rosenthal is representing the town in such a hostile manner,” noted Mrs Helmig of Scudder Road. “I found him to be very rude. This is such a huge impact on the town. How can he not pay full attention?”

Mrs O’Connor of Pinnacle Drive said she is confused by the town’s disinterest in Mr Becker’s plan.

“Save Fairfield Hills for Newtown? Bruce Becker is doing that for us,” she said following the meeting. “This plan preserves the buildings and the campus. They are listening to the needs of the community. I don’t understand the hostility Becker and Becker is receiving from the board.”

Mr Rosenthal spoke to the women later and explained his behavior.

Mr Becker appears willing to stand on his head in order to receive the town’s blessing. “Our goal is to please. If we need to make changes, we’ll be glad to do it tomorrow.”

Some feel his biggest change would need to be in the area of planned housing. He will need to reduce those figures. Others question how he will ever be able to fill 400,000 square feet of office space. What about all the parking?

“I think he has missed the boat and the point,” noted Ruby Johnson, an advocate of keeping the land as open space. “I think he means well, but his plan for all that housing is not popular.”

Following Monday’s meeting, Mr Becker was seen speaking with local residents and some town officials, including longtime Legislative Council member Melissa Pilchard. A supporter of the Becker and Becker plan, Mrs Pilchard said she would try to bring Mr Becker’s plan up for discussion at a future council meeting. The problem, however, is that the council is not authorized to engage in negotiations. That is the purview of the Board of Selectmen.