Date: Fri 09-Jul-1999

Publication: Bee

Author: ANDYG

Quick Words:

Fairfield-Hills-development

Full Text:

Deadline Looms For Fairfield Hills Development Plans

BY ANDREW GOROSKO

Monday, July 12, is the deadline for four firms to submit their final

proposals to the state for the acquisition and redevelopment of the 186-acre

Fairfield Hills core campus.

In the coming weeks, the Fairfield Hills Selection Committee, a joint

town-state panel, will be reviewing the redevelopment proposals with an eye

toward recommending one for implementation at the former state mental

institution in the geographical center of town.

The four finalists were selected from among 12 developers who submitted

redevelopment proposals for the property last winter. They are:

Becker and Becker Associates, Inc, of New Canaan.

The Community Builders, Inc, of New Haven.

SBC Associates, LLC, of Greenwich.

Wilder Balter Partners, LLC, of Elmsford, NY.

First Selectman Herbert Rosenthal, a selection committee member, said July 7

the amount of time needed by the panel to review the proposals will be based

on the level of detail provided by the finalists. Mr Rosenthal said committee

members expect to spend four to six weeks reviewing the redevelopment

proposals. The proposals will be disclosed to the public after committee

members have reviewed them.

"I'm hopeful that we'll get good proposals, " Mr Rosenthal said.

The first selectman said he has been receiving "mixed signals" from the public

on whether the town should buy the Fairfield Hills core campus to prevent some

adverse development there, or whether the town should become a partner with

some developer in redeveloping the property.

Noting the existence of public sentiment for a town purchase of Fairfield

Hills, Mr Rosenthal said such a purchase needs to be considered. But, he

added, he is unconvinced that the town should buy the property for its own

sake, simply to acquire it. A municipal purchase would need some overall goal

for the future of the property to make any sense, he said.

The town has the right of first refusal on the purchase of Fairfield Hills

from the state.

Each of the four developers chosen as finalists has proposed a "mixed use"

scenario for the redevelopment of Fairfield Hills, involving multiple new uses

for the property, which contains approximately 1.2 million square feet of

enclosed space in 16 major buildings. A major component of each mixed use

proposal involves residential redevelopment.

State officials have not set a price for the property, saying the price will

depend upon the uses to which the property is put.

Richard Nuclo, director of assets management for the state Office of Policy

and Management (OPM), has said the state expects to receive high-quality

redevelopment proposals for the property, adding the finalists have been

working hard to create viable projects.